#African Grey for families

[stories-with-pear-flavour]

I had a dream. About this young African grey parrot in a boba tea cup it has ice and mint leafs.

[l3irdl3rain]

i was wondering how you feel about teaching parrots to talk? is there any substance to it? do they actually understand what they’re saying or do they just learn that those vocalizatjons get them treats? is there any risk persay to teaching parrots to talk? i’ve been doing my own research ofc but i was wondering your thoughts if you wouldn’t mind sharing them!

I don’t know of any downsides really? The only one I’ve ever heard people claim is teaching your birds to swear can make it harder to find them a home if they ever have to be rehomed.

I think it’s a good way to socialize with your birds, especially birds that don’t like to be touched. Parrots love to vocalize alone and with their friends. Obviously we’re incapable of mimicking parrot noises, so that really just leaves us with the option of speaking to them.

They obviously don’t fully understand human speech, but they’re definitely capable of recognizing phrases and their “meaning”. I’ve seen this in birds I’ve worked with myself and you can see it all over online as well. My mom’s African grey is extremely intelligent and has a large vocabulary. When he’s nervous we tell him “it’s okay” and now he understands this is a comfort phrase. When he was trying to make friends with my mom’s cockatoo he repeatedly told her “it’s okay” because she kept trying to get away from him. If you upset him he calls you a poopyhead, because he knows that’s what we call him when he’s doing something he shouldn’t be.

Even my mom’s cockatoo, who isn’t capable of a lot of speech, seems to understand and recognize certain phrases we say to her, even if she doesn’t say them back. She does say “hi bird” and “bye bye” and she’s fully capable of using them in the proper context. If I don’t say bye bye to her before I leave my mom’s house she makes sure to yell it at me as I’m going out the door. She never says bye bye when I first enter the house, that’s always “hi bird”

And even birds like Joey, who have a nonexistent vocabulary, still love to be talked to. A lot of birds especially like when you speak loud because they also love to be loud. My dad has a naturally very loud voice and even though Joey would bite him given the chance he also loves if my dad stands nearby and talks to him.

There’s definitely a lot more info you can find online about this topic, this is really just a lot of examples of birds I know personally. Parrots are extremely intelligent, and until you’ve lived/worked with them it can be hard to grasp what that means In my opinion. People telling you “oh they’re so smart” will never prepare you for just how smart they are.

[queen-beefcake-sqx]

me, knocking back THC drinks and xanax: I’m going to commune with a parrot again.

[abusedandromeda]

Grey rocking vs Silent treatment

This memory pops up more often than some others and it’s probably because this is the first time the tides and vibes changed my (DID) system and my abuser so I figured putting it into words would be helpful and hopefully allow my brain to at least calm down with this memory (it ends on a positive note, promise).

So it started when I took the step to shave my head I think about a month after covid hit the states. I tried asking my birth parents about it but the main thing was “make that your motivation to lose weight so you’ll look better bald”. It was because my birth father had a fold on the back of his head that you could clearly see cuz he was bald. And they said I didn’t wanna look like him (yes, even he said it).

I’ll talk about it more in another post, but I fucking hated my hair. That mindset took both an emotional and physical toll on me. It not only nade me miserable but I also never took care of it. I spent 20 minutes max on it, which is barely enough time to wash even a third of my African hair. Never scrubbed my scalp, never combed it through from the scalp. It was like having a child I didn’t want, but I forced myself to keep because it made me look good.

Even though it wasn’t the safest option and I knew what the consequences were from both of my biological parents, I wanted to shave my head. It was an easy long term decision too, especially since I wasn’t given very many physical tools to take care of my hair. Was never taught how to braid it, how to make combing easier, etc. I wanted to also think about what I’d do after I left my abusers and shaving my head was not only cheaper, but less emotionally taxing. All my alters (I think only around 12 alters) were in on it too. They decided that we’d work together on the emotional fallout since it had been less than a year we started grey rocking.

So, I bought a shaving kit from Amazon, and less than a couple weeks later, I shaved my head. Didn’t tell my birth mother about it, even though now I wish I told her to her face that it was my body my choice, but we’ll get to the regrets later in another post). My alters told and promised her we would comb out our hair, but I didn’t even comb it at all. Didn’t even wash it. Just took a razor with no guard to the scalp, shaved that shit, and live streamed it on my previous twitter (which is now taken down).

I decided to tell my alters to tell my birth mother now so we didn’t have to deal with her in the morning. If I had dealt with it, I probably would’ve just told her “I don’t care at all what you say or what’s disrespectful. It’s my body and it’s my choice. If you’re offended by that, then maybe observe yourself”. But two of my alters, Nick (WHO IS NOW A FATHER BTW) and Fel (Felony) decided to fuck with her and say “it was a surprise for you, bestie!” (Disrespectful as hell💀) and “now we can go to the pool like you wanted, bestie!” (She used to drag us to the pool every other summer week even though we didn’t want to). To be fair, they did end it with “well, I’m happy with it, so I don’t care”. Then, we went to bed. Best sleep we had in a while over there.

The silent treatment happened immediately the morning after. Honestly, we were okay with that. Personally, I had gotten to a point where I hated her so much that I wished that she would’ve given the silent treatment the rest of the time we were there. My other alters felt the same. There were a few times she did explode at us for very very small reasons (I think it was for crumbs on her countertops or dog poop in the yard, but I can’t remember), but we still kept calm and continued the grey rock method instead of what my 7th grade self would’ve done, which was kiss up to her.

There were a couple times she yelled at us to say “good morning” because it was “polite” even though she didn’t do the same during her silent treatment and she would’ve just ignored us if we did. Either way, we didn’t do any of that, since it was against the grey rock method. You don’t reach out to your abusers, they reach out to you. Act like an NPC.

Obviously, yes, it still did hurt. The little kid in me felt destroyed that my own birther didn’t like my new hair cut. I was kind of hoping she said I looked beautiful with it. I felt more ugly than I had before during that time period. I felt so naked and so judged during that time. But, the grown up version in me said that if I was only beautiful according to her own controlled version of me, then those weren’t compliments. Those were just tools to control. That’s why I never kissed up to her or demanded her to pay attention to me just like in 7th grade. Because that is not a mother’s love, that’s a tyrant’s force. I was glad she didn’t try and change her tune so late into my life because it only reinforced the fact that she would’ve never accepted the happy version of me. I was only “beautiful” as long as I did what she asked.

The only reason why I still regret what I did was because of my mom. I’d like to clarify that my mom and birth mother are two different people. My mom is part of my DID system. Yes, I am unofficially adopted, but she’s been an amazing mom. She understands my struggles, but doesn’t spoil me. She gives me space, but picks me back up when I do fall over. To give you a better understanding, her name is Windfall and she’s a tall, muscular alien. Not…not like a foreigner but like an actual alien…that’s not from Earth.

She’s the type of energy terfs really hate. She does boxing as a hobby, she used to be a guardian for her city back on her planet (defends her city from colonization), and used to have very bad anger issues that she’s worked on since we left my abusers (although it does come back full force if someone messes with me or my other two siblings). She damn near hospitalized her most recent ex (also part of my system) because she tried to emotionally manipulate me and my siblings. She gave me the name Andromeda because she thought of my imagination as vast as the galaxy itself, my mind as bright as the stars, as my personality as attractive as a black hole, my mood as constantly changing as all the planets combined, and myself as beautiful as the universe itself. It’s corny, but she really does love my siblings and I.

So my mom at the time was a protector. She was the only one due to the fact that there were so few alters. Nowadays, I think we have 10 protectors, which definitely would’ve been more helpful at the time but I was also a young system still learning to communicate with my other alters. The problem was that just because grey rocking was being used less doesn’t mean the job was done for all alters. Most of the stress fell on my mom, who was not only in charge of protecting us physically just in case my birth mother did make promise on her multiple threats to end my life but to also warn of the other alters of any incoming blow ups from my birth mother.

My mom had to read my birth mother more often. She had less to go on now that my birth mother wasn’t talking. It was a stressful task. I don’t even think she slept much during that silent treatment because she wanted to protect us so much. When I say the toll it took on my mom, I really wanted to do what my 7th grade self did, even if it wouldn’t work. I didn’t care about my birth mother, but I loved my adoptive mom like my own mother. I didn’t want to see her so stressed out like that even if it was her job and she grew up protecting others the same way. While my alters were happy they didn’t have to talk to my birth mother as much, and I was too, I didn’t want my mom to be so stressed out over protecting us.

But, my mom told me to keep grey rocking. She told me that as a mother, she’d understand if I gave in, but as a person (or alien in this matter lmao), she’d never ever forgive me. Another thing about my mom is that she’s really competitive. It goes along amazingly with her anger issues. She REALLY hated my birth mother. There was also something in it for herself. She wanted to teach my birth mother a lesson that we weren’t that little kid anymore. My mom was there when I was in 7th grade. She saw how I begged for my birth mother to speak to me, only to be ignored. My mom wanted me to prove a point and make sure my birth mother knew that ignoring my body autonomy and hiding behind accepting my body autonomy as “disrespectful” wasn’t going to fly.

My mom really drove in the point that whatever energy someone gives you, you give right back. If someone ignored you, ignore them back. If someone gives you a gift, you gift back. If someone doesn’t invite you somewhere, don’t ask. Don’t chase after no one, try and text people back in a timely manner to give that mutual respect. This situation drilled into me to never give more energy to someone who doesn’t deserve, but to never give no energy to someone who gave me so much. So, I respected my mom’s wishes and never gave in.

I know this part was very personal, but I think most of my choices during this time was indirectly establishing my own boundaries. We didn’t want to take a huge step back when we came so far just with our new grey rock method.

Eventually, my birth mother was the one who broke the silence. There was no begging from us for her to talk to us, just her randomly starting to talk to us like nothing happened. I remember it was dusk and we had to clean the garage another month later. I’m not 100% sure why, but I can guess that she realized that no matter how much psychological pressure she pushed onto us, it wouldn’t make any difference. She found out one of her own tools had stopped working. She realized that we really didn’t care about her opinions on our body. The rare times someone actually won and it was us.

Funny enough, my alters were actually devastated because now they had to deal with her again😂😂. For the rest of us, it would’ve been better had she never talked to us until we finally left. But I’m pretty sure my mom slept for like 3 days after that. She was really tired. For her sake, I’m glad my birth mother gave in. It was so stressful for her.

So yeah, grey rocking vs the silent treatment. Grey rocking won in this case. Yes, it did leave a few emotional scars for me. I couldn’t look at the first pictures of my shaved head during those times for about a year because it was so triggering. Yes, it did ruin the experience. But now this situation is my personality, to give the same energy someone else gives me. Not to mention it established our bodily autonomy and I could bet it was jarring when she realized I was an actual person and not just her kid. Not sure if grey rocking works 100% against the silent treatment, but it definitely worked in this case.

[pangolin-404]

officially finished yellowjackets s2 I'm hrghrgnrghrnggnng <- rabid

[subbalakshmisastry]

Extraordinary Talking Parrots , African Grey Parrot , Mimics Human Voice...

[allwaswell16]

Ficlets for…

🍉 Operation Olive Branch 🍉

Ever wanted a fic written specifically for you? With whatever tropes and characters you wanted?

I am currently writing ficlets for anyone who donates to the Abu Qumbuz family's Go Fund Me to help them evacuate from Gaza. I found this family through Operation Olive Branch.

Just send me a screenshot via dm of your donation (any amount, although the minimum on Go Fund Me is $5) that includes the date of the donation and what prompt/tropes and 1D characters you want me to write and I'll get started!

If you are unable to use that site and/or would like to donate to a different charity helping the people of Palestine or different family via Operation Olive Branch, please contact me via dm with your donation screenshot.

For more info on my writing and ficlets, please see below...

🍉 The minimum word count for the ficlet I'm offering would be 1k

🍉 Any One Direction pairing is fine as I do write rare pairs

🍉 Any prompt and any trope is also fine. I can't really think of anything I'd be unwilling to write for this cause. If you want a ficlet sequel/prequel/time stamp of some sort to any of my fics, that would be fine, too. I'll dig out my notes on monitor lizards or African grey parrots if you want me to!

🍉 You can find all my writing on ao3 here

🍉 I have previously written ficlets for charity and you can find them here

🍉 I also have a more recent collection of ficlets here

🍉 And some silly unhinged ones from ages ago here

🍉 The master post for this collection is here

[herpsandbirds]

African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), family Psittacidae, found in central Africa

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Kow Hao Rui

[allieebobo]

College Tennis: Origin Story

Demo | Characters | Dev log | Ko-fi

Tennis/Sports x Slice-of-life x College x Found-family x Coming-of-age x Coz

Experience the ups-and-downs of life as a freshman on the Cargill University varsity tennis team amongst a colorful cast of characters.

Compete in nail-biting singles and doubles matches, forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances and make a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court.

Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you come into your own as a promising young tennis star, primed for the professional leagues? Most importantly, how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?

Full character customisation

Customise your gender, height, build, personality, physical appearance, languages spoken, tennis style, dominant hand, and more!

Strike a balance between: tennis, keeping up a rich social life, and maintaining your grades

Nail-biting tennis matches

Every match is different! Play matches throughout the fall and spring seasons, leading up to the NCAO championships—that is, if you make the Cargill team.

Intricate tennis game mechanics: Factors such as your condition/energy, preparation for the match, opponent's play style, doubles partner chemistry, as well as your choices at key junctures of the match etc. will affect the outcome of the match!

Craft your own distinctive playing style and make a name for yourself on the tennis court

Hone your strength, agility, finesse, serve-and-volley skill, and endurance over the course of the game!

Romance four possible characters

Rayyan Afiq, the gruff, hot-headed no. 1 seed

Guillaume/Geneviève Lavigne, the sardonic international student on your floor

Tobin Harris, the warm, unflappable team captain

Sam O'Connelly, your nerdy and spirited high-school best friend

And forge lifelong friendships with many more...

Rayyan Afiq The rival

Gender: Follows the gender of your team Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: Egyptian-American

Student information: Junior, Anthropology major Player information: Vice-captain, No. 1 position, Aggressive Baseliner

Appearance: 5′6 (f) or 5′10 (m). Lean, athletic build. Dark, wavy curls, and thick sweeping eyebrows over piercing dark-olive eyes. Tawny, honey-brown skin.

Description: Surly, intense, and proud. Ambitious and driven to excellence in everything they do. Willing to give up almost anything for their tennis career. Has a soft-spot for cats. Loves organising things, has a plan for everything, and dislikes surprises.

Tobin Harris The captain

Gender: Follows the gender of your team Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: African-American

Student information: Junior, History major Player information: Captain, No. 2 position, All-court player

Appearance: 5′9 (f) or 6′1 (m). Tall, solid build. Short black hair, warm, brown eyes and a calm, assured demeanour. Dark bronze skin. A smile that lights up the room.

Description: Kind, laid-back, selfless, and sociable. Goes out of their way to make everyone feel welcome, but has a tendency to stuff down their own emotions in the process. Surprisingly private and cautious when it comes to their own desires/wishes. Gentle to a fault, steadfast and unflappable. If not playing tennis, probably can be found cooking, hanging out with friends, or going to the library.

Geneviève/Guillaume Lavigne The exchange student

Gender: Gender selectable (f/m) Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: Half French (father's side), half French-Canadian (mother's side)

Student information: Third year exchange student, Political science bachelor’s degree. Hall-mate.

Appearance: 5′6 (f) or 5′11 (m). Toned, supple build. Dark, tousled hair with fair skin. Smoky grey eyes, with a smattering of freckles. Permanent half-smile.

Description: Rarely excited or enthusiastic, always armed with a dry remark. Slightly cynical, but softer than they look. Very intelligent, though they don't often let on what they're actually thinking or feeling. Rich (and intensely private) inner world.

Sam O'Connelly The childhood best friend

Gender: Gender selectable (f/m) Age: 18, Freshman Nationality/ethnicity: American

Student information: Freshman, Undecided major. Player information: No. 6 position for the UCLA Bruins

Appearance: 5′4 (f) or 5′8 (m). Trim build, with a small frame. Curly russet hair that often sticks out in all directions. Mischievous light blue eyes and an infectious smile.

Description: Excitable, with a chaotic positivity that radiates from them like sunshine. Fun-loving and scattered, and nerdy. Competent tennis player, but too often distracted by other hobbies and interests. Somehow manages to survive on a diet of Cheetos and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

More character descriptions here, face-claims here.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

A Shoo-in Shoebill Stork

The shoebill stork, also known as the whalebill stork or Balaeniceps rex is in fact not a stork at all, but a long-legged wading bird belonging to the family Pelecaniformes. This species can be found in the central African tropics, from southern Sudan to northern Tanzania. Within this range, they mainly inhabit freshwater swamps and dense marshes, particularly those with deep water large reed beds.

Balaeniceps rex is often referred to as a dinosaur among birds due to its fearsome appearance. The average individual stands 1.1-1.4 m (3.6-4.5 ft) tall and has a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 in). However, adults are quite light, weighing only 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). Males tend to be larger than females, but otherwise the two sexes look identical. Adults have dark grey plumage with a lighter belly and darker wings. Their most striking feature is their beak, which is extremely large and can be said to resemble a wooden show (hence the name).

The shoebill's beak is very useful for catching its primary prey: fish. B. rex consumes a variety of species, including lungfish, catfish, and tilapia, as well as non-fish items like water snakes, frogs, turtles, mollusks, and even young crocodiles. Shoebills typically stalk their prey, or stand perfectly still and wait for their prey to come to them, before quickly snatching it up and decapitating it with the sharp edges of their beaks. Because of their large size and strong bills, adults are seldom prey for other animals, and they defend their nests fiercely from predators like snakes and other birds.

Outside of the breeding season-- and even during it-- shoebills are extremely territorial. Not only do they chase potential predators away from their nests, both males and females will fiercely defend their territory from other shoebills.

Breeding begins in the dry season, typically in in May, and lasts until about October. Once a male and female form a pair, they remain together for the duration of the mating season. They build a nest from floating vegetation, and 1-3 eggs are cared for by both parents; in addition to being incubated for warmth, one parent may also occasionally pour a beak-full of water over the eggs to keep them cool during the hot summer day. The eggs hatch about 30 days after being laid, and young are fed continuously-- though usually only one chick survives to adulthood. At 125 days old they become fully independent and leave to establish their own territories. The average individual can live up to 35 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists the whalebill stork as Vulnerable. Current wild population estimates sit at about 5,000-8,000 individuals. Primary threats include poaching for the zoo trade and consumption, habitat destruction, and pollution.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

Photos

Santiago Caballero Carrera

George Amato

Mana Meadows

[vegaly-art]

Morgan and Seer (Desmond "Des") my beloveds. <3 <3 <3 - Morgan's Korean/American, though has little interaction with the rest of his family anymore, just for their own safety. Once he truly became aware of what his powers entailed and was registered as a Seer Obscura he was forced to distance himself from them, and now does a lot of work for DUMP and the Department generally. He often prefers dark, and stark colours. Black, white, and greys mostly litter his wardrobe, with maybe a bit of brown and such too. He just likes being very simple with his colour pallet, and black suits him really well :). It's mostly dressy too. But he tries not to wear anything too dramatic. Not much jewelry, not much cool stuff, etc. He does not want to draw attention, that's the whole point. And he loves the nighttime. Late-night walks or smokes, watching the city go by on the latest bus, or walking home in the dark. It brings him a lot of peace... darkness brings him peace in general. - Desmond (They/Them) is African American, and quite... soft. Emotionally, and in dress. They're just a gentle, kind of anxious soul, who really wants to do good but is overwhelmed by their abilities almost constantly... it's tragic... and they have a lot of awkward tendancies like picking at their nails or playing with the hem of their outfits. They also get cold pretty easily so tend to wear heavier fabrics year round. It's not so bad that they wear heavy jackets in summer but a thicker cotton shirt or turtleneck around that time would not be out of the ordinary. Also they have a slight lazy eye. And both they and Morgan have the same teal fleck in their eyes that Blake did, but again only when using their powers.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Gatecrashers

Help. I bet you smart sleuthers have already covered this topic somewhere around our Tumblr neighborhood, but per usual I'm late to the party. Will someone please help me better understand Sparry's so-called "visit" with the King because the photographs and timing just don't add up. Connecting the dots seems to reveal 2 rebellious overseas unroyals who were determined to show up at Clarence House with or without permission.

On Tuesday, I felt annoyed to see the Royal Family YouTube channel (unaffiliated w/the BRF) patched into a live stream outside of Buckingham Palace. I thought it was a ridiculous invasion of privacy. Now I understand that the King was previously scheduled to arrive at BP (late morning) and the media was waiting to capture the first photo of king Charles post -treatment.

It seems Charles & Camilla were on a tight schedule which could explain the early morning (or overnight) visit with Beatrice & Edo.

The British media obviously knew that Charles was expected at BP and yet they disregarded this important bit of information to focus on Sparry's PR talking points---- all the while these manipulative talking heads knew the King had a prior engagement in his diary.

Pressure Pressure Pressure is what The Meghans wickedly tried to apply to Charles & William. There was even a mention of an EMPTY Frogmore Cottage. How low can these 2 go?🤬

Perhaps Mr and Mrs Sparry informed the men in grey of their plans to gatecrash the king & queen's departure. "Coming with or without permission." This would also explain why they flooded the media with Sparry's intention to see his father "within the next 2 days" followed by that crystal clear photograph at LAX. Someone around our Tumblr community or perhaps on reddit shared a catchy manifesting term...I'm sorry I didn't write it down bc it perfectly describes how The Meghans use her sharp elbows to bully their way through life.

All of this MANIFESTING crap to manipulate a face to face meeting with Charles: a man reeling from a life threatening diagnosis, recovering from an invasive procedure, and preparing for some sort of systemic poison.

Have I mentioned that The Meghans SUCK at compassion!!!

Beatrice & Edo

Doesn't it seem likely that family members have been welcomed to Clarence House (post-diagnosis) to wish Charles well before his Sandringham retreat-----perhaps the beginning of holistic treatments or simply to recover from the 1st of several adjuvant treatments.

The couple seems dressed for an early morning visit with a family member, NOT an audience with the King of England.

vs.

Sparry

Perhaps Sparry told the Palace "Me too! I'm coming to see my father too" and he was told "not this week," and MEgain responded "we'll see about that!"

I seem to remember Sparry had to be forced (by the Queen Elizabeth) to speak to his father and that meeting ended with shouting.

I also seem to remember Sparry had no time to give his family before or after His father's coronation.

As a courtesy, the men in grey delayed KC's departure & granted Sparry an audience with His Majesty the King, not a visit/block of time for a father-son brunch or lunch.

Sparry wearing all black upon his entrance to Clarence House but upon departure he's photographed wearing black and white, with a tie. Why didn't Sparry change clothes on the airplane?

This publicity stunt was meant to bury the African Parks story and the story about the (mon)ARCHewell revolving door. The Meghans have proven to the family (yet again) that there is no bottom to their depravity.

It was also a test for His Majesty's government as they push for IPP status, a campaign for royal housing, and of course information gathering for blackmail.

Let's do the math:

An audience with a sovereign (or even a President) is only about 5-10 minutes plus or minus time for photographs.

Sparry arrived at Clarence House by 2:45pm. Charles & Camilla were in a vehicle by 3:30pm. Sparry (if the photo is current) changed into business attire while at Clarence House. How long was Sparry in the same room as Charles?

Have I mentioned that MEgain and Sparry are SCUM and so are the British talking heads who served as their mouthpieces!?!?!

[dearunreliablenarrator]

I'm here, queer, and highly likely to disappear*; but here's a very unreliable introduction to this narrator.

Hi, I'm Saturn (for now at least, i think.)

I'm a black 20-something year old writer with a imagination that happens to be active at the wrong times. When I'm not writing, you'll find me struggling through classes and holding my cats in air jail for chewing on my clothes. and you probably thought a college dorm dryer was bad...

I often use music as a progression for my writing, using it to build the personality and lifes of my characters, cause I think you can tell a lot about a person with the type of music they listen to. This goes the same for food, whether they're cooking (or lack thereof), eating (which there'll a lot of and not just food), just for the sake of storytelling. Cause food can tell a story too!

You'll also see the use of Sims4 in these posts, there's nothing better to me than to be able to build my world from the ground up even if it is tedious. I often burnout myself out between both writing and building so its nice to be able to switch between the two! here's a small character visual as a start!

it's also nice to watch my characters evolve real time, they tend to outgrow some things faster than i can keep up.

As a current researching and scrappy practitioner, you will see hints of practical magic(k)/workings/information in my works. Influences from traditionally african american practices will be underlying themes in this world of mine; within my scope of course. How my characters navigate through a world that is both mundane and spiritual is something they'll have to overcome in all aspects; and how they affect future lives and timelines is all hanging on the fading tradition of storytelling.

follow, share, and embrace their stories; because there's only one way to keep them alive.

as for what i write or rather my niche: the unreliable multiverse

genres: (comp) (hist) (queer) romance, urban/southern horror, urban fantasy, and apocalyptic sci-fic.

topics/tropes: religious deconstruction, religious trauma, witchcraft (mundane, practical, scrappy, cultural, A(A)TRs.) anti-racism/racism,politics, social structure,found family, star-crossed lovers, childhood friends to lovers, ancestral/familial secrets, morally-grey protagonists,coming of age, the anti-christ, HEA, small town horror, mental illness/disorders, philosophy.

for some these topics may be a lot, and while i want my writing to be a source of escapism...fiction will always be influenced by reality, and that is something that will be in my writing (just not to the extremes), expect CW and TWs but they will not always be there.

CURRENT WIPs: the big three

Where The River Bends:

Bored of modern romance and her own life, Elaine Brown suffers from being a daydreaming, skeptical, hopeless romantic. In a plead to the Universe to grace her with a new addition to her routine, she finds herself stumbling into spell unlike her very own. Warren Soo has be dreaming of a life where days can feel like a breath of fresh air. When a random chance driven by his choices puts him in the space of unsuspecting Elaine, he can't help but be bewitched by the ease in which her days go by. Together, they navigate the modern world of romance with just the sprinkle of magic.

theme song

tag: #goddamnitsamson

Aletheia:

Sanctum, place of human design created to preserve those who survived the last of nature's destruction. When humanity was suddenly reckoned with the damage of over creation they are forced to pick between two things.

Stay or leave.

For those that had the ability to leave, Sanctum embraced them with open arms; promising a generational haven within their walls. Here, the people are communities; removed from the worries of past plagues and mortal insecurities. But all peace must follow order.

Questioning the world she's grown in , Emilia Porter has wanted to escape the stone boundary of Sanctum. Taking a chance to explore the land beyond, she registers for the Vanguard; the exploration and task forces that protect and serve the lasting stand of humanity.

Now away from the containing hands of those who seek perfection, she must weigh the truths; both tailored and unwritten.

theme song

tag: #findthetruthyouseek

Cherries Under The Sun:

A southern gothic horror that follows Grace Davis even in her dreams. Stuck in a constant cycle of despair, Grace often finds herself living in a loop of a forgotton past, wondering about the should've, would've, and could haves of her life. When her small college town of Marietta is shaken by a rise in missing cases, her hollow world soon becomes a flash of white papers and bloody lines. Now that her daily life of being ignored comes to halt and the lives of those around her are blurring together, they must now find a way to get their world back to normal. Before it is erased altogether.

theme song; intro; taglist

tag: #howsweettheesound

I don't know what else to put here, but that my characters are much like myself. Weird, witchy, creepy, romantic, sensitive,sarcastic, inquisitive (that's a big word for elmo), and a range of clumsy that only a handful of people can enjoy sooo...

IF you've found me or my wips to be interesting, please feel free to follow, ask a question or comment. Thanks for reading all this and from reader to another, create the book you've always wanted to see. Edison out!

i also don't really know how taglist work but if you wanna here's where to keep up! #theunreliableverse

1.* psst...you can find me and (to be)published works here!

[gavin-reed-is-gay]

DBH Children Headcanons

Just like to preface this by saying that I love making fan-children for my favourite ships so I don’t care about “oh they wouldn’t have kids” or “this doesn’t make sense”. This is for my own amusement so just letting you know before you go on.

Also, I can't draw for shit but if people like my dbh children and want to see more, I will make them on the Sims or online (dress up games) and post them here. Let me know if that's something that would be of interest. I'll also answer asks about them and whatever if anyone is interested

Taglist for those who said that they were interested in my headcanons: @sundownridge @kristopher-1105 @dbhstruggleposting @glass-noodle @fearlessjones @heiko-goes-detroit

Connor + Hank

Name: Nicole (named after Cole)

Birthday: May 21st (gemini)

Appearance: She has Hank’s eyes and Connor’s hair. Her hair is fluffy/curly (like Bryan’s hair) and its shoulder length, tied into a ponytail (she also has a fluffy/curly fringe similar to Connor’s)

Other features: She has Connor’s freckles (not exact but similar) and wears glasses (inspired by the popular headcanon that human Connor wears them)

Info/Background: So, my headcanon for their child is that Connor is the one who asks Hank if they can have a child. Connor has been seeing other androids having their own families and he wants one as well. He would never pressure Hank into this but Hank agrees of his own volition and even though he’s older now, a part of him wants to try again. They have a baby via science (it’s the future, doesn’t need to make sense, haha) Because it is through science, they’re able to give her Connor’s hair and freckles but her facial features (skin, shape of eyes, nose etc) come from Hank’s dna.

Personality: - Ok so, for their daughter, I headcanon her to be someone who is adventurous and loves to have fun. She loves being outdoors, being active and anything athletic, like sports and dancing - She loves the heat and hates the cold (this is a nod to how cole died) - Even though her name is Nicole, she prefers the name Nicky (Hank called her that in the beginning because he couldn't bear to say "cole" yet and it just stuck) - She knows different forms of self-defence, mainly due to Connor's influence and she loves it. She can pull of moves that even has Connor going "damn" - She smiles a lot, like a lot a lot. Very rarely will you ever see her not smiling and laughing

Favourites: - Colour: Pink/blues - Symbol: Heart

Jericrew

Name: Riley (named after Markus’ removed romantic interest, Riley)

Birthday: November 9th (scorpio)

Appearance: Similar to her game counterpart, except her braid goes down her back instead of to the side (to distinguish her from north but in my head, she wears her hair like north's because she admires her so much) and she has grey eyes (this is a nod to her eyes being blurred out in her images)

Info/Background: Riley is left at New Jericho’s doorstep. Jericrew know that they should hand her over to humans but despite the positive aftermath of the revolution, they are still distrustful of humans. By time they decide what to do, they have already fallen for her. After caring for her for a while, Markus is inspired to fight for androids rights to adopt human children. Of course, humans are not pleased about this and there is a huge argument and debate around it but eventually it is legalised and she becomes part of their family.

Personality: So, even though her personality isn't touched upon at all, I've come up with some traits from the information and pics shown in Riley's wiki - Becomes an artist (inspired by Markus) - Good listener and advisor - Self-confident and assured - Into the boho style - Loves plants and flowers - Well-educated (this part comes from Josh, who would have taught her a lot)

Favourites: - Colour: Jade - Symbol: Chevron

Markus + Simon

Name: Milo

Birthday: July 8th (cancer)

Appearance: He is African American with short brown Afro-textured hair, shaved at the sides and light brown eyes

Info/Background: Milo is adopted by Markus and Simon after Riley grows up a bit. I imagine that because Simon is a domestic droid, he loves kids and once Riley becomes older, he aches for having a little one around the house again.

Personality: - Him being into fashion and dressing cool (since people love how Markus and Simon dress) is always something that I've liked - Combination of Markus and Simon's traits (determined, loyal, soft etc etc)

Favourites: - Colour: Dark pink

Leo + KL900

Name: Scarlett (named after Carl)

Birthday: August 15th (leo)

Appearance: So, because she was created through science, she looks like Leo and a KL900 combined. She has black braided hair which is tied up into a high bun and she has Leo’s eyes.

Info/Personality: So, a little backstory on this crack-ship. Because KL900’s are created for social care, I headcanon that they have them in rehab centres. While at rehab, Leo meets a KL900 (which I have dubbed Kelly) and they fall for each other. Their daughter is born after Carl dies (of age) and Leo names her after him.

Personality: - Wants to become an actress - Has Leo's jealousy issues - Is confident in her abilities which makes her come off as a bit vain

Favourites: - Colour: Cyan - Symbol: Teardrop

Chris Miller

Name: Damian

Birthday: August 9th (leo)

Appearance: Ok this is just me but I headcanon that he dyes his hair part blonde during his teen years. I’m probably the only person whose given any thought about Damian’s appearance but ever since it entered by head, it won’t leave

Personality: - Ok, so because Chris' concept name was Chad, I headcanon Damian to be the definition of the slang meaning of a "chad" (but without all the assholishness that comes with it)

Favourites: - Colour: Beige

Name: Sarah

Birthday: June 30th (cancer)

Appearance: Chris’ hair/eye colour and Afro-textured hair that falls down to her shoulders

Info/Background: Not much to say except that I headcanon that he would have another child somewhere down the line

Personality: - She has a very "airy" personality. Like air, she's light, bouncy, free and just chill to get along with. She's gentle, caring, respectful and kind - Cries easily

Favourites: - Colour: Violet - Symbol: Butterfly

Gavin + Nines

Name: Curtis (named after Gavin’s concept name. Also Curtis means “polite/courteous and given Gavin’s personality, I think that is hilarious 😂)

Birthday: September 22nd (libra)

Appearance: He has Gavin’s eyes and Nines’ hair colour. His hair is a combination of Bryan’s curly hair and Gavin’s hair from the reed900 movies (I haven’t watched them but I’ve seen a lot of fan-art with Gavin’s hair drawn like his and it seems appropriate to give his son that hairstyle) Because it is through science, they’re able to give him Nines’ hair and freckles but his facial features (skin, shape of eyes, nose etc) come from Gavin’s dna.

Other features: He has Nines’ freckles (not exact but similar)

Info/Background: I headcanon that after Nicole is born, Nines and Gavin both get baby fever and want a child as well. Science baby, of course.

Personality: - So, I know that this isn't original but I like the idea of Gavin's kid being the opposite of him. Curtis is polite, courteous, well-behaved, never swears, humble, friendly, sociable, charming, funny, everyone who meets him just thinks he's so nice etc etc - But in saying that, there a few traits he gets from Gavin. He is ambitious and an over-achiever. He's not bookish per-say but wants to do his best at anything he tries - I know I said he never swears but that's more in general. He will swear if he's mad or if he hurts himself by accident (stubbing his toe etc) - Also, his first word was "phck" much to shock of both Nines and Gavin, the latter swearing black and blue that he never said it in front of him (he did)

Favourites: - Colour: Green

Tina + ST300

Name: Katie

Birthday: October 19th (libra)

Appearance: She has Tina’s eyes and Staci’s (my name for the st300) hair that is shoulder length and tied into two low pigtails

Other features: She has freckles like Staci

Info/Background: A couple years after Gavin and Nines have their child, Tina and Staci decide to have one through science as well. Because it is through science, they’re able to give her Staci’s hair and freckles but her facial features (skin, shape of eyes, nose etc) come from Tina’s dna.

Personality: - I headcanon that she has fanon Tina's personality. If you've ever read most reed900 fics, you'll know that Tina has been given the traits of "party-animal, doesn't take shit, loves to tease, always the optimism to Gavin's cynicism, always has her friend's backs etc" - Since we don't know much about canon Tina, I gave her fanon traits to Katie

Favourites: - Colour: Olive green - Symbol: Flower

Elijah + Chloe

Name: Adam (a nod to the first man on earth because Adam is the first human born from an android)

Birthday: February 3rd (aquarius)

Appearance: He has Eli’s hair colour (his original brown, not his dyed hair) and eye colour. His hair is half-shaven and swept to one side

Info/Background: I headcanon that Eli has been experimenting and he alters Chloe so that she is able to give birth to children. Eli tells no one until Chloe is pregnant. The world is informed and watches to see if it works. It does and even though only one was predicted to be born, they have twins. Because this is the first baby born through an android, only Kamski's dna is able to be used so he has his eyes, hair, facial features etc Personality: - Genius (like his father) - Relaxed and nonchalant. Not a serious person - Enjoys the spotlight and fame of not only being a Kamski but also being the first human born from an android - Frivolous with money - Social butterfly, loves being around people and going to parties - Loves being in public - Always in the media for somethingFavourites: - Colour: Blue

Name: Ava (a nod to Eve but the e’s are changed to a’s to be alliterate with Adam’s name)

Birthday: February 3rd (aquarius)

Appearance: She has Eli’s hair colour (his original brown, not his dyed hair) and eye colour. Her hair is long and styled into a high ponytail

Info/Background: Same as Adam’s

Personality: - Genius (like her father) - Business savvy and ambitious (I haven't picked a career for her yet but she becomes highly successful like Eli) - Workaholic - Stubborn - Studious - Unlike her twin, she is smart with money - Is wary of befriending people because of her fame and status - Prefers to keep her personal business private - Not a big fan of the media

Favourites: - Colour: Red - Symbol: Diamond

Name: Noah

Birthday: March 8th (pisces)

Appearance: He has Chloe’s hair and Eli’s eyes. He has long hair that falls to his shoulders

Info/Background: Ok, so originally he wasn’t supposed to exist but after coming up with his personality and why he exists, I couldn’t resist. So, the reason why he was born is because Chloe wanted a child that looked like her. Because she was the first android to have a child, only Eli’s dna was used so Adam and Ava only have Kamski dna. Noah is more mixed.

Other features: Wears glasses

Personality: - Genius (he is the smartest of the three children) - So personally, I don't believe that Eli is evil but I know that it's a popular interpretation in the fandom so I went with it for his son - He is sociopathic and sadistic. He is reclusive, hates humanity and only respects his mother and other androids - He hates his father (because eli didn't want another child but only did it because chloe wanted it so while noah and chloe are extremely close, he isn't close with his father at all) - Because he is the third Kamski child, he isn't paid as much attention to as the other two by the public because he doesn't go out or isn't venturing into the business scene so this has left him bitter and jealous of his siblings - Wants to lead another android revolution and believes that androids should be ruling the world, not humans - Is loyal, obedient and very nurturing towards Chloe - To me, if I was a fic writer, Noah is someone who would be the big bad so his fate is that he would either end up dying or going to jail

Favourites: - Colour: Purple

Other

So, I made this next character purely for the purpose of shipping her with another one of my character's, Nicole but I lover her so much now that even if I changed my mind, she's staying

Name: Samantha Stern

Birthday: October 28th (scorpio)

Appearance: She has human Amanda's facial features, hair and eye colour. Her hair is straight and long

Other features: She wears glasses

Info/Background: Samantha Stern is a relative of Amanda Stern (the human amanda). She lived in England until she moves to Detroit. She meets Nicole in her young adult years and she ends up being a kindergarten teacher. I'm 50/50 on this but I like her having a british accent

Personality: - She is the opposite of AI Amanda in every way - She is an open book, has a warm attitude towards everyone, open to change, can be absent minded at times, encouraging, understanding, forgiving, compassionate and gentle - She's also independent and prefers to make her own way in life - When it comes to clothing, she hates big/dangly, shiny jewelery, long sleeved clothing and loves wearing dresses, skirts and shorts

Favourites: - Colour: Yellow - Symbol: Star