#but that's only thanks to the very specific circumstances that occurred

[meanbossart]

I was wondering, how did DU Drow took to Orins betrayal? To her being the one that stabbed him in the back, and so how did his infatuation and imprinting on her changed or twisted? Did he feel anything when he saw her again? Did his body or mind remembered how he felt about her once? Also do not worried for long replies because I’m a sucker for them 🧛🏻‍♀️

You know, actually I like thinking about the very moment of the betrayal a lot and the rollercoaster of emotions DU drow would have experienced LOL I don't know EXACTLY how Orin managed to get away after mushing up his brain (and him being immediately rendered unconscious sounds a little boring to me) but I assume, wherever they were at the time - probably mindflayer hideout at Ketheric's I believe - she lured him somewhere where she could make a quick get-away and leave him behind either locked away or stuck when he inevitably reacted to what she did, before his mind started drifting away.

Which is just to say he would have had a few minutes of consciousness left immediately after-the fact. Orin got a head-start because he simply could not believe what had just happened: lots of "what did you do? what did you do? why did you do that?" followed by unbridled anger as reality settled in. He assumed he was going to die, so, If he could have gotten to Orin in time DU drow would have killed her. Instead he was left alone in what was probably the most terrifying and anxiety inducing few minutes he ever had in his life before his body and brain just gave out lol

POST the tadpole he remembered nothing. He had no feelings of sadness or mourning when he saw her, just a lot of rage. The weird "imprinting" he does on people was reset when his brains got scrambled, and he felt no love or affection for her from that point on. That said, I think he found something a little gross in the satisfaction he felt upon killing her, like he finally "got her" - if you catch my drift.

What's a little ironic (and kinda sad) here is that it's thanks to his affection towards Astarion that DU drow could even begin to understand concepts like consent and boundaries - these would have been key to realize that the position he put Orin in for years was profoundly uncomfortable and unfair, and perhaps with that in mind he *could* have somehow reached out to her and maybe even spared her of her own fate (I'm not entirely sure about this because of how faithful she was to Bhaal - but it would have at least raised the chances THE TINIEST BIT), but since the relationship was only possible BECAUSE his memories were erased, leaving nothing but resentment towards her, that became an impossibility. You can't have both; his infatuation with her either ceased and he completely forgot he ever cared for her and hence had no motivation to save her, or he remained utterly obsessed and never developed the relationships necessary to understand his role in his own demise.

In that later scenario the best he would have been able to do by the time he got to her was insist they go rogue, fuck Bhaal and fuck this, come with me and lets go be crazy [together] somewhere else and of our own accord - but obviously, Orin would have had no interest in the offer lmao and things would have ended up the same as they did in the main campaign - except now DU drow is a slightly worse person and doesn't have Astarion to hone him in. Even after she died I don't think a relationship between them could have sparked either, likely BECAUSE his obsession with Orin would have skeeved him away entirely.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

You might’ve already received an ask like this, but I think it’s interesting how similar Malleus and what we see of Maleanor(I think that’s how you spell her name) are. I mean they are mother and son they’re obviously going to be similar, but specifically I find it interesting that they have almost the exact same arrogance.

When reacting to the threat of the Silver Owls and S.T.Y.X’s forces respectively, both the previous princess and the current prince treat it like more of an annoyance than a real threat. The thought that they could genuinely lose doesn’t even seem to cross their mind, I mean in all fairness Maleanor does acknowledge the idea that she might lose but I doubt she really feels scared in the moment.

There isn’t much to this ask, I just think it’s interesting and might be some foreshadowing on how Malleus’ arrogance is going to lead to his downfall.

This isn’t exactly the same thing, but this ask also compares and contrasts Malleus with his mother under the scope of “maturity”.

Arrogance is a natural consequence of anyone having power, especially for a family as powerful as the Draconias. It often doesn’t occur to those at the top that they could fall from grace. In other cases, it’s ignorance as the result of never wanting and thus having a limited understanding of the world beyond their small insulated one. (This is the case for Kalim.)

I think the circumstances you described aren’t exactly equivalent so it’s somewhat limited to directly compare mother and son. Malleus already knows what Styx is (thanks to Lilia) and suspects they aren’t after him (because why would they be at this point in the story??). This is confirmed in one of Malleus’s dialogue lines: “No wonder they didn’t come after me.” Maleanor, meanwhile, is facing a significant foreign threat and knows she has a target on her back, since she leads the military forces. She also has a lot more riding on her shoulders if she fails, considering she has both her country and her newborn son to think about.

But I think your general point is still valid; Malleus and Maleanor are arrogant because their immense power affords them this luxury. It’s a vulnerability they share as mother and son, but I also think that they differ due to their ages and the eras in which they grew up.

Maleanor had to be strong and resilient because she lived in a period of time when mages (and fae in particular) seemed to still be feared. Malleus has a lot less life experience but he also lives in an era of relative peace. He does not need to be as alert as his mother was, and has yet to face any real national-level threat. Thus, Malleus is more arrogant because he has yet to be challenged to the same degree his mother was.

I would say that Maleanor is still arrogant (she clearly still feels comfortable making demands of Lilia and throwing fits when she doesn’t get her way), that much is true. However, she also has lived long enough to gain far more wisdom and experience than Malleus has. When you’re a child, you feel as though nothing can touch you. When you’re an adult (as Maleanor is), you’re aware of many more factors which could topple you.

We can’t be certain how she really felt about the Silver Owls storming her country, but I get the sense that Maleanor realized she was in danger and only put on a brave face because she’s such an important public figure. That’s where her arrogance comes in; she can’t afford to let that slip. If she shows weakness, it doesn’t exactly reassure her people, who are already very stressed. She has already seen many of her soldiers fall on top of her husband (someone whom she loves deeply) going missing. These are prominent reminders to her that fae, no matter how powerful or influential they are, can be ended. Maleanor also speaks in a manner which implies she is fully willing to make that ultimate sacrifice; she hands her child to Lilia and instructs him to guard her son in her stead, then casts a spell which prevents Lilia from running to her side to fight with her. It makes me feel like she knows she’s essentially marching to her death. She didn’t want to get her dear friend and son caught up in that, so she sent them on their way while she stayed behind.

So in a way, Malleus and Maleanor’s arrogance is paralleled rather than being the exact same. The inexperienced son is still riding the high of being untouchable, while the mother, knowing that her time had come, wasn’t willing to go down without a fight. Slightly different circumstances, as I’ve said—but it’s still interesting to see how the traits of the parent persist in their child, and how that may indicate how Malleus develops moving forward.

[leelarots]

DECA STUFF

this is a master post about my au/fic canon for the deca. i will link this in my deca posts in future, so i don't feel like I have to explain stuff every time. thank you so much to this sub-fandom for making me feel so welcome!

current lineup:

6/10 drawn, design ages frozen at 18-25

to do: vansell, drax, mortimus, jelpax

basic info from left to right:

Magnus | 6'4 | Oakdown | hazel eyes, black hair

Ushas | 6'0 | [?] | 'black' eyes, dark brown hair [portrait]

Koschei | 5'7 | Oakdown | blue-grey eyes, black hair [portrait]

Theta | 5'8 | Lungbarrow | brown eyes, light brown hair [portrait]

Millennia | 5'3 | Brightshore | hazel eyes, blue hair

Rallon | 5'10 | Stillhaven | brown eyes, black hair

[other info on the fic(s) below cut]

current word count: 2.3k

the fic:

will be separated into different 'books', each focusing on a select few characters and one main plot each.

will have theta as a regular gallifreyan instead of half human or another species. however, it's worth noting that for the narrative, I am going to make all 'freyans have some human genes due to past inbreeding

(with luck!) will be partially illustrated

won't be an attempt at following the incredibly messy canon. godspeed to those who try.

won't be centred around thoschei. as much as I wish it was, writing worldbuilding for gallifrey and fleshing out other members of the deca is also enjoyable to write about

other notes on my worldbuilding:

at this point in time, time lord households do not refer to parents or siblings. the hierarchy goes from bottom to top cousins -> aunts/uncles -> granny/grampas -> kitriarch

theta may not be half human/the timeless child, but I aim to still make him 'adopted'. he knows who his father is, but his mother is not of rank, and left him as a baby outside of the lungbarrow household. the connection between him and braxtiel is that they were both left with a note in the same handwriting, addressed to their father.

koschei's 'hypnotic' nature and high telepathic ability is a rare genetic condition. most gallifreyans have a weak latent touch telepathy, trained up in the academy. hypnosis is a different story, but koschei can carry off a potent version of hypnotism without training. he is only in the academy because of his condition.

related to the above's last sentence, becoming a time lord is somewhat class locked due to the initial exam for joining the academy requiring training only supplied by expensive tutoring. if you are not born into a time lord family, it is very difficult to get in.

a main theme of the fics will be around the stagnation that occurs when people in power do not change. as the occupants of the high council live for so long, they have the ability to enforce only their beliefs/beliefs of a small bubble, refusing to move with the times or address changing circumstance.

looming has only just come into existence during the fic canon. none (or at least most) of the deca are not loomed.

'shobogans' are the occupants of the capitol's surrounding slums. this may change.

religion is banned/illegal, but I aim to portray that as being hypocritical—time lords started out as a religious sect. the cloisters are indeed remnants of the original religious building, buried underneath the capitol.

a large portion of gallifrey is not optimal for human-like life. the largest part of the planet's gallifreyan population is centred in the glass globe cities, such as arcadia or the capitol.

humans regularly trade with gallifrey, although the trade lines go: widespread human trade lines -> undocked spaceships around gallifrey -> permanent human settler-traders on the planet. it is not permitted for anyone to go to and from gallifrey freely without a specific, hard to obtain permit. time lords can obtain a permit more easily.

related to above, this is my reason as to why gallifrey has cats and other human items. some human plants and animals are considered invasive.

human-gallifreyan marriage is somewhat taboo. theta is commonly rumoured to be half human without basis because of his being 'different'. once again, the fact most gallifreyans are part human is to show that they are hypocritical.

I could go on, but I won't lol this is long

I am aware of how ambitious this project is. for that reason, I can never promise that the whole fic series will be completed. drawing and sharing my headcanons is enjoyable for me, though, as the deca is my current favourite thing. it's been years of me tinkering about with them in silence, I'm rather hoping I can find others who like my ideas.

my ao3 is soupsmog

want to know something specific? want to talk? pop me an ask, comment on my deca related posts, or join this academy era server, where I'm pretty active. dms are not really open because they make me anxious, sorry!

[cripplecharacters]

In general, how would you approach writing nonhuman/feral characters with disabilities? How would you balance the symptoms animals usually show vs human symptoms, experiences and available accomodations?

I'm considering giving my Warrior Cats character with TBI-induced blindness (yes, I know, these books are awful about disability rep and yet I can't help but get attached) a guide animal of some sort, but... in real life blind cats can get by just fine using their whiskers, and though realism isn't a concern here, I'm worried that'll come across as nonsensical. However, I'm personally uncomfortable with writing yet another blind character that doesn't need mobility aids despite not being able to distinguish objects from one another "properly". He may not be totally blind, but I feel like I'd be contributing to the misconceptions surrounding my own condition that way. Thoughts?

Thank you for your ask! In real life animals, including cats, have been known to assign themselves as a guide for a blind packmate, usually walking on the side with less vision to help with navigation. Sometimes an animal of another species will act as a guide, but only if they’re bonded. This also occurs more often in domesticated animals, so if you don’t want the guide to be another cat you could do something like a dog, chicken or rat (though I’d imagine the last two would be hard to keep in a cat pack!).

You could also have your character able to move around unassisted in familiar areas that he is often in, but need assistance in unfamiliar areas.

As for writing your character, I’d say research how his injury affects his other senses. Touch, smell, hearing and limb movement can be affected by a traumatic brain injury, and it would definitely affect your character's ability to get around.

As of now, this blog unfortunately doesn’t have any blind mods (applications are still open as of posting this). However, you can check out other blogs for more information on blindness, such as BlindBeta, AskABlindPerson, and Mimzy-Writing-Online.

Have a lovely day!

Mod Rot

Hi!

When talking about TBI induced blindness, you have to keep in mind that it's different from ocular blindness. The brain-based type of blindness is called CVI, or Cortical Visual Impairment, and it's very common!

(Note: I have done a lot of research on CVI, but I don't have it myself. I heavily encourage you to check the blogs that Rot mentioned!)

A CVI will often have different symptoms than ocular blindness. For example, the character's field of view could be severely limited - the left (or right, or top, or bottom...) half of their vision could be non-existent, and the other half could be what is sometimes described as "incomprehensible". It could also present in infinitely different ways from that, as it can be very diverse!

CVI is often fluid and the person (or cat) can function very differently depending on the circumstances like fatigue or stress or even the weather. If he's having a horrible day he will be able to understand the visual input less than when he's doing fantastic.

With CVI, it's important to remember that visual acuity generally won't be the main problem, but the brain's comprehension of the image is. This is where cat-available accommodations can hopefully come in.

Showing him experiencing visual fatigue and how he deals with it could be one of them! During his kitty activities he could prefer to have them spaced out so that he only sees one at a time and makes it easier for his brain to comprehend without tiring him out. A cluttered environment would probably only make it worse, so you can have him make sure that everything is nice and in its place. He could also take longer to recognize new objects or cats.

If he has, for example, very limited field of vision, then he could have his kitty house (I don't know how warrior cats work I'm trying my best here) arranged so that it would work for him; i.e. everything being on a specific height.

I also very much agree with Rot that he should have more symptoms than just blindness! One example of a brain-based cat disability could be cerebellar hypoplasia; it can't be caused by a TBI, but it causes ataxia which can be a result of a TBI (mildly complicated, sorry). Either way you can use it as a reference to visualize how your character could move!

I hope this helps! I really appreciate the effort of trying to include disability accommodations in a character who's a forest cat.

mod Sasza

[angeliicheartt]

elle’s final project for ap psych ! psychoanalyzing the cruel prince !

before you read ! i literally did this so i could pass my class and likely some of my observations are not completely accurate. one of the requirements for this assignment was to assign a character a mental disorder. i assigned cardan antisocial personality disorder but i do not believe he has it ! it is literally just for the grade. also i was explaining this to my gen x (maybe boomer actually) teacher so the summary and my descriptions are not very detailed (but are also kind of overdetailed?) so, here’s ur warning.

thank you, enjoy!

Summary & Importance

“The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black follows Jude Duarte, a mortal, human girl who, along with her twin sister, Taryn, and her older sister Vivi, is taken to the land of Faerie at the age of 7 after witnessing the murder of her parents by a faerie general named Madoc, who is also Vivi’s father. Raised among the faeries, Jude struggles to find her place in a world where she is considered inferior for being mortal.

At the school that Jude goes to, her and her sister are targeted by the youngest prince of Faerie, Cardan Greenbriar, and his group of friends consistently, for being mortal. Tension builds between Jude and Cardan throughout the book, as they are pushed together by circumstances.

After being denied by Madoc to become a knight, Jude gets an offer from her enemy’s second eldest brother, the crown prince, Dain Greenbriar, to become a spy in his court of shadows. The story follows Jude as she finds out all kinds of secrets about the royal family of Faerie.

Jude tries to balance her normal life during the night, as faeries are primarily nocturnal, and her life as a spy in the early hours of the morning. She’s tasked with investigating Balekin, the eldest prince of Faerie, whose growing tension with Dain only intensifies as Dain’s coronation grows closer.

As Jude investigates, she finds out secrets about Cardan, who, after getting kicked out of the Palace of Elfhame, now stays with the only brother who would take him in.

Dain’s coronation comes around and Balekin, after attempting to force the High King to name him the next High King, kills all of his siblings and father, besides Cardan, because the crown, named the blood crown, was enchanted so that only members of the royal bloodline may pass the crown down to another member of the royal bloodline. As everyone breaks into chaos, Jude and Cardan find each other and escape. Jude leads him to the court of shadows, as a “hostage,” and works with him to make a plan to defeat Balekin.

Balekin sends out parties to find Cardan, as he is the only known person who can crown him High King. He throws a ball to lift the spirits of the gentry, who had doubted his ruling due to his display at Dain’s coronation. Jude arrives with Cardan to the ball, and together, with the help of the court of shadows, defeat Balekin and crown Cardan High King.

When I first read this series, I was completely engrossed in the alternate world of Faerie and the drama and romance that occurs. Along with that drama comes a lot of killing and death. The different plot twists and heart-wrenching scenes came to mind when I first heard about the final project and thought it would be perfect to analyze.

Perspectives

Madoc is the Grand General, as well as Jude’s adoptive father. From an evolutionary perspective, Madoc can be analyzed through the lens of survival of the fittest. As a high-ranking member of the faerie court, Madoc exudes dominance through his need for power and control. His actions, such as fostering Jude can be seen as kin selection, as he ensures the survival and success of his own bloodline. Additionally, Madoc’s ruthless and aggressive nature aligns with the evolutionary perspective, specifically with mating strategies, as he may seek to eliminate his rivals to maximize his reproductive success and secure resources for his offspring. Finally, his willingness to manipulate and exploit others reflects adaptive behaviors for social dominance in the Faerie world.

Cardan Greenbriar is the main rival in “The Cruel Prince,” turned ally in the last parts of the book. Through the sociocultural lens of psychology, we can see how Cardan’s cruel and manipulative nature can be understood because of his distressing upbringing in the cruel faerie court, where power dynamics and deception are normalized. His behavior may also reflect the impact of societal norms and expectations within the faerie realm, where strength, dominance, and beauty are valued above all else. Furthermore, Cardan’s complex relationship with his family and peers shapes his self-image and behaviors, as he navigates loyalty, betrayal, and social hierarchy. Moreover, his interactions with Jude and other characters highlight the role of socialization and personal relationships in shaping individual personality traits and behaviors within the context of the Faerie world.

Jude Duarte is the main character in “The Cruel Prince,” and the adopted daughter of the Grand General. Jude can be analyzed through the behavioral lens by looking at her actions, motivations, and responses to different situations. Her resilience and determination to survive and thrive in the deceptive Faerie court demonstrate adaptive behaviors shaped by her environment. She tries her best to act and live like the Fae. Jude’s strategic decision-making, cunning, and willingness to manipulate others reflect her ability to learn and adapt to complex social dynamics around her. In addition, her defiance against societal norms and expectations within the faerie world showcases her independence, despite being a human in a world dominated by faeries. On top of that, her internal conflicts and moral dilemmas provide insight into the psychological toll of navigating power struggles and ethical uncertainties in a hostile environment. Overall, Jude’s behavior reflects a blend of innate traits and learned responses, shaped by her experiences and interactions within the Faerie realm.

Biological Bases of Behavior

The amygdala is located near the hippocampus and controls emotion and survival responses, specifically aggression, fear, and fear memories. Jude’s amygdala is likely very active as she must always be on alert and almost always in “fight or flight” mode, due to being mortal in the Faerie world.

The cerebellum is at the base of the skull and controls balance and muscle coordination. Jude’s cerebellum is also very active, for swordplay, you must have amazing balance and muscle coordination.

The motor cortex is at the back of the frontal lobe and controls voluntary muscle movements. Jude’s motor cortex would be the part of the brain that’s active while she’s fighting, as to swing her sword or dodge.

The somatosensory cortex is at the front of the parietal lobe and processes sensory information. This part of the brain is active while Jude fights and when she gets hit to notify the rest of the brain that the body has been harmed.

The prefrontal cortex is at the front of the frontal lobe and manages planning, decision making, and distinguishing right and wrong. Jude’s prefrontal cortex is very active near the end of the book as she plans and leads the charge to make sure Balekin does not get crowned High King, as she must plan the attack, make quick decisions when something goes awry and distinguish if crowning Cardan is really the right thing to do.

Jude was raised in the mortal world until she was 7 years old, however she spent most of her life in Elfhame, raised among the Fae and the Gentry. She is trained personally by Madoc, the grand general, in the art of the sword and warfare. Before Jude became a spy, she stuck by what she knew and stayed with her family, as humans are predestined to do. However, afterwards, her nurtured side took over, and she seemed all the daughter that Madoc raised, weaned on swordplay and battles.

Sensation and Perception

The difference threshold is the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time. Cardan, apart from Jude and Taryn’s family, is the only character in “The Cruel Prince” that can tell Jude and Taryn apart, by the smallest difference.

Feature detectors are specialized neurons that respond to specific stimuli li and process faces, smiles, and parts of the body. Jude’s feature detectors work constantly throughout the book as she analyzes and reads her opponents and foes.

Learning

Classical conditioning is learning to make an involuntary response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the response. In “The Cruel Prince,” Cardan stiffens under Balekin’s touch, who has previously abused Cardan. So, the very act of Balekin touching Cardan causes him to stiffen in preparation for impact, which is the involuntary response in this situation.

Negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior. As Taryn conforms to the norms of the Fae, and stays to herself, Cardan and his group of friends stop bothering her, and focus on Jude, who does all she can to stand out. So, in this situation, the unpleasant stimulus is Cardan and his group of friends tormenting Taryn, and once she stops trying to be equal with the Fae, that stimulus is removed.

Positive punishment is when an unpleasant or aversive stimulus is added to reduce a behavior. In “The Cruel Prince,” from pages 117 to 119, Balekin, Cardan’s eldest brother, has a human servant whip his back, for being weak and not properly sword fighting, and then again for not killing the human servant.

Observational learning is the learning of new behavior through watching a model. When Jude is first enlisted as a spy, she’s loud and exposed. But, by watching the other members of the Court of Shadows, she learns how to conceal herself and properly be a spy.

Cognitive Psychology

Flashbulb memories are unexpected events that have strong emotional associations. In “The Cruel Prince,” Valerian, who was one of Cardan’s friends who tormented Jude, tries to kill Jude, however he fails, and Jude ends up killing him instead. Valerian uses his last words to curse Jude, he says “I curse you... I curse you. Three times, I curse you. As you’ve murdered me, may your hands always be stained with blood. May death be your only companion. May you—”and then he dies, (211). Then, continuously throughout the book, and going into the other books, Valerian’s words constantly replay in Jude’s head.

Implicit memories are memories for skills, habits, and learned/conditioned responses. Since Jude was 7 and first came to the Faerie world, she had been trained with the sword and learned the ways of war by her “adoptive” father, Madoc, otherwise known as the Grand General. Throughout the book, Jude shows off these skills of swordplay, scheming, and how to see through your opponents.

Developmental Psychology

Oak is the youngest and only brother of Jude’s; he is 7 years old in the first book of the series. In Piaget’s terms, he is in the concrete operational stage. Oak is in the age range for concrete operational stage, but also, he has trouble understanding the complexities of what is going on around him at the end of the book with the issue of who will be king. In Erikson’s terms, Oak is in the industry vs. Inferiority stage. Again, Oak is in the age range for Industry vs. Inferiority, but also throughout each of the books he tries to apply himself to be like Jude and protect his family, specifically his adoptive mother, Oriana. And finally, in Kohlberg’s terms, Oak is in the preconventional morality stage. Again, he is in the correct age range, but also, Jude mentions that once, Oak repeatedly made Jude hit herself with glamour, which is faerie magic that can make humans do whatever they tell them to, and he only stopped and felt bad once he got in trouble and scolded for it.

Madoc is the grand general and Jude’s adoptive father, his age is never mentioned but it's implied that he’s in his 40s-50s. In Erikson’s terms, Madoc is in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage. He not only fits in the age range, but he strives to make an impact and enforce his ideals. In Kohlberg’s terms, Madoc is in the postconventional morality stage. Madoc runs by his own ideals and doesn’t adhere to the laws of the Faerie world; he does as he pleases and avoids the consequences as best he can.

Motivation, Emotion, Stress, and Personality

Openness refers to how open-minded, creative, imaginative, and insightful someone can be. Heather, who is Vivi’s human girlfriend, is very high on openness. She constantly sees through Jude’s barriers and checks in on her when she can.

Conscientiousness refers to how competent, self-disciplined, and goal-driven someone can be. Jude was first determined to become a knight, and when that was officially shut down, she became a spy, and throughout the book she dedicates herself to being the best spy she can be, leading her to practice mithridatism, otherwise known as ingesting poisons to gain an immunity. And even when she was working together with Cardan and the court of shadows, she dedicated herself to keeping Oak, her youngest brother, who was secretly the son of Dain, safe, and to getting Cardan on the throne.

Extraversion refers to how sociable someone is and how well they can express emotions. Locke, who is one of Cardan’s friends, who ends up marrying Taryn, Jude’s twin, has a talent for persuasion and charm. He uses this to his advantage to stir up drama in Elfhame.

Agreeableness refers to how cooperative someone is, as well as a person’s ability to put others’ needs before their own. Vivi, Jude’s older sister, has low agreeableness. She usually only thinks about herself, and never witnesses or realizes how her mortal sisters suffer in the Faerie world, since she is accepted as half-fae.

Neuroticism refers to a person’s tendency to having unstable emotions. Cardan has low neuroticism, he is always seen relatively calm and relaxed, as if nothing could hurt him. However, it is seen as somewhat of an act to Jude and he really isn’t as calm as he portrays.

The incentive theory is the theory that we are pulled by incentives, or external stimuli that motivate us, to behave in a certain manner. Jude is constantly motivated by external stimuli, whether it is the possibility of danger for her family, her pact as a spy to Dain, or wanting to be accepted by the Fae.

Clinical Psychology

Cardan shows behaviors that could be used as diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder. These behaviors include “failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors,” and a “lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to... having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another,” (American Psychiatric Association). Cardan is constantly mentioned to be harassing different, lower-class fae, one of them being a faerie boy of whom cardan and his friends ripped the wings off with no remorse. Cardan also “frequently [lacks] empathy and [tends] to be.... contemptuous of the feelings, rights, and sufferings of others.” He also has “an inflated and arrogant self-appraisal,” which is seen multiple times throughout the book by him demanding respect and praise from the rest of the Fae. Talk therapy is most commonly used for treating antisocial personality disorder as there is no specific medication to treat antisocial personality disorder. However, some health care providers prescribe medications to help with other conditions that may occur with antisocial personality disorder, such as anxiety, depression, or symptoms of aggression (Mayo Clinic).

Social Psychology

Jude and Cardan’s relationship builds tension throughout the book until they are forced to work together to make sure Balekin doesn’t become High King. The rules of attraction are proximity, familiarity, and physical attractiveness. The rule of proximity is that the closer together people are physically, the more likely they are to form a relationship, the rule of familiarity is that we tend to like things as they become familiar, as they produce more positive feelings and seem safer, and the rule of physical attractiveness is that people tend to like those whom they find physically attractive. Once Cardan and Jude are thrown together after Dain’s failed coronation, they spend tons of time together, forcing their proximity to each other as well familiarity. The more Jude spends time with Cardan she realizes that his cruel demeanor is mostly just an act, and she begins to enjoy his company for the first time. For the rule of physical attractiveness, each of them mentions how attractive the other is, but in ways that hide their true feelings, such as Cardan saying, “Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” and when Jude says, “No.. Tell me.” he responds with, “I cannot,” because fairies cannot lie (357).

Obedience is changing one’s behavior at the direct command of an authority figure or person with social power. Up until Dain’s coronation where he is killed, Jude follows Dain’s orders for her as a spy to the best of her ability. Occasionally, she questions his judgement, but overall, she usually listens to him.

Conformity is when a person adjusts their attitude, beliefs, and behaviors to adhere to group norms. Taryn, Jude’s sister, begs Jude to conform and not stand out among the Fae, but even without her twin, Taryn conforms the best she can as a mortal. She tries her best to act and live like the Fae.

Group Polarization is when group members’ decisions and opinions become more extreme together rather than alone. You can see this in “The Cruel Prince,” in Cardan’s friend group. In the beginning, at a ball, Cardan and his friends are seen tormenting lower class fae, even going as far as ripping off one faerie boy’s wings. However, separately, besides from Valerian, they are slightly less cruel apart than together.

Fundamental attribution error is our tendency to underestimate the impact of situational factors and overestimate the impact of dispositional factors when assessing why other people act the way they do. Jude makes the fundamental attribution error, when she learns that Nicasia cheated on Cardan with Locke and assumes she did it because she’s a mean person. However, Nicasia, was under the influence of faerie fruit (basically a drug in this world) and was not thinking clearly.

Superordinate goals are shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation. In “The Cruel Prince,” Jude and Cardan, who are enemies throughout the book, must work together to make sure Balekin does not rule and become High King. They successfully do so, and in the next books of the series continue to work together and fall in love.

[anamericangirl]

Hey there, I discovered your blog a few days ago and have been reading all your posts since, and I must say I like them very much. I do have one question though, on the topic of abortion. I wouldn't say I am pro abortion, because to me, all life is valuable. But what would you say if an underage girl was r@ped? Cases like this have occurred, there was even a girl that got pregnant at four years old, and had the child at five, which was a result of her uncle r@ping her.

In cases like that, would you say that abortion may be an option, maybe even a good one? She herself was only a toddler, and carrying out a pregnancy at such a young age is a great threat to both the mother and the child, and could mean the death of both. Also, in this specific case, it was %ncest, which could have fatal consequences for the child later on.

I'd just like to hear your opinion on this.

Hi! Thanks so much!

When a child, or anyone, is raped that is a horrific circumstance that absolutely needs to be addressed. And if that rape resulted in a pregnancy, that creates an even more delicate situation and it needs to be addressed in a way that causes the least harm and doesn't bring about even more violence.

The foundation of my pro-life position is that the preborn baby is a living human being from the moment of conception and their life is just as valuable as the girl carrying them, regardless of how they were conceived. Because of this, I can't support abortion even in cases of rape.

If a minor is raped and becomes pregnant, the thing is now we don't just have one person we have to consider and care for. We have two. Two children. Both innocent. We can't kill one innocent child for the sake of another.

This is also because I care about the child who was raped. Even though I can completely understand the fear and sympathize with the victim, the fact is, as I've discussed a lot on my blog, abortion isn't safe. And it remains not safe even if the person undergoing it is a child. A child should never be pregnant or have to go through childbirth, but nor should they ever have to have an abortion.

Even though a pregnant child is never a good thing, biologically speaking, if a female, regardless of age, is capable of getting pregnant, then her body is capable of undergoing the birth process. What the child needs is thorough medical care and monitoring because the best and safest thing is to go through the natural process instead of an invasive procedure that forces her body to birth a dead baby long before it's ready.

Abortion doesn't erase the baby. It kills them. And then it makes the mother deliver her dead baby and dispose of them. It's a horrific thing to happen.

The girl and the baby are innocent and we can help the girl heal from her traumatic experience without killing a different child whose only crime is existing. They can both live. Even if it's incest, the baby doesn't deserve to be killed. They deserve to be given a chance at life.

The fact is, once a girl or woman is pregnant, the baby has to be delivered somehow. There's no getting around that. Abortion doesn't erase this fact or erase the trauma of the rape. In fact, many rape victims have said getting an abortion did not help their healing. Everyone thinks giving birth once pregnant is the ultimate form of torture and trauma but it's not. And only people who don't know anything about childbirth and are just trying to villainize pro-lifers would call childbirth a trauma inducing experience. No, a child should never have to endure it but abortion would be no less of a traumatizing experiencing for a child. I think it would be horrific to give birth to a corpse. I don't think there is ever a time where killing an innocent child is a good option.

Abortion in cases of rape is just continuing the cycle of violence by killing a person who didn't do anything wrong and doesn't deserve it. It's not safer for a child to go through an abortion procedure than it is to give birth and as someone who cares about the baby and the rape victim I can't ever endorse abortion. There are always other, better options.

[therealvinelle]

This is a question about how Twilight vampires’ gifts would respond in a bizarre but common-ish scenario.

So I don’t know whether Vinelle you’ve have this kind of experience, but I live in a quite crowded city. Sometimes, when I am walking in a narrow lane, and someone is walking toward me from the other side. And then the passerby and I would dodge at the same time in order to make way, but both of the passerby and I would somehow sidestep towards the same direction, blocking each other in the result.

If Twilight’s vampires were in this lane, which vampire could avoid sidestepping towards the same direction as the passerby? Only Edward? Aro probably can’t because he has to touch the passerby. Or do you think other vampires might avoid this?

And note that I know vampires are faster/have faster reaction time than normal humans so this presumable scenario is uh let’s say the passerby in the said question somehow had a similar speed and reaction time as a Twilight vampire.

Thank you again and have a great day! Sorry for my bizarre question though.

Oh this must be the greatest ask I've received in at least a month. Anon, I love you.

To answer this question, I'm dividing the answer into three: vampires whose gifts will definitely prevent the crab evade, vampires whose gift might prevent the crab evade, and people whose gifts would help only in very specific circumstances

Vampires whose gift will prevent them stepping towards the same direction as the passerby

Alice Alice sees the passerby's decision to sidestep, and continues merrily ahead.

Edward While Edward will tune people out whenever he can, once he's noticed a person he is aware of their thoughts. If he has noticed the passerby he was about to collide into, he is aware of their thoughts, and so knows that they're sidestepping. He doesn't need to do the same, and continues ahead. If he somehow fails to notice, he also continues ahead and the sidestep is avoided.

Siobhan As Siobhan does not wish to collide with people, the universe makes it so she never does. She somehow has never experienced this scenario, and when Carlisle gives her an odd look she insists it's merely because she watches where she's going.

Victoria If there's a chance the other person will get aggressive if Victoria gets in their way, she's staying away from streets for today because there are scary people out there. In fact she's staying out of crowded places always, because there might be scary people out there so her gift is telling her to stay clear just in case (remember she nearly had a panic attack at the prospect of playing baseball with the Cullens), and so I move her from the special circumstances section to this one.

Vampires whose gift might prevent them stepping towards the same direction as the passerby

Afton If I'm going to be extremely charitable towards Afton, then "invisible unless people are looking at him" can be interpreted as being very unnoticeable. His power is to be a wallflower, in which case the passerby doesn't take enough notice of him to do the sidestep. Afton has to hop out of their way to avoid a collision, and the sidestep has been prevented.

Fred It is Fred's gift to fill people in his immediate surroundings with a sense of revulsion which makes them evade him. When he tunes it up to full there is a wide berth of people avoiding him as he walks, and he never needs to sidestep anybody, the sidestep of course occurring when he's not actively using his gift (as I understand it to be a subtle sense of discomfort when the gift is on standby).

Renata Like Fred, she must turn her gift on. Once she has, people trying to get in her way find themselves walking off in random directions instead, hopefully not into the road.

Vampires whose gift would help only in very specific circumstances

Aro If it's someone he has never touched before, he's out of luck. If, however, the circumstances are that he has, then he'll know whether they are the type to move out of his way or not. His guard, for instance, are certain to move out of his way while Marcus is too dead inside to notice and Aro's the one who has to hop out.

Bella If Bella has a prophetic dream about this exact scenario (or a metaphor for it) then she's not sidestepping. Hooray for Bella.

[dracallyart]

Share with us the lore behind Shieru and Orochimaru, please! I found your art through the latter's tag and they look so appealing together in a way that's hard for me to put words to. Old friends, perhaps?

Thanks for sharing!

AAAAAA!! Absolutely!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to yap about these two hehe 🙏Also, thank you so much for finding them very appealing, you made my day!

I don't have their full story completely complete, as I only started working on it a few days ago and kept building on it as I went. As a warning; this will be LONG. The reason why is because Shieru and Orochimaru's story would be considered a slow-burn, due to Orochimaru needing a proper redemption arc and eventually receiving forgiveness.

-----

Some important things to note about my character before going on; Shieru is around the same age as the Sannin's, and is considered a very well respected veteran among Konoha. Having been kidnapped when she was young into Danzo's root, eventually escaping in her early twenties where she assisted Konoha during the Second Shinobi war, became a hermit for about a year or so after (due of her past trauma and actions) and returned with being able to summon the legendary bird she made a contract with and learned new, powerful jutsu. In her clan (the Fūrin clan, a fictional clan I made) she is considered the most powerful.

She's incredibly wise, is a sage without the official title and is incredibly knowledgeable on things relating to anthropology from life experiences.

Now! On to her and Orochimaru. (I will be referring to Orochimaru as they/them!) She is aware of everything they have done in the past, and have even affected negatively a student that she ends up rehabilitating back into Konoha. So, when Orochimaru is pardoned in Konoha due to assisting in the war efforts by saving Tsunade and even guiding Sasuke into assisting the village. Shieru begins to keep a close eye on the Sannin, and not long after they wander aimlessly around the village during the "Blank Period Episodes" she asks Kakashi, the current Hokage, to take Orochimaru to travel for around a year or so. As she wishes to see whether they had the ability to be properly redeemed. Due to her experiences as a veteran shinobi, she is allowed to as long as she is with Orochimaru at all times.

So, the two set off. Orochimaru asking why she would take them on a "leisurely jaunt" this way and Shieru would explain she's made a journey like this before, which changed her for the better, and wants to see whether that will do the same effect for Orochimaru. Of course, due to their circumstances, Orochimaru requires constant supervision and so they go on this journey.

Early during their travels, Shieru attempts to act professional and rigid with Orochimaru, often humbling from their acts of the past and occasionally snapping at them. Orochimaru meanwhile would act incredibly sly, teasing and equally as stubborn as Shieru in terms of their conversations. At some point, Orochimaru even begins nicknaming Shieru "Shi-Shi", which only grates her further.

Many points during their travel amongst different lands, Orochimaru finds themselves frozen as they recall a specific memory of certain events that have occurred to them in the past. Whether that be a specific hideout they had nearby, or even finding the spot where the "Three-Way-Deadlock" occurred where he nearly killed Jiraiya. At the beginning they put it aside, but little do they know all these memories begin to eat at them from the inside.

After a good long while into their travel, they've had their fair share of rogue ninja attempting to ambush them. One time, Orochimaru breaks the rule of no direct attack and assists Shieru in fending off some rogue ninja. They both end up working very well fighting together. And this specific incident is what causes Shieru to feel comfortable enough making fun of Orochimaru, she was never afraid of them to begin with. But she gives him the nickname "cornsnake" which causes Orochimaru to react at the slander, which eventually makes the two jab at one another in a more teasing, casual manner. It's around this time Shieru begins acting less professional and rigid with Orochimaru too, as they start having more and more conversations, albeit, it is still too early for Oro to talk too deeply over their thoughts.

MUCH more into their journey, Orochimaru begins to feel emotions they did not feel capable of feeling before. Some of them being shame, and regret. They at one point hurt Shieru's feelings with a statement so out of bounds, and at the beginning they feel nothing, but the abrupt change in Shieru's attitude makes the bubbling feeling of shame rise in their gut. So, a few nights later, they force themselves to apologise. Their apology makes Shieru have to stifle a laugh, and forgive them, which... surprises Orochimaru. But they move on, and it gives Oro much to think about.

The last half of their journey is a lot more eventful, Shieru eventually going the same route she went before on her journey from many, many years ago and telling Orochimaru about her adventures, and eventually opening up about what she got over in her trauma through this journey. Giving her plenty of quiet time to reflect. Though, she jokes due to her being here, Oro had little time to reflect. They disagree with her, but don't continue the thought. It's only through the course of a few more weeks and months that they begin to show frustration, regret and shame for what happened before. Shieru meanwhile is patient, open to hearing Orochimaru's thoughts on the manner, and offers her genuine opinion on certain things. And is, honestly forgiving as she comes to further understand Orochimaru in a deeper level, which does let Orochimaru express deep emotions he's not felt in years.

Through this journey, Orochimaru learns to (slowly) be a better person, and Shieru learns to forgive and further give belief that even those who are villainous by nature do so for a reason.

The drawing I made where they are going for drinks is the day that they return to Konoha, now as friends. And they go for drinks as a bit of a victory for their journey and Orochimaru's much more mellowed out personality. And redemption? They act like indeed old friends going for drinks that night.

And over time, the two do form a deep partnership, specifically once Orochimaru has made up for their past mistakes in a meaningful way, which surprises everyone, but Shieru pacifies Orochimaru in a good manner and does genuinely feel love for them, and Orochimaru treats Shieru incredibly well and feels equal amounts of love for Shieru. This occurs when they're back in Konoha and still continue to hang nearly every day, Orochimaru became accustomed to their presence and finds themselves restless without them around, and Shieru has come to find Orochimaru endearing and enjoys their company just as much.

This of course further mellows out Orochimaru to the point of Boruto! And of course, Shieru is basically Mitsuki's mom (merged their DNA into a petri dish LMAO).

-----

One reason I wished to make this ship is to further give explanation for Orochimaru's personality during Boruto. Since I do feel we're missing plenty context to why Orochimaru changed so drastically over the decade, I suppose when you've lived so long and have attained the immortality you wish, you do mellow out. But! I also personally love Orochimaru since the Blank Period Episodes, so I wanted to give this little ship a shot!

BUT! This is all of my thoughts! I definitely have more that I might have forgotten to mention, but I will most likely be drawing them a lot more and exploring their relationship further over time, since they've infested my brain since the day I made Shieru. Especially on their one year journey, a LOT can happen at that time, but I only have the template for what occurs.

Either way! Thank you so much for asking me about them!! Once again you made my day by asking that <333 I apologise if it was so long, but if you made it to this point, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

[princessfanonanona]

hey you posted that the ny times article was twisting what biden was saying, can you show where you got your sources for his quote of 'not many trans minors get surgery'? Just wanna form my own opinions and whatnot

Hi! Thank you for asking, and I'm happy to clarify!

Considering the fact that the Biden administration and Biden himself has made many statements regarding his support for the lgbtq and Trans Youth, I found the article questionable to begin with.

Also:

They're pushing to remove age limits for surgery. If you look at the article I posted in my reblog, it shows a cut of a statement that seems to have either an error for a typo (shouldn't vs should) or is pulled from a larger statement regarding something specific.

His entire deal is wanting to support the individuals and leave their decisions up to themselves, their families, and their doctors.

“As President Biden has repeatedly said, ‘It’s wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills targeting transgender children, terrifying families, and criminalizing doctors. These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous,’” the spokesperson said.

From this article

They even pushed the issue to the Supreme Court in support of gender affirming care. And the court is currently taking up the question of if bans on gender affirming care is unconstitutional.

Source: here and here

Like if you even spend 5 minutes just scrolling his platform, you can see that he really does in fact care about the kids and our nations youth.

Now regarding the statement of "not many trans youth receive surgery" is quoting from the following study:

AAP (American Academy Pediatrics)

Which specifically states that surgery for youth isn't all that common right now, but if it is a thing then it's probably top surgery. Bottom surgery is exceptionally rare to occur in youth.

The White House cited the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in its opposition to gender-affirming surgery for trans youth. The AAP, which endorses providing trans youth with gender-affirming care and opposes laws banning such care, has stated that gender-affirming surgeries are typically given to adults, which the White House echoed.

Again from the first 19thnews article.

The message that seems to be misconstrued is that transgender surgeries are more common in adults instead of how it was perceived as "transgender surgeries should only be for adults." Which could be due to a very large number of circumstances. (Finances, lack of familial support, complications due to other medical issues, personal choice, bad doctors, etc etc etc)

I hope this clarifies the NYTimes post and that it helped you in your further research. 💜 Thank you again for your ask and I wish you a lovely evening/day/morning wherever you are.

[kokomis-writing-pile]

A Warhammer 40K FanFic

[Author's note: This is strictly for fun. I have my Warhammer-loving partner proofread and edit my chapters. I don't take kindly to volunteered criticism. Lyra and Reid are our own characters based on us.

Additionally, I am not 100% familiar with the world to give proper world-building, but I am doing my absolute best. Thank you.]

Chapter 2: Blessed by the Divine

There was so much commotion coming from the injured soldier as he was being taken away that the guard assisting with the escort had to sedate him. The last thing he had seen before closing his uninjured eye was her, the Sister who stood with him through the fight. With him ceasing to struggle and argue, it was that much less daunting to get him to the infirmary and keep his blood from soaking the metal floor beneath him.

Lyra took the time to speak with Sister Superior Harrow about the details of what occurred and even she seemed taken aback. Their platoon had pressed forward and took a massive amount of ground from the enemy before they were annihilated group by group. It was not until it was they who were the last two standing that she had witnessed a saving grace. Lyra explained to Sister Superior that she had seen this Kriegsman obliterate a Chaos Lord with the flick of his wrist. She did not feel fear at that moment but instead, the comfort of that like a saved lamb. Never before had Lyra seen or even heard about a kriegsmen soldier using such divine power in the heat of a moment. She had heard about the existence of perpetual and those being bestowed the honor of using such powers but other than the perpetuals, they did not last long among the living as they went insane or worse. The more Lyra thought about it, the more she kept coming back to the fact he had been hit with such a harsh blast, that it knocked him out cold for a moment. Maybe that stopped whatever had happened. 

“I would like for him to be taken care of during the investigation. Please. I believe he was kept alive for a truly grand reason. I do not believe this to be of Chaos origin but of that of our God-Emperor. He can still fight. He can still serve. I just ask that he receives the best care we can for him. Reid Caldwell deserves that much for assisting me and, I suppose, saving us both,” she spoke kindly. 

Harrow gave a gentle nod. “I’ll see what I can do. Thank you, Sister Lyra. Now go, rest. I will take the report from here. If we need your assistance any further, we will come to you.”

Turning on her heel, Lyra wandered back to her quarters to disrobe and lay down for a short while. She tried to rest but her mind kept playing the scene on repeat. Her eyes had fixated on the metal ceiling above her causing her to notice every notch in the workings. Lyra rolled onto her side to look out her window at the vastness of space. Oftentimes she would count the stars to help her sleep but not this time. It was much more difficult than before. First, she had recurring thoughts of past missions, and now this, but this was fresh. The more she thought about it, the more her face grew long and she sighed. What if they found him to be touched by Chaos? What if they see him as a threat or see it as nothing more than a fluke and kill him? The last thought made her jump out of bed almost immediately. It had just occurred to her that he was making such a fuss and did not even think that they might kill him. A dishonorable death, indeed. Who’s shoulders would it be on if they did kill him? Lyra put her hands on her chest. “My fault…”

In a rush, Lyra put on her clericals and left her room to check where they had taken the man only to find out he was indeed taken to the infirmary. Only very specific persons were allowed to be taken there under certain circumstances and it certainly was not the place for a kriegsman. She could not help but give a sigh of relief hearing that news, though. If he was at the infirmary, he was in much better hands. Taken care of, just as she had asked for.

When she approached the door to the infirmary, she hesitated. She could go in there if she wanted but did she really want to? Taking a deep breath, she wandered in, her hands clasped behind her back. There were several beds lining the walls with just a few soldiers occupying them as a Chiurgeon or two tended to their wounds. As expected, there were also servitors on the side ready to assist, and the smell of blood in the air yet she did not see her soldier. Worry had started to set in but she preoccupied herself as she waited for someone to assist her. Thankfully, it was not too long before one member of the staff noticed her. She waltzed over and gave Lyra an exhausted, “Can I assist you, Sister?”

“Ah, yes. I was wondering about a soldier that had been brought in here just a while ago,” she replied.

“You must mean the Guardsman. Yes, he’s here. They’re tending to him in private. Don’t want him waking up halfway through and making a mess of things here for other patients.”

“I see, would it be…alright if I stayed for a while?”

“Willing to wait for him? I don’t see why not. We’re not overflowing today, yet. Here, you can rest here while you wait.” The Chiurgeon gestured to one of the beds away from anyone else. Just because she was not injured did not mean she could not lay there. As long as no one else needed it. 

Lyra took the offer and laid down staring at the ceiling once again lost in thought. Thankfully, time had passed and she had not realized she had finally fallen asleep for just an hour or two. When she opened her eyes, she saw him lying on the bed next to hers. Those cheeky Chiurgeons. He was within reaching distance but she dared not bother him just yet. Instead, Lyra sat up and sat on the edge of the bed looking him over. The injury on his face was terrible, the flesh having been peeled away in most places and even had a gash across his lip. It seemed like they stitched what they could but a lot was lost across his face and the bridge of his nose. No doubt his nose was actually broken. He had mild burn marks across the rest and thankfully all of the damage was only on his left side. He had bandages on his arms from autogun grazes and she could not even count all the bruises. Lyra’s eyes drifted South to his missing limb they had propped on a rolled-up blanket. It had been cleaned, packed, and wrapped and truly that was the best they could do for now. Lyra bit her thumb and sighed. She feared how he was going to act when he awoke, though she did not have to wait too much longer. The sedatives were wearing off and his primal need to be on guard had him jerking awake. Lyra gently placed her hand on his chest feeling his heart racing. 

“Hey, look who decided to wake up.”

“Where am I?”

Shaking her head, Lyra gave a crack of a smile before it was wiped away. “You’re in the infirmary. They’ve patched you up the best they can for now but you’ll be in good hands, Reid.”

“No… no no... I don’t belong here. I can’t be here. Why am I here?!”

“Reid, I need you to look at me and take some deep breaths, okay?” Lyra spoke calmly as she pressed on his chest just a bit harder to keep him in his bed. “It’s okay. I asked them to bring you here.”

The soldier paused and stared at her quizzically. 

“Something touched you out there on that battlefield and I’d say that makes you pretty damn special, Kriegsman. You saved both of us and I understand that isn’t your cup of re-caf, but I am thankful. Extremely thankful. If you want to continue to serve our God-Emperor, I need you taken care of, now don’t I?”

Reid was silent for a long while seemingly contemplating his choices. Then again, what choices did he have? Say no and get disposed of? Not a chance. “I don’t remember what I did. You said something about putting a hole in something. What did I put a hole in?”

“The Chaos Lord,” she replied bluntly.

Astonished, Reid sputtered for a moment. “I’m sorry, I did what?!” He looked around for a moment and saw the staff, giving him a look as if to tell him to quiet down so he did. “Me? I put a hole in the Chaos Lord?”

Lyra nodded. “And then he erupted and you got caught in the fire resulting in…this.” She gestured to his injuries. “If it wasn’t for you being blessed with power in our time of need, we’d both be dead for sure. You’re worth keeping alive.”

“Indeed! But we need to investigate a few things, if you don’t mind, Sister Lyra,” came a voice from behind. 

Turning sharply, she saw one of their investigators, Rey Varkov, an older tall gentleman with black hair, a blue uniform, and a robotic eye. Varkov was accompanied by two others at his side; a servitor scribe and a rather intimidating officer. “We have received your report and we have a few things to cover before we’ll allow anything further than medicae. If you’ll excuse us, Sister.”

“Of course. I’ll be back.”

Lyra wandered off away from the four of them but stayed within sight of them all. The investigator asked several questions, probing for answers for a while. While he asked Reid questions, she could not make out what they were saying, then again, she did not need to. After the servitor scribe wrote down everything, they turned away and let him be. As Varkov walked by, he calmly informed her that he was “all yours.” That was good news to her and before she knew it, she was back at his side once again before he felt too tired to keep talking. The logical thing now was to let him rest and she had some sleep to catch up on.

****

A couple of days had passed before a chiseled, grey-haired, grizzly man sat in his chair looking over the footage from the recent report given by Sister Lyra, Superior Harrow, and the questions Varkov had asked, investigating the events that took place. It seemed suspicious but nothing to really jump at. If Investigator Varkov said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, then he believed him but this footage caught by the servo skull was something else. In all his years serving, he had seen some wild and unexplainable phenomenon so he was surprised, but not too surprised. The man called for his assistant and demanded that they give the Kriegsman a notice. He was to come to the Officio Interigatus as soon as he was physically able, he had some matters he wished to assess himself.

****

“The Officio Interigatus?” Reid repeated to the assistant before they left the room. He did not receive an answer. They had said what they needed to say and left. “O..kay… Great. Whatever happened to me must have put a target on my forehead,” he grumbled.

The soldier laid there looking around the room. Honestly, he was bored and itching both physically due to injury and mentally feeling the need to be on the battlefield. That was all he knew. What he lived, breathed, dreamt. Sitting stationary did not feel remotely correct in his book. But as he thought this, he looked down at his missing limb. There was no way he could do anything. Not at the moment. Reid’s hand hovered over the left side of his face grimacing as he tried to come to terms with the condition he was in. It was like a mental flashbang. But all that subsided when she walked in.

Reid looked up to see Lyra wander in with something wrapped in her arm. Tilting his head, he tried to guess from a distance but he just was not sure until she was right next to him.

“Sister Lyra. What brings you here? You don’t have to keep checking in on me,” he spoke quietly. “I mean- I’m thankful that you do.”

“I overheard that you were summoned so I wanted to see how you were progressing in your recovery,” she replied softly.

Reid scoffed and turned his attention away from her. There was no hiding the fact he was ill-tempered at the moment but keeping his composure for the sake of keeping the peace. “Progressing to the best of my ability, I s’pose.” 

Lyra removed the wrapped item from under her arm and held it out. “It’s not much but, if you wish to continue to serve, I suppose you need a leg up in this situation.”

There was a long pause, longer than there should have been before Reid slowly turned to look at her. Forget the leg she held in front of him, did she just make a joke? And a poor one at that? He hated it but he could not stop himself from biting his lip. Never had he heard a Sister make a joke, laugh, smile, nothing. 

“That… was terrible. How dare you,” he chuckled.

“Face it, that lightened your mood just a bit.”

“...Just a bit…”

Lyra held the prosthetic in her hand letting him look it over. It was pretty basic but it would certainly do the job. After all, one could not complain about what they were given. One of the staff had come over to retrieve it from her explaining that they would prepare him for pre-op and get him situated with his new attachment as soon as possible. They continued to explain that it may take a couple more days to get him rehabilitated but he should be fine then. Lyra gave them a nod as they walked away then gently put her hand on his thigh. 

Reid felt slightly warm feeling her calloused hands touch his skin, something he truly did not deserve. “Do try to keep your chin up. You have some heretics to kill later.” Then with that, she turned and left him to his own devices. 

****

After a few days had passed, Reid was set with his new prosthetic and was up and walking again in no time. The medics chalked it up to his undying determination to just get out of the infirmary and his unwillingness to sit idle. Whatever the case may have been, he was out and ready to deal with whatever came next. The Kriegsman hobbled to the Officio Interigatus, his mind racing as to just what he was wanted there for. It could have been great news or terrible news and given the way of life in the 41st millennium, both could be bad. 

As he walked in, he could see a counsel of higher-ranking officers, Inspector Varkov, Inquisitor Magvar, and several others. There were servitor scribes ready and waiting, servo skulls to record the hearing, and cherubs carrying scrolls of all sorts. Reid made his way to the middle of the room assuming this was his final trial. He gave a salute and awaited what came next. 

“Imperial Guardsman 37456-65970-Caldwell, you have been called to the Officio Interigatus following your previous mission to Tarex-Cv8 and the use of power from origins unknown. Do you recall these events?” Varkov asked as he stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back.

“I do not,” Reid replied curtly.

“Footage was captured of this event and analyzed carefully. Where you did a great service, it is highly concerning. However, upon closer investigation, we can rest assured that power is no longer present…for the time being. Was there anything you can remember at all? Did you hear or see anything beforehand?”

Reid hesitated but replied truthfully, “I didn’t hear anything. I did, however, see a burning white light before regaining consciousness to Sister Lyra tending to my wounds. That is truly all that I remember. I launched a last attempt to kill the Heretic Lord and then nothing.”

“I see,” Varkov replied. Looking back at the grizzly man behind him, Inquisitor Magvar gave the inspector an approving nod. 

“Reid Caldwell, due to your unique circumstance, you are hereby placed under the command of Inquisitor Ivan Magvar following today’s hearing. Welcome to the Inquisition.”

Hearing those words, Reid was taken aback so much so that he staggered a little on his false limb. Being accepted into the Inquisition was the furthest thing he had expected, and without jumping through so many hoops to get there, too. Magvar stepped forward as he looked down upon the soldier. 

“However,” his rough voice boomed. “You will be watched closely. There will be no room for suspicious activity. Any of the sort will result in your extermination, do you understand, guardsman?”

Reid gave a firm salute and a curt, “Yes, sir!”

“You’re dismissed.”

[fratricideknight]

hello sweetie!! i wanted to ask you if you could give us your take on john winchester ? people have very different opinions on him and i’d love to hear yours.

hi!!! thanks so much for this ask. it took me a while to gather my thoughts, so there's a relatively long post ahead.

i think that people in fandom tend to go the route of woobifying a character until they can do no wrong in their eyes, or demonising a character until everything they do is wrong. this not only doesn't allow for nuanced takes, which should be possible to make for any well-written, complex character, but also leads to attempts to push blame onto characters instead of just... accepting that the circumstances themselves are shit.

maybe john and sam are similar after all, considering the way that neither of them are extended any due sympathy whatsoever by certain individuals. john, who knew nothing of the supernatural, on an otherwise normal night during which he fell peacefully asleep in front of the television, witnessed his wife be psychically pinned to the ceiling of his baby's nursery and explode in front of both him and his six-month-old. that's bound to change anyone. blaming john entirely for becoming incredibly paranoid over and controlling of his children, and not acknowledging the role of, i don't know, azazel? prince of hell? who engineered all of this?? is so ridiculous i can't even comprehend it. the circumstances are absolutely dreadful, and john wasn't left with much of a choice in the ways he could respond to it. not only would he most likely be driven partially insane by what he witnessed happen to his wife, he would also be led to worry about the safety of his children. killing azazel wasn't just about avenging mary, it was about extinguishing the threat that, for all john knew, could be out to kill his infant sons! what do you want him to do?? shrug it off and go on like nothing happened? cut his losses and get another mother for the boys?

as for how john specifically responded to this: he became a controlling douchebag, yeah. i have someone in my life who can be the same brand of peremptory dick as john, and there are times when i want nothing more than to punch john winchester in the face. it's one of the reasons i relate to sam so much. however, not once in my viewing of season 1 before i entered fandom spaces, did it occur to me that john might be an irredeemable monster and abuser. john trained his boys like soldiers rather than treating them like the children they were, but it's not like he did it for the hell of it. he thought they would literally die if they weren't prepared to fight off the supernatural threats which he was suddenly, in the worst possible way, made aware of. john was an ex-marine, which would of course influence how he would go about this. i'm not saying that john didn't do horrible things at times and that sam and dean's upbringing wasn't awful. he did, and it was. telling sam to not come back if he went to college, trying to punish him for having dreams of his own? making tween dean feel bad for not staying in a motel room 24/7 to take care of his younger brother? dick moves. the boys' childhood was claustrophobic, toxic, and miserable, and i do not blame either of them in the slightest for wanting to get out. however, it comes down to the matter of circumstance again: it's not like john did any of this for the hell of it! let me repeat myself: he thought. they were going. to be murdered. moving frequently probably wasn't just for the sake of cases, it might also have been because he was scared that they were being pursued by something.

as for some of the abuse claims that people make. ugh. please stop just making stuff up. if you want to take the idea that john was a monster and run with it, whatever. i don't care. but acting like that's actually canon? you're just shouldering your way into spaces where people who actually want to discuss canon can do so, and that's incredibly annoying. there is no canon evidence in the seasons which actually involved john as a character that he beat his children or was homophobic. they literally go out of their way in the episode 'Nightmare' to show that sam and dean know their childhood wasn't like max miller's. as some people have said, he doesn't need to have hit his kids for their childhood to have sucked; it was bad enough already! as for the homophobia claims. ughhhhhhhh. i feel like they come from a... specific sector of the fandom, who want to take any reprehensible trait of dean's and make it someone else's fault. like i said earlier, woobifying a character until they can do no wrong. "oh, dean can be a misogynistic and homophobic douchebag at times? clearly, this is all john's influence. oh, he treats sam badly at times? actually, sam is the one who abuses him!" i can somewhat get behind the idea of john expecting the boys to repress their emotions on some level; he was literally a marine in the vietnam war, and he raised his kids in the eighties and nineties. he expected them to put aside any issues they might have had about giving up an ordinary life and hunting azazel and just follow his orders. but the idea that he's some queerphobic monster who would beat dean upside the head for shedding a single tear is hilarious.

look at this fucking fruit. he never stops tearing up.

as a final point, let me just address that jdm is incredibly sexy. if you have a problem with me liking john, take it up with whichever higher power or force of nature made him so <3

[deadchannelradio]

ϟ for IRIS Log #1548, the moment(s) that made me the sicko in the window was a) when dick thought jason and cass had blown up and b) when jason asks to throw up and bruce was like "he's always been this way" there is just SO MUCH conveyed in this fic through dialogue it's amazing

THANK YOU it was a joy to write even though the formatting possibly made me worse as a human being. i think my biggest HAHHA... YES!!!! moment. hm.

"(01:43) Red Hood: Stop telling them secrets. I’m private. I don’t like you.

(01:43) Batman: (Sighing) I know."

this is a full sickos moment to me. talking past each other. Jason is not being serious- he would say the same thing in this instance to Roy or Kory or Dick or Artemis, (etc). All of whom are people he does really like and respect, and who would respond in different ways but would not think he's being serious (for the most part. Dick would ignore it, but because he and Jason don't talk about their relationship, Jason thinks that's the same thing as Dick thinking he's joking. oops!) Bruce, however, is taking him seriously. They've lost the ability to listen to each other and to phrase things in ways that the other understands, and in absence of communication comes assumptions, which are any relationship death knell and are for sure murdering this one. Jason thinks Bruce doesn't love him anymore, feels disowned and abandoned. Bruce thinks that his love for Jason is unwelcome and unwanted and tries to keep it from him so that it doesn't make Jason angrier for feeling parental things about Jason that Jason doesn't want from him. (insert my unpublished bruce and jason relationship analysis here). FULL sickos to me in 2 lines.

Something that never made it into the fic which i regret now is that Dick ordered Damian off of comms not because of the sex jokes (although that Is what made him remember damian was on there, just because that's when damian spoke for the first time since the direct crash aftermath) but because he didn't want damian on the line if they all ended up listening to jason have a serious medical emergency and perhaps dying. damian is aware of sex. talia is a doctor. bruce does sex ed regularly and it's only moderately traumatizing. Damian however has seen and heard enough people die that it doesn't even occur to him that that could be something Dick is worried about, and if Dick says that it's the issue he was thinking of in front of everybody Damian is going to start talking about how that doesn't bother him and how hardened he is to death and that Will make dick feel worse!!!!!!! haha. yes... yes!!!!! (sickos)

and my littlest one. for the longest time at the very beginning it was just "Selective Line, Batman, Robin:" because I wanted to convey to the reader a sense of the structure in the beginning so that when it changed later it would not be a surprise or feel like bending the format to the story instead of making the story fit the format, but I didn't actually know what to put there, so it just floated there, alone, mocking me. And finally we figured that they should be arguing about damian going to go and visit Dick in bludhaven for the weekend (sickos moment on many levels), and then Damian pulling out his secret weapon of calling talia, but not for himself. Specifically for her to visit jason. Bruce can be regular about talia in his own way in most circumstances but in the context of jason and talia he becomes the fucking grinch.

Damian does not end up calling Talia. Talia busts into the hospital to read his chart and heckle everyone about his care and treatment while Jason's still waking up from his long ass orthopedic surgery and Damian goes and hangs out with Dick while Bruce is in the hospital with Jason. LOL. Everybody wins!! not bruce though. bruce wins talia interacting with jason in front of him, and a migraine.

anyways. im glad that the background characterization threads running through this fic were notable to people who weren't just me <3

ask meme

[astrum-aetherium]

This is so obscure and definitely whimsical but what do you think about a Hanahaki disease AU with Henry? Like the most stoic rock-like man who acts like he’s not in love just starts coughing up flowers whenever he’s near the person of his affection— this is angst potential ;)

as a tumblr veteran and an occasional au enjoyer, this proposal both enlightened me and illuminated my day. what a hauntingly beautiful concept in and of itself, and to embed it into the context of the secret history — let alone henry personally? what a wondrous, wondrous notion. thank you lots for putting it forth.

imagine how bewildered he would be initially, specifically when it would happen for the first time. it wouldn't take much; he could be sitting in the most clandestine corner of the library, inscrutably occupied by his studies. you'd merely breeze by, unassuming as all hell, and he wouldn't even spare you a glance. his body, however, would react almost immediately, subconsciously aware of your precalculated affinity — his stomach would twist and turn, he'd need to clear his throat a few times too many, and upon one of those times, he would expel and behold it — that very first petal.

he wouldn't have heard much of the disease, obviously, which would trouble him — he would do all sorts of research and still remain none the wiser. of course, that would irritate him greatly. he wouldn't even draw the connection between the nature of his condition and you at first, although with time it'd become too evident. he would be emitting petals each given time you as much as graced the same premises he found himself at. confronting you about it, however, wouldn't be anything he'd be ready or willing to do at first.

as a response to his situation, he would start carrying along more handkerchiefs. at the end of one singular day at university, his pockets and bag would be filled with either loose petals or petals wrapped up in those very handkerchiefs, as would some of the trash bins across campus. some people would find it endearing, others wistful — to see such beauty disposed of in that way. hell, he could even start frequenting the university grounds less and less, only in cases he absolutely couldn't help it.

embarrassingly, — or amusingly — he would only realize it was love that had caused his condition to develop quite late. it wouldn't make much sense until he had conducted research, gotten to know you. then it would strike him; loud as a bell, echoic as a church, firm as marble, holy as an altar, intoxicating as wine. and yes, there is angst potential — we know this disease to most commonly occur in situations of unrequited love, or under dire, futile circumstances. therefore...

even if you found yourself reciprocating his unannounced, yet constantly blossoming and protruding feelings, the very beauty of their potential would soon enough be snuffed out as though a flame deprived of oxygen — his death. it would (and did), without a doubt, cut any sort of developing story short. yours — however wondrous in theory of its potential progression — would pose no exception.

[pixelmensupremacy]

HOLY SHIT.

I just read your writing about Platonic Chris Redfield with Childhood Friend F!Y/n and my heart fucking cried in happiness. I sincerely think that Chris and Leon need a good hug. Like a supportive and loving hug.

Then it hit me. What about...Platonic Chris AND Leon with a Childhood Friend F!Y/n ?

I just have so many brainrots for them in how would they spend time separately with Y/n.

Y/n is being the one that brings warm and well-made coffee to Chris when he is late working with paperwork then just entire time keeps him company so that he would be alone, then when he sometimes naps - Y/n would always leave a little note like "You are the best friend and leader in the world" .

Also Y/n being the one that helps Leon to feel less stressed by always listening to whatever he say and brings him hand-made gifts that always has note like "Thank you for being in this world" or "You worth much more than you think".

I just– I really think they need a friend that would just be there with them after all they went through.

I am really sorry if this is too specific.

Have a great day anyway!

A/N: Okay, but this request is so sweet. And yes I 100% agree with you Nonny! The boys deserve tons of love.

Chris Redfield

🔆 Chris' and (Y/N)'s energies balance out

🔆 (Y/N), being the more fun and easygoing, never failed to break through his hard exterior

🔆 Still, being in his nature and the aftermath of years of traumatic experiences, Chris isn't very vocal about his emotions

🔆 Though that's not a problem for (Y/N), for they know him better than he does himself

🔆 He feels rough after a mission gone wrong? (Y/N) will give him the space he needs and comfort him, when he feels ready to talk about it

🔆 He struggles with paperwork? (Y/N) is already on the way with two mugs of coffee and jokes to brighten up the mood

His eyelids got heavier with every passing second, getting him dangerously close to a state of somnolence, but much to Chris' dismay the paperwork wasn't getting itself done. A deep sigh escaped his lungs; just when he thought he was going to spend yet another lonely night at the desolate office a knock came from the door.

Opening the door was (Y/N), the familiar scent of coffee tingled his nose; a tired smile appeared on his face.

"Your clairvoyant powers are only getting stronger." He joked; giggling at his cheesy comment, (Y/N) almost missed the dim shimmer that appeared in hooded eyes.

"It's basic deduction. I heard snores coming from your office, so I guessed you could use a cup of coffee and some company too." They smiled at him as they handed him the warm mug.

"Of course." He took it, not able to refuse such an offer.

🔆 In instances when they would walk in on him snoring above his keyboard, (Y/N) would leave him a short note and place a blanket atop his shoulders that they bought specially for him

🔆 Claire and (Y/N) are Chris' number one caregivers and supporters even if he likes to believe it's the other way around

🔆 (Y/N) is the type of friend that would accept him in their home at ungodly hours of the night just so they would comfort him when he needs it most

🔆 Chris has a key to (Y/N)'s house and so do they

🔆 Chris is just as willing to accept his friend in his home at any time under all and any circumstances

🔆 Secretly, he is the best cuddler (Y/N) has met in their entire life

🔆 Unfortunately for them, cuddles occur rarely, but that made it so much more meaningful when it happened

"(Y/N)..." His deep voice anchored their attention away from the movie the two of them were watching.

"Yeah?" They urged him to go on, whilst their eyes were still glued to the screen, watching in anticipation for how the movie was going to end.

"I-" He began, but then paused as if he searched for the right words to say "I just want to thank you. For always being by my side."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened in surprise, a pleasant one nonetheless. They rose from the comfortable spot they had found on his side to look at him; a soft smile curled the corners of their lips.

"Who are you and where's my Chris?" They jokingly hit his arm, causing him to shy away from them.

"I'm just kidding." (Y/N) wrapped their hands around his upper arm, bringing them closer to him. "I am just as grateful to have you. I can't imagine life without you Chrissy bear." They playfully mocked, causing him to let out a chuckle.

"I thought we talked about this nickname." He shot them with a questioning gaze.

"You better get used to it because I'm not gonna get tired of it any time soon. But seriously, I'm glad to have a friend like you." They wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Chris reciprocated and hugged them back. The warmth and comfort of the hug was a sensation he didn't realize he was missing, but now that he had it, he wanted to cherish it for as long as it lasted.

Leon Kennedy

Alexa play best friend by Saweetie feat Doja Cat

🔆 (Y/N) and Leon have the chaotic duo energy that's unstoppable

🔆 (Y/N) is the friend that always hypes him up when he feels his lowest

🔆 (Y/N) is the sober friend that always makes sure to get him home safe and sound

🔆 They are patient with him and listens to all of his drunken rants and comfort him when he gets gushy

🔆 They always leave him a glass of water and aspirin

🔆 They are his unpaid motivational speaker

(Y/N) let out a sigh of disappointment, their hands rested on their waist- they didn't have the energy to have this conversation yet again.

"Dear, how many times do I need to tell you this? You. Deserve. Better!" They clapped their hands after every word, emphasizing each one of them. Leon stood silently on the table; his head hidden in his hands.

"I just thought maybe this time it would've been different." His voice was quiet akin to a child, trying to calm their parent after they messed up- big time.

"Leon, she's not going to change, you realize that? She just likes to toy with you, it's like you're her puppet. Look" They sat across him, their hand taking his "you are a good guy and you deserve to be happy. As much as I don't want to say it well, nothing's going to come out of this."

"You did want to say it." He gave them a puzzled look.

"Yeah, maybe I did, but that's not the point. What I'm saying is that she has no idea what she is missing out on."

🔆 More often than not, Leon experiences stress

🔆 Especially after he returns home from yet another life-threatening mission

🔆(Y/N) always tries their best to distract him from the burden of his line of work

🔆 Most of the times, they succeed

🔆 When awful jokes don't do the job, (Y/N) takes things more seriously

🔆 Spending time with him just bragging about life is enough to make Leon feel better

🔆 But (Y/N) likes to take things further, gifting him things they are sure he will like and can't refuse

Rubbing his eyes open, Leon realized he had fallen asleep on the couch. Looking around the living room, he noticed (Y/N) was nowhere to be seen. The coffee table next to him was clean of the boxes of Chinese takeaway, and instead there was an envelope, neatly tied with a ribbon.

Squinting his eyes in puzzlement, he opened it only to see a ticket. Along with it was a letter. His eyes widened.

'The world won't end if you take a break. You can't help anyone if you don't help yourself. You need to relax your mind for once and you need to get it in that pretty head of yours that you are worthy and loved. And I want to prove it you.

So, you better not be late for your flight. See you in Bali.'

Leon shook his head in disbelief; he knew there was no way of talking (Y/N) out of this. With a heavy sigh and a discreet smile, he got up- he had five hours until the flight.

[mmaxie-musings]

Actually, Dhelmise don’t perform mitosis— given that they are multicellular by virtue of being macroalgae— but instead undergo a similar process called fragmentation, like everyday seaweed. However, this only seems to occur in the event that one or more of the upper blades, or “leaves”, is detached, along with a portion of the holdfast; without both, a new individual can’t form. Even if both parts are present, it seems that most of the time a new one won’t actually develop, and instead the result is just seaweed that is indistinguishable from others of the same variety save for the inability to reproduce sexually via spores. For a time it was theorized Dhelmise could reproduce sexually via spores, explaining their genetic diversity, but this hasn’t been observed, nor has a Dhelmise with sporophylls ever been documented. It’s believed this is a side effect of the transformation from normal seaweed/kelp to Dhelmise, and why kelp grown from one remains infertile.

On that note, I didn’t get into the hardly understood development of new Dhelmise, which hasn’t been conclusively documented, but is described in the folklore of many seafaring peoples as the consistent idea of souls possessing or merging with seaweed, or the seaweed itself gaining/having a soul and achieving sentience. It’s generally accepted that it’s a similar process to the one that creates Bramblin on land, but research into the formation of either is rather difficult on account of the very specific circumstances required, and the fact that you can’t (ethically) recreate them in an observable setting. Doing so would probably be described as performing a funny little thing called “murder” and wouldn’t be a very popular or kind decision.

Big fan of Dhelmise, honestly, they’re unusual and often misunderstood fellas and a lot less scary than TV makes them out to be most of the time. I’ve been trying to learn as much about them as possible, and even just going down the poképedia rabbithole is a great way to spend several hours if you have nothing better to do… Signed, random trainer who’s starter was a Dhelmise due to unusual circumstances involving pokébeans and not knowing what to do when Large Hecking Thing decided to leave the water and simply didn’t stay put after I enacted the Back Away Slowly protocol.

P.S.: the Steelworker ability doesn’t have much of anything to do with ions, they’re just good at utilizing metal due to their species-wide preference for that particular kind of material. Sorta like that bird Pokémon that loves dropping rocks enough to be proficient in battle with them… Bomberdier? Bombirdier? Something like that. If they weren’t such incompatible types and also inhabitants of entirely different ecosystems I bet they’d understand each other. Oh to be a weird thing that will look at a hard object and go “yea I think I’ll specialize in beating things with this”….. Instead I had to be born a human and I gotta do things like “get a job” and “stop befriending weird beasts” and “get a hobby that doesn’t center around one or two extremely specific or niche topics”. Maybe I wanna start throwing rocks at people or beating them with random junk I found in the ocean, why can’t those be valid career paths huh

anon I love you.

firstly, THANK you for correcting me. I couldn’t remember the word for fragmentation so I just said Fucked Up Mitosis.

the ions thing may have been a certain thing? they were connected to klefki in that manner (they absorb ions of the keys they steal) but yes, dhelmises do decide to take things from the sea and beat things with it. it SHOULD be a career.

i, surprisingly know a dhelmise! he’s not caught, but just a lot of Afterlife Fuckery. his name is sev and he’s like a fresh-our-of-jail uncle to my fatherless boyfriend. it’s great. he likes sinking ships and he has a husband.

it’s funny because ghost types have varying levels of retaining “souls??” it’s very interesting. rotomblr also happens to have a lot of cross-universe fuckery. and sapient pokemon. there are a lot of those

anyways, very correct about dhelmises being victim to misconceptions. much like mimikyu there are nasty rumors of “they kill you and hate people and kill and kill and evil and violent” they just are very territorial and Don’t Like It when your big ass boat fucks up where they live. they don’t even hurt humans (on purpose. but it’s kind of your fault if you get in the way of 14 foot anchor creature)

anyways again anon ilysm for this. if only i could have a dhelmise. and as a STARTER no less? oh my arc that’s amazing. pokemon behavior is pretty connected to their nature and I think you just were Taken by a friendly one. big ghost anchors need friends too.

this ask made my day. AUG

[arvoze]

I really like your breloom design he look so cool

can you tell me what he like to do and his moveset and his ability? I really want to know more about him

thank you! his name is mike, 34 years old. he's originally from a little hideaway wild village called apple grove, but he currently lives in verdant village.

i'm answering this on mobile, so i don't really have access to links or images, but I'll try my best.

he has a mother, but sadly lost his father when he was young. mike has at least one blood sibling, but i've yet to design them. he is more often depicted with his (non-blood) brothers keith (cacturne, 33) and luwel (nuzleaf, 34). he has known luwel for longer, since they both originated from the same wild village. mike considers luwel's parents, tangrowth and shiftry, to also be his own parents, as they both openly assisted his mother (breloom) with raising him after his father's passing (mike's other sibling(s) probably didn't need the same care; i've not thought about that part much).

he has a competitive breloom moveset, slightly altered for pmd purposes: adamant, technician. mach punch, seed bomb, spore and power-up punch. natures actually technically don't mean anything, but i include it for the thrills. he has a competitive moveset because mike is the core attacker of the team (keith is defense, luwel is tactical; there's the technical overlap of mike: attack-speed, keith: defense-attack, luwel: defense-speed. they each play different roles).

in my pmd canon, "link moves" are specially-trained combination moves that allow for extremely specific unique situations to occur in the battlefield. mike's link move is a very, very dangerous spore+seed bomb where he surrounds the area with explosive spores (area attack). this isn't easy to control, due to them being spores, so this is considered a link move that should only be used in extreme circumstances.

mike's a fighter. he loves fighting. he spars a lot, and at some point, had experienced some form of physical training that included meeting my armarouge, violet. i should note here that the details are not developed, so i can't speak much further on them.

despite his drive for fighting, mike hates conflict when it doesn't need to exist. he's extremely mentally fragile, and though he's not got a short fuse, is prone to snapping under extreme circumstances (and this does happen, once). he encounters a situation wherein he loses control and kills another pokemon which, from then on, is never really glossed over; he is changed completely, mentally. he's permanently affected by the aftermath of this, but i won't go all that into it here.

he's sometimes affectionately referred to by others as a "grandma", because of the way he looks with his shawl. that's not incorrect at all; mike has very loving grandma vibes and dresses in fashion one would associate with said vibes. he's very gentle outside of a battle. i've liked to think that if he weren't so busy with exploration work, he would love to try and get into baking; he'd probably lose himself in kneading dough specifically. mike doesn't have a lot of hobbies, because he's never given himself the free time to develop any. more often than not, he'd probably describe himself as having a caretaker role towards his brothers, for two completely different reasons (actively having to just keep keith out of petty trouble, and actively trying to be an anchor during luwel's mental breaks, both of which happen A Lot). he spends more time thinking about them than himself, but doesn't really seem to realise that that's been the case.

i'd like to give mike more hobbies and interests, since he's technically the most underdeveloped of the three. a lot of my thoughts towards him are unintentionally more along the lines of his mental health & gender identity (two major themes of his character; all three of my mcs have different facets of mental health that get explored. mike's is grief, regret, the inability to move on; self-inflicted trauma that can't ever go away). i'd really like to change that, and give him more fun little things along the way. there's absolutely some things i'm missing, many on purpose, but i hope this helps a bit! ^__^