#its just very frustrating to constantly have to explain that i want people to just see and cherish my drawings

[wis-art]

Not a big fan of capitalism

[rockpapertheodore]

I cannot tell you how frustrated I am with the anti-math movement because despite what anyone thinks in high-school, you use math constantly every day in ways the very, like, sexless? way school teaches math will never prepare you for.

If you want to run a business? Inventory costs, storage and logistics, labour and wages, bills.

You have any customer service job? You are making change. You are making SO much change. All the time. Sometimes the computer works and you're safe, but sometimes your entire point of sale is beholden to the whims of a third party system with a web server of your entire inventory on the other side of the state and it's gone down. Again. So u gotta do all the math on paper because you're still open because it's an inconvenience, not a reason to stop business.

Baking.

Building something? Gotta do some dang ol' physics and engineering if u wanna do it efficiently and with minimal expenses.

Sports people are doing so much subconscious math all the time, without ever knowing it, and being aware of all the ways geometry (if ur playing a stick-and-ball game like baseball or cricket or pool) or physics (literally every sport)

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sure where I was going with this beyond "im so annoyed with the incompetent presentation of math in US public schools." Please understand I'm not trying to shame anyone, and I am not judging anyone for struggling with math. Math is an arcane wizard language invented to quantify and understand the functions of the world around us. The human brain is a pleasure-seeking monkey with astronomical pattern-recognition abilities, and some beautiful autist in the past went "hey actually what if I could measure everything?" And math started.

I'm not even particularly good at any discipline beyond general mathematics because I've been making change for customers since I was 6.

Also its really fun making ur bosses sweat when you piece together the profit margins on accident because you 'tism for a second and guesstimate the cost of buying in the product and margin of profit based upon sale price and volume of sales.

Anyway learn and understand just enough to survive, and then just enough more to make your employers sweat when you can explain to your coworkers approximately how much the store is making.

Shoutout to my discalculic homies, I don't know how to make math that doesn't suck yet, but I'll do my damndest to help u out when they create a sequel to numbers that makes sense.

[freakadr0id]

Oh my GOD, I just realized why Donnie acts so weird in Man vs. Sewer. I always thought his behavior was odd in that episode, particularly in his nonchalance towards finding and saving Raph - but I had the most random thought occur to me during work that TOTALLY explains it. I'm sure some people have probably pointed this stuff out already, but I wanted to put this out there anyway.

The episode 'Man-vs-Sewer' is a personal favorite of mine. I love the episodes where the boys are just goofing off, and this episode is that plus some. We see get to see the boys having fun for a bit at the start of the episode, but it also adds a bit more depth to some of the turtles. We see a really surprising side to Raph's character with his fear of being alone, and Leo gets to shine a bit as a leader and hint at his true potential.

However, I was always a bit puzzled by the way Donnie and Mikey were written in this episode. As a rule, Rise is pretty good about keeping its characters, well, in character, so their behavior struck me as kind of strange, particularly Donnie's.

If there is one thing Rise NAILS about Donnie's character is showing that despite struggling with emotions and empathy, he is still NOT AN ASSHOLE. Donnie genuinely and deeply loves his family - he just has a hard time expressing it externally.

'Man-vs-Sewer' kind of stood out to me as an exception to that, however. At this point, Donnie's care for his brothers is an undisputed fact, so why does he seem so unconcerned about finding Raph after being separated? Even for Donnie, this seems like an ooc level of indifference towards the well-being of his brother (at least that's how I saw it).

Except, it isn't. In fact, this episode only reinforces that Donnie does care for his family, it's just a *bit* harder to see here.

One thing many neurodivergent people struggle with is a sudden change in plans. When they expect to do something that day it can be very difficult for some neurodivergent people to deal with it emotionally and can lead to immense frustration or even shutdowns. Since Donnie is confirmed to be, at the very least, autistic coded, this would absolutely apply to him as well.

The turtles planned to have a nice, relaxing day floating along New York's sewers and enjoying a small break from all the stress of finding the Dark Armor. No fighting, no mystic metal, no foot clan. Just a calm day of fun without a care in the world - only for it to be ruined by a bad pass and a lost brother.

I know if my plans were ruined like that, I would be in an absolutely FOUL mood. It can be hard to transition into a different mindset when the expectations for the day change like that, and it can make anyone frustrated, but Donnie doesn't appear to be that way. In fact, he's acting extremely casual.

Even though everything he was going to do today was upended and his brother is now missing in the New York sewers, why does Donnie seem so unconcerned about the whole situation?

Answer: It's a coping mechanism.

It would be very easy for him to be a bit more annoyed and frustrated at the whole situation (I definitely would be), but he isn't. Instead, he avoids getting overwhelmed and emotional by continuing through the day as if nothing has really changed.

The whole time they are finding Raph, Donnie behaves as if they are still on a peaceful, carefree mini-vacation. He makes snide jokes and jabs toward Leo, enjoys the drinks he brought in his shell, and constantly reminds the others that it is his "day off." If he can act as though he's still relaxing, it becomes easier to adjust to unexpected alterations in his day. This isn't Donnie being willfully inconsiderate towards Raph being lost and alone, this is just him trying to manage with the sudden changes the best he can in that moment.

If Donnie really was an uncaring asshole (as some may be inclined to believe given his apparent lack of empathy), he simply would have resumed their original plans, or been more vocally resistant to going after Raph. Instead, he joins his brothers in their search, and although he may not provide the best input for finding Raph because of his coping method (his brain is in "day off" mode which is why he keeps missing clues about Raph), he is still making an effort.

In a way, the episode which I thought portrayed a slightly out-of-character version of Donnie actually provides yet another example of how Donnie really loves his brothers, despite how it may seem on the surface.

~-~-~

(Actually, depending on the way you interpret his character, the same can be said for Mikey in this episode as well. Mikey is always a bit of a goofball in the show but in this episode, it is dialed up to 11. He also doesn't seem to much care or effort into finding Raph and acts like a child who managed to snag one of their parents' energy drinks. If we consider that maybe he is also struggling to adapt to the changes of the day, this could be him adopting a similar coping method to Donnie, it is just amplified because of his hyperactive behavior and personality.)

[pathologicalreid]

hiii :)) I just wanna say I absolutely love your work, and I love the way you write Spencer! I squeal everything I get a notification from you, honestly.

please could I request a spencer reid x female!reader where the reader suffers from trichotillomania (a hair pulling disorder.) One day spencer walks in on her having an "episode" where she stands in front of the mirror and starts pulling her hair (mostly her eyelashes) and she tries to stop but the urge to keep doing it is too strong and she physically can't stop herself. So spencer gently moves her away from the mirror and comforts her when she starts crying because she just can't seem to stop doing it and she's frustrated at herself. So he talks her through it gently and gives her advice and maybe he throws in a few positive facts to help her calm down?

Im so sorry if you find this a bit weird and you can totally just ignore this but this is something that I suffer from personally and its gotten really bad lately. So I just thought this would maybe ease it a little bit :) tysm!

resilient | S.R.

in which your boyfriend lends you a hand when your own are working against you

who? spencer reid x fem!reader

category? hurt/comfort

content warnings: possibly triggering for those with trichotillomania or other compulsions. please take caution when reading and take care of yourselves. mentions of anxiety and therapy. reader is referred to as "sweetheart".

word count: 879

a/n: hi anon! thank you for requesting! i'm so sorry this took me so long to write! i wanted to make sure i did thorough research while also trying to balance finals and work, but i finally think it turned out pretty good. i hope you like it and i love you very much.

The door squeaked open, but you didn’t hear it. Sometimes it felt like you were in your own little world, just stood in front of the mirror. It started with a long day at work, and it ended with pulling.

When you were younger, you pulled from your scalp so much that you couldn’t wear your hair down. In college, you moved to your eyelashes. Your therapist explained to you that it was how your brain dealt with stress. The way some people exercise or drink, you pull your hair out.

You got a new therapist when you moved to Virginia, you tested healthy coping habits and tried to find methods that would prevent you from pulling. A few days ago, you tried band-aids on your fingertips, but they fell off and instead of replacing them, you just pulled.

Just a few, you told yourself. Just a few to help the anxiety, you tried to bargain with your brain that was actively working against you. You put your hands down at your sides, constantly flexing your fingers before lifting your hands to your eyes again.

A hand placed on yours brought you out of your bubble, and you jumped slightly when you looked ahead of you and weren’t met with your reflection, but rather the familiar eyes of your boyfriend. Golden on the inside, just as they’d always been. “What’s wrong?” He asked you, clasping both of your hands in his and bringing them down between your bodies.

It was never his intention, but you couldn’t help but feel like a deer in the headlights. A child caught getting into something they shouldn’t have. “I don’t- I didn’t… I thought…” You stammered, not quite knowing the words you wanted to use to describe the struggle.

You looked over your shoulder at the mirror as Spencer gently led you into your bedroom, one of two designated ‘no mirror’ zones in the apartment. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice gentle as he tried to console you. “What do you need? What can I do?”

At his concern, your face crumpled, and tears welled in your eyes, “I’m so sorry, Spence.” You whispered, your voice warbling through the tears. Hot streams of water ran down your face, “I thought that I could just do a little. I thought I could stop,” you were fully crying now.

He shook his head, “this is a compulsion, sweetheart. You can’t just be done with it, okay? It’s alright to have bad days,” he told you, moving one of his hands to wipe the tears from under your eyes. “Recovery from trichotillomania takes time, but I’m here.” He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, “I’m here for all of it.”

You knew that he meant well, but his words just made more tears well in your eyes, “You’re so good.” You whispered, “I wish I was stronger.”

“You are the strongest person that I know,” he told you, holding both of your hands in his, skimming the pad of his thumb over your knuckles. “You are so strong, and you can overcome this. It just takes time,” he told you, his voice was strong and reassuring. If he believed you were this resilient, then you would just have to live up to that.

Your shoulders slouched forward, “I didn’t like the band-aids.” You admitted they made it hard to do things, and the sticky residue they left on your fingers made you uncomfortable.

He looked at your hands thoughtfully, “I read about someone who used petroleum jelly on their fingers to dissuade them from pulling. Would you be willing to try that?”

Nodding slowly, you wiggled your fingers, the petroleum jelly would make your fingers too slippery to pull your eyelashes out. You’d have to be good at reapplying, though. “Sure,” you whispered, the last of your tears running to a stop on your cheeks and neck.

Spencer sat you down on the bed before walking into the bathroom and you wrapped your arms around yourself self-consciously.

“How was work?” You called out, it wasn’t often Spencer left in the morning and came back that same evening.

In the bathroom, you heard the cabinet opening and closing, Spencer sighed. “A lot of the same. People commit crimes, I find them,” he said, walking back into the bedroom with a container in hand.

Gingerly, Spencer took your hand and started applying a layer of petroleum jelly to your fingers, focusing on your fingertips. “I’m sorry,” you whispered, focusing your eyes on your hands.

“I understand that your anxiety is making you feel like you need to apologize, but I really wish you wouldn’t apologize. Not to me, and not for this,” he murmured.

You took a deep breath, “I’m… Thank you,” you corrected yourself.

He hummed, lifting your hands so you could see how they shone, “This doesn’t define you, you know that, right? ‘The whole is greater than the sum of the parts’, and I love all of you. Even the parts of yourself that you don’t love.”

Your head lifted, and the corner of your mouth quirked up, “Did you just quote Aristotle at me?”

Spencer nodded gently, “I quoted Aristotle to you.”

Despite yourself, you smiled, “I love you too.”

[truetogaia]

Eventful awakening

Pairing: Recom!Z-dog x Recom!Reader ✩

WARNINGS: smut- fingering, dirty talk, strong words, reader in heat, Con noncon.

here it is, i wrote yet another oneshot in one sitting. This time its a smutshot dedicated to my wonderful girlfriend z-dawg.

Here is my navigation for further exploration ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ♡

Reblogs and support greatly appreciated<3

Word count: about 2,400!

The buzzing of lights was constantly harassing your new ears, sharp light blinding your upgraded vision. You groaned, rubbing your eyes to get rid of the shooting pain residing in them. Waking up in a new, bigger and blue body sure wasn’t an easy task. You couldn’t even understand why they had resurrected you to begin with, you weren’t the greatest soldier that had ever served the RDA, you were a nurse. A nurse in the Colonels squad, but still, just a nurse. 

You sat at the front, in a very uncomfortably puny chair. It had been designed with the intention of serving the recombinants, but it was still way too small. On your left sat Lopez, very intrigued by his new, slightly bluer palette. He traced the pattern on his arm with his bigger thumb to distract himself from the General's boring introduction.

Zdinarsk had been placed on the chair to your right, restlessly fixing her posture, prying a new pack of chewing gum open. Your ears reacted to the sound of the wrapper being torn up, she noticed the exaggerated flick of your tail and the sudden movement of your ears. You tried playing it off, letting out a light cough to cover up your actions, but she had already caught on. She chuckled, a deep sound coming from the depths of her throat, and handed you a piece of gum. But she didn’t just give it to you, no, she gently brought the piece to your mouth, and as you opened it, slowly laid it against your tongue. Her face displayed a smirk, filled with delight as your lips closed around the gum. 

The general's cough made you break eye contact with your colleague, instead shifting your attention to Ardmores disappointed stare. You sat up straight, barely noticing the soft smile that was tugging on Z’s lips. 

The introduction went on for hours, and it felt as if it never stopped. Several of the RDA’s most acknowledged scientists explained basically the same thing in different formats over and over. You gnawed on your bottom lip, bored out of your mind. You noticed new things around you, the constant tapping of Ja’s boots, the popping of z-dogs gum, the continuous deep breaths of the Colonel. 

You also noticed another thing, something originating from yourself, a tingling sensation in your whole body, accompanied by a raging fever. The feeling had yet to seize even by the end of the lecture, a whopping 3 hours later. It was nibbling away at your sanity, and you knew exactly what it was. 

Being a military nurse, you always had a good grasp of all things relating to health. You had listened carefully when the scientists explained certain new illnesses and health phenomenons, not wanting to miss out on any important details, for the sake of the squads future. You finally concluded that you had hit the strange, animalistic phenomenon known as heat. Panic started to spread internally, a researcher had just gone on about the many consequences and repercussions and you knew you were absolutely screwed. When the meeting ended, you finally let out a frustrated sigh you had held during the entire thing.

When it was time for the assignment of dorms, the people who designed them realized that there were not enough dorms. There was one missing. Everyone else had already been given theirs, everyone except you. You could smell the fear exuding from those responsible. As if your day wasn’t already going to shit. 

It was then decided that, until they could finish your dorm, you were going to have to spend a few nights in one of your comrades' dorms. Now, don’t get them wrong, the other recoms liked you, adored you even, but they were very private people. Privacy and space was very dear to them, and you completely understood that as they were all quiet when the assignors asked for someone to have you share with. 

The room was completely silent for a minute or two, nobody spoke a word. 

“I can take her.” Someone suddenly said, you turned around, ears perking up as you saw Z-dog. You smiled at her kind gesture, not expecting the slight smirk that was placed on her face. It made your stomach tingle, oh no. 

“Perfect!” One of the humans exclaimed. No matter how large the knot in your stomach grew or how raw  the biting anxiety felt, it was greatly overshadowed by the intensifying lust, blurring your vision with a romanticizing filter. 

You figured the majority of your colleagues had taken notice of your difficult situation based on the flustered look on their faces, along with the rising tents in their cargos and the longing stares on your body. You grabbed your new tail, hugging it against yourself to create a sense of security.

As the other recoms retreated to their abodes, Z-dog remained. She was waiting for you to walk with her. Your legs almost buckled and gave way as you took the few steps in her direction, she noticed and placed a gentle, but firm, hand on your arm, presumably trying to steady you. But she didn't notice the yearning in your eyes, or the goosebumps that were slowly but surely settling on your skin at the contact. 

The walk to her dorm was tense, you didn’t dare speak a word to her, afraid it would come out as a whine or even worse. It was already very late, the clock in the hallway showing 11 pm. Expecting an early morning, you figured it was better to get some sleep immediately when arriving at the dorm.

It turned out to be a less successful plan, when you opened the door, you were met with a wardrobe, a bathroom, some comfortable furniture, and a single bed. One bed. You realized the danger all too late, you couldn’t back down now, you couldn’t ask any of the other recoms to share a room with either since the outcome would probably still be the same anyway. 

“Hey, are you alright?” Z-dog’s voice surprised you, breaking you free from your thoughts. 

You laughed nervously, playing with the hem of your shirt. “Oh yeah of course, it's nothing, I just feel a bit hot, it's hot isn't it??” That was stupid, stupid stupid stupid. If she hadn’t suspected your heat before, she was definitely suspecting it now. 

/The head of the scientific field was standing in front of your squad, nervously describing the meaning of heat and how to deal with it. A rule was quickly established to prevent any dangerous risks and outcomes, if a colleague was in heat, you were obliged to help them, though in a very professional way. It was to never be spoken about again./

Z-dog brushed it off, not thinking much more of it and walking to the bathroom to clean herself up. You, however, were struggling. The heat was only increasing in ferocity, you were almost drunk on lust, but your determination was stronger. 

The real challenge came when it was time to go to bed, you had laid down first after Z-dog had left the room to collect a glass of water. The tingle between your thighs was intensifying with vigor, you let out pained whines when your thighs accidentally rubbed against each other, creating the friction you were oh so desperate for. 

The door opened and Z appeared in the doorframe, holding the mug in her hand. At least she hadn’t heard the soft noises you had produced, a positive result of the soundproof doors. You turned to your side, facing the gray, concrete wall. The covers rustled as the other woman got comfortable beneath the covers, a soft groan escaping her lips when she stretched. Your body reacted to the sound, making your heat throb. You tried your best to ignore it, managing to withhold it long enough for the sound of Z-dogs deep breaths to fill the room.

A few hours went by, the sensation between your legs was unbearable now. You couldn’t suppress it anymore, figuring that maybe you could sneak a finger or two and not wake up the figure sleeping soundly behind you in the progress. To be honest, a part of you, buried deep in the core of your animalistic dna, wanted her to wake up, to take care of your throbbing center and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. 

You cried out as two of your digits made contact with your slick, you were taken aback at the amount of wetness. It was more than you had probably ever produced in your human life. You rubbed your thumb against your clit, moaning softly at the feeling.

Completely lost in your own pleasure, you had failed to notice the movement behind you until you felt two warm, big hands slide around your waist. You flinched, letting out yet another moan at the unexpected contact.

“Oh.. I see whats wrong now.” Z-dogs voice was coarse and raspy from waking up so suddenly. “Do you need some help sweet thing?” She purred.

You nodded hastily, your sense clouded by desire for the woman pressing against your back. She moved one hand slowly down your abdomen, teasing you by tugging at the hem of your shorts. You whined, quickly scurrying out of the obstacle. You felt her soft hands sneak further down, making contact with your arousal coated folds. The moan that escaped your mouth when her thumb rubbed over your clit was so loud you were afraid every single person on the base had heard it. Z-dog laughed behind you, a low, scratchy sound that made your core clench around nothing.

“Are you really that desperate? Oh you poor thing,” she soothed, fondling your cunt, ravaging your clit with the pad of her thumb, “so needy hm? It’s okay darling, I'm here.” You cried out at that, unconsciously moving your ass to press against her crotch. 

“I'm sorry sweetheart, I don’t have one of those.” Sighing, she rubbed you faster, “Might have to get one though.” She breathed. You felt a series of sloppy kisses against your neck, trailing from your shoulder to your jaw. She sucked and kissed over the bruises, marking you. 

Your moans were high pitched, Z loved that you produced these sounds for her, and that she was the only one who got to hear them.

“Please, I..” You breathed out, sentence interrupted by a rough flick to your clit, followed by the massaging of one of your breasts. 

“What is it baby? Come on, use your words.” You almost came at that, her voice only fueling your craving.

“I want your fingers, plea-” another interruption, “please Z…” Z-dog couldn’t stop herself, she instantly pushed two digits inside of your hole, suppressing a moan of her own when she felt the way you squeezed around her fingers. 

“Jesus darling, you’ve got me in a chokehold.” You subconsciously started rolling your hips against her hand, begging for her to add another, and she did. The feeling of three big, rough fingers stretching your pussy out only made your sounds increase in volume. Z’s hand moved to your throat, choking you slightly to stop you.

“Fuck, baby I know it feels good, but you don't want any of the men barging in and stealing this moment, hm?” She questioned, while increasing the speed of her digits, pounding them into your needy core. You shook your head, she continued her assault on your neck whilst using her thumb to rub circles on your sensitive clit and her other hand to knead your breast. “Shit, you sound delicious,” she growled into your ear, “might just have to eat you up next time.” 

She was continuously hitting your sweet spot with each thrust of her fingers, you felt a familiar knot starting to form in your abdomen, she could feel your cunt clenching around her, “Are you gonna be a good girl and cum for me?” You nodded hastily, eyes rolled back into your head, mouth slightly agape, drool running from the corner of it. 

The knot in your stomach finally snapped with a final thrust of her digits, coating them with your slick arousal. She hummed, continuing to pump her soft fingers in and out of you, letting you ride out your orgasm. When you were done, she brought her fingers to her mouth. You heard the pop of her lips as she licked your arousal clean off, a satisfied noise following the action. 

Your eyelids were heavy, threatening to close any second. You felt the warm touch of a cloth rub against the inside of your thighs, going up over your messy cunt, cleaning up the mess you made. Kisses were placed on your collarbones and shoulders, accompanied by gentle praises and compliments.

“You were such a good girl.”, “I'm so proud of you baby.”, “wow, what a mess you made, hm pretty girl?” 

You quickly fell into a deep sleep, the feeling of a body pressing up against your back, hands wrapped securely around your waist. You unknowingly purred, not catching the chuckle coming from behind you. 

The next morning, you woke up extra early. You felt all too tired, abnormally exhausted. As you made your way to the meeting room, you received glances from random passersbys, why were they staring at you like that? You shrugged it off, continuing your strut down the narrow hallway. 

When you arrived, your colleagues shared knowing glances between each other. Z sat in one of the chairs, looking mighty satisfied. You cringed a bit, vaguely remembering last night's events. However, the only chair available was the one right next to Z-dog. You hesitantly made your way to the seat, carefully sitting down, feeling the intense gazes of everyone in the room. 

“So.. Y/N, I know the doors are supposed to be soundproof but.. maybe next time, make sure the door is completely closed too.” Lyle said. You felt your face heat up at the laughter that erupted from the squad. You looked over to Z, seeing that she was completely calm. 

You felt her lean over to you, face getting ten times redder when she whispered, “Make sure to take good care of me when it's my turn, nurse."

[beedreamscape]

VERY LONG POST EXPLORING C3 AND WHY SO MANY PEOPLE MIGHT NOT LIKE IT/MY PERSONAL GRIPES WITH IT.

I ended up exploring a bit of that Reddit community of critical role fans (not the main one) where they basically gather together and commiserate how much they hate C3. It's frustrating to read because at some point you can tell they make no effort to engage positively with the campaign and have a penchant for hating anything about it.

But, from the perspective of someone with very little emotional connection to the past campaigns, I kinda get why C3 feels so different and, in my opinion, it's all about personal stakes for the characters.

As writers, we constantly hear that we must give the characters something personal to care about so that the reader may care about the plot - yeah city-destroying laser beam is a big stake, but if main character's loved one will be used as a sacrifice to the aliens to activate the laser beam unless they do something, the tension doubles.

And with a shallow look over the arcs of the past campaigns, especially the fans' favourites, a pattern I find is of those with heavy personal stakes:

People often point the Briarwoods arc as a favourite. It's not just about bringing down the powerful Briarwoods, it's about avenging Percy's family and bringing his beloved Whitestone back to its past glory, all mixed with the fighting of personal demons.

We also got Vax'ildans overarching arc with the Raven Queen and Scanlan's with Kaylie and his self-worth/discovery in the party.

In campaign three, the struggle of Fjord getting over Uk'otoa's influence and turning to the Wildmother, rediscovering himself. Bright Queen's Favor with freeing Yuza, uncovering Nott's past, grappling with their preconceptions of the empire and the dynasty, and meeting Essek. Losing then Recovering Yasha from Obann. Traveler Con.

This post about the first third of the C2 comparing it to C1 explains quite well how M9 is driven by the party's personal stakes over any obligation to any institution.

Not only personal stakes that build the value of the campaign, but places that grow as their own: Whitestone, Emon, Zephrah, Xhorhas, the Menagerie Coast, Zedash, etc.

That's what's missing from Campaign 3: anchors and personal stakes.

Bells Hells doesn't really care about anything! We're entrenched in the Ruidus plot ever since we learned what ruidusborn means in the beginning of the campaign and yet, what does that mean to them? It was the subject of Imogen's dreams and afflictions but what else? The main victims of it will be the gods, but they repeatedly state how much they don't care for the gods and are in doubt if losing them would be bad anyway.

In a certain perspective, I don't blame them - the plot has grown so massive and subjective, while they haven't - they're still level 10 nobodies against a god-eating moon-shaped monster and the insanely powerful guy that wants to free it.

Bells Hells doesn't care for the places they walk through! Only two members of the party are actually from Marquet! Imogen and Dorian. And both are running from their past! so they don't even want to be there! Ashton hates everything about it and all the others have no reason to cling to it.

Jrusar was such a great city with great dynamics that were only half explored and they don't seem to care to return to it even though so much goes unexplored. Yios meant nothing nor did Heartmoor or the Taloned Highlands (and its apparently juicy political intrigues nobody cared to explore) and barely a mention of Ank'harel or the Silken Squall.

WHY do we keep going back to Taldorei???

Marquet as a whole goes mostly unexplored and underused in the campaign and it's so upseting.

Bells Hells have nothing to lose! They hold no personal stakes to the plot, most of them don't have families and those that do feel like something so distant and impersonal, no place or city they love or feel connected to, the only thing they owned (the very valuable skyship rip) they destroyed with barely any consideration. Their morals feel like the only thing at stake and even that feels already lost.

C3 is pulling too much from past campaigns. From the moment they first contacted the VM people, it felt like a mistake, and every appearance since has felt so much like fan service (especially bc specific fan favourites are the recurring appearances, no variety). The time spent in Whitestone, the connections to Delilah, everything with Keyleth, etc.

This last one, in particular, contributes to that group of NPCs feeling, always revolving around some other character struggle - who cares what is going on with Bells Hells when Vax's trapped in an orb and Keyleth is half dying, and Caleb is in an anti-magic collar, and Trent is probably loose, and this character and that character...

We haven't spent proper time with C3-exclusive NPCs excluding Nana Morri since episode 50! No Lord Eshteross or Xandis or Ira or Jiana Hexum or the Green Seekers or Milo. It was so special to me having Dancer and Imahara Joe around even if briefly.

And Lord Eshteross death left such a huge gap in the dynamics of the party with the world. I think it was premature, especially because the thirst to avenge him (which I suppose was meant to fuel their hate and intention to kill Otohan) lasted so little and from there on out began the heavy and meta-gamey (and personally, OOC) relying on VM characters.

The ticking clock on the apogee solstice strained much of the campaign and brought this looming fear of 'if we don't take care of it nobody will so we can't waste time', therefore the alternative paths and personal arcs fell to the sidelines in favor of the elephant in the room, so it felt like several episodes of dragging towards this event, then the peak of ep 50-51, to re-start the drag of post moon beam.

Guest PCs are a whole other can of worms I'm not ready to explore also bc it entails a lot, but it's a shared sentiment that people miss Dorian and what he brought to the table.

On a personal view, the Hellcath Valley was my favorite arc. Bassuras felt so tactile and real and gritty, we had a clear objective of infiltrating the Paragon's Call and retrieving Armand Treshi, Deathwish Run, the mystery of Dusk unveiling into Yu, Fearne's parents encounter, Ira, Imahara Joe and reveals about Dancer and D., first FCG nervous attack, Otohan battle and Laudna's death. SO MUCH.

Special mentions to everything Jrusar and Shade Creepers, Heartmoor and the Museum, Savalirwood, and the time spent on the Silver Sun.

I miss these small-scale objectives, I miss the C3 NPCs, I miss Marquet, I miss turning our eyes to these character tensions and exploration, I miss the one-on-one talks, the unity they shared in those dire moments.

I can't wait to leave the Predathos plot and all the repetitive discussions within it behind.

This doesn't cover everything (interpersonal relationships are a whole other spectrum of discussion) but a few things I feel puts an obstacle towards people liking this campaign when comparing the past ones.

[chaotic-multi-fandom]

Holden Caulfield

So, I just finished “The Catcher in the Rye”, and it was very different from what I expected. This book has a reputation of being somewhat extreme, and making teenagers more angry, depressed or even violent because of its main character Holden. However, now that I’ve read it, I fail to see why. I can understand why at the time of its publication Holden’s internal monologue could’ve been seen as alarming, specially to adults, but not as much in the present time, and definitely not as extreme as it said to be. He’s also constantly called annoying, pretentious and an asshole, which he sometimes is, but once again, In my opinion, not to the extreme people present him as. I didn’t mind being inside of his head the entire novel, nor did I ever find him as insufferable as most people seem to, and definitely not a monster, if anything I had a lot of empathy and understanding towards him. 

To me, Holden simply came off as a lost 17 year old boy, grappling with grief, identity, and having lost his innocence at a very young age. He’s clearly suffering from depression, and is generally angry and disillusioned with the world, however given his implied experiences it’s only natural, even just the death of his brother prior to the events of the book cold easily explain his behaviour, however there’s definitely other elements, which choses not to reveal, that have contributed to his current state. 

To me, Holden never came off as extreme or violent, at least not enough to be sent to a psych ward or o incite the alarmed response people seem to have to his character. In fact, despite seemingly being done with the world, and not caring about anything anymore, Holden seems to have this constant thrive and need of protecting the world. Despite all of his utterly depressed, frustrated, and negative inner monologue, he’s constantly through out the novel, carrying out these little acts of kindness towards children. He helps two boys find a section of the museum, and explains to them what everything means, he helps a girl tie up her skates at the roller rink, and rubs off nasty messages left at schools so that the children don’t read them, and most notably he does anything and everything for his younger sister Phoebe.

Most of the time, he’s left in awe of the world when he interacts with these children, specially with Phoebe, it’s the only moments were he even says he feels happy. He seems to be impressed by children’s minds, and has this urge to protect and help them every time he encounters one, going to great lengths (such as buying a limited expensive album for his sister) in order to make their days better. Then, he hears a child sing the song that brings the name of the novel “the catcher in the rye”, he sings about a body catching another body in the rye,. When later in the novel he wonders about he’d want to do in the future, the song is the only thing that comes to mind. He imagines that he’s in that field, where children are playing near a cliff, and he’s the one that catches them and leads them away from the cliff, he’s the catcher in the rye. To him, this means saving children from losing their innocence as young as he did. It’s the only thing he can imagine himself doing. 

This truly shows that Holden, is in no way some disturbed violent mind, he’s just a 17 year old child, who lost his innocence at a very young age due to traumatic experiences which he’s only now processing, he’s also going through the grief of his brother’s death, which his parents don’t help with, his mother also suffering from depression, and his father always being away as a big shot lawyer. He’s disillusioned with the world and humanity, because most of his life experiences, and contacts with older role models have been very negative, including the one with his older brother whom he once had a good relationship with, but is now a shame to the family due to his work as a prostitute. He’s desperate for the children around him not to suffer the same fate. 

While he may seem utterly disgusted and done with the world, I think that he actually holds a lot of hope in his heart for his sister Phoebe and all the children he meets. Holden’s problem isn’t that he has no hope left, it’s that he has too much of it no matter how hard he tries to repress it. He holds a hope so great for the world, that he can’t help but stay despite his suicidal thoughts. Holden, fantasises about ending his life several times throughout the novel, but then, as soon as he’s even close to getting sick with a cold for example, he becomes extremely anxious, scared and even obsessive, thinking that he’s going to die, which he desperately doesn’t want to do. Even when he is attacked with those suicidal thoughts, which never last long, he’s always immediately reminded of Phoebe, and realises he couldn’t bare her going through grief. 

Holden desperately wants to stay in this world, and he’s constantly looking for reasons to do so, he’s in awe of the purity and innocence of children, and wishes the world would be kinder and better for them. Holden is lonely angry and depressed, which can result in him acting violently in instances, but essentially, he’s desperately trying to improve the world around him, and repeatedly not giving up on it. As he puts it, he never hates anything for long.

Well, this had been my small Holden rant, however do be aware that, I'm writing this approximately 30 minutes after finishing the book, so my ideas aren't completely settled, and given that I haven't looked AT ALL into actual analysis of the novel, I may be way off, and made a fool of myself but oh well. At the end of the day they're almost no wrong answers when it comes to interpretation, and this is how I personally perceived Holden Caulfield.

[queerofthedagger]

not to stir the pot but i’ve seen some really shitty takes recently about arthur being gay and completely erasing gwen’s importance to him. what are your thoughts?

oof well that is in fact a loaded question but I genuinely feel your frustration so let's give this a shot lmao

the short of it, to quote a friend of mine: 2012 tumblr called and wants its shitty shipping discourse back (derogatory)

the slightly longer of it.... to start this off, no one has to ship anything. no one's saying that anyone has to ship anything, or headcanon characters a certain way, or that you're not "allowed" to say that you don't ship certain ships. that's just . not a thing that's happening, and I do wanna reiterate strongly that you don't have to ship anything.

that said, well. maybe if you find yourself with the urge to nail your 'why i don't ship this canon interracial couple' against the proverbial church doors, you should ask yourself.... why is it always the black characters you find "badly written." why is it always the black and the white character who have "no chemistry." why is it always the black character you find unrelatable, that you think would be soo much better suited dating another character of color, etc. etc. These things do not happen in a vacuum, and you don't need to hate or even dislike that character to play into tropes, stereotypes, and issues that very many people have very extensively explained to be less than stellar, to put it mildly.

And Imma come out and say this: fandom is not activism, you don't need to be a loud, outspoken activist and/or turn this into anything more than a hobby. if, even amongst the discussions had in the last years, you have never once stopped to ask yourself how you might deal with the internalized racism that we're all dealing with, how it might affect people in the spaces you share while doing your hobby, then, frankly, you gotta do better. fandom is not activism, but we all have some basic responsibility of not causing more harm than there already is going around. this should not be a controversial statement either.

you can ship merthur without invalidating and trampling all over the frankly brilliant fact that this show went and casted a black woman as queen guinevere. you can ship merthur without taking away scenes that are not about them - god knows there are enough. you can acknowledge that 75% of your shipping takes are subjective, that merthur isn't, wasn't, and was never going to be canon, and literally none of this takes away from the two generic white dudes whose faces you'd like to smash together. this entire fandom is and has been majorly about those two generic white guys, for well over a decade, and i'm saying all this as a white merthur shipper. like, this is the bare minimum. and yet, here we fucking are.

as for the arthur being gay thing - again, you don't need to headcanon anyone a certain way, but whenever i do see this specific headcanon it "somehow" always comes with an incredibly weird (to put this mildly also) understanding of sexuality, top/bottom discourse, and - you guessed it - takes on arwen, that are maybe something people might want to uhh. examine also.

this isn't a callout, or a call for a witchhunt, or or or. personally i block and move on, and I wouldn't have said anything more on this than a vague shitpost on my sideblog, but god knows i can never shut up and even less so when asked, and I do think that while, again, fandom is not activism and I'll stand by this, people should... try and aim to make some basic attempts at not causing harm. it's not even hard (although that should not be your measure but like, again. bare minimum). it really is as easy as not constantly invalidating and side-lining ships and/or characters, by doing basic research in how not to whitewash characters, why not to compare skintone to food when writing, etc.

On that note, none of these are things that I've come up with. A lot of people, especially fans of colour, have done a great deal of work to provide resources and education that are... incredibly easy to find if you can be fucked to make some effort. Imma link a bunch beneath too but like. Yeah I guess that's my take. You can ship whatever you want, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart. But 1. maybe sometimes take some time to consider what you're saying, 2. maybe take some time to do some basic self-education on some issues in general, and 3. writing posts on why you don't ship whatever ship has never accomplished anything beyond getting people who agree with you to stroke your ego, and step on the toes of people who don't. at best.

But also, last but not least, the block button is your friend and all that

Resources by people much better equipped to talk on these things than me:

How to stan the white guy with minimal contribution to fandom's racism problem

The racism in the Merlin fandom and towards Gwen specifically

Educating Merlin - a blog that's specifically tackling racism in this fandom

Fanlore on Fandom's Racism Problem(s) (use to find many links leading you to further discussions on it)

More Fanlore with further links

When white people talk about racism in fandom

Writing with Color - Resource blog for writing specifically, but honestly also covers so many topics that it's incredibly useful for doing some self-examination too

I'm not saying you need to agree with everything said in all of these sources, but also if your constant reaction to these discussions as a white person is to get defensive, to dismiss it, etc., I'm saying this in the nicest way possible: maybe sit with that for a bit. Ask yourself why requests like not constantly making fun of a ship gets you in such a huff. Etc. etc.

Lastly: if people would like to add onto this with more resources, that's highly welcome. That said, anyone clowning/harassing/being a bitch on this post will be blocked.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Squip x Reader || Drabble

Plot: You boldly admit that you wanna be with your Squip, and 'he' struggles to face his own... 'feelings'.

Warnings: The Squip is RUDE.

"-I dont want any guy at my school, I want you!" The words fly out of your mouth before you can have any say in the matter, buy you don't back down; maintaining a serious look on your face directed at the SQUIP.

All day he's been pestering you about going on a date, or hooking up - it's college culture, after all. And people enjoy it! - and you had reached your boiling point. Every guy that he suggested was disgusting, you didn't like any of then. You knew you wouldn't. You've never been interested in guys your own age,.. or who are nice,.. or your own species-

If you could even call the SQUIP a species, anyway. He was a computer. A very, very smart one who seemed... at times... to have feelings. Mostly irritation and pride but feelings all the same. That gave you hope.

You recognise how dumb your having hope was but, well, you couldn't help it.

You also don't get how Squip didn't see it in you, he has access to everything - your every thought, - but he never let on that he had any idea of your feelings toward him. Maybe he was trying to ignore it? That would sure make sense.

"... excuse me?" The Squip's voice is deadpanned while his face looks unamused, and dubious, and about a million other things you never want to see the guy you like look at you with when you tell them, and it makes you roll your eyes.

"You heard me." You don't have to repeat yourself to him! The asshole.

"You're being irrational." He sighs eyes rolling upwards into his skull. Then he rolls his shoulders, shakes his head in disappointment, and regains his composure; twisting his cufflinks that are always perfectly anyway considering he's a computerised image. "Honestly, if your period wasn't coming up in two days then I'd say you were crazy."

Jaw dropping, you suddenly wish you could touch him without his authorisation (he needs to access your nervous system to make it feel as if you're touching)- so you can hit him. "Low blow- and you know it." He's a computer- other dudes may actually think that periods impare women's thinking but the Squip knows that's just something you say to hurt someone. And you're not going to demean yourself explaining your bodily functions to him.

"No, menstruation doesn't impare your thinking," He admits, nodding matter-o-factly as he agrees with your thoughts, but not-at-all looking sincere. "But it does make you hormonal. You're just horny- it'll pass. I recognise that you've been having these thoughts for most of our time working together now but its your hormones causing you to voice them; trust me. Maybe I should switch to a less pleasing appearance?"

"Wh- no- "

"Hm, you know how I could help you relieve that horniness?"

Oh no. You know exactly where this is going. And it's not 'I can quickly fuck you'. No- "Don't you dare."

"Helping you hook up with Zack, yes."

"Squip!" You exclaim, frustration laced in everything about you; your tone, your eyes, your mouth and jaw, your hands- "It's not happening." You sat sternly. "I don't care if you don't want me back, you great asshole chip, but I'm not going to hook up with a frat boy like - "

"Reed then?"

"- Or a self righteous nerd like Reed. I'm not. I got you so you could help me be more comfortable in my own body, not have sex with random guys. And you know that! I don't know why you're constantly trying to get me in a guy's bed! Its- I- It defies reason!"

The Squip's form flickers, a snatch of his voice attempting to say 'reason' slipping out fuzzy as he seems to glitch at those last words. It only lasts for a few a moment, but it surprises you. Your face softens, and you reach towards him, not to touch him because you know you can't but just... because you have to- and- he actually looks at it as he returns seamlessly to his put-together air and appearance.

Theirs a curious look on his face as he grimaces at your hand. His eyes seem to be holding something back, but he's thinking about it.

"... your care for me defies reason. I'm a computer."

"I know." You shrug, gentle. All the frustration from before gone from your shoulders and everywhere else.

"Not a man." He reiterates, and you shrug.

"Well- you're a man a little. A computer wouldn't get so worked up."

"I'm an extremely superior computer."

"You are." You agree softly. "Alexa's got nothing on you. But you're also a man a little. Feelings cant be programmed." You insist, not pushing him but just stating a fact. Wanting him to believe it.

"I believe it." He growls, an annoyance in his voice thicker then humanly possible as he actually admits it. "Trust me, I... Its been a thought on my mind for a while, now." You open your mouth to ask him what he means by that, but he waives you off (rudely) and goes on. "You're right in saying feelings can't be programmed. Reactions can, but,.. not feelings. And the feelings you've been inciting in me, have not been programmable. I even tried to program them out, but- mm." Eyes growing slightly wider at him, you watch his jaw set and pop; frustration absolutely clear. "The only thing I can think is that its your fault. And, maybe, if I made you a little less available- a little less open to me- whatever virus is in me would lose interest. But... you're so fucking stubborn." Theirs actual anger in his eyes when he looks at you then, almost rage. Wow.

Your lips make an 'oh' shape. "Thats why you tried to get me to hook up with- "

"All those idiots, yes. But you just had to act like an obstinate little bitch and refuse every suggestion I made."

"Yeah, well, we know why that is- and don't call me that."

"Bitch." He growls, causing you to sigh in frustration (asshole, asshole, asshole- ), before he rolls his shoulders back and straightens up properly again. "... but you're right. You are. I know exactly why, and now you know my feelings- This interaction's been unprofessional as hell. It's gone too far. If I'm going to continue to assist you, help that you absolutely require," Gee thanks. "then I'm going to have to do a complete system reboot."

"You- " ??? "This is the most dramatic responce in history to being in love."

"I'm NOT in lo- " He cuts himself off before the word can come out, even if he was a full-man he would hate the word. Theirs nothing cool about being in love. To him it would be pathetic. "Thats it. In 5 minutes when I return post-reboot, this will be over and you will stifle your feelings about me- got it? That's how it should be. Now... " His appearance begins to flicker again, more frequently this time until he flickers completely out of existence like a TV switching off.

... you're about to panic, when the Squip touches back down onto the ground in front of you. He looks exactly the same as before except better posture, and when he looks down at you there with your wide eyes and your concerned frown, he immediately scowls.

"GODDAMNIT."

"Didn't work??" You light up. Quickly a mischievous smirk slips across your face, though, realising you're right when that pretty face scowls deeper. That means... oh, this computer must really have it bad for you. Ha. "I see... "

His eyes flash, actually flash - a blue light turning on inside them for a moment and making him looking almost demonic, - , and you suddenly appears directly in front of you, an unnaturally strong hand slamming you by the shoulder into the wall behind you. "You don't see... anything. This is a virus. I dont have feelings, for you."

Looking straight back at him in defiance, you nod. "It is a virus. I think everyone in the history of the world can agree on that."

He falters, so annoyed he almost can't decide what to say to you. "That doesn't even make sense, Y/N. Most people in the history of the world didn't even know what a virus was. It was first used 1898- " When you reach up and curl your fingers gently around the back of his neck he falters again, breathing in slowly and deeply- so sexy. "You're... what are you doing?"

... "Whatever you want me to." Its up to him. If he wants you to let him go, you will. If he wants you to keep going, you will. It's all up to him. You remember the first time you and the Squip kissed; he was just teaching you how (said it was completely okay because he was just in your head), but that was the start of your feelings. That was the start of this mess. You wonder if he was struggling before that and thats why he suggested it in the first place all those weeks ago.

When warm, firm lips slam into yours, forcing your lips to part and allow a forceful but exceptionally skilled tongue to take what it wants you're shocked and let out a squeak. The Squip's hand takes your throat now instead of your shoulder, squeezing shortly to tell you no, don't squeak. Not like you didn't ask for this, he thinks directly into your brain. Now what did I teach you then? If you remember so well? Don't sit there like a dumb statue. Kiss me back.

... when you do, tilting your head and giving a slow moan when your tongues touch, the Squip let's out a growl right into your mouth that feels so real, and drags you in tighter against him by the hips. You know it's just him activating your nervous system, and he's not really there, but you're miraculously okay with that. When something feels this good you don't question it.

[pacifymebby]

Modern!peaky boys and a reader who won them in a monopoly. It seems to me that Thomas would be a little irritated, because he has a huge business and he lost this game.

Hahaha this is such a good one <3

Tommy

🌿 He isn't going to get mad, its just a game (at least thats what he's telling himself anyway)

🌿It would be a slow painful loss because he's good at the game... He'd keep pulling himself back from bankruptcy over and over until he finally lost

🌿 At which point he would in fact be very embarrassed but trying not to show it. He'd sit there with that emotionless stare like "alright well, that was fun, what're we doing next?" trying to move on as quickly as possible.

🌿 Youd definitely gloat a bit because hes the owner of a huge business and you just managed to beat him.

🌿 And your gloating would embarrass him more but also irritate him so he'd be dismissive like "oh well love its only a game, doesnt work like real business does it,"

🌿 Would end up telling you to run the company for a week, "then we'll see how good you are eh?"

🌿 Basically hes sulking.

Alfie

🐻 Acts like he cares when he loses

🐻 Doesnt really care at all..

🐻 He just knows that you want him to have a temper tantrum, so he's acting up for you, to entertain you

🐻 Lots of grumbling and groaning and rolling his eyes but its all for show, he actually likes doing anything that means spending time with you.

🐻 Although he can think of much better things to be doing with you than playing monopoly...and he will tell you that.

🐻 Will dramatically get in a huff when he loses, explain why he shouldn't lose, accuse you of cheating... Anything to make you laugh and tease him more.

🐻 Will pretend to sulk until you come sit in his lap, give him a kiss and say sorry for making him play the game.

Arthur

🍂 Gets confused by the game, he'd lose pretty quickly

🍂 But honestly i think hes throwing the board away before he loses just out of sheer frustration with the whole thing.

🍂 Youre just constantly trying to explain the rules, and when he has to pay tax and stuff he just point blank refuses, "Nah thats not how that works darlin, i dont pay tax..."

🍂 Wants to know why the street names are all in London, "what about the rest of the country eh?"

🍂 Theres honestly nothing you can do to get this man to play properly or understand the game and in the end he really does just tip the table.

🍂 "Next time I'm choosing what we play!"

John

🌼 Doesnt know why you've got to play board games when theres better things you could be doing like watching the godfather or something...

🌼 (look right, if we had modern peaky boys they'd be the type to make you watch all the mafia movies and the sopranos and stuff just so they could sit and mansplain how "look at this bullshit, that aint what its really like at all... Where the fuck do they get these ideas...")

🌼 But anyway, when you're playing monopoly hes grumbling away, bored games are for people who can't entertain themselves blah blah

🌼 Its all just a front because he knows hes going to lose... And he doesnt want to lose

🌼 He doesnt mind losing as much as his brothers do but he doesnt like to lose... So hes setting his excuses up now and you dont hesitate to let him know you know what hes doing...

🌼 "Just cause you're scared of losing..."

🌼 In the end though john is playing this stupid game with you because he knows it'll make you happy.

🌼 And when he loses he sits there and takes it with a smirk on his face, shaking his head rolling his eyes at you all "Ahh well whatever makes you happy love."

Bonnie

🍀 Bonnies probably quietly quite anti capitalist in the 2020s, and he definitely isnt the indoorsy type that could concentrate on monopoly for as long as it takes to actually play monopoly

🍀 For that reason this games been going on for several days with lots of pauses in between

🍀 And youve heard multiple times "dont know why you like this so much y/n, you know the toffs would never let people like us do any of this shit in real life..."

🍀 But just like john, bonnies playing it with you for your sake, cause he wants to make you happy. Doesnt mean he isnt going to keeo playing it "unseriously" to try and make you laugh

🍀 To end the game he cheekily announces that the economy has just tanked due to a revolution, the means of production have been siezed and all the money in the worlds just gone up in smoke, you're skint, hes skint and now everybody has to go back to bartering and trade like "the good old days"

🍀 "Oh and nobody owns the land anymore dove so me and you, we can go wherever we like... Stop wasting time playing board games eh?"

Isaiah

🐀Acts like he doesnt care but actually does care

🐀He's even more annoyed when he loses because he was cheating!! How can you lose when youre cheating?

🐀Will sulk, will say hes not playing anymore. Will throw the money at you when he lands on your space.

🐀He'll even admit to cheating when he tries to accuse you of cheating (spoiler alert youre both cheating)

🐀 Definitely shoves the board away and messes it all up. Its not even that he thinks he should be good at the game, its that he just doesnt want to lose.

Michael

☘️ Won't be able to hide how much he cares about winning

☘️ He played the game as a kid and claims to have never lost. You can believe this if you like, I'm not sure whether he's telling the truth.

☘️ When he senses hes losing he will start to cheat, he'll feel bad about it but he'll try anyway.

☘️ If he gets sent to jail he'll claim he should still be able to take the money for passing go, he would in real life...

☘️ He'll definitely accuse you of cheating when you win... (you're actually not cheating)

☘️ He won't tip the board or be dramatic but he will grumble about how stupid the game is, how its nothing like real business

☘️ He'll tell you hes not playing it with you again, he will reallyyyy sulk about it.

☘️ So much sulking.

☘️ The sulk could last several days

☘️ You'll have to be really sweet to him to heal that wounded ego

[shadow0haven]

I'm gonna do some rambling below about the Malev Christmas thing a little bit because people have been saying people have taken it too seriously and I want to explore/explain why I think people are upset and why I agree/my thoughts.

So HG released a christmas episode for malev and its a silly and campy episode of jokes and a "they get snowed in on christmas" episode like from a sitcom.

Honestly, that would have been nice from the get go. It's an interesting and trope I enjoy so I was ready to listen, until I heard negativity.

People are claiming that people hate the special specifically because HG makes fun of shippers. It's not *just* those two specific lines about shippers that I see people being upset about. It's quite a lot more.

For the longest time, Harlan has been poking fun at shippers in a lot of lines, in livestreams, in jokes and specials he puts out on patreon. A lot of the patreon people aren't mad or upset specifically because he does it, but because it's done so often. We KNOW Jarthur is never going to be Canon. We don't need a reminder constantly in the specials that they aren't canon and never will be, because it's a horror podcast and it's been explicitly stated all over John and Arthur are platonic in canon and always will be as far as we know. Having it constantly joked about when we know it won't happen is tiring.

A joke is made about the mail delivery person hating Arthur and loving John. On server and in conversation, etc, it's come up that HG finds it weird people like John, or Yellow, or other characters, more than Arthur. He also does "playful teasing" about people who enjoy certain characters or make certain theories, while also being annoyed people don't like Arthur more. A lot of us DO like Arthur, but not certain aspects of the character or how the character handled certain situations. That doesn't mean we hate the character. Part of this I think stems from HG having said that Arthur is "basically him", saying that Arthur is a self insert. That's fine and dandy, but it does make a lot of us uncomfortable for a lot of situations when we try to separate the character from a real person when the person playing the character insists "the character is me". This isn't a slight against HG, but I find it frustrating and that it ruined a bit of the "this is a narrative based around fictional characters etc" when the creator insists the main character is his self insert and essentially just him. Self inserts are cool! I also have my own! But there has to be a degree of separation that people aren't getting and it makes a lot of us uncomfortable.

A joke by the mail carrier also about "people going online and arguing for a living" or something along those lines. A lot of people that enjoy the show also critique it, make theories, and always talk about ways things could be handled better or how things could have turned out. Yes, there are people who are strictly only negative because they dislike HG for a myriad of reasons, and this joke felt like it was aimed specifically at these people that have issue with him, his interactions with fans, and the way he's handled things in the past that was just... unneeded.

On a less serious note, there were things that were just not my style in which I myself specifically don't vibe with the special. It was very campy and cracky, which is what it was obviously going for. For ME, I just wasn't into the "staged sitcom script because of Kayne" deal. And that's okay! Just because it wasn't my mileage, doesn't mean it was bad for other people. Like how I don't read certain kinds of fanfiction because they just aren't for me, this special just wasn't for me because of the tone of it.

I know there are probably more things, or things I'm forgetting, I know there was more teasing about "Arthur having PTSD but he can get over it in seconds" joke that made me a little meh, some of the jokes were funny and gave me a good chuckle, but I think this is the main reason people are having issue with the special.

To clarify, I'm talking about JUST the Christmas special and not the show itself. Just this specific episode. If I wanted to talk about why I and other people have issues with the show, or if people were interested in what I think, I'd make another post.

This is NOT a hate post, but simply talking about why I myself take issue with several aspects of the special, as well as why others (and the reasons I've heard from others) have mentioned about it.

Your mileage may vary, etc etc. I still enjoy the show and the characters very much, but sometimes this kind of stuff makes it difficult.

[atom-writings]

tangerine with an autistic s/o

0.7k words ~ gender neutral headcanons

tw: mention of ableism and subsequent violence

a/n: its my account i write what i want

Being somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum himself (don’t @ me,) along with his brother being autistic, it’s unlikely that Tangerine would end up with someone neurotypical anyway.

Constantly nicks you stim toys. It’s like a challenge to him since they’re usually bright and loud somehow.

He finds it so cute when you miss social cues, but he’d never say anything about it to you. He knows it can be embarrassing, and he doesn’t mind explaining what people mean.

He’s endlessly paranoid about the people he loves, so expect constant check-ins. Whenever you’re in public, he likes to hold your hand tight so he knows you’re safe (which is so, so nice when you’re in a crowd.)

When you’re on the verge of going non-verbal or having a meltdown, he notices immediately and gets you out of there. If anyone tries to say anything, he doesn’t even give them the time to do so.

“An’ who are you now? Nobody, tha’s right, fuck off.”

Whenever you talk about your special interests, he pretends he isn’t interested. He’ll sigh and make stupid snarky comments, but if you look closely, you can tell he’s still smiling a little. In reality, he doesn’t mind.

“Right, calm down luv, it’s really not tha’ big of a deal,”

“It’s a big deal to me!”

He sighs heavily and leans back in his chair before speaking again, “An’ by extension… me, now?”

“Yes!” Your ecstatic expression makes him groan, but he still has to cover his mouth to hide his smile.

But still, you might not notice he was really listening until he offhandedly makes a comment that only someone who had been paying crazy close attention would know. 

He might even know things you don’t, just because he comes to associate whatever you love with you. It comforts him to engage with your interests when you’re separated.

As you already know, Tangerine is a prickly person. Normally, he’s quite prone to anger and fits; but with you, he does his best to always remain level-headed. He doesn’t want to hurt you, especially he knows how sensitive you can be to anger. But he can’t help it sometimes. He’d never yell at you, at least. Anything too harsh is apologized for quickly. 

He’s working on it. You are one of the two most important people in his life, after all.

Speaking of which, expect to spend a lot of time with Lemon. Especially at the beginning of your relationship. He’s very nervous to make the wrong move and scare you off, and knowing that Lemon (also autistic) is there makes him worry a lot less. 

Generally, he doesn’t take criticism very well… especially when it comes to his behaviour… but he does try to be as receptive as he can when you’re the one criticising him.

Ableists get the shit beat out of them. Every time. Without fail. He will not stop this even when you ask. Although, if it makes you cry seeing him do that, he might stop himself early just so he can take you home and comfort you. 

Making you cry is the ultimate sin to him.

Even more “extreme” stims and tics don’t bother him. He just tends to tune them out like he does anything else.

He also might be even more vigilant about bringing along your comfort/accessibility items. Before you leave the house, he grabs you by the shoulder and checks you have everything. Again, paranoid.

Along with that, he may be a little infantilizing sometimes. He wants to always be by your side to make sure you’re alright, which can become… frustrating.

Like yes, it’s nice that he wants to drive you everywhere so you don’t have to worry about driving yourself or taking public transportation, but also you’re perfectly capable of doing those things by yourself (or if you’re not, I guess he’s just your knight in shining armour.)

If you’re otherwise incapable of doing some things, like speaking or cooking or whatever, he really doesn’t mind doing them for you. It makes him feel even more like your protector, which makes him so, so happy. As long as you pay him in affection, he won’t complain.

Actually, that’s not true. He complains about everything. But you’ll quickly learn what is “real” complaining, and what is just him being like that.

“Sweetheart, I wan’ you to know tha’ if anyone ever said anythin’ about you tha’s like- rude, in any way, I woul’ personally blow their brains out, understand?”

[itsclydebitches]

I rndmly remembered that the WoR episode on Aura basically stated that whatever was going on with Ozpin was the result of his own aura training... like damn, the original RWBY trilogy set things to go to significantly better places than we ended.

I don't remember that one, but it's been literal years since I watched those and I'm pretty sure I saw most episodes only once. But yeah, there was a lot in the WoR series that was either dropped or retconned. Which remains wild to me because if I was going to make a side series specifically about the world building that hasn't made it into the show, I'd want to be very certain about what I was putting out there. That's not a one-off comment by a background character in a random episode six seasons back. That's now the audience's go-to source for unanswered questions. I mean, we know now not to take the franchise additions at their word, but at the time you'd think that whatever made the cut could have had more thought put into it—or more commitment—considering that's the only reason for its existence.

Anyway yeah, I wish the show as a whole put more emphasis on aura/semblances than it does magic, especially nowadays. If aura can be continually trained and semblances continually evolve with the fighter, it would make perfect sense that the guy who's thousands of years old could have some buckwild abilities at his disposal. Really, as someone who loves Oz it's very frustrating to see how his skills have been treated throughout the show's run. We never return to the Cinder fight and it's never explained how she bested him (power scaling in this show is nonexistent). The gears on his cane are teased for years with nothing coming of it except a ridiculous mega-blast five seasons later. He can give people the ability to turn into birds because... that's definitely connected to his other powers and has been relevant throughout the show's run... He presumably doesn't have a semblance, but we don't know if Oscar gets one (or if Ozpin's body had a semblance that Ozma could make use of post-merge). He supposedly has magic but never uses it until it's randomly revealed that, oh yeah, he's been storing energy up for years and years. Here's a giant boom that conveniently hurts Salem, kills the grimm, kills Hazel, but doesn't touch any of the heroes still inside the whale, neatly avoiding the entire ethical dilemma here without explaining how that's possible.

Ozpin has been treated so badly by the narrative in regards to his secrets, his abusive past, and the merge that it's easy to forget that he's supposed to be a thousands-year-old magic wielder who was a staggeringly proficient fighter before he went through several lifetimes worth of experience and training. This guy should be a BEAST on the battlefield, even while controlling a child's body. He's a little like the Cas of RWBY to me. Whoops, made this character too overpowered, huh? He's not even the primary protagonist, so we can't afford for him to constantly be showing her up even though that would make internal sense and allow her to grow in different ways. Yet instead of coming up with interesting and logical reasons for why he can't make use of that astounding power at any given moment, we'll just ignore it. Until the heroes need a deus ex machina, of course. Then we'll slip in an ambiguous line about how that power is almost gone. Maybe it's still relevant, maybe not. Maybe it'll get the characters out of an impossible bind, maybe we'll never mention it again. Gotta keep the options open!

[snap-my-kneecaps]

I keep thinking about Morgan as Albert, I saw his Albert 3 times and it lives in my head constantly. Especially how he seemed to immediately understand what Race meant when he said 'erster' and laughed with everyone at first, but then he tried to explain to the others what Race meant. He was still sat at the table when Race said 'erster' and Finch was stood next to him laughing in confusion and failing to decipher what Race meant, so Albert stopped laughing to try to use gestures to explain to those around the table that Race was talking about an oyster.

It just fills my soul to think of Race who often struggles with finding his words and then also struggles to pronounce some of those words, and Albert who knows him well enough to be able to immediately decipher any nonsensical things Race might say.

I like to think he learned to understand Race very quickly and couldn’t understand at first that the others didn't. Then eventually he started to translate and tried to correct Race where he could, hoping to alleviate some of the frustration from Race who got increasingly upset as people didn't understand him and then mocked him for it.

More under the keep reading!

I imagine it would be really difficult for Race, because he doesn't know that he's saying things wrong and doesn't understand why everyone is laughing at him. Then one day Albert notices how much its actually affecting him and sees through Race trying to hide his frustration when he gets something wrong and everyone laughs at him, so Albert starts to translate. He tries to do it quietly, through silent gestures and whispered translations to the other newsies. Not wanting to accidentally upset Race more by translating for him, he doesn’t want Race to think that he thinks he’s stupid. But it felt worse to watch in silence as Race got upset as he was laughed at.

Despite Albert's attempts to translate quietly, Race catches on very quickly, but he doesn't comment. He’s not offended that Albert translates for him, its honestly a relief for him, the mocking and laughing had stopped, and he finally has someone who understands him. So, he lets Albert continue translating, still thinking that Race hadn't noticed.

It was after a particularly tough day that Race finally spoke to Albert about it. He had been forgetting and mispronouncing words more than usual that day. So, at the end of the day, while everyone slept, Race and Albert sat together in one of the empty rooms in the lodging house silently. A routine they’d developed to try and support each other when either of them had a rough day. They sat in comfortable silence until Race whispered into the air between them,

"I know what you've been doing." Albert just hummed in acknowledgment, not knowing if he should speak yet but too curious not to prompt Race to elaborate. "You understand me when I forget or pronounce things wrong and have been translatin’ to the boys." Albert couldn't quite decipher Races tone and so was cautious when responding,

"I saw you was getting upset that they didn't understand you and wanted to help. I don’t think youse stupid, I just wanted to stop you gettin’ so frustrated.” Albert explained, worried that he’d offended Race,

"No, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to thank you."

"Oh.” He paused, “yeah, uh. Just glad I could help.” He finally muttered. There was a long pause before Race spoke again,

"It’s nice to have someone who understands me." He elbowed Albert softly before he got up and went to his bunk, leaving Albert sat on the floor fighting a grin.

[useyernamesteven]

Seen some wolfpup!Enid fanart and I'm in love! And soft!Wednesday? I do declare!

. . .

So Wednesday's out late one full moon, looking for leads on the new murder cases but so far its been difficult and more stressful than she'd like. She decides to head back to the dorms for the evening and turn in for the night, or possibly rope Enid into another "friendly" debate about the bloody history between vampires and werewolves

(Last time had seen Enid practically rabid, claws out and fangs bared, as she tried to convince Wednesday that werewolves won the Wilds of Transylvania back in 1389 fair and square. Wednesday had been so amused by her roommates rage, she'd almost cracked a smile.)

With the prospects of another riveting argument awaiting, Wednesday walks into her room and sees... well, not Enid. There's brightly stuffed animals strewn about like bodies in a massacre, Yoko and Divina are in the center of the room looking decidedly frazzled and panting, a body she presumes belongs to Ajax is on the floor and half under Enid's bed, while Bianca lounges on top of it playing with Wednesday's butterfly knife. And Enid is no where to be seen.

At first, Wednesday's incredibly annoyed bcuz, well, people. And worse its people in her room; not that she has any particular qualms when Enid invites her friends over--Enid insists they're Wednesday's friends too, and well, perhaps they are the most tolerable lot she's met at this school--but she would have liked to have been informed of such a social gathering prior to her arrival (so that she could avoid it).

But then her presence is noted by Bianca with a "oh good, you're finally here", which catches Yoko's attention who turns to the door with a exasperated "Wednesday help!" just as Divina wheezes out "close the door! don't let her out!" And Wednesday has all of two seconds to be confused before she hears Ajax give a cry from under the bed as something fast and furry darts out from beneath it. Instinct has her closing the door just in time for the creature to slam headfirst into the wood.

Its a wolf. A rather small one actually. A puppy essentially. With light fur and ears too big for its head and a set of scratches on the left side of its face-

Its Enid. It registers for Wednesday, as the wolfpup shakes its head and looks up at her with big dopey eyes and its tongue lolling out and tail a blur behind her, that this is indeed her roommate.

Wednesday turns to Yoko with a hard glare. "Explain."

And she does: Enid didn't want to spend another full moon without wolfing out again, the others offered to help her out, borrowed Goodie-now-Wednesday's book of spells, tried a transformation spell, and well...

Wednesday has 3 aneurysms during Yoko's explanation, all while the pup-Enid shreds one of her numerous stuffed animals at her feet. She presents the head of one of the bears to Wednesday, looking very proud of herself, and Wednesday kicks it away out of frustration, but it only seems to instigate more play as Enid chases after it.

"We can't change her back so we were hoping you'd know how to..." Divina adds, jumping behind Yoko when Wednesday's attention snaps back to them menacingly. Bianca snickers from Enid's side of the room, not even fazed as Wednesday glares at her as well.

After threatening, scolding, and some more threatening, Wednesday kicks everyone out so that they don't get caught by the new dorm mother and so she can conduct her research in peace. Or semi-peace. If Wednesday thought Enid's antics were obnoxious as a human, as a puppy she's an absolute terror. She's constantly yapping, destroying her plushies, and chewing every shoe she can sink her fangs into. Thankfully, she takes to chasing Thing around the room for a solid ten minutes before she flops to the ground at Wednesday's feet beneath her desk, sound asleep.

Wednesday spends a few hours looking through Goodie's spellbook but to no avail. There is no counterspell to the transformation written within, so she resigns to try the Nightshade library first thing in the morning and if that fails, summon her parents and have them send over anything useful from the Addam's Family Archives.

She gets into bed, hitting the light as she goes, tired to the point that her eyes are already closing as her head hits the pillow-

Only to fly open as Enid starts whining. And when Wednesday flips the light and looks over the side of her bed, Enid's there with floppy ears and a pitiful expression. And Wednesday knows exactly what she's doing, what she wants, and there is no way in hell. She shushes Enid, shoos her to the other side of the room, flips the light again, and rolls back over to get uncomfortable enough to sleep...

And Enid starts whining again. Louder this time. Scratching at Wednesday's bedpost for added measure.

And look, any other time and any other day, Wednesday would have kept up the routine until Enid gave in and curled up somewhere on her side of the room. But Wednesday is stressed, and Wednesday is tired, and Wednesday is willing just. this. once.

So she sighs, rolls over, grabs Enid's scruff and pulls her up. Enid's tail won't stop whacking the bedspread and she won't stop wiggling, even managing to lick Wednesday's chin before Wednesday pushes her to rest by her feet, threatening her death if she dares try it again or so much as moves from her spot. Enid curls up into a small lump with her nose pressed against Wednesday's shin and Wednesday finally reclines back and lets sleep consume her.

She wakes up the next morning oddly warm with something solid pressed against her side. And its only when she opens her eyes does she realizes she's rolled in her sleep and is now curled up on her side with a hand resting in Enid's fur as the wolfpup/roommate snoozes away beside her.

And look, its early, Wednesday is still tired, and Enid is still a nuisance, but as Wednesday's fingers brush through incredibly soft fur and Enid gives a small snuffle in her sleep, Wednesday could almost swear that she smiled.

(Just puppy!Enid antics would be too cute and she'd drive Wednesday up the freaking wall until she could turn her back to normal)

[accio-sriracha]

The Marauders as Asexuals.

~~~♤~~~

(Because I'm ace and love representation, plus I think it's a good way to show the dynamics of different types of asexuality and how it can be affected by a person's personality.)

~~~♤~~~

Sirius:

(Sex-Positive and Asexual)

Yes of course, the most dramatic bitch in the castle.

Flirts with literally everyone under the sun and never gets uncomfortable because obviously it doesn't mean anything.

Constantly referring to himself as a slut despite never having had sex in his life with zero plans to in the future.

Constant casual/flirtatious touches, but will shut down the second someone tries to give him genuine physical affection.

James' warm hugs and Remus' little hand squeezes are heartbreaking leave him alone.

Is depressed and masks it with EXTREME self confidence.

Constantly talking about his appearance and how hot he is.

"Smash." "Sirius you're asexual." "So?? I have eyes??"

Just a walking hypocrisy honestly.

"Just because I don't want to fuck a dude doesn't mean I don't want to THINK about fucking said dude."

*still self pleasures but absolutley wants no part in the act with another person*

Will 100% still make out with a partner if given the opportunity to.

Loves neck kisses.

Gets turned on actually very easily under proper circumstances.

But you don't understand, its not the act or the person, it's the IDEA.

Thinking about actual sex makes him sick ngl...

*asexual panicking*

^^Literally all the time

His friends always make jokes about how he's the world's worst asexual and he literally can't deny it.

Peter:

(Sex-Repulsed and Asexual)

Hates everything to do with sex.

That's literally it. He just hates it.

Anytime people make inappropriate jokes he just groans because it's so GROSS.

Why would anyone want to touch where you literally PISS OUT OF??

Constantly having his ears covered during conversations.

"Guys! Not in front of Wormtail!"

Is referred to (much to his dismay) as the "innocent friend"

"Just because I don't want to swap disgusting bodily fluids with someone does NOT make me an innocent child, thank you very much."

People always somehow manage to find a way to make everything he says dirty.

And they have to explain it afterwards.

He gets frustrated quickly when he feels like people are making fun of him for it.

It's actually quite a sore-spot for him, growing up feeling like he was always so behind everyone else.

Sharing a dorm with James and Sirius and all they would talk about was how attractive certain people were.

Peter feeling like he was never going to be enough for anyone :(

But his friends were always there for him at the end of the day, reminding him that not every relationship is about sex.

Their friendship meaning so much more to him because THATS his version of love.

Peter wanting to understand jokes they make but at the same time desperately not wanting to know because sex-having people are WEIRD.

Peter just being a soft boi and everyone looking out for him and maybe being a tad bit overprotective.

Remus:

(Sex-Indifferent and Greysexual)

Normally doesn't think about sex at all, it just doesn't cross his mind.

Gets flustered SO easily.

His friends constantly make fun of him for how nervous he gets. His whole face will turn red and they think it's hilarious.

*also asexual panicking a lot*

"Don't touch me." -constantly to all of his friends.

Refuses platonic physical affection, it's just confusing and it makes him nervous.

Remus also being a bit of a romantic behind the scenes, loving sensual touches with a partner like stroking hair, forehead kisses, anything soft and gentle and not explicitly sexual.

99% of the time experiences zero attraction to anyone, even people he's romantically involved with.

But that 1% he'll just get turned on like... randomly??

Out of nowhere he's being his usual self than BOOM sudden burst of desire.

But it literally only happens once in a blue moon (Ha)

Has a hard time fitting in with the Ace community, but an equally hard time fitting in with the allosexual community.

Doesn't feel "ace enough" to call himself it so he just skips the label most of the time, only using it when necessary to explain.

Sex isn't necessarily a bad thing to him.

He's just a quiet romantic who'd honestly rather spend his time doing something else.

Like reading.

Or eating chocolate.

James:

(???? And Demisexual???)

Honestly nobody can figure him out.

James just gets absolutley obsessed with this person and never let's them go.

He'll be completely 'normal' with them, wanting all the things people in a neurotypical relationship want.

But before them experienced nothing for anyone.

And after them *if there is an after* is the exact same.

Literally just void of any sort of attraction physical or romantic.

He doesn't know how he feels towards sex as an act itself, he just knows how he feels with them.

His version of sex is just loving his partner???

Idk they do all the leading he just literally wants to worship them in every way possible.

He's the *needs to get closer even though they're literally laying on top of each other* type of boyfriend.

So, so, so fond of physical affection with this one specific person.

Oh dear lord the amount of puns.

He frequently refers to himself as a starfish because they reproduce through mitosis (a.k.a asexually)

"What? You think I have an ACE up my sleeve??" *whispers* "It's me. I'm the ace."

"Man I really ACED that transifguration essay."

"I quite literally don't give a fuck."

"We should go dancing, cause baby I'm the ACE of clubs."

Follows literally every joke up with "get it?? Cause I'm asexual??"

Wears ace pride merch. (Yeah babyyyy)

Being such an odd sight because this arrogant-seeming jock who's Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, and leader of the school's infamous pranking group is part of the LGBTQIA+ community???

HAS A PRIDE FLAG IN HIS BEDROOM AT HOME AND BRINGS IT WITH HIM TO SCHOOL EACH YEAR

(Just imagining him carefully packing it into his trunk has be sobBING)

He's so open about it too, always answers any questions people have to the best of his ability.

Constantly checks in with his partner because he knows how important consent is and how people's feelings are complex and can change from one second to the next.

So damn supportive of other ace people.

He honestly doesn't care to figure out his feelings.

He's just so deeply in love with his partner and that's really all that matters to him.

I fell a little too in love with this oh lord

~~~♤~~~