#some of these are so general and some are /so specific/ huh...

[cosmerelists]

Would These Cosmere Characters Read Fanfic?

As requested by @genderselkiera :)

I don't know if fanfiction exists in the Cosmere (has anyone asked Sanderson yet?). But if it did, here is my take on whether various Cosmere characters would be interested. [Full disclosure: I do not myself read fanfiction, despite arguably writing it. I didn't know it existed until, well, graduate school, when I read some because the girl I had a crush on wanted me to. Since then, not so much.]

(Also, cosmereplay & I did one about them reading Cosmere fanfic specifically! Link here.)

1. Jasnah: No

"If I wanted to read fanfiction," Jasnah would say, "there are certain historians I could reread." (She thinks it's frivolous.)

2. Raoden: Yes

He especially likes the ones that bring back a character who died in canon, especially through fun or unlikely means.

3. Galladon: Not often

Galladon doesn't really see the point of fanfiction; it's not like it changes what happens in canon! He will, however, sometimes read one that Raoden begs him to.

4. Vivenna: No

At first, it did not occur to Vivenna that deviations from canon existed, and when she realized that they did, her general attitude was "Huh! Anyway."

5. Yumi: Yes

At first, it did not occur to Yumi that deviations from canon existed, and when she realized that they did, her general attitude was "I WILL READ THEM ALL."

6. Ellista: Yes

Ellista the Ardent is obviously BUILT for fanfiction: writing it, reading it. If it doesn't yet exist on Roshar, she will probably invent it.

7. Dalinar: No--he only writes it

The call of the explicit self-insert fanfiction about Nohadon is too strong: How could Dalinar not write it?

8. Painter: Yes

Fanfiction for Seasons of Regret is VERY popular.

9. Elend: No

I'm not sure Elend even reads fiction?

10. Lyn: Yes

Lyn especially likes the ones that take an underdeveloped female character and make her the star.

11. Tress: Yes

Tress is out there in canon essentially writing cup fanfics in her head. She would definitely read it if she could.

12. Shallan: Yes

Shallan is out there recrafting the pasts & futures of real people through her Ideal Self drawings. I don't see why she wouldn't also like fanfiction.

13. Radiant: No

Radiant understands that Shallan likes and needs fanfiction. But Radiant feels that her time could be better spent doing other, useful things. That's all.

14. Veil: Yes

Veil is there to read the stuff that's a little too racy for Shallan.

15. Hoid: Yes

Hoid has part of his breath memory bank devoted to his favorite ones, I'm sure.

16. Syl: Yes

Especially when Syl doesn't care for the canon couple, she likes to read endless fanfiction where the guy gets the girl SHE thinks he should have.

17. Shai: Not often

Mostly, Shai finds herself getting a little bit annoyed at how little worldbuilding and planning goes into some fanfics. You can't just SAY that they work at a coffee shop now: You need to have all the details of their life exhaustively planned out to get them there!

18. Allrianne: Yes

The great thing about fanfiction is that characters can simply have the emotions you want them to have--you don't even have to work to riot them!

19. Evi: Yes

In fact, Evi thinks that fanfiction and canon are equally important parts of the experience of a book/show, an attitude that confuses almost everyone she talks to.

20. Kadash: Yes

The good thing about becoming an Ardent is that you can read all the fanfiction you want, even the soppy stuff, and no one can say anything about it. (Yes, he read Dalinar's fanfic. He didn't like it.)

21. Mraize: No

Mraize likes to hunt down fanfics that have never before been read, and then he downloads them. But he never actually reads them. It's just about the hunt.

22. Wayne: Yes

Wayne doesn't see why you'd want to read about just one version of someone's life when you could read dozens instead.

23. Dilaf: No

Canon divergence is basically heresy!

24. Hrathen: Yes

Sometimes to get a convert, you need to drop the name of a popular ship to show that you're cool. It's fine.

25. Amaram: Well...

Amaram reads fanfic. Then he uses ChatGPT to "finish" them. He doesn't see why this makes everyone SO upset.

[princeapollyon]

YEYSESYESYES MY TIME TO SHINE!!

TRIGGER WARNINGS:‼️

mentions of heavy fictional drug use, cannibalism, and general moral depravity.

alrighty so. one of, if not THE most integral part of my courier six’s story stems from the consequences of his head wound.

first off, i took what was implied by doc mitchell’s remark if you pick low charisma, “Huh. Must be some frontal lobe damage,” and just ran with it.

it makes sense that, when Benny shot you in the FRONT of the head where you could still see him, that some permanent damage could have occurred. for Dagger, (my oc!) this means frontal lobe damage, which affects his decision-making skills, primarily between determining right from wrong and other morality-based decisions, causes complete impulsivity in most cases, and has caused his empathy gene to logg-off, permanently.

frontal lobe damage can also affect specifically autobiographical memory, which makes sense for the game, since the courier’s action can post-accident be completely different in character than from before the injury. for my courier, this manifests in some pretty serious permanent amnesia, where he’s not able to remember anything from before the accident except the accident itself, and vague feelings of familiarity when he travels to places he likely had traveled to before all of this (implied by being able to speak the Dead Horse’s language in Honest Hearts),

also, Dagger can vaguely understand that he’s changed completely since getting shot in the head, at least emotionally. he senses some type of loss, recognizing that he’s physically limited now from his brain injury, although he doesn’t feel much other than slight annoyance over this fact.

effectively, this wound has given him “aquired sociopathy,” so while he knows that he’s changed, he doesn’t have the emotional depth to mourn it, especially since he’s now fully convinced of his superiority to other people and things only really go up for him after the initial run-in with Benny.

BUT ALSO!! THERE’S MORE! :D

not only did the gunshot wounds cause a complete lack of empathy/moral understanding and emotional regression to that of an impulsive 13-year-old, but they are also the source of frequent, excruciatingly painful migraines, which explains his affinity for/addiction to drugs.

in-game, i would deliberately leave my head untreated if it became crippled from combat, because the boughts of swimming vision and high pitched ringing seemed realistic to my courier’s injury. my thinking is, if getting popped on the head in-combat could cause it, why wouldn’t lasting effects of TWO LITERAL GUNSHOT WOUNDS cause permanently the same effects?? mostly, i just thought it added more flavor, and when i make characters, i like what they do to make sense. i knew that i wanted my courier to be a drug fiend and a cannibal, and the cause if the first made most sense to me if he was to experience chronic pain and have a heightened thrill-seeking temperment, and the latter if he had a completely distorted sense of morality. all of this criteria is fulfilled and explained by severe frontal lobe damage; he uses drugs to cope with extreme chronic migraines, and justifies eating corpses with the thought process of “this is survival and they’re already dead” mixed with seeing it as triumphant superiority, where if someone were to die at his hands, then they’re basically no better than livestock, thus he can and should eat them. what a weirdo lol

anyway, that about sums up and accounts for pretty much all the decisions Dagger has made in-game, and which ending i plan to get with him. he sees others merely as tools for his self-betterment, using then how he sees fit and saying whatever he needs to to manipulate them to get the job done. he respects marginally those who have displayed exceptional martial prowess, but still is always looking at people through the lens of “what can this guy do for me” rather than “i want to ally myself with these people and their cause.”

i also think that if you play through the Old World Blues DLC, that the doctors there (if you get the goid ending) can repair your brain better than doc mitchell, so some of these negative effects may be somewhat alleviated. in particular, since your head no longer gets crippled, i’ve interpreted this as the migraines no longer being a thing (but it doesn’t matter since at that point Dagger’s already an addict, so his drug problem still stands lol). perhaps he’s a little more nuanced in the decision-making department too, but i doubt that even the best doctor can repair literal holes in your brain completely lol

YAY OKAY THAT’S ALL!! sorry for the rant i just love my courier so much and have thought n researched SO MUCH about this, so i had to say my piece >:3

Currently very interested in Courier OCs who have actual in-story consequences from the brain injury. I wish everyone a very please tell me about your Couriers.

[cyjrix]

The Kiss of Venus

pairing: radio host!haechan x astrology columnist!reader

synopsis: Mercury is in retrograde, Venus is wrecking havoc, and everyone’s blaming their ex! Suddenly, you’re stuck doing weekly segments with a guy who thinks horoscopes are fake but somehow knows your Venus sign.

word count: ~ 1.2k

genre / tropes: fluff, forced prox (radio segments), weak attempt at slow burn

warnings: shifts between 2nd & 3rd pov; other than that, none

divider made by @uzmacchiato

“Hey everyone! Welcome back to Neo Radio with your host, yours truly. Today, we’ll be talking about something I’m very vocal about. Very vocal on how much I hate it! So apparently Venus is ‘kissing’ my love life! Where’s the smooch, huh?”

Astrology is generally something heavily debated on but one thing is for certain. To haechan, it was all a load of bullshit because who in their right mind would look at the sun, moon, and stars, and think “oh golly gee! they can actually influence people.” He could have ignored the topic altogether but there was this one person who made him tick—this rising star, y/n aka the host of another radio show, stelaxz. She made him go crazy and not in a good way. Whenever he heard her voice on the radio, he wanted to rip his hair out, burn his ears, and leave the planet all at once. It’s like she made it her entire personality, an astrology columnist who was way in over her head!

Haechan thought that this was the absolute worst thing ever—so every single time he was on air, he’d make comments to poke at you, to get on your nerves. He hoped this would make you quit or at least shift to a different mode of expression. Yet you were indifferent, making a simple remark to stand your ground because who even was he? Just some radio show host who had zero knowledge in astrology. Just some radio show host with a whole lot of audacity.

“The day I start to believe in or actually even slightly show interest in astrology is the day that I lose it! Like lose my marbles. You know… Go bonkers, go insane!”

Viewers were quite used to him and his childish antics. Sure, he’s made a handful of comments like that. However, that specific clip goes viral, and it reached you! You’re far from the type to engage with trolls or in this case, people who talk shit for no reason but he’s been at this for weeks and it started to piss you off. Barely anyone expected you to clap back with a post on twitter:

“Where’s the smooch?” Oh I know! Maybe up my ass!

“Tell me you’re emotionally repressed without telling me you’re emotionally repressed.”

This blew up. And this blew up big time.

You weren’t even that well known yet and somehow, you got half a million likes. Your heart raced when you saw that you blew up online, your mind couldn’t fathom what would happen next. Would you get cancelled? Would you need to lay low? Maybe go off the radar because you had assassins on your tail? All the simple to the most complex and unlikely scenarios flashed in your mind. You wanted to expect the unexpected but that didn’t really work out for you.



You were prepared for everything! Well, almost… What you didn’t expect though (or even thought of) was multiple radio show hosts asking you to be on their shows with him or start your own collab show with him to ‘face your double sided rivalry’ for the country, probably even the world, to see. “What a load of bullshit,” you hoped that by standing up for yourself, you’d gain more attention for your content yet this is what you got in return? You got the exposure but at what cost.

Your feud turns into a forced-collab series where you “debate” on love and fate. So now you’re here! In a cold-ass studio with fluorescent lighting and a host who’s already talking as if he owns the show (he does) and like he owns the narrative (he does not). He doesn’t even look at you when you walk in. He just says, “Well, if it isn’t the moon whisperer.”

You blink. There was a pause. A beat. Someone, probably a producer, coughs in the background. Haechan grins. “Okay,” he says, dragging out the word. “This might actually be fun.”

It was most definitely not.

The first episode was a disaster. You were awkward. He was obnoxious. The tension was weird, not even the good type of weird, just weird-weird. At one point, you knock over your mic and called Mercury a bitch. That clip made it into the final cut. Said clip goes viral.

In the next week’s episode, you came prepared. You came with receipts, his birth chart to be exact.

“Since you’re so loud about how fake astrology is,” you say on-air, flipping the pages for that dramatic flair, “I thought I’d read your birth chart. You know… as a little treat.”

Haechan blinks. “You what?”

You smile, all sugar and menace. “Don’t worry. I only needed your birth time. I asked around.” The look on his face was priceless!

You clear your throat. “Let’s start with your Venus sign.” You say it like it’s no big deal, like you didn’t stay up an extra hour just to cross-check sources and double-confirm his birth time because accuracy matters, even when the subject is this insufferable.

He waves it off. “I don’t care what planet’s allegedly in my fake space heart.” You chuckled. Haechan leans back in his chair, mic dangerously close to his mouth. “Oh joy. Can’t wait to hear how Mercury made me an attention-seeking liar.”

“No, actually,” you say, smiling innocently. “Leo Venus made you that.”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh no. I’m attractive and love attention. How ever will I survive?”

Listeners eat it up. The clip goes viral. Again.

You continue, smooth and casual. “Leo Venus. Big romantic energy. Absolutely loves grand gestures, praise, loyalty. Needs to feel adored to feel secure in love.”

He snorts at what you say, but something about the way his leg bounces says he’s listening a little too hard.

You glance at your notes. “But also? Gets overly defensive when feelings are hurt. You know, masks that insecurity with ego.” You eye him, “Craves closeness, but refuses to be the one who wants it more.”

There’s a pause. “…Okay, Dr. Phil.”

You laugh, “Touché, but I didn’t make the chart. The universe did.”

He tries to joke it off, but that night at 2 in the morning, he finds himself rewatching the clip. Over and over and over again. Just the part where you say “needs to feel adored.” There’s something in your voice when you say it—just soft enough to not sound like an insult, the usual drag. Just sincere enough to make it feel like you saw him, even if you didn’t mean to. And then, at 2:08 AM, a couple minutes after, he types on his browser:

“leo venus compatibility signs + worst traits reddit”

“stelaxz venus sign + compatibility horoscope”

He clears his browser history immediately after. No one but him needs to know!

It’s been over a month since the first episode aired and this whole joint radio show extravaganza was exhausting. Though there were times you had fun. You’re tired. He’s tired. The jokes feel heavier than usual. You don’t know if it’s the way the comments are slowing down (maybe a slow day) or the fact that you’ve started to catch yourself looking at him for a little too long when he’s not being annoying.

Midway through the recording, you say something about how love isn’t logical, how sometimes it just feels right, and he doesn’t interrupt you for once. It was weird. He just listens.

That alone made your stomach twist.

@ cyjrix 2025

[eveningspirit]

Frank Langdon and Back Pain, Part Five [screencaps from episode 1x09, first batch]

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Episode 9 was, imo, the prime example that there's something off with the way Frank Langdon stands, walks and does gymnasitsc*. Let's take look at all half of the evidence.

Starting with the... what was it? Spinks and Ali, lol.

In the first picture, his posture is one of the clearest examples that demonstrate Langdon's-- not just discomfort, but perhaps even some level of difficulty with strictly physical aspects of the job. It's also, I think, the first and only(?) time we see him in an unobscured, whole-body shot, while he's tending to a patient.

His feet are wide, for balance, and still he seems to be unstable (or is it just me?), his knees are bent, hinges at the hips and his back straight like he has a ramrod up his ass (ekhm, sorrs). This is a position that a person assumes to relieve their lower back. Clear as day.

I don't have anything specific to say about the second picture. I mostly added it for composition. If you have anything to say about it, though, please, do. :)

Looking at Frank from the front, though, I notice--again--tension in his shoulders and the awkward way he holds his left arm close to his chest. That's a sign of discomfort that comes from upper back/ribcage.

In the scenes around the ice-bath of the MDMA overdose patient, he's seeking support while moving around the tub.

And, leaning. He's not the only one leaning, here, but the way he does it is somehow more pronounced.

Now, this. It's the second time he's making that face--first one was with Jake after doing the chair-spinning thing.

Worth noting that a moment later, in this shot from behind we can see his palm is in a fist (gripping his shirt?), which could be a way to supress a more visible manifestation of pain?

Next, just a note about Langdon lashing out at Santos

General consensus is that Langdon got mad at Santos, because he was scared she was onto him reagarding stealing medications. And I agree, it's most likely what happened, however. I kind of think that's not all?

I mean, pain can wreak havoc on a person's nervous system. What if it's both--fear and physical pain--that make his patience extra thin? I'm not making an excuse here, if anyone has any doubts. His behavior was unprofessional, and unnecessarily cruel, nevermind his reasons.

To finish off this part of episode 1x09 analysis, a quick look at Langdon's body language in his argument with Robby. Again, I see tension in his shoulders. I'm not sure whether there's anything to it (or have I mentioned if before?), but it seems like there's some block here, like he has a problem lifting his arms. Like, his palms don't go much higher than his chin. Just something I noticed.

I like that last picture so much, because Langdon looks so resigned toward the end of that talk. Like, okay, okay, you're right, I'll do anything you want.

People are wondering how he could be so aggressive toward Santos and then so nice with Mel a moment later. But between those two moments, we have the one when Robby tears Frank a new one and... I know this exact feeling intimately okay? This resignation after an outburst. It's like all adrenaline is instantly washed out of your system. I have no idea what's the exact mechanism of this reaction, but. Idek. Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn, you know? Fight turns into Fawn at, like, a snap of your fingers. And you go, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" and you want to please everyone around you, so they don't reject you maybe?

Maybe that's the ADHD, actually? The Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?

Maybe.

And here, I turned a talk about physical symptoms into a talk about ADHD, huh. But yeah. Frank Langdon is just that complicated.

_____ )* gymnastics coming up with the second batch of scenes and screencaps. To be posted soon. Seriously, it's half ready already. ;)

[egophiliac]

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

[dnalt-d2]

Alright-y, so in case anyone missed it, we've recently gotten some information from Quackity that he's most likely doing some new project, that seems to involve multiple languages, once again. Kinda like QSMP?

Maybe EXACTLY like QSMP…????

Or maybe not

Basically, the way I see it, it is pretty likely that this is QSMP-Related, what with the images that he's been posting recently, with the GODDAMN EYE GUY

However, even if it is QSMP-related, there is something that would need to be addressed

And that's that it's incredibly unlikely we'd be getting QSMP back in the form we knew it as

Honestly, I don't really see many of the Admins returning, Egg or otherwise. Whether it's by their own choice, or the choice of the powers-that-be. And I think we all know that all the Admins, Egg or otherwise, were a huge part of what made QSMP special

In addition to that, there's also a chance that with that sort of outcome, a lot of the Creators wouldn't be coming back either. I could kinda see some of them not returning even if the Admins DO come back. I know a few of them had more sour experiences with QSMP than others did, and I couldn't really blame them for not wanting to give it another shot

So even if this is QSMP, there's a HIGH chance it won't be the same server we knew

But I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. After all, I'm pretty sure the Eggs weren't initially MEANT to be as big as they were, which means that there HAD to be some plans for other stuff at one point or another

Hopefully…

Now obviously this is ALLL just, as usual, ✧˚⊹SPECULATION~!⊹˚✧

I'm not a psychic, and I don't know jack-all about what's been going on behind the scenes regarding QSMP or anything Quackity-related. I'm just making educated guesses and reminding everyone to temper their expectations, and try not to be too disappointed if this isn't exactly what you were hoping for

Because even if it isn't, I think it could still be something pretty fun, and I'll probably at least give it a chance regardless of whatever it winds up being

(Except maybe Purgatory 3, because I think I had enough of those vibes during my recent Purgatory 1 Re-Watch)

…

(Oh who am I kidding I'd probably end up checking out Purgatory 3 at least once I have a problem okay???)

[aroaessidhe]

2025 reads / storygraph

This Ends In Embers

book 2 in a YA fantasy duology

about two sisters who fought in a war as teenagers to free their colonised island

now one is an ex-dragon rider, with new access to the gods, dealing with her country’s politics and trying to stop the dragon-god trying to destroy them all

while her sister, disgraced and no longer able to access the gods, has joined him in the hopes of finding a way to stop him by getting close to him

sapphic & demi m/f

[vaguely-concerned]

obsessed with what we're meant to read out of rook's expression when taash starts to walk away in this scene. it feels like such an emotionally dense response from them, especially since they've only known taash or anyone else involved in these scenes for all of five minutes

sorry about the abysmal gif quality one day I'll learn how to make gifs properly yet that day is not today. but hello. rook. rook hello. what is this about. what's up with that. what are you thinking about. (also taash seeing that reaction and turning around to clarify that it IS what they wanted before they leave because they're upset, not unkind. aww.)

also flashback to this set of expressions rook makes later on, after the fangscorcher fight, if rook tells taash they're actually a lot like them beneath it all. taash apparently just consistently brings out some very tender rueful rook faces I guess haha

[sparklecur]

not angry or anything but for the record ocd is Not some silly quirky Organizing Things Disorder it is a living nightmare in which your brain will Plague You With Visions of stuff like your mom getting brutally run over by a car, so now youre terrified that this secretly means you want your mom to get run over by a car, so to remedy this you gently tap on her door every time you walk past it to prevent her from getting run over by a car and you can never stop doing this because its the only thing standing between your mom and her getting run over by a car (it makes sense! dont question it!) and once you finally stop and think Wait this is really stupid and manage to force yourself to stop tapping her door as youre walking away your brain goes "oh so this means you dont care if your mom gets run over by a car? you sicko" so you go back and tap the door again (just to be safe) (because of course you care about your mom and you do not want her to get run over by a car) (if you dont stop tapping the door she will randomly get run over by a car and it will secretly be entirely your fault)

[leemarkies]

reference video of my sith inquisitor for me myself and i

[waywardsalt]

writing down some notes for bellum traits/speculative biology/whatever so here's a couple so far

he's cold blooded but can't die due to extreme temperatures, it just makes it harder for him to function.

amphibious in the sense that he can survive in both water and air, though he doesn't really need to breathe, if anything he mostly interacts with water and air through traversal differences.

he does move like a squid, he can just float around but to move faster he does need to move his tentacles for slight propulsion and steering, and does intake and jet out water or air for some extra speed. he is not literally a squid creature but he is very similar.

he's got little barbs on the undersides of his tentacles (similar to the texture of a cat's tongue) which help with grabbing onto and holding things.

he can pull his main eye down into his body if he wants to use his mouth as... a mouth, or when he creates those little goop things or otherwise to spit out that purple substance.

[vadlings]

Represention of Autistic Frustration in Laios Dungeon Meshi

Like many other autistic people, I related strongly to Laios Touden while reading Dungeon Meshi. This post isn't going to spend time disputing whether he displays autistic traits or not—while I could do that, I want to focus on why specifically his portrayal struck a chord with me in a way the writing of most other autistic-coded characters has not.

Disclaimer: as the above suggests, this post is strongly informed by my own experiences as an autistic person, as well as the experiences of my neurodivergent friends with whom I have spoken about this subject. I want to clarify that in no way am I asserting my personal experience to be some Universal Autistic Experience. This post is about why Laios' character feels distinct and significant to me in regard to autistic representation, and while I'm at it, I do feel that I have interesting things to say about autistic representation in media generally. This also got a bit long, so I'm sticking it under a read more. Spoilers for up to the end of chapter 88 below.

The thing that stands out most to me in regard to Laios' characterisation is the open anger he displays when someone points out his inability to read other people. This comes up prominently in his interactions with "Shuro" (Toshiro Nakamoto):

The frustration pictured above (Laios continuing to physically tussle with Toshiro, using crude language toward him) becomes even more notable when you remember that this is Laios, who, outside of these interactions, is not easily fazed and often exists as a lighthearted contrast to the rest of the cast. Then we get to Laios' nightmare.

In Falin's words: "Nightmares love emotional wounds. Wounds you hold in your heart. Things that give you stress, or things that were traumatic for you. They aggravate memories like that and cause the dreamer to have terrible dreams." (chapter 42, page 10.) (damn. i'm properly citing for this post and everything.)

Thus, Laios' nightmare establishes an important fact: even if he is unable to recognise social blunders while he's making them, he's at least subconsciously aware that other people operate on a different wavelength to him, and that he's an outsider in many of his social circles (both past and present). His dream-father's disparaging words stress the impact this has had upon his ability to live up to the expectations set out for him, and we also get a panel of kids who smirk at him (presumably former bullies to some degree). Toshiro's appearance only hammers home how much Laios is still both humiliated and angered by his misunderstanding of their relationship.

I've thought a lot about anger as concomitant to the autistic experience. When autistic representation portrays ostracization, it's generally from an angle of the autistic character being upset at how conforming to neurotypical norms doesn't come easily to them; as a result, they express a desire to 'get better' at meeting neurotypical standards, a desire to become more 'normal' (whether the writing implies this is a good thing or not). In contrast, not once does Laios go, "I need to perform better in my social interactions, and try to care less about monsters, because that's what other people find weird." His frustration is directed outward rather than inward, and as a result, it's the people around him who are framed as nonsensical.

The Winged Lion starts delineating Laios' anger, and Laios' reaction is to think to himself, "It can sense all my thoughts, huh?" (chapter 88, page 16.) This is the scene that really resonated with me. I'm not saying I have never felt the desire to conform to neurotypical norms that is borne from insecurity, but primarily, I know that I don't want to work toward becoming 'normal'—I don't want to change myself for people who follow rules I find nonsensical. It's the difference between, "Oh god, why can't I get it," and, "WHY CAN'T YOU GET IT?" (phrasing here courtesy of my friend Miles @dogwoodbite). And for me personally, Dungeon Meshi is the first time I've seen this frustration and the resultant voluntary isolation from other people portrayed in media so candidly. Laios' anger is not downplayed or written to be easily palatable, either.

The culmination of Laios' frustrations in this scene wherein we learn that Laios has fantasised about "a pack of monsters attacking a village" drives home just how alienated he really feels. I need not go into his wish to become a monster himself, redolent of how many autistic people identify/have identified with non-humans to some degree as a result of a percieved disconnect from society (when I was younger, I wanted to be a robot. I still kind of do.)

Obviously, wishing death upon other people is a weighty thing, but the unfiltered nature of this page is what deeply resonated with me. The Winged Lion is laying Laios' deepest and most transgressive desires bare, and they are desires that are a product of lifelong ostracization by others (whether intentional or unintentional). This is the brand of anger I'm familiar with, and that my neurodivergent friends express being familiar with, but that I haven't seen portrayed in writing so explicitly before—in fact, it surprised me because most well-meaning autistic representation I've experienced veers toward infantilisation in trying make the autistic character's struggles easy for neurotypicals to sympathise with.

Let's also not neglect the symbolism inherent to Laios' daydream. "A pack of monsters attacking a village". Functionally, monsters are Laios' special interest—he percieves everything first and foremost through his passion for monsters. His daydream of monsters attacking—killing—humans, is fundamentally a daydream of the world he understands (monsters) overthrowing the world that is so illogical to him, that has repeatedly shunned him (other people). I joked to my friends that it's an autistic power fantasy, and it actually sort of is. And in it, his identity is aligned with that of the monsters, while his anger manifests in a palpable dissociation from the rest of humanity. This is one manga page. It's brief. It's also very, very raw to me. I think about it often.

To conclude, I love Laios Dungeon Meshi. This portrayal of open frustration in an autistic character meant a lot to me, and I hope I've sufficiently outlined why. Also, feel free to recommend media with autistic representation in the notes if you've read this far—I would really like to see if there is more of this nature. Thank you for reading. I'm very tired and should probably sleep now.

[followthebluebell]

So please excuse my ignorance but I've never seen one IRL and the last few scottish fold pictures you've posted have me curious. What exactly is going on with their ears? They just look like they don't? Have ears??? Are they like fully formed normal ears that are sticking flat to their head? Are they floppy like floppy eared dogs? Are the ears actually deformed in some way that there is less... ear flap?? Like??? huh???

Yep, their ears are deformed!

so the mutation that causes their ears to flop over is called osteochondrodysplasia, a word that I absolutely did not have to google just to figure out how to spell. It's a very big and fancy word for 'fucked up cartilage syndrome'. In this case, it means very specifically that their cartilage doesn't really... function properly. It flops.

This leads to very small ears (in this case bred to be even smaller by crossing to Persians, a breed known for having very tiny ears) and floppiness in the ear tips.

IF that was all this meant, it'd be fine. A bit more ear-cleaning because, like floppy eared dogs, scottish folds are prone to ear infections, but that's fine.

Unfortunately, it means ALL of their cartilage is a little fucky, including the bits that are really important like in their joints. So all Scottish folds with folded ears have impaired mobility, early onset arthritis, skeletal deformities (especially in the joints and spine), and generally have a short, thick, and inflexible tail.

These cats are in pain. Make no mistake of that. The scottish folds in my care are receiving pain management drugs to mitigate that (solensia, for those who are curious). These cats are quite young--- from 7 months to approximately 1 year old--- and they already have arthritis in their paws.

This is not an ethical breed to buy and adopting one needs to be done with caution, simply due to the degree of medical care they'll require.

Now, there are Scottish folds with STRAIGHT ears (called Scottish straights). These come from the same litters as folded ears, because the gene that produces the fold is autosomal dominant and is deadly if the kitten inherits two dominant genes. So it's safest to breed a fold to a straight and just deal with having a litter with straight and folded ears.

I used to endorse Scottish straights as the 'healthy' folds. And that's... not entirely accurate. Like I said, they are from the same litters. I have not run into any breeder that produces ONLY Scottish straights.

I no longer endorse Scottish straights as a result.

[etheries1015]

We share the love language of biting. Now imagine TWST beatsfolk has that as an actual sign of courting. Like you're chilling with Leona, not dating or wooing him, and then you bite his cheek in affection. And all of Savanaclaw is shocked because among them, it's the same as i.e. proposing marriage. The utter chaos XD

OHH MY GOSSSHHH YOUR BRAIN >>> I LITERALLY LOVE THIS SO MUCH??? HAHAHA SODEFHSELKJD i'm gonna expand on that for a few characters...

Accidentally courting them

General warnings: Gender-neutral reader, not really proof read lol. Obvious Malleus and Lilia favoritism <3 I also decided that they ARE dating in this scenario, I think its cuter that way in my head heuheu

Featuring: Leona, Ruggie, Jack, Malleus, Lilia, ... and Rook HAHA.

TW: none! Just a bunch o' fluff of biting your non-human lover without realizing it was a sign of courtship <3

Leona

It was a typical day for Leona. You two were sitting in the lounge where most of the other students lingered, Leona becoming rather... possessive as of late. Instead of resting in his bedroom away from prying eyes as you had requested from your lover, he ignored all your feeble cries requesting privacy. Instead, he holds you in his lap without worrying what others are thinking. A form of showing others you were his, and his alone. You were conflicted in your feelings, staring at him. His eyes were closed, but he could feel your gaze burning into his head.

"How long are you-" Then it happened. You gave in. You gave his cheek a bit of a nibble. All of the sudden the chattering stopped, all eyes were on you, before they start patting Leonas back and giving him congrats while a few seemed to pull presents right out of their asses.

"Wha- what's going on?" Leona grumbled with a light blush before growling and pushing the face of someone who tried to hand him another gift.

"You all look like idiots! You know biting means something different to us. Don't be dumb." Okay, now you were extra confused. Seeing your utter ignorance, Leona sighed.

"Biting in our land is a sign of courtship, herbivore." ...Oh. You blush deeply and hide your face in his chest, Leona looking away flustered and ruffling your hair.

"Try again in a few years, and I just might bite you back."

Ruggie

You were walking down the halls with your boyfriend when suddenly you had the urge to just...bite him. an overwhelming sense of love and affection for the fact he had given you some of the bread he (probably legally) got ahold of. You smiled fondly at the bread and back at Ruggie before placing your mouth on the bulb of his shoulder, causing him to yelp in suprise and dropping his half of the bread.

"wha- huh?! What was that for?" He became flustered, bending over to pick up his bread and slowly move away from you with bright red cheeks. You furrowed your eyebrows and hugged yourself, almost embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I just...I dunno," Your cryptic and non specific response left him with his jaw open and eyes wide, spluttering out things like "We're still in school! I don't have the funds yet-" before a familiar fist came and knocked the back of Ruggies head. Leona stood there smiling in amusement and chuckling at you.

"I don't think they know what that means to us beastman, Ruggie." Even more confused then before, you asked for clarification.

"You just asked him to marry you with that bite of yours, herbivore." Now YOUR mouth was wide open, and Ruggie managed to get flee from the scene without much notice from you nor his senior.

Oh brother. You have a lot of communicating to do with that one.

Jack

You were sitting at the lunch table eating away at your food when you noticed...Jack's biceps. You marveled at the sight of his bulky arms- it's a wonder to you how he managed to become so strong and have the motivation to train all day. With a burst of admiration, instead of biting into your sandwich - you took a bite into his muscle. He yelped in suprise and just stared at you, face slowly turning red. Ace and Deuce laughed at his reaction, ready to ask you what was up before Jack took it upon himself to... well, flustered and rapidly spit-firing plans.

"W-we are still so young! Are you sure about this? I-i never knew our relationship was at this level!" He grabbed both of your hands and looked you in your (bewildered) eyes.

"If you're serious about this, I promise I will protect and love you for the rest of my life. But before we go ahead with the ceremony, I want you to meet my parents and get their blessings. Oh, and I need to get a stable job after we finish school first, too, so I can support you and our future. know we haven't talked about marriage before but-" You quickly cut him off in astonishment before crying out,

"MARRIAGE?! Jack, WHAT are you talking about?! I am absolutely not ready for marriage! What got into you?!"

...Queue Ruggie and Leona hysterically laughing at your utter confusion, reveling in the ignorance of it all for a few moments longer before explaining properly what you had just committed yourself unknowingly to.

Malleus

You were laying in the bed of Malleus Draconias's dorm, scrolling on your phone whilst his tail wrapped around your waist as he sat next to you reading a book. You sighed lightly and leaned your head back against the board of the mattress, turning slightly to look at your handsome fae lover. Your eyes then went down to his pale and perfect skin of his neck, the way it was free from all blemishes, smooth, and bright. Something about it made you want to taint it a light shade of red... He felt you shuffle slightly to adjust your body to be in just the right position where his neck was in full view. He glanced over to you feeling you wriggle free from his tails grasp, tilting his head seeing the look in your eyes crazed as you leaned over and just...chomped down on his collarbone.

You felt his tail twitch and his hands quickly throw the book he was reading aside to grasp your wrists, turning your body around and pinning you to the bed and carrassing your cheek with his tail.

"Biting..." He murmured, "Does this mean the same to humans as it does to Fae? You wish to be wed?" Your jaw dropped and cheeks took on a rosey hue, stuttering over yourself.

"W-wed?! I mean, I like to bite when I feel affectionate b-but marriage...I mean maybe one day b-but-"

"Biting in Fae culture is a sign of courtship and ownership. How brazen of you to mark me," he chuckled, "I shall take it you wish to own the next king of Briar Valley?" You could tell at this point Malleus was teasing you, something he picked up from the time you two have been dating.

Malleus could not help but return the favor by riddling your body with his own bite marks. Although he understood you perhaps did not have the intention of marrying him with your silly little form of affection, he knew in his mind with every bite that he was very serious about your future with him.

Lilia

Lilia already knew that biting in the human world did not mean marriage, yet was akin to something more of "cute aggression." So when you have the habit of biting him in the privacy of yours or his room, he knows you simply meant it as a form of affection, letting him know that you had an overwhelming sense of love for the old fae. He bit you back consistently on many occasions, it just seemed to be the perfect form of showing love for one another.

You didn't actually know it meant something much deeper, until you were in the diasomnia lounge and unable to control yourself as you grabbed Lilias hand and bit down gently on his wrist. You couldn't help it, he was being so entirely silly and loving towards you, that you couldn't help but show this public display of affection. Much to everyone else's dismay, however. Sebek stares at you with his mouth agape, sounds of disbelief escaping past his lips yet a sentence unable to form. Malleus as well seemed surprised at this.

"(y/n)," Malleus said, "You wish to marry Lilia?" You coughed at the sudden question and let out a feeble and awkward chuckle.

"I mean...I wouldn't mind one day, of course. We haven't really talked about it. Why the sudden question?"

"HOW DARE YOU," Sebek cried out after finally finding his words, "How dare you bite Lilia and be so insolent as to not move forward with your actions in dignity! YOU MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR PROPOSAL-" Lilia started snickering, cutting Sebek off with a wave of his hand.

"It's quite alright, Sebek. Biting means something much different to humans than Fae, I suppose this is the first you had seen us put on a show of affection, hence your confusion." He turned to you, who had furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips at Sebeks sudden outburst.

"Biting, my dear, is a form of courtship to us fae. It is a sign of ownership," He chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" You exasperated, "I mean, it wouldn't have changed anything I have done, but I would have been more careful about it... especially if it means something more to you," Lilia gracefully explained he understood it meant something slightly different to humans, before gently grabbing your hand and raising it to his mouth.

"Well, now that you understand what it means," He put your ring finger into his mouth and took a bite at the base,

"Would you like to bite me once more, my dear?"

Bonus:

Rook

You bit his arm and he immediately was on one knee.

"Was that a proposal? You know mon cheri, biting one affectionately is often a declaration of courtship-" You hit the top of his head and walked away from your interesting boyfriend.

"You're not a beastman or a fae! I'm never biting you again!" Your face red and folding your arms, turning away (ah, his cute tsundere lover.)

Oh woe is Rook! He begs and begs you to bite him more, he wants to be covered in your marks. It means you were claiming him as your own, right? RIGHT??

~~~

This was so fun to write DFSEFDSFIHSLDKJF thank you for the brain rot heuheuheueheueh

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