#where they're medical or otherwise related

[blaiddraws]

Hello there! 😞 I have a huge favor to ask and I know it’s kinda inappropriate, please consider sharing/boosting the post I pinned for my cat. Would definitely be a big help, also pls answer this ask privately or maybe pm me instead. I hope its okay, pls be safe <3<3

I'm not going to answer privately because this is so very obviously a scam </3

hate to break the news. but. it's a scam.

they only have a few posts on your blog, all of which had been reblogged within the hour. they sent this and only then immediately followed me. the VAST MAJORITY of "donation" campaigns or whatever you call them are scams, especially when they 1) are medical (check), 2) message random tumblr users (check), 3) blog has only been recently made (all evidence points to that as well). etc etc etc.

scams like these intentionally use a genuine or shy tone when they reach out to people, to make them seem more like real people, and less like they're Trying to get money but instead asking because they have no other choice. this is a lie. they also reblog a bunch of posts to make it seem like they are a real blog.

I'm sure there's more but i am not the most eloquent person.

please please my friends and followers. do not fall for these sorts of scams. they're only playing on your compassion and empathy, which is frankly absolutely disgusting and horrible.

look out for the warning signs, and be careful online.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Things to do with Jack and Maddie without them being abusive

As someone who actually likes Jack and Maddie as characters (I'm a fervent shipper of Maddie/Jack/Vlad), it's a real bummer to see so many people out there deciding that for their DPxDC AUs that Jack and Maddie are abusive, when that really doesn't represent how they are in canon. Now I fully acknowledge that doing this can be a very useful tool for telling certain types of stories, and if you want to make a story about recovering from abuse and finding a new found family, all the more power to you for that! But for any other type of story where them being abusive isn't necessary for the backstory of the story you want to tell... It's just a bummer to do that, y'know? If you don't want to tell a story with Jack and Maddie in it, that's entirely fine! I'm not asking you to. But there are ways to get rid of them without making them abusive or dying. Of the two, I personally would prefer them dying (I just like the story potential of that, especially as far as Vlad is concerned). But there are plenty of easy things to do with them to keep them out of the story that don't require them being abusive or dead! So I'm here to give a list of things that can happen to them (that have precedent within either Danny Phantom itself or the DC universe) that keep them out of the story that don't require much explanation as well as some other ideas for what you can do with them if you have no idea what to do with them otherwise.

Lots of ideas under the cut! (Feel free to take what you want. As always, credit is appreciated, but not necessary. But I would love to see what you do with it!)

If you need them permanently absent so that Danny can get adopted

Fell into the Ghost Zone and cannot be found.

They are gone for whatever reason and Jazz is currently Danny's legal guardian (she's 18 or older and is therefore a legal adult).

While in the Ghost Zone, they accidentally traveled through time/got transported somewhere where they can't get home easily.

They got severely Joker gassed and are in medical care. (This is actually what happened to Duke's parents!)

They got severely Scarecrow gassed and are in medical care.

Went insane for some supervillain-related reason and are now missing/in medical care.

They were kidnapped by a villain for some reason.

They were kidnapped by a villain and are currently in a lotus-eaters simulation and therefore don't even know that they've gone missing.

Abducted by aliens.

They got wrapped up in some supervillain bullshit and now have amnesia and are unable to recognize Danny and Jazz.

They got magicked into something that can't take care of Danny and Jazz.

They were experimented on and are now incapable of taking care of Danny and Jazz.

Some cosmic entity did a whoopsie that effected Jack and Maddie and now they're in a condition/situation where they cannot take care of Danny and Jazz.

Got arrested and are in jail for some reason.

Were arrested and sent to jail for a long time. Have since joined Task Force X/the Suicide Squad for lienency.

Got hit by a stray Zeta-Beam and are now on some alien planet.

They got teleported somehow. We aren't certain about the details.

They fell into a hole to another world.

They no-clipped out of their normal reality.

Stranded with no way home.

They somehow ended up on a different planet. They are just hanging out with Space Cabbie now, who is just having a ROUGH day and can't find Earth for whatever reason.

Inducted into a Lantern Corps and are VERY busy because of it!

Coma.

Effected by a debilitating illness/disease/condition that makes them incapable of taking care of others.

They were forced to go undercover for some reason and therefore vanished. (Letting their kids know is optional)

They were forced to go undercover for some reason and were forced to fake their deaths.

They died, but came back to life. Danny has not been informed of this.

They got possessed by a superhero or supervillain who just wandered off with their bodies.

They got separated following a disaster and haven't been able to find each other again.

They've been retconned to hell and back again to the point where no one is entirely certain where they are, what they're doing, or even if they're alive anymore. Don't worry about it! Only mention them when it's relevant and the rest of the time we aren't going to bother explaining what's going on with them. If they are mentioned, accounts of where they are and what's going on with them are contradictory.

They're around, but will go unseen throughout this story

Any of the situations in the previous section, but it only happened to one of the parents, and the other is just too busy working and taking care of the kids by themselves.

The same as previous, but they also moved to Gotham.

Retcon things so that the events of Danny Phantom actually happened in Gotham City all along. (Maybe Amity Park is like... A suburb in the greater Gotham area.)

They went on vacation/were hired for a job that would take them away from home. They left Danny and Jazz to be taken care of by Vlad. Vlad is an asshole, so they ran away from him.

They went on vacation/were hired for a job that would take them away from home, but now that Jazz is over 18, she's been left in charge.

Put into Witness Protection by the government/the Guys in White.

Danny and friends have graduated from high school and are now legal adults, perhaps in college.

Danny's whole family moved to Gotham City. They're just at home/working during the events of this story.

Jack and Maddie have been hired to do some work with the Justice League and need to be away from home for an extended period of time. They have left a member of the Justice League to take care of Danny and Jazz in the meantime.

Fieldtrip/school trip to Gotham City.

Danny is old and responsible enough that Jack and Maddie trust Danny (and/or Jazz) to travel on their own. His parents are just a call away if he needs help.

Jack and Maddie are separated for whatever reason (one went missing/one is working abroad/they are divorced/one died) and the other moved to Gotham and is taking care of the kids in the meantime, but is busy and so will not appear.

Something happened to Fenton Works and the family needs to temporarily stay somewhere else while the problem with Fenton Works is sorted.

The family was driven out of town and they ran off to Gotham to escape the angry mob. (Or at least to wait until things cool down again.)

Jack or Maddie are able to work remotely and so they've moved to Gotham to do so. The kids came along/are visiting.

Jack and/or Maddie were hired for temporary work in Gotham and decided to bring the kids along.

One family member was taken to Arkham Asylum. They moved to Gotham to be closer.

Jazz went to Gotham for college. Danny is visiting.

Danny is sent to Gotham/Arkham for specialized health reasons.

Jack and Maddie have gotten in contact with a specialist that lives in Gotham and are visiting for work-related reasons.

They are on vacation in Gotham and brought the kids along. Danny and Jazz have been let off the leash to go where they want while Jack and Maddie do touristy stuff.

Visiting family/family friends living in Gotham.

They were passing through but are now unable to leave. (Bonus points if it's a No Man's Land situation.)

They were passing through, but were robbed. Jack and Maddie are dealing with the robbery stuff where Danny is off somewhere else.

They were just passing through, but Maddie and Jack got SEVERELY distracted by something and have run off to who knows where!

They are traveling with Vlad and expected Vlad to take care of and watch the kids!

Danny was abducted to Gotham.

Danny accidently ended up in Gotham somehow.

Danny somehow got transported/teleported to Gotham.

Doing an educational trip/apprenticeship/internship over in Gotham.

Danny ran away impulsively.

Some villain threatened Danny's family and forced him to run away from home.

Danny has revealed his secret to his parents, and while they might worry about Danny being a vigilante, believe in and trust Danny to do the right thing and allow him to do what he feels that he must to protect people.

The same as above, but Vlad also came out and is supervising.

They died.

I cannot understate the sheer JUICY storytelling potential that you can have by killing Jack and Maddie off! We already know how it might effect people and events from what we see in The Ultimate Enemy, but there really is limitless potential in terms of ways to twist, turn, and play with things to have different outcomes! Additionally, Jack and Maddie being genuinely good parents that die protecting Danny and Jazz offers lots of ways for Bruce to relate to Danny and Jazz! (He decided to become Batman so that no one would have to face what he did ever again... And he failed...) And the way that they die can offer some lovely different flavors of angst, coping mechanisms, motovations, and learning to deal with their loss. So here are some ideas for how to kill them off!

The universe exploded again, and when it was put back together, Jack and Maddie ceased to exist in current canon continuity. (This happens more often than you'd think.)

Vlad Wins.

They were killed in an apocalypse-level event.

They were killed in the crossfire of some superhero/supervillain fight.

They were taken by some villain. They were killed before the heroes could arrive.

They were killed in a random act of violence/crime. (Much like Batman's backstory. Do this to gain extra points from Bruce.)

Died in prison/after joining the Suicide Squad.

Gang violence.

Any of the previous but Gotham is just THAT dangerous!

Same as any gassing or supervillain plan, but they died instead of being missing or in medical care.

Got transported to a place where they died very far away from home.

They just died suddenly or because of an accident. It happens sometimes.

Things to note

Believe it or not, but your parents can still be in your life AND you can join the Batfamily AT THE SAME TIME! :D

Examples:

Barbra Gordon is very much in the Batfamily and both of her parents are alive and well. She's a very important part of the family, and in the comics, it is not uncommon to see her calling up her dad and talking to him! They'll even call each other if they need help with something. This does not take away from the fatherly role Bruce often has in her life. (She can have 2 dads and good for her for that!)

When Tim initially became Robin, his parents were alive and well. They would later die because comic writers are just like that, but being an orphan without loving parents in your life is not a prerequisite to being Robin.

Duke's parents are also alive! They are under the effects of Joker toxin, but they are alive, and if they ever find a cure for it, I imagine that they would be more than happy to have Duke back in their lives!

Terry from Batman Beyond is not an orphan and was taken under Bruce's wing to be the next Batman! Terry is even going to inherit a fair amount of Bruce's wealth for deciding to take on the responsibility of being Batman. But while his dad did die, his mom is still alive and well over the course of the series! And he has a little brother too! Terry may still be a teenager, but he is a bit of a breadwinner for his household while also still being an important part of Bruce's family. (He is often someone who helps Bruce take care of himself.)

But if the story you truly want to explore requires being adopted specifically... Well... You don't have to be a kid to be adopted! Jack and Maddie can still raise Danny and Jazz into adults and Bruce is able to adopt them later if he wants, once they have been well and established in his family! Hell, you don't even have to wait! As long as Bruce asks permission from Jack and Maddie, they can be alive AND he can adopt Danny! There is more than one way to be in a family, you know! And sometimes it takes a village! And really, would Jack and Maddie really object to Danny being adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, especially if Danny really is enjoying his time being a part of his family and if Bruce has been an absolutely lovely person to them whenever he visits?

So I hope that you're able to take some inspiration from all of this for your own stories! If you need some elaboration on what I mean with some of these, or want to ask who could be responsible for some of these and how, feel free to drop on by and send me an ask! I would be more than happy to go into some more detail about these! Happy writing!

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hello big brother Brainrot!! (Can I call you Kuya? It means big brother in Tagalog and I'm Filipino :D) I've been reading your headcanons for a while now and they're so well written! They bring me a lot of comfort and I've had a few good cries as well, and it's all been a big help for getting me through my days.

I've been wondering if you could do headcanons for an MC with Tourette's Syndrome and/or some other tic disorder? How the M6 would react to seeing it the first time, how long it takes them to get used to sudden outbursts or movement from MC, stuff like that.

I have personal experience with this sort of thing, and seeing you write for it would mean a lot to me!! Of course there's no pressure, do what inspires you!! (My DMs are also open if you have any questions/need resources to do research if that's something required)

Much love!!

The Arcana HCs: When MC has Tourette's Syndrome

~ @e1i-neverrests hi friend! I'd be honored if you called me Kuya :D Thank you so much for this prompt, it was so much fun talking about it with you! - brainrot ~

Julian

Do you have any idea what an absolute fountain of potential vocal tics this man is? How many funny little noises or striking ways of saying things he does on a daily basis? He's a library

Everything from his classic "Ohoho" laugh to his scandalized "what's this?!" to the "hmm"s, "haw"s, and "no no no no no"s that he mutters as he pours over his scrawled notes

To hear all of those repeated back to him at random intervals is an adjustment, surely, but not one he finds he minds too much

If you have a tic that involves smacking yourself anywhere, he's very quick to bundle up his coat and put it in harm's way to save you a bruise or two when he sees it making an appearance

Quick to offer to hold your things for you. He likes to do this for his friends and loved ones as it is, your tics are just an extra opening for him to demonstrate his love language and feel extra gallant

Genuinely doesn't mind getting accidentally hit. It's caused him to sputter in surprise once or twice, but otherwise he either doesn't notice or uses it as an excuse to check you over for any hurts

He's your doctor, okay? He loves any opportunity to give you attention, medical included if he can hold your hands to do so

Asra

Genuinely one of the most soothing presences, they've felt like home to you for as long as you can remember and they can bring your stress levels down in just about any situation

He's been giving you his arm to lean on or hand to lead you around for years now. If for some reason you feel the need to mask and a squeezable hand helps, he's all yours. Might gently squeeze back

If for some reason or another things are really acting up in public and you need a breather, they can and will whisk you into a quiet spot where you can have the space you need until it passes

Totally in love with your vocal tics. If it's just the two of you in the shop and he hears you say one that tickles his fancy, he's echoing it back to you in a very silly game of audio catch

Will also finish phrases to turn them into different sentences, each with a funnier meaning until you're both laughing

Always checks in on how you're doing physically if they've noticed frequent motor tics, especially if they might make your muscles sore or make you dizzy or give you bruises

Can massage the soreness out of anything and never gets tired of doing so after a long or stressful day

Nadia

From the moment she's met you, she has never once remarked on your tics without you bringing them up first. She has never let them pose any obstacle to your conversations or connection

And she certainly doesn't tolerate any kind of rudeness. Valerius made the poor choice of making a cutting remark in your direction once and Nadia's comeback brought him close to tears

Nobody else has dared to give you grief in her presence since

One of the times that you brought up your Tourette's with her, she did ask if you had any related sensory preferences when it came to clothing so she could make sure you were dressed comfortably

She also paid attention to your more physical tics and you've noticed that any part of your body prone to getting bumped or thumped as a result has a subtle extra layer of padding on them

Makes sure you have plenty of big pockets to hold things for you when you're not using them actively

Always finds ways to make big events as low stress for you as possible, complete with little alcoves to duck into if you want a break from the crowds here and there

Totally unfazed if she gets accidentally whacked

Muriel

You made him jump so many times the first few days he spent around you. He's not used to sudden - well, anything!

Which isn't to say that he had any particularly negative feelings about your tics. Even if you hadn't had them, he'd have still needed an adjustment period to hearing another voice nearby at night

There was a point later where you talked about it with him, and he compared you to a songbird. The sounds and motions you make are just another strain of the symphony of his forest home

(what he'll never admit to, though you do notice, is that sometimes a vocal tic will get stuck in his head, and then he'll start mumbling or humming it to himself randomly as he goes about his day)

He doesn't talk much as it is, and with how nervous it often makes him to share his thoughts, he did have a short learning curve as far as talking past or over your tics in conversation

Always happy to carry things for you, or give you his hand to squeeze. Genuinely doesn't notice half the times you accidentally whack him while you're holding hands

Regularly puts his hand between you and whatever you're at risk of smacking, without ever thinking or acting like it's a big deal

Portia

She can talk right past your tics to the point that anyone else in the conversation barely notices they're even happening

She didn't tiptoe around your Tourette's either - within a couple hours of knowing you, she bluntly asked about it, and once you explained it to her she nodded in understanding and kept on

Has the kind of reflexes that let her catch just about anything that accidentally starts to fall (or fly) from your hands

Known to echo your vocal tics, just for the sheer joy of it. You could mumble "hello" while you're doing the dishes and she'll cheerfully shout it back from where she's sweeping the floor

Super in tune to how you're feeling in social situations, and can pick up on anyone making you feel uncomfortable before you say anything about it. Ruthless at smacking down rude comments

Also has a knack for finding quiet spots if you start to feel a tic attack coming. She'll smoothly ask the host if they have a guest room to duck into and lead you there without batting an eyelash

Never really sure what to do with motor tics that get destructive, besides inviting you to lie in her lap and take deep breaths and let her put salve on any bruises or sore muscles later

Lucio

It was a rough start, let's be real

Quite simply, he didn't understand why it happened, it was something about you that he'd never seen in anyone else, and it made for prime teasing material when he got annoyed or upset

He quickly snapped out of it and developed more empathy, of course, but it still took a while for him to learn how not to help

Trying to hold you back from motor tics, for example

Eventually he just learned to tune most of it out, to the point that he doesn't notice it's even happening half the time. That's just his partner's built-in soundtrack

The few times mimicking him has been one of your tics, he's been absolutely delighted and puffed out his chest whenever it happened. That's right! He's something worth imitating!!

Tried putting his metal arm in the way of potentially destructive motor tics a couple times, only to find out that hitting the metal often hurt you more than hitting yourself

Once or twice, over the course of his "become a better person" journey, he did adapt one of your vocal tics as a swear (mostly because it was stuck in his head) it was ... quite something

[transvarmint]

How Transandrophobia Theory Helps Transfems

One of the biggest talking points against the concept of transandrophobia is that it harms transfems, particularly by diminishing transmisogyny or perpetuating harmful ideas about privilege and oppression dynamics.

Typically people respond to those points by simply pointing out how the concept doesn't harm transfems. But I'd like to take the time to demonstrate how the theory can be actively beneficial to transfems, and to discussions of transmisogyny.

A More Complete Gender Theory

Transandrophobia, as a theory, works to paint a more complete, and more intersectional picture of gender-based oppression.

Mainstream discussion about gender-based oppression largely centers around transphobia, misogyny, and transmisogyny. Concepts such as transandrophobia, exorsexism, and intersexism, help fill in the gaps not yet adequately addressed by the current theory.

Transmisogyny, on its own, is a robust theory of intersectional oppression. But intersectionality isn't complete without addressing all forms of identity and oppression that interact with each other.

Discussions about intersex transfems, aren't complete without addressing both transmisogyny and intersexism. Discussion about nonbinary transfems are complete with addressing exorsexism. The same goes for many transfems who are also transmasc, genderfluid, multigender, butch, or have a masculine presentation. Transandrophobia needs to be part of the discussion to adequately address the intersection that these transfems face.

My partner, for example, is an amab intersex transfem who is currently taking testoserone. They have a uterus and ovaries. They face very similar medical discrimination that I (a perisex transmasc) face. Discussion about their oppression is not complete if one does not address the transandrophobic discrimination that they face.

Misogyny and Manhood

Obvious disclaimer, that I'm not saying transfems in general are men. However, some transfems are, in fact, men. Whether that be because they're genderfluid / multigender, or because they're a man who identifies as transfem (taking estrogen, getting GRS, etc), or any other reason. And many transfems, aren't men, but outwardly identity as such (i.e. closeted and boymoding transfems).

These transfems still face misogyny and transmisogyny. Regardless of the fact that they either are men or outwardly identify as men. Many closeted transfems talk about the ways that they experience [trans]misogyny before coming out and/or transitioning, and how being a closeted transfem negates their male privilege.

A key part of transandrophobia theory is the fact that men (and people who aren't women) can be the direct targets of misogyny. And transfems know as well as anyone that be called a man, or percieved as a man, doesn't mean you can't experience misogyny.

Transandrophobia theory supports the idea that transfems do not experience male privilege on the basis of identifying as or being perceived as men. For both transmascs and transfems (and other gender groups), manhood (perceived or otherwise) is not a get out of jail free card. It does not grant one privilege by default, nor does it mean you escape misogynistic violence.

Therefore, the acceptance of transandrophobia as a concept, will lead to more acceptance of the fact that transfems, regardless of where they are in transition, are targeted by misogyny and do not benefit from systemic male privilege.

Solidarity and Community

Finally, I think one of the most important aspects of how this theory supports transfems, is through unity and community solidarity.

Many transfems express feeling alone and isolated. They fear that people who aren't transfem could not possibly understand or relate to their experiences with oppression. This feeds into the isolation, and often leads to community distrust and division.

Time and time again I have seen transfems relaying their experiences, and expressing that they believe non-transfems do not or cannot relate to these things. And often, they are things that I myself or other transmascs have experienced.

That's not to say that there's no unique aspects to transmisogyny, in a broad sense there are distinctions between how these intersectionalities function.

But importantly, acknowledging the existence of transandrophobia as a distinct form of oppression, will help transfems realize that they are not alone in their troubles. They are able to realize that we have more in common than we have different. And that their fellow trans people, no matter how different we may seem, need each other to stand up to our oppressors.

Knowing what we go through will allow for solidarity, community building, and unity.

Conclusion

Overall, transandrophobia as a theory allows for a more complete picture of intersectionality, an understanding of how misogyny affects all transfems (regardless of their gender or transition status), and supports trans unity.

If anyone has anything else to add, I would be very appreciative. Thank you for reading.

(Yes, you're free to link, screenshot, or cite this post for any purposes).

[lakesbian]

i was pondering some Thoughts about how people sometimes refer to worm as a "found family" story (& how this is sometimes mocked), how in-text alec explicitly says that the undersiders are the closest thing rachel has to family, how taylor tells them "you're my family, in a way," how the found family trope works in general, etc.

access to financial support, housing, medical care, And So On, is primarily attached to the institution of the family. the material necessities provided by membership to a nuclear family are why it's so common for people to reconcile with or keep in touch with family members they wouldn't if there was no material value attached to that relationship. the cultural prioritization of the nuclear family is how we get people offering "well, they're family" as an explanation for remaining associated with someone they wouldn't otherwise care about (or would even actively be trying to escape from, but this post is more about just Social Incompatibility in families than the outright abuse that the structure enables), with the expectation that the explanation is considered to make inherent sense.

aside from the found family trope demonstrating a lack of imagination about non-familial ways important relationships can take shape/demonstrating an inability to see relationships as truly important or deep unless they mimic the nuclear family, i think a lot of what appeals about the found family trope is a character dynamic that provides the same support, security, and undying love/depth of connection that the idealized nuclear family is purported to--and that does so as an escape from and superior replacement to the original blood family.

and what's interesting about the undersiders is that they're extremely not that. they're terrible at communicating. many of them don't get on with each other very well. they're oftentimes even actively shitty to each other: everyone but taylor towards rachel, brian towards alec (and aisha, but she's actually related to him), taylor towards alec and aisha. but there's still repeated in-text acknowledgement of a supposed familial dynamic between them! i think they're a "found family" in the sense that their group imitates the general role of the nuclear family--a small unit of people who (are supposed to) function as each other's fundamental supports in a world that, at large, does not care about any individual member, and who (are supposed to) do so regardless of any internal conflicts or lack of compatibility.

like, this is not a particularly articulate analysis of the nuclear family Whatsoever, but i don't think it's inaccurate to say that the compelling thing about the undersiders is that they are a "found family," but specifically in the sense that a lot of their dysfunctions are reminiscent of those found in typical, real-life familial bonds--people who wouldn't necessarily be getting along otherwise, or are even actively sorta bad for each other, forming very deep & intimate connections simply because they're materially forced to spend a lot of time together and have each others backs when there's no guarantee anyone else will.

for example: alec and aisha call taylor + brian 'team mom and dad' in a mocking manner not to indicate that they're kind/caring, but to indicate that they're being condescending micro-managing assholes...who aisha and alec are going to unquestionably listen to anyway, because they're a team, right? and you have to listen to your team leaders. i am onto an Observation here i think. deeply compelled by the idea of a ""found family"" where all of the similarities to an actual nuclear family are, despite being what drives the intimacy, also blatantly fucking dysfunctional

[theamityelf]

what do you think of aus where makoto goes through the Kamukura Project instead of hajime? i've seen a few around, but im curious about your take on the concept

Ooh, that's a good question!

For my own headcanons, I imagine, in his early days of consciousness as Izuru Kamukura (or Izuru Kamukura Iteration 2, if the Hajime version still exists in this timeline), he isn't aware of himself as a person pretty much at all. Even when the scientists talk to him, he isn't really aware that he's a person who is alive. He's really focused on them and understanding what they're saying and doing and why, but the fact that he doesn't process himself as a participant or agent in anything that happens to him means he's more witnessing the scene from a perspective of "I understand. This is a laboratory, and they're experimenting on a test subject. I wonder if their work will ever be done. They don't look happy. How do I know that? Because they hold tension in their faces. Because of the diameter of their pupils. They looked happier when they walked in than they are now. Why is that?"

(In contrast, I believe Hajime Izuru's analysis of the situation always included himself. I imagine, around this point in the Project, he saw things more like, "When *this stimulus* happens, it results in them doing *this thing* that hurts me. I have a vested interest in preventing this outcome." Makoto still experiences pain, but since he doesn't consider himself a person with agency, he just takes it as a thing that sometimes happens.)

It isn't until he's placed in a room with a two-way mirror that he sees things differently. (Similar to a thing I said about Izuru in Panel, but a little different.) He's looking at his reflection while the scientists run tests on him, and he's thinking, There are five people in this room. I only see four, until I look in the mirror. Right. The fifth one...That's the test subject. The one they're always talking to. He's bleeding. He shouldn't be; it looks like they made a mistake. Probably related to the visible signs of sleep deprivation in Dr. Sano. They shouldn't be handling the injury that way. That's not the way a normal medical practitioner treats a patient. Ow. They're very accomplished physicians; they know better than to treat someone this way and allow them to feel unnecessary pain. Ow.

And then he watches a drop of blood run down the middle of the test subject's face at the same time that he feels it happening, and it fully registers: That's right. I'm the test subject. The surreal feeling of realizing he's Someone dazes him for a second. If he's Someone, it's possible he can move. He can...talk?

"Dr. Sano?" he says, startling everyone in the room. "You usually use the polydioxanone sutures for lacerations like this. What made you choose the non-absorbable polypropylene this time? If it's related to your conversation with Dr. Fujita at your last shift, I don't find it likely that he actually felt that strongly about your work. He murmurs to himself about his family a lot; I think his frustrations about his son's grades fed into a mild complaint he had toward you."

The scientists all look at each other, because this test subject has been anomalously unresponsive, and suddenly he throws out not only a full sentence but an extremely comprehensive take on everything that's happening and everything that has happened.

They call in a bunch of other doctors to just assail him with questions, but while it's exciting that he's become responsive, they soon determine that it's easier to get a direct answer to a direct question out of him when there's fewer people to draw his attention. He doesn't treat them hierarchically, like he should. If the head doctor, in an otherwise silent room packed with lesser doctors, asks Makoto something, he might choose to ask one of the lesser doctors where his usual pocket protector is, or observe aloud that someone smells like watermelon.

Like the first Izuru Kamukura, this one is unemotional and largely unmotivated. Unlike the first Izuru Kamukura, this one doesn't resign himself to the tedium of life or live in pursuit of an end to that tedium. He just kind of lives vicariously through those who care. His thought about any given thing is, This is completely uninteresting to me, but it must matter, because someone cares about it.

(Possible scenario: "Makoto, kill that guy!"

"Okay." (starts strangling) (stops strangling) "Never mind. I think he doesn't want me to kill him."

"I know, but do it anyway."

"Why? He doesn't want me to.")

I can't stress enough how much he can't be motivated by pain or harm to himself. Unless someone else expresses that they don't want him to be hurt, it doesn't occur to him to make avoiding that a priority.

[tinystepsforward]

ngl it makes me want to die a little bit that it's so often trans people who feel that sex is mutable but oppression is always-forever based on asab in ways that allow them to demand that information from other trans people. like it feels fucking bad. it feels bad when it's people holding up someone who posts a lot of selfies as transition goals to a degree they have to clarify what they have or haven't done or what "direction" they're going in, it feels worse when people are out there like "caster semenya is not tma" or whatever the fuck. i am, as always, not a trans woman, but here's a sentiment echoed by many of the trans women around me who log the fuck off, quoted directly from one: "people who draw a clear line where they say that semenya or khelif are tme and then call me tma are just calling me male at this point".

like i get it. i really do. we seek community and shared experiences, and we feel betrayed when people have less in common with us than we thought they did. [*more on this later.] but that's not those people's faults and my god in the case i'm seeing play out on twitter rn this poor person did absolutely nothing to intentionally mislead people, just posted pictures of their actual kid self. who looks a lot like i did, because shockingly enough "we can always tell" doesn't fucking work for trans people either!

on the one hand i move in intersex circles which are unapologetically welcoming in cis "dyadic" people with pcos, because it serves nobody to draw a clear line where mutilation or genetics or some ineffable childhood suffering are what make somebody intersex, especially when most of us (esp in places like nz) have never been karyotyped and are being treated for symptoms without a pinned-down cause anyway. the more of us there are the stronger we are, the more pressure we can exert on a medical profession which doesn't like to consider how common outliers are, how uneasy sex is at all. and then on the other hand there's dyadic trans people on the internet who've yelled me out of spaces because a couple of traumatised incarcerated trans women i worked with as a prison abolitionist assumed i was also a trans woman and i didn't immediately tell them my entire csa-involved history of being sexed in varying ways as an infant and child and/or exactly how big my phallus was at birth or where in my junk config my urethra lives so they could decide i was tme or whatever.

returning to the * for a related but not identical thought: i think presuming shared experiences leads to some fucked shit in general! "oh we all had a radfem phase" or "oh we all were channers" no we fucking weren't and it's particularly obnoxious when me & mine are trying to build trans community locally to organise and resist the growing wave of far-right backlash against our existence, and there's just white people in there on a spectrum from "straight up being antisemitic and trying to get the n-word pass" through "handwringing about how they need to make space for people who aren't politically correct" to "handwringing about how brown people are right to be mad at them but doing shit fuckall". and then the other fucking brown people in the space are on some identity politics shit where they're like "trans joy inherently excludes those of us who could get deported" or "big city white queers are killing us by being visible instead of going stealth bc it stirs up the discourse" or whatever the fuck i've heard pulled out this year. there's a bunch of reasons i primarily organise outside of trans spaces and that's one of them. i've never felt more alone in spaces where people claim we're all the same than being left as the brownest moderator or organiser in a space full of people to whom "this is a safe trans space" apparently means they get to abdicate all other responsibilities not to lapse into presumed shared patterns that are fucking racist or otherwise alienating. i've never felt more alone than surrounded by exclusively trans people who sort people into boxes and assume everyone in those boxes has the transition goals they have. like i was on cypro until it disagreed with me to the point of endocrine crisis and now i'm on t and at both those points people were so fucking presumptive or entitled to my reasons or journey or personal relationship w my body

literally just submitted on (and was invited to consult on) the nz law commission's review of the human rights act and like. it's straight up fucked how many nz trans people fully do not comprehend that any "sex assigned at birth" type definitions fundamentally exclude migrants who have no way of proving it and many intersex people who happen to have been reassigned later or many times or never assigned at all as a baby. we can't make law with this shit and that's why we have to have symmetrical protections for all genders/sexes/expressions/presentations, bc naming and defining a protected class here often leaves the people who already are left out from those shared experiences of marginalisation out in the cold when they face violence

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Can we get Riddler's reaction to SO coming home with an injured animal, maybe with a side of 'no, we are not keeping it' but they end up keeping it anyway?

"We are not keeping the damn thing-" Riddler Party x S/O

Oh this is something I'm very familiar with LMAO. I tried to include a variety of animals here.

Not to be lame or a square or w/e but as a general reminder, if you ever find injured wildlife, please contact your local shelters or animal control. These are fantasy scenarios and in most cases- wildlife is either better left alone, you will need strict temporary guidance or they need to be taken care of by professionals. In many places, you need a license to care and keep undomesticated animals.

TW: animal harm and abuse, mentions of dog fighting, medical procedures

Gotham

It all happens so quickly one day when the pair are driving in Gotham. His S/O notices what looks like a small brown bundle in the middle of the road and panics for Edward to stop. Before he can really get an explanation, they're shouting over their shoulder about a turtle, taking off their jacket. Then he's the one panicking as he watches them stop traffic to scoop up the animal.

The painted turtle has a huge crack in it's shell and a hurt leg. Not knowing what to do, they take it to a vet to see if anything can be done. Surgery, a fiberglass covering... A free sexing to determine the turtle is otherwise a healthy girl. Edward is already devouring the informational packet given to him in the waiting room. A lot he already knew but, well, it pays to learn more!

He's probably one of the few riddlers that doesn't actually say "no we can't keep it." There might be a brief moment where he questions his S/O if they even want a turtle- for the most part it's kind of... fascinating? They keep visiting the turtle in the hospital before she's released and he asks so very many questions about care and what they've been doing for her-

Before it's even been officially decided she's coming home and not being released back out, he's getting a tank ready. Heat lamps, a UVA/UVB light, pond, a dock for basking. A very strange amount of decorations related to questions marks and his special interests that you might not expect decor for.

This turtle won the lottery. She gets a very fancy omnivore diet with vitamin and mineral supplements. He even ends up cultivating species appropriate plants in the tank for her to enjoy and snack on occasionally. She's never bothered much other than the routine tank cleanings. Edward just likes watching her and watching his S/O gush over how pretty she is.

If anyone asks to pick her up, he will give a speech on how actually, human contact stresses them out so if you could never ask again, he'd appreciate it. He intends on her making it many more decades despite not having any clue how old she is now.

Penguin is going to hear so many fun facts about turtles now. Oswald might consider trying to murder him... again.

60s

A baby bird that fell from it's nest. He watched as his S/O tried and failed to reintroduce the bird back to it's mother. He even helped them weave a fake nest and put it up in the tree to see if their parents would take the babe back. To no avail. He was prepared to comfort his love if the little thing passed on.

Yet he watched his S/O roll up their sleeves and start making a nest of their own. A heat lamp that was originally used for one of Edward's plots, now for the chick. He insisted they could probably find someone to take care of it. He's certain he could light a cigarette in a public place and get Batman's attention if they wanted a more heroic figure for the job. With a sidekick named Robin, surely he has a thing for lost little birds.

Birds aren't really his thing, you see. Not part of the gimmick. He has nothing against them, love, but... perhaps Penguin? Still no, huh? The determination of his S/O is rather inspiring, even if it goes against his own wishes. Feedings every few hours, changing papers and blankets. Checking the crop. He noticed the collection of bird care books from Gotham Library.

He starts feeling more affection for the thing once it grows fluff. As his S/O gently holds his hand out to teach the bird to step up. There's something endearing about all of it. How passionate they are. How could he truly say no? It's when the feathers appear and the soft cries begin that they confirm they have a little mourning dove.

In devotion to his partner and their new animal child, he sets up a bird cage and perches himself. Reads the same care books, albeit in half the time. Once the time is right, he even builds an outdoor cage to allow the bird fresh air and stimulation that is safe from predators.

While he doesn't appreciate the mess the bird leaves, he doesn't mind the shoulder buddy. It does, however, make him slightly less intimidating towards Batman, as if he needed anything to help with that.

Zero Year

His S/O had a habit of bringing home animals. They had some... special certification, he wasn't paying terribly much attention to what- What it meant was that after they moved in together, there would occasionally be a small furred or feathered creature in the spare room off his workshop that needed to be bottle fed. He wasn't sure how he felt about the habit. It was something he almost admired. Wanting to care for something small and weak. Yet it was a vulnerability he could see being taken advantage of.

Good thing he's such a pleasant and non-needy personality that doesn't need all his S/O's attention! He lived with it. Perhaps he was better for it. Personal growth... even if at moments he felt jealous and despised it. He supposed they needed a hobby of their own considering how his "hobby" was so all-consuming.

Then they brought home the red fox. A fur-farm rescue. Nowhere else to go, they said. Edward tried to put his foot down. How would they even care for it? A fox... Ridiculous! He also knows it can't be tossed back out into the wild. It would die. His stubbornness holds even as he watches his partner cut their hands open on wire fencing to make an enclosure.

It isn't until they ask him, truly ask him, if he hates that they save animals. Seeing the pain in their eyes and sensing the possibility that they might even leave- he makes a decision. No amount of avoiding annoyances is worth losing the one person he truly trusts in this life. He builds an outdoor enclosure with catch doors and even sits down with the thing.

Winning him over was as simple as the vixen stealing his screwdriver and laughing at him as she played keep away. He was irritated with her, at first, yet as he caught her and all she wanted was pets and affection... He supposed it was also cute the way she would hoard boiled eggs out of his hand. Alright, maybe, just maybe- Maybe she could stay. Only out of his good will.

He gets to a point where she'll sit in his lap while he trims her nails and brushes her fur. His S/O can do the yucky medical stuff she hates, this is his time.

BTAS

It was a kitten that set his life upside down. His partner, his darling beloved, found it abandoned and hypothermic in a box after a storm. No indication of mother or another human coming to find it. His eyes weren't even open. A little tuxedo that mewled for any kind of nourishment and warmth. Edward was ready to call Selina to come pick it up- until he remembered she was currently incarcerated by Batman for a diamond heist.

It wasn't his bathroom being overtaken as a quarantine zone that made him upset. It wasn't even the alarm that went off every two hours for feedings, even in the middle of the night. No, it was how exhausted and emotionally tired his S/O looked after two days of taking care of him. When he said they were not, could not keep the cat, his partner insisted on doing everything themselves.

He was regretting it, to say the least. At 3am, while he was working, he could hear the alarm going... and his S/O snoring through it. With a sigh, he turned it off and began to prepare the formula. He went through the steps in his mind as he had seen his partner do for the past week and a half. Feed, burp, stimulate for the bathroom, make sure he's warm. Then he got in there and found a creature shouting and demanding to be fed and loved now.

Putting the kitten on his chest, watching his ears wiggle and feeling the tiniest muffins being made on his chest... that was the moment he fell in love. In that instant, he understood. This little sootball that looked like lint that exploded in the dryer- he was worth the hardship.

After that, Edward took on the nightshift for his partner. A few more weeks and their schedules could get back to normal. Ish. And their fancy well dressed man could be released into the rest of the house to cause chaos galore. Kitten energy is a bit too much for Edward, but he adjusts.

Telltale

When his S/O had stumbled into his workplace, bloodied and holding a blanket close to their chest, he feared the worst. He was prepared to dismember whoever had done this to his partner- and then they mentioned it wasn't their blood. Irritating, yet relief flooded his system.

He cleared a nearby table and watched as his S/O unraveled a bleeding, wounded dog. Struggling to breathe. Whining. A prong collar embedded into its neck. In the haze of panic, he extrapolates that his partner found it thrown away like trash in an alley. Even in this state he could make out the bite marks of other dogs on her body. Dog fighting.

Yet the mottled colored mutt seemed disinterested in attacking, even in this vulnerable state. Had she already given up? He was prepared to euthanize her himself until his partner looked at him with wet eyes asking if there was anything he could do. A tired sigh.

He knew some people with the proper equipment. Yet even as he contacted them, he insisted the two of them were not keeping the dog. He would help take care of the dog. Then they would figure out where she could go.

This lasted until one night in the lab as he sat at his desk, he felt a heavy head lay on his leg. As he looked down, there she was, staring up at him- tail wagging. Even after everything they'd put her through... she was putting all her trust and affection in a human. He would never admit it, but it reminded him of himself in some small way towards his S/O. Finding that love after pain atop of pain.

He stopped mentioning getting rid of the dog. Insists no one else will want a former fighting dog, so she might as well stay. It has nothing to do with how she cuddles between her "parents" on the couch. That she'll fetch things for her master with a dopey pleased look. And of course not because she gets accustomed to waking Eddie when he's experiencing night terrors associated with his past. Lowkey she's his emotional support dog and he's her emotional support human and his S/O gets to watch that relationship bloom.

Arkham

Despite Edward's lack of care towards the many strays in Gotham, his S/O seemed rather enamored with them. He comments that they should leave feeding the mangy things to Selina. Yet, he doesn't stop them. Then there was one cat in the neighborhood that wouldn't escape either of their notice. A mean feral that wouldn't let anyone near it. He'd wait for everyone else to eat food before picking off scraps.

He thought it was sort of charming how his S/O asked him for a trap to catch the beast. He asked them why they'd bother. It would appear the creature had gotten an eye injury, likely from fighting. He'd never expected them to actually catch the beast, no matter how genius his craftsmanship on the trap. And yet...

One eye enucleation and spay surgery later, his next question was when they were going to release the cat back out. Or call catwoman to deal with it. As his S/O told him neither would be happening, he began to try to put his foot down. No, never. You will not be keeping him. If they'd really wanted a pet, he could make one! Not this... possible mixed breed of a wild cat with a domestic one.

Fortunately they had a small spare room they could clear out for a kennel to allow the cat some comfort while he healed. Edward would listen as his partner going into the room and cooing. Followed by hissing and "no... No, c'mon-" and more bargaining. He shook his head. What were they expecting? You can't just bring a creature like that back with that kind of hate.

It isn't until one night when he's working that he hears... a meowing. It's strained and croaking. He goes to inspect the room and seen the one eyed cat staring up at him. A soft meow. Then a head bonk on the cage bars. Yet as he knelt down, the cat reared back and hissed.

Over the next week, he would visit the cat with his S/O. He noticed this scraggly, scarred cat looking up at them. Hissing less and less. Hesitantly approaching until his S/O was able to touch his head. Then they heard it for the first time: his purr. It was then Edward knew he was not going to be able to get rid of this ugly as sin cat.

The cat absolutely chose his S/O as his person, but that doesn't leave out Edward. The cat likes sleeping on some of his machinery when it's warm. Jumping on his shoulders when he falls asleep at his desk. Edward finds himself petting deep into his now-soft fur when he's stressed.

Selina will give him so much shit about this cat. Forever.

Batman 2022/Nashton

His S/O found the little creature after a dog had gotten hold it. A possum joey without a mother anywhere in sight. A few calls later, a wildlife shelter visit and lots of stress and worrying, they were told the possum was going to live... But not in the wild. There was enough damage to its body that even after healing, he might not be able to defend himself properly.

Edward tried to reason why it should stay with someone else. They'd have better care. They'd become an education ambassador, maybe! He... It's so tiny and fragile, and that makes him so nervous.

Edward is projecting a lot of feelings onto this little thing that mostly wants to hiss and cling to his sweatshirt. He'll just fuck it up, you know. The problem that arises is too many rehabbers in the area are full up. There might not be any space for the little guy- Faced with the possibility of euthanasia, Edward's S/O looks at him with dewy eyes.

How can he say no to that face? And the face of, he supposes, their newest companion. After faking some paperwork and certifications, they are bringing home a small possum.

Over time, he ends up relating a lot to the possum considering their reputation. They're just scavengers! They can't even get rabies! Yet everyone just seems to hate them for being born. He knows what that's like...

He does so much research on dietary needs since possums require such a variety of care. Protein, proper phosphorous levels, fruits and veggies. He really likes feeding him cooked chicken hearts out of his hand. Since they walk so much in the night, he makes an exercise wheel for the little guy to use. Builds climbing walls and poles for him to hang from if he wants. His S/O gets to help hammer nails in!

Sometimes Edward's S/O is looking for the possum and asks Edward... only to see a little black and white head poke out from his hoodie. The two of them know they won't have the possum for long (in the wild, they only live around three years!), but he's kind of used to shorter lifespans with his rats.

He's going to make sure the years they have, though, are going to be enriching and full of happiness.

[amourdivine]

🫧 ˚ ୨ A M O U R D I V I N E ୧ ‧

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Hello, you may call me Amour! I'm twenty eight years old and I go by she/they. I've been reading tarot since 2021, though I'll always feel like a perpetual newbie. I'm an eternal optimist, I love mermaids, faeries and angels. Within my style of reading, I like to incorporate my own kind of magic with kindness and respect for other people. The blunt, "no bullshit" type of readings are not my style and I believe they do more harm than good. You'll also find I don't resonate with the concept of twin flames, new age practices (manifestation, LoA, etc) and binary concepts of "masculine vs. feminine" energies solely. My readings are meant to be inclusive of all gender identities and sexualities, but you are more than welcome to correct me if there's a slip up. I love feedback and I'm always eager to know how my readings may (or may not) have resonated with others. Enjoy your stay! ♡

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[entering--hyperspace]

For Leo: 9, 14, 22 and 23 👀

9. Are they also a healer/medic? What can they do if someone is hurt and needs assistance? Can they heal themselves? Do they have a plan for when they're injured?

I'm sure Leo knows basic Medical knowledge but in terms of magic noooot so much, He can like, in dire circumstances, feed someone his own life energy to keep them stable for a while. In terms of healing himself his reaper shroud can sustain him on ambient spectral magic but its very temporary as well.

14. Is there any particular quirk to their magic? Is there something they can't do with their magic that others usually can? Is there something they can do particularly well?

Leo is particularly good at communing with spirits! It is not common that a Necromancer is able to hear the ambient chatter of the deceased as well as he can, or even feel the low spectral energy they give off in the first place. His empathy and love for them travels around so he has a very symbiotic relationship where he is able to be empowered by spirits in a consensual give and take, after spending years helping them and managing to ease troubled ones so that they may finally move on. His reaper’s shroud is also unique but we’ll talk about that soon, next question, in fact!

22. What trait lines/specializations

Necromancer Reaper!

Leo primarily uses spectral energy as a necromancer, and is powered through a symbiotic relationship with spirits. His shroud is something that he canonically has, But the lore for its acquisition is a little bit of my own making!

In the personal story Leo went to investigate the Cathedral of Silence While the Pact Commander went to investigate the Map From Romke. He did so alone.

After communing with the seventh reaper and defeating the keeper of the shrine, Leo begs for any way, any power he could either Share or gain that would help in the battle against Zhaitan. The Reaper saw Leo's dedication, care, and love for spirits, he proposed a bargain: a pact with him would grant him access to the mists itself through a fusion of the Avatar and Leo himself, if only temporarily. It can heal him by soaking the ambient spectral magic that surrounds the area, grant him a deeper connection to the dead, and greatly empower him, at the cost of Leo becoming a protector of the Cathedral whenever he dies instead of naturally moving on in the cycle. This was a very big deal for Leo as he greatly upholds the natural cycle and wishes it for himself, but took the pact anyway, as any power that would save lives by ending threats such as Zhaitan was worth it even if it cost him something he held dear.

23. What utility skills do they tend to use? Is there any they can't use for lore reasons?

Leo primarily uses Spectral utility skills! And while there aren’t any he technically can’t use, there are some he avoids out of principle but I’ll answer that more in depth in a future ask!

Before we get into it, let me use this as an excuse to share what I consider Spectral magic to be as it ties in to why he does and doesn't use other forms of magic!

Spectral energy is described as an "Otherworldly" or "Ancient" form of energy, which had me decide that it is, of course, related to the mists. In fact, it IS the mists, at least, another variant of it.

Think of the mists' energy as a state of matter. Revenants can use/channel the mists in its most pure state and through the connection to their legends. Necromancers however (once attuned to the ambient form of this energy found in places with portals or otherwise entries where the mists leak into this world) can turn that energy into something more tangible, which is "Spectral." If the mists is water, revenants are able to Use that water directly, But Necromancers must turn the water into Ice to wield it, which is how you're able to have things like Spectral claws, spectral armor, Spectral weapons.

Spectral energy does exist "everywhere." Spectral energy can be attributed to spirits, ghosts, life itself. (Another reason I went with the idea that its related to the mists as the mists are the origin of all things.) But there may be places where its less apparent (Ascalon would be drenched in it, for example.) which could dampen a necromancer's well, but depending on experience they can find ways to draw spectral energy from things around them which can be exceptionally dangerous (similarly to blood benders in avatar drawing water from the plants but also killing them in the process.) Or they could have items which have already soaked so much of that energy they don't need to take such measures.

Now that’s been said, Leo has always had a unique affinity with spirits due to growing up in Ascalon and having a lot of emotions about the ghosts being trapped in an endless groundhog day unable to move on. Studying Necromancy and having access to a spectral-rich land like Ascalon meant he was able to attune to it from the get go, it was the most ready/powerful source of energy which meant he gained a lot of experience from it rather quickly. Spectral energy also just allows him to have a closer connection to spirits which is why he prefers it.

[teacup-captor]

Why self diagnosis is valid, the incomplete list:

1. Not everyone is in a safe situation. Some people may live with or otherwise be closely attached to an abuser or several abusers, who will not allow them to go to therapy or seek out other professional help. It's cruel and unfair to expect these people to wait patiently until their situation is no longer unsafe to let them understand how their brain and body works. Understanding that you are struggling physically and/or mentally can be lifechanging in these situations, as it can help people cope or at least understand themselves better. Recognizing a harmful line of thinking can be the thing needed to save a life.

2. Not everyone lives in the same country as you. Some countries don't offer the same kind of professional help that yours does. Some countries will go by different diagnostic criteria, and may straight up not recognize certain disorders.

3. Stigma against mental help exists. Some places stigmatize mental illness heavily, going to a therapist or psychologist can be heavily frowned upon. Even for a neurotypical, it could be extremely hard to seek out the help needed.

4. Other kinds of stigma exist. A disabled person may not be diagnosed because they're "too young" to be disabled, or they "look okay". Some people may not be properly diagnosed due to their sex. People may be discriminated against due to their race. I can't say too much about race since I'm white, but are you aware that people used to believe females couldn't be autistic? Did you know there's still remnants of this belief everywhere?

5. A medical professional doesn't have your brain or your body. This may be a surprise to some, but a doctor isn't magically able to feel that their patients have liver failiure, and a therapist doesn't magically gain their patients' memories and trauma. Sometimes doctors and therapists just don't want to listen. Sometimes patients lack the proper words to describe things in a way that makes sense to their doctors and therapists. Sometimes patienta can't express how much they struggle because they don't know how much they struggle until someone with the same/similar disorders as them start speaking about it in detail.

6. Poverty and discrimination exist. Some people can't afford that shit! And if they can't afford going to a doctor or therapist to get a legal diagnosis, they definitely can't afford getting fired over their diagnosis or struggling to find a job because they're disabled.

7. The government sucks! This one is targeted to the people who read point 6 and said "Well they can get paid by the government if they're disabled, right?" I live in Norway, and I'm very privileged in that respect, we're a rich country with good healthcare and such for our people, but even WE can't always afford to pay disabled people enough to survive! AND WE TAX THEM ON TOP OF THAT!

8. A majority of people who self diagnose do not watch 1 single joke video where they relate to 2 things and self diagnose off of that. People who self diagnose often (but not always) read a lot of resources about the illnesses or disorders they suspect they have. A majority of people will understand that it's not fun to be disabled, and that it negatively impacts a person. Most people will not self diagnose with autism because they flap their hands and really like trains, most people will self diagnose with autism because they have difficulties with social interaction, they struggle with sensory input, etc etc. Most people who self diagnose understand that this is serious stuff. The disabled community constantly reminds people that this is serious. And all of us are trying to spread the most accurate information about this as we can, because we're all struggling and want people to understand us.

9. People who self diagnose aren't stealing any resources. This is because people who self diagnose cannot access certain resources. People who self diagnose won't get the same accommodations at school or at work. The resources they WILL have access to are those that are less limited, such as apps (which cannot run out), fidget toys (which are constantly being produced due to their popularity with adults and especially children, disabled or not), things such as communication cards (which a lot of people make themselves) and mobility aids. In addition, they cannot be "stealing" these resources if they genuinely need them. Unless they physically steal a cane or something from someone else.

10. Self diagnosing and getting it wrong has the greatest impact on the person who self diagnoses than on anyone else. If someone self diagnoses, the greatest risk in it all is them getting it wrong. This could lead to some problems with readjusting to how they look at themselves, for more complex disorders like DID it might lead to some troubles with their sense of self, but all in all they would get the same consequences as if a medical professional misdiagnosed them, which can happen all the time.

11. You wouldn't judge someone for self diagnosing with an allergy. If someone feels their throat close up whenever they eat strawberries, it's safe to assume that person is allergic. No one would judge them for not eating strawberries if they found out they're allergic. Why shouldn't this apply to other things? If someone finds out they get very tired when they read, and often they don't remember what they've read, and they figure out it's because they're most likely dyslexic, why should anyone get mad at them for listening to audiobooks instead?

12. How the fuck else is anyone gonna get diagnosed? You don't go to the doctor because you think everything is fine. Yes, someone might go if their back suddenly starts hurting every day for 2 weeks, but when your back has been hurting your entire life you might not think something is wrong. If you really don't like wearing socks, you don't immediately think of seeking professional help, do you? But if someone starts talking about how their autism makes it hard to wear socks, and you start realizing you relate to a lot of autistic traits, then you suddenly have a reason to seek help. You don't go to a doctor because you think everything is okay.

[leonenjoyer69]

Do you got some angsty headcanons for Elias? Elias and anyone else?

Apologies that this took actual weeks to get to, but we're so fucking back (this is also an answer for @dustmint who asked the same >:3)

Okay, starting off, (I think I may have mentioned it before but who knows,) Elias is lowkey a workaholic, for many different reasons tho!!

First of all, out the gate he has that work ethic that Lanyon Sr. tried to encourage Robert to have. Elias has to keep himself busy somehow, so why not get things done? Like previously stated, he has more of an affinity for all the doctory stuff Lanyon learned, so he tends to play doctor for the society. Otherwise, he also helps Jekyll with paperwork, no matter how boring, because the light thanks he gets at the end makes it worth it.

Secondly, and back onto the keeping busy part, Elias is restless af. Being more emotional and such, he's very prone to over thinking and spiraling over things- thinking he's not enough, or that people hate him, etc.- and gets overwhelmed by his thoughts quite easily (think like Hyde in Shatter me!, when he's getting chased and such, his thoughts becoming more base and fearful.), he's generally able to hide it though. When he's around Jekyll/Hyde these thoughts tend to go away, and when he's actively working or being praised/complimented for his work, they also tend to calm. So, when Jekyll/Hyde are unavailable and Lanyon let's him take over (usually after much nagging, bribery, or pleading) he buries himself in work. Whether that be medical research, paperwork, cleaning, or anything else he can do to keep occupied, he doesn't really care.

Because of this excessive emotional instability and restlessness, Lanyon tends to snap at him a LOT when they're alone together, Especially because Elias avoids going into the subconscious as much as possible. Being outside with only the presence of his other half? Overwhelming and usually not great, but being completely alone and numb in the subconscious? 100x worse to him. After the first time Lanyon finally bullied Elias into the subconscious, he came back a couple hours later near hysterical. after that debacle, Lanyon just decided that Elias bugging him and floating around with minimal breakdowns and complaining was better than having to deal with that again.

Also, Elias is absolutely obsessed with Jekyll and Hyde. Practically codependent, he's like a puppy. He yearns to be around either of them at basically all times, and when he isn't he, of course, becomes super restless and lowkey depressed. Also, the thoughts that tend to mess him up the most are ones related to them, like Jekyll or Hyde actually hating him, or thoughts of something horrible happening to them, like getting caught or hurt, or even killed.

There are times though where he's able to sit and think without absolutely spiraling though. Usually when he feels this sort of emotional content, he'll go to a park and climb up and sit in the trees (usually at night, to watch the sky). These tend to be the nights where Lanyon and Elias have more of their heart to hearts, since Elias is more mellow and less likely to get emotional. Also, any trinkets or gifts from Jekyll/Hyde tend to soothe him a decent bit, as well as wearing or cuddling up with any stolen clothes.

Those heart to hearts don't tend to help with their constant disdain for each other though. Elias wants to constantly be in control and occupied and around Jekyll/Hyde. Lanyon, of course, also wants to be in control, because he does NOT like having that control stripped from him, especially when he's forced to watch his other half live the life that HE wants. They tend to fight for control a lot, and quite quickly have accidentally done half transformations multiple times ( I actually have a fic idea for this teehee :3). Otherwise, like previously stated, Lanyon is VERY jealous of Elias, for many reasons-- His work ethic and the praise he gets, how forward he is with Jekyll, how much more people seem to enjoy his company than Lanyon's, things like that.

Quick thing for Jekyll and Hyde too! Jekyll tends to get a bit self conscious when Elias gets touchy, mainly because he's half convinced that no part of Lanyon really loves him and that he's just gonna get used and heart broken again, despite how utterly romantic Elias acts (which Jekyll still tends to absolutely eat up). Hyde doesn't have such qualms, he absolutely thrives on all the physical contact and kissing and such. The romanticism tends to throw him off though, makes him super flustered and kinda makes him shut down a bit.

Okay! That's all I've really got for now. Once again, sorry this took so long 💀 if there's anything more specific or questions about how he would react to specific situations perhaps, feel free to send an ask, my inbox is always open, even if it takes a minute for me to get to it 💀

[idyllic-affections]

HELLO!! YOUR BAIZHU WITH CHRONICALLY ILL READER IS THE BEST THING THAT'S EVERY HAPPENED!!! I've never seen a blog that does only platonic things, and as an aroace person, IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY! I wasn't too sure if you requests were open or not, but I was wondering if you could make either some headcanons or a fic where the reader (from that series) has a flare up or gets sick and Baizhu takes care of them? I'm unfortunately sick right now (just in time for when my final school assignments are due, slay 😍) but found family and hurt/comfort are literally the best thing ever, and, if put together, I'm pretty sure will cure me /j. If you requests aren't open, then please disregard this message!

Anyway, I gotta go sleep before the fever messes up my brain (if it hasn't already); so good bye, and thank you again!!

a slip of the tongue.

summary. how does baizhu care for his junior herbalist when they fall ill?

trigger & content warnings. flu-like sickness, lighthearted mentions of death.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. hurt/comfort-ish. baizhu & reader. 1.1k words. they/them pronouns for reader. this post is an expansion of invisible disability? it's rather visible to me & contains vaguely implied spoilers for baizhu's story quest.

author's thoughts. hello lovely!!! thank youu <3 i am slowly collecting people that like this series like how i collect shiny rocks. its great to get a request related to it. i hold this series very dearly, so please (and this goes for everyone reading this!) never be shy to send thoughts about it or requests related to it. anyway, i love catering to aroace folk, you all are so special to me. im on the aro spectrum myself, so i get it. i know from experience that it can be super frustrating looking for fanfic content that's non-romantic. please remember to take care of yourself! i totally understand the feeling of needing to finish final assignments while being sick. me and you are in the exact same boat LMAO... my requests are always open btw! ive no intention of ever closing them. in the end, i went with our poor reader being sick rather than having flare ups, since i already briefly touched on that idea in employee benefits.

how does baizhu care for his junior herbalist when they're sick and out of commission?

baizhu is most often the first to know when they're sick or otherwise unwell. he's so impossibly attentive to their bodily condition, simply because their health is partially his responsibility. he's their teacher. what kind of mentor would neglect to take care of their apprentice? a bad one, that's what kind.

(he also feels somewhat indebted to them—even though they're chronically ill, they're always doing anything they can to help him recover after his "secret art" treatments. even though he's the doctor, they've helped care for him on more than one occasion. he has to return the favor whenever he can. just because he's older doesn't mean he gets to freely take advantage of their kindness.)

if he's not the first to know, he's the second, because the only instance where he wouldn't know first is if they woke up ill at home.

he'll always end up being the second to know, at the very least. someone will inform him of their condition, whether that be a parent or a sibling or another family member. sometimes a friend of theirs may tell him, such as xingqiu, chongyun, hu tao, or xiangling.

in hu tao's case... she may be distrustful of him, but she does tell him when they aren't well. [name] is a childhood friend of hers. she cares about their health and, surprisingly, doesn't want to put them in the ground just yet!

even though she dreads the path they've chosen to walk down... she still cares for them, very much so.

(junior herbalist!reader's lore drop is finally here?!?!?)

regardless of how baizhu finds out, they'll end up being cared for at the pharmacy.

though he could prescribe them medication and let them be taken care of at home...

he often wants to care for them himself.

gui has asked why in the past, and baizhu really has never had a good answer for him.

he's really not sure why he wants to be the one to monitor them. perhaps it's because it gives him a sense of calmness and reassures him that they're recovering well.

after all, if their condition were to rapidly decline for any reason... he could fix it.

(to some others, his concern might seem overprotective. unnecessary. however, something as simple as the flu has been known to take lives. he worries that, because of their chronic illness, they may be more susceptible to a severe case than others are.)

he has the means to save them if something like that were to happen, and undoubtedly, the life of his sweet and kind apprentice is one that deserves to be saved and protected.

perhaps it's also because it seems to put qiqi at ease; baizhu's noticed that she gets fidgety in [name]'s absence during work hours, but when they're ill and being cared for at the pharmacy, she functions very well and often even remembers to check on them herself.

sometimes when they have a fever, qiqi may sit by their side for minutes at a time and just press her little cold hands on their forehead to cool them off. she also ensures that they stay hydrated.

both baizhu and gui find this behavior very endearing. qiqi cares deeply for her big sibling (despite the fact that she's technically older...). her bond with them is something very special and sweet to bear witness to.

bubu pharmacy's work environment is familial and tightly knit by nature, so it isn't too hard to imagine that something would feel wrong if one of the four herbalists were gone for whatever reason. even those who don't work there are affected by the absence of one or more of the pharmacists.

overall, baizhu takes very good care of them when they fall ill.

he monitors them closely, hand-crafts their medicine depending on what they need, makes sure that their fluid intake is maintained...

he dotes on them tbh.

"Ugh..." they groaned, blearily blinking up at their mentor. Baizhu's hand against the feverish skin of their forehead was cold; they couldn't help but lean into the gentle touch. "Bàba?"

He didn't point it out. He hardly even acknowledged their words, as if he were somehow used to it. He only smiled, hand stroking tenderly over their disheveled hair, taming the defiant strands no doubt caused by restless sleep. "So sorry to wake you, dear."

Even Changsheng was quiet—she only hummed thoughtfully from her place around Baizhu's neck. Normally, she'd find something to tease them about (usually because they started it!), but now... she seemed to know that it just wasn't right to tease them in their hazy state of mind.

Gui was quiet, too. He was surprised. He had never heard them address their mentor such an... informal way, let alone with familial terms. He did once briefly think that the dynamic they had with Baizhu was awfully family-like, but...

It was still unexpected.

"Come, now. It's time to take your medicine again, and then you can go back to sleep, okay?"

Gui watched, still silent, as they hummed in absentminded acknowledgement, rubbing their eyes ever so slightly. It didn't seem to help them come to at all; their gaze was still distant and unfocused and they didn't even realize how they addressed the doctor. If they did... they'd probably apologize, embarrassed, but they showed no such emotion. Baizhu gently guided them into a sitting position, rubbing small circles on their back.

Gui handed the cup filled about halfway with herbal medication off to the doctor. Baizhu gingerly guided it to their lips, knowing very well that the guidance was needed; they looked half-asleep sitting up. Archons know they were in no condition to successfully do it themselves. They took the medicine without so much as a whine about its bitterness—they only grimaced slightly after swallowing. Gui supposed that they never really were one to complain about it, even when fully coherent. 'I think it would set a bad example for others if I complained,' they once told him. 'Plus, it's not like Dr. Baizhu gets some kind of sadistic pleasure from giving medication to me, so there's no reason to complain. It's herbal. There's nothing to be done about the taste... I know he doesn't like taking it either. Hehe. It's kind of funny, actually, like we're hiding some kind of company secret. Herbalists who don't like the taste of herbal medicine.'

It was only after he left the room with the doctor that he pointed it out:

"They called you bàba."

"Hm?" Baizhu hummed, turning to Gui. "Oh. Yes... [Name] has done it quite a few times, actually, whether that be because of fever delirium or a slip of the tongue. I don't mind it. It only means that they feel safe enough to be vulnerable here. Qiqi has done it a few times, as well. Those two are only children, so... it is to be expected."

Gui then smiled, nodding. "It's cute."

Baizhu couldn't help but agree, his lips tilting upwards into a little smile himself. "It is."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[angels-heap]

can i have hl headcannons… freemance headcannons but they can be anything related to hl also

Okay so, it took me an embarrassingly long time to compile a list of interesting-ish headcanons that I haven't already written into a fic, but here you go!

I know nothing about quantum physics, so I try to think about the actual mechanics of Gordon and Alyx's vortal soul bond as little as possible, but I tend to conceptualize it as, like... a fuzzy radio connection. Post-Ep2, they start to realize that they're more attuned to each other and that they can occasionally sense each other's locations or pick up on each other's thoughts/emotions/physical states, but it takes them a long time to learn how to intentionally "tune in" to those signals on demand.

They've decided to take a "wait and see what happens" approach to having kids, but it's a bit more complicated than that. After spending 27 years expecting to be his friends' kids' weird uncle and nothing more, Gordon's started to warm up to the idea of having kids of his own, but he's also pretty sure his window to father children closed somewhere between the rescas and his visit to the Citadel reactor core. He waves at little kids when he sees them, and it makes his day when they wave back. Alyx is a lot more ambivalent about the whole parenting thing, especially in light of the fact that she grew up without her mother (and her relationship with Judith Mossman was... complicated). She tends to avoid the places where parents and children congregate, and babies kind of freak her out, but she still feels a little twinge of disappointment once a month when she's reminded that parenthood probably isn't in the cards for her.

Alyx enjoys kissing and otherwise benevolently sexually harassing Gordon while he's wearing the HEV suit, with the goal of increasing his heart rate and triggering a "seek medical attention" alert. She thinks this is very funny; he lives in fear that she's going to secretly modify the thing to say "huge boner detected" or something similarly mortifying. (She has definitely considered this.)

Gordon still has some weird hangups about gender roles and relationships as a result of having grown up in the 80s and 90s (and having not lived through 20 years of brutal oppression that beat most of those hangups out of everyone else). The resulting conflicts tend to be more amusing than anything else, and are easily solved, but Alyx often finds herself distressed by the thought that generations of men lived and died without ever asking to be the little spoon.

Alyx and Gordon both get a kick out of invoking their stasis-induced age gap when it's convenient or funny. Alyx calls Gordon an old man when he complains about waking up with back pain, he mumbles "well... I was studying quantum mechanics before you could read" to try to soothe his ego when she easily solves a problem he's been struggling with for hours, etc. (Listen. I firmly believe, based on canon info and common sense, that they either didn't meet or barely met pre-canon and I'm not going to pretend the technical age gap doesn't have tons of comedic potential. Also, Barney 100% cracks these kinds of jokes, too.)

Gordon gets pegged. :)

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

I was thinking what if cannibalism was normal in my world? Instead of being wrong it's considered actual respectful. The dead provide the living with food. I know in real life that's actually the view of cannibalistic communities but apparently it's isolated/died out. Well, I'm talking about a world where cannibalism is widespread just about everywhere. I agree that there would be a variety of cultural/reglious funeral customs and ceremonies but cannibalism is a basic idea alongside burial or cremation. Things definitely might differ in which parts are cannibalised so burial or cremation are absolutely what is done to the rest of the body. Clearly, there are dangers of disease - in the past people got sick obviously (and probably written off as curses or angry gods when people didn't understand). These days the funeral homes will definitely make sure the meat is safe for consumption. If things are highly advanced, maybe they can even purge many that would have otherwise been unsafe. Is that fine? Another thing, since cannibalism is a normal thing - well, we probably get people who are still the sickos and eat or murder and then eat people they're not entitled too. So that's going to look somewhat like the difference between normal organ donation and black market organ donation. I definitely think the people who are being cannibalised will definitely have to give consent. But I do think the laws surrounding it are so common and simple that you get asked about it in medical visits if the info is blank rather than having to voluntary sign up. I also think would also extend to organ donation. Anything else I've missed?

Tex: Human cannibalism is interpreted a wide variety of ways depending on the culture and whether the perspective is from within or outside the given culture. Funerary practices, as well as cultural interpretations of medicine - particularly before the invention of pharmaceutical drugs, will influence what a culture considers available food resources, and how that food is interacted with.

Ultimately it depends on what parameters you wish to place on your world, and why you put those parameters there. If you’re writing a story, is this a concept being developed in answer to some question you’re posing? If not, how does this facet of culture relate to other facets of said culture?

[reiketsui]

good starting points for anyone unsure where to start. if anything seems interesting, shoot me an im or a discord message.

MAIN VERSE

'YOU HAVE TO BE VERY DESPERATE TO COME TO ME FOR HELP' can work both ways. shady business deals, desperate contracts, all of that. when the official routes fail, you turn to the worst yet most efficient service providers.

ASSASSINATION HIRE need to get rid of someone quick? call him.

(BEGRUDGINGLY) WORKING TOGETHER FROM DIFFERENT MORAL POINTS whether it's more casual like sharing knowledge on scientific endeavors, or more serious like uniting together against a common threat. the enemy of my enemy is my (temporary) friend.

APPRENTICE-TYPE DYNAMICS can also work either way. archer is a medical doctor capable of training someone in the field or with the forensic pathology and autopsy things and is a great teacher. but he's also still young, and could get good advice from someone older and more experienced.

SPARRING/GUN CONTROL/MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING related to the previous. just study under him. it's worth the horrors.

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS obviously they're great. especially if, again, it's two people from completely different moral standpoints but somehow they just get along great, and everyone around them is shocked about it.

'WE DONT NECESSARILY LIKE EACH OTHER BUT OUR POKÉMON DO SO WE NEED TO KEEP MEETING UP BECAUSE THEY GET SAD OTHERWISE' very specific but funny subspecies of possibly unlikely friendships.

PRE-ESTABLISHED (platonic) DYNAMICS example of two people who used to be friends a decade or more ago meeting accidentally and finding out what that kid they used to play with in the forest grew up to become.

FELLOW CRIMINALS whether they're rivals or coexisting or offering each other valuable assets to gain something in return. all good.

OUTSIDE MAIN VERSE

PRE ROCKET/PRE EXECUTIVE ERA he was a scruffy and rebellious little bastard and hates it personally when anyone reminds him of it (or in general is even aware of it).

HGSS ERA AND ESPECIALLY THE AFTERMATH this is undoubtedly the lowest point. note that replies in this verse will take longer than my regular because the mindset is a heavy one to get into.

THE ROCKET BOSS VERSE the mantle is passed down from giovanni, undoubtedly causing some growing pains at the start. very ripe for fellow villain interactions (and others).