#which is very helpful to me as someone who struggles with understanding directions and may not be able to tell where he was otherwise

[theygender]

Btw if anyone else has been wanting to watch an Elden Ring playthrough and happens to have a brain that works like mine I would really recommend LPDarkSoulsHD's in-depth playthrough. When I play games I tend to be extremely thorough to the point that it would annoy my brother to watch me play when we would take turns on games growing up bc I would investigate every area of the map and pick up every item and read every piece of text that I found. This guy has already played the game once before and he's just as thorough (+ seems to have absurd memory) so now he knows where to find every good item and which things will be interesting to read and he does all of this efficiently without leaving anything out. I also wanted a playthrough that would go into all of the lore and character quests and he definitely does that, plus he points out which things will be important to remember later and helps viewers make connections between different pieces of info we may have forgotten, all without spoiling anything. He also explains what he's doing every time he fights to help other people learn how to face each enemy more easily but as someone who doesn't plan on playing the game myself it's just really satisfying to understand what he's doing so I can see how much skill it takes for him to make such a difficult fight look so easy. When I first found the playlist I was worried I wouldn't be able to sit through all of the videos bc he doesn't edit anything out so they're all like an hour long and I have a v short attention span when it comes to movies and etc, but it turns out the way he plays the game makes his playthroughs scratch a very similar itch to actually playing videogames myself for me. I'm on my 8th episode rn after just finding his channel yesterday and I frequently find myself looking for my controller when I come back after a break before I remember that I'm not in fact playing Elden Ring lol

[eeldritchblast]

Lae'zel is Autistic

(Note: This post was written by someone with professionally diagnosed autism. A lot of what I'm about to say of Lae'zel, I can personally relate to! This is not intended as negativity or hatred of her character; rather, it is one of the reasons I adore her.)

-----

I really don't like that the writers have attempted to tone down Lae'zel's "rudeness" perceived by the larger fanbase. It reminds me too much of how "rudeness" is so often less about hostility and more about one's ability to perform social interactions to the standards of neurotypical people. So for the writers to decide that Lae'zel is too "rude" for not saying her please and thank yous every time she speaks, for being direct, for struggling to have two-sided conversations... well, to me, that's just saying that there was something wrong with her they felt the need to fix. I spent years with people trying to "fix" me in special ed. To teach me how to present as neurotypical, like memorizing appropriate responses to common questions, and pretending to hold eye contact by looking at people's lips. While I will admit it helps me in the workplace for example to perform these things, it also taught me to hate myself for being faulty in the first place. That's something I still struggle with to this day. So when a character like Lae'zel comes along, who I can relate to in her coded autism, I don't want to see her changed. I want to see her celebrated.

Here are some of the signs of autism I've noticed in Lae'zel:

Difficulty regulating and understanding emotion:

Lae'zel is a very passionate person, and can get carried away by that passion. At the same time, she is not very good at self-inventory of her emotions. After she defies Vlaakith in Act 3, she asks the player to help her understand what she is feeling, because she cannot place it herself.

Directness:

As said above, Lae'zel is vert blunt in the way she communicates. If you've picked up the game only in later patches, let me tell you that she was originally even more so. If the player asks Lae'zel why she is the way she is, she says it's just because she is githyanki. While I certainly think some of this could be attributed to a difference in culture, we meet other githyanki, and they do not carry the same speech and manner she has.

Taking things literally:

Lae'zel equally does not understand indirectness from others, or idioms. For example, when Shadowheart asks if they have "buried the hatchet" between them, (an American idiom to mean "making peace" which by the way, is not a very appropriate idiom,) she answers with "why would I bury a weapon?" Again, this could be attributed to a difference in background, but nonetheless something to relate to.

Dislike of small talk:

Literally the first thing Lae'zel says to you after you recruit her is, "chatter already? Tas'ki."

Inflection:

Lae'zel is voiced with minimal modulation of intonation or pitch. As such, she sounds monotone and serious, even when the words she says are lighthearted or joking.

Difficulty handling change of routine/expectancy:

When things do not go as Lae'zel is determined they are supposed to go--for example, the machine she thinks will remove her tadpole not working as she believed it would--she has wild, uncontrolled outbursts.

-----

There's probably even more one could list here, but for now I'm done. I may edit this later, though.

[ukiyowi]

Past Life PAC ✫

Note: Have fun and take care also stay hydrated muah muah, photo credits me that's why they suck (/hj) If you like the pac please reblog!! It helps a lot 💏

1 -> 3

Masterlist ✧ Paid readings ✧ Tip Jar

🍄 Pile 1

☆ You were someone who was constantly transforming, both spiritually and mentally and may have gone through multiple cycles. You were someone who took things in stride and believed that everything will turn out well even if it didn't seem that way. You had a tendency to change a lot in a small period of time to the extent of people not recognising you, you may also have been extremely intellectual and learned, being interested in the arts and subjects like philosophy or psychology. You wanted to get to the bottom of everything in existence and were very curious. However, you also tended to be stuck in the past, reliving old days and collecting old ornaments, nostalgia held you back. You didn't travel a lot nor did you want to, you were set in your ways and your self-doubt led to you missing out on opportunities that would have made you thrive.

☆ Your life on the other hand, was nothing short of glamourous. You were probably born in a wealthy and well to do household with servants and butlers, people were at your beck and call. You may have been close to your father and he may have had a huge impact on you and your decisions. Your life looked perfect from the outside but it was not what you desired. You wanted to make a name for yourself however could not due to restrictions put on you by your family members. You may have tried to stand up for yourself but were only lectured or turned down. Your sibling’s nay has gotten more chances than you did and you felt life to be unequal and unfair. You may have had an unstable family life, and their unhappy marriage may have affected your views on love.

☆ Initially you did not feel fulfilled in your long-term relationship and both parties may have been involved in infidelity and bring closed off about their relationship. This relationship could have been established against both of your wills as a business deal or relationship for the profit of the families rather than the individuals. This harboured a lot of negative feelings from both of your sides, and you both were unwilling to commit. You may have left your home to go be with this person. However, as time passed, you leading to a deeper level of emotional understanding. From this point on, it may have felt like fate or magic that brought you two together. You may have had one child together.

☆ You've learnt your karmic lessons in your previous lifetime and this lifetime is like a blank slate. You understand and accept how the universe is trying to guide you and are more spiritually enlightened, you may have psychic abilities that may be related to your calling in life. You're starting over completely and you will feel called to indulge and try out different activities and hobbies, and enjoy life at its fullest.

🍄 Pile 2

☆ You were indecisive and lacked direction in life. You felt trapped in every situation you were in and were quite pessimistic, which developed a lot of self-limiting beliefs you never tried to grow out of. You were a fatalist and believed you couldn't do anything to make your life better, and were doomed from the start for a lack of better words. You may have been apathetic and a sceptic and were quite discontent and angry with the universe. You may have spent hours, days even months soul searching, you loved nature and believed that it had the power to heal, you may have liked meditating in caves. You tried to be introspective and listen to your inner guidance, but due to your impulsiveness you never did.

☆ You may have lived a life that was lively but you didn't feel like you belonged. Your family may not have been the most well off but you made it work. Seeing them struggle you may have taken it upon yourself to study and educate yourself to find a way to help. You planned a lot and spent loads of time trying to decide what to do, only to come up empty handed because you believed you wouldn't want to live an empty life. You may have gone through a lot financially, and faced homelessness in your adulthood as well as a myriad of financial problems and health problems leading to a lot of loss. Your feeling of not belonging lead to you lashing out at people randomly making you stay away from romantic relationships, being averse to the very idea of it, you may have gone through more than one marriage due to separation or divorce.

☆ You may not have been the luckiest in matters of the heart either as your relationships may have fallen apart due to lack of communication and secrets from either of the parties, you may have gone through a divorce or your s/o leaving you in the past for someone else, however when you did end up meeting someone that you felt comfortable with, you tried your best to communicate with them. You may have felt like your love and affection towards them was illegal (I'm getting lgbtq+ vibes but it can be a secret romance or inter-religion/caste too) and that you need to get rid of your feelings before either of you get in trouble. You may have been avoiding the reality of the situation at the start but after a period of time you may have decided to either get together regardless of what people say, or, eloped. This made you feel free and content, however there were still certain commitment issues and the love fizzled out after a brief period of excitement, and did not procreate rather choosing to live a calm and peaceful life alone in the hills.

☆ Your lesson to learn in this life is to find value in things that are not necessarily materialistic and to stop trying to run after money, and let it flow into your life naturally. You're meant to learn how to balance work and life without burning out in both areas, and learn how to actually execute your plans and work on them rather than simply staying in the planning stage. You need to learn how to accept challenges without doubting your abilities and skills because you already possess what you need.

🍄 Pile 3

☆ You were an extremely traditional person and held strong conventional ethics and morals that made you come off as a perfectionist or stickler for the rules. You were an extremely 'by the book' person and believed that nothing could go wrong if you followed all the rules. You were also extremely religious and prayed every morning, you may have felt very connected to the divine and felt that someone was watching over you. You may have been overbearing and harboured a lot of insecurities especially in regards to your own self but physically and mentally and felt like you were never growing or moving forward.

☆ You may have moved slowly in your life, you may have had a strict and traditional upbringing, with your family being close knit and extremely loving. You had very supportive people around you that always tried to lift you up no matter what and offered their wisdom and advice whenever you needed it. You may have progressed slower than others in terms of your career, but your uncertainty never stopped you from doing what you wanted. You may have travelled a lot in search of what you want to do, and may have wanted to teach or be involved in a career that allows you to impart knowledge. You may have faced failure multiple times and put in a lot of effort in everything you did but we're let down frequently before you could find the correct path. You may have worked in a field where you helped guide people or helped children, you were also someone who got exhausted easily.

☆ You may not have had a lot of romantic relationships and had an arranged marriage which was conducted traditionally. You had similar values, ideas and opinions which led you to have great conversations and you gave each other mutual respect. You were both extremely committed to each other and had similar goals which could mean you both worked towards it together, leading to prosperity and abundance in your career after this relationship as you both built each other up. You both will prioritise your relationship and involve each other in your daily lives, keeping the other in the loop. You'll also make big financial decisions together and have a balanced relationship. You may have two kids together as well.

☆ In this life you're meant to learn how to be alone with yourself without feeling lonely. You are meant to introspect and search for what you truly desire deep in your heart and to stop settling for things but rather striving for more. You'll be learning how to be more intuitive and to be open to taking a spiritual path in the future, while making major sacrifices especially in regards to your ideas or beliefs in order to be more open minded.

All Credits and Rights Reserved to Ukiyowi. Do not STEAL do not PLAGIARISE

[t3a-tan]

Failed Meeting - The Talk

A heart to heart.

Continuation of this!

---

Oliver was pretty upset with James when the human told him what had just transpired. James apologised profusely, but he knew that didn't make it right. Oliver told him not to push it, and he did exactly that…all because he was being selfish.

Oliver left immediately after, presumably taking Sammy back to his home to calm down after James had messed up so badly.

People could be cruel, but it genuinely sickened James to think of who could do such horrible things to not just a child, but a child the size of a finger. All he did for the rest of the day was go over what he had seen and what he had heard, spiralling with thoughts of what might have happened to her.

He was starting to understand why borrowers were raised to be so scared of humans. It was a miracle that Oliver was so calm and patient with him.

Oliver didn't come back for a week, and when he did he made sure to scold James properly.

"I told you that you would meet when she was ready..! I understand that you are happy about her returning to me, and I understand you want to help, but all you've done is made her more scared..!" He began, hands on his hips. Oliver was upset at James, though he did understand the human didn't have bad intentions.

"She's been having nightmares again, nonstop, and not only is that terrifying for her to experience but it hurts me having to watch her go through that. You hurt me by deliberately ignoring my warnings. Do you understand that?" He questioned, letting the hurt seep into his tone to drive home how severe James's actions were.

James kept his head lowered in shame, averting his gaze. He felt awful about it. He knew that if Oliver had gone behind his back and tried to meet his daughter before James was ready he would've been upset too…

"Is…is she okay..?" He asked, unsure if that was pushing it or not. Oliver stopped his rant, hands lowering to his sides. It was hard to stay mad at him— Oliver wasn't someone who held grudges easily, and he really cared about their friendship.

As much as he wanted to continue to vent his frustrations, doing so wouldn't help. He could see by the way James was sitting and how his voice was so meek that the human understood he had made a mistake.

"Other than nightmares, yes. They've been calming down now, which is why I was able to come here and speak with you." He explained, returning to a calmer disposition since yelling wasn't very productive.

James nodded slowly.

"I don't want to be scary. I fucking hate it, Oliver— I-I don't think I'm a bad human, but you're the only borrower who can even tolerate me apparently, and it's just… I don't know. I'm letting you down…" James spoke with an air of sadness and frustration, bouncing his knee anxiously.

Oliver bristled a little at those words. He hadn't really thought about James's perspective in this situation. Oliver was used to being the voice of reason, and used to being trusted, not feared. He hadn't been addressing James's feelings over other borrowers, because he had been focused on trying to prevent another incident.

He supposed some blame should be shouldered by him thanks to that; his pressure to not make a mistake again may have pushed James to want to prove himself more.

"Lean closer." Oliver directed, gesturing for James to lean in. The human finally met his gaze again with confusion, but leaned in nonetheless. Oliver could tell that his eyes were slightly watery, but he didn't mention anything about it, instead walking closer. Oliver placed his hands on either side of James's face, looking into his eyes with a serious expression.

"You do not need to impress me, alright? I am your friend. I will always be your friend, because as much as other borrowers struggle to see it, I can see you are trying so very hard to do the right thing." His gaze softened. "You are a good human, and I am not friends with you because you're perfect— I'm friends with you because I enjoy your company."

Oliver tilted his head.

"You do not have to be some human ambassador for borrower-kind. You don't even have to be an example… I like being your friend because you are funny and intelligent and caring— even though I may struggle to pick up on your humour." He offered a reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to be frightened."

James blinked, wondering how on Earth Oliver had picked up on all that from what he had said. He felt denial on the tip of his tongue— he wasn't scared, he was scary. Oliver had it wrong, clearly…

His eyes stung but he wouldn't allow himself to show any weakness.

"Okay." He responded, feeling embarrassed to have his feelings so expertly picked apart. He leaned a little closer, moving his hands to surround Oliver as he ducked his head down, closing his eyes, leaning into the borrower's touch. His words were slightly muffled thanks to his head being down. "Thank you, mate…"

Oliver gently patted James's forehead, thankful that his words had gotten through as intended.

He was determined to make this work.

[portal-geist]

ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝔹𝕠𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 ＆ ℍ𝕠𝕨𝕕𝕪

「Detective duo??」

(Reader is a robot character, helping kids get more familiar about their feelings therefore they are powered by love with a single heart on their chest but everything else is up to you! They also are the one to provide goods to Howdy, basically being buisiness mates.)

(Also, this overlaps with the Narrator reader au I have made. They are only mentioned though so do not worry. {And I will continue writting them as well :)} )

"26, 27, 28, 29...."

The robot pointed at each and every shinning apple that was set on the tabletops. They moved slowly yet precisely, though suddenly shuddered as they found a miss calculation.

They stood quiet and slowly walked away from the isle until stopping dead in their tracks being called by Howdy.

"Were they all there this time?"

The catapillar asked with hope.

The robot looked back at their paper, then looked back up from it. They pulled out a small thumbs up, knowing that obviously there weren't.

There were only 29 apples, even though the list said 30. There's been an apple thief going around the neighborhood, though it was kept secret between Howdy and... Y7/N4... err, Heart bot was their secondary title.

They were the provider of goods at Howdys place, having an eco friendly wind factory near Poppys barn.

They found the Catapillar sobing on the floor next to the apple section, full of despair and agony of the loss of a singular apple.

Due to respect and not wanting to embarass their friend, the robot kept this a secret, working together to find who it is.

Although that also means more work hours than usual... But hey! That also means more time with their friend!

"All good Howdy."

The bot gave a thumbs up.

"Nice! I'm gonna need to recount them in a sec, I just need to-"

Hugh,

"-Bring this to the corner right there."

Howdy placed the box that sounded packed from behind the counter, pointing to the isle you just checked. The emotion driven robot could tell how he was espeacially eyeing the apples they have just restocked.

Although slightly offended, as it also kind of ment that Howdy didn't trust their decision of coding, from all of the times the apple isle was targetted for some mysterious reason, it was very understandable.

However, Y/n's circuits shocked up knowing very well that they had lied, sliding right before Howdy's path.

"It is alright, friend. I ensure you that my calculations are correct. Ah, please let me do this for you as well."

That being said, the Heart Bot grapled on the sides of the box harshly, trying to take it away from the poor shop keep.

"Oh nono it's totally fine! Err... umm.."

"It is Y7/N4."

"Err... y/n."

Howdy said, not letting go which the opposing bot didn't either.

They insisted on carrying the heavy box strongly, being backed up with crucial evidence that they are more fit for the job while Howdy kept on awkwardly refusing out of guilt and empathy.

Nobody is calm about this.

"Really y/n, I know that you have a big ol' heart and I'm sure you are more sturdy than I but I don't wanna work yourself ou-"

RING~

"Oh, helloooo?"

A familiar calm and soothing voice entered the shop.

The two froze, not expecting someone to walk in despite the 'OPEN' sign clearly still hung up.

The charismatic puppet followed up by a shinning star took notice of the two and greeted them.

"Hello, Howdy! Hello Hearty!"

Sally chirped.

"You guys seem to be in a kerfuffle!"

"What's inside that box if I may ask?"

The two customers leaned in with curiousity. Y/n suddenly let the box go, Howdy struggling for a second before softly placing it down.

"Now friends, hold on your horses... Let me ask what you are in need first?"

The robot pointed at their list.

"Oh! Me and Wally were able to come up with an idea for our play! We're just here for some materials!"

"Well! The handcraft items should be other there!"

Howdy pointed in the direction from behind the robot.

"While you lot do that I'll handle this."

"But I'm just so curious!"

"What's inside that box if I may ask?"

The box was so stunning that it seemed just impossible to take everyone's attention off of it!

"I'm... not sure actually. I only know that Eddie sended it to me saying it was from Frank."

"I definetley don't remember providing him any products to send you."

Howdy looked at Y7/N4 who seemed to furrow their brows.

"...How about we open it?"

Wally suggested. Howdy looked back at him in surprise.

"B-but we can't just do that! I've been told not to open it before Frank arives!"

"Why did Frank even send this anyway?"

"Do you have any more information to provide, Howdy?"

Y7/N4 the provider of Howdys products questioned their friend. The catapillar began to recall his memories.

"Hmm... Well, all that Eddie told me was to be gentle with it and wait until Frank comes back just as I said. Though... I did hear some weird noises coming from it..."

"Ooh! Ooh! A mystery to solve! Does that help, detective Hearty?"

Sally faced Heart Bot with expectancy.

The Robot gave a shrug before snatching a pair of scissors from behind the counter. Howdy paniked at this.

"Wha-what are you doing?"

"Procceeding to open the package. Is it not obvious?"

Heart bot tilted their head.

"We can't just do that! It'll be rude!"

"As far as I'm concerned, maybe you should start considering the safety of your shop first, friend."

The catapillar opened his mouth to say something though quickly slumped back down.

Howdy mumbled something but stood back, clearly not excited as the star next to him. Wally looked between the two though shrugged it off. He seemed to prioritize his curiousity first.

The singular organic heart, wired through Y7/N4's circuits stinged for a moment.

They didn't understand much, though they continued to follow through their inicial plan.

Wally and Sally stood by with interest, Howdy not so much enthusiastic as the scissor made it's first cut.

Then the next, then the box now had an opening in an instant. It was still closed, ready to open at any given moment. The room filled with suspence as the robotic hands slowly made it's way to open it.

"...Everybody ready?"

"Ready."

"READY!"

"...ok."

"Alright, on the count of three. Three, two, one..."

"JULLIE!!"

"JULLIE?!"

The doors of the shop opened in sync with the reveal of the package.

Inside the box was a pink, snoring friend who was curled up in a ball, wincing at the sudden exposure to light.

As her groan echoed, Frank who slammed the doors of the shop took notice and rushed over, pushing the others aside.

"Jullie! I told you to not slumber upon the packages!"

"But they're soooo comfyyyy...."

Jullie began to snuggle back into the small box while Frank tried to pull her out.

"Inside the mystery box was... A FRIEND?! Golly, what a shinning discovery! Good job, detective!"

Sally playfully hit the shoulder of the robot next to her.

"Detective? Mystery? What in the world are you going on about??"

Frank angrily demanded an answer, pulling up sleepy Jullie who mumbled complaints annoyed.

"First of all, may I know how... this, ended up here?"

Y7/N4 got up, brushing off debree from their legs.

"I was packaging framed butterflies for Howdy as he was looking at my prized collection with great intent! Jullie insisted on asisting with boxing but..."

Frank glared down at his friend who made an innocent face.

"... decided that she wanted to be one with the cat..."

"Hm... A cat I see."

The group looked back in surprise, jumping at the sudden voice behind them.

It was Barnaby, with Wally suddenly appearing on his shoulder.

"What a Catastrophy of events! It seems that Jullie is purrmenantly banned from helping with boxes eh?"

Barnaby joked earning a few laughs from a few.

"Since when were you there, Barnaby?"

Jullie peeked through her silky hair.

"Just a few moments ago! The Narrator and Poppy were talking bout somethin I wasn't really interested in particullar so I came down here out of boredom. And for treats!"

Barnaby smiled with glee.

Again, the room filled with giggles.

Frank rolled his eyes though sighed in relief that he was able to find his friend safe.

"At least I know you're here. It is very unusual for you to disappear without a sound so I was worried sick!"

"Oh Frank, you're such a friend!"

Jullie hugged the grumpy neighbor.

Everyone began to chat, laughing about the silly situation. Laughter combined with Frank's light scolding and Jullies nonchalant jokes echoed through the building.

Though, opposing to the light and peppy atmosphere, the shop keeper and factory worker stood at the side, away from the party.

It was very quiet.

It was very tense.

It was also pretty awkward, to say the least.

Howdy fidgeted with his two sets of hands, while 7Y/N4 kept on buzzing ominously in silence. They felt short glances being flick at them from time to time, which they took notice easily. Their circuits were screaming to break the silence, a weird grip was tugging on their organic heart.

So that's what they did.

"... My deepest and sincerist apologies from earlier, Howdy. I understand that I may have scarred your pride and care for your buisiness."

That sure was one way to start.

Howdy was surprised by the sudden ice breaker, though quickly formed a reply.

"Oh no no no! It's totally alright! You haven't done anything wrong really!"

"Ah, then I must've irritated you by trying to carry the box as you seemed to be in distress and how I keep on visiting you through business purposes."

"What? No! What gave you that idea?!"

The robot tilted their head as if they were confused.

"Dear Howdy. Howdy Dear. Howdy... pillar. Yes? no? Well, for my reasoning, you seem awfully tense escpeacially in my presence. "

They put a hand on his shoulder.

"It is alright if you are uncomfortable. You are my friend after all."

Howdy looked back down at Y7/... ahem... y/n's face in an attempt to sort out his thoughts.

"It's erm... nothing much really it's just... may I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

...

"Oh, er... of course!"

"... Well, do you really think that I'm... careless about my own business?"

There was a moment of silence.

The robot seemed to freeze at the question. It was a long period of time as Howdy began to wonder i they had crashed in some way or another. As he was waving a hand infront o their face, y/n snatched his hand suddenly making him jump.

"Of course not. Do you even think that I am not observant enough to realize the passion and love you put into your prized and most beloved, sweet, cozy Bugdega?"

The catapillar was not expecting such a detailed response.

"Err- well, no but you said-"

"Apologies for my unclear intentions... What I was trying to say was that-"

They looked back at everyone who seemed to began going back to what they were originally doing, getting over the Jullie incident.

"-you should focus more on how you percieve your customers, and how that can affect your shop, Yourself even. It is not uncommon to have strange and dangerous orders to my factory."

Y/n let go of the catapillar's arm as they faced him with sincerity. Howdy took ahold of his wrist surprised by his friend's words but noded understandingly.

"Oh, um... I see. "

He looked around.

"Well, now I think I understand actually. I usually struggle to question most but... Thanks y/n. You're really such a friend!"

A genuine smile spread across his face.

"What can I say? Is there anything this detective can't solve?"

y/n attempted to imitated a silly yet smug pose, successfully earning a laugh from their friend. They imitated a sigh in relief, also making static giggle noises at their happy friend.

Although the two failed to notice, the others were actually watching from afar, content to see that the tense atmosphere died down between the two. Sally and Wally had completely forgotten about the materials!

Y/n patted Howdy's shoulder lightly as they motioned to the sky. Looking up at the sky, it was begining to get dark. Taking notice, they flipped the sign to 'CLOSED' and began to start tidying up the place.

Howdy soon rushed over to help, thinking back on the last thing the Factory worker said.

"...No. I don't think there's anything you can't solve with that determination mate."

...

..

.

"Oh, there's only 28 apples by the way."

"WHAT-"

"whoops-"

(A/N)

Hello, and hello. Thank you all for the read :) Apologies is this was a bit on the nose and out of character but hope you enjoyed!

The heart reader design is mainly up to you other than it's main concept as I still need something to write off of...

As stated at the start, I also have a Narrator reader fic, and I'll be overlapping their existence with the robot reader though I can do seperately if desired.

I shall take requests and asks for this one as well.

Of course I will continue with the Narrator! But just wanted to put this out as well :) Thanks again!

[rosesnbooks]

Astrology observations #3

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

-i think it is not difficult to spot someone with scorpio placements/8th house in the big 6 (not that much in the sun tho). their energy appears darker, even when they have more "light-hearted" placements in the chart.

-pisces and leo can get along pretty well, the leo can get pisces out of their shell, and pisces can help them to relax and embrace their strong emotions

-people with scorpio+libra placements are irrestistible to others. they are charming, beautiful and mysterious.

-virgos have a way with words, they are very gifted and super smart. writing down their thoughts and feelings (bonus points if they use other creative outlets to do so) is so helpful for their mental health

-gemini placements can notice someone fake really quickly. i've noticed the same for pisces. geminis tend to really analyze these people, while pisces listen to their gut that is rarely wrong. i know it may sound ironic since many people state geminis are fake, but i disagree with them

-as they get older, sagittarius moons become more interested in spirituality and learning about other cultures; even when these themes are irrelevant to them when they're very young

-virgo stelliums love the color green, a lot!

-i have noticed that some people tend to hate a zodiac sign that is their own moon sign (they're often not aware of this, and not familiar with astrology)for example, i know a scorpio sun with leo moon that dislikes leos, and a virgo sun with taurus moon that dislikes taurus people. this might be a stretch tho

-as a gemini rising, i do sometimes feel like there's so many different sides of me i present to the public, but that's mostly because i can only be my true self around the people i like, and i also absorb some behavior from the people i adore (even speech, unintentionally)

-taurus/2nd house mercuries have strong opinions on things, especially those that are very important to them. they also dislike people who are not trustworthy and direct

-taurus and cancer placements love food and cooking. when they cook, they put love into it and they like to prepare meals for people they love. they want to give others the comfort they seek themselves. they dislike cooking for people who don't appreciate their effort

-mars in leo can be really good with kids. especially if they also have earth placements, they are nurturing, creative and responsible which is the best combo

-venus in virgo/6th house won't enter a relationship with just anyone, they have their standards

-venus in the 11th really do dream about falling in love with their best friend, they wouldn't have it any other way

-a lot of sister signs can get along, but there is something about pisces and virgo that cannot be described (yet i will proceed to try) they have so much understanding for each other and it feels like they complete each other. pisces help them to dream big and accept their emotions (and to be less harsh on themselves), and virgos help pisces to stay firmly on the ground and achieve their goals

-saturn in the 4th house can have very dramatic and difficult experiences with their family. their parents weren't easy to get along with, and they never taught them how to be emotionally vulnerable and mature. they have the pressure to build a family of their own as well, but they struggle with this. however, this doesn't mean that they are doomed, many people can work on themselves and not make their parents' mistakes.

-saturn in the 6th need to be careful not to work too much. especially if they love what they do, they shouldn't spend 24/7 thinking about work, and should start taking care of themselves and nourish their interests/hobbies

-leo moons are said to be creative for a reason. they want to explore so many things and master all of them, or at least reach a level they can be proud of. art can be in their little finger, but they shouldn't be too hard on themselves when they don't reach their own expectations

-capricorn risings have conventionally beautiful characteristics. some also seem authoritative, so people don't want to mess with them and assume they're very serious. also, people often mistake them for scorpios

-uranus in the 1st in one's chart may indicate that this person needs a lot of freedom and they want to have control over everything in their life. they want to be in the spotlight, but they are sometimes scared that people would judge them. they feel different than others and they want to fit in, so that they can achieve their goals. they need to accept their eccentric side and surround themselves with people who appreciate them.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

[pinesfamilyguidetotheweird]

Gravity Falls Thoughts: Ford and Trauma™ (Part 01; because I know I'm turning this into a multi-part series)

So...when you start to think about it, Ford has been through a lot. Because of Gravity Falls' nature as a 2-season Disney cartoon, I feel that we've only scratched the surface of all the crap this man went through.

And thanks to the fandom...good Lord in Heaven, all the flippin' Trauma!!! Sweet Moses...

I mean, other than Bill Cipher and Weirdmageddon, Ford has a level of trauma that not a lot of people have.

Of course, Ford isn't the only one with Trauma™. Really, all four of the Pines are traumatized in some way. I mostly want to focus on Ford for now.

Now, most of the trauma Ford is given is fan speculation/interpretation. The thing is though, is that these traumas would make sense if Gravity Falls was given a more serious direction. (sort of like Steven Universe, a show that is more emotionally driven)

Okay...first things first, nutrition.

In a previous post I've made (I think it was about the Feral Ford headcanon; which I may or may not go into further detail in this series), I said something along the lines of how Ford wouldn't be all that bothered by weird looking food or could even stomach strange food combinations.

While a part of me still thinks this, another one thinks of something else thanks to reading a lot of fanfics of his essentially living off of nutrient pills.

This is from Ford having to be constantly on the move to avoid Bill's reach during his travels. I'd imagine it's a rare occurrence for him to be able to sit down and have a decent meal, either at an establishment or even hunting for food. Not only that, but you have to remember that a lot of the places he went to probably don't have food suitable for humans.

So, Ford has probably taken to nutrient pills so that way he's always on the go, among other foods he's able to preserve and carry.

The thing is, living on mostly nutrient pills could only take you so far before it could be more of a bad boon. Nutrient pills wouldn't exactly give you the appropriate amount of calories a human adult male needs. Especially if they are constantly in danger.

This can lead to some malnutrition.

Yes. I took time to research this so we can properly make Ford's life more like hell.

Signs/Symptoms of Malnutrition (according to NHS)

(Other than the main concern of weight loss and BMI being low)

reduced appetite

lack of interest in food and drink

feeling tired all the time

feeling weaker

getting ill often and taking a long time to recover

wounds taking a long time to heal

poor concentration

feeling cold most of the time

...feeling cold most of the time...

"feeling cold most of the time"

...And who wears a turtleneck sweater/trench coat combo during the summer?

And, lastly, Low mood, sadness and depression.

Furthermore, it would seem that Ford would have developed a low tolerance to actual food (other than bland, mushy stuff) and is probably incapable of eating a whole meal without throwing up.

It's a struggle to be sure, especially if Ford already has a history to forget meals, even as a child (may or may not be projecting here as someone who forgets to eat)...not to mention the months of paranoia due to Bill prior to being sucked into the Portal.

I'm honestly imagining a scene in which Abuelita (bless her soul) tries to feed Ford when she sees how skinny he is...or at least what she perceives as skinny. And no one (no one) can say no to Abuelita Ramirez. And it's Mexican food. There is absolutely nothing bland about it. And Ford does his best to eat it...only to scurry into the bathroom after three bites. He didn't mean to be rude. It was honestly very delicious. Ford's body just couldn't handle it at the moment.

At least Abuelita is understanding of the situation and becomes Stan's right hand woman on his quest to help Ford with his eating habits.

...Great, another idea for an upcoming fic...I had a title in mind but I feel like I should call it *Trauma* Ford Edition.

[tadpoles-and-daydreams]

Just so y'all know, I'm pouring some of my soul out in this post. It gets emotional-please mind the gaslighting tw <3 There's no pressure to read this, I just feel this needs to be said and hopefully will help someone out there.

In case this helps someone, the reason I say "Telling witchlings/baby witches that negative entities will pretend to be deities, or that they can't trust their deities is damaging" is because it damaged my craft directly. Not only as a witchling, but even now.

When I first started it was because I hid that I was working with Persephone from everyone except close friends, because I was scared I would be judged. Persephone came to me, and I had no reason to ignore the call. There was no questioning whether it was truly a goddess that had stepped into my head when I woke up from the fever dream (affectionate) that she sent me with the name "Persephone" blaring in my head.

Even now, Loki spent a solid chunk last night, late as hell, sitting with me while I spiraled. And it was a bad spiral, at least by my standards. I'm really good at gaslighting myself, not-so-fun fact, and I saw something talking about people convincing themselves that deities were around when really it was just their own imagination. I understand that that post might be helpful to some, so if anyone knows what post I'm talking about PLEASE do not attack them. And if you happen to have posted that, PLEASE do not continue reading this post and please don't feel bad. I don't remember if it was in my following or for you or your tags- but that's not the point.

The point is, of course my brain decided that today was the day to fuck me up! Yayyyyy. /s I had already been, due to some recent information I got about where my deity work will be going (that's a separate post) questioning the validity of my craft. Who the HELL am I to do that sort of work? Why me? I'm just some dude. I'm not even "just some dude" I'm some dude who actively struggles to do just about anything in life. Y'all I was having A TimeTM and seeing that post was the final straw.

So I sat there, cards in hand, completely unable to get any direct communication from Loki because my head was too loud and I was questioning whether or not they were even real at all. And I've gone from "trickster energy = asshole who laughs at others" to trusting Loki with all I have so quickly, because they sat with me. I could feel them even if I couldn't "hear" them. Card after card telling me I'm supported, I'm on the right path, what I've been told I'm meant to do is my path and not some "'chosen one' bullshit" as I remember wording it. Nothing but love and support. I pulled The Fool twice, which just felt like a nudge of "Hey, I really am here." (For those of you who may not know, The Fool is associated with Loki!)

This is.... a vulnerable thing to put in a tumblr post, but I leave it here anyway. I did get one thing from him, as I was going to bed. I thanked them for staying, even when I was too stressed and overwhelmed to hear them. And somewhere in the back of my mind, very firmly, I get; "I will ALWAYS be here." Long pause at the implication, because I know that deities often come and go just like people. "Always?" "Mhm." cue the clear image of them grinning.

So, apparently, Loki is here to stay with me for good. I'm so grateful to have them in my life.

But this is what I mean when I say it's bad to scare the witchlings. That post scared me, outright triggered me, and I've been around witchcraft my whole life and actively practicing for four years. Please stop telling people they're "just imagining" their deities.

[selenecrown]

I just watched the Spider Within and honestly, I think it is great. While it may not mean anything in the grand sceme of the Spiderverse series-I personally think it is a great addition full of good panic attack representation especially in the Black community, and In-Universe implications.

While I cannot speak much on the part of speaking about panic attacks to others representation, as while I have had panic attacks in the past, I am white and have had a much different experience then those of color, who have a distrust of the medical system in my country and deal with different stigmas and my panic attacks went in a different direction then Miles where he is seeking help whereas I almost. . . Game Overed myself before I got the help I needed-I think The Spider Within's verson of a panic attack is still a good interpretation of a panic attack. While it does not show physically what it is-it creates a wonderful metaphor for it.

Anxiety is like a spider on you-you may not even notice it at first, it's small and insignificant. But overtime, it gets worse and worse, until eventually, the spiders become too much to handle and attack you all at once if they are not swatted away. It also feels like the more spiders you notice, the worse it gets. And when anxiety strikes-it feels like many spiders attacking all at once and makes you feel unsafe even in your own skin.

So, in that regard, I love the use of Spider Horror as I think it serves as a wonderful metaphor I can use to explain it to someone who doesn't have anxiety.

Another thing I love, is unironically, the implications of the short-as a comic book fan (or at least to my experience) it's never really been addressed the struggles between your superhero identity and your true identity and what that entails for a person.

We have to remember Miles is 13 in Into the Spiderverse and 15 years old in Across the Spiderverse.

Let me say that again.

Miles Morales is 13 and 15 years old at the time of the movies he stars in.

He is still a teenager and he is balancing his identity as Spiderman and Miles Morales.

Most of the superheros we see are adults. Fully. Grown. Adults. who HAVE the skills to cope with their double lifes and often times have a support system of superheros and those who understand around them to help and guide them through whatever they are dealing with. This is especially clear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where is it very clear most superheros have help.

No superhero is ever truly alone in the MCU.

Miles is not that case and this has been emphasized by many Spiderman characters-they feel truly alone and they have to do things by themselves. Miles doesn't have the help like other Marvel characters do. He is the only Spiderman in his own universe, and possibly the only superhero in his universe. To quote Peter Parker in the first movie, "The only thing standing between this city and destruction, is me."

It is just Miles Morales against whatever threat there is, and he has the deal with the consequences after. And as he saw in The Spider Within, this is taking a huge toll on Miles, enough for him to have a panic attack.

This shows, like the movies keep saying over and over, being Spiderman, and by extension a superhero-is NOT something to be taken lightly. It takes a lot from a person to be a superhero, which also has not fully been addressed in comic books or comic book movies. It is not just a simple you get superpowers, side with the good people and BOOM! You are superhero no questions asked. It is a commitment to a cause, a curse and blessing and honestly I LOVE that.

I also love what this implies during the first movie-Peter Parker of Mile's universe most likely have gone through the same thing, which makes his line of "You're like me." That much more impactful and devastating to me.

The hope in Peter's voice-when Peter Parker and Miles Morales first met, through the Spidy Sense they knew they where one in the same. And this gave Peter Parker hope because in that moment, he was not the only one who had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. And to add insult to injury, it is HIGHLY implied Peter Parker was NOT a part of the Spider Society as seen in Across the Spiderverse. Peter didn't have that help so he truly felt he had to do everything by himself. Peter Parker felt he was alone until Miles came into the picture, which got his hopes up and I imagine really comforted Peter even in death that things would be okay, despite him saying otherwise.

Being a superhero takes a toll on people. And I think The Spider Within addresses that wonderfully.

[uranium-city]

as an aspiring storyteller & writer i find analyzing what works & what doesn’t work in media to be incredibly important. not only does it help us realize where we may have made mistakes in our writing & how to improve going forward, but it also helps understand why certain stories work so well. it helps us realize why critically acclaimed media is so critically acclaimed & appreciate the thought, care, & intelligence that went into making it so special. without criticism- all that thought loses its meaning. bland stories become indistinct from the incredible ones & all the deeply well thought out plot points & messages wash away into a sea of poor &/or lazy writing. we need criticism to appreciate strong writing. being critical of your interests- whether it be a highly acclaimed film or a weaker piece of media that you hold deadly despite its flaws- shows maturity, media literacy, & overall the beauty of how different stories resonate so deeply with people regardless of its issues. that’s why the way Vivziepop responds to criticism irks me on such a strong level. Helluva Boss is a very poorly written show (in my humble opinion, at least). Season 2 has retconned a ridiculous amount of things established season 1 (most notably Stolas’ entire character), has a massive problem with maintaining tone, jumps around from plot to plot by introducing new threat after new threat only to abandoned that threat by introducing a new one the next episode, struggles with developing its own main & supporting characters, & perhaps most offensively of all often comes off as downright fetish-y of gay men. These are all valid criticisms, all of which Vivziepop tries to dismiss as “baseless & unfair”. She claims she respects fair criticism yet never makes a distinction between what is fair & unfair, treating everything as the latter, going on twitter rampages where she attempts to defend her writing decisions & ridicules anyone who dare challenge them. If Vivziepop believes she’s writing the show in the optimal way, fine. If she doesn’t want to listen to criticism & continues to take Helluva Boss in the direction it’s currently going, fine. so be it. She’s in such a unique position where she’s so close to her audience & actively listening to their criticisms, I personally don’t understand why one wouldn’t try to take advantage of that to better their show, but at the same time I can understand having a set story in mind & wanting to take it your way despite what anyone else says. It can be frustrating to have everyone telling you you’re doing your passion project wrong- i get that. but in that case- just continue writing the show how you want, ignore the criticism, & stop having hissy fits on twitter calling people homophobic for not liking your writing (seriously what the fuck? that’s laughable of her to saying given how she writes her gay characters, just saying). Your writing should speak for itself, you shouldn’t have to defend it by crying on twitter. Dismissing all criticism & trying to paint the narrative that you’re nothing more than a victim with a hatedom out to get you is BAFFLINGLY immature ESPECIALLY as someone in their 30s. It only bothers me so much because she’s actively fostering an environment that dismisses criticism which i think is genuinely harmful. & as much as Helluva tries to be an adult show, let’s be real here, a majority of its audience are teenagers who look up to Viv & if THIS is the mindset they end up developing surrounding criticism I think it could genuinely be a problem in regards to their media literacy in the future. People can like Helluva Boss, people can ignore its flaws, but that kind of relationship with criticism is not healthy. at all.

[mama-qwerty]

The Knuckles Series - Review

Okay. So.

Finished the series.

I have thoughts.

First of all, it was fun. I view it as kinda filler episode material, that if someone watched just the movies they wouldn’t miss much. I watched it with my family and there were times we were all laughing and cheering and just enjoying the ride. It was silly and fun and Knuckles was adorable in every scene he was in.

That said, was it perfect?

No. No, it was not.

Here’s my take on some problems.

~ Setup felt rushed

We had the barest glimpse into Knux’s difficulty adjusting to a life on Earth, which, honestly, just made it look like he wasn’t being challenged enough. He can’t go from being on the run and fighting for his life at every turn to just sitting around playing VR and goofing off. That’s just not who he is.

Not to mention, his interpersonal skills are practically non-existent. He fought his whole childhood away. Presumably, anyone who came near him either wanted to exploit him, use him, or fight him. So he’s used to just doing things on his own, with no one to answer to, or take into consideration. That’s what I saw at the beginning—and honestly, it may have been easily handled had Maddie sat down with him and actually tried to get to know and understand him a little better.

~ Maddie

I felt for her, I really did. And I get that she was frustrated. Tom’s off who-knows-where, and she’s left at home trying to get the damage to the house fixed, while keeping tabs on three super powered alien kids, one of whom is actively attacking handymen, dragging a ton of dirt and sharpened sticks into the living room to make a warrior fighting pit, and dismantling the car to build himself an Iron Throne in the dining room.

She’s frustrated, and doing everything she can to keep herself from snapping. She didn’t sign up for this, but now has to learn on the fly how to deal with three very different, and very special needs kiddos.

But her referring to Knuckles as “our little red barbarian friend” kinda rubbed me the wrong way. He’s not a barbarian. He’s a warrior. He’s a traumatized kid who feels like the honor of his entire tribe rests on his shoulders. He’s struggling with this change and instead of trying to sit down and talk to the kid to explain how things are done on Earth, and see if there was some kind of agreement they could reach to keep them both happy, she just kinda gives up and walks away. Not very understanding, and doesn’t make her come off looking very good.

~ Pachacamac

Okay, this is just weird. Pachacamac, for those who don’t know, in the games is the warmongering echidna tribe chief who led the warriors in an assault to take the Master Emerald’s power for themselves. In the process, they enraged Chaos, the God of Destruction, who all but wiped out the Knuckles clan.

I know, I know, game and movie universes are different. The movie team has taken liberties before with certain aspects of Sonic lore, so this shouldn’t be any different.

Except it is. Canonically, Pachacamac is not a good guy. He’s not even a morally gray character. He is not an honored chief, who trained Knuckles and is now his wise spirit guide. He was the cause of the fall of Knuckles’ entire tribe, thanks to his greed and lust for power.

Making Pachacamac essentially Yoda is like changing Robotnik into a kindly grandfather figure. I mean, what??

The only thing I can think this harkens back to is Longclaw’s little hologram message from the second movie, in which she gives Sonic a quest to find the Master Emerald before Knuckles does. Which, okay, it’s a lost loved one giving a final message to help direct the character on a new path.

Except, Pachacamac isn’t a lost loved one for Knuckles. We did not see any interaction between Knux and Pach. We did see interaction between Knuckles and his father, who would have been a much better choice to send his son on a new path.

(I did, however, see this post that makes SOOOOO much sense in why Pachy appears to Knux, and instructs him to train Wade, specifically.)

~ The Master Emerald

Speaking of, WHERE IS IT? It was referenced numerous times, but never shown once. The absolute least the show could have done was show it well secured, with a Tails’ created security system in place. Show Knux meditating near it, or praying to his ancestors that they can rest easy knowing that the Emerald is safely back in the hands of the echidna once more.

The absolute lack of a presence of it is strange, considering the pursuit of it was what caused the near extinction of both the echidna and the owls. It was Knuckles’ focus for his entire life. Yet he simply leaves it behind without a second thought?

~ Wanda

OMG I hated Wade’s sister. Just, hated her. She was immature, abrasive, abusive, unnecessarily antagonistic with Wade (which seemed to be a life-long thing if the flashbacks are anything to go by) and just struck me as someone who was overcompensating for something. She’s a bully and it’s no wonder Wade is the way he is if he had to grow up with someone like her.

~ No Closure

We didn’t see them arrive back home, where Maddie would hand them their asses for just disappearing like that and not telling her. She was likely worried out of her mind the whole time. And I would have liked to have seen Sonic and Tails try to cover for Knux’s absence, in funny little brotherly shenanigans.

As I said above, I still found it fun. I loved Mother Whipple. I loved Knux’s interactions with her. I loved how Wade grew over their little trip. It was an enjoyable ride, and my whole family really had fun.

How would I have done it differently?

Well, that’s a different post.

[funkyspacealien]

Rabbit of the Night He'll suck the orange out of your carrots (Sketches n' processes under the break! It's a REAAAAAL long one)

I've been meaning to draw a piece that actually includes a background instead of a character standing in the void. The issue that arises is that... I just didn't have any good ideas for backgrounds, lol. Partially the issue is that I tend to design the character first, which makes it challenging to draw stuff around them. Since around the time that I made this piece was October and the big holiday was Halloween, I figured I could do something within the theme. I've been meaning to draw my character, Nosferatu, again since they have always been one of my lowkey favorites of mine.

An older piece of the character, which you can see with the others here The character was quite macabre, which made it perfect for doing something slightly spooky. The cape also gave me a great idea for making something more visually striking, as well.

My first attempt. As you can see, I tried to do a thumbnail this time so I can have a better understanding of the amount of space I have to work with. I highly recommend that you do something similar if you struggle with doing backgrounds. Though, I think I ought to make it a bit more square, lol. I had to tweak some things to fit within the standard square shape since I drew everything at a wonky angle. I was inspired by Soul Eater and Majora's Mask when it comes to the background design, especially with the moon having a prominent appearance. I knew that was a consistent thing I wanted to keep throughout the iterations. The flowing cape was heavily inspired by Spawn and the artwork of Lelouch from Code Geass

I always found it to be such a striking iconography for the characters. Despite being an inanimate piece of clothing, it adds a lot to the design. Spawn was always an intimidating dude, but having that cape overwhelms the viewer and takes up so much screen space every time he wears it helps give him more of an otherworldliness. You may not truly understand who or what is he, but you may get the vibe that he's someone with great power and importance. It's befitting of someone who is viewed as the best spawn of the devil. I find it also interesting for a character like Lelouch. Now, I never watched the show he came from, only understood the basic premise from various sources throughout my life. Pardon if my read on the character is incorrect, but to me, he's quite the scrawny guy and perhaps lacks power of his own. Despite this, he runs a rebellion and goes under the alias of "Zero". He dresses up as Zero, including the cape. With it on, his form became much more imposing yet concealed. It gives him a sense of royalty, which you might attribute to the likes of Kings or Queens. Someone with power. Sorry for that brief character analysis tangent, lol. It's just something that I thought about when creating the character of Nosferatu. I find it interesting that something so simple as a cape can help give a feeling of power. It's something that I feel everyone subconsciously think of and not realize. Back on topic, the rest of the composition I wasn't super satisfied with. I sorta lean into the "Dracula" look the character had by having the castle in the background, but I think it came off as very flat. I also thought it made things visually unclear. A bunch of things off in their own corner instead of organic guiding the viewer's eyes. I scrapped the first idea and tried to go in another direction.

I had the idea of being underneath an overpass and having buildings being lit by the moon. I don't think it was too bad of an idea, but I had trouble refining it and making it more "full", if that makes sense? This had a weird sense of emptiness and dragged the composition down for me. Perhaps if I drew the character differently and played more with the perspective, it would've been better. I went back to my original idea and checked if I could improve some things on a base level.

Originally, I had the cape go off-screen but checking my original inspiration, like various art pieces of Spawn, I noticed that the cape "ends" tend to curve back into the frame. I decided to do something similar which I think helped give the piece a sense of "flow" to it. I found that it also gives a composition more layers of depth and fills in any "empty" spaces that I had worried about before. I tilted Nosf's head a bit so they weren't just standing there stiffly as well. Sometimes it's the little things that help improve the piece than having to redo it all over again.

Finally, I just decided to make the background more on the simple side. I think I had the issue of really wanting to prove myself that I could do backgrounds that I made it way more complicated than it needed to be. It gave me the chance to make the moon much bigger, which I always meant to be a striking aspect of the piece. When drawing, I decided to forgo the "ground" that the cliffs are on since I felt it cluttered up the piece with too many colors. Now, I just got to finish it!

I should be done, right? Well, not exactly. While I think it looks nice (I'm personally proud of my use of noise filters), it just still lacks the depth that I'm looking for. Something about it is too bright and clear. I went back and experimented some more until I found a solution that made me feel stupid not realizing it before, lol. So initially, I tried to use this photo editing program called "Picsart". I used to use it a lot when I was doing digital art since I like the added filters. I eventually stopped because it would ruin the image quality. I thought they fixed that issue, but it's still the same.

It's a bit subtle in this picture, but I like to use the "vintage" filter since I like the added shadows on the sides of the images. The problem is that the quality got ruined and I'm very stubborn about keeping it in the nicest resolution possible. I decided to see if I could replicate it in my own art program. What I discovered is that I can and the solution was very simple, lol. First I drew a square with a solid color on a new layer-

Then I used the "Gaussian Blur" Filter-

I turned down the opacity, set the blending to "burn" and overlaid it on the artwork, which gave the depth I was looking for!

I gave the head some slight shading too since the filter unintentionally gave it to their ears. Good call since I think that helped with the Halloween atmosphere I was intending.

[elitadream]

I love how you’ve stressed the understanding of Junior not TRULY being able to pick sides when it comes to his father and Mario. With him being a young child, making that distinction between what is good and bad pretty much comes down the that nature vs nurture aspect.

I can see almost see both ways happen, as a child who’s strived to impress a parent that isn’t the best role model, there have been moments where I’ve had to ignore or hide what I know as right and wrong and follow what they think as to get that sweet sweet parental praise and love. Maybe as Junior gets older the expectations of taking the throne outweigh his true feelings, and his love and loyalty to his father becomes his downfall. It’s not healthy for this unconditional familial love, especially on both ends. Even if the end goal is to help or provide, if the parents morals are warped or skewed then the child they put out will have those learned behaviors (our nurture aspect) if any of this makes sense.

I can also see an event in which an older Junior comes across a situation in which he does not agree with a decision. Perhaps Bowser has tried to rope an now older Junior into capturing Peach and attempting to rid of Mario and Luigi in a more aggressive fashion. In a fit of desperation and fear, Junior pretends to “defeat” the bro’s. Maybe it was something Mario said, or how sad he looked to be fighting the koopaling he’s come to know and cherish (a pseudo-son of sorts), but in the end Junior just can’t see the reasoning to hurt someone, especially when he knows deep down that him and his father are the ones at fault. Perhaps the bros make it to the Dark Lands and make it to Bowsers and him, leading to a final standoff. Junior doesn’t want to hurt anyone, it’s not fun to see others in pain or suffering, and the conflict of interest between him and his father may drive that decision to turn away from Bowser. Presumably leading to a Father vs Son, a Generation vs Generation, a true Right vs Wrong. (Maybe our nature aspect)

The speculation space you provide is fantastic, from the short blurbs and scenes we have gotten and the bread crumbs of text show that Junior appreciates and loves his father while respecting and looking up to Mario as well. The conflict of role models and with just how young Junior still is shows that he could still be swayed in either direction. The fantastic part to me is there is still no way to tell yet.

Your AU and everything you’ve put forth so far is gorgeous and I am so happy to have been able to come across you blog on more than one occasion. Please continue your world building, what you have is something you should be proud of. (*´꒳`*)

Ooh yes, Junior is a very conflicted character on that front! 🥺🙇‍♀️ He loves his father greatly and wants to make him proud, but he's also deeply and genuinely fond of Mario- and finding himself torn between radically opposing forces creates a very intense struggle for him, emotionally and morally speaking.

The tragic beauty in this conflict is that Junior finds candid motivation on both ends due to the very strong affection and admiration that he feels for the two. His intentions originate from the right place regardless of who they're directed at, and he will inevitably sway back and forth because of this.

While I've shown him as being a "good" kid (in the sense that he isn't inherently evil, but rather a blank canvas like most children are), his father's influence in his life is still huge and incredibly potent, the same way Mario's impact on him is felt very strongly despite him really wanting to be worthy of his father's esteem.

I love Junior's character for that reason- the ambiguity, the incertainty and the constant dilemma that comes with trying to meet contrasting expectations. He's a paradoxical figure, his heart leaning in two different directions at the same time, and one that is bound to evolve in a very non-linear way because of it. 🎇

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this!! That was a beautiful analysis, and I'm delighted that you like my portrayal of the small koopa. 🙏 Thank you for your wonderful compliment on my work, that's immensely appreciated. ☺️💟

[thesalemwitchtries]

Dreaming Of a Grave: Chapter Two

Word Count: 3,190

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Named! Fem! Enhanced! Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of injuries sustained through physical assault (no implication of sexual assault at all, so maybe goons beat reader up in her apartment, but they weren't total pricks about it?), There is mention of a man being a creep towards young girls and physical violence against him because of it, the girls are fine, mention of distrust of police/government, Also I didn't change Mrs. Cardenas' existing dialogue, but for everything I created it's in Spanish, because the broken English being spoken when two other speakers are present and when she understands English just fine and then also being killed off for white male plot reasons... none of that sits right with me, so she speaks Spanish and Foggy is accommodated by Matt and Karen, as is perfectly common in an American setting I feel. I know that it was for an English speaking audience but still, subtitles or something. Also when they address her in Spanish they call her Sra, just because I've never spoke to someone in their native language and used an English title, it just was too weird for me to write it that way idk.

Masterlist

Thank you so much for reading! Any comments or feedback are much appreciated!

Also I am not a native Spanish speaker, I've been studying it for a long time, but I've been practicing French and Arabic more lately, which sometimes are all jumbled together in the Non-English half of my brain, so if you see something wrong or funky, please let me know, I would rather be corrected than go around not knowing, especially since it's my favorite language.

Another person might have struggled to focus when faced with the amount of turmoil that Matt Murdock was currently against. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for those who cared about him, Matt had been capable of excellent focus ever since he was young. Beyond being able to tune out any extra input or hone in on the important bits, when Matt cared about something, he could drive out everything except for his goal. 

His problems with Fisk, the Russians, keeping Claire safe, that could all wait until after work. For now, his attention was locked in on the nervous woman who’d walked into their offices, claiming to have been directed there by Brett’s mother. 

Karen helped to translate as Mrs. Cardenas spoke, given her soft voice and more gentle demeanor, Matt felt content to let her do the questioning while he listened in. According to Elena, two weeks ago men came to her apartment building and tore into the walls with sledgehammers, leaving many people without power or water. Their landlord refused to answer them or help, and when they went to the police, they were told that there was nothing to be done, it was an issue for the city to solve. 

A whole building of people and families, left completely on their own. They deserved to have hope that justice would be served on their behalf. Nelson and Murdock could give them that, though it may take a few months in the courts.

The case that Mrs. Cardenas had brought them was daunting, to say the very least. 

Armand Tully had a reputation as a predatory landlord. His properties were rent-controlled by the city, which was the only protection that tenants had against his greed. Buildings crumbled under his purview. Leaky pipes, faulty wires, and poor security all combined to leave only the most desperate candidates willing to build their lives in his apartments. 

Tully presided over another twist in the cycle of poverty, ensuring his tenants had to spend their own money on these repairs and legal fees, money that could’ve been saved to afford a better landlord.

Worse still, no one could fight Tully. He kept barely within municipal code, and allowed other suits to be tied up in civil courts for as long as possible before doing the right thing. Matt and Foggy had detested running into his cases when they were interning, it felt like a betrayal of their roots.

To Matt, Wilson Fisk was like a blackout rolling through Hell’s Kitchen. Even when Fisk wasn't the direct cause, the increasing spread of darkness through the city was emboldened by his mere presence. The worst sides of everyone around him were encouraged, their greed and cruelty nurtured to monstrous levels.

People feared the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen for the pain left in his wake, but he wasn’t the one inspiring lowlifes like Tully to start smashing in the walls of family homes. All for a quick buck and an investment opportunity. 

Elena’s voice wavered as she explained that the tenants had exhausted all of the options that they could. They were desperate, and it was a relief for Matt to know that at least he was still capable of making one right decision, it could even be easy.

Talking with Claire had him questioning if he really was doing more harm as the Devil than good, it certainly hadn’t been good enough to help protect her last night. However, if Matt hadn’t decided to leave Landman & Zack, he would be defending an asshole like Tully against a vulnerable woman like Mrs. Cardenas right about now. 

Maybe he wasn’t doing the right thing as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, in fact he was pretty sure that he wasn’t, but he couldn’t stop. The work had to be done, and if the city was going to paint people with sin, Matt would prefer it to paint him. If it did, then the people who deserved better could finally have better. Matt Murdock would be there in the daylight, always ready to listen out for the weak, to help them the way that God and his father wanted him to.

Karen walked around the table to offer Mrs. Cardenas a box of tissues. Meanwhile, Foggy was already moving on to next steps, thinking aloud about strategy; “This says Tully offered them 10,000 dollars to give up their rent control and vacate the premises. Maybe we can pressure him into giving a better payout.”

While that’d be the easiest solution, Matt knew before she spoke that Mrs. Cardenas wouldn’t go for it. He could hear her head and gold earrings shake in unison, and a whiff of aerosol hairspray accompanied the resolute motion.

“No, Señor Foggy. We do no want money. We want to stay in our homes,” she pleaded, barely holding back her tears while trying to get them to understand her position. Matt already understood, he wouldn’t want to leave his home either. 

Matt remembers when aliens tore a hole in the sky and started smashing Hell’s Kitchen apart— as if anyone could forget something like that. He’d been sheltered with Foggy in their broom closet of an office at Landman & Zack, desperately trying to understand what was happening, worrying about the Nelson’s, and dreading the possibility that he may die before passing the bar. Below the more urgent panic, as the trembling ground and ear-splitting attacks slowed into one of the worst headaches of his life, Matt worried about Hell’s Kitchen, his apartment, if there would be even a scrap of home left to return to. 

He had prayed for a long time that day. Just as he was about to reassure her, Mrs. Cardenas took a shaky breath and continued speaking. 

“Hay algo más. Los obreros, son solamente un ‘city issue’. Pero, uno de mis vecinos, Ms. Charlotte, ella fue… atacada por ellos.”

“They attacked her?” Karen gasped, pen almost falling from her grip. She and Foggy exchanged a frantic look, and Matt’s back straightened, posture growing as stiff as the curl of his frown.

“Pienso que si, pero no me digas lo que sucedió—”

“She thinks so, but her neighbor won’t tell her what happened,” Karen translated, stumbling over the words a little in her shock.

Mrs. Cardenas grabbed another tissue from the box that Karen had provided for her as she spoke, explaining that she thought that her neighbor had been hurt while standing up to the workers.

With Karen intermittently translating for Foggy, Elena explained that once, an older man had been following some of the building’s young girls home from school. Rumor has it that when Charlotte found out, she began walking home with them to keep them safe. One day the creep dared to say something inappropriate, and Charlotte maced him. She then allegedly stomped so hard on one of his hands that the story says she broke every finger. Allegedly.

He never returned, and she leads a pigtailed parade into the building almost every afternoon.

Elena figured maybe Charlotte had tried to stop the damages, having been one of the only younger adults there that day, working from home. Many of the working tenants were out, leaving only children, older residents, and few others. People had been scared, many of the children down Elena’s hall had gone to hide in her own apartment. Mrs. Cardenas also swore that she’d seen Charlotte injury-free just that morning before the workers arrived.

“La próxima día, la ví en el vestíbulo. Charlotte tuvo moretones en la garganta y las muñecas, y en el pómulo— la piel está rota.” Mrs. Cardenas spat out the list of injuries as if they stung, jerkily motioning to her own body as she spoke. Karen turned her mouth into the palm of her hand and closed her eyes, Foggy looking between her and the stone-faced Matt.

“What does that mean? Guys, what happened?” 

Foggy’s question was absorbed into the tense silence of the conference room. 

Matt pulled his hands from the table and tightly knotted them in his lap. It was good that his glasses shielded the old woman acrost him from the full force of his glare, Mrs. Cardenas wasn’t the intended recipient of his rage. No, it was someone else entirely that he’d be searching for that night. The Devil had heard its name being called, and wanted nothing more than to punish the kind of worm that would beat a young woman in her own space. His fingers twitched, knuckles turning even whiter from the force of his restraint.

“Seriously, what did she say?”

Sensing the lump in Karen’s throat, Matt took it upon himself to answer Foggy’s question as best he could through the gritted frown on his face. He translated what Charlotte looked like when Mrs. Cardenas saw her in the building lobby the next day, from the bruises on her neck and wrists, to the one on her cheekbone that came from a hit so hard that the skin had split open.

“Jesus, and they still claim that these were contractors? Maybe brutes for hire, but certainly not plumbers.” Foggy scoffed, shaking his discomfort off in the only way that he knew how. Unknowingly, he’d set the Devil to work inside of Matt’s head, achingly familiar with the work of hired goons. Maybe there was more at play here. Or, you could be obsessed and paranoid.

“Did she say anything about what happened? Give some story or excuse?” Foggy asked, leaning in across the table. Karen picked her pen up again, turned to a fresh page of the notepad and copied down the injuries that Elena had described. The gentle scratching filled Matt’s ears as he thought. He arranged a tentative plan of action, the rest of the day could be spent on gathering information, and once the sun had fully set, he’d let the Devil pick his favorite of all the violent thoughts running through his head.

 “Excuse? No, no. Ella no hablará con nadie sobre eso. Intenté muchas veces, y nada. Brett, el hijo de Bess, lo vistió, sin uniforme, sin placa. Pero ella, no… no budge.”

Shifting in her seat, Karen turned toward Foggy and Matt, head bowed towards the table as she spoke; “She won’t talk to anyone about it, Brett Mahoney visited without his badge and uniform, but she still wouldn’t explain.”

“Sra. Cardenas, por qué Charlotte no se ha ido a hacer una denuncia? No es ‘city issue’, eso es criminal, asalto con agresión.” Matt asked, wanting to know why an assault charge hadn’t been filed. Were there more cops on Fisk’s payroll then he’d thought? Maybe they’d dismissed the charges to cover up what had been done.

“Si, yo sé, y le dije. Nada.” Mrs. Cardenas spread her hands in defeat as she explained that even though she’d explained this to Charlotte, it had done nothing.

“Mrs. Cardenas, if those men hurt her, why won’t she file a report?” Foggy asked, brow furrowed as he tried to understand this neighbor. There were many reasons why victims of various crimes didn’t come forward, maybe if they could help to ease her fears, then they could move forward with charges. 

It would certainly make the civil case more valid if they were also filing criminal charges against the workers. 

“Pienso que está herida y tiene mucho miedo. Más por los funcionarios que los obreros. Ella fue tajante, no quiere hacer una denuncia, no quiere hacer nada sobre eso.”

This wasn’t good news for the civil case. Injured and scared, Charlotte wasn’t willing to file a report because she was more afraid of the officials than of the workers returning. She was firm about not doing anything. Matt wondered if someone had already convinced her not to step forward. Like that one scumbag had said, there’s gonna be another light in another window.

“Sra. Cardenas, vamos hacer todo que podamos. Foggy hablará con su abogado de la gentador esta tarde, y hablaré con tu vecina sobre sus opciones para ayuda. Estarámos en contacto.”

It was such a relief to hear that something would be done, to have a plan, and Elena sighed, reaching across to squeeze Matt’s hands, “Gracias, Senor Murdock. Muchas gracias.”

Karen led Mrs. Cardenas out of the office, and Matt explained to Foggy that he was going to be spending his afternoon speaking with Tully’s lawyers on behalf of the tenants.

“Tully’s lawyer?” Foggy asked, exiting the conference room hot on Matt’s heels, “Do you know who reps him?”

Matt grabbed his cane from the corner, not even attempting to hide his laugh before he turned back around, “Yeah, I know.”

“Landman and Zack!” Foggy insisted, arms gesturing at his sides in a way that agitated the air, the smell of anxiety wafting towards Matt. Apparently deciding that Matt didn’t quite get it, Foggy leaned forward, voice straining with hushed emphasis, “Landman and mother-freakin' Zack, man!”

Karen and her soft perfume breezed through the door behind him, having guided Mrs. Cardenas to the taxi waiting for her on the street below. 

“Ooh, sounds impressive.” She made her way to her desk with the notes and information from their meeting, “Are they looking to hire?”

“Oh, you wouldn't be happy.” Matt said, gesturing to Foggy with his cane, “We used to intern there.”

“Oh, right.” Karen bobbed forward over the desk, how could she have forgotten about the first thing that Foggy brought up whenever the cooling fall air came in through cracks in the windows, or when the lights flickered, or if Matt breathed too loudly. Karen had made the mistake one of her first mornings on the job of thinking out loud about how nice a bagel would be for breakfast. Matt had groaned from his open office, and before she could ask, Foggy was suddenly opining in the reception space about a place where there were all the free bagels that you could eat, every. single. morning.

Foggy flicked his hands around in annoyance, defeat and coating his dry words, “And they offered us a job, a great job. Which we turned down to go off and save the world. Now they hate us.”

Karen and Foggy shared a smile as he finished his speech, all of them knowing that he wouldn’t change a thing, even for free bagels. As much as he complained about their circumstances, Matt knew that he loved what they were doing, that Foggy wouldn’t have survived long in a place like Landman and Zack. 

Letting Foggy in was easy, it was impossible not to really, and staying friends with him was even easier because Matt saw that Foggy was one of those people that was effortlessly good. Unlike him with his devilish shadow, Foggy didn’t have to struggle to make the right choice. Greed and desire could tempt as much as they wanted, he wouldn’t cave, even if he pretended differently. When he knew something was wrong, Foggy Nelson would not do or endorse, and having him by his side always made Matt feel more at ease.

Already, he was moving away from sarcastic complaints, turning back to Matt so they could start working on a plan for how to approach this case. “We'll need to load for bear if we're gonna take them on.” 

“I'll hit the precinct to check for complaints against Tully.”

Foggy’s panicked objection was cut off by Karen calling out, “Is that before, or after you go talk to Elena’s neighbor like you said you would?”

He released the hand that he’d had on the doorknob, he’d been so close to leaving. Unfortunately Karen seemed to have her own radar for picking things up, and she wasn’t always keen on offering slack. Matt could sense, but was in no way fooled by the innocent tilt of her head. Beside him, Foggy’s eyes narrowed. Just one step and he’d have been out the door, no such luck.

“After,” Matt nodded, having to accept defeat, “Thanks, Karen.”

“No problem,” she chirped back, mirroring the sarcastic smile that he’d given her. Hands spread between the two, Foggy abandoned his professionalism in favor of once again being annoyed at Matt Murdock.

“Wait, wait, hold on. How is it that I’m going to Landman and Zack, while you go and talk with the damsel in distress?”

It’s not as if Matt could say that he was going to speak with the neighbor not just for the case, but also for an illegal extracurricular activity where he would be using his super senses to try and identify the assailants. Matt sighed, shifting on his feet. Half-truth it is.

“Well, from what Mrs. Cardenas described, it seems like the only way that Ms. Tanner would answer the door for a man in a suit is if he looked like he needed help. What was it that you call it again?”

Foggy threw his head back, groaning for a long moment before facing Matt again. Though his face spelled his disapproval, his eyes shone with the reminder of their first meeting and love for his friend.

“The ‘wounded duck’, you’re gonna wounded duck yourself.” Foggy said, one hand on his hip and head bobbing. His free hand leveled an accusatory finger at Matt. “I swear she better not be hot, because this is becoming cosmically unfair. You need a new phone for all of your girls, and now I’m going to play chum while you’re off being a hero.”

“Chum?” Matt laughed, hearing Karen tilt her head in confusion, before her hair rustled with a shake and she focused back on organizing the new files. There were maybe three whole files in the whole cabinet, but Matt could hear her moving them around repeatedly on slow days. So, almost every day.

“Yeah, chum!” Foggy burst out, leaning forward to hiss out a plea to Matt, “I can't go to L and Z alone. They're gonna shark attack me, Matt. Look at me, I'm delicious.”

“Well, take Karen.” Matt said through his chuckling, pointing over at the woman who had been trying to mind her own business.

“I-I mean, yeah, if she wants to.” Foggy stumbled and shrugged, taken completely unaware by Matt’s suggestion. His heart raced despite the way that he was trying to play it cool, and Matt fought off a smirk.

“Oh,” Karen straightened with her own surprise at the action, before tossing her hands up. “Sure. Never seen sharks feed up close before.”

Matt chuckled as they all prepared to leave the office, “Try not to splash too much. It attracts 'em.”

“You both are so funny.” Foggy huffed in mock despair as he turned to grab a coat. The two just laughed louder. “That piece of notebook paper on the door has my name on it first, you know. Which means that only one of you is allowed to mock me at a time.”

Already out in the hall, Matt called over his shoulder, “Of course, that’s why we were taking turns.”

“Oh wounded duck off, Matt!” Foggy cried, and the laughter of his friends followed Matt all the way down the stairs and out onto the street.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

from this post of mine receive this comment:

@relativestranger85 Please help. I'm in the UK and have a pseudo none verbal 7 year old and idk what aac is. The only things we've ever been offered is pecs which he absolutely does not like. (If you don't know pecs is pictures on a velcro board)

thank you for trust me with this question! try answer best i can. i know a lot abt AAC and nonverbal now and struggle with speech communication entire life but! not born nonverbal, so please take what i say grain of salt.

(gonna also tag @birdofmay , hope that okay, especially on perspective of nonverbal since birth & didn’t become aware of people & surroundings & communication until later? some nonverbal people very aware of surrounding since young, while others are very opposite. the “not aware” perspective am not good resource since i Don’t Remember.)

also, am in US, so not very familiar with UK laws. you may need to look into it. but even then not familiar with US laws - not lawyer.

AAC:

AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication. has many forms. low tech AAC is like communication book, picture cards, PECS is a form of low tech AAC (talk more abt later)! high tech AAC is probably what people think of, an iPad or a dedicated communication device that generates voice. with iPad, can download / buy AAC apps on it on your own.

in US, public schools or schools that receive federal funding is i think required to give students who need it an evaluation with speech therapist, which can include AAC evaluation. some schools may not like to do it may not do it on their own because high tech AAC device expensive, but it is your right as parents & your child’s right, should 100% ask and push if school resist. getting AAC device through school is through education perspective—does child need this for education success. if AAC device approved, you may get to keep it (ideal) but also may have to keep in school or give back to school once leave (not ideal). now, don’t know if same in UK.

in US, can also get high tech AAC device covered through insurance. speech therapist do evaluation on what AAC app and device best fit, then submit to insurance. if insurance covers it, it’s yours, get to keep. insurance look through a “medically necessary” perspective. again, don’t know if same in UK with NHS (i think that what it called).

otherwise, can also buy an iPad or android device and download/buy AAC apps on there. many AAC users have made list of good & robust apps recommendation, will link below. however, AAC apps can get expensive, and some most popular apps only support ios/iPad.

either way, really do recommend find speech therapist who specializes in AAC to help, if can afford & have someone near you. it’s possible to do it on own, but can be difficult. but sometimes also bad speech therapists give wrong advice or not up do date info, so either way recommend do own research. can be really really overwhelming, please take one step at a time.

important things to mention is using AAC does not hinder mouth speech development. in some ways it actually helps! doesn’t mean your child will always catch up and become fully verbal when older (happens sometimes, but not often). but really, goal for child is to give them way to communicate. speech is not inherently better form of communication, just more normalized. i know it can be hard to believe, because so many people say other wise, even clinicians! but really. communication is most important. speech just a form of communication.

sometimes nonverbal people struggle with more than just speech. may not speak because of many reasons. may be struggle with communication as a whole, expressive and/or receptive language disorders, maybe motor skills (childhood apraxia of speech), maybe not aware that sounds people make is communication, maybe not aware of people, maybe not aware they can & should communicate, maybe not understand. here is something i wrote about it, it not directed at parents but more so other lower support needs speaking autistics, but think info may be helpful, because know why child nonverbal can help with target intervention.

AAC, especially robust AAC apps, can be extremely overwhelming to even adults. if you as parent overwhelmed by amount of information and amount of buttons, it’s okay, it happens. may feel like running out of time, but time you take to learn to make sure support child in helpful way and time you take to rest is not wasted time.

there is always more to things write here. here is a more comprehensive thing (but of course, still missing things because cannot write everything):

a reddit post i once wrote to parents abt AAC (prefer for people to not dig through this reddit since don’t like use now)

additional:

once wrote a tumblr post with many AAC info and words by AAC user. lots of information so may be overwhelming so specifically highlight these things for you (semi-ranked):

genuinely the best intro to AAC resource out there, if read nothing else please please read all of this: https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac

a facebook group ask me, i’m an AAC user! (24 hour rule) - really recommend if want other AAC user perspective, and after 24 hours of a post, may also hear from parents of AAC users, SLPs/speech therapists, etc.

tiktok user AverageMillenial18 - an autistic parent to an nonspeaking autistic AAC user child. talks about own parenting experience, especially a lot of AAC modeling (very important!!!!) and presume competence. genuinely helpful, not just “silly tiktok bad.”

aac apps: a personal opinion review of AAC apps i tried, another thing of mine, not mine but All About AAC: A Guide to Augmentative and Alternative Communication Options!

gave you lots of information already, probably already overwhelmed you. hope didn’t come off too strong. remember it okay to take it slow.

p.s. you mention using PECS (picture exchange communication system). am assuming you talking abt the actual PECS system and not just picture exchange cards. (PECS is a type of picture exchange card with rules and stuff)

not here to say “PECS worst don’t use PECS” because don’t know your situation. think there more nuance than that. but do think you deserve know multiple perspective—the specific PECS system can have issues and problems, a professional explains here better. give you this so you can make informed decision! not here to shame you, many parents not given all information, you clearly care very much and want best for your child, and also - may still see improvements even if harmful elements, because not binary black and white. but considering you say he does not like, maybe sign that PECS not work out great with him.

hope you and your child the best and please, if have any questions feel free ask.

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

Howdy, Chrys! If you still doing the character meme thing could you please do this with Charlie perhaps :^>?

Yep, I'm still taking requests for that meme! Thanks for sending this in!

Send me a character and I’ll list:

Favourite thing about them: The growth in her confidence and her leadership qualities over the course of the series. Charlie starts out wanting so badly to help people and make their lives better, but she's so concerned with being "nice" that she struggles with the idea that she might have to assert herself to achieve her dreams. It feels too mean. She gradually learns that she needs to stop waiting on the sidelines armed with nothing but good intentions: she needs to take a more direct approach, take responsibility for her people, and fight for her loved ones even if she has to be "mean" about it. That's why I really like "Ready For This," because it's what Charlie's character arc has been building to all along - acknowledging the privileged position she holds and finally feeling more comfortable with what she can do about it.

Least favourite thing about them: She's over 200 years old, and she's only now decided on the Hotel idea? What took her so long? How many Exterminations had there been before then? How many of her people died before she decided to act? And how sheltered was she if she never knew how corrupt Heaven was until she saw it in "Welcome to Heaven"? I think Charlie should have been younger so the audience wouldn't ask awkward questions like this.

Favourite line: "Just because someone is dead, it doesn't mean they can't resolve to change their ways!"

brOTP: I mentioned in a previous meme response about Angel Dust that I like the friendship Charlie has with him. I like seeing the way they both try to help and protect each other - they don't always get things right, but they're trying because they care about each other, and that's nice to see. Also, I like the moment in the pilot when Angel teases Charlie about the lack of guests at the hotel, and then stops because she looks so sad. He can't bring himself to be mean to her because she's too nice.

I also enjoyed watching Charlie and Emily team up during "You Didn't Know". They're pretty similar characters, both very cheerful and hopeful and keen to see the best in people, with the only difference being where they live. I hope we get to see more of "Charmily" collaborating in Season 2! (Because it did always bother me that Emily promised to help Charlie and then didn't really do anything in the finale.)

OTP: Chaggie! I haven't posted about them much (mainly because my brain's been focused on the hurt/comfort potential of Huskerdust), but that doesn't mean I don't like the pairing! A developing romance like Huskerdust may have more drama, but sometimes it's just nice to see an established couple who are clearly comfortable in each other's company and trust each other.

Charlie and Vaggie have a fun dynamic because they're different but similar - if that makes sense? One's an optimist with occasional scary moments, and the other's a grump with occasional sweet moments, and I like both those character tropes, so I suppose it was inevitable that I would end up shipping Chaggie. They look cute together!

nOTP: Charlie and Valentino. That arm-licking scene? Ew. Ew. Ewwww.

Random headcanon: Charlie has had extensive First Aid training, which she's used to patch up wounded sinners after Exterminations. If Angel ever comes back from work looking particularly messed up, it'll be Charlie who gives him the medical attention he needs.

Unpopular opinion: This isn't unpopular per se, because I also saw @gabrielsbubblegumbitch make a post about this, but ... why is Charlie only working on a small Hotel, a passion project, when she's got the power and authority to effect much wider-ranging changes in Hell that would ultimately make people's afterlives more bearable? I understand her fervent desire to save sinners from Extermination, because Exterminated sinners are gone forever, and that's tragic for her - but what is she doing to improve things between purges?

For example, when will she sort out the cruel and exploitative Overlord system? Charlie showed up at Angel's workplace once to try some "aggressive kindness" with Valentino ... and then I guess she never tried to help her friend again? Huh?

Look, I get the message that "Masquerade" was trying to convey. Sometimes, people are in situations that are too big and complex for you to handle alone, and you need to know when to step back because a hasty intervention might only make things worse. But that message doesn't really work with a character like Charlie Morningstar, because she's the Princess of Hell and could totally put Valentino in his place if she wanted.

It frustrates me that the plot thread of "Charlie potentially freeing Angel from Valentino" was never brought up again. Had Season 1 been given more episodes, the series could have expanded on that and given Charlie more to do. Maybe she could have collaborated with Angel on a scheme. I'm not saying Angel's contract issue needed to be resolved in the first season; I just wish it had been fleshed out more.

Song I associate with them: "Persephone" by MJQ x EmpahP (performed by Daina). It's about a woman born into privilege who feels uneasy about her position. The lyrics mention "sharing the air of kings" and being "an angel with borrowed wings." And there's even a section about needing to fight and being lucky if she makes it out alive, which calls to mind the battle with the Exorcists in the finale. This song just seems right for Charlie.

Favourite picture of them: