#we have our own language and its called autism

[sickfires]

@gruelingtonic - incomprehensible conversations.

#we have our own language and its called autism #pesters

[lilysaus]

okay. this fucking picture made me so mad i went on a 15 minute rant to my sister while she was trying to read her book.

so ive been looking at a lot of pictures of posts on pinterest because thats just where i spend most of my time. most of these posts are on the topic of adhd. ive never been properly diagnosed, but reading through these posts has made me feel so welcomed and understood (more than my parents have made me feel, pretending that this is "all just a phase that ill get over soon because pretending to have adhd is just the thing right now") that i realized ON MY OWN that "hey maybe i do have adhd." well.

i found this post while scrolling through pinterest, and it really sparked my anger.

i have a friend who was diagnosed with add before it was considered an "outdated" term and scrapped because apparently ALL FUCKING FORMS OF NEURODIVERGENCY THAT ARENT AUTISM ARE JUST "ADHD".

i read this post and it was what sparked my anger and my 15 minute rant to my sister. people who get degrees in this stuff, or counselors at schools, never really know what youre going through. all they know is that youre having some problems and they need to be solved.

which brings me back to this picture. if you look up "is add still a thing" on google, this is the first picture to pop up. and just seeing the visual aids they put with it makes me furious enough to throw something or someone out a fifth story window. the little girl is fucking SMILING while thinking about the most common shit people think us neurodivergent folks think when distracted. first off, no. false. we dont just think of video games and candy. we think of the randomest shit possible, like how long can i sit here without blinking or what kind of funny shit can i draw on this one sheet of paper.

and ALSO.

you cant just categorize adhd as TWO SEPARATE THINGS and call it good. we dont fit under two umbrellas. theres too many of us. we each have our own figurative umbrellas that only we ourselves can fit under, no one else. thats the problem with neurotypicals. they fit the typical stereotype for humans: we try to understand everything by putting it in a box. those lists of "symptoms"? i match every single one. on both sides. so ha. take that SCIENTISTS. what am i? some kind of freak of nature because i dont fit under just ONE of your precious categories?

i also looked up what "inattentive" means and it made me angrier. according to oxford languages, "inattentive" means "not paying attention to something", which doesnt seem too bad, right? it fits some people perfectly with their symptoms, right? but its not the definition that bugs me. its the example sentence thats used. "a particularly dull and inattentive student". basically saying that if you dont pay attention well to something, youre dull and boring.

im sorry, what? sometimes i have trouble paying attention, sure, but you ask any of my friends and they can agree i am NOT boring in any way, shape, or form. non of them would describe me as "dull". inattentive? sure, but not dull. so to call it "inattentive" adhd, instead of just add, is stupid! my friend with ADD (not fucking adhd, stupid scientists) is one of the funniest, most entertaining people ive ever met. shes an incredible artist, super smart, and knows how to make anyone laugh. does that sound dull to you? does she have problems focusing sometimes? yes. does she struggle with doing something sometimes? yes. but dont the rest of us?

my point is, when i see things like this, it pisses me off. like, unless all of the scientists who agreed "add" is an outdated term have it themselves, i refuse to believe its outdated and i will continue to say that my friend has it. she was literally diagnosed by the doctor telling her "you have attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder without the hyperactivity." THATS JUST FUCKING ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER YOU DUMBASS!!!

anyway, i hope im not the only one who feels this way. i just felt it necessary to get this out there. maybe someday, people wont be so dumb and single minded. in my opinion, neurodivergent people are superior in intellect and creativity, but i guess until someone like that takes over the world and dropkicks neurotypicals into the stratosphere, we'll never know.

#adhd stuff #undiagnosed adhd #living with adhd #neurodivergence #neurodivergent #add #its called add not adhd #you dumbasses #scientists are stupid sometimes #make that all the time

[desudog]

Hi

I do feel like there's this creep in disability spaces of losing our words. Let me explain. I mean disabled people hurting disabled people. Like, I feel like every time there's a word for us disabled people who are *that* disabled person, we lose our words. It either gets called problematic or it gets higher standards. I think its much due to the whole "people tend to use words more drastic than what they experience on the internet because if they don't, they don't get cared about as much." And hypervigilance against autism mommy types.

But like. I'm tired of it. I'm autistic and I'm DUMB. I'm autistic and my school forced me out because I failed every class no matter what they gave me. I can't do almost any subtraction or addition if I can't do it on my hands. I have forgotten what number symbols are/mean and had to ask what it was. I can't memorize jack shit, I can't navigate jack shit. Half the days I can hardly type, every day I have to proofread over and over these kinds of posts because of that and my dyslexia. There's a difference between mean kids calling you retarded and concerned parents calling you a retard. I'm sorry but it needs to be said. If you graduated HS I kinda don't listen to your opinions on learning disability... like I'm gonna be real. You PASSED. I don't care if you burned out- we ALL burned out. School is literally the burnout machine. It's okay. You graduated. You literally made it.

I wish there was a word I could use that actively reflected that. I'm INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED. Not just learning disabled. I wish I could explain it easier to people but even that word is being applied by random people who self identified with autism while watching tik toks in college. I'm pro self diagnosis but be real you aren't ID. You passed middle school. I fucking didn't. Even the word retard is being "reclaimed" by people who say it's a slur against people with ADHD like I just am so frustrated. Just admit you wanna say retard I literally won't care I just care when people twist it to be quirky. Idgaf if you do it to be edgy like whatever man. Your honors class ass is not retarded tho. I was held back in PRESCHOOL. What word am I supposed to use when people in the autism community think I'm too stupid and scary because of how i talk? What word am I supposed to say where am I supposed to go when I'm too disabled for disabled spaces? You need to pony up and realize that self diagnosing with autism or parading your adult diagnosis of "aspergers" does not magically unlearn your ableism. Stop getting defensive when you realize you're in the support group for idiots. We're dumb here. Get fucking used to it. Stop separating those of us who literally cannot learn, literally cannot live on our own. Stop.

Like idk man I'm not just disabled I'm UNABLED sometimes. You have to be okay with disabled people being disabled. I fucking hate the autism online community. Fuck off. You're all ableists who jerk off to us talk about our real problems and claim that's relatable and then you go do it to people literally right after. You're so quirky aren't you? Call me a brainwormed freak again. Laugh one more time. Send a flashing gif to respond to me asking for flashing to be warned. You're such a good ally. Police my language again, I'm close

[higheverweave]

Also like seriously consider if Diagnosis is safe or right for you Diagnosed between 4-5 years old Self Dx is valid and most folks who are Dxed legit dont have anything against self dx for the above reason But Bigger issue Why is Diagnosis required to access autistic social spaces?? ^^^^ Thats the real question. Like grew up autistic have no problem with you folks joining us. (So long as you don’t like use your privilege to speak over issues that are specific to diagnosis (legal shit like not being able to marry due to insurance,mental competency tests etc. (Also no you cant be like yep Im going to reclaim the RwordNo Nope No even folks who are diagnosed shouldn’t use that word as like our elders who are still alive who survived Asylums and Being called the Rword to force sterilization which is still very much happening.)

But I will Say this as well Consider being diagnosed Carefully as Diagnosis comes with a different Ball game of Legal oppression. (Not to shame. Just to let you know what most folks don’t beforehand If any of us has a choice to be and live without barriers …. None of us are going to judge you for being like I am autistic but I recognize official Dx would add stigma I don’t deserve.) We genuinely want you all to live your best lives.

•If you are diagnosed with a disability under the age of 22 Insurance dictates wether or not you will be allowed to marry.

•People if they know you are Asd or disabled will use that as a weapon to invalidate things you know and celebrate about your own identity… (Many Autistics are Lgbtq+ and or Trans people use Asd to be like “well they cant actually know they are _____ .”)

•Forced poverty is very real. If you choose not to dx thats ok! Barriers are real and we get if you weigh the options and decide against it

If you are self diagnosed there are things its 200% chill to advocate on Things

Like sensory overload

Medical comorbidities

But Autistic culture is starting to get a reputation of canceling people too

Which Autism Parents for example

Many Autism Parents are also Autistic alot of the harm they do is thier own internalized Abelism and oppression fighting isnt always the best way to help them understand themselves and their autistic family members better.

Also alot of folks who are the most anti autistic can be folks with internalized abelism. Its super real.

Sometimes not being diagnosed is a privilege to to forced or unconsentual ABA done without parent or individual permission.

But also like If you want to advocate come to some autistic social spaces or start some.

Theres exposure that is hard to get without a diagnosis (So there are some informal groups and ways of getting exposure. And most of us love You all!

Genuinely we are excited to have you join us we are excited to share and guide you. We know late dx and self dx happens and in diagnosed spaces a lot of us are super cool swapping tips.

Just know that IDD can make some accessibility hard for folks. So you have to be patient even with social issues as a-lot of you all have an access to privilege you don’t realize you have in terms of educational material being accessible.

Lastly

If you do get diagnosed

We are anti Eugenics so not pro like Intelligence shaming, non-speakers exist I for one alternate I can only speak sometimes…. When i cant speak it hurts too…

Lastly Anti Eugenics means dont make fun of IDD and Engage in Intellectual ellitism

However this doesn’t mean don’t check your assigned intelligence score as there is different barriers if you are 2E as well and ways you can use that privilege to make things more accessible for everyone. Including translating into comfortable language for folks with IDD who need that.

Part of the beauty of the spectrum is we fill in one another’s blanks we help lift one another up.

But note also if you go for an asd test and end up with something similar but not the same you are still Neurodivergent.

Neurodivergent is a large community but some common neurodiversity’s that are not discussed as often (At least positively.)

Are Schizophrenia. (Which also are kin to Autistic folks we survive together. Even if its not the same we can still support one another.)

Personality disorders aren’t Autism but are Neurodiverse and stigmatized and deserve love and respect as well.

Borderline personality, Narcissistic personality,

Etc.

If you don’t end up As autistic it doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of our community (Neurodiverse.)

also know like (Autism groups centers etc advocates in there are not against having you join us for hangout sessions or social group activities. Its ok to ask a diagnosed friend how to learn more or join our spaces if you aren’t dxed!

Also some of you might be able to help us fight ABA in medical spaces as we aren’t listened to directly as a lot of places get funded for that shit….

Thats all sorry its long love you all keep advocating just know you aren’t imposters and can advocate on things you experience like sensory and comorbidities just engage with other autistics about more complex/nuanced issues.

Also Please if you are self DX late DX the reputation we are getting for Cancel culture (And not like canceling people who did stuff thats unforgivable. But if someone doesn’t know or have privilege to access information please please don’t harp on folks who are learning. As that is not restorative justice.)

Restorative justice being how we deal with issues in disabled autistic spaces. Just because there are conflicting respect needs and social, emotional ,educational access needs.

Tone is not mad just infodump

Genuinely like talking to yall about asd (Have a ton of cool ND cultural research I’m doing that im trying to figure out how to share without being seen as elitist… when the goal is to use privilege to dismantle privilege especially eugenic. Thinking about talking about twice exceptionality more and what growing up 2E-Asd is like in disabled spaces and why Disability Autism is my main identity not Eugenic assignments.)

Lmk if any of this is helpful or something y’all have an interest in. 😎🖤

#actually autistic #diagnosed autistic #self dx #late dx #late diagnosed autistic #anti eugenic #disabled community #autistic community #restorative justice #restorativepractices #anti cancel culture #actually disabeld #twice exceptional #tw eugenics #actually2EAsd #2Easd #developmental disabilities #self dx is valid #late dx is valid #advocacy #advocate #autist #accessability #access #signal boost #uplift #amplify #reblog #you can reblog

[straightfromthetorturedpoetsdept]

girl at home kinda feels autistic coded tbh

i've re-written my response to this so many times because you've really unlocked the entire song for me, actually anon.

As a girl at home gatekeeper, if I'm being honest with y'all the overall message of the song always rang just a little hollow to me and it's because of that damn "yeah i might go with it" line and you know what, if you read the song through a very specific autistic lens, it kind of... makes the song that much more complex and interesting and amazing???????

If I'm keeping it truly honest with y'all, I have never understood why y'all spend time and energy getting mad at side-pieces. Like, honest to god, it's not my responsibility to make sure your man respects you. IDK if it's because the autism just impairs me getting it or what, but if my man cheated on me, i would not give 2 shits about who he cheated with. In fact, it'd be better if I didn't know tbh, because the hurt that i'd feel has nothing to do with her. It's him who lied to me, who broke our promise. I've never understood this energy y'all waste browbeating single women for having sex with men who want to have sex with them.

So, if you apply this logic to girl at home... you get a real fun song tbh. Especially because the first verse can be interpreted as this internal struggle between doing what you personally want vs what society has deemed acceptable for a woman. Like, okay, we START with "I don't even know her"which is the first line on its own and then the second line starts with "BUT I feel a responsibility to do what's upstanding and right," this kind of encapsulates that feeling of "you're really hot but you're in a relationship and it would be WRONG but GOD you're hot" and then we get "it's kinda like a code, yeah" and this is such luke-warm language to me. it kind of feels like she's not sure about what she wants to do (i use kind of whenever i'm on shaky ground about something, exhibit a)? She's almost reassuring herself "it's like a code, YEAH" and that yeah to me, just could be read in that reaffirming of social norms way tbh and then we get this line

"and you've been getting closer and closer, and crossing so many lines" idk this could be read as unwanted but it's kind of more fun to read it as like "all we want is danger" kinda vibes, ya feel? Like, why is he getting closer and closer? Are you letting him, seeing how many lines you can cross before we get to "immoral" territory? And I think all of these lines together, could work to reinforce that "responsibility" that she feels. Like, okay I didn't say this earlier the "I dont even know her" could be taylor justifying sleeping with this man, you know? and then, she kind of stops herself and says "BUT" like BUT wait, there's a code to follow here.

then, we get the pre-chorus which kind of feels like a little raunchy you know? A little immoral, even lol. because we get this banger "it would be a fine proposition, if i was a stupid girl" and then "BUT honey, I am no-one's exception, this I have previously learned," this to me just furthers this yearning for this taken man tbh. Because she admits he's hot- he's the proposition here, after all and she's calling him "fine" - and then ALSO "if i was a stupid girl" feels so AUTISTIC to me. Like, as an undiagnosed autistic woman, the only thing I felt I had to "offer" was my intelligence and so this calling herself stupid just feels like what you'd do as an autistic woman who is in this situation tbh. AND THEN we get the most telling line, where she kind of implies that if she believed she would be his "exception," her answer might be different. It just adds to the moral grayness of the song. and then after she sees him turn off his phone, that's when she decides to say "don't look at me, you got a girl at home." which honestly, same, queen. See how far that man will go before you teach his ass a lesson.

Also, she says "you're the kind of man who makes me sad" and that's kind of interesting because strange men cheating on their women would make you angry, if anything, not sad. Sad implies hurt, like idk if someone can make you sad, they hold a lot of power. I think it's interesting that she uses sad instead of mad- because if she was really rejecting him out of duty and "what's right" wouldn't she be mad? IDK i'm not saying this is for sure how she meant the song at all, I just like this lense a lot because it makes the song way deeper than it sounds for sure.

idk, i liked this one a lot thanks friend.

#red #taylor swift #girl at home #song analysis #anon love #ask and you shall receive

[tales-from-nocturnaliss]

I saw a post on @birdofmay's blog that got me thinking. I actually started a reblog, to (thankfully!) realize in time my brain had skipped over several points of theirs in its utter joy at seeing autism explained in a visual way that made perfect sense to us.

So, because I do feel the need to talk about this from my own perspective, I'm sharing only the relevant part of the original blog - but linking to it so you can read on what autism, specifically 'severe' autism as it's labeled, feels like for OP.

Taken from @birdofmay's blog:

""I just saw one of those "autism isn't linear, it's a spectrum" posts again and one picture was that how much the traits are pronounced could look like this:

And yeah, exactly, to use the outdated terms "high functioning" and "low functioning" - this individual here would be considered high functioning. Some traits are very pronounced and in fact very disabling. That's why "high functioning" dismisses the struggles of those autistics.

But they are considered high functioning because there are many traits that aren't that pronounced.""

This is the part my brain lasered on. Here's the thing: as I've stated before, I got my diagnosis back in January, at age 42. Since then, I did a hyperfast catch-up, and one part of it was, somehow, to get a bit involved on Tumblr. To put it simply: I discovered just how wide and often disabling a spectrum autism is.

And I started feeling like a fraud. Like I didn't deserve to call myself 'autistic' because I wasn't suffering 'enough' compared to people labeled, say, low-functioning. From that black-and-white comparison model, I was more of a high-functioning autistic. It's true I can shower with ease (except for the physical fatigue), cook, dress, etc etc do 'normal' things from being raised in a 'normal' way because hell if anyone knew something was actually inherently different with me. Different times. I had depression back in the '90s, when it wasn't even perceived as a disease - or as real! So autism? All we saw of that was kids (male kids!) hitting themselves and rocking and making shrill sounds and, forgive the terminology, not seeming human. At least, from a 'normal' vantage point. Which is certainly what made me believe, at first, that I could not possibly be autistic. Chatting with a friend and reading up on autism in women drastically changed this decrepit, dehumanizing perspective I am ashamed was still my brain's comprehension of autism a mere year ago.

Talking with people who function differently/'worse' than me did as well. To a point where I started to dismiss my own struggles since they're not 'bad/disabling enough'.

Gods. Fuck that mentality of mine.

And this circles me back to OP's words: That's why "high functioning" dismisses the struggles of those autistics. Gods. EXACTLY. And I'm not gonna compare myself to someone who can't articulate vocally, or who struggles to walk a straight line, and whose good days are certainly worse than my bad days. That's not what this post is about.

It's about not dismissing yourself, wherever on that spectrum you are. And, perhaps more importantly, not comparing yourself (and your pain!) to someone else's. Because all that achieves is hurt. And we already suffer enough from our own brains being fickle, stubborn, self-sabotaging assholes.

As an interesting exercise, I placed myself on every point on this wheel (copying this image purely to have the colour descriptions, check the original blog for the black line's explanation)

Motor skills: few to no issues

Perception: way too acute

Sensory: sharp lights and noises are pain; worse/sensitive to more on bad days

Language: few to no issues except during meltdowns

Executive Function: complicated most of the time

Social, because I feel this is missing: limited anxiety, able to talk to strangers, but exhausting

I consider myself well-functional overall. I have few needs, but they are deep needs - like avoiding getting too much light in, avoiding people (especially chatty ones), avoiding noisy environments... because this is pain to me. Pain that can lead to meltdown that can and will lead to outward aggression. I thus don't know what functioning category I'm in.

And that is where the wheel feels like the best explanation possible for me - a spectrum that is so wide and broad and perceived so differently from person to person. And why my brain quickly obsessed with sharing it and here we are now. Hopefully with me not doing a rude thing again XD but the information feels more important than the risk, if only because:

I feel it needs known, by all, on the spectrum or not, that autism is in fact a very wide spectrum, and that all on it, whether officially diagnosed or not, are not only welcome with their struggles and successes, but that their perceptions of their own lives are VALID.

And I'm telling myself that too. Stop comparing! Stop thinking that, because you're 'lucky' enough to be able to talk and write and do stuff, that your voice isn't valid. In fact, it's rude towards those who can't because, unwittingly, and unwillingly I'll give myself that but now that I've come across the thought I feel horrible about it, it's somehow placing yourself above them. Or them beneath you. And that's not what a spectrum is about. Even though I grasp, and I'm sure others grasp this as well towards themselves, we are conditioned to believe we aren't worth as much once we deviate from the norm.

Well, fuck the norm. Even 'autistic' 'norms'.

There really is no norm. Only experiences, perceptions, values. Surely other things I can't come up with now. But the bottom line is: everyone, ND or not, suffers in their own way. Some more, some less. And we shouldn't invalidate our struggles because someone, in our perception, 'suffers more'. Just like we can't invalidate their suffering because, in our perception... well, our perception doesn't understand their suffering.

I feel breathless. Too many thoughts. Realizations. Desire for tolerance and understanding. Lil' bit of anxiety too, posting this. Maybe I shouldn't. But ah well. Openness and all that shit. Screw tags. Too personal.

[annarellix]

Unseelie  by Ivelisse Housman - EXCERPT

Six of Crows meets the Iron Fey series in this high-energy YA fantasy that follows the adventures of changeling Seelie and her twin sister as they embark upon the heist of a lifetime for a mystery legacy. As they evade capture by both human and fae forces, Seelie discovers more about her own Autistic identity, her magical powers, and love along the way.

Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. As one searches for a fabled treasure, the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her. Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike. Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?

The Author: Ivelisse Housman is a Puerto Rican-American author and illustrator. At all seven schools she attended throughout her childhood, she was infamously “that kid who gets in trouble for reading during class, but refuses to stop.” She was diagnosed with autism at 15, which made everything make a lot more sense. When she isn't writing, she can be found making soup or tending to her houseplants. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her high school sweetheart/archnemesis and their two rescue dogs.

SOCIAL LINKS: Author website: https://www.ivelissehousman.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivehousman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivehousman

BUY LINKS: Bluebird Bookshop: https://www.bluebirdbookstop.com/product-page/pre-order-signed-copy-of-unseelie Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/unseelie-ivelisse-housman/18423458?ean=9781335428592 Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335428592 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unseelie-ivelisse-housman/1141358824?ean=9781335428592&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7310909_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC Books A Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335428592?AID=10747236&PID=7310909&cjevent=4ea4f71d821211ed80998de50a82b82a&cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335428593/keywords=fiction%20for%20teens?tag=harpercollinsus-20

EXCERPT

chapter one

On the night the faerie world collides with ours, anything can happen and wishes come true—and right now, I’m wish¬ing I had stayed home. I struggle to keep up with my twin sister as we push our way through the crowd. Revelnox is summer’s closing act, when day and night balance perfectly on the edge of the world. In the smaller villages, where people lead calm, pro¬ductive lives in predictable patterns—back home, I think, with an ache in my ribs—this means that children stay up late, bon¬fires are built in the middle of town, and offerings are left on the edges of the fields to prevent unwanted faerie mischief. There are special cakes, and the liquor flows freely, but all the merriment is a thin muzzle over the sharp teeth of the truth. You don’t go anywhere alone, and you don’t go into the forest. Not if you want to come back, at least. But here in the city—Auremore, the shining jewel be¬tween the forks of the Harrow River—here, it’s something else entirely. I have to fight not to lose my sister in the crowd of faces and languages blending into a waterfall of color and sound. Chil¬dren call to each other in the streets, even though it can’t pos¬sibly be safe for them to be out alone on this of all nights. But they’re not really alone: it seems like everyone in the city is out, despite the late hour. The ever-present sound of voices crash¬ing over each other is even louder tonight, volume rising with people’s spirits (and the amount of spirits they’ve consumed). Music threads through it all, sparkling and twanging in the air. The bonfires are the same here at least, adding their roar to the commotion. Each city district has its own, and here in the center of Market Square, everything is golden and cheer¬ful, surrounded by dancers and the sweet smell of candies for sale. Here, they welcome the Seelie, the faerie realm of good intentions, of order and politeness—or, at the very least, neu¬trality. Pouches of herbed salt meant to ward off evil swing from the torches that keep the darkness at bay and paint the whole block in brilliant amber. I seriously doubt that the faeries of the Unseelie Court will be scared off by what is essentially steak seasoning, but it’s a nice thought. We squeeze past a man wearing an elaborate mask with goat horns curling around the back of his head. That’s the other thing about the Revelnox celebrations here: everyone is masked, and no one dares to utter their own name. For just this one night, faeries walk among us—and the less power they can claim over you, the safer you are. It’s all fun and games for the faeries, whose visits to the Mortal Realm are usually limited to one human at a time, in remote forest glens or moonlit crossroads. For changelings, the not-quite-human-but-definitely-not-faerie in-betweens, walking among mortals is less of a novelty. We grow up with hu¬mans, hated for being almost like them but not enough. Most of us find our way back to the faerie realms by adulthood. I’ve never felt that pull, though. My magic and I have what you could generously call a troubled history, and if Revelnox is the closest I ever get to the faerie realms, it’ll be more than close enough. Also—and on a potentially unrelated note—it’s my twin’s seventeenth birthday. I can’t exactly say that my twin and I have the same birth¬day, since I’m not sure if changelings even have birthdays. I don’t think anyone actually knows where we come from. For all I know, my essence might have been floating around in a cloud of faerie dust for centuries. Or maybe I formed out of thin air the moment a faerie lifted Isolde from her cradle, stiletto fingernails digging into her soft, honey-colored skin, to exchange her for me. I don’t know. What I do know is that ever since our parents adopted me, Isolde and I share a birthday every year. Back before it was just the two of us on the run, we always had a homemade cake and presents, and we would all sit outside in the grass and watch the stars come out. It was usually uncomfortable, near the end of summer when everything turns sickly sweet and starts to crumble, but that didn’t matter. It was still my favorite day of the year. And often, that day happens to fall on Revelnox.

The man in the goat mask meets my eye, flashing white teeth at me before turning sharply and disappearing into the crowd of disguised faces. I shiver, clinging tighter to my sister’s hand. “Too loud?” Isolde murmurs, pressing close to my side. She wears all-black, as usual, from the tips of her scuffed boots to the roots of her glossy black hair. I shake my head. It is loud, but in a weird way the over¬whelming sensations are soothing. My boots feel more solid on the cobblestones, my body more real and alive than ever. Even the heat—of all the bodies, the radiant glow of the fire, the last warm breezes of summer—makes me feel strangely at ease, instead of just sticky and miserable. No. If I seem on edge, it’s thanks to the buzz of magic in the air, a living hum that I don’t hear so much as feel, like a mosquito hovering at the back of my neck. I don’t think Isolde can sense it. Magic is technically a part of me, fizzing in my faerie blood, and this is the one night when it isn’t considered dan¬gerous and wrong. One night when it’s safe to be the thing I have to be every day. But maybe that’s exactly why I’m so terrified of it—because I’ve seen firsthand what magic does. I stop short, jerking Isolde’s arm back, as a woman with a small reddish dragon draped over her shoulders cuts in front of me, obliviously strumming a stringed instrument and belting out a song that would make the most seasoned escort blush. My sister smashes into me, and we both pause to make sure our masks are still in place. They’re the cheapest we could find, a simple painted covering of the eyes and cheekbones held in place by a fraying ribbon. I’m pretty sure they’re made of rowan wood to protect against faeries, because mine is starting to itch abominably. It’s a familiar itch, and for a sec¬ond, I’m ten years old again, being held down by a clump of other ten-year-olds while they take turns pressing charms of rowan bark and iron to my skin to watch it blister. The moment passes, and I somehow maintain the will¬power not to rip the mask off my face. As I slide it back into place, my fingers twitching nervously over the surface, I pull Isolde closer. I lower my voice, even though it’s so loud in the streets that no one could possibly hear me anyway. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” “It’s Revelnox,” Isolde reassures, her easy grin slipping back onto her face. “The manor is empty, and everyone will be too drunk to even notice us. We’ll be long gone by the time they even realize we were there. Trust me, Seelie.” This is the part where I pause to say I know it’s an unfortu¬nate nickname considering…what I am. I wish that my parents had thought of that before Isolde’s toddler tongue bumbled Iselia so many times that it stuck. I hesitate, but I’ve never been good at saying no to my sister. The fight goes out of me with a rush of air before I straighten my shoulders and squeeze the soft, worn fabric of my favorite dress in my fist. “Let’s make it quick, then.” “Quicker than lightning,” Isolde promises. I glance up nervously at the clear, dark sky as glittering or¬ange sparks drift up from the bonfire, dancing on the breeze. As we wind our way upriver, the world flashes by in vi¬gnettes of chaos. People push through the crowds in chains with their friends, arms linked, songs in the air colliding with the louder instru¬mental music. Some wave flags or toss flowers into the air. Yapping excitedly, a small dog chases at the heels of a group of kids who can’t be older than thirteen. The normally drab buildings are draped in garlands of rainbow-hued flowers and tiny pennant flags. And then there are the faeries. Even though faeries are an expected part of tonight’s fes¬tivities, they slip through the mortals almost unnoticed. But I’m not quite human, either, and I keep finding my eyes wan¬dering to balls of light floating over the crowds, or catch¬ing the smell of a meadow in the breeze of someone running past. I accidentally make eye contact with a woman wearing a feathered mask that covers from her cheekbones up to the crown of her head, then realize with a start that it isn’t a mask. She winks, her blood-red mouth curving into a smile. Then she turns and blows a kiss towards a pair of revelers sitting at a wobbly wooden table in a brewer’s booth. They’re deep in the conversation of close friends, hands wrapped around their cups and separated by exactly the right amount of dis¬tance so their knuckles don’t brush. When the faerie’s breath washes over them, the speaker doesn’t seem to notice at first. The listener, on the other hand, stiffens noticeably, some¬thing strange and hungry coming over their expression. My heart stops. Faerie magic is dangerous, and I don’t know what— Then the listener, without a heartbeat’s space to think, surges forward, crashing their lips into their friend’s. I wince. Not deadly magic, at least. Still dangerous. The speaker freezes for a second, mouth still open in the shape of whatever word was cut off by their friend’s lips. Then they melt into the kiss, eyes closing blissfully. I turn away, blushing hot enough that I worry my mask might burst into flames. The pair will probably regret this tomorrow. They don’t need my invasion of their privacy on top of it. The feather-faced woman is still staring at me with wide, owlish eyes. Then she turns, and her eyes flash red like a cat’s in the night. If I hadn’t been sure that she was a faerie before, I am now. That gleam in the darkness is the one thing faeries can’t change about their glamours. The one thing that reveals a changeling’s true nature. A cold breeze rushes over my skin, trailing chills as we let the scene fade behind us. Isolde releases my hand, adopting an exaggerated drunken swagger. She crashes into someone with gold leaf painted over their cheekbones and lips and stops, slurring apologies and patting the person’s shoulders. I roll my eyes as she falls back into step with me. “Can’t you at least save it until we get there?” I mutter, barely mov¬ing my lips. Isolde’s hand slips out of her pocket, withdrawing a silver-plated compact mirror that she definitely didn’t have a few seconds ago. “Where’s the fun in that?” “You’re not here to have fun. You’re here to get into the house, grab as much as you can, and get out, ideally with¬out getting us arrested.” I know my voice is coming out too harsh, but I don’t know how to fix it, so I settle for nudging her in the ribs with my elbow. Isolde looks at me sideways for a moment, as if she’s just now remembering the seriousness of our situation, before stuffing her loot back into its hiding spot with a chastened sigh. I am not a pickpocket. I don’t mean that in any kind of morally superior way—the truth is that even if I wanted to be a pickpocket, I don’t have the talent for it. Not like Isolde. Isolde steals, grifts, pickpockets, and pawns. I keep us fed. We don’t need to be wealthy. We just need to survive until we can scrape together enough to reunite, to start over in a place where no one knows my face. The noise of the festival fades as my fingers drift to the vial on a leather cord around my neck. Our parents—Mami, a midwife, fierce and tough, with her homemade remedies for everything from a cold to stubborn zits; Papa, gentle and strong and always coming home from his studio with clay under his nails. They wouldn’t want this life for us. They’re good people. Honest people. And they aren’t safe as long as I’m around. So we left three years ago to run from city to city, to steal and cheat and lie and scratch out a living, telling ourselves it would be justified. It would all be worth it when we had enough to make our family a new home. When I could walk down the street without flinching every time someone looked at me a little too long, worrying they’d seen my face on a wanted poster somewhere. We’re coming up to the bridge now, boots pounding an uneven rhythm on the cobblestones as the crowd around us thins. The streets are too choked tonight for horses or wag¬ons to force their way through, leaving extra space on the wide bridge. The sour smells of warm human bodies pressed together and beer subtly ebb away with every step. This side of the bridge is plain, a smooth transition into the arch of stone over the sluggish water. Weeds poke up through the mortar and along the muddy banks. On the other side, garlands of golden paper flowers curl around the gleaming brass streetlamps, and an enchanted ball of light changes color every few seconds. “Last chance to back out,” I mutter, as a woman dressed in sky-blue silk passing from the opposite direction stares at us for just a second too long. “You worry too much.” Isolde catches the woman staring and meets her gaze with a brilliant smile. I move a half step faster, trying to look casual as the daz¬zling sights of Gilt Row come into view. Gilt Row is less of a row and more of a blob-shaped tangle of streets draped in more opulence and wealth than anyone knows what to do with. The houses, like the rest of the city, are pressed tight together, tall and narrow, but here they’re all white stone and pastel-painted brick, with gardens out front and just the right amount of emerald ivy crawling up their fronts. Entire eight-story houses, each for just one family. It’s hard to imagine what the buildings might look like inside—and I pride myself on my colorful imagination. And presiding over it all, flanked by iron gates and a perfectly manicured lawn, Wildline Manor looms three times the size of any of the oth¬ers. It’s huge, imposing, and—since Leira Wildfall is sponsor¬ing Gilt Row’s Revelnox celebrations—totally empty. They might as well have painted a glowing target on it. I haven’t spent much time in this part of the city. Among the perfectly maintained streets populated by well-dressed, respectable families, Isolde’s and my rags stick out like thistles in a bouquet of exotic flowers. Someone who looks like we do can’t just walk around, without someone rich assuming they’re up to no good and signaling the city guard. To be fair, most of the time we are up to no good…but they have no way of knowing that. But tonight is different. I can feel it in the air, smell it in the spaces between smoke and sugar and expensive perfume. Tonight, anyone could be a faerie in disguise, and everyone receives equal respect. Well, besides a few wrinkle-nosed looks from people who think I can’t see them. Despite that, the crowd we melt into on the other side of the bridge is still almost entirely made up of people dressed in dazzling garments of violet chiffon, tangerine velvet, in¬digo silk, pure white linen—every color you could imagine and some you couldn’t. Gold gleams on throats and wrists and fingers, in embroidery along skirts and cuffs. Each mask is more impressive than the last, each custom-made and totally unique. Servants, dressed a bit more simply but still wrapped in the decadent midnight-blue velvet of Wildline Manor, mill around serving snacks and drinks. I couldn’t possibly feel more out of place, with my plain mask, my simple slate-blue dress, my dusty brown boots. For someone like me, there’s no point in throwing away money on a gown that would only be worn for one night—no mat¬ter how enchanting it is. My sister looks even more at odds with our surroundings than I do, but her aura of confidence doesn’t waver, even as tiny beads of sweat trickle under her mask. Isolde is the sweat¬ier twin, but that’s more because she wears layers of all-black every day, no matter the weather, than because of any innate dampness. Even though we’re identical, I can’t remember a time that we could be mistaken for each other. It seems laughable that the fair folk thought leaving me in her place would be an equal trade. Our olive skin and dark brown eyes are exactly the same, but her wavy hair never falls any longer than her shoulders before she chops it off, and I keep mine in a thick braid tied off neatly at the small of my back. Our identical heavy eyebrows look bold and dashing on her face but almost always seem troubled on mine. I can feel them bunching into that concerned twist now. “Do you know where you’re going?” My fingers twist in my apron, fidgeting as always. We’ve been planning this for weeks, but we’re not exactly criminal masterminds. Once Isolde sneaks in the servants’ entrance, I don’t think there’s much of a plan beyond grabbing anything that looks shiny. “Relax,” she replies, taking a flower from a girl dressed in petal-pink handing out bunches to everyone who passes. “Just stay on the lookout, and try to enjoy yourself. This isn’t the kind of party you get to see every day, you know.” The flower twirls between her fingers before she drops it, leaving it to get crushed underfoot. We follow the trickle of people towards the center of the district and their bonfire. It’s getting late now, and most of the children have been sent to bed. Which means the party is really getting started. “Who here’sss try’n’a get…a wisssh granted?” shrieks a faerie, so drunk on Leira Wildfall’s liquor that they don’t even bother hiding the shimmering wings sprouting from their shoulder blades. A shout ripples through the crowd around them. Then there’s a flash of pearly light, and when it fades, the faerie is gone. A stack of gold coins remains where the faerie had been standing, and I don’t know if they intentionally vanished or were banished back home by some Seelie rule about not get¬ting drunk off your ass and offering wishes to mortals. As people frantically dive for the coins, I lean to speak into my sister’s ear. “Those coins are super cursed, right?” “Oh, incredibly cursed. For sure.” She squeezes my hand and chuckles. “You know what you’re supposed to do, right?” I groan. My job, of watching the servants’ entrance and drawing the attention of any guards who might get suspi¬cious, was supposed to be easy. “How can I possibly top that distraction? What goes on around here? There’s something wrong with rich people, Sol. That would have ended the night across town.” Well, across the bridge. All the way across town, in the Twilight District, I’ve heard rumors that they celebrate the holiday with much more unsavory magic, and a few cursed coins would probably be the least of their problems. “You’ll figure something out.” Isolde grins, slipping away from me. “See you in an hour.” Then she turns her drunken saunter back on with all the ease of the highest-quality actor and stumbles into the crowd, ready to dip her hands into their gilded pockets.

Excerpted from Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman, Copyright © 2023 by Ivelisse Housman. Published by Inkyard Press.

#Fantasy #Young Adult #inkyard press #blogtour #excerpt

[sunflowergirl522]

Halloween Party

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Request by Anon: just a fun little thing i made in my head- so for halloween, peter and a reader who has the ability to control plants would dress up as the flash and poison ivy

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 1005

Masterlist

Peter wanted to do a couples costume this year for halloween but the poor boy, bless his soul, wasn’t that into the dc comics. And you simply didn’t really have the heart to tell him that The Flash and Poison Ivy barely ever even interact, he was just so excited for it. He thought it was perfect because their powers matched the two of yours perfectly and I mean he wasn’t wrong. So that was your halloween costume this year. When Jubilee found out she had a good laugh and decided that she would go to the school's halloween party as Harley Quinn to mess with him and there was no changing Jubes mind when she put it to something. That led to everyone deciding to be dc characters so it was a group costume thing.

“Peter are you almost done?” You knock on his door already dressed in your costume.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Peter yells from inside and you hear him stumbling towards the door. “These boots are so goddamn hard to put on.” The door opens revealing The Flash struggling to put his last boot on. “Woah. You look fucking hot babe!” You can feel yourself flush at his words.

“You don’t look so bad yourself Speedy.” The tight red suit did look pretty good on him.

���Maybe we should just stay here the whole night.” Peter pulls you closer to him while wagging his eyebrows, his hands staying on your hips while yours go to his shoulders.

“Sounds good to me, too bad you promised Ororo that we’d hype her Catwoman costume up.”

“I’m sure Ro would understand.”

“Hmm. Nah, Jubes and I are kinda matching tonight too.” You pull away grabbing one of his hands in the process. “Now let’s go!” 

The halloween party was held in one of the fields on the grounds of the school much like every other party. There’s an abundance of halloween inflatables scattered around the outskirts of it and the fake cobwebs in the trees. The two of you meet up with Jean and Scott, who’re dressed up as Robin and Starfire, just outside of the main party.

“Have either of you seen Kurt yet?” 

“No, we stopped by his room before coming though. He was still getting ready.”

“Maybe I should’ve helped him put it all on.” You had helped Kurt pick a character to be and get all the stuff together for it.

“Speak of the devil.” Peter says as Kurt walks towards the four of you dressed as the Blue Devil.

“I don’t think I like the horns very much Y/n.”

“Do you want to take them off? I can go get stuff to wash the glue off real quick.”

“No it’s alright. They aren’t uncomfortable, they just don’t feel right.”

“Do you feel too much like a demon?” You were worried that this would happen, when choosing the character for him you told him that if he starts to feel too uncomfortable with it because of how much of a catholic he is, that you would help find him a new costume.

“It’s my Ivy!” Kurt doesn’t get the chance to answer because Jubilee's running up to you clad in the Harley Quinn jumpsuit.

“It’s my Harley!” You bring her into a hug and over her shoulder mouth an ‘are you good’ to Kurt who gives you a nod.

“C'mon let’s go party.” Peter pulls you from Jubilees arms feeling a little jealous with how you called her your Harley. Jubilee sticks her tongue out at him in response and follows the two of you to the dancefloor after grabbing some punch for you and her. “What no punch for me?”

“Only for my girl you can get your own Speedy.” He grumbles to himself before speeding over to the bowl. 

“I thought you said you wanted a couples costume?” Ororo asks Peter as she also goes to get some punch.

“You look great Ro! And I did.” The beaming smile he shoots her makes her want to not say anything but she knows she should.

“Then why is your girlfriend in a couples costume with Jubilee?”

“What?” He stammers and drops his cup.

“Yeah, Poison Ivy and Harley are a thing in the comics and whatnot. You didn’t know?” Peter just shakes his head and speeds back over to you feeling like an idiot.

“We need to talk.” You’re back on the outskirts of the party before you know it and look at him confused. “Is it true that you and Jubilee are in the real couples costume?”

“Yeah.” You look at the ground and kick at dirt.

“Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve done something else instead of me dressing up like an idiot while Jubes tries to steal you from me.”

“Peter, no ones stealing anyone.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” You can tell he’s getting worked up. Peter’s always had self esteem issues and you’ve been able to make sure he didn’t feel like he was less than so far. You grab one of his hands to stop his pacing and turn him so he’s in front of you so you can caress his face.

“You were just so excited to have costumes that matched our powers, I didn’t have the heart to tell you that they aren’t even really eachothers hero and villain. I tried to tell Jubes to go as someone else but you know how she gets sometimes. I should have told you, I fucked up there but what was I supposed to do, tell you you couldn’t be The Flash and that you’d have to be Swamp Thing?”

“Swamp Thing?”

“See you don’t even know who he is. It doesn’t matter if we dress up as a couple or not, we’re still gonna act like one. Any costume is a couples costume if you act like one.” He leans in for a kiss.

“Alright you have a point.”

“Now let’s go back to the party, I still haven’t seen Ororo!”

Peter Taglist: @amourtentiaa @buckysbeloved @elaineygrace @simpforquicksilver @loveyou3000-mcu @quickparkers @spider-starry @b3d0fr0s3s @stars-of-clarke

Marvel Taglist: @its-the-autism-innit-luv @xxspqcebunsxx

Everything Taglist: @ninuffi

#peter maximoff x reader #peter maximoff #peter maximoff imagine #quicksilver x reader #x men imagine #plant mutation reader #request

[turneverybodyintopuppets]

Hi. The following is my attempt to systematically hash out the “Mr. Infodump” controversy in the TS fandom. It’s primarily for my benefit, but I’m posting it on the off chance it helps someone else who’s just as confused/dismayed as I was. I’m not attempting to argue for blind absolution (”Thomas is an angel who can do no wrong!”) or cancellation (“He’s no better than the likes of J.K. Rowling!”), just to present as intellectually honest an assessment as I can make of what happened and the degree to which the TS team is responsible.

Laconic: Thomas Sanders, a content creator on youtube, posted a skit in which a character calls an aspie-coded character “Mr. Infodump”. Several fans have expressed hurt and anger over the use of a trait associated with neurodivergence as an insult.

My own initial impression: I’m on the autism spectrum myself, and personally, “Mr. Infodump” didn’t register as offensive to me; in fact, as a huge Logan kinnie, I liked that a neurodiverse trait I see in myself was being explicitly linked to my favorite character. That said, there are many in the community who feel deeply hurt and betrayed, and it would be a) irresponsible and b) close-minded to handwave their concerns. Thus:

[Abridged version: Bolded]

Context for use of the word:

Line from Roman: “I was going for regal sophistication [in last commercial pitch], but Mr. Infodump over here [*gestures to Logan*] wasn’t cooperating.” Defensive tone, alluding to the fact that Logan’s commercial pitch included excessive product information that would leave buyers disengaged.

History: Roman regularly invents nicknames for fellow sides and employs them in a manner that can range from fond teasing to a juvenile way of insulting the side he’s presently bickering with.

Names previously directed at Logan include “Calculator watch,” “Egghead,” and “No-Funsen Honeydew… Doo.” They generally play off of Logan’s tendency toward being uptight, stereotypically nerdy, and eager to furnish the group with information in the capacity of a teacher.

In this particular instance, I doubt anyone would say the word’s use was “malicious,” but it wasn’t “affectionate” either. Roman is visibly preoccupied and defensive in the scene, throwing out a nickname offhand.

Power Dynamic: There is no imbalance of power between Logan and Roman that would indicate anything resembling a bully-victim relationship. Logan responds to the word in the same manner he does Roman’s other antics and displays no particularly hurt reaction.

In-Universe Response: No character corrects or condemns Roman’s use of the term. This may, however, be because Logan is the first to respond, armed with his own complaints about the others’ commercials.

Meta-Level Implications: The audience is not encouraged to agree with Roman’s sentiment that infodumping is a negative trait anymore than they are his other commentary on Logan via nicknames like “Egghead,” because Logan’s role in the story consistently proves it wrong; all that infodumping saved an unconscious Roman from his murder-happy brother, for one, and the audience knows it. Given the posturing and defensiveness that accompany Roman’s delivery of the line, it’s clear the creators were communicating that he was in the wrong to say it. That, and Logan will almost certainly reinforce this by verbally decimating someone in the next episode, as per usual.

I think that last point is key. People will accuse others of infodumping in a negative way IRL—I know I’ve been called far worse for failing to mask—and to pretend that such things don’t exist in fiction is misrepresenting reality. Instead, creators can and should include minority characters (race, sexuality, gender, neuroatypicality, etc.) *confronting* discrimination, dealing with it complexly, and showing both the misguided character and the audience how wrong they are. Logan resonates with me—and other aspies, I think—largely because of how he clearly struggles in dealing with the other sides’ occasional criticism of his eccentricities, but he ultimately remains committed to his identity and ideals. If the TS crew continues to write a show that reinforces the fact that his neurodivergent qualities are what make him strong—and god knows there's not much media that does this well—, they’re doing something incredibly important for us.

The issue here, then, wasn’t the show promoting ableism as a message, because its handling of the conversation here doesn’t. Rather, it was the use of a term that many consider inherently ableist as an insult. So:

“Infodump” the word:

I find this fascinating, actually—Science is discovered. Math is discovered**. Language? Language is unequivocally invented. We’ve create these words with combinations of mouth-sounds, and we’ve assigned them meaning.

But the thing is, people have different backgrounds and experiences that define both who they are and the nuances of the meaning they tie to those mouth-sounds

Basic example of varied mental prototypes: I live in the northeast USA, so when I hear the word “bird,” the first thing that pops into my head is a bluejay or robin. If you ask my friend who’s studying in Brazil, though, he’d likely think of a macaw or toucan. 

For me, “spring” = my mom’s pink zinnia garden and “chocolate” = a square of hershey melting against gooey marshmallow. This idea of memories and experience informing word-meaning mapping, of course, extends to a) more nuanced concepts and b) a more subconscious level of understanding. Poetry in particular, I think, tends to play with this to invoke the sensory experiences it does... I could infodump about translated poetry but that’s a whoooollleee other thing and I’m getting off track.

But essentially, an individual’s experience of any given word, to a degree, is subjective. Our dictionary definitions are merely approximations of a collective understanding of that mouthsound-to-meaning mapping, and we have to update those definitions as language evolves (remember when “Google” couldn’t be used as a verb?)

So, what happens if I look up “infodumping”? TVTropes tells me it’s a “type of exposition that’s particularly long and wordy”. UrbanDictionary says its “used to deposit large amounts (usually entire articles) of information in online forums without summarizing or paraphrasing the information.” I reach the resources that explain it in the context of autism and ADHD over halfway down the Google results. The word “infodumping” has quite a few circulating meanings, and the one associated with neurodivergence isn’t as visible as we’d like it to be.

From what I understand, Thomas Sanders and co. merely knew “infodumping” as the practice of talking at length about a subject, like closing a rant with a friendly “aw, sorry for infodumping on ya” and such. This was exactly how Logan opens his commercial, so they stuck it in as a—frankly, kinda feeble—nickname á la the creative genius behind “Mr. Smarty... Pants”. They had no knowledge of the term’s gravity to the autism and ADHD community, because they haven’t been exposed to settings that use that definition.

So, where does that leave us on accountability? If they’re ultimately not producing ableist content, do Thomas Sanders and his team have the responsibility to be aware of how an insult featuring this particular word might be inherently triggering to a community?

Many accounts show that the inclusion of the term caused real emotional harm and as content creators—particularly ones with a relatively young fanbase—the TS team should have taken more precautions. A more diverse staff/writing room may have caught this, given how egregious some fanders found the error. Furthermore, why shouldn’t it fall on neurotypical people in general to “educate themselves” on these issues, as in the cases of other minority groups?

That said, however, can any creative team be reasonably expected to know of any-and-all potentially triggering content? I’ve avoided speaking of Thomas Sanders’ personal character to maintain some impartiality, but a long history of promoting representation and careful content warnings does suggest a genuine commitment to self-correcting. Accepting the well-intentioned criticism of fanders—many of whom are so broken up by this precisely because of the amount of faith they place in the TS team—and taking active steps to change is ultimately the best course of action, and I, for one, will be sticking around to see the results.

#sanders sides #logan sanders #neurodiverse character #infodumping about infodumping #wow ive really peaked huh #ts logan #ts critical #ts criticism #ts discourse #sanders sides discourse

[tinyzoologist]

How tf was my autism undiagnosed for 3 decades?

Part 2 - Act your age

(part 1 here)

One of the less commonly known autistic traits is a mosaic-like mix of behaviors we are seemingly “too old” and “too young” for, respectively. Because we can have a hard time fitting in with our peers, our development often takes its own trajectory - some aspects will appear more “mature” compared to our age group, others less so. This was actually one of the main insights I got from a TED talk about autism in AFAB ppl that made me pursue my ASD diagnosis. Here are some examples from my weird life:

I was “late” for / seemed younger:

- Dropping “child-like” habits, like drinking from a bottle (I was 7 and I really liked the taste of the rubber thingy), playing with toys, reading children’s / YA books (I have since learned that the latter two are basically great learning opportunities for social interaction, so we use them as tools), wearing “serious” clothes, makeup etc. (still a nope, it needs to be comfy and ideally have bugs or dogs on it).

- All kinds of physical activity. Riding a bike, ice-skating, jumping into water, roller-coasters... I just have bad coordination / proprioception and a fear of heights. Ironically, I did work part-time as a dancing teacher, which somehow works better, idk why? Also, I still don’t have a driver’s license and probably never will, for public safety and all*.

- Emotional reactions. When I’m happy, I jump and squeal. When I’m angry, I slam doors and swear like a sailor. When I’m even slightly upset, I cry. Especially in social situations, any kind of negative interaction will make me bawl (rejection sensitive dysphoria, yay). This, combined with my 5′2 stature, perpetual babyface and clothing choices (see above), often makes ppl think I’m not a grown woman with a PhD but a lost child looking for her mommy (sometimes true, often not).

I was “early” for / seemed older:

- Speaking full sentences, reading and writing, learning foreign languages, understanding language-based jokes. My dad would make me show off my reading and Hungarian nursery rhyme skills like a trained puppy. Elementary school was pretty boring, but sometimes I got to read to the other kids. This is known as hyperlexia.

- Questioning beliefs, skepticism, being pragmatic. I never got the point of the easter bunny, tooth fairy or even religion, and was actually pretty pissed when I found out I had been lied to. I was and am often the go-to when anything gross or sad needs doing without a fuss. Teachers and adult acquaintances repeatedly called me “an adult stuck in a child’s body” (suuuper problematic, but back then the ultimate compliment).

- Responsibility, independence, commitment. Even though I was a late-bloomer physically and in terms of my first boyfriend, I was the first in my class to have her own apartment, a part-time job, a dog, and move in with what would be my long-term partner at 17. And it did not even turn into a total disaster! I never felt like a real kid so I tried to go straight to adulting, I guess?

*this only applies to me personally (poor coordination, social anxiety, zero sense of direction), I know tons of autistics who drive just fine!

#asd #actually autistic #signs of autism #my weird childhood #part 2 of many? #idk i just like collecting these things maybe it helps someone

[shrimpmandan]

I’ve been reflecting some on my views lately.

I wanted to give my thoughts on the MOGAI community and my perspective on it as a neurodivergent trans person, and just kind of reflect on my stance on and understanding of it. This is really rambly because it's 3 AM and I'm tired, but this is just my own perspective on the MOGAI community and its relation to transmeds. I think the issue I have with MOGAI is mainly its conflation with being transgender, and how these terms are labeled with -gender at all.

To preface for anyone who doesn’t follow me and is just scrolling through tags, I'm autistic + ADHD, and to my knowledge a binary trans man. I consider myself a transmedicalist and anti-MOGAI, just on the basis that I don't think MOGAI genders can be, well, genders. From what I understand, gender is your neurological sex. I know there's been critiques of the brain sex theory, but it's the one that makes the most sense to me. In essence, your brain can't be pupgender because pupgender isn't a sex. I'm very science-oriented and I'm not inclined to support something as a label if it does not describe a real, proven occurrence. 

Though, I understand why people, particularly people with autism, use these labels. Some of them appeal to synesthesia, a complicated experience often comorbid with autism. I understand how an autistic person with synesthesia would 'feel' their gender. Hell, I know I do. I always described my gender as a feeling. Now, gender is more complicated than just 'a feeling', but my point stands. An autistic person may think their gender is foggy due to synesthesia, though I don't think there are any existing studies discussing such a correlation yet. Other labels, such as "autigender", are simply descriptors. It's not "my gender is autism", but rather "my gender is affected by my autism". This is where I have another issue. MOGAI labels are made for neurodivergent people, so why are they named in such a way that makes it really easy to misinterpret them literally? Even neurotypicals I've met see "autigender" and infer that it means "my gender is autism". Additionally, when getting into neopronouns, a lot of neurodivergent people have difficulties using or remembering neopronouns and how to conjugate them. I literally can't use nounself pronouns because it fucks with my language processing issues so much. But again, I can understand why they're used. Some neurodivergent people have difficulties using singular they/them. I read a post about someone having standard pronouns (he/she/they) be misophonia triggers, so they use neopronouns that don't trigger such a response. My only issue there is just how many there are. Thon/thons existed as a singular neutral pronoun at one point, and I think we should bring that pronoun back for folks who can't use standard pronouns comfortably, without having this laundry list of them.

In my opinion, MOGAI would be basically harmless if MOGAI genders weren't conflated with being transgender. Simply put, most transgender people can't relate to the MOGAI crowd. And by extension, what is MOGAI fighting for? How would their activism fit into ours? I know that many people who use MOGAI labels are also transgender, but some of 'em aren't. Some MOGAI users are cis neurodivergent people who have varying difficulties understanding or describing their gender. Now, I never experienced that, so I can't relate, but I can see it. I can see why a cis ND person would think "my gender feels kinda fuzzy" and then be like "fuck it, guess I'm fuzzgender." But, that doesn't make them trans. This weird conflation between MOGAI and being trans is extremely harmful and what a lot of people in transmed/anti-MOGAI circles take issue with. A lot of us don't relate to MOGAI and feel like our issues are being trivialized by this narrative that gender is just a fun way to express yourself, which is sadly not a reality for a lot of trans people, especially the teens who are pre-transition (the ones who are typically transmeds). It feels extremely invalidating for many. 

I think this is just down to the way MOGAI is presented. MOGAI was originally coined to be a more inclusive term for LGBT after all, and MOGAI genders are branded as, well, genders. I think that MOGAI should be rebranded and adjusted to be more cohesive (so that there aren’t a billion labels that are unused or just repeats of each other) as well as better described so that they don’t necessarily conflate with being trans. I've seen some people propose calling xenogenders "xenoidentities" instead, for example. "Xenodescriptors" could also work, possibly. I'm the type of person who tries to look for compromise. While I do put labels on my stances, my opinions on issues tend to be more complex than the label lets on. There's definitely a way to make both communities happy and healthy and fulfill their intended purposes. It's just difficult to get anything done when most of the online discourse is spent shitting on each other and harassing each other. I frequently see both transmeds and tucutes be doxxed, harassed, suicide baited, et cetera et cetera. That doesn't accomplish anything. That's just bullying. Name-calling and harassment is just bullying. If we could just facilitate a respectful, meaningful discussion and work together as communities to understand each other better and come to an agreement, then this discourse wouldn't need to go on any longer. Nothing is black and white. Both sides have their reasons for feeling the way they do. This applies to literally every other major LGBT discourse going on as well, from bi vs pan to acecourse to whatever the hell else. We need to make an effort to understand each other. This post is absolutely open for discussion if it doesn't get buried. I think I covered both sides pretty well but obviously the experiences of people who actually use MOGAI labels are much more important than my views from the outside. I’m cross-tagging this since I don’t want this to just be flooded with one side. I am actively welcoming interaction from either side on this post. Please just ignore this post/block me if you don’t wanna see it. This isn’t cross-tagged with malicious intent. I simply wish to gain more perspective on why people may use MOGAI labels, and also why other transmeds dislike them so. I obviously could be missing a few things.

#long post #mogai #anti mogai #lgbt discourse #trans discourse #transmed #transmeds #transmedicalism #tucute #anti tucute #anti transmed #please reblog

[bae-science]

it’s t-t-t-t-time for another newt bae-science fic rec extravabonanza! same rules, same boys, same bullshit! let’s get into it:

a beginning; a second chance by @dykesword

other newt and i have a long and intricate ritualistic battle to become the alpha newt, but i gotta give credit where it’s due. if you like to annotate your books for fun, this fic will give you a looooong comment you’ll want to write, and for good reason! there’s a lot of really well done metaphor and character detail in here, while still keeping a very soft, melancholy but with a hopeful edge tone. and also, like, the care and detail in which newt’s mental state in the aftermath of the precursors’ abuse is depicted is so so good, and delightful to read

husbandly duties by @kingeiszler

i am soooo biased with this one bc technically it was made for me but GODDAMN it’s good. this shit has everything: gottlieb trio sibling dynamics, vanessa in giant femme earrings, hermann yearning, newt and karla infodumping together, newt’s terrible and accurate gaydar, gay crime, the newmann dynamic and why it works boiled down to its bare essentials, pride and prejudice glasses touch, and neon green acrylics. required reading for the vanessaverse

Say That Again by @robertfrobisherslover

WOOF. if you like mutual pining and lack of communication from men with rocks for their emotional processing centers, and guncle (gay uncle) newt and hermann and KILLER artsy sex scenes, and themes of words unsaid in a story about LANGUAGE..... oogoogogoogouhufug. the writing style is clear and well paced, i LOVE little mako’s scene she’s such a cutie, and there’s like. a line. that’s a play on the whole “it’s always been you” trope. that lives in my mind rent free forever.

speak right to my heart without saying a word by @thekaidonovskys

i’m just gonna paste the comment i left on it here, because that sums up what is so absolutely incredible about this fic the best:

so sometimes you stumble on a piece of fiction that you add to your little collection of stuff you would show a person if you wanted them to understand a part of you that you can't quite explain eloquently, or it would take too long, etc etc, and i've never really found something like that for my autism until now, which, like, poggers. and i'll be as straight up as i can while still being the biggest lesbian in the great state of ohio (not a hard feat but alan invented computers so i love continuing on the autistic tradition of being a living miracle), the chameleon effect hit me like a mack truck. catholic school in the deep south is the most potent and effective form of ABA therapy imaginable :/. so sometimes i wonder what i would be like if i didn't have such a strong ability to pass, and here's where we finally get to the part of this comment where i just vomit compliments at you: you nailed it. you got it. i don't know if you're on the spectrum, but either way, well fucking done. trauma therapy research talks a lot about healing fantasies, which are fantasies, usually in the form of daydreams, that abused/neglected/traumatized/etc people create that directly address a struggle they have and take the form of a scenario in which that struggle is helped in some way. it could be an abusive parent repenting and showering them with the love they never had, or someone finding them during a panic attack and somehow knowing how best to comfort them without having to ask, or being intimate with someone and having a scar or physical deformity they've been shamed for be given attention and care. and i think you have created the ultimate perfect healing fantasy for autistic people, or at least those with """"high functioning"""" autism. it has a character who is visibly and undeniably on the spectrum having the pain and trauma going through life like that causes being acknowledged and validated, they are purposefully paid attention to because person b genuinely likes them and wants to understand and respect who they are and how they function in the world, and thus get The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known as well as the eventual rewards of being loved, person b makes a genuine effort to help teach them social skills in a way they can understand and learn through and is there for them when these skills are being practiced, their space and boundaries are respected but they aren't infantilized or thought of as an emotionless robot, and they receive love and comfort on their own terms not despite of but because of who they are, even specifically being asked not to change the way they are because that way is lovable. they are openly desired. writing is my fucking JOB and it's still difficult to put into words how much you got 100000% right about the dream with this fic. i have been in the EXACT and i mean EXACT same situation as hermann when he asked newt if it was his personality itself that made people not like him, because i deadass made a spreadsheet of all my personality attributes i thought could be preventing me from making friends in college, and then asked my fellow nd friend to see if there was anything i was missing. so i guess what i'm trying to say is that this amazing, and i'm bookmarking it and putting it on my next fic rec post, and maybe one day way way in the future if i ever get a partner i want to explain the whole autism thing to, i'm gonna have them read this.

The Facts With Newton Geiszler, PhD by what_alchemy (NSFW)

storytime: i read this fic a few years ago, completely forgot the title and author, and ended up thinking about the part where hermann admits to having fucked a trailer hitch when he was a teenager, at least once a week. last november, i say to my friend samara on twitter, head of the BSHCU (buttslut hermann cinematic universe), hey this seems like something you’d have read, do you remember a fic where... and samara says FUCK i do know what you’re talking about lemme find it. so if the fact that i have been looking for this fic for like, two years, and that it contains a moment so iconic all i had to say is, “hermann says he fucked a trailer hitch” and she IMMEDIATELY knew what i was talking about, does not convince you to read this... go back to catholic school i guess.

Feeling Blue by TempusPetrichor

fics where newt goes back to work as a biologist, especially a xenobiologist, post pru are really interesting, and usually have something neat to say about recovery, how it isn’t linear, how it often involves us returning to things we love for comfort, etc. this one sure does! some good emotional and physical h/c, LOVE the use of the ghost drift, and it’s always fun to see post pru fics use dialogue very obviously taken from dbt, trauma-specific therapeutical texts, and anything that shows the author has experience with, or did their research on, ptsd therapies.

You’re Everyone That Ever Cared by KlavierWrites

you know a fic is good when it’s an only 9k slowburn and still manages to reach infinite regress levels of are you fucking KIDDING GO TO THERAPY. newt “acts of service” geiszler may have a little misplaced misogyny due to his broken woman-centric gaydar. as a treat. the fucking. post-drift scene where hermann subtextually screams “LOOK IN OUR BRAINS YOU FUCK I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU I JUST HAVE AUTISM AND CAREER IN STEM DISORDER” is soooooo. god just hermann in general in that scene is great. if you like classic mid 2010s era newmann, ghost drift romance, and good ole mutual pining, this is a treat.

Baby, You're Hotter than my Bunsen Burner by SkySongMA

moronosexual hermann representation is something that can actually be so personal

Times of Stress by RadioMoth

the boys are processinggggggg. man what a good, quick and powerful punch to the gut. if you like post-pr1 catharsis and physical h/c, AND are the one friend that likes to comment at the end of the movie that hey newt got beat the fuck UP, check this one out.

black tea by @faggotcas

okay first of all, god fucking tier url, lee. second of all, food as a love language is my SHIT. i love the very slow relationship development here, where you see them making a genuine effort to get along and that in turn leading to feelings reigniting. it’s such a sweet little moment of a fic, with a nice atmosphere and tone to fit it

now here’s the part where i usually drop my latest fic, but i haven’t written one this month because i’ve been busy launching an audio drama! you can find it here, it’ll be right up your alley if you like cryptids and gay scientists and enemies to lovers and good ole americana, but since this is a newmann post, i’m gonna recommend the pacific rim audio drama duology i did a while back! part one is called conversations from the brink, and it’s a little slice of the pr3 we better fucking get from streaming that godawful looking anime. love and lesbians to everyone ❤️

#pacific rim #pac rim #mine #newmann #pacific rim uprising #fic rec

[rotationalsymmetry]

A brief history of Unitarian Universalism (casual, with swears, have not fact checked as such but I think it’s correct): In New England back before US independence, there was Calvinism -- you know, that predestination thing, you’re already going to go to heaven or hell, but you should be good anyways so people will think you’re going to heaven, or something like that. Then there wasn’t. Then there was Congregationalism. Which was a lot more chill, but still very “fuck Catholicism”. And around this time, deism was on the rise: the idea that maybe God created the universe, then fucked off, and hasn’t been actively involved with anything since. Then, some people who were actually reading the Bible, because you can’t look down on Catholicism unless you actually read the Bible, were like... wait, maybe Jesus isn’t all that. You know -- the Savior, the Son of God, one third of the Trinity, all that. Maybe he was just, like... a prophet, or some guy who said some interesting things. A teacher. And other congregationalists were like: uh, what, no, Jesus has to be all that. If you don’t think Jesus is all that, how can you even call yourself a Christian? And they decided they couldn’t really be around each other any more. So the first group, which was mostly in Boston, started calling themselves Unitarians (because they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and instead believed in a one part God), and incidentally at some point also stopped calling themselves Christians because the other guys had a point, and the others called themselves the United Church of Christ (UCC.) Emerson and Thorough -- sorry, Thoreau -- were both Unitarians, as were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and pretty much everyone else from Boston in early US history. (We like to claim Jefferson, because his beliefs were kindasorta similar to Unitarian beliefs at the time, but as I understand it he was never actually part of a Unitarian congregation.) (Btw: if you’re lgbtq+ and Christian, they’re a pretty friendly denomination. If you’re lgbtq+ and Christian and you think the UCC is too liberal (in the religious sense) or you want a majority-lgbtq+ congregation, consider MCC, which is otherwise unconnected to all this. If you’re not Christian and are lgbtq+ -- atheist/agnostic, or maybe something else if you’re down with worshipping with people that aren’t specifically your thing -- Unitarian Universalism tends to be pretty good. As in: we have a bunch of gay/lesbian ministers and other religious leaders, and a few transgender ones. (Knowledge of less mainstream lgbtq+ identities can vary a lot between congregations and generations -- the younger generations tend to be more aware than the gen x’ers.) I’ve been involved with Church of the Larger Fellowship for most of the past year, which did zoom worship before it got cool and serves people around the world, and people like me who live a mile from a UU brick and mortar congregation but still can’t get their disabled ass over there anyways. Anyways, CLF has more POC on the worship team than most UU congregations (the denomination does tend to run pretty white), is very social justice oriented even by UU standards, and is somewhat more cool about general weirdness than most congregations, which again for UU congregations is saying something.) Then, at some point (sadly, I’m significantly more familiar with the history of the first U than the second) there was this other protestant denomination in the South (as in, the US South) where people decided that God was too nice to send people to hell for all eternity, so they started calling themselves the Universalists, as in Universal Salvation. All dogs go to heaven. Well, time passed, each denomination evolved in its own way. (In particular, Unitarianism caught humanism pretty hard -- the joke was the Unitarians believe in one God at most.) In the -- ok, I’ll look this one up -- in 1961, there was a big old merger, creating Unitarian Universalism, and in the process, everyone got together and was all...wait, so what are our official beliefs about God and stuff? Should we even have official beliefs about God? Maybe we can unify around some ideas around how people should treat each other instead. So they did: they drafted a set of Principles (broad-strokes guidelines on how people should act -- peace is good, truth is good, people have value, stuff like that) and a set of Sources (where UU’s get their ideas about God and morality and so on from, starting with direct experience) and left everything else up to the individual. And then a little while later, the tree-huggers got a seventh Principle and a sixth Source added in -- respect for the environment and Earth-centered religions, respectively -- so now the joke is that UU’s believe in one God, more or less. Currently there’s a movement on to add an 8th Principal that explicitly names racial equality and fighting oppression as something we value, since while the current Principles mention justice and equality, they don’t specifically name race, and the people of color who have stuck with the predominantly white denomination figure Unitarian Universalism can and should be doing better on that front. Unitarian Universalism runs religiously liberal (ie, decentralized, individualistic, non-authoritarian, non-dogmatic, inclined to believe science over the Bible) and politically progressive. Unitarian Universalist congregations tend to be very politically active and concerned with social justice, mostly in a well-educated middle class kind of way: committees, Robert’s Rules of Order, donating to non-profits, Get Out the Vote, inviting in speakers and asking “questions” that aren’t really questions, forming partnerships with other congregations and community organizations, etc. Many UU congregations have put a Black Lives Matter sign out (and when necessary keep putting it out when it gets torn down or vandalized), shown up for the protests, opposed the weird immigration BS that’s been going on in the US recently, etc. In addition to more charity style work, like food pantries and homeless shelters.

Point is: yeah it’s got flaws (don’t even get me started on Unitarian Universalism’s flaws) but if you’re a social justice person and want to meet other social justice people who are doing things, Unitarian Universalism can be a good place to look for that. You get more done in groups.

You’re less likely to burn out, too. With marginalization, it’s complicated, right? Again, for LGBTQ+ people, it’s going to be better than most religious organizations. For people a little bit on the autism spectrum, you probably won’t be the only one. (If you’re unmistakeably autistic, people might be weird/ableist; it might depend on the congregation.) If you’re from a working class background or are currently kinda broke, you might run into some frustrations or feel like you don’t fit in; if you’re a poc or if you’re disabled (or your kid is) or you want a lot of personal support, you might struggle more -- this really might vary a lot, but at least the congregations I’m used to tend to assume congregants can mostly stand on their own feet, metaphorically speaking, and have some extra time/money/skills/whatever that can be directed out into the wider world. It can be a good place for pagans and Buddhists and other people who don’t want a church but are having trouble finding a church-like religious community where you can hang out with people on the same spiritual path. (Uh, for a while UU congregations were emphatically not churches and some officially still aren’t; others gave up and were all “eh, it looks like a church, whatever, we’re just a weird church.) Some congregations are more atheist-dominated than others -- many avoid Jesus language most of the time, some avoid God language most of the time (UU’s who believe in God tend to believe in God in a relatively abstract/metaphorical way), some I hear are pagan-heavy, others do use Christian language a lot more. In all honesty you don’t have to go to Sunday worship if you don’t want to, and really a lot of UU’s don’t; if you want to be heavily involved in the congregation but don’t want to go to Sunday worship and don’t want to deal with pressure to, one way out is to teach RE (religious education -- basically “Sunday school”) the RE curricula are amazing, just absolutely astounding, and if you’re teaching it you get a ton of leeway with adjusting anything you don’t like. (Which could happen -- a lot of this stuff was developed before the idea that cultural appropriation is a big problem became mainstream in social justice circles.) What adult worship is like has basically zero correlation (perhaps negative correlation) to what RE is like. (Which sucks for young adults coming of age in a UU congregation, like I said don’t get me started on UU’s flaws.) Finally: for people who care about sex positivity and sex ed, Unitarian Universalists (in partnership with UCC) developed Our Whole Lives, a sex ed curriculum that, well, it’s not abstinence based education. You wouldn’t expect sex ed coming from a religious org to be better than the sex ed in schools, would you? And yet. Comprehensive sex ed that acknowledges gay bi and trans people and that disabled people have sex too and teaches about birth control and masturbation and abuse and consent and boundaries and bullying and internet safety and abortion. It’s good stuff. The course aimed at teens is most popular of course, but there’s actually (age-appropriate) OWL curricula for all stages of life: young kids, adults, older adults, everyone. And it’s versatile enough to be taught in secular contexts (after school programs etc). Given the direction that unfortunately a lot of school districts in the US have been going in in terms of sex ed, it’s a really important program.

#Unitarian Universalism #unitarian universalist history #feels weird plugging the denomination when I get so frikkin frustrated but still #if it's not something you know about and you care about social justice #it's something you should know something about #even if you're not interested personally #I'm open to questions on this drop me a line

[qwertyfingers]

we know that bobby only watched ds9 and dean watched the tos movies for sure which implies he's seen tos as well (plus he calls jack spock). so what do you think everyone's favorite trek is? sam is without a doubt a tng fan first and foremost. i think out of all tos movies cas prefers the wrath of khan because he Feels Things when kirk and spock do the ta'al through the glass. charlie has definitely seen some trek (we've seen her llap), do you think she's into tos first and foremost? anyway let's talk about star trek nights in the bunker.

OKAY SO I HAVE. MANY MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS. SORRY THIS IS SO LONG.

like. like of COURSE bobby only likes ds9 of course he does i could have told you this without the show becuase like. bobby is That Bitch. i think rufus will have watched TOS at least because leonard nimoy worked hard on linking jewish faith and practices into the vulcan lore and i think that would mean something to him. bobby will catch rufus smiling at him sometimes while they’re watching ds9 and ask him what all gruffly and rufus will smirk at him and say something about sisko with jake and bobby with dean and bobby will just cough and take a swig of whiskey and rufus will raise his eyebrows but let it slide. rufus definitely makes a comment once about dean&cas being like jake&nog that totally flies over dean’s head but bobby is all knowing eyebrow raise about.

i think cas and jack would really like discovery. while it has some issues with inconsistency, pacing, being a little dark, it also does better than the other TV treks at utilising the nature of film as a medium to instill a sense of wonder, at space and the world, and that’s something they’d really appreciate. i have my own issues with disco, but an obol for charon is as close to the central core of trek that disco ever gets. cas and jack also like that one in particular because they like listening to all the different languages being spoken. they all love michael (everyone loves michael). cas’ faves are stamets and reno because they’re mean and gay, jack’s fave is tilly because she’s excitable and bright and he latches onto that. dean likes reno because she’s got spunk. sam’s fave is airiam and he will never forgive them for killing her off. sam, cas and dean all feel an uncomfortable kinship with both ash and culber - they’ve both been the one with monster teeming under the surface, controleld by something not themself, but they’ve also all spent that time in hell/purgatory, separated from everyone they love.

thinking about episodes that would really get to them all, darmok is. THE ONE. i have a whole unfinished essay about darmok as the platonic ideal of star trek; the perfect distillation of everything trek is SUPPOSED to be about. it doens’t always get there but by god it tries! that speech michael gives in the disco s2 finale - “There's a whole galaxy of people out there who will reach for you. You have to let them. Find that person who seems farthest from you and reach for them.” - that’s what darmok is about!!! it’s all about a situation where real communication seems impossible, where everything we know about talking and learning has broken down. and picard says, okay, i will find another way. i can’t relate to you, you can’t relate to me, but by god i’m going to try. we all meet people we have trouble communicating with in our lives, and often, those people will not care about changing their own ways to accommodate us. for people with autism, adhd, psychosis, the list goes on, this is a very common occurrence. it’s exhausting and frustrating and alienating. darmok is all about crossing that barrier. about reaching for someone through a world of difficulty and learning how to talk. learning how to share something with someone who seems out of our reach. it’s beautiful, it’s heartwrenching, it means more to me than i can easily put into words! 

anyway i think the bunker fam would experience a lot of emotions watching it together. there’s defintiely a lot of hugging eachother, sam cries a lot and won’t look at anyone until after the episode ends. jack just asks a lot of questions and talks about his progress learning sign language with cas. dean snakes his hand into cas’ halfway through and doesn’t let go. doesn’t show the emotion on his face, but he clutches harder at the emotional beats. cas runs his fingers through jack’s hair and thinks a lot, and decides not to say anything unless dean talks first. its just a Lot for everyone. 

dean def makes them marathon all the TOS and TNG movies. it’s an experience everyone needs at least once. i think you’re right about cas and TWOK with the ta’al through the glass, but also ‘this simple feeling’ and the hand hold would make him feel crazy. bones being the one that spock entrusts with his katra DEF makes dean feel some type of way because as much as destiel is kirkspock-coded, dean IS bones, and seeing spock trust bones so completely despite how at odds they were when they first knew eachother would dig deep into dean’s psyche and make him more than a little bit nutso. the movies are way too long for jack so he mostly sits and plays animal crossing while they watch and looks at the screen when everyone else gasps or when something exciting is happening that holds his attention for a while. sam’s fave is nemesis precisely because it’s terrible and he loves how camp it is.

dean has definitely seen all of trek. i refuse to believe someone who watches as much tv and films as dean wouldn’t sit and watch the whole shebang. i think he’s probably seen TOS and the TOS movies more than the others because its easier than sitting through 7 seasons, but i think rather than that being his favourite he’d just have really strong opinions about the best episodes of each one? like if you asked him what his favourite is he’d say you can’t answer that because they’re all so different from eachother

VOY - bride of chaotica, non seqitur, macrocosm for the favourite episodes. seven, janeway and tuvok would be his favourite characters. he think toms a bit of a knob but also feels a kinship with him for the similar brand of bab dad-ism but he wouldn’t be able to put that into words. he’s also a fierce defender of threshold being a good episode (he’s right for that)

DS9 - our man bashir it’s our man bashir. he doesn’t dislike ds9 but its very plot heavy and he didn’t care for it when he was younger. rewatching it after living through multiple supernatural wars he’d probably appreciate it more. i know for a fact he cries every time there’s an episode about sisko being a good dad. jadzia and garak are his faves

TNG - he LOVES q. he also absolutely will not be caught dead referencing how much loves q after cas comes into his life because sam will do the little brotherly knowing eyebrow raise at him and he will die of embarrassment. he regularly references ‘there are four lights’ because he’s a fucking nerd. he has made cas watch elementary my dear data and fistful of datas a half dozen times each at LEAST. cas KNEW how dean was going to be about the cowboy hat he’s defintiely got into full cowboy getup at home just for watching movies and in cas’ head star trek is fully to blame.

TOS - oh there are so many good TOS eps to choose from. obv he loves most of the series becuase TOS has MANY banger eps, his favourites are probably like. mirror mirror, amok time (baby dean defintiely had some kind of crisis watching it for the first time; i know the rituals are intricate). i know deep in my bones that dean watched the conscience of the king (introduction of the tarsus iv massacre) once and then spent his entire teenage years writing fic about that in his head, whether he posted it or not. dean related too much to those experiences of shared hunger. city on the edge of forever is one of everyone’s faves for a reason (and i’m STILL mad we never got a closer take on that episode in spn it could have been so fun). 

ENT - he definitely thinks enterprise is stupid and he’s not wrong but he has also definitely watched it and been very repressed about the whole thing. mans was like oh i feel a kinship with malcolm reed the obviously repressed queer man. i will never examine this feeling ever again thank you <3 he also makes fun of archer for being obsessed with, of all sports, water polo. shran is his favourite character because he’s a little shit and makes him laugh, and t’pol, because t’pol is a badass and he’d appreciate that. i can’t remember the title of a single episode off the top of my head though lol.

i can see what you’re saying about sam being a TNG stan. i’m conflicted though, I feel like TNG’s generally the favourite of 1) obnoxious nerds who think knowing trivia facts makes them smart, 2) men desperately trying to seem masculine and 3) people who’ve watched it three times and have extremely complex thoughts on the personhood and rights of robots. i could see sam fitting into the third group, but people who are in it for the robot feelings are a coin flip between voyager and tng being the fave, and i just have a feeling that voyager would be his favourite. i know kid sam is getting gender envy watching voyager in shitty motels while dad and dean are out, trying to find the words for it. his first semester at stanford he talks a friend into giving him the janeway haircut and rides that high for months. sam’s favourite characters are seven and EMH. 

sam and dean have definitely had dozens of long drawn out debates about philosophical topics in star trek. do the holograms deserve rights and if so which ones. are the romulans and vulcans still meaningfully the same people. was spock right for trying to foment reunification by going undercover on romulus. can the borg be redeemed. etc etc.

i haven’t seen any of picard at all so i can’t comment. i also think sam and dean probably read a lot of the trek books? they’re pretty common to find in secondhand bookstores and cheap, would have been even cheaper back in the day. sam probably doesn’t care for them much, dean has a few solid faves though. i’ve only read the disco books so i can’t comment anything specifically (besides the fact that i think dean read dead endless and cried like a baby), but some of the TOS and DS9 books are gay as hell and i know dean was eyes emoji-ing that shit. 

#spn #spn fic #tfw 2.0 #treknatural

[deafaq]

Comprehensive guide to writing deaf characters

Despite not being intented as a blog resource for writers, we get a lot of questions regarding how to write deaf characters. (and by a lot, I mean like half of questions are about writing)

Since lot of these questions are similar anyway, I wrote up this guide for anyone intending to add deaf characters into their writing. From now on, we shall only answer questions related to writing which AREN’T covered in this guide.

Please, keep in mind that deaf people aren’t a hive mind and this guide is based on our personal experience. We recommend a sensitivity deaf reader if you plan to make any deaf character a big part of your story.

Rest of guide under the cut.

Medical basics

-          Deafness can be caused by many factors.

-          For people born deaf, common causes are: genetics, illnesses of mother during pregnancy (and meds taken), complicated birth, premature birth, etc.

-          For people who become deaf later in life: old age, noise damage, several infectious illnesses (for example meningitis), medication (cancer meds or certain antibiotics), tumours on auditory nerve and in brain, chronic inflammations of middle ear, etc.

-          Most people with hearing loss still have some degree of hearing

 Terminology

-          “deaf” – person with hearing loss

-          “hard of hearing” – person with hearing loss, still has some degree of hearing

-          “Deaf” – person with hearing loss who is proud of their deafness, is member of Deaf community and culture, communicates in sign language

-          “deafened” – person who lost their hearing in later life, often as adult

-          “deaf and dumb” – old terminology, now considered insulting

-          “hearing impaired” – medical term, often disliked by deaf people

 Compensation

-          Most hard of hearing and some deaf people wear hearing aids. Their function is similar to glasses, they enhances the remaining sense.

-          Hearing aids are often pricey, not covered by insurance and need batteries to recharge

-          They can be colourful, however most people use brown to make them less noticeable

-          They need to be taken off for sleeping and bathing

-          It’s considered rude to touch another’s person hearing aid. Hearing people should not try them out, as they can damage normal hearing.

-          Cochlear implant are more complicated, require surgery to insert. They compromise of two parts – inner part (under skull), which stimulates hair cells in cochlea, and outer part (outside on the head and ear), which is sound processor, microphone and battery. Both parts are connected via magnet.

-          Hearing via CI is more electrical than normal hearing and doesn’t sound same. After the operation, users must train their hearing and attend many sessions where CI is adjusted. It can take years for users to hear speech or use telephone. Success is very individual.

-          CIs are often disliked and criticized by Deaf community as they are seen as a threat to Deaf culture and language. There is also a question of consent – for CI to be successful, children must be implanted at young age (1-7 years) and the decision is usually made by their hearing parents.

-          Other compensation: Vibration and light alarms, alarm clocks, baby monitors, door bells. Special phones and headphones. Etc.

 Communication

 -          Children who are born deaf cannot naturally acquire spoken language. (aka from their parents/family) It cannot be learned by lip-reading. They learn it as a second language, often at school.

-          Despite the stereotype of deaf people being also mute, most deaf people can speak. However, they often have so called “deaf accents”, because they cannot hear themselves speak. Because of that, some deaf people prefer not to talk, to not be mocked for their accent.

-          Natural language of deaf people are sign languages. They are not universal, they have their own grammar and rules, they are not simple pantomime and they are not easy to learn. (see Sign Languages)

-          Not all deaf people use sign languages, especially those who become deafened later in life.

-          There are specific communication system, which combine spoken languages and sign languages, often used in education. They usually use signs from sign languages and spoken language grammar. The most common is Pidgin Signed English (PSE) or Signing Exact English (SEE). Some deaf people use them instead of sign language, since they grew up with it.

-          SimCom is simultaneous communication, speaking and using sign language at the same time. As its basically using two languages at one time, it’s difficult and one language often starts following grammatical structure of other.

-          Lip-reading is taxing, difficult and often based on talent. It must be taught. To properly lip-read, there must be good light conditions and you must be able to see the face of speaker.

-          Some deaf people use writing to communicate with hearing people – either with paper and pen, or on phone. This way of communication is often time-consuming.

-          Deaf people often use interpreters to help them communicate. They usually accompany the deaf person to doctors, authorities, important meetings, etc.

 Sign language

-          Sign languages are natural languages and not created by one person. They appeared organically over time.

-          Every country has their own national sign language. The ones most known and researched are ASL (American Sign Language), LFS (French Sign Language), BSL (British Sign Language), AUSLan (Australian Sign Language). There is about 137+ sign languages in the world.

-          Grammar in sign languages is based on 3D spaces and use of face expressions and movement of body. Signs are composed of hands in specific shapes, their movement and placement on the body.

-          Most sign language have their own finger alphabet. Most common are one-handed (ASL, LFS) and two-handed (BSL, AUSlan).

-          Sign languages are not inferior to spoken languages and can express the same things.

-          It takes time and dedication to learn any sign language. Usually at least 3 years for being able to communicate properly and more than 5 to be fluent.

-          You can sign with just one hand (that’s how deaf people communicate while eating or holding something, for example)

 Education

-          Until 1970s, the most common way of teaching deaf children was oralism, a teaching tradition which supressed and forbid the use of sign language and insisted on deaf children learning to speak. It is still often used, despite the fact that many studies prove it fails to properly educate deaf people.

-          Modern research has proven that use of sign language in education is beneficial for deaf children and helps them to better understand the material.

-          Deaf children can either study at school for deaf or be integrated into regular school. Deaf schools used to be very common in past, as they were only available means of education for most deaf people. Kids lived in dormitories. Whether sign language was/is used there depends on the school. Some even had/have deaf teachers.

-          Nowadays, most kids study in regular school along with hearing kids. If the school is good, they offer proper compensation – eg. interpreter in class, note taking services, hearing devices, etc. Some schools still sucks, however.

-          Integrated kids can suffer from isolation, bullying and discrimination from teachers.

-          There are colleges in USA which focus on deaf students and sign language. The most famous is Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.

 Family

-          90% of deaf kids are born to hearing parents. Hearing parents often struggle with the disability of their child. In general, lot of hearing parents prefer to give their kids CI, to make them more “hearing”.

-          Deaf parents generally have hearing kids. Those kids are then called CODA – children of deaf adults. CODA often speak sign language well. In general, they are either very involved with Deaf community or not all and avoid it all costs. Lot of CODA children become interpreters.

-          Every family is different in how they communicate. Some use sign language. Some only spoken language, requiring the deaf member to lip-read. Some use combination of two or create their own home signs. If only certain members of family learn to sign, it’s usually mother or some other female family member (sister, grandmother).

  Deaf culture/community

-          A community of Deaf individuals who use sign language as their primary means of communication, are proud of their deafness and their culture. They do not see their deafness as disability/disease, but something that connects them, makes them different from others.

-          Deaf people often meet up in clubs, there is big emphasis on community, meeting together, communal experience, etc.

-          Term “Deaf gain” is used – what deafness gives us, instead of the usual what deafness takes away from us. What is important is “seeing”, not “absence of hearing”.

-          Deaf culture has its own set of social rules/etiquette.  Deaf people are generally more blunt and to the point than hearing people. There are special rules for getting attention – eg tapping on shoulder, turning lights on and off.

-          There is a big tradition in storytelling and poetry in sign language, especially ASL. Other visual art – videos, paintings and sculpture are also popular.

-          Deaf community has lot of members who are LGBT+ and has its own deaf organizations for said people. Generally, deaf community is more accepting when it comes to LGBT+ issues then general public, although exceptions exists.

-          Not every country has a strong Deaf community – the biggest one is in USA. In some countries, deaf people are isolated.

 Discrimination

-          Specific term for discrimination against deaf people is “audism” (not to confuse with autism). General term for discrimination against disabled people, “ableism”, is also used sometimes.

-          Deaf people often face discrimination especially when it comes to access to information and unwillingness to offer proper accommodation to them.

-          Movies/Tv shows/videos lack subtitles or closed captioning. Video games have no alternative way of showing audio cues. Lectures, festivals and public events are often without interpreters.

-          There have been numerous cases of arrests and deaths of deaf people after encounters with police due to communication.

-          Hospitals and doctors are often without interpreters and neglect to inform the deaf patients properly. Access to authorities and courts is also problematic.

-          Deaf people have difficult time finding employment due to prejudice. Even if they do find a job, employers often refuse to offer proper accommodation.

-          Many deaf people also struggle in education – see above.

 Common mistakes and stereotypes when writing deaf characters

-          Lip-reading as a superpower, which makes deaf person basically hearing anyway

-          Wearing Hearing aids at night and/or other people touching them and taking them off.

-          Cochlear Implants presented as “cure” or “miracle” which makes a deaf person into hearing person

-          Being able to learn sign language in record time (aka in several days)

-          “Happy” ending being deaf person losing their deafness via cure/miracle/magic

-          Deaf people being bitter and lonely (yes, there are deaf people who are bitter and lonely, but it’s not our defining trait and it’s not *that* common)

-          Using deafness as a “cute” trope to increase angst levels in your story because being deaf sucks, right? ( -_________-)

-          Deaf person only having hearing friends (it’s often the opposite, aka most friends of Deaf people are also Deaf). Same goes for dating.

-          Superpowers or magic that basically cancels out deafness

-          Creating your own Name signs for your characters (pls really don’t)

-          Sign language = English with signs

-          Framing the narrative as a “person overcoming their disability”

-          Including deafness as a punishment for the character

-          The only deaf character in the story is the villain (“bonus” points for ‘deafness turned them evil’)

-          Inspiration porn – see the link

 Also, keep in mind that:

-          Deafness isn’t a disease and isn’t actually contagious (can’t believe I have to say this)

-          We very rarely date people who don’t bother to learn how to communicate with us.

-          Deaf people can and do drive. We also travel. Use internet. Swim. Read.

-          “Shockingly”, we can tell apart yawning and screaming.

-          People who were born deaf think in sign language and asking about it really doesn’t make you a philosopher

#deaf #hard of hearing #sign language #writing deaf characters #writing #mod t

[roninhunt0987]

Sushi Time Night

Sushi Time Night

By: Roninhunt0987

X3 an idea Nekorockstarninja told me on,.. X3 the premise is that Suzuki takes everyone out to a sushi place that she knows of with a small prize contest if ya eat 5 plates of sushi ya get a small prize... Suzuki once attempted to do it on her but couldn't it but this time she brought back up which happens to be the ragtag Cast members of mine that will be aiding Suzuki to get what she needs... XD hilarity will ensue

Characters(C)belongs to their rightful owners

-that night in town-

Suzuki: -opens the doors to the Sushi place as she heads inside with the others- ^^ this is the Sushi place I spoke of... ^^; where I ate like 40 plates of Sushi and got some small prizes out of it... I tried to do it alone but couldn't do it... ^^ so yea Merrick: hehe -sniffs the air of the place- ^^ heh reminds me the time when I was a lil kid Espio's uncle Seraph brought my siblings and I with Espio to a Sushi place similar to this one

Espio: heh... brings back memories doesn't it?? Merrick: it really does

Espio: to this very day I still miss my uncle but he did raise ya well

Suzuki: wait wha

Jared: when Merrick's village got attacked Uncle Yamato told them to find a person named Seraph who happens to be Espio's uncle... Both Merrick and Espio grew up as kids so they're pretty close

Suzuki: oh wow I had no idea

Espio: now ya know Suzuki

Merrick: soon after Espio's uncle passed we split ways on our own.. we didn't get back together until the meterex war happened and worked together with tails and the others on the war effort I was just glad to See Espio again but hanging with Vector and Charmy,, ^^; dunno how he ended up with them but they're an okay sort when I met them I was quite unsure at the time but sometime after the war I accepted them as friends... any friend of Espio is my friend those were my words when I accepted them... ^^; well as for Espio paying rent I usually see him at the door delivering pizza...

Espio: uhm.... ya back when... uhhh Tails broke his arm and leg at the time when Miss Marine was around at the time... I wonder whatever happened to that girl?? Shadow: heh... who knows Marine The Raccoon: O.o there was a girl after my name

Tails: mmhmm when I had that extreme gear mishap I got badly injured both of em got me home and had me patched up

Espio: she was the one who greeted me at the door at the time when I delivered the pizza... told her why that I had to pay rent because Vector kept going broke

Merrick: this was way before I got my cybernetic enhancements at the time btw

Waitress: -sees Suzuki is here again and sees the big crowd thats with her- O.o oh wow I never knew I am seeing this the ragtag band of the Katos and Prowers and also others also... uhh follow me to the big room for a huge crowd and we'll be with ya shortly

Suzuki: alrighty

Roberto: -walks on over as he also owns this sushi place also- ahhh.. Merrick good to see you again -insert borderlands 3 character introduction of his full name which is Roberto Jaime Scott: Martial Artist, Bodyguard of Yuri Niko and Japanese Restaurant related business man-

Merrick: ahh Roberto didn't know ya own this sushi place also besides the main ones

Roberto: mmhmm I might say Suzuki really loves this place specially the idea that every 5 plates of sushi ya get a small prize and seems like she wants to get more prizes and for y'all to have a chance also Jared: thats why were here Roberto

Connor The Wolf: -walks on in- Oh hey Dad -insert borderlands 3 character introduction of his name Connor the Wolf: adopted son of merrick and Kimiko, Bodyguard of Yuri Niko, Warrior, Marksman, Mage and with a heart of gold- What ya guys doing here??

Merrick: wondering the same thing kiddo

Shiro The Floofyshark: I can answer that -insert borderlands 3 introduction of his name Shiro The Floofyshark: main bodyguard of Yuri Niko, second husband of Yuri Niko and boss of Roberto and Connor- remember that chat I had with ya sir?? if ya remember ya Son and his friend Roberto have now officially been sworn in as Yuri Niko's bodyguards

Misha: wait.. if ya here... ^^ that also means Yuri and Her family is here

Shiro The Floofyshark: ^^ correct Misha she is in the same room that ya guys are heading into

Misha: X3 awesome

Suzuki: wait hold up whos Yuri Niko Misha: X3 one of my best friends and also neighborhood hehe Claretta will be glad to see me too

Suzuki: wait oh so thats who it was thats outside a lot with a cute unique colored Eevee and another floofyshark enjoying the summer weather each time I come by to visit

Misha: ^^ get this Yuri is a J-pop singer and I know how ya love J-pop Suzuki

Suzuki: ^^ awesome can't wait to meet her

-in the big room- Claretta Niko: -at the table and ears perks up as she is wearing her eevee hoodie and sees Misha- OwO

Yuri Niko: hu?? ^^ Misha whatcha doin here??? Misha: ^^ got invited by my friend suzuki

Claretta Niko: -runs to misha and hugs her and sees Suzuki and gets shy as she gets behind Misha-

Suzuki: ^^ hey its alright I don't bite

Misha: -does sign language with her to let her know Suzuki is a friend of hers-

Claretta Niko: -nods yes and does sign language of saying okay-

Suzuki: -watches carefully-

Mikey: .w. uhhh whats she doing

Raph: sigh... its called Sign language ya idiot

Suzuki: ohhh... Born deaf or born mute??

Misha: ^^ born mute... O.o she also has Autism/ADD and has panic attacks hence she has her eevee a lot... her Eevee is her service pokemon... ^^ its a special program for the disabled to have pokemon with them as their service pet... kinda like the service animals ya see around new york so yea

Suzuki: wow -smiles cutely and giggles- ^^ love ya eevee hoodie

Claretta Niko: -does sign language of saying thank you- ^^

Misha: ^^ she says thank you

Suzuki: ^^ your welcome

Yuri Niko: -walks on over- ^^ so ya must be Suzuki Misha told me a lot about ya and also into J-pop

Suzuki: ^^ hehe guilty as charged nice to meet ya

Yuri Niko: ^^ likewise

-as they got to the table-

Jessica Niko: ^^ so ya must be Suzuki I heard so much about.. ^^ my names Jessica Niko and this is my husband Raymond Niko.. Ray for short... ^^ we own a coffee shop in town... Misha is one of locals that comes by same goes with Misha The Coyote

Raymond Niko: ^^ well met

Jessica Niko: ^^ I see ya met Claretta already... over there is my son Harvey -mumbles to Suzuki so that Harvey won't hear- just be careful around him he has a bad habit of raiding girls undergarments and such don't worry his siblings always get to him on that

Suzuki: oof noted but don't worry my brothers will help

Yuri Niko: brothers???

Mikey: ^^ sup

Yuri Niko: O.o oh wow is that-

Misha: ^^ yup Suzuki's brothers is the TMNT... Janic was the first to meet them and we later on met them... ^^ the orange mask there is Mikey, the red mask is Raph

Yuri Niko: XD the hothead of the bunch

Raph: .w. ya she ain't kidding on that one

Yuri Niko: and the blue mask there is Leo which is the leader and the one in purple is the brainaic of the bunch Donnie

Leo: heh good guess

Donnie: ^^ yup brains of the bunch

Gen'ichi: names Gen'ichi, this is my wife Ninjara

Ninjara: -bows- hello

Yuri Niko: ohh the one Raph used to hang with

Raph: -blushes- uhhh ya

Ninjara: ^^ ya correct on that one

Gen'ichi: kids front in center

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori, Gen'ichi Jr and Lil Geni: -lines up sideways-

Ninjara: ^^ thats Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori, Gen'ichi jr and Lil Geni

Ran: ^^ Hoi

Rei: X3 heya

Reiko: ^^ hi

Rika: X3 heya

Miwa: ^^ hoi

Nori: ^^ heya

Gen'ichi Jr: ^^ hi hi

Lil Geni: ^^ hoi -sticks out her tongue cutely like a small blep while she is holding Suzuki's old plush-

Yuri Niko: ^^ so cute

Harvey Niko: ^^ hi my names Harvey Niko and-

Yuri Niko: .w. don't even try to ask her about that knucklehead ya know we get on ya behind on that right?? Harvey Niko: .w. darn it

Keira Niko: -rolls eyes- oi... ^^ hi my names Keira good to meet ya

Hayato Niko: my names Hayato well met

Ryu Niko: my name is Ryu Niko I'm Jessica's older brother heh and also Yuri and her siblings uncle ya probably can tell we have a japanese background

Suzuki: ^^ I can tell hehe

Yuri Niko: ^^ I see ya already met Shiro, Connor and Roberto who are my bodyguards when I go on tour for my J-pop... ^^ also for a fact Connor and Roberto recently got sworn in as bodyguards to help Shiro out

Laurence: ^^ my names Laurence i'm Yuri's husband and this kiddo of mine is Zoey

Zoey Niko: hi

Suzuki: ^^ so cute

Waitresses: -gets green tea for everyone and such-

Waiters: -got everyones sushi plates for everyone to choose from-

Roberto: ^^ hehe the key of this if ya finish 5 plates of sushi ya get a small prize so enjoy

Honey The Rat/Zebra: hehe awesome -proceeds to use her chopsticks and such as she uses the Wasabi on her sushi and eats it and etc as she has extreme high tolerence from eating anything spice as she is immune to any spicy kick-

Mikey: O_O wha how... Wasabi supposed to light ya mouth on fire its called spicy mustard for a reason

Shadow: .w. mikey.... that because she has a unique extreme high tolerance to anything spice

Mikey: No way

Amber: ^^ way hehe

Mikey: .w.;;;; -thinking of a crazy idea-

Raph: .w. Mikey what are ya planning

Mikey: oh nothing just want to attempt something

Raph: .w. ya know any idea ya think of doing usually backfires in some bad way ya know that

Suzuki: .w. Raph whats mikey planning

Raph: .w. who knows... he's probably gonna attempt to eat a whole mouthful of wasabi

Mikey: :3

Raph: O_o oh no... he is isn't he

Mikey: -attempts it as he gets a mouthful of Wasabi in his mouth and swallows-

Raph, Suzuki, Leo and Donnie: .w. 3, 2, 1

Mikey: -randomly screams- AHHHHHHHHH!!! -runs around like an idiot as he flails his arms anime style in panic- AHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH OMG AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Everyone: -facepalms-

Yuri Niko: don't tell me this is one of his dumb moments isn't it

Everyone: -in unison- Yes

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori, Gen'ichi Jr and Lil Geni: -laughing at their uncle mikey as this was a funny moment and such-

Suzuki: ugh Mikey drink this

Mikey: -drinks it- uggh what is this...

Suzuki: its green tea it-

Mikey: oh hey my mouth is not on fire anymore

Suzuki: .w. exactly it helps with defusing the burns of the wasabi

Mikey: .w. ohhh

Suzuki: -looks to Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori, Gen'ichi Jr and Lil Geni- ^^ remember not to do that or in this case don't pull an Uncle Mikey moment

Mikey: >< HEY!!! Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori, Gen'ichi Jr and Lil Geni: -laughs-

Mikey: -chuckles- ya okay that was on me honestly

Raph: -gibbs slaps Mikey for it- .w. ya think Genius its no wonder ya being called a knucklehead at times

Shadow: .w. ya mean like knuckles

Knuckles: HEY WHAT THE HECK THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!!!

Tails: .w. uhm Knuckles remember that time ya got tricked for the first time by eggman when he yoinked the master emerald from ya when Sonic and I met ya the first time

Sonic: .w. ya dude ya even suckerpunched me while I was in super form

Knuckles: .w. sigh okay okay ya have a fair point there

Sonic: mmmhmm -drinks a lil bit of his Green tea-

Tails: -eating his sushi-

The others: -same-

-45 minutes later-

Everyone: -each got a prize thats given to Suzuki as for helping her out and such-

Roberto: ^^ well I do have to admit that was a wise decision to bring friends and family with ya to help eating the sushi and the prizes needed so when in doubt always have family and friends to help instead of taking it on alone

Suzuki: ^^ heh thanks

Merrick: ^^ the usual account that I usually pay for here Roberto and congrats to joining in helping Shiro with the bodyguard detail and uhh also my boy good on you of joining with Shiro on that detail also... ^^ so ya can get out more and such whenever Yuri goes on tour

Connor The Wolf: heh... thanks dad

Merrick: ^^ keep in mind when Yuri's band is in town expect us to be there so we can listen and watch

Yuri Niko: ^^ hehe count on it ya son will do a great job I just know he will

Merrick: ^^ of course and make sure he stays out of trouble also and make sure to have a calm mind and such... ^^; the boy has ADHD and Autism go figure

Connor The Wolf: ^^; ya pops has a point on that Yuri heh but don't worry Roberto will make sure I am kept in check hehe and Shiro also

Shiro The Floofyshark: heh ya damn right i'll make sure to do that

Roberto: indeed

Misha: ^^ so when ya tour

Yuri Niko: ^^ sometime around august or so however I do plan on coming here in town around october as the final spot before I go on break from my tour run so basically Megaville city is the final destination of my Tour around October and well... ^^ its gonna be on Your Birthday Misha

Misha: X3 Awesome I can't wait hehe

Yuri Niko: ^^ hehe yup

Shiro: -looks to Roberto and Connor- that means you two we got few weeks until august starts up... when August 1st starts up you two better be ready and also in gear got it.. our job is to make sure no one makes a move on Yuri or well in this case some random jackass decides to flirt on her... use of force is needed if the said person doesn't cooperate

Yuri Niko: .w. oh in this case if SP Vector decides to butt and such use of force is basically immediate

Roberto: ugggh ya mean the same jackass I had to ban last week from this establishment along with the other japanese places I own and etc

Connor The Wolf: =w= and the same numbskull who blew up my damn truck that my adopted parents got for me when I first got adopted

Yuri Niko: yup the very same cheap knock off of Vector who is also his sonic paradox counterpart if ya watched the sonic shorts collab series

Roberto: ohhh looking forward to it good thing I been practicing some new martial arts moves I can use on him

Connor The Wolf: and also the new Blade that Gladio gave me when he first fought against Giglamesh and passed it on to me since he wishes to keep using one of his older blades and such

Jared: wait what

Squall: gigalmesh... yes I know the guy when Odin went down he came into the picture and resumed doing Odin's job didn't know his name at the time but he seems to be obsessed with a certain sword... I think it was the Excalibur or somethin he didn't say

Cloud: wait Gladio fought him

Gladio: yup and also his pet also... seems the big guy really loves to fight on bridges

Jared: according to legend its considered tradition for him... huhn that explains why when I dueled Stupid Mario at the time thats also a bridge over some lava and etc

Merrick: and its also a wonder why we sometimes tell ya it was from too much video games that has him in it

Jared: .w. ya that explains it

Jennifer The Fox: -close to Yuri as she misses her parents as this was the go to place when she was a lil kid as her parents and herself went here a lot-

Yuri Niko: whats wrong??

Jennifer The Fox: I remember my parents and I went here in this very area

Roberto: ahhh I thought I recognize ya... my grandfather knew ya parents and you at the time... its a shame they been killed by a drive by shooter

Jennifer The Fox: uhm about that... he's already dead.. ^^ Misha took him out

Misha: .w. turned out it was the jackhole who participated the fall of my family's clan go figure

Roberto: ahh I thought so hence reason the streets near the coffee shop is quiet a lot now and also explains why my grandfather placed a memoriam shrine to honor them as their best customers...

Jennifer The Fox: is he still around

Roberto: ^^ as a matter of fact he is yes he's the one who got me to be who I am today on as I took of his job as he is retired now and still strong as an ox

Jennifer: ^^ can ya tell him I said hello and well... also thank you for doing the memorium shrines for them...

Roberto: ^^ i'll make sure to do that count on it

Suzuki: one more thing whos is gonna maintain the restaurants while ya away on bodyguard duty

Eos The Floofyshark: ^^ I can answer that... ^^ you see two metabots requested by Roberto will take over for a bit until october who also happens to make sure Claretta remains calm as those two happens to be her Metabots to protect her while Yuri is away

Roberto: ^^ yes that would be Foxsword and Foxuno they seem to have a nack of maintaining stuff besides what they do a lot at a delay basis they're gonna start doing my tasks sometime when Yuri begins her tour run and don't worry I already told Gramps on that detail already as he is aware that I am a sworn in Bodyguard for Yuri Niko during her tour he is actually proud of me after I told him

Eos The Floofyshark: ^^ mmhmm

Suzuki: ^^ good to know

Eos The Floofyshark: .w. they'll also make sure that SP Vector don't enter the building as they will use force if needed as a last resort

Roberto: oh ya and my grandfather knows about it too

Suzuki: thats good

Roberto: indeed

SP vector: -breaks through wall like the Kool-aid man- OH YA!!!

Roberto: ._.;;;;; SP Vector ya paying for the damage for that

SP Vector: .w. or else what

Shiro: .w. -gets out his desert eagle and shoots SP Vector in the balls- BLAM!!! SP Vector: OUGH!!! -on the floor- >< my overies

Claretta Niko: -sighs and does sign language of saying ya don't have any ya dingbat-

SP Vector: .w. what she say?? Raph: -facepalm- She said You don't any ya dingbat... what did ya fail sign language 101 or somethin punk

SP Vector: WHY DON'T YA SAY THAT TO MY FACE HOTSHOT!!! Raph: =w= oh its on...

Frenchie: 1 hour of pain later

SP Vector: -broken teeth and etc and in a dentist office- uggggh

TF2 Medic: :3 Next

SP Vector: AHHHHHHHHHH!!! -crashes through wall as he runs away-

TF2 Medic: -scratches the back of his head in confusion on why he did that and shrugs and calls the next patient in-

Scene: -does a smart fart noise of blacking out-

TFS Nappa: .w. the end

-XD END XD-

-RH0987 PRODUCTIONS 2021-

@otakuneko-lotus XD enjoy neko