#they grow and talk through their issues

[haliaiii]

oc posting pt 3 except it’s just Kain

#Kain’s great friends with Sam and Val #Kain’s a 23 year old guy trying to make a living in this post war world #somehow that statement can apply to retrograde world and irl #anyway he fought in the civil war that happened in universe #lost a lot of friends and his leg in the process #saved two kids but he was gonna die in a pile of burning rubble #until Kalani (Lani) saved him and pulled him out #which unfortunately caused her to get badly burned on her right side #they grow and talk through their issues #nowadays Kain is trying to live a normal life and move past war #he works at a laundromat and restaurant to make money #he adopted the two kids he saved so he’s trying to make money so they can go to a good school #because he didn’t get that chance #he’s head over heels in love with Kalani tho 💀 #(she does reciprocate these feelings but thinks that she doesn’t deserve his affection) #she lives in another city but visits him every 2 weeks or so #sorry for infodumping in the tags 😔 #retrograde #sketch #oc #original character #my art #haliai art

[emiliagrant]

Buck and Tommy ♡ flirty, kinky and in love

#911edit #911 #911 abc #evan buckley #tommy kinard #bucktommy #911 spoilers #buck x tommy #tevan #mine #what is it with this hate? I can't look in the tags #that scene was there to show #1. Tommy cares about Buck #asking if HE IS OKAY #2. Buck opening up 3. Tommy opening up #4. and lighting the mood with Tommys smooth flirting and teasing which Buck picks up on #Buck brought the daddy issues up. Tommy was rolling with it and Buck smiled the whole way through #thats my take on it anyway. I just think the writers wanted to end bucktommy this season on a happy note #I loved that for them #I'm happy that all the people I follow are on board with it #just let them be #so to all the haters #whom I think just don't like Tommy #please grow up #there are bigger problems in the world than a little kink mention in a tv show #anyway #thanks for coming to my ted talk

[americankimchi]

it's so hard to take star wars seriously nowadays because i'll watch someone get skewered by a lightsaber and then somehow walk it off with a bacta patch and a slap on the ass. like you're telling me a weapon that can carve furrows into foot-thick solid durasteel doors, dripping melted slag in its wake, when applied to the flesh of a sentient being leaves behind nothing more than superficial damage. like be so ffr. "it cauterizes the wound instantly" this is not a little cut. this is not minor burns. you were IMPALED BY A BEAM OF PLASMA. your ORGANS have been COOKED. your BLOOD has BOILED. your BONES were INCINERATED. what are you TALKING ABOUTTTTTT

#personal #I CANNOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY #you do not grow up with the OT and the PT watching people get cut down instantly and then just #GESTURES FURIOUSLY AT THE MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF PEOPLE GETTING A LIGHTSABER THROUGH THE GUT #AND JUST WALKING IT OFF!!!!!!!! SOMETIMES RIGHT AFTER THE FACT!!!!!!!!!!!! #LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN #WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT #i tried desperately to justify it in the ST movies because rey was established as having like #anakin-levels of force bullshit so why not. i mean anakin couldn't force heal for shit but whatever. #it's not like him having the ability to force heal would've neatly sidestepped the MAIN CONFLICT OF EPISODE 3 OR ANYTHING #STILL MADE MY EYEBROWS RAISE WHEN SHE HEALED KYLO. BUT I TRIED TO LOOK PAST IT. OUT OF GOOD FAITH. MOSTLY DESPERATION. #BUT WHAT! DO! YOU! MEAN!!!!! THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WALK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMPALEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY LIGHTSABER!!!!!!!!!! #ON THE REGULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #I GUESS QUI GON DYING WAS A FUCKING. SKILL ISSUE???????? #???????????????????????? #i need to go lie down. #dont talk 2 me about maul coming back in tcw it's an old wound i refuse to examine #''but in legends—'' i put my hand over your mouth so lovingly. No. <3 #i love star wars SO MUCH but they need 2 stop impaling people on lightsabers if they dont want them to be dead #LOP OFF A LIMB INSTEAD #okay im done. thank u for letting me yell it's all out of my system now #im back on the ''i love star wars'' train again <33

[stuckinapril]

i think i officially set my sights on a therapist and i'll be contacting her very soon?? therapy was legitimately not on my 2024 bingo card (or in the cards for me at all) but here we are????

#this blog always had a focus on social science and detangling feelings and experiences. like it's basically been serving as my diary #bc this blog has always been my main outlet for it. i hate talking feelings to anyone irl. it's a bad habit but i hate it #so it was a game changer and helped me grow up sooo much. esp supplemented w other people's experiences. #being raised by a stoic engineer mother who's very much warm but also not very good at feelings at times has caused me to suppress SO much #compounded w being the eldest daughter. like that is a damning sentence in and of itself #tumblr just gave me an outlet for stuff like this. and every social media is essentially a highlight reel of ppl's best moments. #tumblr is the opposite. i've always loved that too whether it was in the form of humor or more earnest posts #could i work through my own issues by myself? yes probably #and my blog will always have that facet even if i get a therapist #but a therapist's input. just a professional's input. will expedite a lot of improvement for me i think #this has been a critical time period for me anyway bc i'm budgeting my whole schedule for once vs being handheld by uni deadlines #and it's just gonna keep getting more and more intense from here bc i'm truly pushing my comfort zone more than ever before #it just feels like the right call even tho i'm lowkey nervous ab it bc i HATE talking feelings in person. #this therapist will not fall for my trying to deflect by asking her about her life. which. usually works on my friends <3 #we will see. a therapy arc is coming very soon basically #p

[imminent-danger-came]

Really rotating Claudia and Callum in my mind right now.

Like, they both try to keep the people in their life from leaving. They both are willing to do things some might find unspeakable for the people they care about. Callum's Devotion description in ToX is "I value those close to me more than anyone or anything" and his Liberty description is "I'm beholden to my inner circle, not some silly kingdom."

Then you have Claudia, who decided to leave the baby dragon she thought would be the eventual destruction of humanity to save her brother (which is basically choosing those close to her over the world). You also have her trying to free a great ancient evil to save her dad (which is ALSO her choosing those close to her over the world).

We've already had Callum make the decision to use dark magic for Rayla, so here's why CHET will win-

#Mainly thinking about their respective issues with people leaving #Whether it's through death or normal means #Like hmmmm. Gotta love Callum and Claudia parallels #they are so 👌👌👌👌👌 #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp rant #Soren leaving. Rayla leaving. Harrow dying. Viren dying. Lissa leaving and never coming back. Sarai leaving and never coming back. #Dubious mage gang with abandonment issues rise up!! #Using their magic powers to save the people they care about!!!! To hold onto them!!! #Woagh!!! #But be careful. If you hold on too tight it will break!! #''I want to talk to you about life and growing up and how sometimes there are changes you don't expect.'' #*explodes dies throws up explodes again*

[biblionerd07]

I tried watching some of the Ian/Mickey scenes from season 11 and it made me ill. These are IMPOSTERS. That is not Ian and Mickey!! Especially Mickey!!! Look at how they massacred my boy. But one of the most frustrating parts is that if you watch the deleted scenes it shows that someone in that writers’ room DID know how to write Ian and Mickey but the producers or whoever makes that decision were like “nah, no meaningful conversations that show how much they love and respect each other and are working on their relationship. These fans who’ve been watching the characters struggle for a decade want them to continuously argue and beat the shit out of each other and act like they hate each other!”

#John wells if I ever catch you #there were a very few small spots of goodness and I credit ONLY Noel and cam for that #they were doing their level best #some of the things they had coming out of Mickey’s mouth made me want to drive my head through a wall #in what world am I supposed to believe Mickey was getting blow jobs from other guys #and making a joke out of Ian’s bipolar???? #like the one time they remembered they even wrote Ian as bipolar and it was for a shitty line where Mickey throws it in his face #it feels like every season is a whole new show and not connected at all to the others #and then it starts feeling like every EPISODE is a whole new show that’s not connected #why was there like a goofy soundtrack as Mickey’s literal Nazi abusive rapist father moved in next door #Noel was giving us everything and they made a joke out of it #and then they made a joke out of Mickey being conflicted and crying after terry died?????????? #I want to kill them #Ian saying frank was worse than terry????? girl in what world?????? #Mickey was NEVER insecure about bottoming and he was always adamant about how much he loved it but suddenly it’s an issue #from ‘liking what I like don’t make me a bitch’ back when he could barely LOOK at Ian to…this #also Ian used to be very sweet even when he was being stubborn and self-righteous and even violent #but they really lost his sweetness #and I know it wasn’t just cam growing up bc there were glimpses of it in the way he chose to have Ian move and hold onto Mickey #but the writers seemed hell bent on all of the characters being so horrible to each other #in the early seasons they could sometimes be cruel and selfish even to each other but underneath it all they loved each other #and it feels like when they decided to lean solely into goofy comedy that lost that #it’s just sad to see a show that started so good end so badly #I’ve seen people talking about a spinoff with Ian and Mickey and I don’t even fucking want it with these writers #maybe if cam and Noel were producers and got to choose the storylines #they’re the only ones I trust

[roobylavender]

(Really long ask ahead i’m sorry!) I think your thoughts on dick and his similarities vs differences to bruce are so interesting! Personally i’m wondering how much of NTT played an influence on this kind of characterization bc i’ve never fully finished ntt but i read like nearly all the pre-80s batman 1940 issues lol and dick very much was portrayed as more idealistic than bruce in some ways while more no-nonsense (? For lack of better word) in other ways, like when it comes to batman easing up a little on selina for romance reasons LOL. Though ofc dick totally turns into - well, a dick - in team books, as i grow older i find myself far more compelled by a potential story of an 18 yr old who seemed to have the whole weight of the world on his shoulders (by his own perception) and breaking under his own impractically strong sense of duty and sky-high expectations for others, then realizing as he grows older that it doesn’t have to be that way esp after seeing the perspectives of characters like kory, wally, joey, roy, etc. Like personally as someone who never really had a huge interest in NTT anyway, i’m surprised at how desperately people want to hold on to the characterization of dick when he was 18-19 and never letting him grow past that, like it’s so difficult for me to believe that at age 25 he would be the same uptight controlling kid that he was at 19. Maybe i’m biased though bc i was like one of those insufferable INTJ internet stereotypes as a teenager, and while that worldview did bring me achievements i’m proud of like the fact that i’m in med school rn studying what i love, i still know that at age 22 i have changed SO much from when i was 18 and i can’t imagine any reasonably mature or normally-functioning person (let alone someone high-functioning like dick) not doing the same lol. Especially since dick is the kind of person who would literally die if he’s not constantly growing and evolving past his faults bc of his insufferable perfectionism, idk how he’d be willfully blind to the negative effects of his worldview in early NTT and refuse to grow from there. He even has a quote that’s like “i’ve spent years as a student of my own behavior” which i always found highly encouraging bc i know he really does want to improve himself even at his worst. It reminds me of that Marcus Aurelius quote: “if someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, i shall gladly change. I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone; the harm is to persist in one’s own self-deception and ignorance.” But what are your thoughts? (Thank you for reading all this 🥹)

oh i absolutely agree! i cannot tell you how many times i think about the person i was a couple years ago and who i am now like i cringe so much omg.. maturity is an ever persistent process even if we don't recognize its effects immediately and it absolutely is crazy to think that anyone would remain in such a static state of mind for several years on end. esp when like you said dick is someone who wants to be better! so despite his several hypocrisies it is nonetheless in his best interests to look internally and analyze and evolve. and i feel like that very much could have happened had there been any actual segue between dick's breakup with kory and his re-entry into the batfam. i don't think there was much of a connection between these two sets of writers at all and so what you got is what felt like two very distinct parts of dick's life that didn't necessarily reveal a bridge point. so it's not entirely unrealistic that dick may grow to be the person (at least to some extent) that bat canon portrayed him to be in the years that followed but i certainly think as it stands it felt unearned and like all of his issues explored in ntt were conveniently swept to the side without any semblance of closure (albeit i do think some of these issues are addressed in outsiders '03 but in that dickheaded way that winick explores things generally. so i'm not sure it's the kind of closure people actually want). it's very sad and ig that's what people cling to more than anything. it's not that they're opposed to him growing to be a better person but that they're opposed to a version of dick who feels like he sprung out of nothing

#ironically enough i Do think dick going back to gotham after the kory breakup made sense #like when something that big happens in your life what are you going to do. seek the advice of the one person you look up to more than anyt #ing right. but marv wolfman complicated things by writing bruce the way he did so rather than bruce playing an active part #in guiding dick through some of his issues and mistakes he instead became dick's burden to bear through extensive post knightfall trauma #and i mean you all know i Love knightfall. i really do it gives me brainworms upon brainworms #but i wish there had been just one moment. like after it was all over. that bruce and dick actually got to talk and like #discuss dick's problems yknow #i get the feeling they didn't delve much when writing prodigal bc they had to set up the next arcs and stuff but it's like #come on. come on. they could've afforded it. if dick really had to come back to gotham for a temporary stint where he tried to find himself #than a proper conversation with bruce about what he was going through should have been a part of that #bc i do think working with bruce's new cavalry of three teen heroes (tim / steph / cass) would have borne wonderful opportunities #for dick to grow as a leader and peer considering his ridiculous expectations of others and how this would measure up against teenagers #but the problem is that bat canon decided he was going to magically gel with everyone bc he was emotionally more well adjusted than bruce #was. like ok. ok. whateverrrrrrrr #like idk it's so funny they were given a dick with a plethora of issues and instead of using any of that ammo they were like nah #we're going to make our lives harder and give him new problems manifested out of thin air. totally makes sense. bullseye #outbox

[lystring]

just love that amongst all the insane pushback people have been getting lately for talking very openly about fatphobia in our society which is a serious problem people are straight up reblogging posts adding severely triggering images of extremely anorexic people as some sort of Gotcha, like fatphobia Cant be real because Look how mean people are being about this person who is clearly dying from one of the worst diseases born Out Of Our Fucking Society Being Fatphobic im losing my mind what is happening etc

#like i dont think ive ever talked about this on this blog or ever #but i used to be DEEP into proana tumblr back in the day like. #most of us didnt consider ourselves 'proana' or 'probulimia' or whatever but it was a fucking lifestyle and it was a dark hole #that i had to claw myself out of #and im sorry its extremely triggering that people are harping onto posts TALKING ABOUT A REAL ISSUE THEY DO NOT EXPERIENCE #with images of severely diseased women sayin Well Actually Your Experiences Arent That Bad Cus Look #We Also Have It Bad #yeah well #one does not detract from the other #and also Maybe. hmm. there is a correlation...if not even causation........ #maybeeeee if fatphobia wasn't such a huge issue....you wouldn't feel the need to...idk avoid experiencing that... #cus like okay I know im only speaking from my own experience but #seeing the way society treated fat people growing up constantly surrounded by people on Diets all the time #trying to Avoid being fat at All Cost #miiight have contributed to my ED and wanting to be skinny #like. #honestly moving away from those spaces and being friends with and following people that experience fatphobia #has heloed me in soooo many ways to just like accept myself a bit more and also realize the enormous damage #that fatphobia does to us through media and social media like #im honestly just ranting rn but god im so mad #I saw like One Too Many posts like that but didn't wanna jump on being annoying so i made my own posr #im sorry for anyone going through it rn being stuck in proana or fitblr whatever hell #because like it wont make it better. it will feel like your only escape because People in your life wont understand #but it will just continue to pull you in until nothing else or no-one else mkes sense #and that is Not Good or okay and yeah #talk to someone outside of this site about this please #don't argue with others talking about their own experiences that you cant relate to because if you somehow #like #see that as an attack on you personally #thats a problem...you need to address that.

[designernishiki]

today on tumblr user designernishiki’s autistic-with-a-special-interest-in-psychology deep dives: dissecting the hell out of kiryu/nishiki’s childhoods and kazama’s parenting (or lack thereof) and how it all relates to their emotional development (or lack thereof). they will never be safe from my psychoanalyses

#childhood development isn’t actually an area I have a ton of experience researching which is part of what makes this intriguing tbh #because I was basically thinking a lot about how it makes alot of sense that kazama being a semi-absent father figure would result in kiryu #idolizing and idealizing him to the (objectively unhealthy) extent that he does. because he wasn’t around super consistently kiryu would #hardly get to see/experience his flaws and have healthy disagreements and blatant differences with him and etc all-in-all making it so he’d #never really gain emotional autonomy and come to see him as a full-on person rather than an anti-hero character he wants to emulate as much #as possible. and by the time kiryu does come more face to face with kazama’s flaws and moral greyness he’s already well past the age range #where you’re supposed to develop emotional autonomy and have the most neuroplasticity to do so and thus it’s much more difficult for him #to deconstruct the idolized figure of kazama in his head. not to mention kazama died basically just as kiryu started to be confronted with #kazama’s less-than-perfect actions and traits and etc so he can’t humanize him through in-person experiences #it’s. a whole mess #I should save it for the big analysis post and not these tags fhshdjsnd #nishiki may have to be his own post completely because I feel like I’d end up having to talk about why he absolutely reads as borderline to #me and why it makes a lot of sense that certain symptoms/maladaptive thoughts/behaviors grow to be so out of control eventually #I have many thoughts about that boy and I already have many many notes on his potential bpd and image issues in general #hoo boy. #rambling

[shaxxophone]

Ugh

This is a vent about something nsfw in fandom, just mentioning for people's comfort levels so they can opt not to read but like

Once again, just saying, it makes me super fuckin uncomfortable when people make a weaker/younger/more feminine/more gentle/kinder character afab in M/M gay porn/smut/art, and ONLY the characters who fit those qualities.

Like. As a genderfluid person myself, I think there SHOULD be transmasc people in porn!!! 10000000% I think that's like. Just how it should be, it's fuckin normal and natural, and should just exist because it makes sense to exist and if you're uncomfortable about transmasc people's bodies that's a you problem. Also again as someone who's not cis I personally WANT to see people like myself in porn. Y'know? And I like the fact that it's normalized, but can we please get better about ONLY headcanoning the characters with qualities historically viewed as female in our society as FTM?????????

idk how to explain that it also feels kind of ick to ONLY headcanon people as trans who have qualities that are perceived as weaker or more feminine. ESPECIALLY if its a cis person headcanoning it. Like it somehow feels both transphobic and homophobic and fetishy, but that's just my personal opinion

I'm not here to gatekeep porn, people should get off to whatever they want to so long as it does not harm anyone but like. I donno.... Expand your horizons??? Make the hypermasculine top trans??? Make the standoffish lone wolf with huge pecs and 100 scars trans??? Not just the dainty lads. Not all trans guys are feminine. Some are, and that's fine. But like. In fandom spaces, it's okay to headcanon more than just the nice sweet kind people as having a pussy. Just a thought.

#Also this talks a lot about transness #i guess it touches on transphobia??? #Idk if i would call the issue transphobic just uncomfortable #I'm no expert on trans activism i don't want to act like my opinion is worth a damn #I was just scrolling through twitter and saw folks I was following positng a bunch of shit that made me uncomfortable and here we are #this has just been a huge growing trend in the past year

[sassygwaine]

wild how mothers will twist the the most basic acts of care with guilt and suspicion and rewire your entire brain to distrust kindness as condescension

#craaaaazy #self harm mention ahead: #she still asks if i’m okay when i wear long sleeves in hot temperatures #she still asks if i’ve brushed my teeth when i smile #she still asks if my partner and i are okay when i mention being stressed #it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since those were pertinent stressors in my life #anyway i snapped at my partner for reminding me to take my meds #and we’ve talked it through and we’re all good #but it’s like wooooooof ????! #literally just the kindness of ‘hey you missed your meds last night’ when you have memory issues #is so fucking sweet and such a reinforcement of love and care and attention #and yet there i was feeling like a scolded child #big sigh #love you guys we never really grow up we just get older

[minipisi-is-dumb]

man i am so so glad more aspec people are finding community and acceptance and visibility and all those nice words. like the idea that more and more aspecs don't have to grow up feeling alienated from everyone or that they know that there's nothing wrong with them makes me SO happy UAGHSHSHS guys i love being aroace have i told u that

#listen LISTEN i might sound like im 40 years older than what i actually am but #i never thought there'd be community at all #and that more and more aspec visibility is OUT THERE #like shows and books and movies and songs and CULTURE #like DUDE WE'RE SLOWLY BEING PART OF HUNAN CULTURE #HOW COOL IS THAT #something something lore dropping but guys i went through so much shit #that could have been easier to manage or just not be an issue had i known earlier or found confidence in it #and there being aspecs who will grow fucking SEEING THEMSELVES EXISTING #LIKE HAPPY AND FULFILLING LIVES ????? DUDE ?????? #LIKE EVERY TIME I SEE HOW EVEN NON ACE PPL TALK AND UNDERSTAND MORE AND MORE #usghshshs just fills me with undescribable joy #from jaidens video to alice oseman to jdramas with aspec protagonists #to amazing musicians like moses sumney or songs like never been in love #to allos being more comfortable with our concepts and slowly letting go of the pressure of amatonormativity #it takes time and time will take surely #but that makes me so hopefully man #ugh #idk this typa stuff means a lot ladies #minipisi.txt #asexual #asexuality #aromantic #aromanticism

[purpleturtle9000]

leonardo getting a hug from his dad for the first time in eight years and immediately having a full emotional breakdown is something that can be so important to me

#he missed his dad!!! #also like. in the chapter before this he was talking to mikey about how splinter was his hero growing up so. of course he needs a hug! #his daddy issues are through the fucking roof #rottmnt future leo #series: when i found you i found me

[akagamiko]

could go on (and on and on) about how much i love uta and how i think she's important for shanks' character so here's some Thoughts:

roger never really calling shanks son and shanks struggling with not even understanding what a dad is as a child, to realizing roger is a dad to him but not feeling able to voice it to him despite the fact that roger and his crew raised him since he was a baby !!!

a crew full of adults and no one bothered to say 'hey you're my kid!' at him and him feeling lost because of it

and then he finds a baby !! in a chest !! just like him !!

and wanting to undo some of those hurts that he felt as a child by giving uta everything he didn't have. primarily that sense of something defining between them as parent and child. trying to give her security by saying 'hey i'm your dad and i love you'. making sure that she knew that she was his daughter regardless of not being blood related. shanks unknowingly trying to heal his own childhood wounds through her.

telling himself that he could do better than roger and then somehow ruining things and doing way worse than roger ever did with him.

#and god forbid rocks is his bio dad because good lord #the only man willing to call him son being one of the worst terrors in the world like this man's daddy issues cannot grow any further #(they can) #i don't even think the word dad was uttered on the oro jackson rip #anyway the point of this is !! shanks trying to heal from how he was raised and him doing that through uta #which is both a wildly selfish and an unselfish act #i don't think he even realized that's what he was doing at the time #he's that meme about parents raising children and not wanting to fuck them up the way your parents fucked you up #but then you end up fucking them up in a whole new way #there is so much psychology on adoption and how it can hurt children even when raised in loving enviornments #i started this yesterday bc i was talking to rye about roger and shanks vs shanks and uta #deep my in my feels lately apparently #though i'm always in my roger and shanks feels damn #UTA. #HEADCANON. #anyway...i'm normal....

[outeremissary]

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Balthazar and Tristian!

I hope all is well in the once-Stolen Lands! The hardest part of moving back to Cheliax away from Mendev is the distance between my old diplomatic allies turned friends. On this day of love and friendship, I extend my most cheerful of celebrations to you two! Please take it easy today, the kingdom can afford one day of a break, Balthazar. I promise it’s not going to all fall apart. You’re lucky Tristian has the patience of a saint. 

Hopefully these gifts will give you an excuse to step off the throne for a little bit! The wine and cheese is local to Cheliax. Of course, I don’t know how it compares to what you guys produce over there, but I hope it at least is palatable enough for a date night! I’ve also sent along some books on ancient arcane rituals that might interest you - Regill would’ve insisted they be thoroughly examined for anything dangerous… which technically you can do. We won’t tell him. It’s wrapped in the fashion magazines last I picked up from Absalom - I hope I didn’t bend their pages doing so! I remember you also being really into that sort of stuff.  

I also sent along some balm I found when I was there for feathers. I can’t believe how soft it’s made mine, I really just had to pass it along to you too! I know what a huge pain it is to care for them, especially with your wings. Hopefully you find it useful! I’d love to come visit sometime - if you have any other world ending cataclysms, I’m just a Sending away!

-Warm regards, Minovae!"

My dear Minovae,

Though this letter falls into your lap a touch late for me to properly wish you well for the holiday, I can certainly send my hopes that you spent it pleasantly with that husband of yours. Though duty never takes a holiday, I must say you more than earned the rest. I can only hope you enjoyed a long and indulgent vacation for the holiday. Perhaps at the spas you have told me so much about, or maybe enjoying that evergreen Chelaxian theater scene (though I confess I can’t imagine Regill sitting through an opera without making his displeasure quite known). Tristian sends regards as well, and is with me insisting on knowing what I put down. He has doubts about some of the books, Minovae- you will have to reassure him when next you write.

As for us, you needn’t have worried. The toil of the realm is ceaseless, it’s true, but I do still know how to enjoy myself. Spending a day like that bent over petitions and tax documents… if that ever happens, I’ll be the first calling for revolution. No, we didn’t do even a little work on the date, I’m happy to say. Tristian even came back to bed after dawn prayer- the closest to sleeping in I think we manage. It was a fairly quiet affair this year (no travel or shows this time around), but the time in was well spent. I’m sorry to have missed your gifts on the day! I do miss the cuisine of the Inner Sea- the wine and cheese would have been an excellent addition to the evening. You speak far too modestly of your gifts. It will be a long while before anything as fine emerges here.

At any rate, between the fine southern vintage and the news of Absalom, you’ve awoken something of a nostalgia in me. You’re in danger of playing host rather than visitor if this continues. I only half jest- I’ve been playing with the idea of some “diplomatic tour” as excuse for a while now. But I suspect you can tear yourself away from your post somewhat easier than I, and we would be happy to have you again even sans cataclysm. Here- I’ve sent some things along that might tantalize you. That pendant should be a lovely complement to your eyes- though it’s been some time, I should think I remember their color well enough. It was crafted by one of the artisans near Lake Silverstep, who sought to capture the silver-blue of the mountains not only in the frame for the gem but that thread-thin chain as well. What a lovely coincidence that hue is also counted among your scales! The music box is Pitaxian and is from both of us- there have always been renowned instrument crafters in the city, but what a delight to see the songs themselves captured, yes? And speaking of the region… a lovely Sarain white. I’ve no local cheese to send to pair it with, sadly. At times like this I wish that Jubilost were still here. Much as he could be an insufferable ass, if you could sit through his scoffing at your ignorance there really was no one better at finding the right local complement for any vintage (Tristian wishes you to know he strongly objects to my word choice, though he cedes Jubilost could be “somewhat overbearing”). At any rate, the vintage is citrusy, a touch dry, and pairs well with something salty but mild. If you’re near enough to Westcrown, I’ve also heard it works splendidly with oysters.

Yours truly,

Balthazar and Tristian

P.S. The balm really is a marvel. You’ll have to tell me where you got it, as I’m already sure I’ll mourn its absence when it’s gone.

(author's note: I wrote the tags before the letter and now I'm too scared of them to change them whatever's happening down there is happening)

#what a coincidence to mention balms I've been reading a lot about wings lately #*pepe silvia voice* have I told you about the wings we need to talk about the wings let's talk about the wings #did you know that most birds have under their tail a preen gland that produces the oil used for preening? #the oil isn't necessary to waterproof the feathers (their interlock takes care of that) but it helps protect and lubricate them #they're largely dead structures so they can become brittle and if damaged can't be repaired quickly #oil from the preen gland helps to increase their longevity and carry them through between molts #“but emi!” I hear you say. “most winged humanoids don't have tails! surely this is an issue. where is their preen gland” #great question from the audience! I too was thinking about that #minovae spends significant time with protective salves and such for her scales I thought. perhaps such a thing is necessary. #it certainly amused me to imagine how difficult this must make their care and how painfully dependent on assistance one must be #for so much of the wingspan is out of reach! #or of course one could give a winged person a preen gland. relocate it. I couldn't settle on a place that felt right. #but then emerged a third solution #for while most birds have a preen gland “most” is not “all” #and the vast majority of the others (including some birds with large wingspans and slow molts like a number of parrots) #instead produce powder down! #powder down being a type of down feather that breaks down into a powder naturally #and when preened through the feathers adheres to them in a slightly waxy sometimes metallic looking coat #powder down can either grow in big patches on the chest and thighs or be scattered throughout the feathers #and as of the time of writing I /believe/ that can include the wings (although I have to imagine not the most A+ source) #isn't that neat? doesn't remove the need for preening of course but it certainly makes life a little easier to produce your own stuff #at any rate I imagine one might find bird dander inconvenient despite its advantageous properties #and between that and the limitations of production prefer to supplement with artificial products anyway! #really my rule of thumb with the wings is “if realism is funny or interesting they work in realistic ways” #“if not they don't or they meet in the middle wherever it gets interesting” #ask me emithing #balthazar lucienne #balthazar and tristian #minovae arangeir #silversiren1101

[giantkillerjack]

pssst.... there are a lot of queer christians! their experiences and faith are valid. it sucks you weren't able to jive with the church, but don't act like its impossible because of your sexuality when many other lgbt folx have managed just fine

My friend, you do you, but being a faggot dyke tranny helped keep me out of an abusive organization, and for me and all of my formerly religious friends, that is that.

#t slur #f slur #d slur #truly I am working through a rainbow alphabet of queer slurs at this time! #original #listen if you're able to believe that your God loves you then you should do that. #I tried to for many years myself. but it never came back no matter how much I wanted it #and I think the fact that queer people are generally safer in non-religious environments in America is extremely telling #alright i think I've officially hit my limit with this so I'm probably gonna stop responding to anons #I was such a good little Christian Child. but I was so so sad and so scared and so ashamed. and I didn't even know I was gay yet! #I get that there are queer christians but like. there are waaay more former Christian queers for a reason. #seems only a very small percentage of us born into the church grow up to be in the church #I like how Stephen Fry talks about it. a lot of atheist speakers are fucking assholes about it like Bill Maher but Stephen Fry really #approaches the issue from what appears to be a genuine love for other humans and a desire to see them treated well #maybe it's not impossible for YOUR sexuality but for me I'm too nose deep in pussy praise the Lord it's a medical condition XD #in my defense humor also helped me leave the church. things have less power when they can be funny. and i needed it to have less power. #because it was an abusive situation #gods I'm so proud of the phrase 'nose-deep in pussy'. can't believe I thought of that in a goddamn catechism post 😅 #actually no wait I can totally believe that