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beanghostprincess · 5 months

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Just thinking about ASL living together (modern AU) and Ace always trying to sneak Yamato inside their house without Sabo's knowledge because he doesn't want him to go all 'responsible older brother' on him. But the reason why he's always letting Yamato stay over is because his life at home is obviously... Not so good and he hates being there so he tries to spend most of his time outside. And Ace's heart aches every time he has to let him go, so he often lets him stay over. It becomes more constant and less of a 'sneaking in for a while' thing. And Sabo knows. Because of course, Sabo knows. Sabo always knows what's going on. One day he wakes up to see Yamato having breakfast and Yamato gets all anxious and not knowing what to say and trying to make an excuse (because that's what Ace told him to do if this ever happened) and Sabo is just like "Do you want anything else?" / "Huh? What?" / "I mean. You're eating cereal but we have more stuff in here, you know? At least one of us can cook. What do you want? I can make you pancakes." / "YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE PANCAKES???????" / "Oh my god, what has my brother been feeding you in here???" / "Mostly leftovers." / "Dude, why are you still with him?" / "Because I love him!" / "Yeah, no, me too. I guess love makes you do stupid things like dealing with a fucking moron like him. Anyway- Pancakes?"

And then Ace wakes up to find his brother and his boyfriend actually getting along and laughing and having breakfast together, and he needs a second to process everything because he's tired as fuck and maybe he's hallucinating. But that doesn't matter because the point is that he's fucked.

Ace: ..... Hi? Sabo: Hey :) Ace: What are you two doing? Yamato: WE'RE HAVING BREAKFAST :D Ace: Yes, babe, I can see that. Why are you here, Sabo? I thought you were- Sabo: I got home last night from college. We have some days off. Now, care to explain why you've been treating your cool boyfriend like a dog instead of giving him actual meals? Ace: I- You're not angry? Sabo: Oh, no. I am angry. Can't you see I'm angry? Ace: Sometimes you give me mixed signals and I'm never sure...? Sabo: I'm angry. That clear enough? Ace: Yes. Yamato: Okay, so Sabo is the only person that scares you. That's good to know. Ace: OH SHUT UP HE DOESN'T SCARE ME I AM NOT AFRAID OF MY BROTHER Sabo: Ace. Ace: ... I'm sorry.

Then, Sabo takes Ace to a more private place in the house and expects an explanation from him and Ace can't keep the secret anymore. So he tells him about Yamato's dad and how he is not a good person and he's always keeping him locked and making his life a living hell. And Ace is literally begging Sabo to let him stay for a while and Sabo is just staring at him like "Why would I not let him? How could I not? Do you see me as some kind of controlling demon around this house or what?" / "I mean, you're kind of scary sometimes-" / "Because you don't do shit around here and when I left for college I expected you to take care of Luffy. But I'm not making Yamato leave! What the fuck, Ace? You should've told me." / "I just- I just don't want him to go back there. He's, like, the nicest guy I've ever known. He's just so good, Sabo. I don't want him to-" / "Yeah. Yeah. He's the love of your life and you're gonna get married and have a fairytale ending or some bullshit like that." / "I did NOT say that." / "But you love him. I'm not letting him stay over if you're not serious about this. We barely have money for us three and we're lucky I can go to college." / "... I know. I know. I do. I do, you know. Like. The L word. You know I can't say it." / "Idiot." / "You're so mean to me. You don't do this shit to Luffy." / "Because at least Luffy has the decency of telling me when his friends are coming over." / "That's what you think." / "What? / "Nothing."

So, long story short, Yamato has the chance to actually live with them for a while if he wants to. Of course, he can't do it permanently. But he knows he has a home there if he ever feels like leaving his own house.

#sabo is a fucking liar he only knows how to cook because koala taught him #and also sabo is a fucking mess too he just says he isn't but he is #sorry now i am thinking about yamato and ace cuddling at night and i'm very sad because i love them and i think we should talk more about i #the hurt/comfort potential of this ship #one piece #portgas d. ace #revolutionary sabo #asl brothers #yamato #yamace

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songwings · 7 months

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Deaf AU, or: Why Miriam Is Deaf and How This Changes Very Little

(Shard) Ok so! We've only posted art of this AU thus far but i feel compelled to ramble about it, so here we go. Also disclaimer that while this could be any sign language, we're more familiar with American Sign Language and the deaf culture in the United States, so that's what I'll say for this post.

The basic premise is that Miriam is deaf (born that way) - and not much else changes, besides a few things:

The mode of communication between her and Kiwi, and later Audrey (sign language.)

Kiwi already knows some ASL, there be deaf and hard of hearing residents in Langtree!

Audrey loses her hearing and becomes deaf over the course of the game's story, thanks to her very loud sword.

This AU manifested as a result of us seeing Miriam's loneliness and the isolation that seems to be inherent to being a Scary Witch - that's the same for deafness! You might not believe it, but many people see deafness as something horrifying and look away and ignore it. Witches seem to have this exclusive, closed-off culture in Chaandesh - particularly Mohabumi, where Miriam barely feels at home despite being around what should be her own people. That's a very familiar feeling to us and we felt like it'd be nice to explore in her character.

Act 1:

The AU centers around Miriam being deaf and Kiwi is annoying by singing to her until she notices them and tells them she's deaf. Funny doodles from Rostrum.

Here's how Rostrum thought it'd go in Acts 2-5.

Act 2:

The introduction goes just the same, with everyone fingerspelling their names first, then Miriam and Saphy giving their sign names. Kiwi doesn't have one yet - they know enough ASL to communicate well with the witches but they weren't given a sign name back in Langtree. Art and sign names by Kyka.

In the caves, Miriam will warn Kiwi about the trolls, but doesn't hear the troll when he jumps up right behind her and roars. Kiwi is bowled over, but I thought it'd be funny if Miriam just stayed right there, completely immune to the troll's auditory screaming.

"i can explode him right here"

"NO MIRIAM!!! let me try singing!"

"i have magical powers and i'm not the one getting bowled over by some screeching kiwi."

She just narrowly misses the troll's attack with a visual warning from Kiwi and lets the bard sing to him.

Later into Act 2, Miriam does everything just the same - yes, even getting a ride with the Coffee Pirates. Just because she's deaf doesn't mean she can't communicate with like, a pen and paper, or basic gestures recognizable to the Delphi locals.

Act 3:

Not much changes, either. (Miriam in regular Wandersong is always annoyed with singing in this act, anyways.) Though for ease's sake, the mermaids would know sign language, so they could teach Miriam the Overseer song in order for her to reach Kiwi in the collapsed Chaoscape. We haven't exactly decided yet what the songs would look like if they aren't exclusively spoken songs, but the mermaids would teach Miriam a different version that doesn't involve singing.

Also she'd shake Kiwi by the shoulders instead of yelling at them to wake up. This is just how deaf people wake up :)

Act 4:

Essentially the same. If we go with characterizing Peter as a nice guy, he'd know some ASL already and would sign to her on that date as opposed to playing music. Ooooor depending on how a balalaika works, he might show her how the instrument feels to play, and that might be Miriam's first introduction (in-game) to instrumental music.

(The deafness doesn't really make her feel any worse than she already does in-game. I imagine Ira, Kiwi's mother, would be very curious about her deafness and ask her to teach the old lady a few signs.)

She would definitely enjoy playing the drums in the factory strike.

Meanwhile, Queen Order's castle. We meet Audrey. She's losing a little of her hearing at this point and is angry at the two for blocking her way. I haven't decided yet if she already has prior knowledge of ASL or not (leaning towards "no" but learns after she sees Miriam). She fights Miriam and actually can't speak to her, if she doesn't know ASL, but at least recognizes that she is deaf. After they finish fighting she yells and storms off - Kiwi would interpret for her after, I think.

Act 5:

Part One - Rulle

Night Sky

(Shard) I realized from this point onwards (after watching a playthrough) there's dialogue on the broom. I'm pretty sure you need at least one hand to steer a broom, but you can also sign with one hand, so let me just draw how I think that conversation would go.

...yeah, this wouldn't work with ASL. For so many reasons. It's akin to being in the driver's seat and turning your head around to see the other person signing in the backseat. While balancing precariously on a broom that you yourself are steering. While the other person has to practically lean sideways so you can see them. While you are less than a foot apart. In the dark moonlit night or while the sun is glaring at you.

Talking on the broom is a no-go.

...but I really don't want these conversations to be missed out on, so I'll say Kiwi convinces Miriam to land a little sooner so they can talk while walking to their destinations. Also, maybe a flame or light spell so they can actually see each other. Though it'd still be hard to talk.

Frontier Inn

(Shard) My wingmate skipped over the border towns part in hir earlier notes! I'll fill in this part.

The deaf witch would gesture for a pen and paper, but the innkeeper would be confused and speak to Kiwi first. They would interpret for Miriam and redirect the talking to her and it should go on the same from there, albeit with that bit of inaccessibility in mind.

Also, she has to be shaken awake after sleeping on the floor.

Lumber Town

In the forest just before, Miriam wouldn't notice the quietness - but she would notice the absence of the animals. Just pointing out how this is kind of a trope in horror, that something is going to be silent before it's scary, but it would not be scary to Miriam. Until she sees the ghosts.

Xiatian

(Rostrum) Lightning strikes are LOUD.

At this point, Audrey's hearing loss becomes noticeable to her and she finds that she struggles to understand people. She remembers the silly bard and witch using those weird flappy hands during her fight. Out of sheer spite she tries to learn the local sign language, but has to ask Eyala to basically give her the knowledge the same way the Dream King did for Kiwi, so she's ready and actually excited to sign with Kiwi and Miriam when they arrive in Xiatian.

and next time they see her in Rulle Miriam is like "wait YOU know how to sign??? HOW MUCH TIME DID WE SPEND IN CHISMEST"

Audrey's like heheh it's no biggie i want to be accessible to everyone <3

But in truth she's losing her hearing - and is half freaking out about it - and that is possibly why she trusts them to get the Potion of Power then and there. She sympathizes with Miriam. she's still arrogant though lol At the King's palace, the King might be a little suspicious of Kiwi interpreting for Miriam, but not as suspicious as he is of the witch herself. Interpreters can't be at all that uncommon in royal settings as they do need to negotiate with other countries. But Miriam would feel a little left out by the ghost singing through Kiwi - it depends on how the Spirit Language manifests and whether or not that's visible to deaf people. (I like to think it might be. But if Kiwi is the medium for the ghosts to speak through...)

... For a long time, we struggled to write this part where both Audrey and Miriam would learn the song. In the end, Vesta said this is how it would go:

(Vesta) Audrey is losing her hearing and tells the King to sing louder. He does. She says there has to be another way. The King sends her away and she's like RAAAUGHHH! Miriam follows her still, evading the palace guards.

Audrey stomps and Eyala appears. "Bestie, there IS another way!" She teaches her a different version of the song, with sign language, maybe, or a dance, but I like sign language better. It should be ASL poetry.

(Rostrum) And Miriam is able to memorize this after following her! Again, and unfortunately, the sunset sky scene doesn't happen. Though there might be a different scene where Miriam flew up to that "???" place Mask was at, with all of the butterflies, and is found tending to Kiwi when Kiwi wakes up and Miriam explains to her what's going on.

It's two days now.

Sky Temple (Sun Overseer's Song)

Instead of using a piccolo at all, Miriam has to sign the song that was given to Audrey. And instead of telling Kiwi to not listen too closely, she'd ask Kiwi to turn away so they can't see her awkward signing. Whether or not Kiwi actually does this is up to your imagination.

Part Two - Chaandesh

Before I go on ahead, a reminder. Chaandesh - and especially Mohabumi, and Miriam's reactions to feeling left out as a witch - that's the part that made us relate so strongly to her. And that is what inspired this AU.

One major difference in Chaandesh in this AU - though I don't think it changes the game very much - is that many witches do know ASL there, so some of the NPCs would sign to Kiwi! There would be a sizeable Deaf community in the city of witches especially. This isn't to say that all witches are deaf, but I wanted to point that aspect out as large Deaf communities do exist in most cities in reality.

And it'd also contribute to how left out Miriam feels, out of both the witch and deaf communities. It's difficult to get information about either if you just aren't part of them.

Mystery Forest

I'll say Vivian and Sandra know sign language, and would recognize that Miriam is deaf and sign normally to her. Everyone fights the monster and things go on as usual.

In the following sky ride scene where the Spell Squad flies them to the ferry... this IS the one scene where they could sign because someone else is flying the broom! Unfortunately there's very little dialogue in this scene.

The Ferry

I just want to point out this huge nugget of dialogue:

"This whole kingdom… feels like a big club, that I was never invited to."

The inspiration for this whole AU. This one line sparked all this. I'll explain more because I'm actually watching a playthrough just so I can get this AU as accurate as possible, so...

When Audrey appears, she'd probably talk in simcom, which is essentially a variant of ASL where you both sign and speak at the same time. Some might consider it offputting, but she'd be skilled enough at it - and she'd sign SO dramatically!

Mohabumi

Only going to speak on scenes where I think Miriam's dialogue OR actions would change.

In the academy, when Kiwi sees her struggling on the broom... I mean, there's no way she can both sign AND re-learn how to fly on the broom. For hilarity, I say she falls the first time Kiwi gets her attention, and more sensibly, hops off the broom every other time Kiwi talks to her there. I don't think the conversation about music would change at all.

The Crater...

... we've thought about this so many times but it's only now that I actually see the conversation that I realize we don't need to rewrite this at all. It's strange, because before this game, and ESPECIALLY before this part, we just didn't like music. We didn't know what it meant. We didn't know how it could motivate people and be compelling. It felt like a big club that we weren't invited to. Sound familiar?

It's hard to describe how the game changed our feelings on music. In some ways they stayed the same - it's still a little exclusive, but it felt like it opened our eyes to how influential it really could be. The emotions behind playing an instrument, or singing, or dancing. And dancing is a physical form of music! It reacts to vibrations! So Miriam would feel right at home here no matter what her hearing status is. The drumbeats of Manny's music, and potentially the speakers amplifying the music in general, would reach Miriam if this was a loud enough space. In that moment she'd feel like she belonged, being brought back to home where music too was played with drumbeats.

Broom Ride

This necessitates its own section because it's an important conversation and it breaks my heart that, again, in this AU it can't be had on the broom. But I want to give this conversation justice because it hit close to home for us.

Miriam: "It was weird being in a city of other witches. I thought it'd be a place where i fit in. But I didn't."

Kiwi: "That just means you're special!"

Miriam: "Well. Maybe... I don't want to be so special. I've been special my whole life. Around Delphi, me and Saphy were the only witches. I never knew someone else like me. And I guess I still don't.

It doesn't feel good to be different like this. I feel like I'm just messed up. And I'll never fit in anywhere."

Exactly what being deaf or any kind of disabled feels like. It feels like a very specific part of being autistic, too... we're autistic so we know this well.

Kiwi: "We're outsiders... together!"

Sky Temple (Eclipse Duet)

Another strange part of this AU we've thought about for a while! We imagined them dancing, or signing together, or such... but if the order of events demands that Miriam learned the signed version of the Sun Overseer's song, and Kiwi learned the spoken version of the Moon's...

I think the way Kiwi sings by pointing their hand, Miriam could see it visually and perhaps her own hand movements would even mirror Kiwi's. Or the other way around. I think Kiwi would make an effort to visually convey the nature of their half of the song to Miriam, strengthening the harmony... the same way the moon reflects the sun.

The Eclipse

Miriam gets hurt. She obviously can't hear or see Kiwi, so Kiwi would shake her in a desperate attempt to wake her as Audrey walks up - and Audrey at this point has lost a lot of her hearing, but I guess if Miriam is unconscious, there would be no reason for her to sign as she's only talking to the bard. Albeit by now, her speech is inflected with numerous gestures to emphasize her points.

Kiwi is angry enough to raise their voice. It's not enough for Audrey. Either she doesn't hear them and turns around to pay attention to them, or she never does because she never picked up the habit to pay attention to the things around her. When you grow up as a deaf person, your senses overcompensate for the one you never had or lost - this AU's Audrey doesn't have that advantage just yet.

When they carry Miriam down from the Sky Temple... there's no way you can sign to someone while carrying them at the same time. So that little snippet of conversation doesn't happen.

No other changes. Also, this part breaks my heart, I want you to know this.

Act 6:

Audrey's Introspection

Miriam isn't here, and technically this AU is all about her and how her deafness affects small details in the game. So if this AU was only about that we'd stop here and skip ahead to Act 7.

However, Audrey is deaf by this point. And she has to contend with that while ALSO dealing with a singing bard.

In her first appearance in this act, I think she'd monologue with her voice. She wouldn't hear Kiwi's complaints as she drinks the false Potion of Power and collapses in that same hilarious way. When they're in the cave, she continues speaking with her voice until she falls to her knees contending with her mortality.

The bard tries speaking to her at first. Then they sign to her. Audrey looks up and signs back. "Not without my sword. And hearing."

(Brief author's note: I gave Eyala the sign name of "EYE-la." This is a very fun sign name and she would introduce herself with it when she discovered Audrey was losing her hearing and taught her sign language.)

The conversation in the cave goes roughly the same... Audrey seems like the sort of person to shrug off even losing her hearing, thinking that's what she has to do to be the hero. It matters a LOT to her, deep down inside - Eyala told her it was necessary, that she wouldn't need her hearing in the end anyways - but it stings to gain a disability in exchange for being the hero, doesn't it?

Is it a blessing or a curse that she doesn't hear the wails of the Overseers and monsters she slays? That she can't hear the Bard's songs anymore?

But then, Miriam simply being there disproves all of that. She's another person who doesn't necessarily connect with music in the traditional sense. It took her a long time to truly feel comfortable with music as a foundation of the world. Being deaf doesn't make you ignorant to the world, after all... it makes the world ignorant to you. Being deaf her whole life means Miriam's had to grow up fighting to feel like she fits into the world at all. She carved out her own path in life.

The Beast

Theoretically, the Hero and Bard could sign to each other even at that distance where Kiwi is on the cliff and Audrey is down on the platform above lava. If you have good sight, ASL goes a long way.

Act 7:

I like to think this is when Miriam gives Kiwi a sign name after they both return to Langtree. Unfortunately, I still haven't thought of a sign name for the bard, so that's on hold for a while.

Kiwi wouldn't have to interpret for the fairies, I think they can speak any language they need to communicate in. And that includes sign language.

We neglected to say what the spirit language would look like to Miriam who has been trained to understand it, but I think it'd be symbols. Literal visual symbols. Up in the air. Since it's mentioned that Kiwi speaks in strange symbols, which is a visual element, I think Miriam can see or sense the symbols and understand. Which also means she understands what the Dream King says as his last words.

The boss fight goes on as usual. Audrey signs VERY angrily to them after having her sword taken - with aggressive body language, faster signs that the bard and witch just barely pick up.

The Choir

... I'll be honest with you, we agonized over this particular scene for a long time. In the original game, the highlight is Miriam singing in front of everyone.

A singing Miriam would undermine this AU. It isn't vocal chords that deaf people most naturally turn to for communication - it's hands. I don't think a deaf Miriam has any reason to use her voice to sing here, even when she can use her voice.

So a change I'm making here in order to make myself feel more comfortable with this scene is that more of the crowd would dance - in fact, I think all of the people of the world would harmonize in their own way, be it with their voice, an instrument, dancing, or whatever other funky way they like. Thusly, Miriam dances in the end. It shouldn't be only singing that saves the world.

It's sad that the creators of this game didn't put in other means of singing, or explain how deaf people would harmonize with a worldwide auditory song, but that's okay. I know how we can harmonize in our way.

...

And that's the end of this long-winded post about how Miriam could be deaf and that'd change very little about the story. Also, I'm very tired from writing half this dang post and I hope it makes sense to people who aren't deaf.

I hope you enjoyed reading! And don't be afraid to ask questions if you're curious about this AU!

- Rostrum

#shardposts #deaf au #wandersong #wandersong au #miriam wandersong #rostrumposts #vestaposts #long post #asl #we have too many complicated feelings about music #and this au is kind of a love letter to that

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rattusn0rvegicus · 16 days

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Tbh I feel like hard of hearing people are so left out of the disabled community sometimes. I see positivity in spades for so many other conditions. And I'm glad for those people, but no one even remembers hard of hearing folks.

Especially considering that at least 25% of people over 60 will lose significant amounts of their hearing (but honestly, the online disabled community skews so young, and as a result, ageism runs rampant - I'm not surprised that most people don't really care, due to the demographics)

Some more sad lonely HoH experiences (woe is me):

Being the ONLY person who's a kid/teen/young adult at the audiologist

Missing out on SO many group conversations

The isolation other people put onto you when they ignore or "nevermind" you when you ask them to repeat themselves for the second or third or fourth time, or worse, tell you you're stupid or intentionally ignoring them

Not learning ASL as a kid because you could "get by" just enough in quiet environments and it's much more difficult to learn a language as an adult

Also on that point, not fitting in with the Deaf community either because you weren't raised in the culture and don't know ASL (plus you feel like an imposter because you CAN get by in the hearing world, just not easily or all the time)

Having speech issues (lisps, "deaf accent", etc) that make you stand out

Some kewl facts:

According to the WHO, 80% of people with disabling hearing loss come from low- and middle- income countries, and who cares about people who aren't living in rich countries in the Global North, amiright? (Sarcasm. This is sarcasm.)

About 1% of people aged 20-40 have hearing loss. (I mean, honestly, that's about the same amount of people who have many other conditions, so like. Why does no one ever talk about us, lol)

Hearing loss raises your risk for dementia. This is thought to be in part due to how we withdraw socially/isolate and get less simulation.

Other common comorbidities include depression (duh), balance/vestibular issues (makes sense when you think about it) and cardiovascular disease (this one's a mystery to me).

How to help hard of hearing people:

When going out to movies and stuff, don't be afraid to ask your hard of hearing friend if they would like to stop by the counter and see if the theatre has some kind of closed captioning device. A lot of us are aware that these exist, but we're so tired of being a "burden" already due to constantly asking people to repeat themselves.

Many theatres also have showings where the captions are on screen, so that's definitely worth checking out (even preferable!).

A great gift for your hard of hearing buddy: Raincoat with hood. Seriously, we need something to cover our ears in the rain because hearing aids are EXPENSIVE (Average cost for ONE SINGLE HEARING AID is $2000. I'm not kidding) and not all that waterproof.

Oh or a Costco membership because you can get a PAIR of hearing aids at Costco for $1600!

PATIENCE. Please omg. If you don't like repeating yourself five times, ask if you can just write it down. We'll probably say yes, because it is just as frustrating for us as it is for you.

If you're eating at a restaurant, ask your friend if they'd prefer to eat outside, or get takeout instead. All the extra noise makes it really difficult for us to follow conversations and we'll probably just sit there in the corner looking sad and lonely and ruining all your fun 😔 lol

If we say we need something due to our hearing loss (like a quieter environment, captions, etc) please respect that!

A few more tips for HoH folks:

If you're in the US, check out your department of vocational rehabilitation. They might be able to provide hearing aids for cheaper.

Lion's Club is another good one, they're an international organization that provides free hearing aids.

DeafMetal has some cool hearing aid and CI jewelry and you can get lots of fun decor for 'em on Etsy too! Fuck those boring skin tones lol

#hard of hearing #Idk maybe it's because some d/Deaf/HoH folks don't consider it a disability #But like? As someone who doesn't know ASL? I absolutely do #and IMO if autism is both a neurodivergence and a disability couldn't the same be said for hearing issues?#Anyways I know I'm just complaining but. Man it'd be nice to even get a mention sometimes lol #disability #LONG ASS POST OOPS #That being said I need to go to Costco and get my hearing aids reprogrammed lol #edit: removed the specific diagnoses mentioned in the first paragraph bc I don't want this to seem like a competition or like I'm #digging at those ppl lol

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highfantasy-soul · 5 months

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Echo was such an incredible look at how great own voices stories can really be - and how so many people aren't interested in stories that aren't rehashing their own worldview.

I've straight up seen reviewers complaining that the characters didn't speak 'normally' while signing! And stated that very ignorant 'critique' loudly and repeatedly! And not getting why talking shots were wide instead of close ups on faces. If you take 2 singular seconds to think about that, you'll figure it out!!

They admit they know nothing about ASL, then proceed to critique the way its depicted in the show. So what I'm getting is that they don't really want any experiences to be shown except for their own. Their own vision of what makes 'good' filmmaking or 'good' acting is limited to their own, narrow world view with no thought to accessibility for others.

It's another layer of people being 'annoyed' at accommodations for anyone with a different set of abilities whether that be disabled, not a native speaker, etc. The idea that things might be presented a bit differently than they think is 'good cinema' makes them throw the whole thing out as 'bad' when really, their definition of 'good' is skewed and narrow.

We're seeing, yet again, how narrowing what is 'good' art is pushing out ASL speakers because 'close ups are better cinema and you can't get the hands in the shot, but it's fine, those people don't need to be able to know what's being said'. It promotes incorrect stereotypes that make the disability a shallow aesthetic choice rather than just a real fact of the story/ character.

From what I know about ASL, and the people who worked on the show (also casting actually deaf people), it gives a great depiction of what is really like to communicate with ASL - as just a normal aspect of life, not just an aesthetic choice.

It costs 0 dollars to see people whispering while signing and Google why that might be. It takes very little brain power to notice there are few close ups when characters are speaking to those who are deaf and connect that 'hey, they're communicating with their hands, not their mouths, so it makes sense to keep their hands in the shot'.

But ignorant nit picking gets clicks, so until that changes, looks like the more own voices stories we get, the more ignorant twat-wad 'opinions' we're going to have to wade through.

#echo #marvel echo #marvel tv #maya lopez #echo tv

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bird-likes-to-fandom · 1 year

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"People have names on pretend birthdays, too." "You could call yourself Ezra," "What's an Ezra?" "It's a very special name from a very special person. You could have him, if you'd like." "Can Ezra have the curliest hair?" "Of course he can." "... Ezra, with the Curliest Hair."

drawn for day 6 of the @june-doe-event - Swapped roles! I have an actual AU that I've been thinking about for the past week or two, and I'm going to talk about it below.

Ocean - The Most Imaginative Girl in Town. She's doomed from the start. she imagines a better world, a world where she's a leader and everything goes the way she wants it to. But in reality, she "will never leave this town at all," so to speak. During her time in the warehouse, she taps into the side of her in canon that feels distraught and helpless, the part that spirals into the "we're all just starfarts!" rhetoric. Due to her being so religious, she understands that this was the time for her to die, she's just having a REALLY hard time accepting it. She concedes not because she wants to, but because she knows this is her end. Her song is a poppy tune with secretly dismal lyrics about how no matter how hard you try, death is inevitable. Noel - The Most Ambitious Boy in Town. His ambitions to get to France are very strong in this AU. He works insanely hard to get out of Uranium. He didn't get to have a life where he was himself, poetic and out in the open, and that's his main drive for wanting to go back. I think his song is pretty much the same as in canon. Mischa - The Most Romantic Boy in Town. Mischa was adopted into a good adoptive family who decided they were going to give this obviously troubled teenager a safe, stable home. They provided him with a trusting, loving space, and his adoptive father taught him how to play the acoustic guitar. Mischa still finds Talia online through youtube and their relationship is the same. Instead of hip hop and rap, he mostly writes love songs and Ukrainian folk music. Instead of two songs, he has one about Talia and his love for her and need to be with her.

John Doe - In this AU, Ricky is a John Doe. The authorities were from out of town and wanted everything to be over with, and didn't understand ASL, so Ricky was left unidentified. His head is an astronaut helmet with cat ears that he made himself (sculpted the ears out of foam and clay and glued them to a normal helmet before painting it purple) Before his song, Ricky usually signs rather than speaks. Penny is the only choir member to understand ASL because it was taught in Elysium, which means that the rest of the choir can't understand Ricky unless she's interpreting. He has no voice and he doesn't know why. Ricky's song is about feeling misunderstood with no way to be understood, because he doesn't know who he is. He can't voice his feelings because he doesn't know them.

Penny - The Nicest Girl in Town. The town perceives her as "easy", easiest to bully, easiest to forget, easiest to ask for the science homework from. They label her as the nice one bc she's gullible enough to fall for it. Swap Penny is a pushover, and her need to be liked is much more prevalent here. She's desperate for positive attention, and her bullies label her the nice one to get away with using her. Her song is more about her life and how there's so much more to her than what the town perceives her as. She still has her dolly in this AU, and gives her to John as a birthday present. She and John actually become good friends throughout the course of the warehouse.

Constance - The Angriest Girl in Town. She was treated the same way she was in canon, but in death she lets loose and reveals her true emotions about everything. She's done with being a doormat. She's dead! Who cares anymore? She's dead and she spent her life catering to Ocean, and she's not going to spend the afterlife the same way. Constance says "fuck it" and lets her real self show, and I love her for that. She gets two songs - one that's really just a big vent session, with a punk rock theme where she gets to just let loose, and Sugar Cloud, where she talks about how life wasn't all terrible. I think she still has her realization in the middle of death that life was worth loving, it just comes along with realizing that life is both the good and the bad, that it's okay and even deserved to be angry.

#please send asks abt this au i love it sm #june doe #june doe event #rtc swap au #rtc #ride the cyclone #john doe ricky #john doe ricky potts #ricky potts #ocean o'connell rosenberg #noel gruber #mischa bachinski #penny lamb #constance blackwood #bird likes to art #spacedolls

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nighthazerpg · 1 month

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Patch May 4th

Well that got away from me a little bit, here's a bargain bin full of small fixes and clarifications. Any substantive change that's not just clearing up wording has bold on it:

Martial Arts involving a melee attack now specify that they inherit the damage type of the weapon you're using - this made sense intuitively anyway, but it was worth being clear

Some minor clarifications on Pin, Shield and Boost Kick so their intent is clear.

Quickload may now be used in conjunction with other Trickshots because otherwise it just kind of sucks

Added the ability for the Drift Technique Stunt to be used with two-wheeled vehicles so you can Akira slide - and do so under that tanker truck that's sideways, but you can only drift for one turn!

The Brake Check and PIT Manoeuvre Stunts can now be used against vehicles up to one weight class above yours because without that they're just Ramming But Worse

Specified that the Gotcha! Stunt refers to you catching people with your vehicle, not reaching out the driver side window to catch people that sounds like it would end badly

The Blend In trait now has an * on the "you can't take this as a Pony" rule because there are exceptions like Palominians but there isn't the space to explain that in the Trait box

Added the Staggered condition to the list of Crowd Control effects on tab 10. It's just reference in case you never read the Martial Arts section

Specified that Aim only benefits the immediately proceeding Action

Specified that Thermocompensator Vest targets Resistance

Changed the notation on special ammo for the Amount of Default ammo to be "-" rather than "Infinite" because that raises more questions than it answers

Specified that the Combat Power Wing does not lose its Cover bonus against Opponents at higher altitudes

Specified that Heelz don't do anything if you're flying

Specified that normal methods of Fall mitigation do not apply to the damage taken in car crashes

Carrying capacity of ASL Encore buffed from L to 0.5. We'll be monitoring this change closely and watching out for any shenanigans that result. We're really trusting the community not to go crazy on this one.

Cargo capacity of F512 Hovercraft nerfed from L to 0. This terror has finally been reined in. I know the F512 mains will have my head for this one but the toxic gameplay that came out of this just had to stop.

Specified what happens with drones regarding Mind & Spirit damage - drones can be disoriented by dazzling attacks, but don't take damage, and they also don't have feelings you can hurt. But also, they don't pass this damage to the pilot in manual mode - I would imagine that someone piloting a drone in combat is expecting gunshots to peak the audio on their device, and has the volume adjusted accordingly. Not the same as getting literally flashbanged yourself.

Broadened the wording on what drone pilots are allowed to take advantage of with an aim action to include Trickshots

Specified that the Martial Staff is compatible with the Target Sprint Routine and also that you spend the stamina for all three spells cast

Specified that After-Image only affects sight and sound, which opens the door for somebody to use an exotic sense to tell it apart

Expanded wording on Simulacrum to specify that it can affect a range of senses (1/rank in spellcraft) but it is phantom and can't push buttons for you

Specified that when using Projection you need to have a sense to be able to deceive or perceive it - you can't use Projection to temporarily gain senses you don't have.

Spelled out on Spirit Blade some of the finnicky details of how it interacts with Martial Arts and Action Economy

Rising Strike reworked to clear up the ambiguity around Fall Damage and streamline the spell a bit more. It now launches equal to Margin of Success instead of a fixed 4 (which means a lot of Rising Strikes are going to be kind of underwhelming but some of them are going to be really impressive), and the ceiling height does NOT affect damage - because if you think about it, getting rocketed into a low ceiling comes with the consolation prize of only falling one floor instead of three. However, there's now a clause that explicitly damages the ceiling if you do that, opening the door (or, the ceiling) for some real matrix kung fu antics where you punch someone into the floor above.

Specified that Steady Heart and Knit Wounds cannot be cast multiple times per short rest

Dragonbreath has had its range buffed from 4 to Cone 4

Shared Burden now times out at 15 minutes so you don't have a Breezie shoulder buddy who makes you ungrapplable forever

Stated explicitly that queued hacks tick down in parallel, not in sequence - parallel was always the intention because Hacking gets comically weak if you need to wait for each one to go off before you start the next one, but apparently this wasn't spelled out

#nighthaze #cyberpunk #patchnotes #ttrpg #my little pony

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joanofexys · 2 months

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Tell me more about these ocs 👀

(Sorry for anon I'm kinda 😅)

you’re all good, hun! anons are always welcome!!

okay okay so I have my main four AFTG OCs

Florian Laska, Mara Fasil, Emiko Moriyama, and Ilya Kostyk

here’s a post essentially rambling about Florian and Mara

key points are:

they were partners in the nest

Florian’s now a striker, Mara’s still a dealer

they play for the US Olympic team

Florian is 19 like Jean and Neil and dropped out of college, Mara is 23 and graduated in 4 years instead of 5

Florian’s an amputee, lost his left leg and maintains it was an accident that happened during practice

they’re extremely codependent still

they’re a PR nightmare, especially Mara

I haven’t actually talked about Em or Ilya much

Summary of Em (she/her):

middle child

25 years old

yes I created an OC who’s a Moriyama sibling sue me

so extremely gay

backliner

also plays for the olympic team

estranged from essentially all members of her family after graduating from EAU

Em’s lovely, not cause she’s a great person but cause she loves her Raven’s fiercely (especially those who have left the team) and she will start any number of fights for them. She’s nowhere near perfect and she should be seeing a therapist but she is trying her goddamn hardest to be the complete opposite of pretty much everyone in her family

I think she gets along well with Renee and once Jean transfers to the Trojans she definitely reaches out to some of them even just to check in. Her and Thea are also good friends. I don’t think she’s worn the color black since she’s graduated, the girl looks like a rainbow and I support her. She’s extremely affectionate with her current teammates which might be partially because of how hard she checks them during practices

I think that’s most of what i’ve got for her

Ilya (he/they):

Is my only non-Raven OC lmao

22 years old

Played for Penn State (graduated in 4 years)

Goalkeeper

If it's not obvious at this point he's a olympic player, i'm basically creating a whole team lmao

transman cause i said so and that's very important to me

has 3 sisters who he's very close to, youngest child

they speak English, Spanish, and ASL and they're teaching Flor ASL

Ilya my beloved. He's such a little shit and I think we're all better off for it tbh. They're so loud and take up space and I honestly think he's the perfect person to show Flor how to do so. I do think he and Florian end up dating at some point in the future cause I think they work really well together.

They are truly just some guy. Grew up in a great and supportive family and they all love him dearly. He's gets on great with most people except for the Ravens and so it takes a minute for him to warm up to Florian and Mara especially and he and Mara still butt heads plenty but he and Florian got partnered together for drills and it was like their little bonding moment

After the events of TKM he truly becomes the foxes #1 fan. He is rooting for them constantly and so annoying about it.

Ummmm idk I have trouble thinking of stuff without specifics to go off of so that's what's bouncing around in my head atm

#ty for the ask! i love talking about my babies #asks #anon #aftg #my ocs #oc: florian laska #oc: mara fasil #oc: emiko moriyama #oc: ilya kostyk

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donotopendeadinside · 2 months

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Mod is about to depression post, so if you guys aren't comfy with any vents or rants, you can keep on scrolling. I'm having a mental breadown.

TW: Mentions of SH, SA, Suicidal tendencies and just a bunch of sad shit.

My mother will never love me. Thats just the facts of my own existence. I wake up, lay in bed, stay in my room, hide away from EVERYONE, and sometimes just ignore people because I cant find the energy to talk. My mother hates me and my older sister, we share the same dad. We're too much like my father. She lied to me for years about my dad, calling him abusive, and all of these horrible things, blaming my sister for walking out of an abusive situation all so my sister could get stable enough to bring her baby girl home.

She thrives on control. Thats all she's ever done.

When I was 15, i contemplated taking my life. I told my mother how I was feeling, it spiraled into an argument. She told me, that if I was really suicidal, she'd unlock my step-dad's gun cabinet and give me his gun so I could shoot myself with it.

I have anger issues, but I stopped taking them out on people a very long time ago. Now, if im angry, I bite my arms just hard enough not to break my skin, because its all I can do to keep myself grounded.

My mother has neglected me and my older sister in favor of the youngest. She can fake anything and get me in trouble and screams when she doesn't get her way. She's 15.

I was S.A'ed in my freshman year of highschool by someone I thought was my friend. He got ontop of me and grabbed my chest. A teacher saw it but did nothing but walk into her classroom. The boy was never suspended, nor did anything else happen to him. My ASL teacher paired me up with a boy, we had to touch hands. She was already told that I wasn't okay with doing anything like that due to what happened.

She called me a liar and told me to get over it.

A few weeks ago, i nearly slit my wrists because I thought that I wasn't worth it. That i didn't deserve anything good to happen. My mom has kicked me out twice. Once over a single plate that was in the sink.

The second time was because I refused to lie to my father. He had just lost his wife at 46 due to pancreatic cancer. I refused to lie to him about why I couldn't go to the funeral. We couldn't afford to send me as I had just gone up there a few weeks prior. My dad bought me the ticket and flew me up to Tennessee.

My fiancee. I love him with everything I have, and im so fucking terrified of loosing him. He's everything to me, but hes reckless. Thats okay. But sometimes it worries me. I just wish he'd talk to me more about how he feels, instead of just lying and saying he's okay.

I'm terrified of the one good thing I have just falling between my fingers like sand, and I have no idea how to keep myself sane when all I know how to do is fear for whatever the hell could happen, be it my mother or something else.

Im so fucking scared and I don't know how to fix it. I come on this hellsite so that I can forget shitty things, and interact with people that I find cool.

But sometimes I just wish people would want to interact with me too... sometimes I dont want to be the one to initiate it. I just want someone to talk to me.

#vent post #tw vent #mod is having a mental breakdown today #idk why #shit just came crashing down and i just need to scream into the void.

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gffa · 11 months

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10, 13, 14 for DC? My answers are pit madness, Tim Drake or Jason Todd, and Cass using ASL. I’m curious to hear your hot takes lol

10. worst part of fanon Ohhhhh, how do I choose. I oscillate a lot with various ones, but my current least favorite fanon thing is the hyersexualizing/objectification of Dick Grayson. A lot of fandom is really, really good about not doing this! But the focus on his ass as a selling point of the character is not suddenly great and wonderful just because we're doing it to a man now instead of a woman. The character himself is not overtly sexualizing--he's flirty (but how much of that is just that he's friendly and charming?) and he clearly likes sex, but he does so in the context of genuine relationships, and neither he nor the other characters really focus on his body parts, and I'm not super comfortable when fandom does it. (To be fair, I think we need to unpack the way women are treated in comics waaaaaay more than we need to focus on Dick's character's treatment, but also I just don't think I'll ever be onboard with it, either.) 13. worst blorboficiation YOU ARE GOING TO GET ME IN TROUBLE but it absolutely is Tim. And I'm not entirely opposed, in the sense that my Blorboifcation is my jam when I'm doing it, you know? So why shouldn't the exact same thing apply to other characters? Let them Blorboize their Blorbos to their hearts content! But I do find myself sliding right off a lot of Tim fic that doesn't let him be a horrible little gremlin man who is just as obnoxious and stubborn as the rest of his family, who is capable of making mistakes or doing some really fucked up things because he knows they're necessary. Tim is allowed to go through rough patches and not come out having handled them perfectly, he is allowed to push people away, to be unfair to people, to have his entire world upended and be less than perfect, while still being sympathetic because baby boy was Going Through It and needs more love. There's a lot of fic that I've read that has great Blorboification of Tim, I am so down for exploring his issues with self-worth, I've just also seen it go overboard a lot in a way that's not for me. (And they would probably say the exact same thing about my Blorboification and they'd probably be equally right! 😂) 14. that one thing you see in fics all the time Sooooo many fanon nicknames! And that's not necessarily a bad thing, many of them are ones that I enjoy (I will fight anyone who tries to take away "baby bat", SHUT UP, I LOVE THAT ONE), I just kind of want to side-eye people sometimes and check, "We all know we're making this up and it's not really how the comics characters usually talk to each other, right?" before we get right back to using them anyway because they're fun.

#lumi.txt #dc #batfam #choose violence ask game

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danwhobrowses · 1 year

Text

One Piece Chapter 1085 - Initial Thoughts

Oda likes his nice round numbers

The Reverie flashback continues, and after a cathartic incident we were left on a break, but now we're back

So Oda...what do you have for us today?

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release also

I'm with ya Franky, we gotta let the baby turtles make it to sea

After last chapter's title got us looking forward to something sadly this one means sad times ahead

Cobra's already struggling too

Imu seems to have a verbal tic, calling themselves 'mu' instead of using 'I'

Mu can be key as well since it is a theme of the void (used in Ghibli movies a lot)

But Imu will answer the two questions, so long as Cobra answers one in return

Cobra says Imu was the name of one of the first 20, but Imu brushes it off with their superfluously magnanimous vocabulinguistics

According to Imu, D is the 'moniker' of their ancient enemy, but they're somewhat okay with people having it in their names because its meaning has been lost

Imu doesn't like Queen Lily though (TCB still uses Lili but since Stephen of Viz hates matching scanlations it's Lily in the official, despite the fact that Lili matches with Vivi), claiming they made a 'blunder' 800 years ago

Lily scattered the Poneglyphs!

And without the search of the Poneglyphs Imu believes that there wouldn't be any pirates after the One Piece, since Roger only found Laugh Tale via the Poneglyphs

They also call the Poneglyphs 'relics', so that means they did belong to nobility

Imu also wonders if Lily had a greater plan to it, which I would say she did, if she scattered the answers

So many questions from the get-go though; Alabasta and Wano already had the Pluton connection but now they have the Poneglyph connection (since Wano allegedly made the Poneglyphs), paired with Joy Boy and Zunesha - which in turn leads to the connection of Zou and the Kozuki - the lines are there but the center of the puzzle still doesn't take shape

The Gorosei are all packing heat right now too (except the swordsman, who's always packing his sword)

Lily's letter apparently is the key to the truth, which is why Imu wants Cobra to say Lily's full name

Cobra knows he's done for, and the Gorosei make it clear that seeing 'the great Imu' is cause for his silencing

Sabo is also overhearing all of this

Nefertari D. Lily

Immediately after Cobra is attacked by an arrow-like pierce, but it's also flexible since it curved to him

Sabo then jumps in, Fire Fist on all the Gorosei and then a 'Smothered Mate' (a chess move according to the T/N) to Imu

It's hard to tell, but I think the dark energy that attacked Cobra guards Imu from the attack, undoubtedly looking annoyed by seeing another witness

Oh, the Gorosei all have powers...

To the left we have a bull-like creature that is Saturn (judging by his position that we last saw him), the Swordsman or the regular guy looks like he's awakened so I don't think he's a Zoan, and if he is then it'd be a humanoid one, middle could be Imu or it could be the other (in the next panel we do see something that looks like Edvard Munch's Scream which could be him instead), Tall Beardo looks like a draconian bird - like an Amphitere - also awakened, and finally Gorbachev kinda looks like a Boar or Warthog Zoan

Of course this is where Sabo got snapped by cameras, the Gorosei and Imu being on the other side and thus obscured

Cobra knows that Sabo's Luffy's brother, though I guess that did make the news post-Dressrosa

Cobra's also shocked that Sabo stepped in to save him, since he's a Revolutionary, but Sabo notes the bigger picture at hand

Kinda wish Cobra and Sabo could've bonded over knowing Luffy someplace else where Cobra isn't bleeding out

Noble as ever, Cobra begs Sabo to ditch him as dead weight, after all he needs Sabo to survive and send a message to Luffy and Vivi

"We share the moniker D."

I guess that confirms it; Neferati D. Cobra, Neferati D. Vivi

Of course Sabo wanted to be a D., was the only ASL brother left out

Ha SaD.Bo! XD Only Luffy

That arrow tail thing (I think it's a tail, it looks like a devil's tail) slashes Sabo and Cobra this time

Whatever that creature is it's got a low mouth

Cobra takes his last stand, stating the contents of the letter (which we only partially see) as he helps Sabo escape

I suppose this is one of the few times people of the internet will be devastated to see the death of a king

Fly the Flag that Heralds the World's Eventual Dawn.

Swordsman spots a noise by the wall, and through the peephole panics Wapol

Dude you shouldn't celebrate good people dying

He's right on that part though, he is a marked man, he saw the biggest skeleton in the closet

Back at the actual Reverie, rather than the events surrounding it, the rest of the royals muse over Cobra and Wapol's absence

Riku and Neptune do sense something amiss

Coalition of Four Northern Nations? That wouldn't happen to be the four nations whose kings lost their heads to one Vinsmoke Judge would it? Or would it involve Lvneel (Noland's nation) or Flevance?

After the incident last chapter, the Fishman brothers are not setting one fin more in Marejois, insisting that they take Shirahoshi to the Red Port

Shirahoshi does look forlorn though, wanting to say goodbye to Vivi

Vivi was captured! By the former CP9 dudes now as CP0

Kalifa implying that Vivi will probably be treated like a pet after word gets out about her disappearance makes me feel like we should've killed more Celestial Dragons...

Vivi does ask about Shirahoshi though, strangely Kalifa does oblige her and tell her that she's safe, is there respect there?

Jabra meanwhile talks about how Sai and Leo declared themselves publicly, so this is definitely 'the incident' the Grand Fleet caused

He says 'assaulted' though, so Accordion Charloss is probably still alive

HA! Fujitora somehow managed to help the Revolutionaries free more slaves, pissing off Ryokugyu too, should've just dropped a meteor on him (though maybe he did, 'went at it' could mean a fight)

Vivi's escape is a matter of fortune though, as Wapol comes crashing through the wall trying to escape

So alas, Wapol still doesn't have a conscience, Vivi's just smart enough to latch onto the rampaging bull who wants to get away from the World Government as far as possible

Kindrella I mean, you're a gold digger anyway you can't act like you had genuine feelings

Well then. Stuff happened.

We'll pour one out for King Cobra, a small hope before this flashback was that his death was faked or a trickery but yeah he's proper bit the dust here. Went down like a champ though and in poetic irony did it to save Sabo, the man who had only ever seen the worst in nobles.

People may think now that I don't think Lily is Imu, and you're half right, but not entirely, I think it still could be Lily, but only visually. Imu was implied to be one of the other 20, maybe they used Law's bodyswap powers to take Lily's body? The info remains vague.

Key thing though is that the Gorosei are all power-users, and all very powerful, enough for Sabo - the feral boy who fought an Admiral in Dressrosa - to hightail it out of there. So we have to expect that Saturn ain't coming to Egghead to stand there and 'negotiate'. We're gonna expect this horned dude to throw down.

Vivi's escape is daring, or should I say D.aring, Vivi being a D. was not on my bingo card but you know I fly with it, Sabo should just decide to be a D. too, I mean if it's a Moniker of the enemy then use it as a symbol of rebellion, Ignatius D. Sabo, Sabo D. Sadboy, Portgas D. Sabo, pick your name.

There's so much implications to this chapter, and no break which is a big plus! But I do think we're still not gonna see Luffy yet, I feel like we may have one more flashback of the Reverie left, then possibly some present-day stuff with the Revolutionaries and Vivi/Wapol/Morgans, we could also have some more to see from Garp in Fullalead, but something tells me that we'll see Luffy and co again at 1090, then at 1100 the Egghead incident will go down.

Overall though, this heat is getting way too hot to handle

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raptorfae53 · 2 months

Text

Monster High Reimagined: Ghoulia Yelps character bio/redesign

Ghoulia Yelps (they/ze/zom)

AroAce

Zombie child of the Yelps family (Haitian-Canadian)

Whip smart,pop culture savvy and often very snarky despite being a Ghoul of few words. (Literally, having decayed vocal chords makes communicating verbally in human languages near-impossible) Ghoulia Yelps is widely considered by zom's peers as the go-to for anything tech and fandom related they have trouble understanding,something they as an autistic person are usually very happy to divulge in. Between all this and being the best friend wing-person and number-two of wannabe queen bee cleo de nile,its a wonder ghoulia actually has time for schoolwork,but somehow they always get the best test scores and grades within zeir year.

Likes: video games, comic books,sugary drinks and snacks,making zines and other such doodads and attending conventions and fan events.

Dislikes: being underestimated or infantilized for their disabilities, last minute schedule changes,people handling zom's mobility aids without consent, slow Internet and cleo doing stupid stuff for clout and popularity.

Killer style: 2000s inspired alternative,scene and emo fashion all the way! and on lazy days when there's nothing better to do, ghoulia loves to browse the web looking at stylish new alt items and accessories in the big character hoodie Sloman got for their 15th birthday.

Familiar: Hootsalot, the ghost of an owl. Ghoulias mother works as a veterinarian and Hootsalot was one of her patients,who'd been mortally injured by a car and died despite her and the other vet techs efforts,or at least his body did. His spirit, seemingly appreciating the effort to help imprinted on the vets but with all the trouble that what is essentially a flying cat with the ability to phase through walls can cause in a workplace,the Yelps decided to take him in,and he and Ghoulia have been inseparable since.

Pet Peeve: people underestimating her intelligence purely based on the fact ze only verbally communicates in Zombese. It makes Ghoulia thankful that Monster High offers courses in zombese and ASL,as well as that zom's peers there are willing to take those courses instead of simply infantilize her for zom's disability.

Freaky Flaw: like many of their fellow neurodivergent classmates, ghoulia likes to really focus on doing one thing or interest at a time,keeping to a tight schedule and often being unable to work with last minute changes to plans or something throwing said schedule out of whack. This often jars with the more "drop everything we're now doing X" way zeir best friend cleo does things, and whilst ghoulia knows it's just something that's a part of how ze is,ze really don't like how they're not able to give their best and most focused effort when it does happen.

Spooky Secret: ghoulia has more followers and account activity than cleo on all their social media. Ghoulia having hidden said follow counts on everything out of a fear that if she found out,cleo would do something rash for followers and end up losing or hurting more than simply her dignity and pride because of it…

Dream job: Ghoulia may be very smart and enjoys highschool, but otherwise has little to no interest in a career in anything, preferring instead to earn an income via monetizing their interests, such as through livestreaming, esports competitions or art commissions, or getting a job not involving them at all.

Five Fearsome Facts

Zombies like all undead have mobility issues due to their decaying bodies,and Ghoulia is no different, using an ambulatory wheelchair and cane to aid movement,luckily having an influx of undead students like zem means monster high is readily wheelchair and disability accessible.

Their decayed vocal chords also mean Ghoulia finds speaking english very hard,but zom's far from unwilling to talk and is actually very sociable. Instead, ghoulia communicates using American sign language and written words on a whiteboard as well as using Zombese,a monster-developed conlang designed to be easy on the vocal chords.

Ghoulia is autistic. And who outside of their neurotypical best friends Cleo and Duece and regardless of their wildly different interests tends to get along best with their fellow neurodivergent classmates regardless of interests best. (Although considering the sheer berth of Ghoulias pop culture knowledge theres probably something that they each mutually enjoy and talk together about) Zom primarily stims verbally, making small whistles and mumbling phrases in zombese.

Far from the stereotypical hunger for brains, ghoulia can't function without sugar,with sugary snacks and energy drinks being among zeir favourite snacks when gaming or drawing, and zom just can't survive without caffeine in the morning (often graciously provided by cleo,who in turn claims coffee “calms the nerves”,being seldom seen without a super-sugary latte or frappuccino herself)

As well as playing,reading, and watching a lot of different media,ghoulia often tries their hand at making their own stuff, making zines, animations, and little games using their skill in art and coding. Often giving out physical copies of their work to people during conventions and events ze attend.

Hi again, I'm back with another profile,this time for Ghoulia.

This time around however theres not really much in terms of lore as i generally do like Ghoulias g1 charachterisation, so I just exaggerated it a little,giving her and cleo an almost jeeves and wooster or even wallace and gromit type dynamic (the latter more to do with ghoulias way of communication exemplifying body language and expression if nothing else).

Also as mentioned in Cleo's profile I want all the undead monsters to require some form of mobility aid (what with decomposition and all) and Ghoulia is no exception. Seeing artists like @katetorias ,@alexiseatzbeez ,@jet-apologistmybadhomies and @spookberry 's works with characters like ghoulia needing mobility and speech aids inspiring a lot of the concept seen in this continuity, I know its only a small thing to pay it forward but please go check out their pages because their art,monster high or otherwise,is just brilliant.

Also some non character-related but important stuff regarding this whole fan continuity's near future below:

Unfortunately, since I've had a bunch of other hobbies take up my time recently (most notably drawing as well as stuff like gardening and just going out now that the weather's nice again where I am) the profiles I've started are pretty threadbare compared to the last few who in turn are those of the central cast, who i felt needed there's done first, the thing is with there being sooooo many monster high characters who all have a loyal fanbase I'm finding it hard to pick,so I ask you fellow monster high fans...

Anyways, shares and comments are appreciated and I hope you generally like this post. See you for the next one of these,whenever that is...

#monster high #ghoulia yelps #monster high reimagined

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arwainian · 27 days

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Reading This Week 2024 #9-19: catching up on the past few months

Hm. Well. I'm not judging myself because I fell behind on tracking my reading for a reason. School got intense! And I'm back to trying to track my reading now because I turned in my last project of the semester, and I should get this out of the way before I start up a summer job. Because this is going to be a long one I'm going to break my own formatting a bit and start with my ongoing/current reads and my thoughts on them. Then I'm going to put the as-exhaustive-as-I-can-tolerate list of completed reading under a readmore so I don't completely kill your dash

Current/Ongoing Reads:

True Biz by Sara Nović I'm over halfway through this and I'm having trouble not blazing through it at lightspeed because the chapters are short and readable. It's basically about three people at a school for the Deaf in Ohio, two students, one new, one very entrenched, and then also the headmistress. I'm endeared by the characters. I find the interludes between narrative chapters that are essentially fun fact sheets on ASL and Deaf culture interesting, especially in a book where a lot of the dialogue is translated and transliterated ASL, but honestly it feels jarring! It makes it feel like its trying really hard to be a Good and Informative book about Deaf people for a hearing reader, instead of letting itself exist as a good and relatable book for and about Deaf people, as written by a Deaf author. I am reading this for the Queer Lit book club that I attend.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, audiobook narrated by Rachel Dulude Very early on in the audiobook for this. Reading for my SFF bookclub. One of the people there apparently really dislikes this book which will make for an interesting discussion. Off the top of my head thoughts it has that tone that's really endemic to current SFF that I don't really like, so we'll see if this book gets past that for me once plot and character arcs start kicking in

Reading plans:

as the above indicates I'm trying to keep up with my local monthly SFF and Queer Lit bookclubs! I'm also going to be trying to read along with Shelved by Genre's Junji Ito unit like I did for their readthrough of Earthsea, gonna dip my toes into some horror. I'm going to try finishing Living Alone by Stella Benson which I was supposed to read for a class earlier this year but I read half of and then abandoned. A friend has recommended I check out The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu so I've gotten that out from the library, and I have a whole bunch of books on my book shelf that I actually own and need to start getting through now that I'm not in classes everyday

The last 2 and a half months of reading I did:

Read: "Scientific Racism and the Emergence of the Homosexual Body" by Siobhan Somerville The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin, audiobook narrated by Rob Inglis The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, audiobook narrated by Rob Inglis Ch. 1, 13-14 of Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, audiobook narrated by Derek Jacobi excerpt from Bored of the Rings "The Hero is a Hobbit" by W.H. Auden On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong The Way of the House Husband, Vol. 10 by Kousuke Oono Race and the Education of Desire: Foucault's History of Sexuality and the Colonial Order of Things by Ann Laura Stoler "Sovereignty" by Joanne Barker "The Sovereignty of Critique" by Audra Simpson "The Uses of the Erotic: the Erotic as Power" by Audre Lorde "Stolen from Our Bodies: First Nations Two-Spirits/Queers and the Journey to a Sovereign Erotic" by Qwo-Li Driskill "Why I couldn't resist buying Monkman's notorious 'Hanky Panky'" by Howard A. Levitt "The Provocations of Kent Monkman" by Nick Martin "'Indians on Top': Kent Monkman's Sovereign Erotics" by June Scuduler "'A Particular Kind of Romantic Entanglement': Kent Monkman's Nation to Nation (2020) and the Limits of Canadian Political Pornography" by Eric Weichel "Our Coming In Stories: Cree Identity, Body Sovereignty, and Gender Self Determination" by Alex Wilson Intimacies by Katie Kitamura "Naturalism, Humanitarianism, and the Fiction of War" by Eleni Coundouriotis several essays by Barbara Godard on translation "Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide" by Andrea Smith Introduction, Chapters 1 & 4 and Conclusion of View from the Bottom: Asian American Masculinity and Sexual Representation by Nguyen Tan Hoang A Kiss that Stains the Innocence by Emu Soutome Dark Princess by W.E.B. Du Bois Justin Chin: Selected Works edited by Jennifer Joseph I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 5 by Okura "Games, Storytelling, and Breaking the String" by Greg Costiyan sections of "Of Dice and Men" by David Ewalt sections of "Dungeons and Desktops" The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, audiobook narrated by Robin Miles "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin "The Ones Who Stay and FIght" by N.K. Jemisin "'The Ones who Stay and Fight': NK Jemisin's Afrofuturist Variation on a Theme by Ursula K. Le Guin" by Mark A. Tabone Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi "Naturally Queer" by Myra J. Hird "Animal Trans" by Myra J. Hird "Biophilia, Creative Involution, and the Ecological Future of Queer Desire" by Dianne Chisholm "Non-white Reproduction and Same-sex Eroticism: Queer Acts against Nature" by Andil Gosine "Polluted Politics? Confronting Toxic Discourse, Sex Panic, and EcoNormativity" by Giovanna Di Chiro Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin "Decolonization" by Hokulani K. Aikau "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor" by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang Luke & Billy Finally Get a Clue by Cat Sebastian Severance by Ling Ma "The Scale of Realism in the Global novel" by Debjani Ganguly "Genderfuck: The Law of the Dildo" by June L. Reich "Fighting Bodies, Fighting Words: A theory and Politics of Rape Prevention" by Sharon Marcus Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany Public Rape: Representing Violation in Fiction and Film by Tanya Horeck sections of Fantasy and Mimesis by Kathryn Hume The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter The Daughter of Odren by Ursula K. Le Guin

Skimmed: excerpts from History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault "Sex, Power, and the Politics of Identity" by Michel Foucault "Right of Death" by Michel Foucault "Ooo, Those Awful Orcs" by Edmund Wilson "Epic Pooh" by Michael Moorcook "The Hobbit" and "Tolkien's Lord of the Rings"from On Stories by C.S. Lewis "Child and the Shadow" by Ursula K. Le Guin "Tolkien and Modernity" by Anna Vaninskaya Prismatic Reader by Nayoung Kim Introduction to Reclaiming Power and Place: the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigneous Women and Girls excerpts of MMIWG2SLGBTTQIA+ National Action: Final Report by Lezard et al. Introduction and Ch. 1 of Epistemology of the Closet by Eve Sedgwick "The Future is Kid Stuff" from No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive by Lee Edelman "Low Theory (Introduction)" from The Queer Art of Failure by Jack Halberstam "Introduction: Beginning with Stigma" from Underdogs: Social Deviance and Queer Theory by Heather Love Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law by Dean Spade "Erotic Autonomy as a Politics of Decolonization" by M. Jacqui Alexander "The Erotics of Sovereignty" by Mark Rifkin "Race, Caste, and Nation" by Nico Slate excerpt of Ready Player One by E. Cline excerpt of Quag Keep by Andre Norton "I'm in love with someone that doesn't exist" by Annika Waern "What If: Planet Earth as an Actor" by Mathias Thaler "Trans-Corporeal Feminisms and the Ethical Space of Nature" by Stacey Alaimo Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary by Régine Michelle Jean-Charles "Reclaiming Indigenous Sexual Being: Sovereignty and Decolonization Through Sexuality" by Madeline Burns Introduction and "Aloha in Drag" from Defiant Indigeneity: The Politics of Hawaiian Performance by Stephanie Nohelani Teves Introduction to Indigenous Performances: Upsetting the Terrains of Settler Colonialism by Mishuana Goeman "Xoq'it-ch'iswa:l On her - They Beat Time, a Flower Dance Is Held for Her: Revitalization of the Hupa Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremony" from We are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies by Cutcha Risling Baldy "The Soveriegnty of Indigenous Peoples' Bodies" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson "The Project of Feminist Epistemology: Perspectives from a Non Western Feminist" by Uma Narayan "Black Feminist Epistemology" by Patricia Hill Collins "From Truth/Reality to Knowledge/Power: Taking a Feminist Standpoint" by Caroline Ramazanoglu "Escape from Epistemology?: The Impact of Postmodern Thought on Feminist Methodology" by Caroline Ramazanoglu "Re-imagining Feminist Theory: Transgender Identity, Feminism, and the Law" by Graham Mayeda "A Black Feminist Statement" from the Combahee River Collective "Critical What What? A theoretical systematic review of 15 years of Critical Race Theory Research in Social Studies Education" by Christopher L. Busey, Kristen E Duncan, and Tianna Dowie-Chin "The Marginalization of Harriet's Daughters: Perpetual Crisis, Misdirected Blame, and the Enduring Urgency of INtersectionality" by Kimberle Crenshaw "Colorblind Intersectionality" by Devon Barbado "Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies: Theory, Applications, and Praxis" by Sumi Cho, Kimberle Crenshaw, and Leslie McCall "Sick Woman Theory" by Johanna Hedva "The Project of Ableism" by Fiona Kuman Campbell "Disability and the Normal Body of the (Native) Citizen" by Suan Schweik "Freaks and Queers" by Eli Clare "The Challenge of Prison Abolition: A conversation" by Angela Y. davis and Dylan Rodrguez "Carceral feminisms: the abolitionist project and undoing dominant feminisms" by Elizabeth Whalley & Colleen Hackett "The Deadly Fight over Feelings" by Rebecca Wanzo "Disband, Disempower, and Disarm: Amplifying the theory and practice of Police Abolition" by Meghan G. McDowell and Luis A Fernandez Introduction to Rape and Representation edited by Lynn A Higgins & Brenda R. Silver "The Word of Unbinding" by Ursula K. Le Guin "The Rule of Names" by Ursula K. Le Guin

if you made it through all that you deserve a cookie

#cal reading log #arwainian princessoid decrees

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1358456 · 1 month

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"Upcoming"

So here's a bunch of "upcoming stuff" that I am "planning to make" in regards to banter, short, excerpt, and short story on this Tumblr. I put those in quotes because there is a high probability that some, if not most, of these plans would get sacked and/or forgotten about as the days go by.

1: Sapphire's team overhaul. The overhaul theme itself has been set for a while. Now I just have to go through with it and make a showcase short story afterwards. I remember not doing Sapphire's team overhaul when I did the others because at the time, she had the best team among the girls. But now that I've overhauled effectively everyone else's, she now has the worst. Blaziken, Gallade, Aggron, Tropius, Donphan, Wailord, Relicanth (sometimes)... Obviously I won't touch Blaziken, Gallade, or Aggron, but Tropius sucks ass, Donphan is super random and also sucks ass, Wailord is too damn big to be used anywhere other than ocean travel, and Relicanth... also sucks. So... overhaul is in order. Overhaul theme: All-Terrain Proficiency. Which then leads to...

2: Short Story - Field Work Sapphire shows Platinum how to do field research. And Platinum is not prepared. "Hey, wait a minute. You think you're going to do field work while in your fancy clothes, with all that makeup and perfume and jewelry? No, no, no. Here's how we're doing this. ... Strip."

3: Assassination Excerpt - The Bodyguard Blue and Silver (and Gold) confront Platinum's ex-convict bodyguard... who may or may not have a certain Legendary Dragon's influence. ... Hehehe...

4: Assassination Excerpt - For Her Sake Moon will do whatever it takes to ensure that Platinum will be protected. No matter the cost.

5: New recurring theme: Gold's random friends Not exactly something major, but will be recurring nonetheless. The granddaughter of the old daycare couple, Prof. Elm's new research assistant, random bartenders, random shopkeepers, etc. Which then leads to...

6: Banter - Blind Date ... I can't really describe much more, given the nature of a banter post.

7: Legacy Excerpt - The Decision The branching point that determines if Legacy ends up in the good ending or the bad ending. What happens if I write that now, when I'm genuinely happy all around? Will I follow my mood and go with the good ending, or will I go with the bad ending to make things interesting? Hehehe...

8: NG+ Excerpt - Fading Away Red tried real hard to befriend Blue and make her happy much earlier than in the previous timeline. But his attempts only succeeded in scaring her and making her super wary of him instead. And now, with the chances of reconciliation slipping away and loneliness bearing down on him hard, Red decides to tell Blue everything he knows. Influenced by "I'm Fading Away" from Yakuza 7 Gaiden. "Even I don't belong to you, those days are far behind. But I pray you're happy now, serenity in your mind, I'm leaving right now..."

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I'll leave it at here for now. ... And we'll see just how many of these I actually do this month. Hehe...

While the current modding stuff has taken a lot of my attention, most of that has gone in my futile attempts at extracting sound files, which I have given up on. I don't know why it's so hard to extract data from a file that's right here, but... technology. I don't care about recompiling or the structure of the audio data table. I just need the f*cking sound files! I see them! They're right there! I just can't do anything with them! The "Extract package" button literally does nothing, so until that's fixed... Anyways. I'm not spending much time on that anymore, and with ASL Season 17 finished and GSL 2024 Season 2 only happening one day per week, I actually have spare time to spend on Tumblr story stuff if I feel like it.

#generic post

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cassandrasimplex · 10 months

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Kurgan had a vet checkup today, two weeks after he scared me into taking him to kitty ER thinking we had a life-or-death emergency and then to his usual vet as soon as they had time to verify that he was definitely not dying, just a little stressed out.

He's absolutely tip-top now, except for having lost a whole pound in two weeks because he haaaaates the canned prescription diet they put him on for struvite crystals. I think if we're trying to reduce his stress, taking away all his treats -- which also takes away the interactive time we spend training, because he's not interested in doing tricks for clicks and Pavlov be damned -- is the wrong way to go about it. Worse, they didn't have any Rx kibble, only canned, so he hasn't had his crunchy snacks in two weeks, either.

(He mainly gets wet food to keep him better hydrated, but I leave a dispenser next to it that shoots out a tiny serving of kibble every few hours just so he's never hungry between meals. He had a little food insecurity as a kitten and it's been a huge help for him to know that he can eat even if I'm not around to refill his bowl; otherwise, if I leave the house, he'll just not eat until I get back. Not even if someone else comes over to feed him while I'm away. Not even if he's boarded at the vet and they top up his food every couple of hours and he knows there's someone he recognizes there around the clock. He thinks that if he can't see me, personally, the meal in his bowl might be the last he ever gets, so he saves it. It's killing me to worry that we're moving backwards on that anxiety now.)

And he's allowed no human food -- no food of any kind that isn't prescription urinary diet -- so no more shared pouches of tuna. We eat low sodium tuna in water; I get a spoonful, then I put a spoonful on a plate for him or transfer it to another spoon to hand feed him, and we take turns until the tuna is gone. (It's extraordinarily bland and I already don't like tuna all that much. I really love my cat.) That's our biweekly dinner-as-a-family ritual taken from him, too. He can't even have his one-drop taste of the safest bit of whatever I'm eating, which is how we share meals symbolically when it's not Tuna Time.

He's a very communicative little guy who expects that once he gets my attention, I'll do my best to figure out what he's asking for. I'm not saying he's so spoiled he always gets what he asks for, but (he is spoiled and) I do definitely try to give him what he wants if it's safe, healthy, and appropriate, and redirect him to something else that serves the need I understand he's expressing if it's not. So watching him try harder and harder to express "I would like training time the usual way, with rewards" and "I would like my treat after my pills" and "I would like my crunchies bowl refilled" and "I would like family dinner time" is breaking my heart. He has so much faith in me that the only way he knows how to interpret me not giving him what he asks for is to assume I didn't understand and ask harder.

(How does a cat express "I would like training the usual way, with rewards"? By batting the clicker out of my hand, swatting it across the room, and gnawing on the top of the treats canister while sustaining eye contact. He can be incredibly specific!)

Near the start of the pandemic, locked in with nobody but my cat, I started teaching him a little bit of modified ASL. Look, we all had our weird little projects. Some people got really into sourdough bread; I tried to teach my cat sign language. Anyway. The sign I taught him for "food/eat" is a scooping motion that ends at the mouth. It's kind of like the start of the sign for "learn", where you're picking something up, but using the whole hand like a paw, instead of fingers and thumb, and the hand goes to the mouth, for "food", instead of the forehead. I thought since this is a gesture cats already make naturally -- watch one pick up kibble or water from a bowl and bring it to their mouth this way -- it would be easier for him than trying to just tap his mouth, and the bigger gesture is easier to identify.

Well, he did learn it... sort of. Now when his food bowl is empty or contains the wrong kind of food for his current mood, he walks up to me, scoops gently at the bed/table/floor, and taps my mouth. If he can't reach my face, he'll tug my hair until I lean close enough to perform this sign on.

I've got a bunch of tiny scratches healing around my lips now, because thanks to a genetic glitch, most of his claws don't retract. He's usually meticulously careful with them, such a little gentleman, but he's been getting impatient lately because his distractible human seems to have forgotten the signal I was the one to teach him in the first place.

He's also, heartbreakingly, invented a new sign for us. I often boop his nose when I'm giving him a treat outside clicker training time -- in other words, when he's getting a treat just for being so damn cute. So now he is trying to teach me that booping my nose means he would like a treat, please.

Before you think I'm reading too much into that, he was going over to the treat canister, scratching at it so the sound would get my attention, staring into my soul for a couple seconds, walking up to boop my nose, then walking back over to scratch at the treat canister and soulgaze again. He's very good at making his meaning clear.

Friends sometimes ask me if I've considered getting him those talking buttons and I just laugh inside. He already talks. I just have to listen right.

After today, although he's still not cleared for anything that isn't the prescription diet, he can have specific dry food again. The vet did have prescription kibble on hand this trip, and since he's done with the rinsing-his-kidneys project, it's not as crucial to absolutely force him to hydrate. So he has crunchies back, even though they're not his favorite (or his second, third, or fourth favorite) and there's a little more peace around here tonight.

Anyway, since That Damn Post blew up, everything else I post is getting like 5x more attention and my followers have doubled, so I thought this would serve as a good sign of what you're getting yourself into. More than half of my posts that aren't just reblogs are long, detailed text posts about how much I love my cat sprinkled with extremely average photos I'm inordinately proud of. I usually forget to insert a read-more break. You have been appropriately warned.

Bonus find-the-cat pic from the vet's office:

He's very silly. He feels more secure if he hides, but then after a few minutes he has to get me back in his line of sight to feel comfortable again, so he sort of slowly oscillates in and out of hiding.

#kurgan

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