The Owl House takes place on a corpse. That's clear from the beginning. The people we meet, the fantastical things we see, every part of it is life that comes from death, and it's beautiful. Luz says that, the first time she's far enough away to see the bones. It's beautiful. The Titan was so full of life and magic that what he left behind could be passed on and made anew, and the people who sprung from that, who rely on it, understand that and are grateful. Everything they have is built on the bones of a god.

But what grows from the bones of children? Nothing. Nothing at all.

The Titan hunters killed children. They said they were monsters, but they were children. Children who played games and laughed and from their first conscious moments wanted to be loved and belong. And they hunted them to extinction, and kept their pristine skulls as trophies. An entire room full of them, of tiny skulls that could've become something wonderful and terrible and life-giving but never had the chance. They wear them, as a badge of honor. Look what I've done, look what I destroyed.

Philip Wittebane had been making grimwalkers for hundreds of years, sure, but even knowing that, there's so many of them. How many could've reached 20? There's piles of them, of bones and identical masks, scattered at the bottom of a pit, and god, were they dead, when he threw them down there? It's clear that he doesn't care, that the only thing that matters is disposing of them once they wear out their usefulness, moving on to the new model. Children tossed aside, left to rot and decay, and when we see them the bones are all clean.

Listen ya'll, some people wanna act like you have to be a certain age to be a paraphile but man I've been attracted to animals since I was a kid. Like, I barely even knew what a pedophile was at that age much less a zoophile, but there I was with feelings toward my cat (She is still with us today btw!) And you want to know something super shocking? Even as a child, I didn't act on my feelings in any harmful way. Sure, I would be a bit more clingy towards the animals and a lot more okay with getting puppy kisses and love bites from the dogs and cats, but I never did anything to hurt them. I say this all to say, paraphiles are NOT deranged, rabid, (unless they want to be) or incapable of control over themselves, they are humans (or not, if you prefer another term besides human) all the same, and your constant assumptions that paraphiles "Can't control themselves" are going to end up turning the same way it did with people saying that men "can't control themselves" in response to their crimes. We can control ourselves, we are not immediately criminals because of our feelings or thoughts, and no paraphile deserves to be mocked or criminalized for things they can't truly control or didn't even do. So, no, that pedophile you attacked for talking about their feelings (even if in an inappropriate way) who never actually did a single thing to any children (or anything by proxy), and may have even just gotten used to their feelings that they probably felt horribly ashamed of before? Not a criminal, and did not deserve to be treated as such. That zoophile you doxxed and harassed because they mentioned they happened to have a pet, and after everything publicly says that they never once did anything to their pet (because shocker, they aren't incapable of self-control)? Not a criminal, and is probably telling the truth, and in this situation, you would be the criminal by all reasoning. And these below are less about legality and more about the fact even "gross" paraphilias deserve kind treatment You know, like Coprophilia? Because last I checked, they get mocked no matter what community they are in, because if they are in the para community they get mocked for it being gross, and about the same thing happens in the kink/BDSM community except they might just mainly be mocked/bullied (or harassed) for using a paraphilia label instead of just saying they have a kink. I'ma leave this off here though, and just say point blank: Stop harassing paraphiles, I don't care what the paraphilia is, unless you have point-blank proof that they've actually done something bad/illegal (I personally could care less if they did something "bad", if it isn't illegal/harmful idgaf)

There's more to living in abuse than just always being afraid of violence and getting injured and shunned whenever you try to stand up for yourself.

There's days, weeks and months of hard work, where you do believe you'll be able to prove that you're good enough, and in return you get told that nothing you did was of any value. That hurts deeply. There's time and energy you put into trying to understand the abusers, trying to make them less abusive by giving them care and love, believing, as you were lead to, that they'll be good if only you do as they say. You end up absolutely devastated as they return to taking every bit of anger out on you, unfairly, after you did everything in your power to please them.

There's hearing and overhearing them talking about you, like you're not a part of the family. There's sleepless nights where you try to figure out how to improve, how to earn your right to belong, how to not make them ashamed of you. There's a feeling of anxiety that you're possibly fundamentally wrong and unlovable, to the point where nothing will ever be good enough, no matter how hard you try.

There's moments when you know deep inside that what they're accusing you of, what they're insulting you with, is entirely untrue. You know you're not selfish, you know that your intentions aren't evil, you know that you're not doing anything to do them any harm. You know yourself. But then you keep hearing over and over, how every person in your living space, possibly even in your life, considers you the worst, most selfish, most despicable, menacing, manipulative and demonic. They think this despite all of the kindness, love, care you've given them, all the work you've done for them! It drowns you.

This teaches you that hard work doesn't matter. Doing your best doesn't matter, loving and caring doesn't matter, being considerate and useful doesn't matter. You still have to be those things or you'll be damned to hell and punished and told you're unworthy to live, but even after you do all of it, you'll still be left feeling like you're the worst, laziest, most selfish person to ever exist. It makes the world have no sense, and only sense you can possibly see in those moments is that since everyone agrees on this, it must be something wrong with you. If everyone sees something evil in you, it must be true.

That's how the abuse makes you stop believing in yourself, and in your own knowledge of who you are. It shows you with actions, responses to your effort and work and care, that even your best will be met with contempt. It makes nothing worth doing, and brings you into a state of hopelessness, depression, inability to see any way forward. It's a way to make you more submissive and willing to just do what you are told, because you yourself can no longer figure out what to do.

And for those who've been through that, they shouldn't have done that to you. Your hard work has deserved recognition. Nothing you did back then was of no-value. Your effort was admirable, and your best was impressive. It was not your fault you were put in an un-winnable scenario, you could not have known that no matter what, they would have reacted with abuse. It's likely they've benefited from your work massively and never told you. You've been exploited and nothing they said had any reality connected to it. They lied to you. You were doing incredible that entire time.

People holding the "How romantic it must be, to be imprisoned in a castle and made to squeeze out heirs" against Rhaenyra are... reaching.

First of all, the MOMENT she noticed Alicent's expression has fallen, she makes an apology. She holds Alicent's hand and gives her a softer look- because she didn't mean for her malcontent to harm someone, she was simply trying to express why she was so disillusioned she was with her courtship.

Yall forget that at this point, Rhaenyra and Alicent are still fully estranged. Alicent never told Rhaenyra that her meetings with and marriage to Viserys were her fathers plot. To Rhaenyras point of view, it was her best friend, who had only just before, dismissed Rhaenyras concerns of plots to remarry her father and supplant her (Alicent literally tells the NAMED HEIR that it isn't her place to question the plots of men. When it very much ENTIRELY is her place- as Rhaenyra proves when she settles the Dragonstone conflict without bloodshed or battle, in a way Otto could have NEVER accomplished.)- all whilst **being a part of one of those plots.** and we only see Viserys telling Alicent not to tell Rhaenyra after *six months* of meetings like that have passed. To Rhaenyra this looks like Alicent being a scheming traitor, like many people probably proved to be through her life- only caring about her in how they could use her to elevate themselves. And this was her best friend. The girl she studied with, the girl who comforted her after the loss of her mother, the girl who helped to give her strength before she was was named heir, the girl she wanted to fly across the skies with. She felt betrayed, and from her perspective, she has every right to feel so. (And she does)

Then for three years, Rhaenyra tried to have space from the people she felt had broken her trust, tried to act as heir and also to avoid marriage due to the terror of what happened to her mother. She isnt disrespectful or vitriolic in any scene we see- she just wants to be left alone to read books and listen to music, to continue to try and be heir even if she sees Ottos writing on the wall. And every opportunity they get, Viserys AND Alicent refuse to allow her that space. And we know from ep.2 that Otto likely took every opportunity he had to undermine her efforts as heir.

Alicent then has the boy that Rhaenyras mother was slaughtered for, and Rhaenyra is made to witness how the realm salivates for a child to replace her as heir all because of his genitalia. Hiw hard she has tried, whatever she has done or accomplished doesn't matter to the realm. Only her sex. At Aegons name day, Hobart Hightower calls Aegon 'second of his name' and 'the conqueror babe' literally SAYING how the realm sees him as their future king already- and no one does or says anything to correct him.

So her relationship with Alicent is strained. And Rhaenyra doesn't even know what we know as the audience, that Otto is actively whispering treason and conspiracy to Alicent and she at no point warns Rhaenyra or Viserys.

Furthermore, Alicent DID make the comment in the carriage on the way to the hunt of Aegons quick birth. I highly doubt she meant for that comment to come across as it did, but it doesn't change that the comment was a slap in Rhaenyras face, to the point even the maids looked judgemental. And there was no apology or effort made to soothe that sting.

Anyways.

Rhaenyra returns from her courtship tour, and Alicent approaches her. They have perhaps the first gentle moment between them that they've had in years. Alicent expresses how romantic she feels the tour was.

Rhaenyra, who has the pressure of having to choose correctly- because choosing wrong could result in a husband who uses her as a broodmare as her mother was, or in a man who only wishes to use her so that he can have power over the throne, who wishes to use her to elevate himself and would hope to use Westeros' patriarchal traditions to make her his puppet queen. And the options we are shown are.. a man old enough to have met her great grandmother, a child, and a slightly older snob of a boy who is promptly slain for insulting the child. Reminder, that Daemon was not an option, nor was Harwin, who Viserys mocked as an option in ep.3. Rhaenyra KNOWS these men only want her for her blood and the throne and she expresses her frustration with it. She expresses that the tour is anything but romantic- none of these men love her. None of them care for *her.* only her power. Only her blood.

And the MOMENT she realizes her comment hurt Alicent, she attempts to make amends.

Yall will do ANYTHING to make her seem like this spoiled rotten, nasty princess.... except pay attention to context and the reality of Rhaenyras position and nature.

Here's a bit more fandom history for everyone.

It's been a long time since I've heard this incident talked about, but I guess turtles are reminiscing a bit about the kind of things GG's fans subject him to, and this has come back up.

Back in 2019 when GG was in Nanjing for The Untamed fan meet, a hotel staff member left this adorable Jianguo pillow with a little note 'from Jianguo' wishing him success with the concert. GG clearly enjoyed it because he posted it on his Oasis.

At first shrimps were enjoying it because they assumed it was a shrimp who'd done it, but when they realized it was a turtle they freaked out and launched a major cyberbullying campaign against the turtle and flooded the hotel with hundreds of phone calls complaining and trying to get her fired. Some of them threatened to keep calling the hotel every day and overwhelm the phone lines until she was fired.

GG had no choice but to delete the photo. He replaced it with a solid black image, and put the line, "post whatever you want" in his profile.

Just imagine how awful he must have felt, that his fans attacked and harassed a sweet fan who'd made him a lovely gift, nearly getting her fired - all from a post he made showing his appreciation for this cute, thoughtful gift.

If you wonder why GG and DD don't acknowledge turtles and why GG hasn't mentioned XFX by name in years, this is a bit of a clue as to why. GG especially has a lot of reason to be wary of being too personal and open with fans (and no doubt 227 didn't help with that at all). GG and DD know that acknowledging turtles will only harm them and lead to more hate and war from solos.

And GG has repeatedly said - including in his statement on the anniversary of 227, which was the first time he made a direct personal statement about it - that he doesn't believe anyone should identify as "I am ___'s fan."

"I want to tell my fans, everyone has the right to like and hate. No matter if you like or hate, it should be respected and allowed in their own spaces. Of course, this right should be based on rationality and not hurting other people, while following accurate values. I hope that my fans can understand that no matter what field or age, your personal likes and actions shouldn't cross the line or go against that field's ethics or morals. No matter if it's on the Internet or in real life, everyone should be responsible for their own actions. Even more, hope that none of us should be represented by the label 'xxx's fan.'"

GG realizes something that XFX can't seem to get through their heads: when you speak of "fans of Xiao Zhan," that is not synonymous with "XFX," no matter how much they would like everyone to believe that they're his only fan group. Actually, turtles are GG's fans also, as are all people who love and support GG, regardless of how they identify themselves and regardless of how deep or casual is their appreciation for him.

So pretty much ever since this era, and especially after 227, you never hear GG refer to his solo fandom by name. And I don't think that's because he has contempt or disregard for them (although I don't doubt he must harbor 'feelings' about everything they've put him through), rather I think it's because he wants to be inclusive toward all of his supporters, and not let it be thought that he doesn't appreciate everyone, regardless of 'affiliation'.

Eco Warrior

I can't believe the nerve of those corporate jerks! All we were doing was peacefully protesting their evil company and they threw this gross sticky chemical stuff all over me! I should wash it off but I need the evidence for when I go to the cops tomorrow. It's infuriating how they think they can just silence us like that. But you know what? This won't stop me. I'll fight even harder now. We're in this together, and we're going to make sure they're held accountable for the damage they've done to people and the environment.

Change of plans with going to the cops, I woke up to find the chemicals had soaked into my skin. They haven’t left any evidence in me. I guess I should be thankfully. Although I think they may have contributed to this tan I have now. But that's not the point right now. I need to focus on getting to the new protest today. We can't let their tactics deter us. We have to keep standing up against their injustices and fighting for what's right. Let's get out there and make our voices heard again.

You won't believe how well the protest went today. Our voices were louder than ever, and it felt like a turning point. But here's the craziest part – those corporate guys actually came over to apologize for splashing me with chemicals! Can you believe that? They said it was a mistake and that they want to make amends. They even offered me a role as a protest liaison within their company. It's wild, right? I'm torn though. Part of me wants to take the chance to make change from the inside, but another part worries it might just be a ploy. What do you think babe?

So, I just got back from my first day as a protest liaison, and I'm kind of surprised. The corporation is actually really nice, and they went out of their way to make me feel welcome. They even gave me a bunch of free makeup, creams, and lotions to try, as a way to show their products aren't harmful. I've already put some on, and I have to admit, they feel pretty good. They make my body tingle all over, especially my boobs. Bigger? No I don’t so. It's probably just the outfit I'm wearing today. I think you just like what you see, mmmm come closer baby.

It's frustrating to deal with some of my protestor friends calling me a scab and a corporate shill just because I'm working with the corporation now. I have no sympathy for their attitude. If they can't see that I'm trying to make a positive change from within, then that's their problem. Honestly, it feels like jealousy more than anything. I mean, the corporation even gave me a raise already and has let me use all their products for free. That must mean I'm doing something they value. Plus I’m sure it doesn’t help that I look so much better then them now as well. The company’s products really are like magic. Mmmm all this talk of how good I look I’d getting me in the mood, take off your pants.

Like my new car? My company bought it for me for doing such a good job. Protest liaison? No they’ve moved me into marketing and sales where I’m excelling. It helps that I’m a walking billboard for them. As for the protest, honestly, I don't really care about it anymore. Things change, priorities shift. This is where I am now, and I've got better things to focus on than those who still think shouting on the streets will make a difference. It's all about playing the game right, and clearly, I'm winning. So, if you'll excuse me, I've got more important matters to attend to than the past.

Ugh, those protestors are getting on my nerves. Yesterday, they nearly ruined my new fur coat as I was walking into work. Can you believe their audacity? Pathetic losers, the lot of them. I need to find some muscle to deal with them, get them out of my way once and for all. It's like they're stuck in a never-ending cycle of futile resistance. Well, I won't let them stand in my way or mess with what I've built. I am vice president now after all, I deserve respect. Time to take control and show them the real power of influence.

Oh, look at you now. Splashing you with those chemicals did wonders, didn't it? Just like they did to me. Of course at first I had no idea the chemicals were changing me into the mega bitch you see before you but once I realized what my companies products were doing to me, I couldn’t get enough. It’s so hawt to see the concentrated formula change you so quickly. You've become quite the imposing figure, muscular and mean. It's good to see loyalty in action. From now on, you're my enforcer. Those protestors won't stand a chance with you by my side. Let's make sure they understand that challenging me comes at a price. Together, we'll show them what happens when they fuck with me.

You know what? It turns out, it was a much better plan to turn those protestors into my new executive board. All it took was a little splash of those chemicals, and their loyalty was sealed. With them backing me, it was easy to ascended to the position of CEO. Funny how things work out, isn't it? They thought they were fighting against me, but now they're working for me. It's a powerful reminder that sometimes, the best way to bring about change is from the inside. And now, I've got the influence and control I've always wanted. Make less products? No dear we’re doubling our output now, I want an army.

question about hamas - so, i fully support hamas' actions of liberation against israel, whatever they might be. however i feel like i can't fully support hamas, and the only reason is bc i heard they're harmful as a governing body to the palestinians in gaza. for example hamas building unnecessary expensive luxury mosques even though most gazans were against money used for that. like any other unideal goverment that can be corrupt. it would be rlly nice to hear ur opinion on the matter bc you seem to be rlly knowledgeable, and hear if I'm actually completely off the mark lol. thank you and have a pleasant week.

i mean, to be completely honest, i don't really care about hamas. and honestly if anyone thinks this whole thing is still about hamas and not about israel committing as many atrocities as possible, then tbh they're extremely ignorant. not to say you're ignorant, anon, and your ask is totally understandable, it's just i really don't care about hamas. i support them as a freedom fighter group, but other than that i don't pay attention to them or what they do. obviously most governments around the middle east are extremely corrupt, but i don't keep up with what hamas does. i'm sure it's done things that gazans haven't liked and it's done things that gazans have liked, but it's not like any other government doesn't do that either. holding hamas to a higher standard than other governments who do the exact same thing is... well that's not great, tbh. is hamas perfect? no ofc not. but just because they've done unfavorable things doesn't mean they should be condemned more than any other sort of government in the world who has done unfavorable things as well. either condemn them all or condemn none of them. and i lean on the side of "condemn them all", but currently i'm not focused on that. i'm not focused on hamas, i'm focused on saving palestine first. we can deal with hamas and dismantling the corruption within the entirety of palestine later, but we need to pay more attention to saving palestinian lives and dismantling israel as a genocidal illegal settler colonial state. our first priority is supporting groups and fighters who are challenging the illegal settler state, even when it includes hamas. if we take too much time "umm"-ing and "err"-ing over whether or not we should support hamas over one of their actions vs another, we're never going to get anywhere.

and honestly? you don't have to support hamas as a whole. many palestinians have controversial opinions over hamas. my parents hate them to bits but they still appreciate that they're fighting for us. i like them and support their goals to liberate palestine, but in general i don't care about or for them on anything else. palestinians have different opinions and that's totally fine. so it's okay if you don't support hamas as a group and as a whole because of it's policies or beliefs. as long as you are standing with palestine and standing with our freedom fighters, you're fine. no one is gonna judge you.

but i'd recommend to not focus on hamas or let people know your opinions about them, because that's not the priority. the priority is to free palestine. we need to stop talking about hamas so much and focus on helping those who are suffering. if we keep things focused on hamas, we are going to distract ourselves from our goals. israel WANTS you to keep talking about hamas. israel WANTS you to question their policies and actions. israel WANTS you to take time away from focusing on those in need to focus on something less important. that's why i hardly even talk about hamas on my blog. because it's not about hamas. it's about a free palestine.

i hope this helps. also, could you link me some of the info about hamas and the whole mosque thing?? or anything else you're not sure about? i'd like to read up on things like that, and make sure that isn't fake news or propaganda, because i personally have never heard of anything like that. thank you

Tw attempted self harm and child abuse.

No one really grasped how bad Atsushi's childhood was for a long time.

They could make deductions based on how he acted and recalling how they met.

Atsushi seemed rather tightlipped about the whole thing. Dropping an occasional clue but no one pried.

They all had pasts they'd rather not talk about.

It wasn't until one day when Atsushi had messed up on an important mission.

Kunikida was scolding him for it and fixing the bookcase that had been damaged.

Dazai was supposed to be fixing it but well it's Dazai so Kunikida was just multitasking.

Atsushi looking down in shame and embarrassment. And than Kunikida, finishing his lecture hands Atsushi the hammer to finish the shelf off.

And Atsushi freezes.

His mind goes blank. All Atsushi knows is that he's in trouble, has been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the Agency to realise how worthless he is.

And now there's a hammer in his hand.

"Well, go on we don't have all day." Says Kunikida, impatiently.

Atsushi really doesn't want to do this. He couldn't do it when he was 11 and he knows he can't do it now. Tears are in his eyes but he won't dare let them fall.

He won't run from this.

Kunikida and the rest of the Agency have been so kind to him. They've done so much, put up with all the messes that have happened because of him.

If this is what they want, than it's what Atsushi deserves.

So he sinks to the floor, takes off his shoe and holds the nail in shaking hands.

He brings the hammer down only for someone to grab his arm. Atsushi looks up and sees Kunikida looking at him in horror.

And it's not just him.

Dazai, who was on the other end of the office is now before Atsushi.

He takes the hammer and nail out of his hands, staring them down like they've personally offended him. And dumping them in the tool box in the corner.

"Atsushi, are you alright?" Asks Kunikida, concerned. Atsushi's confused. This wasn't how he expected this to go at all.

Why was no one yelling at him?

Why was there no burning pain in his foot?

Maybe Kunikida wanted to punish him himself, but than why let Dazai take the tools away?

"Why did you stop me?" Is what Atsushi says instead. The concern only growing on both his mentors faces. "You were going to hurt yourself." Says Kunikida and Atsushi laughs, it's panicked and startled.

"Yeah? So? I messed up."

Kunikida frowns "have you done this before, when you've 'messed up'?" Atsushi doesn't really get the air quotes but nods.

"I found some sweets, I mean I stole the sweets. And the Headmaster told me to nail my foot to the floor. But I couldn't do it so he did it."

Horror and understanding fills Kunikida's eyes. Dazai is standing nearby, an unreadable expression on his face.

"So when I told you off and gave you the hammer, you thought...." He trails off, shaking his head.

"Atsushi, while you did make a mistake it was just that a mistake. We all make them, some more than others. And no matter how bad or how little, you will never be hurt for it."

Atsushi frowns, confused "you won't?" Dazai nods, sitting beside them. "Never, you will never be hurt by us." He looks at Atsushi directly. "If Kyouka messed up on a mission, would you want us to hurt her?"

He shakes his head, horrified and Dazai smiles. "Exactly, and that applies to you." Kunikida nods "I will tell you off and than we will dicuss where to go next. That is all, I will never raise a hand against you."

Tears fill Atsushi's eyes, he'd expected cruelty and was met with nothing but kindness. "Come here" Says Kunikida, opening his arms and Atsushi practically dives into them.

Dazai chuckles, running a hand through his hair. "I don't deserve this" whispers Atsushi but they both hesr him. "I'm afraid, that's not for you to decide." Says Dazai, gently. "You've been outvoted" agrees Kunikida.

And for once Atsushi decides to listen to them and just enjoys the feeling of being held.

He doesn't notice Dazai and Kunikida exchange looks. That they are going to find whoever did this to Atsushi, and make them pay.

Atsushi didn't realise it, but he was family. And no one hurt their family and got away with it.

VERY soft about my girl Atri tonight tho.

She's a little baby cleric, nineteen, level 2 and one of those is in ranger, raised in a cloister, never been more than a day's travel from her home temple before, but her devotion to the Raven Queen is very real and very very tender.

We're running Death House as the optional intro to Curse of Strahd (so, spoilers if you're avoiding those!) and just. God, I'm so glad I decided to play my girl in this campaign, it's perfect for her.

Atri's defining character trait is that she loves the undead--truly and genuinely, even the mindless or vicious undead, because by their very nature the undead suffer. They're trapped--sometimes in prisons of their own making, yes, but trapped--and, worst of all, very few people seem to care. Even other clerics of her Lady generally view undead as abominations; to be pitied, maybe, and the peaceful ones treated with kindness, but objects of revulsion, an aberration of the natural order, something to be purged.

Atri says: The undead aren't abominations. Necromancers are.

In her world the Goddess of Death makes a promise: All chains are broken. Death means an end--no more joy and memories but no more suffering, no more fear, no more loneliness or pain. No matter what, or what you did in life, bad or good--death ends it. No one can hurt you, and you can't hurt anyone else.

Necromancy breaks that promise. It gives cruel spirits the ability to continue harming others when they should be past all chance of it, and it allows the innocent to continue to suffer. Spirit-binding is an obscenity--you cannot command a soul. No one has that right.

Which means this module has been, just...I couldn't design a scenario to better let Atri shine.

It says a lot about her that, having more than established that the lady of the house murdered her husband and his pregnant paramour using fucked-up necromancy and her vengeful spirit appears to still be around, Atri's response was...to gulp, light incense in her censor, and walk a slow circle around the room, calling out politely to the Lady Elizabeth and offering her some understanding--you must have been very hurt, and very angry. Your husband disrespected you in your own home, and that was wrong of him. I'm sorry you were betrayed that way. Will you talk to me? I'm Atri, Order of the Broken Chain, I'm here to help...

(It says a lot about her, also, that she made no further attempt at reconciliation after finding what she did to her victims. Compassion doesn't mean forgiveness. She just...lit the incense again, called out to what was left of Klara, and very very softly apologized. You were taken advantage of--whether you felt that way or not. And then you were hurt very badly by your employer. They shouldn't have done any of it...I'm sorry. Someone should have helped you...)

The party in and out of character has been pushing Atri to the forefront to do the talking-to-ghosts bit. She's had some lovely, lovely tender conversations with Klara and the kids, telling them how sorry she is, that she and her friends are here to help them...she cut the bindings on the bed where Klara was tortured to death, just as a gesture that might bring her spirit some closure. Broken chains, a promise kept too late. Recited full funerary rites over what was left of the poor woman's body.

Just feeling VERY soft that while we DID ask them important questions about the plot, 90% of Atri's conversations with ghosts in this house haven't been about mystery-solving; they've been about slowly, gently, prying free some of the pain that's kept them trapped in the place just as much as the fucked-up necromancy.

If Atri dies in this prologue, calling it now it'll be because she's not gonna run if it means leaving anyone behind.

I've been seeing this take from a lot of JC stans or in general the MDZS fandom that it was relatable when JC was constantly compared to WWX and his achievements and never able to catch up to him, since many people have been in that unenviable position of always being compared to the high achiever.

And I too have always been compared to my bright older sibling in terms of academics, life achievements, social skills, looks and in literally everything she is and has, but I still don't relate with JC in regards to that.

Because what am I supposed to expect from my sibling? That she downplay her talents and capabilities for the sake of my self worth, and self confidence? That she toss away all her achievements and all her hard work to get where she is just to make it easier for me to catch up to her? Was WWX supposed to do that, just so JC didn't feel inferior? (Which he did, by the way, always treading on the line of caution in that Jiang household between tolerating Madam Yu's abuse and always having to placate JC so his fragile ego didn't collapse.)

And I did build up resentment and anger, but not towards my sibling, because even as a preteen I recognised that it wasn't her fault. The fault was with my parents, who should've known better than to raise a child like that, always putting them in the shadow of their older sibling.

But JC let his resentment and hatred control him, listening to his mother's poisonous words and taking them to heart because that's the kind of person he is. It was natural, understandable even, that he might build up resentment and self worth issues being constantly compared to the genius in the sect. It was alright if he felt like that.

What was NOT alright was when he let his negative emotions get the better of him and control his actions and judgement. JGY, master of manipulation, points this out himself, that JC's issues with WWX were so apparent that the other sects barely had to do anything to get the man to decide to cut ties with him, exactly like they wanted.

It is NOT alright when YOUR emotions and jealousy harm the other person when they've done nothing but exist to deserve it. No matter how understandable or relatable these feelings of envy are, they don't excuse his actions and the numerous inexcusable things he did towards WWX and in general.

the arguments about palestine that changed a zionist's mind in real life:

THIS IS RHETORIC. IT WAS DESIGNED TO CHANGE SOMEONE ELSE'S MIND, NOT TO PORTRAY MY FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS AND UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE CONFLICT.

stressing equal rights as the solution to political violence. i usually start w "the single most influential factor to joining a terrorist group or a gang is hopelessness, the idea that there is no other way for them to create a livable future in which their family can eat." in this, the progression from the peaceful and unarmed 2018 Day of Return (emphasize injuries and casualties; opening fire at protestors attempting to just walk out of an "open air prison," half of whom were under 18. if they had been allowed to leave and seek political rights, october 7 never would have happened. every escalation is a result of lack of human rights. "everyone deserves human rights without qualifier, and everyone deserves equal legal rights under the law. most problems are actually side effects of this initial problem. who lacks legal rights in Israel?"

sidestep Hamas completely. refuse to engage. "there is a geographic region in the middle east whose border touches the mediterranean. Jewish people and Palestinian people live here. the government of this geographic region must then care equally for Jewish lives and Palestinian lives because that's who lives there, and just democracies give equal rights to everyone, right?" americans will be HARD PRESSED to say no. "you're pro-palestinian"

"Ethnostates are bad. We know that ethnostates are oppressive goverments that choose permanently harming a portion of second-class citizens. The whole world already has people in it, and there is nowhere to establish an ethnostate that does not require the violent removal of people who already live there. You Also Don't Need An Ethnostate to Be Safe. You need equal rights." Excerpts from Ch. 3 A Theory of Genocide from Scott Straus' Making and Unmaking Nations explaining the inherent genocidal risk of founding narratives that serve one group to the exclusion of others was very effective coupled with current death tolls.

Israel puts Jews in more danger by associating them with real human rights abuses and telling the world they're doing it in the name of Jewishness. "My neighbors have nothing to do with the violent actions of a nation-state. Additionally, you are my community member and this is already your home. The base requirement of your community members here is to make your home safe for you, not chase you halfway around the globe where we won't have to "deal with you" anymore. Your fight is here by my side making our real current community safe for everyone, not millions of miles away using bombs on civilians."

The story of the Golem, in which something created to protect Jewish communities from antisemitism grew too powerful and too violent and had to be destroyed before it destroyed the community itself in its uncontrollable rage. this actually should have been number 1 because this is used to structure the entire thing. the Golem is the last argument I brought up, but I knew I was going to bring it up the whole time and every single argument was structured to reinforce it. Continuously through the conversation, I stressed trauma responses, fear, and conservatism. they've done studies where they asked people for their political opinions, waited weeks, brought them back, shared recent headlines (divided between positive/hopeful and negative/fearmongering), and found that after being shown fearmongering headlines, the second round of responses were more conservative no matter where the subject started. there's a reason zionism was invented well before the holocaust but didn't gain widespread support in Jewish communities until after. I approached from a fundamental position of empathy. I used rising antisemitism as my lead-in to the topic, I talked extensively about how Jewish people always have Israel in the back of their head as a refuge and escape-- "if it ever gets too bad here, i have somewhere safe to run to"-- and as a result feel an intense sense of existential fear when asked to criticize or challenge it. I talked about how there are no moral dimensions to feeling (you just get to have them) but by the same metric, it means your feelings are not indicative of political truth. Being scared doesn't mean you're really in danger. All of it specifically chosen to reinforce this idea of Israel as a Golem whose violent rage must be addressed by Jewish people for the sake of preserving their own community.

that's what worked. coming at it from a fundamental position of empathy for my Jewish community members and asking them to give Palestinians the same unbending demand for human rights and safety that I am giving to everyone in this moment. showing them that their safety is not mutually exclusive to each other. part of it is capacity creation. massaging their perspective of the conflict and balming some of their most immediate and disruptive fears for themselves so that the space created by relief can turn to empathy. which is easier to do when someone is modeling it right in front of you.

Why you NEED to vote!!

This is so serious. Do not withhold your vote. It's not going to send the message you think it is.

It never will. It will not be the 'devastating blow' or 'learning lesson' to the Democratic party as a whole- they won't learn a thing by you withholding your vote. It won't help Palestine- if anything it will make you complicit in whatever further harm comes to Palestinians when your "protest" results in Trump/the Republican Party winning the election, because they've already stated that they will back Israel no matter what.

Know what sends a better message than not voting? Voting for the other candidate, or voting "Uncommitted," in the primary.

So many of you are forgetting about the Primary!!

Currently there are two other notable* Democratic candidates (Dean Phillips & Marianne Williamson) and four notable* Third Party candidates (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chase Oliver, Jill Stein, & Cornel West). People have also been writing in Claudia De La Cruz. *In this context, notable means that a candidate appears on enough ballots to stand a chance to win a majority of the Electoral College, as according to Ballotpedia.

And let me tell you, even though only a few Democratic primaries have passed as of the writing of this post, their results already seem to be having the desired effect, because Biden started pushing harder for a ceasefire right after he lost 13% of the vote in the Michigan Primary to "Uncommitted."

Of course it's not perfect, but if 13% in one state could have even that much sway, imagine what could be accomplished on Super Tuesday* if everyone went out and did the same in their states? That's what could actually stand a chance at getting the Biden administration (and rest of the Democratic party) to scramble towards doing what we want. Withholding your vote won't do shit, I'm sorry. They only notice/care where the cast votes go- not votes that are absent. And unfun fact, Trump was elected by only about 25% of eligible voters. We got Trump because so many people (43%) DIDN'T vote in 2016. This is why turnout is such a big deal- your vote absolutely does matter. *Super Tuesday [March 5th] is the day where several [15] US states hold their primary election.

Need another reason? There are 468 seats up for election. All 435 seats in the House, and 33 seats in the Senate. That is huge.

Currently Republicans hold majority in the House. This is a chance to change that- to flip seats! We have the chance to tip the scales further away from fascism instead of further toward it- But we can only do that if people get out and VOTE. Vote in the primary to choose your candidate, and then vote again in November to try and secure a blue majority and actually get shit done.

Do not withhold your vote!

Withholding your vote isn't a rebellion, it's silencing your own voice. It's complicity in whatever bad thing happens when the bad people win. It's an active sabotage of the things you supposedly want.

And to those who think "Oh who cares if things get worse for us! People in Palestine are already suffering in unimaginably worse ways!" I need you to reflect, and realize that trying to punish yourself because you feel guilty that you're not suffering with them will not help them. It's not "solidarity." It's not heroic. I'm having trouble finding the right words, but to think it comes anywhere close is a slap in the face to those actually suffering. If anything it will only make their situation even worse if Trump wins. Again, the Republican party has already stated it's intentions to back Israel no matter what.

You need to make sure that your actions aren't just you trying to assuage your own guilt because you feel bad that you can't help more. And you need to make sure that you aren't holding these guilty feelings over the actual needs of Palestinians and that you're not speaking over them in your "activism."

I'll say again, Do not withhold your vote. Do not silence your voice.

We have a chance to make this better, but we can only do it if we all do the work- and voting is the bare minimum of said work.

So make sure to get out and vote in your primary!

For Agonia.

What if instead of the elderly couple, reader was instead found by ANOTHER dangerous mad scientist except this scientist treats reader way better

TW: Reader is seen as property

"You're awake...FINALLY! You're awake, ooohhh this is exciting!" You squint in an attempt to have your eyes adjust to the lighting.

"Take your time don't push yourself!" With a blink you finally are able to see again meeting face to face with a man with a wide smile "Incredible..." you flinch back as he goes to grab your head causing him to retract his arms "Perhaps I got too excited, I just couldn't help myself! How did they create you? I tried using DNA from those bullet wounds, skin cells and so on yet they all remain unidentified...even going as far as to disintegrate after not being attached to you for a extended amount of time..." He begins to mumble to himself.

As you try to sit up you grab his attention again "oh how rude of me my apologies, I got a little side tracked!" He quickly grabs something from the counter "Here drink this you'll feel as good as new!" Noticing your hesitance he takes a drink himself "Completely safe!" He says putting the cup infront of you.

"I must know who created you? Do you know how it was done? How long it took!? I just can't help myself you are an absolute masterpiece!" He laughs "I would've thought you were just a regular huamn being had I not noticed how your body was attempting to repair itself right infront of my very eyes, the bullets seem to have prevented it from doing its job or stopping it completely in some of them!"

He taps on his chin watching as you drink the beverage he offered watching as the colour returns to your face and not having you look as if you were an undead. He stops tapping his chin giving a small chuckle while giving you a huge grin.

"This is only the beginning my miracle of a masterpiece! Don't you worry as long as you cooperate with me I promise everything will go absolutely marvelous!"

It had been a month since he had found you, you won't deny that he confuses you more then not, he's the polar opposite of your mother, he's always so active, adventurous, he even treats you so much differently.

He encourages you to explore to test out new things and not sit and wait for him, he finds it annoying after a certain amount of time. It's because of this you often find yourself doing something dumb like the one time you ate half a bush of poison ivy knowing what the consequences of that are.

"I would've been severely disappointed if a simple plant is what took you out but it truly was something else watching as your body healed itself from the inside out, i'd even say it's a piece of art!" He said as he began walking around you in a circle "Now that I've had time to think on it...you could be my accomplishment!" He picks you up leading you towards his lab room.

"It took some heavy thinking but ultimately you've shown to listen very well along with your body being able to handle even the most deadliest of injuries, I simply have to make some adjustments on you to be able to get the maximum opacity possible from you."

He sees the look you give him causing him to make eye contact with you and smile "Ah don't worry it won't harm you while I won't lie and say it's painless it will be worth it in the end you have my promise...you will be my legacy.."

As time goes on he seems to have been in a terrible mood more as of late, He hasn't taken it out on you, you do realize however how he takes it all out on his experiments he deems as failures which he hasn't done before.

One thing you've also noticed is how he seems to also want to rush the process of enhancing your body more then it already has, while also teaching you different fighting styles from the most brutal to the most pacifist.

He wanted you to be something they've never seen before something that no matter how hard they try or beg they wouldn't be able to stop you. That is what he wants but that pest can't seem to accept the fact that you no longer belong to her....and that pisses him off more than anything.

He needs you to be ready so when you finally are not even she will be able to tame you, you will be proof of what everyone thought he could never achieve....oooh how he'll prove it to all of them.

Finally that day comes when you were finally ready he couldn't help himself but laugh at their reaction when they saw you. Looking at him as if he was crazy bringing just some person into a shady hideout. That changed the moment he asked you be rid of them how he loved hearing them screaming some even begging but he taught you better "Always finish what you've started."

What he really wanted more than anything was her reaction of you finally being revealed to the public. You had immediately topped the charts in the top 20 after the amount of casualties and buildings destroyed in simply 2 hours. There was one person who was less than happy at this new found enemy....Her.

She couldn't help but clench her jaw both hands in a fist to the point of bleeding her eyes wide and brows furrowed before giving a shaky laugh.

"Just you wait until I get my hands on you but first I need a way to deal with him."

He's ruined everything she tried to be nice from civil conversations to mock attacks but now this is something else, he's really done it now. She'll make sure to get you back and have him in such fear that he'd have no choice but to look over his shoulder, even if the chances of her failing are high it's a risk she's willing to take.

Request are open!

This whole argument scene between Non's parents and the subsequent fight before he leaves the house is just heartbreaking. For anyone who has a dysfunctional family where screaming rows like this are commonplace, it's incredible relatable. Being powerless to stop your parents fighting, maybe even being the cause of your parents fighting, and feeling like it's all your fault. And no matter where you go in the house to cry, it's never far away enough not to still hear the screaming.

I've mentioned it before, but something I really enjoy about DFF is how none of the characters are completely good or bad, or particularly perfect in the way they handle difficult emotional situations, and that's also demonstrated with Non's parents. They honestly feel like the most realistic parents and family I've seen written for TV, especially parents of this generation.

So often, TV parents of happy families are 'flawed' and will make a mistake, only to be actually self-aware enough to realise they've done wrong or they fucked up with their kid, and to make it up to their kid(s) before episode's end, resolving everything happily.

Whereas real life really isn't like that. So many of these parents, when they're flawed, are really fucking flawed not just as people, but as parents! So many parents of that generation aren't self-aware! So many of these parents were also abused by their parents and went through the same kind of dysfunction, sometimes even worse than what they do to us! So many of these parents need fucking therapy and it will never even cross their mind because therapy's only for 'crazy' people! So many of these parents don't realise how unapproachable they make themselves to their kids and that's why they can never come to them with their problems! So many of these parents probably would've been happier divorced but will never do that and will stick together screaming at each other until one of them dies! So many of these parents will never, ever apologise for the harm they did to you, either because they don't realise they've even caused any harm, or because "Well, I'm your parent! I'm always in the right!"* So many of these parents are emotionally abusive without even realising they are or that emotional abuse is even a thing! Because hey, back in their day, they would've gotten beaten; you've got it so much better.**

Rant aside, though, for all their flaws, severe dysfunction and at times, frankly terrible ways they're handling this whole situation with Non, Non's parents still clearly love him. Yes, I say clearly. It's easy to hate on Non's parents (and for many of us who come from dysfunctional families, this is probably even easier; it's incredibly easy to relate to Non and a lot of his circumstances), and I've seen comments doing just that. However, as with Jin, I don't think Non's parents are monsters either.

Money might not buy happiness, but it definitely makes things easier. And if your family's poor, and constantly struggling to make ends meet or having to take out loans to support your kids, that makes your life circumstances already so much harder.

The myth of the perfect 'happy family' cultivates the idea that if your parents love you, then you'll all be happy together always and your family life will be perfect.

But in real life, your parents can love you - honestly, truly love you and care about your wellbeing - and still really screw you up emotionally. Sometimes, no matter how much they love you, it isn't enough to prevent then fucking up parenting and failing you catastrophically. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

For all the difficulties they have with each other and their child, he's still their son and they still care for him. Again, for all the terrible ways they're handling this whole thing, they care about him enough to make sure he gets the medication he needs, for his dad to stick up for him to his mum, for his mum to try and go after him when he leaves, for them to put aside their differences when he goes missing and to look into raising the money for a new lawyer to look into his disappearance. They're clearly worried and devastated that he's missing!

I wasn't really sure where this was going when I first started writing it, and I'm not sure how to end this, apart from thinking, well... the Prathipsits as a whole really are unfortunate.

*Adding footnotes because otherwise this would've broken up the flow of my writing. Although I enjoyed Turning Red, for real, the most unrealistic part was a Chinese mother actually apologising to her child. ASIAN PARENTS NEVER SAY THEY'RE SORRY AHAHA :'). The fat-shaming aunties, though, that was too real lol.

**While corporal punishment has decreased in general in most of Asia (and this'll vary by countries, but at least in some places, is not pracised in schools anymore), it's still seen in some parts or in some forms or contexts as acceptable by the older generation. Like, I'm a millenial in my late 20s, and I know male cousins or friends around the same age who still got physically beaten by their parents when they didn't do well in school or got in trouble, and that was just seen as normal by the parents and their peers. They didn't see it as abusive at all (their kids, not so much); just what was necessary to literally whip their kids into shape. Obviously, physical abuse is bad.

Too many people in this fandom put Orym on a pedestal as "the good one" or "the stable one." Even though that's not the story that Liam's been telling. Then other people project their own baggage on that.

Some people seem to equate being stoic and quiet with repressed feelings. He actually shares his feelings quite a lot and has no issue articulating them when he wants to. He just doesn't always want to process them with other people immediately. You know, like a normal person.

The other party members view him as a rock so fandom projects that he must want to be that and put all his self worth into being that. When he's shown over and over that while he likes being a shield protecting people, he wants to be side by side with others doing that and doesn't think he can be relied on all on his own. He feels he failed to defend Will and Derrig. He'd like to do better himself, but he's also repeatedly expressed that he needs the support of a team working together to do that. Military combat is about the entire unit working together to cover each other and do things no individual can alone. Getting better is all of them being more cohesive and filling in each other's weaknesses, not taking them all on himself until it crushes him.

Orym himself has never claimed to have better moral judgement than the rest of Bell's Hells. He has in fact been uncomfortable when they've suggested that. He likes getting into mischief, too. He doesn't like unnecessary conflict with authority figures, and prefers to be on the level, but he's also well aware that's not always possible and some things you have to handle privately and illegally. He's just careful about which those are. One of the first things they did in ExU was take a job from a criminal.

He's firm in his sense of what's right and wrong, but he's not rigid or inflexible. And he's never once claimed to be neutral as they've uncovered what the Ruby Vanguard is doing. As a victim he cannot and SHOULD NOT be neutral. And personally I think we should listen to victims about how individuals, groups, and institutions have harmed them. Ignoring the experiences of victims is not neutral or objective, it's siding with the abuser to protect their power.

The actual show has done a tremendously good job in depicting the inherent conflict between someone who was substantially harmed (Orym), and someone (Imogen) who has personal and biased reasons for wanting to believe a person who committed that harm (Liliana) can't be that bad deep down. Imogen wants Liliana's intentions to be good and Orym is right to point out that intentions never negate the harm being done. (And also Liliana's intentions are only good if you believe a narrow subset of things to be true that largely ignores reality and might be based on being manipulated by a predatory power. She is in a doomsday cult.)

Imogen has longed for her mother her whole life and dreamed of a reunion where they run through a field of flowers and embrace and then all is well and all is forgiven and they can suddenly have a wonderful relationship. After everything they've learned, her mother has to be a total victim not in control of her actions for this to work. But more and more evidence is that she is in control and this is what she wants and she will murder any innocent person she needs to to get it. That isn't what Imogen wants to hear so she's been in denial of it. Which Orym is right to point out is making excuses for that harm.

Imogen can do what she needs to and thinks is right, but Orym's firm that his plan is to stop them because what they're doing in the name of their ideology is evil. It's not even a matter of if that ideology is good in a vacuum. In the real world they're doing monstrous things to enact it and that is not okay. If your ideology is that puppies should get smoochies and little nose boops, but you're murdering innocent people to enforce that, you need to be stopped, even by people who think giving puppies smoochies is generally a good thing. That's how's you can get people like Ashton and Deni$e who are generally in camp "fuck the gods, they do jack shit for us" but are also firmly in camp "stop Ludinus." As Orym said, if there's a power vacuum, Ludinus cannot be the person to fill it.

Orym had never claimed to be infallible (quite the opposite), but there are definitely people with blorbo vision who think their little meow meow can do no wrong. And counter to them are the people who hate seeing Orym be put on a pedestal and are reacting by trying to pull him off of it and smash him on the ground. And who are using mental health speak to act like he's the real abuser for acting from his convictions in ways that aren't perfect. The line of thinking seems to go: Orym clearly isn't totally good or totally stable so if people have that impression it's because he's deliberately misleading them and manipulating them to get his way. Instead of just being a normally flawed guy people are projecting things onto, who has motivations, doesn't act with perfect clarity in every decision in every moment, and had conflicting needs and opinions with others.

Clearly that nod means he wants Delilah back for the power at any cost to Laudna and is manipulating her to get it and that makes him no different from Ludinus. Add opposed to saying he'll back up whatever Laudna wants to do herself including tapping into the power she had been actively using for 9 minutes prior, and that if she didn't kill Bor'Dor he would. But I guess that sounds too much like normal yes-and decision making in a split second in D&D and not like a meticulously plotted villain arc. Because if people you trusted to be the moral compass turn out to be just as flawed and fucked up as all of their friends, that's a massive and deliberate betrayal of trust, not just proof they're actually just mortal and fallible like everyone else.

Good people, after all, never get angry until it becomes unproductive and negatively shapes their actions. They were secretly evil the whole time and now the mask has come off revealing the truth. And other such things people who have never unpacked black and white fundamentalist thinking say without any apparent inclination of how that also reflects on them or how it will come for them because good people by that definition do not exist and everyone's a sinner waiting for their turn at being punished.

(Also interesting that when Fjord the man made a pact with a betrayer god for power after eschewing Uk'otoa's power with help before, it wasn't the Might Nein manipulating him into it. He was allowed to have agency over his decision and it was a second team effort to get back out of it again. Relapsing got to be a crooked path to character growth, not powerless victimhood like is being ascribed to Laudna the woman.)

Orym is a flawed guy trying his best to do good in an impossible situation that's making him feel smaller and more powerless than he ever has before. He doesn't always have the right answer and Bell's Hells putting too much trust in him is just as much a reflection of them as him. Nothing is simple right now and nothing has easy answers. None of this is black and white and purely theoretical ideology is not functional when it runs into real (fantasy) world actions. If you can't approach what's happening with nuance and understand that EVERYONE is a little right and a little wrong and they're just doing the best imperfect work they can, then you're not going to understand what's going on and make weird accusations.

This isn't a morality play. There aren't clear sides or clear right and wrong. There are characters with their own motivations working together and sometimes those motivations conflict. This is the party that fought Ira for caging a werewolf and forcing him to make new werewolves while he was working for Ludinus. And then WORKED with Ira multiple times because he wanted to fuck with his now former employer and that was good enough alignment. Chetney is being bounty hunted currently for assaulting a shop keeper at home for charging too much. Multiple party members have tried to murder the party. These aren't the days of solidly heroic fantasy Vox Machina. Seems like people are just disappointed enough to throw tantrums that Orym is exactly like all of his closest friends.

I don't know if you've been asked this, but I'm genuinely curious!

You mentioned that Murph had to undergo procedures/surgeries (if I remember correctly, sorry if I'm wrong!) Before getting pregnant. Are they originally AMAB perhaps? Or was it some funky BI/Witch biology?

Some extra context and rambling is under the cut, but the short answer to this question is: I'm not answering questions about Murph's AGAB. It doesn't actually matter all that much and (in the politest way possible, as would also be true for a real person) it's nobody else's business. I don't detect any bad faith in this question, so no harm done, I just want to make that clear for future reference

Murph does have to undergo some magical/medical procedures in order to carry their children, but mostly because they've already undergone a bunch of other transformations previously. They're genderfluid, and always have been, and during their adult life have made various transformational edits to their body; some out of curiosity to see if they prefer it, some to make themselves feel more comfortable in their body. Some were changes to external features, some were changes to primary sex characteristics, both internal and external. As a result their body in their late 20s is a mishmash, and while everything still functions as it should they do not have the complete apparatus to either get pregnant or make someone else pregnant. Hormone levels due to taking various potions for long periods has also affected their fertility, so they need to treat that too. All of these processes are slow (timescale of weeks or months sometimes) but relatively painless and almost everything is reversible without any adverse effects

Full disclosure, even I don't know what Murph's AGAB is. I never made that decision when creating them, and now that they feel like a fully-fledged person, it feels wrong to impose a decision like that on them. They have Schrodinger's Anatomy; at any given time in their adult life, any possible body type is a potentially correct answer because they've probably tried them all. The 'black box' approach is partly because it gives me comfort and freedom to portray them in different ways if I want to, and partly to stop weirdos being unnecessarily interested in their anatomy and using it as an excuse to misgender them (something that has happened with previous characters of mine). I try to write about their anatomy as neutrally as possible when I need to (basically when I'm writing smut) but on occasion a specific body part needs to be described, and just because they have that body part at that exact moment, it does not say anything about what they were born with. This has been a very rambly message, but I hope it makes at least a shred of sense