Please read from right to left!

More reasons why Zuko being the Firelord is objectively the funniest thing on earth:

Imagining a whumpee who was caught in some sort of disaster (building collapse, fire, vehicle crash, etc.) and was non-fatally injured, but then exacerbated their injuries by working tirelessly to free other people from debris and get them to safety. So by the time caretaker shows up, whumpee just stumbles over to them and collapses into their arms.

Magical Mind Control that completely shuts down a Whumpee's mind. leaving them a obedient shell when "Activated" by Whumper. and in a deep, magical sleep when "Deactivated." When Caretaker finds them and rescues them, it takes days for Whumpee to come out from under Whumper's magical influence.

Post Rescue timeline: Days 1-4; Whumpee just floats in darkness. It's quiet, heavy and blissful. Day 5: Whumpee becomes distantly aware of a voice talking to them. it's not Whumper, but comforting none the less. Day 8: Whumpee manages to open their eyes a little. but everything is blurry. Someone's holding them, a hand is in their hair, Whumpee doesn't quite know who it is, but they know they trust this person more than anyone else in the world. Day 12: A light goes off in Whumpee's brain like a lighthouse in pea soup fog. Caretaker! It's Caretaker who's with them. they wish they could speak Caretaker's name, but they're just so Sleepy, they don't have the energy.

Day 13: Whumpee comes to breifly when Caretaker's gently spoon-feeding them some soup. giving Caretaker a feeble smile. Day 15: Whumpee finally wakes up clear-headed and lucid to a teary-eyed Caretaker, hoarsely whispering "Hey."

cozy whump and comfort

The holidays are a stressful time and I'm thinking about cozy whump

The kind where the whumpee is trapped in such a comfortable gilded cage that they've long since stopped trying to get out, and may actively resist the rescuer trying to pull them free

The lab whumpee who is given tea and snacks and warm blankets to recover after a long day of experimentation

Whumpee lying in a hospital bed, floaty and out of it from drugs, but they don't feel pain any more, and they're being taken care of

The whumpee who was rescued from the snow being warmed by a fire and spoon fed hot soup

The witch's entranced assistant placing every one of the potion supplies just so on the shelf, satisfied that she's done a good job, before returning to her cupboard to rest

The recovering whumpee who gets to go shopping and pick out their own food and clothes for the first time in years

Alone and adrift on a spaceship, little hope of rescue, but the oxygen should hold out for a few weeks more and the whumpee has plenty of books to read

also thinking about whumpers falling from grace. they used to be feared and powerful and now they're reduced to nothing, maybe captive even.

but there's one person who hasn't given up on them. one person who still treats them with utmost respect and adoration. is it rewarded? or is it taken as annoying mockery?

when the conditioned whumpee manages to get whumper out, are they treasured for being the only loyal servant who never wavered?

Okay guard dog whumpees or attack dog whumpees who are human but the little things about the way they interact with their environment gives them away.

They sit unnaturally on chairs, limbs tangled

They stalk rather than simply follow or walk

They tend to have little ticks like snapping at the air quietly when they're frustrated. Whumper knows it's harmless.

Whumpees who have that distinct human "etiquette" trained out of them :)

Chemically Imbalanced Chapter 40

Trigger warnings: violence, unplanned pregnancy, immigration problems, abuse, spousal abuse,

Jose couldn't believe that his son was sitting in front of him. Years had passed since he last saw him and he'd all but lost hope for a reunion. But here they were. Roman, his son, had become an adult in the time that passed. The reunion was bittersweet to Jose as it reminded him of just how much of his son's life he missed. Remus and Roman chatted as though no time had passed which only made the guilt he felt sting more. 

Virgil shifted in his seat and moved a cup of tea towards Jose, "You look like you might need it just as much as me." He offered, trying to lighten the mood when he'd noticed that Jose held his tension in the same places as Roman. 

The older gentleman sighed and rolled his shoulders attempting to release some of the tension, "I--thanks." He replied, taking the hot ceramic cup and letting the heat ground him. The next time he looked up he saw Roman looking at him, "Roman." He offered quietly, "I don't even know where to start or how to explain." He said quietly, looking back down at his tea not daring to look at Roman for fear of seeing resentment or hate. 

"Just like in the Sound of Music, the beginning is a very good place to start. " Roman offered with a smile, watching his dad and taking him in. Even though it had been years there was something so familiar about him, that familiarity brought safety.

Jose let out a wet chuckle, "Alright then. The beginning it is." 

Vampire and his human wife after years of marriage

Charles took her to macy’s

So, You Think You Might Be A Caretaker

Do you always have blood on your hands – but never yours? Are you building biceps from dragging your friends out of danger? Are you the calm one on your team, always with band aids? Did you fly through medical school? Can you magically heal people? Do you have a special line on the monthly budget just for bandages? Or, do you somehow keep getting stuck with a shot, stabbed, or concussed friend, despite having no first aid training whatsoever? 

If this sounds like you, then you might be a Caretaker.

That’s right – you’re a fictional character who’s been assigned the weighty duty of caring for others in tales dedicated to pain, strife, and anguish. This is good news, in a way: it means you’re less likely to be the one getting hurt.

Probably.

For now, at least.

(Better to read the guide for Whumpees, just in case. We can almost guarantee you’ll eventually take your share of damage.)

Being a Caretaker means being a conduit for the Powers That Be to either imagine caring for others or to imagine being cared for. Hold your head high! You are making the world a better place, both inside your fictional universe and outside of it.

That’s the good news: you’re helping, deeply, truly. Even if it’s just a glass of water or a gentle shoulder rub, you’ve helped. That’s something to be proud of.

There is bad news, of course. You’re still gonna rack up your share of pain. You’ll see your friends injured, ill, captured, tortured, broken, again and again, in new and creative forms of agony, and you won’t be able to do a damn thing except help pick up the pieces. 

(If you are given the opportunity to incur damage instead of a teammate, you’re skirting on the edge of “heroic self sacrifice” territory. Tread carefully, or you’ll end up as the Whumpee.)

Sometimes the emotional toll of caring for others will be great enough that you’ll teeter right back into Whumpee territory. To stave off Whumpee status for as long as possible, here are some tips collected from experienced Caretakers:

Being a Caretaker is an honor. It’s also a huge, tough job. Drink water, when you have it; sleep when it’s safe; keep the med kit stocked. Remember, your friends are counting on you to pull them through their darkest hours. Maintain open, honest communication like your lives depend on it – someday, they might. 

You’ve got this, Caretaker. And when you don’t?

You’re team’s got your back.

That thing about how cats think humans are big kittens is a myth, y’know.

It’s basically born of false assumptions; folks were trying to explain how a naturally solitary animal could form such complex social bonds with humans, and the explanation they settled on is “it’s a displaced parent/child bond”.

The trouble is, cats aren’t naturally solitary. We just assumed they were based on observations of European wildcats - but housecats aren’t descended from European wildcats. They’re descended from African wildcats, which are known to hunt in bonded pairs and family groupings, and that social tendency is even stronger in their domesticated relatives. The natural social unit of the housecat is a colony: a loose affiliation of cats centred around a shared territory held by alliance of dominant females, who raise all of the colony’s kittens communally.

It’s often remarked that dogs understand that humans are different, while cats just think humans are big, clumsy cats, and that’s totally true - but they regard us as adult colonymates, not as kittens, and all of their social behaviour toward us makes a lot more sense through that lens.

They like to cuddle because communal grooming is how cats bond with colonymates - it establishes a shared scent-identity for the colony and helps clean spots that they can’t easily reach on their own.

They bring us dead animals because cats transport surplus kills back to the colony’s shared territory for consumption by pregnant, nursing, or sick colonymates who can’t easily hunt on their own. Indeed, that’s why they kill so much more than they individually need - it’s not for fun, but to generate enough surplus kills to sustain the colony’s non-hunting members.

They’re okay with us messing with their kittens because communal parenting is the norm in a colony setting, and us being colonymates in their minds automatically makes us co-parents.

It’s even why many cats are so much more tolerant toward very small children, as long as those children are related to one of their regular humans: they can tell the difference between human adults and human “kittens”, and your kittens are their kittens.

Basically, you’re going to have a much easier time getting a handle on why your cat does why your cat does if you remember that the natural mode of social organisation for cats is not as isolated solitary hunters, but as a big communal catpile - and for that purpose, you count as a cat.

This makes sense to me.

BOX FOR PLAY

Look at this beautiful angel

Wisconsin White Deer Surprised by his own Antlers Shedding

aw hell no

Deer, although graceful and lovely, are fucking morons.

Who among us isn’t surprised when a part of our head flies off

As a southerner raised by rednecks, I can confirm that deer are adorable morons.

I’ve seen deer:

1.) Run from their own baby after it sneezed

2.) Run from a turkey that was chasing another turkey

3.) Run into the only tree in the middle of a field

4.) Run from ITSELF after IT sneezed

5.) Run circles around my house because a Mockingbird was imitating the wheezing sound deer use to verbally communicate a sense of unease

As a side note, as a Texan I can confirm that mockingbirds are total trolls who will also mimic thr sounds of babies crying and phones ringing so deer are definitely not the only ones getting freaked out by them

(via)