#also I'm mashing up the timeline to make it fit....

[arizonaconservativegal]

Thanks for replying. I didn't think to check here until after work. I believe that you truly believe that your side isn't that bad and I'm under some sort of media hypnotism. Maybe I am and have turned into an elitist snob. I just don't get how you don't see conservative Christians as problems- you are aware when they talk about "religious freedom," they're usually only talking about the right to be obnoxiously Christian in public, right? I know very few conservative Christians whose idea of the religious freedom of others is "I don't want to ever see or hear about it and if you expose my kids to it I'll throw a huge fucking fit." These are the people who fight against evolution and sex ed in schools. I don't get it, man. But that's whatever, we're not going to agree. But...I really do hope you're right.

Anyways, what's your favorite Star Wars era? Do you prefer pre- or post Disney EU? I really like pre-Disney EU so I'm biased towards them and I am weird because I actually really like the New Jedi Order era. (And the pre-Filoni Clone Wars.)

Thanks for talking, even if it wasn't pleasant.

Matt-the-Atheist

Hello again Matt-the-Atheist. I'm actually enjoying our little chat.

Frankly I don't mind if people want to be obnoxiously Christian in public. I'm actually fully in support of their right to do so. That's cool with me. It hurts no one. And suggesting that it's a bad thing if they do so sounds kinda "I don't want to ever see or hear about it and if you expose my kids to it I'll throw a huge fucking fit" if you ask me.

As for people who fight against evolution in schools, that's a pretty tiny minority - I've literally never met one. I might grant you the point on sex ed, to an extent - that does tend to be a point of contention because if you ask ten people (Christians or otherwise) what the appropriate curriculum would be for any given age group, you'll get ten different answers.

Far more importantly though: Star Wars.

My favorite era is definitely that classic OT rebellion era and I'm also really fascinated by the fall of the Republic / early days of the Empire. I probably lean a bit more towards the pre-Disney stuff overall but there's plenty to love and hate about both timelines so I just pick and choose what I like from each and mash 'em all up together in a way that makes no sense to anyone else and ignore the rest and I'm perfectly happy lol.

Oh man New Jedi Order? I applaud the effort to do something different but I must admit I had a hard time with those books. I'm not really sure why. I did really like the legacy era after that though, much more than I expected. It's a fucking trip but it was fun.

Do you have a favorite character, canon or otherwise?

[thebreakfastgenie]

Sleepover ask!

Okay so my latest headcannon is that Hawkeye was at the Pusan perimeter, after watching ‘Heal Thyself’ the other day.

It was Hawkeye’s first assignment right off the ship. Didn’t join 4077 till after the invasion of Inchoeon which ended the battle of Pusan, etc. (only have minimal knowledge about the battles). He didn’t tell anyone/suppressed it till Newsome came around.

And his whole like of “that’s what I’m afraid of” goes way deeper for him than BJ.

(This is not a very thought out idea lol)

I think about this ALL THE TIME omg. I've never tried to make it a headcanon that fits into canon, although you probably could since we know so little about when Hawkeye first got there. The "worst" part of the war was, according to some sources I've seen, 1950-51, and after that things stabilized a little bit and the MASH units moved around a lot less (which means it makes the most sense for most of the show to be set after 1951 based on bug outs being relatively rare). In the book, Hawkeye was... somewhere, on a base or something, for a few weeks before being assigned to the 4077th and that's where he met Oliver Jones.

Anyway!

I am so obsessed with the idea of Hawkeye being on the Pusan perimeter like send that man to the front! Fuck him up more! There's just so much potential in it, not just angst potential but like... story potential. So much happening at the Pusan perimeter. So much history I can drop him into! The main thing stopping me is I would have to learn about battles LOL

I don't think he'd suppress it but I could totally see him just not mentioning it because it never came up. Maybe he told Trapper when he first got to the 4077th from Pusan, but by the time BJ gets there it's been over a year (don't think about the timeline too hard) and he's just moved on.

I think it adds another lovely layer to that line and it's just so fun!!! I will talk about this forever!

When I first thought about Hawkeye at Pusan I imagined an AU where BJ got to the 4077th before Hawkeye, and in that AU Hawkeye served at the Pusan perimeter with Steve Newsome and they were friends. But I'm not overly attached to that version! I am also very into the idea that he and Steve were in different units and didn't know each other.

[nerdgatehobbit]

All right, I want to do a semi-silly post, especially as it's both Leverage's 16th anniversary and The Librarians' 10th. I suspect it's a coincidence, but given the off-screen & on-screen overlap it wouldn't be a surprise if it weren't. However, I'm going to (for now) sidestep the crossover concept between them, because I want to wonder how the teams would deal with the Pokémon world.

Kanto & Johto: The Leverage team would 100% end up dealing with Team Rocket, culminating with them going after Giovanni. Sophie and James would absolutely talk theatre, though. Hardison and Bill likely would geek out together. Parker would have fun trying to locate Legendary Pokémon just because she wants to see if she could. Nate likely has complicated feelings regarding Professor Oak, especially if it turns out that he used to listen to his radio talk show with Sam.

Orange Islands: There's probably not much to draw the Leverage team's attention here, outside of the incident that makes up Pokémon 2000. They would go after Lawrence III to ensure he can't repeat his scheme.

Hoenn: I have a feeling they might not quite realize the seriousness of what Teams Aqua & Magma are up to until they enact their plans. Hardison gets a Castform after a job at the Weather Institute (to Parker's smugness). Other than that, though, I haven't determined which Pokémon the team members would have- I suspect they'd start out with just one and gradually gain more as they travel the regions.

Sinnoh: At first, the team probably doesn't realize the extent of what Team Galactic is up to until Hardison gets access to their systems. After that, though, they do their best to be involved in stopping them (I am unsure if the canon timeline is also happening or not). There's probably a job done on Mount Coronet other than the final battle. I suspect there would be a couple of jobs involving museums, featuring Hisui artifacts.

Unova: It starts out with the Leverage team going after Team Plasma cells for stealing Pokemon, but matters snowball from there.

Kalos: Sophie definitely has a blast in this region, also she has a crush on Diantha but keeps insisting that it's merely viewing her as a role model, to the others' increasing doubts. Nate grows fearful that Lysandre is a dark reflection of himself (I'm unsure how well the others can dissuade him of that). Parker climbs Lumiose Tower at one point.

Alola: All right, in the thought that inspired this point, the team absolutely has a job going after Viren. Depending on whether it's game or anime canon, their level of concern over the Aether Foundation would vary greatly. Either way, though, Hardison gets into a vicious feud with Faba. If the Ultra Rangers are a thing, the team probably won't be too concerned, as I'm going to mash up some genre expectations here (i.e., Pokémon as a whole has kids shouldering major responsibilities as audience surrogates and it's not meant as an indictment on the adults). They would also fall in with Team Skull, teaching everyone (including Guzma) healthier coping mechanisms about not fitting in. Parker would encourage Robin Hood style thefts rather than the grunts going after school kids. There'd probably be some serious discussions about trying to figure out how to determine when a societal structure isn't the best fit for you specifically versus being flawed enough in general to warrant change and/or being ended (further complicated by how Alola's structures are different from other regions and therefore is in fact being non-conforming to begin with).

Galar: Chairman Rose is very much in line with the Leverage team's typical mark, so they would absolutely go after Macro Cosmos. I think Oleanna and Sophie would have a rivalry. If this is an AU rather than just dimension hopping, Sophie would be from here. Dimension hopping is on the table, though. If so, Looker & Anabel would be reoccurring characters (somewhere between Taggert & McSweeten and Sterling in terms of seriousness and competence).

Paldea: Hardison and Nate would have So Many Issues with Turo & Sada; more on the Evil Science side for Hardison and more on the parental neglect for Nate. Luckily, Hardison would also have Penny as a mentee, with Breanna acting as a big sister figure. At some point Breanna & Harry will be joining in on the fun, but I'd have to figure out the timeline and also have actually watched some Leverage Redemption to get a better grasp on their characters. There's probably a lower stakes job at Artazon featuring an art exhibit with Maggie present.

I don't know enough about the 'minor' regions to say anything serious about them. Tara Cole will be filling in for Sophie for a while still, but again: I'd have to figure out timeline stuff to determine when.

Meanwhile, over with the Librarians team! At the moment, I'm acting like either these are two different AUs or the two teams are oblivious to each other somehow. Or I'll take a third option to combine them but again, that would involve far more pondering than I currently have done on the matter. This post is basically a first draft.

Judson, Charlene, and Jenkins are all still immortal due to Legendary shenanigans. The main Library is probably in Nimbasa City, although I'm not sure where the Annex would be located. Part of me wants to put it in Sootopolis City for its isolation (which would make tactical sense) but then maybe putting it in Eterna City would make thematic sense. Also, I'm guessing that Hoopa would be the in-universe influence for the Door in this version.

Flynn, Eve, and the LIT trio would be more focused on protecting Legendary & Mythical Pokémon from threats than collecting magical artifacts from being misused, given the total lack of a 'masquerade' in the Pokemon world. They work with the Champions when they do need to check in on ensuring certain objects are secure (the Red and Blue Orbs being a prime example).

They scramble upon learning of Project Mew, but there's still a close call with Mewtwo (if Ash isn't around, it likely features Cassandra reaching out to him). For favoritism reasons, Flynn has a Lugia along with a Grotle, an Absol, and an Salamence. He would start out with just the Grotle as his starter, gaining each of the others over his time as a solo Librarian. I haven't decided yet if Excalibur looks like a regular sword or if it's an ancient Honedge.

Eve has a Lucario, a Charizard, and a Glaceon. Jake has a Smeargle and a Mudsdale. Ezekiel has a Zorua, Rotom, and a Ralts (yes that last one is meant as a neon sign at Ezekiel's hidden depths). Cassandra probably has been unwilling to get any Pokémon due to her brain tumor. It's a toss-up if that changes before or after its removal at this point. I think she'd end up with an Abra and a Fidough. Although it'd be a good moment if she did get a 'classic' starter Pokémon as well, to highlight how she's reclaiming her life and dreams; I'm just unsure which one would suit her best.

There's at least one incident featuring the Burned Tower. Sinnoh is very much a hotspot for incidents due to the quantity and strength of its Legendaries. I think it'd be funny if by the time of the series, Flynn has developed a friendship with the Swords of Justice, regularly meeting up for picnics to compare notes on the events of their travels. When they first tag along, Eve, Jake, and Ezekiel would be baffled but Cassandra would be charmed by the almost fairy tale vibes of the situation.

By the end of the main series, I think the others would all also have a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon. I'm leaning towards giving Ezekiel a Celebi due to the events of "And the Point of Salvation", even if that situation plays out differently in this AU.

I don't think Estrella would be a vampire in this AU, but she would have powers of some kind. Maybe she lives in/near the Glimwood Tangle, ergo having a Galarian Rapidash? Regardless of where she lives, she'll definitely have a Crobat as a nod to her original self. Also, this will be a Lamia Lives AU. She has a Flygon, a Litten, and an Umbreon. There'll still be a betrayal from Dulaque, but a Legendary Pokémon intervenes to save her life (which one will depend on which region the events are happening in).

I'm going to have to finish season four before I'm willing to guess at what sort of Pokémon Nicole would have as well as what her situation would be in this version of events. Particularly as this is a lighter & softer AU, as can probably be surmised by now. Maybe Lamia and Nicole will be a duo doing their own thing, not fully part of the Librarian team but not hostile either?

The globetrotting is much easier to justify here due to the Door the Librarian team has access to, which wouldn't be impossible in the Pokémon world, especially if the Library has more access to magic than most. There's likely still a clippings book, but Flynn's bigger priority is his calendar app that lets him know which key site needs to be checked in on this month. It'll be a tossup if there's still an incident at the Tree of Life or not.

The Ultra Beasts and Paradox Pokémon will cause a lot of headaches for the team, particularly in making sure nobody gets hurt on either side. The former can be returned home, but the latter cannot. I wonder if Flynn and Cassandra could convince Mewtwo to welcome the Paradox Pokémon to Mount Quena?

This was probably a silly way to celebrate, but I had fun with this! I don't know if it'll go any further than this post, but even if I don't, it was fun to play with the concept here.

[rapidprototypingproject]

Endless runner prototype reflection

The endless runner I've prototyped is similar to games like Subway Surfers, Temple Run, and other mobile runners: I'm really unhappy with this.

Those kinds of games are boring and repetitive to me- at a certain point in those games I find myself just shutting my brain off and repeating the same loops over and over. I believe its because they all follow this same formula of:

3 lanes (Temple run is slightly different, but it doesn't change the feeling of the game)

Powerups

Highscores

Coins

Upgrades

Even more polished games I looked at like Alto's Adventure still followed these principles that give these games their repetitive, simple, and simple gameplay.

If I were to develop this prototype further I would want to see how far I could push the genre, and even try to add elements from other genres to shake up the formula that players are used to.

To do this, I think giving the player more movement options would be a good start. This would give it more platformer elements, and hopefully be more engaging. I created some more tiles that show my idea, however some of them do not have functionality:

Blue: Platforms Green: Wallrunnable (not functional) Red: Deadly- you would have to slide/jump over these.

This itself isn't anything unique for an endless runner, but I think the way I can combine these obstacles, along with adding more features on top of that, is where this could come into its own.

I also thought about combining roguelike elements into this genre. You would be able to get items/power-ups throughout a run that gave you different abilities, and these would give me more options and ways to approach these in a run. Perhaps you would only start with being able to switch lanes, and had to choose between things like rolling, jumping and wall running throughout a run.

The movement in this prototype is also something I would change. The lane switching being based on a timeline means you can instantly change lanes by mashing the A and D keys.

As much as I don't like it, Subway Surfers has some incredible movement for the player. The bouncy jump and fast dashes along with the ability to immediately dash downwards makes the game a really smooth experience:

A movement system like this would fit really well with the platformer/roguelike idea I had in mind- so this is something I would do first if I decided to develop this idea further.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

You say that, but there are several lines in tcw that make me think there was an existing democratic system, even if it's not straightforward. It's firmly established that Satine's mandate comes from a democratic mandate, but even deathwatch, half of whom literally believe in rulership by right of combat, don't believe they can rule mandalore without winning an election first, and even in their internal affairs Pre specifically mentions needing to put a policy decision to a vote. So I draw conclusions from these things.

But 'democratic tradition' does cover a fair range of things, and dynasties tend to crop up like mushrooms. And there is clearly a dynastic tradition in Mandalore.

Jango becomes the leader of the true mandalorians (trivia note: this comic is so old they're called the mandalorians in it, and there may not have been a state of mandalore at the time it was written?? i'm confused about the irl timeline. they were later retconned as 'true' mandalorians to distinguish them from all the other mandalorians i guess) because the people in that small group chose him. This is an important distinction, given that we are talking about whether it makes sense for that to transfer to the far larger planetary system of Mandalore depicted by later writers. My problem is that I can marry the true mandalorians depicted in the comics with the larger mandalorian system depicted in the show - but only if I ignore the fanon. But i live in a society (fandom) and I'm really a little fond of fanon Jaster, so it's a bummer for me that it never makes sense. the only way it makes sense to me is that they were popular cult figures who never actually ran for election or anything like that, but they could have taken on a mythic status as guys outside the system. (i could write an entire tangent on how the show The Mandalorian fits here but i'd be here all night).

So yeah. Faction leader, who wasn't really trying to rule all of mandalore, who may or may not have been a cult figure especially after his death. This is a way I can mash together the comic and the show and the fanon - by making the fanon into in-universe fanon. It works in my head.

( I don't know what you are referring to with your fourth paragraph.)

To be clear I wasn't making a statement of what Jaster would have actually done if he had defeated Deathwatch. His character in the comics (and this entire post is about characterizing him exclusively based on the comics, so I better not break my own rule) he is kind and sentimental enough to take in an orphan who's parents just died defending him, a stranger, but is also ruthless enough to treat slaughtering "poorly armed native" insurrectionists on behalf of random horrible government number whatever as "easy credits". He also killed a fellow cop one time before going into mercenary work. So I think a few heads rolling is plausible. But I was commenting on fic I've read, really. They're usually written by his fans, and they tend to have him deal with deathwatch with some severity. Executions, dissolving clan Vizla entirely , that kind of thing. The irony just comes from these things often being written by the exact same people who call Satine a tyrant.

Your final point got me thinking... this is all academic since executing her enemies is... not in character for Satine to begin with, to the point where she straight up told the love of her life that she would not be speaking to him at all if he'd killed a guy who just tried to bomb her, but I still want to challenge the idea that she would have necessarily been able to execute deathwatch if she'd wanted to. Just because.

To be able to simply execute deathwatch leaders, she would have needed to be in a position of absolute power over them, since people tend to fight back when you try to exterminate them. Unsurprisingly. So already that assumes she has a great deal of power, and enough military force of her own to have either thoroughly defeated deathwatch or keep fighting a war against deathwatch. Satine had been protected by a jedi at her lowest, but pre-war jedi customs apply here, so "I cannot fight a war for you, I can only protect you" - Qui Gon in TPM. She had the backing of the Mandalorian protectors, which is significant, but deathwatch is also well-armed. So you have to consider the possibility that being more forceful means... more war.

Which brings me to: did she have a mandate to make more war? We don't know, but I wouldn't assume she did. Satine is not a warlord pretty much by definition, and her position is making peace not war. She got her power via public support, same as she lost it. 'make peace not war, but first a little bit more war just a little bit promise' isn't the platform she ran on. Maybe she would have had less support. Maybe the mandalorian protectors would have wondered what's different about this one, really. Maybe instead of uniting, Mandalore would have fractured again. This is pure speculation, mind, but it's just as possible as anything else. Maybe if she'd kept warring she would have just lost. To deathwatch. Possible! They had to have been on the backfoot if they agreed to terms, so I don't assume they would have won either, but you never know.

Mostly, it's just her themes. She's there to espouse the viewpoint of pursuing diplomacy over war, not the theme of clemency. (...I feel the need to add that I don't think the narrative presents her as right- or wrong, either. She's a foil to obi wan's warring and the conclusion is that they're both going to lose anyway because diplomacy vs war is not actually what the story is about) Therefore I think her position in the past being about choosing diplomacy over war is more thematically satisfying than it being a matter of choosing clemency. This is a story first and it follows story rules.

Is there anything else... yes, it's that a 15 year ceasefire is still an achievement, to me. They got to rebuild. A whole generation of Mandalorian children got to grow up without the kind of random brutality that orphaned Jango Fett. It isn't nothing. And if not for the empire, maybe it would have lasted longer than that. And it's not like killing the opposition would have necessarily led to a longer peace anyway.

I belong to a very small gang of friends who base Jaster Mereel exclusively off the open season comics. (Even though those comics kinda suck). I actually have absolutely no idea where the concept of Mand'alor Jaster comes from. Could be from a book. Could be from an ao3 fic. Who knows? Not me.

[makesitprecious]

It's always summer, under the sea

I know, I know, oh, oh, oh

The rain is dry, and the snow falls up

The stones crack open, the water burns

The shadows come to dance, my love

The shadows come to play

The shadows come to stay

hailing from Stonehelm, the daughter of 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍, Larissa travels across the continents through a varieties of roles : originally betrothed to 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 ( a young loves tragic tale ), noble blooded handmaiden to princesses & queens, avenger , sister & runaway. a contrast to her sister Johanna in Lys ( the black swan ), Larissa is coined the white swan in court and the title shadows her across borders.

while others of 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑��𝐍𝐆 made names in court or dying on the battlefield, Amias longed for more than a nobleman's life. after a failed career as a tourney knight, he took to the navy under house banners (and The Tully's) and became a sailor. At times his ship is called to fight and others it is merchanting in calm waters. Not keen on returning home since his father's interest in politicals, Amias lodges at The Stepstones during shore leave (before the wars). he balances on the edge of a knife between royal ships & pirates, but youth grants him a delusion of invulnerability despite of his mortal bones. at seventeen he is transferred to the Valeryn navy on well earned merit & skill. before the Trinity forms years later, Amias sees vast & beautiful places with Corlys as a mentor. younger brothers begin making names for themselves at court in the favors of princesses & kings. Amias does not heed his father's call to represent the house as another face in the capitol. he wants not for personal glory or riches. as Amias is pulled into deep battles against the now allied Trinity, he knows morality does not always lie with the crown & honor is not easily found within family.

pulled together across latitude & longitude lines, can two lovers survive the dances of dragons & merciless tides of war together ? will Larissa dare the odds to bring a doomed lover back to life ? friends & enemies contend with riches, power & myths as two noble houses pen their legacies with ink during a hurricane.

✒️ ɪᴛ's ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴀ ✒️

for the inspo!! ♡ we know we're set in h0td timeline just so I can make heart eyes at @samwilsonns and @kingsroad characters. but these two might appear in a more game of T setting because I love the worlds of @toilandtroubled of @stachedocs ♡ thank you ♡ to @zoyazenik, @prosemoireia, @fleetwoodmcs, @richitozier, @fragilestorm, @elmunson for your beautiful art, persistence in the face of photoshop crashes and stories that keep me reading past my scheduled bed time.

[onlythebravest]

Hiii for the writer ask 55 and/or 65 💗

hello!! I'll do both, because I love answering questions 😂

55. do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

yes, I do. I have a few. one that is currently abandoned is my accidental bondage fic. and the reason I abandoned it was because I couldn't figure out how to make a timeline. I wanted to show the development in their relationship without it seeming rushed, but I couldn't figure it out. but I hope to come back and finish it one day, I just need to figure out the timeline of it.

65. what is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written? 

I'm pretty proud of never been a fan of change, but we're still the same because it fits the story so well since it's about dealing with changes in a friendship, and I thought it was pretty clever of me to mash up two songs. I also really like sweaty palms and racing hearts.

send me writer asks (pretty please)

[leonawriter]

For that meme: Romani! and also Genesis!

First impression

Romani: I was going to say something about when I started playing, but then I remembered my first impression was actually you guys telling me about him and Merlin, along with a bunch of spoilers, and... some of those are a big part of why I knew I'd love him XD

Genesis: wow it's been ages now, but, I think my first impression was probably "who is this" and "what an asshole" haha.

Impression now

Romani: I'm still in the middle of Babylonia but! He's so!!!! look he introduces himself as "just a doctor on staff" and then he gets promoted to the Director of Chaldea/effectively the Leader of the last remnants of humanity. Just a normal doctor. And then he's mission control, and no matter that the Servants are saying mean things a lot he's always there for you, works so hard for you, clearly knows damn good battle strategy going by America, Camelot, and Babylonia... there's so many hints about who he is but he just reads as someone who cares. A lot. I love him.

Genesis: Skrunkly cat man who both suffered too much and also didn't get hit with enough at the same time. I still need to know more about him. I want to put him through the pear wriggler. I love him and he's a dumb(apple).

Favorite moment

Romani: It's gotta be when they're in America, and he's just casually becoming the team's go-to battle strategist. I kept screaming about it because dude your mask.

Genesis: I... is it weird if I say I find it hard to think of really great canon moments? I think that maybe actually him walking past Angeal in his Banora home and going "you don't fit in with them anymore" basically. The actual line is so much better. Reason I find it hard to think of good moments is that a lot of the time in canon he's desperate and freaking out; in fanworks we're able to portray an idea of what he might be when not degrading or anything, and that's what I want to see out of any future appearance.

Idea for a story

Romani: Hm... I haven't been reading any FGO fic at all yet, really, so I don't know what has or hasn't been done already. But if I had to say what I'd like to see, it'd be something set between the Singularities that isn't an event, and therefore not likely to be so silly.

Genesis: I still need to finish TCASM at some point. But I guess I'd love to see more gen-fic/non-romantic fics based in either the original timeline, or the Remake one. Remake Aerith meeting Genesis would be fun.

Unpopular opinion

Romani: I don't know enough about FGO fandom perception and I'm not reaallly far through enough to know what opinions I'd hold would or wouldn't be unpopular, so. Pass.

Genesis: In many ways the fact that he's one of my actual unironic faves in VII is an unpopular opinion in and of itself. I... also don't like any of the popular ships for him, I think. I tend to see him and Angeal as like brothers (partly because of them growing up, partly because of the experiments giving me some fun ideas) and there's other things that disqualify most other ideas. Which would be a petty little thing if not for how 90% of all fandom material is shipping, and it makes it hard to find content I can enjoy.

Favorite relationship

Romani: Romantically, Merlin. Platonically, Mash. With Merlin he's just so unapologetically forward about himself, and they're both... they're equals. You know I'm weak for that. And Mash is just an entire daughter to him. And all three are kind of weirdos when it comes to humanity, if I'm reading things right.

Genesis: Zack, because he's kind but takes no shit, and has seen him at his worst and still believed he could be helped. I've also always loved seeing him bounce off against Aerith and Cloud too.

Favorite headcanon

Romani: I feel like I don't know enough about him yet to come up with anything that's not going to get thrown out of the window in time, but... I do like to believe that mask or not, he really does care. A lot of the things we see from him simply don't make any sense otherwise.

Genesis: Other than that he's an autistic bisexual disaster? It's the popular "he ends up with the Seventh Heaven/AVALANCHE group after failing to handle whatever he's got himself involved in on his own." He has to work with others, and find out that people can, actually, handle him just being himself.

[fantastic-nonsense]

Okay! I think I might have it! Note that I'm mashing together timelines here, so it's not going to be the cleanest thing in the world, but it's workable and that's what counts.

Damian's timeline:

Damian is alternatively naturally born (Son of the Demon, Batman and Son) or grown in an artificial womb and "quick aged" to 5 years old before he's "born" (Post-Flashpoint). For the purposes of this post and since the quick age thing is utterly stupid, we'll be going with the first one and assuming Jason's death/resurrection happens when Damian is around 5 years old.

Damian is either raised by Talia and her hand-picked League associates only (pre-reboot) or co-raised by Ra's, Talia, and Ravi (post-reboot).

Prior to the Year of Blood, he's seemingly raised largely by Talia and Ravi on Infinity Island/Al Ghul Island, but is clearly familar with multiple League bases, indicating regular travel

Damian's Year of Blood occurs when he turns 9 and appears to last the majority of his 9th year

He's introduced to his father at 10 in Batman and Son, which happens a little over a year after Under the Red Hood (based on the UtrH/Infinite Crisis overlap combined with One Year Later), and you can choose which version of canon you want to work with from there

MEANWHILE: when you fit everything together, Jason spends a total of three years with the League (two with Talia/various trainers and one with the All-Caste), as opposed to the two he spent with them pre-reboot, which would have made him 19 in Under the Red Hood). That timeline looks something vaguely like this:

Jason dies at 15 and is resurrected around 6 months later

After waking up from a coma in a Gotham hospital, he's picked up off the streets by Talia's men and brought to the League (aged ~16)

He spends approximately a year being cared for by Talia, and then is dumped in the Pit to restore his mind (~17)

He spends around a year with the All-Caste, 6 weeks with Shiva, and then an additional 6-8 months being trained by an assortment of Talia's hand-picked trainers (~18-19)

Then he goes back to Gotham to start his hostile takeover of Gotham's mobs, and a few months after that Under the Red Hood happens (~20)

With that in mind, we know that Damian's Year of Blood happens basically the same year Bruce, Dick, and Tim are all globetrotting due to Infinite Crisis/One Year Later. It's the only way I can make the timelines work out: Damian has to be be vaguely 6-8 during Jason's training and 9 during Jason's hostile takeover of the Gotham mobs and the events of Under the Red Hood/Infinite Crisis so that he can be 10 by the time Batman & Son happens. It's also basically the only way to preserve the correct age gap between Jason, Tim, and Damian: if Jason is 19-ish during Under the Red Hood and Damian is 9-ish, Tim is 16 like he's supposed to be (having celebrated his 16th birthday in Robin Vol. 2 #116).

Depending on your point of view, this works out incredibly well or makes you sit up and go "that's weird." On one hand, it actually works out fairly well for Talia, who clearly split her time between dealing with Jason and raising Damian in both universes, and you can piece together a generally coherent timeline based on that.

On the other hand, this timeline gets super complicated when you throw Ra's into the mix, because he's killed by Nyssa in Death and the Maidens (2003) and resurrected in Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul (2007), neither of which seem to have happened in the post-Flashpoint universe. Ra's being killed is ostensibly the reason Damian never met him prior to Resurrection in the pre-reboot universe, but Ra's is very clearly and canonically actively involved in Damian's childhood post-Flashpoint. Pre-reboot!Ra's' death in Maidens probably happens when Damian is around 3 or so. It works out (mostly) on Jason's side though, since Ra's was alive at the beginning of Lost Days and dead by the end.

So....the Jason-Talia-Damian timeline works out, but try to add Ra's in without contradicting canon and you're just not going to have a fun time. Anyway, what this means is that there are conceivable time periods where Jason and Damian could have feasibly met while they were both with the League: Jason's year of catatonia (when Jason is 16/17-ish and Damian is 6), and Jason's year of training with Talia and her tutors (when Jason is 18 and Damian is 8, prior to Jason's return to Gotham and Damian's Year of Blood). Go forth and do with that information what you will!

trying to figure out what parts of Jason's time with the League of Assassins overlapped with which parts of Damian's childhood is super interesting and also awful, because it's an absolute mess between trying to piece together Damian's childhood and working out the contradictions between Lost Days and New 52!Jason's time with the All-Caste

[ceo-of-kcwt-college]

OH WOW DO I HAVE OPINIONS AND THINGS XD

Lavender Haze: Okay this is gonna sound weird but...Finn's Mom and Kurt's Dad Burt fit into this for me, both sides like idk how to explain this but yah

Maroon: I feel like this was Rachel after her and Jesse broke up...I don't feel like she would've liked Red but Maroon definitely fits.

Anti-Hero: Ok ok this would be one where everybody only sings like one or two lyrics depending on the current episode

Snow On The Beach: Hot take but I see Santana and Brittany in this. Everybody is looking at them and being like 'oh why are y'all together blah blah blah' and you know what, they look beautiful together leave them alone.

You're On Your Own, Kid: Emma never gets talked about in Glee posts anymore but this song belongs to her!! "He's gonna notice me, it's okay we're the best of friends" like c'mon. And her parent's dismissal of her problem just like...fits.

Midnight Rain: This one was so hard to place but like....I feel like this belongs to Tina and Mike...I feel like they wanted very different things at the end of their relationship and I'm kind of glad they didn't get married...

Question....?: I feel like this would be Mercedes if she slipped into her insecurities again while she got back with Sam. Sam was a stripper, Sam had all the girls in high school and she's (in her eyes, not in mine), just a girl.

Vigilante Shit: Look me in the eyes and tell me this doesn't belong to Sue Sylvester, especially after she told Emma that Will hooked up with April (which she should have but still!)

Bejeweled: Also hot take but the Holy Trinity would rock this song, in sequined dresses that we would look back on and be like why did we think it was a good idea lol

Labyrinth: I feel like this would be Rachel as she started to fall in love with Jesse after Finn died. Years passed, of course, but that's where I think it goes. "Oh oh, I'm falling in love again"

Karma: I could see this as a Glee Club group number after they defeat Sue for something, maybe a mash-up with Karma Chameleon? (Don't hate me for that idea plz) Also Brittany would of course do the "Karma is a cat" line!

Sweet Nothing: I feel like this is Kurt and Blaine. They always seemed so at home with each other, and it would be a duet! (Maybe with the Warblers?)

Mastermind: Sincerest apologies but I have to give this to Rachel and Finn. Rachel plotted everything from the beginning I can't not give this to them as well.

The Great War: Quinn and Puck!! I can't explain but this. Yes. All of it. They went through so much and Puck straightened himself out at the end of it and yk what maybe it's the uniform but yeah.

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: I'm sorry but you can't tell me this isn't Rachel mourning Finn every July 13th :(, rubbing her hands on her tattoo, tracing the letters without even looking at them anymore. "I'm never gonna know, what could've been, should've been, would've been you' stop I'm gonna make myself cry

Paris: Definitely McKinley High after Glee won Nationals, like Glee Club was proud but everyone else was like ew who are they, that's the vibe, group number for sure, maybe Quinn on lead vocals for once

High Infidelity: THE EPISODE WHERE EVERYONE BREAKS UP. I'M SORRY BUT THIS IS WHERE THIS BELONGS. Also I hope none of the couples have to sing this song ever again because if in an alternate timeline they cheated on their peoples I would lose my mind

Glitch: Okay so when Will was sleeping around before Emma and him got together?? I think this would be him singing it when he messes up something with Danny and is like, "Am I doing the right thing or is she gonna yell at me like Terri did?" kinda vibe

Would've, Could've, Should've: This was actually a pretty easy one to pick, subject matter not so much, but when Ryder opened up about the babysitter thing...this would've broken our hearts. (Maybe a mash-up with Dear John??)

Dear Reader: A Finn and Will or a Quinn and Rachel duet for sure!! I feel like they didn't collaborate often and I wish they had more, for either duo! They always sounded great together!

grr okay just straight up tell me which Glee character would sing what Midnights song, duets and group numbers more than welcome

[willowstea]

I'm stealing @miyacantdecide 's idea and giving my two cents on each topic.

1) I think it would have progressed much like the Beth timeline. Whole she might not have gone to the protest with Lucas, I dont think she would have gone out with Kate. I have a feeling she would have been preparing at least for the interview, and she never would have met Josh the second time on the train.

2) I think its becuase in the Beth line Lucas is seeing her more a friend than a potential partner or Beth just didn't tell him. He seems a bit childish sometimes and could be hurt by the idea of Beth dating someone else.

3) OK, so, I'll try not to rant on this like my head wants me too. Simply put i assumed it either had to do with "three strikes you're out" which is a sports metaphor but doesn't really fit the context, or "third times the charm" which does. Also, (I'm basing my assumptions based of my family's expirence in the Canadian military up until the mid 90s and anecdotal evidence) Josh is most likely Catholic or heavily influenced by Catholism. Like a lot of religions three is a big number. There were three wise men and it took Jesus three days to rise again. Twelve, the number of apostles, is also divisible by three, and I know there's a whole lot more these are just some big ones. Now onto why I think this: the military, both here and there, is heavily catholisized despite the separation of church and state. Militray towns/reserves often have roman catholic churches (at least the ones where my family live do) or other forms of Christianity. When you're asking someone to die for an unknown cause, it's smart to make them think there is life after death. Theres also a large emphasis on having a family to come home to, and the idea that you will make it out and come home. When faced with he realities of the situation and you realize there's noo way home, a lot of people turn to religion. Id assume Josh would be on medical base, which would have a priest to preform the last rights, and by proxy some semblance of a church and church services. Since this takes place early 2010s, maybe before, it's plausible there's only Catholic/Christian priests. Based on many people saying this show reflected to a degree their expirences, I'd put forward the TV show M*A*S*H* is very similar to the environment Josh would have been in during war. Even to me it seemed like it was overly postive especially with all the high jynxs, but then my grandmother starts telling me about how my granddad caught a crow with his bare hands just to throw it into his SO's tent while he was sleeping and it seems a bit more realistic. Anyway there's a heavy Christian influence from the priest in that show.

(I dont know why I felt the need to prove this but MASH is a good TV show and I really like the crow story its funnier when grandma tells it.)

4) Lucas tutors at a highsvhool/uni level for whatever he can convince someone he can tutor them in.

5) she wanted to reinforce to Lucas that they're friends, not dating imo.

6) After some thought, if you go into the the idea that the Bethverse themes are taking the selfish route (idk if you saw the yt video ill have to find the link) then since staying friend with Lucas might be a more selfless route shed see less professional success and more personal, maybe not being such a high achiever at work but finding more fulfillment through her friends and social network like Liz did. I think the falling out with Lucas made her focus more on work than friends and to seek that satisfaction from her job becuase people were too volatile.

7) I don't know and I dont think I understand the nuances of it to guess. Maybe she just doesn't like Lucas all that much? It only happens in the start of Lizverse, right? Not all the way through?

8) They were looking up the proceedings for a divorce, that's what Kate's line about "According to this we don't need a lawyer we can do the paperwork ourselves" also I thought they were in a library.

a list of questions i have after watching if/then, as pulled from my liveblog

a few of these could function as fanfiction prompts tbh

what if liz had known beforehand it was an NYC area code and picked up stephen's call?

why does lucas only tag along with kate and anne to liz's blind dates and not beth's?

josh, please fucking tell me what the law of three coincidental things is.

who does lucas tutor? in what?

why did beth say "my friend lucas" to stephen during the baseball game in "ain't no man manhattan"? don't lucas and stephen know, or at least know of each other?

what if beth/lucas stayed platonic in bethverse? (the events during "what the fuck" stayed purely platonic). what'd happen then?

why does kate constantly attribute lucas with she/her pronouns and feminine characters even though liz said outright in it's a sign to not "use the she when he's around"? i don't think she's doing it to be insulting, but...yeah i don't know.

why did kate and anne do their legal work in a bookstore out of all places?

[queenmiriamele]

First of all, how do 7 books are material for 11-12-13 seasons, George?

Game was perfectly adapted in 1 season, clash also, seasons 3 and 4 cover things from Storm mostly, but it also introduces some parts of Feast, Dance and also lots of invented filler. Feast and Dance could have taken season 5 and 6 if, again, you introduce filler. Let's assume winds is as big as Storm, seasons 7 and 8, with filler. Same with Dream, seasons 9-10 with filler. Do you wat to profit from showrunners adapting your books to expand them cause you don't want to keep adding books, George? How did your plan for them to do it, when you can't even finish your own books?

Second, once they decided to scrap Faegon (which is not bad itself, adaptations cut out secondary plots all the time and still are good adaptations, see Lord of the Rings movies), seven seasons were enough. The problem was not the extension but the decisions taken in the way to adapt them:

1. They kept on planning season by season, making last minute changes that consistently affected the plot ALL THE TIME.

2. They introduced Dorne last minute (and chage it completely so the plot would fit "Indira Varma's talents") and they fucked it up. Dorne could perfectly have happened out of screen.

3. They gave Jaime a totally different plot because of no reason. They also dragged his redemption arc for no reason.

4. They started mashing up completeley different characters plots in a sole one character, instead of ignoring then completely, choosing only the parts they thought were cool, not the ones that would make sense for future plots or character development. Faegon's specifically was divided between Cersei, Daenerys and Jon at the same time. This is ridiculous. And most of this decisions were made partly because they needed to fill time.

5. They kept secondary characters that eventually apported nothing to the plot (the Hound could have stayed dead, Varys should have been removed when Faegon was scrapped, because his motivations didn't make sense anymore).

6. They started introducing changes in timeline, like the whole Iron Islands been developed in season 6, whe cronologically should have happened at the end of season 4. These changes in timeline contributed to the whole teleporting problem.

7. Let's be honest, every single thing that happened between episodes 4-7 of season 7 were filler. They advanced nothing the plot. I'm sure @nightqueendany will expand on thid on her original season 7 plot theory.

8. They never understood the themes presented in the story, and did not give a fuck about anything that was not political drama or unusual plot twists.

None of this excuses season 8 though. But the problem with game of thrones is not that it was cut short. D&D were right to keep them in seven seasons in my opinion. It's the only thing i considered them to be right about.

Okay so I had to briefly come back so yall can read this.

The facts from this article (with proof) are that both HBO and GRRM wanted and supported GoT going on for much, much longer. GRRM wanted 13-episode seasons, and reportedly claims to have urged D&D to have approximately “11, 12, 13” seasons (and by implication, providing them with story beats to extend that long).

D&D, though, were adamant on only 7 seasons. They’ve claimed in the past that they made this choice out of concern for losing a cast member, either to health or an accident or to other projects. But the truth seems to be that s7 was around the time that they nailed down their Star Wars deal. So they wanted to end the series at s7 not for any plot related reasons and not out of concern for the cast (who all seem very sad to leave the show behind), but because they wanted to move on to a bigger and presumably higher-paying project.

So HBO offered them an unlimited number of seasons and a consistently high budget to film them (even offering them MORE money after s7), and GRRM supported this–one can assume with his assistance re: plot content. One HBO exec in particular said D&D wanting to leave when they did was “horrifying” to him. HBO did everything they could to sweeten the deal and keep D&D around longer, and they refused. They doubled down on wanting season 7 to be the end of it. If they 100% had it their way, the show would have ended after a probably 10-episode s7. Imagine that. Imagine getting to where they’ve brought the story now all in s7 alone! It’s … impossible. Even with the 13 episodes they have between s7 and s8, the plot has failed.

So the 13 episodes are not the result of there not being enough budget for dragon CGI. They aren’t the result of D&D’s supposed concern for the cast. They are a compromise HBO managed in their desperation to keep D&D around when they were ready to jump ship three years ago. At the most recent Emmy’s, GRRM clearly confirms that the reason the show is ending is because D&D “want a life.”

So based on the above facts I personally think that s8 is so aggressively bad because of spite. They’re angry that their consistently dedicated fanbase kept them at HBO for an additional two years. They’re still angry that the s7 leaks made them look inept and foolish. They’re basically trolling and punishing us with the worst written season in TV history, and they’re making their AMAZING cast and crew suffer along for the ride. They probably knew it was going to tank and they DON’T CARE. They’re about to have DISNEY money, after all.