#(not specifically for Tim btw just ones I’ve seen)

[benbamboozled]

i am partial to "Crow" being Tim's new identity after reading one very convincing post so now i am imagining Martha making up some fucked up story of why crows are associated with funerals or why a group of them is called a murder which Bruce tells to Tim after Tim came back from attending 80th funeral of a dearly departed loved one

See, “Crow” doesn’t work for me as a name for two reasons.

The first is this guy—

The second is that (and this is a problem I’ve had with pretty much all fan-names I’ve seen, and several “official” hero names)—it’s just not punchy enough.

It just kinda…thuds. And like, crows are cool! I love crows! But just “Crow” is…it’s just not enough.

A good hero name (or villain name, even), IMO, has to have a good mouthfeel and a good brainfeel.

“Good mouthfeel” meaning it needs to flow, it needs to feel good to say it. (Probably something to do with syllable endings and iambic pentameter or something idk.)

“Good brainfeel” meaning it has to have an interesting set of connotations behind it that are a complementary match to the hero (or villain) who’s using it. Also, IMO, it should be pretty self-explanatory. (People would ask wtf a “Corvid” is.)

Like—Robin. In the words of Ghost-maker, not even a scary bird! But it has a good mouthfeel and when combined with a chirpy lil kid sidekick, it works.

I think a lot of people go with “good brainfeel” and they neglect the “good mouthfeel” aspect. Even the comics do it—I’m convinced that Owlman hasn’t caught on more because it sounds awkward as hell!

(“Talon,” otoh…that name fucks.)

Anyway, I do very much like the idea of Bruce waxing poetic about weird shit his mom told him to Tim about crows. I’ll take that!

[teamfortresstwo]

Please. PLEASE. Share the promised Jonahkola thoughts.

+ The devious little freaks. For motivation

Okay so this is less talking about how Jonah and Nikola blend into eachother’s powers and more just Jonahkola propoganda because I’m doing this in the middle of class and a lot of it is just me throwing my Jonahkola thoughts at the wall but!! I hope you enjoy anyway-

•Nikola is one of the only early avatars to show any kind of respect towards Jon- “You’re pretty powerful yourself!” While most other avatars act hostile and belittling towards him. This also reflects Elias’s own feelings towards Jon, ultimately empowering him but also patronizing in a similar way to Nikola. (They actually act weirdly similar in a lot of regards to Jon, but that’s a different story)

•Both Elias and Nikola have this specific way of acting in which they are constantly unaffected up until the moment things get off track. Elias immediately jumping to murdering leitner instead of going for anything less drastic, Nikola dropping her happy facade when Tim is the one with the lighter.

•Literally the only relevant corpses in the unknowing are the ones Elias himself killed, coincidence? I think not.

•Elias doesn’t want Tim to go to the unknowing. Yes, this is perhaps because he’s worried about how it might stunt Jon’s progress, but as we see with leitner, if that was a concern then he’d probably just take up Tim’s offer of killing him. And, if it isn’t the concern, then what is??

•Well, I mean, Jon certainly wasn’t the one to kill Nikola. Just saying. I think elias wanted Nikola to live, but ultimately was unwilling to make any compromises about serving the eye (allowing the unknowing to happen so he could watch and not telling her that it wouldn’t work as that would interfere with his own ritual) (God I love when a TMA ship has tragedy caused by the fear powers, favorite kind of TMA yuri.)

•Both Nikola and Elias have strange connections to the web too?? The web has a lot of theatre implications, like in mag 172 “strung out”, plus Nikola’s whole thing as the angler fish which includes addiction in the form of cigars and strings. Elias meanwhile is a master manipulator (see: Jonathan Sims, Peter Lukas, Basira Hussain, and most of the other members of archival staff) and a lot of people speculate -from what I’ve seen - that if he wasn’t so absolutely of the eye, he might’ve been of the web instead.

•Okay I genuinely don’t recall, what was the point of distracting elias during the ritual?? Like, were they afraid he’d interfere? He’d have no reason to, right?? So like, IDK Tim walking in on her and Nikola going at it yuri style theory feeling less farfetched 😳😳

•Elias is sooooo theatric. Literally every part of him is a performance until you can no longer comprehend which parts are truly him and which parts are the mask he puts on, and I think that’s very stranger of him <33

•Okay I was looking at mag 44, “tight rope” and the statement givers name is Yuri let’s go ❗️❗️

•Okay but actually, Ivan-Yuri’s brother-has dreams of being put tied up in a rough sack despite having little to no memories of the whole ordeal. Y’know who else makes people live through awful things in their dreams? Thas right baby, the archivist ‼️‼️Which, Nikola takes the role of as Gertrude, connecting her to the most prominent figure of the eye and also in Elias’s life.

•The circus of the other also puts him (Ivan) in the role of tight rope walker-which btw I think elias totally would be but that’s a different thing- and it follows around the eye, Jon being put into the situations of every statement giver, endlessly becoming and cataloging the experiences of people who he is not. (Writing this, I’m realizing that the fact that for the duration of a statement Jon “becomes” the statement giver is a little stranger core.)

•Weird relations to humanity and personhood. Nikola can still die, but they cannot bleed. It’s interesting, I wouldn’t say bleeding is at all as necessary to a person’s idea of a human as dying-especially if that person is the mortality fearing jonah magnus-and yet he frames that in a way that would exclude Nikola from being a person, something she’d never want to be. I like to believe this is out of a fondness for her.

•I don’t think Elias ever speaks bad of Nikola? Which, he seems dismissive of Prentiss and basically pretends to not believe she exists, so there’s a reason not to speak bad of her. And he displays distaste for Michael and the spiral is pretty damn close to the stranger. But nope, no shade towards the clown lady…for some reason.

[notepadsandtealeaves]

Damian Wayne x GN!Reader in: Movie Nights with the (Bat)Boys™ Pt. 2

12 Days of Batmas || Day 8—Watching Holiday Specials

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT || 18+ ONLY ||

↞ previous: old cats, new tricks, same old bullshit || decorating your home

|| ao3 version | 12 days m.list | batboys tag | main blog ||

|| dick day 8 | jay day 8 | tim day 8 ||

Thanks to the major part they played in the earliest stages of your relationship, movie nights hold a special place in both of your hearts, with the nostalgia adding an extra layer of enjoyment to an already lovely experience.

One of his all-time favorite activities done with his all time favorite person? Sign him the heck up!

↠ Requested By: No one, technically ((but given the fact that I’ve been working on this series since last year I’m sure you’re all ready for me to wrap this ish up lmao)) ↠ Reader Gender: Neutral ↠ Content Type: SFW fluff ((but my blog’s 18+ so if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3)) ↠ CWs/TWs: None ↠ Betas? Nah, we don’t do that here. ↠ Total WC: 800~

So there’s no ficlets this time around folks. sorry about it but I just couldn’t come up with anything sadly. But! They’re pretty lengthy (they’re all 700+ words) so that’s something ig. Anyways, that’s enough rambling from me—have at it and (hopefully) enjoy!

Headcanon || WC: ~800

🌟 As your relationship has progressed, Damian has lost the need for relying on various excuses to spend time with/be near you.

At the start of things this poor baby was awkward af. The persona that he shrouded himself in mixed with his natural introversion and mildly stunted social skills meant that he wasn’t exactly sure how to move past all that to be close to you.

((this was all you-specific, btw; he could finesse everyone but you because he wanted your connection to be real, not something cultivated by petty manipulations for the purposes of keeping up appearances))

Because of this he relied pretty heavily on planned dates as a way to spend time with you without looking too… desperate? I guess?? Idk, he used to be so damn weird about this stuff, but dammit he was trying.

Movie nights quickly because his go to as they’re prime cuddle inducers.

((he has definitely pulled the yawn ‘n’ stretch move on you—several times, in fact—much to your silent amusement lmao))

Poor thing was so stiff and stilted in his movements back then, and he was always so careful about how he touched you. He never wanted to do anything that could be seen as disrespectful/could potentially make you uncomfortable.

When he finally loosened up enough to let you properly cuddle him his heart was p o u n d i n g . You could definitely feel it and low-key hear it from where your head rested against his chest, but you were smart enough to keep quiet about it, and honestly your reticence made him fall just that little bit harder.

🌟 In the now he’s over the worst of his hang-ups, but his love of movie nights persist.

Like Dick he makes sure that you have everything you’ll want/need to enjoy this rare night in.

Tho he’s usually an advocate for healthy eating and moderation, this is one of the few times he’ll pig out with you. He doesn’t process sugar well—which is just a kind way of saying that if he doesn’t work it off, it turns him into a hyperactive five year old lol—so he mostly sticks to salty snacks like chips and popcorn.

Also—blankets.

He’ll get the softest, coziest blanket he can find to burrito you both in and it is undoubtedly a ✨ ~heavenly experience~ ✨

🌟 He has no problems with staying awake for the duration.

I personally canon Damian as being one of those people that only sleeps like 4 hours a night—and not in the insomniac way, but rather the ‘my body doesn’t require more than this’ way—so he’s almost always well rested.

However if you happen to doze off he’s not opposed to taking a little nap with you. He’ll probably carry you back to your bedroom for this tho, as he hardly finds the couch to be comfortable enough to sleep on.

((because you just know that he gets bulky once he hits his 20s—dude’s a Wayne, after all, and he definitely inherits his father’s build))

🌟 Doesn’t really talk too much during the movie as he finds that to be rude, but he’s not above scoffing and the like if he thinks the plot to be too ridiculous.

As he’s gotten older, he’s become a bit more lenient when it comes to such things, but there’s only so much silliness he can abide by before he snaps lol.

Horror and thrillers especially set his teeth on edge because how can people be so stupid?? But then again his vigilante work has shown him that humans are indeed capable of said levels of stupidity so…

🌟 As for the lineup…

It’s already been pretty well established at this point that I canon Dames as a movie snob, so if you come at him talking about some Die Hard or Nightmare be ready for a long ass lecture about why these movies are most assuredly NOT Christmas movies lmao.

He personally tends to skew more towards classics like It’s a Wonderful Life or one of the many black and white Scrooge remakes.

He also loves animated films as well, esp. the older ones like the original Grinch (tho he does really like the live action version as well) and all of those Claymation joints. He really appreciates the level of skill that went into making those films, and honestly wishes that the medium was still more widely utilized today.

If you want to watch one of those cheesy Made for TV movies he won’t complain. They’re terrible, sure, but so a part of the experience that to not watch at least one would feel wrong at this point lol.

🌟 Thanks to the major part they played in the earliest stages of your relationship, movie nights hold a special place in both of your hearts, with the nostalgia adding an extra layer of enjoyment to an already lovely experience.

🌟 Up Next: Day Nine || Kissing Under the Mistletoe ((check back tomorrow!!))

Taglist is open, but to 18+ users only.

© notepadsandtealeaves, 2021 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol...

[toosicktoocare]

Hi, uh, this is awkward since you're the first person I have ever requested a fic from. Anyway, if you're still taking requests for dc, would you mind making a sick Alfred? I just want the boys to do something for their father/grandfather. Thanks. Love your fics btw.

This is super cute, and I lowkey feel honored (?? lmao) that I’m your first request. I hope you like the fic!

Dick’s rounding a corner, with Jason hot on his heels, but he freezes, one socked foot seconds from leaving the dark wood of the hallway to plant on the white, almost pristine, linoleum of the kitchen, and he quickly braces both hands on either side of the doorframe when Jason slams into his back.

“What the fuck, Dickbrain?”

Frowning, Dick narrows his eyes as Bruce turns away from the stove. He’s donned in a navy blue apron, and he’s got one oven mit on to protect his hand from the hot frying pan he’s holding.

“Where’s Alfred?”

Jason peers over Dick’s shoulder, wordlessly studying the black smoke that billows up from the pan. “Christ, we’re gonna starve.”

“Jason,” Dick hisses, sparing a brief glare to Jason’s direction before bringing a worried gaze back to Bruce, his brows furrowed.

“Alfred’s sick” is all Bruce offers, his voice low and worn, and he turns back to the stove with a sigh.

“Sick?” Dick parrots back, the single word so unfamilair on his tongue within this context. “How sick?”

“He’s, like, really old,” Jason mutters, tense at Dick’s back. “Is he dying?”

“Jay,” Dick groans, his words getting lost when Damian shoves past him to squeeze into the kitchen, a small crinkle to his raised nose.

“Father, are you trying to burn down the entire manor?”

Bruce’s sigh fades to a low growl. He leaves the pan on the stove and turns back to the three, running one hand down his face. “Alfred’s fine. He’s been working through a cold the last few days, and he just pushed himself a little too hard. He’s on bed rest for the rest of the week.”

Dick gnaws lightly at his bottom lip, worried, and Jason spares a weary glance around the kitchen, fanning away some of the lingering smoke. “You’ve never cooked a day in your life, have you, Bats?”

“Jason,” Bruce warns, but, despite the gravel in his tone, his face falls around an endless sigh, and he sinks down into a chair, dropping the oven mit atop the table. “I admit I’m a little out of my element here.”

“Clearly,” Jason spits out, examining some of the spices Bruce has littered all over the counter. He pokes at whatever charred, burned mess is stuck to the bottom of a pan with a wooden spoon, groaning deep in his throat.

“Maybe we can order in?” Dick questions, peering over Jason’s shoulder with a wince.

“Nah,” Jason says, already shuffling spices around to clear space. “I’ve got this.” He turns back to the others. “Also, scram? I don’t need your deadweight in here.”

Dick offers a mock salute and clamps a hand to Damian’s shoulder, guiding him out of the kitchen.

“Grayson, Todd’s going to kill us all.”

“Relax,” Dick says, waving for Bruce to follow. “Jay’s been feeding himself for a while. He’s actually a really good cook.”

“I did not know this,” Bruce says lowly, and Dick spares a side glance, brows rising.

“Save the emotional constipation for another day, B. We’ve got Alfred to worry about.” Dick expertly ducks when Bruce swings at the back of his head, and he slips around until he’s walking backwards, facing Bruce and Damian. “I’m going to go check on him.” At the look Bruce gives him, the sharp, borderline Batman look, Dick raises both hands in defense. “I’ll be quiet; I promise.”

“I don’t believe that one bit,” Bruce grumbles. “But I’m too tired to stop you.” He starts to guide Damian to the library, to maybe pick out a book Alfred will want to read, but he stops, glancing over his shoulder. “Dick, remember. Just because Alfred’s sick, it doesn’t mean he’s incapable of tossing you out the window in a heartbeat.”

Dick grabs at his chest. “He would never!” He spins on his heels, taking the steps back up the stairs two at a time, and he’s just about to turn toward Alfred’s room when Tim steps out from his own room, somehow looking simultaneously like he’s slept for days yet hasn’t slept at all.

“What’s burning?” Tim questions around a yawn. “Alfred doesn’t burn things.”

“Bruce was cooking.”

Frowning, Tim glances toward Alfred’s room, taking mental note of the closed bedroom door. “Why? Where’s Alfred?”

“Sick,” Dick says, and immediately, Tim turns on his heel and starts toward Alfred’s room, promptly dodging Dick’s quick attempts at grabbing him until Dick’s bear-hugging him and pulling him back right before he can twist open the door.

“Let me go, Dick.” Tim wriggles in Dick’s arms, but Dick only tightens his hold and starts back to the stairs.

“Not a chance, Tim. You can’t be around him.”

“It’s not going to kill me, Dick.”

Dick sets Tim down on the top step, frowning. “Maybe not, but I’ve seen you hooked up to IVs too many times now, baby bird. So, humor me? I’ll tell Alfred you say hi.”

Tim doesn’t pout. He pulls his lips into a wordless, flat line, eyes sharp against Dick’s blue ones, and they remain like that for an endless minute before Tim breaks the gaze with a sigh. “Who’s cooking?”

“Jay is. I’m sure he could use the help.”

“Doubtful,” Tim mutters, but he starts down the steps anyway, and Dick smiles, watching Tim turn into the kitchen, before he starts back to Alfred’s room, offering two courtesy knocks before slipping quietly into the room.

Alfred’s propped up into a seated position, his pale face pulled to the window, but when Dick steps in, he turns to him, offering a tired smile.

“Master Richard,” Alfred rasps out, and Dick winces, crossing the room and dropping to the edge of the bed.

“Hey, Al. How’re you feeling?” He reaches over, brushing the back of his hand to Alfred’s cheek. It’s warm, he thinks, but not alarmingly so. “You feel a little feverish.”

“Oh, don’t dote, Master Richard. I’m quite alright.”

“B has you on bed rest,” Dick replies, and Alfred sighs around a light laugh that gives way to a few coughs.

“Master Bruce has a tendency to panic...”

“Oh,” Dick drags out, “we know.” He smooths his hand over Alfred’s blanket. “I’m sorry we didn’t notice you were sick before,” Dick sighs, and Alfred pats his hand warmly.

“No apology necessary, Master Richard. I’ll be fine in a few days tops, I assure you.”

Nodding, Dick drags his fingers through his hair. “Can we get you anything?”

“Soup would be nice,” Alfred starts. “I specifically told Master Bruce to keep far away from my kitchen, but based on the faint scent of burning eggs, I presume he did not listen.”

If there’s one thing that will consistently impress Dick, it’s Jason’s impeccable timing. At this, the latter slips into the room, kicking the door open with his foot. He’s carrying a tray that looks out of place in his hands, and atop it, there’s a large, steaming bowl of soup that smells incredible.

“Master Jason,” Alfred smiles, and Jason shoos Dick off the bed, gently placing the tray across Alfred’s lap.

“Ah, Master Jason, I’ve quite missed your cooking.”

“Wait,” Dick draws out, “You’ve had Jay’s cooking?”

“We have a thing,” Jason smirks, jabbing right where he knows it will bother Dick the most. “He comes to my apartment to patch me up, and I cook us dinner.”

“You guys have a thing?” Dick works his jaw, a pout pressing against his lips. “Al, do we have a thing?” He paces the length of the room, unfazed at Jason’s loud groan. “We definitely have a thing, right?”

“Jealously doesn’t suit you, Dick.”

Dick whips around to see Bruce walking in, with Damian close behind, a novel in hand. “B, how the hell does Jay have a thing with Alfred, and I don’t?”

“I almost want to be offended by that,” Jason spits out, smiling. “Almost.”

Dick whips a sharp gaze back to Jason, prepared to take the very clear bait Jason’s dangling before him, but he stops when Tim shuffles in, silently, and drops onto a loveseat that’s a reasonable distance from Alfred’s bed.

“You all seriously have the worst bedside manner.”

“Tim-”

“You can’t be in here, Tim.”

“You’ll get sick.”

“Are you double-masked, Master Timothy?” Alfred’s voice, though a tired rasp, carries over everyone else, and Tim hooks a finger under the top mask covering his mouth and nose, pulling it back to reveal a second mask.

“I’ll be okay,” Tim assures, and Bruce and Dick look seconds away from arguing, but Jason interrupts, flopping down onto the couch beside Tim.

“Is someone going to start reading this sh- stuff, or what?” He motions to the book in Damian’s hand, and Damian holds to book out to Bruce, eyes wide, expectant.

Bruce drags a large chair up to Alfred’s bed, muttering “careful” as Damain climbs onto the bed, situating himself beside Alfred. Dick eyes Tim wearily, shares a silent conversation with Jason, then drops onto the plush carpet below him, his back pressed against the side of the bed and one foot stretched out in front of him.

Alfred watches, an unreadable expression painted across his face. He looks to Jason, who’s tugging Tim’s legs up over his, and then to Dick, who’s face has gone soft as he watches the two. He’s slowly moves to see Damian curled up at his side, small and still beside him, and then he meets Bruce’s eyes, and Bruce smiles, a rare sight that never fails to warm him to the core.

“I’m sure you all have much work to do,” Alfred tries, and Bruce shakes his head and flicks open the book.

“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be, Al.”

[ectonurites]

Batcest shippers read comics, actually. And they write them, and draw for them. Please continue to make a fool of yourself pretending otherwise.

i got ranty here so the tldr: yeah no shit, you’re taking something i tweeted entirely out of context, i’m well aware of those facts and im not ‘pretending’ anything lmao

onto my full response:

i see you must have come from my twitter! and yeah, i’m unfortunately aware there are people who ship batcest working for dc, its super upsetting! the person who designed the current red hood outfit just posted j*ydick on their twitter today, which is horrifying to see.

like listen im not... im not gonna go out and harass people for shipping batcest. I literally do not have the energy, and I know I’m not gonna be convincing anyone of anything bc the people who chose to ship batcest have made their choice there.

but I’m always gonna advocate for like, those people TAGGING THEIR SHIT so that especially minors but also anyone else who doesn’t want to see fuckin’ incest doesn’t need to. And like, the creation of lists of what creators are making that stuff so people can block and move on? I also think that’s good. Like I don’t think people should go harass anyone over this because its just... theres no point. But letting people who don’t want to see it know who to block so they can move on? that’s a good thing.

The comments of mine I think you’re specifically talking about were about a specific but common type of fanon batcest shipper, because like... immabe real! its very clear a lot of the batfam community on here in general don’t read the comics, (like, as in many people will OPENLY ADMIT that they don’t) and thats not even an inherently bad thing, like people are allowed to interact with media how they want to! But when people get so divorced from canon by only reading fanworks or versions of characters that have been altered and their relationships altered, its easy for misconceptions about all of it to spread, and people to be shipping pairings that literally bear no resemblance to the canon versions/relations of the characters. This isn’t even exclusive to the people shipping batcest. However with the people shipping batcest like... its when those relationships in canon get blurred by just a fanon game of telephone that it becomes easier for them to justify shipping it, you know? That was the point I was trying to make on twitter (i think it was last night? this morning? i dont remember. its 1am rn time is fake)

but like, i’m sorry but in current canon Jason, Dick, Tim, and Damian all consider each other siblings (and Jason had even made a comment at one point in rhato about having four brothers, meaning he probably includes Duke too!). That is... canon. You can see multiple instances of this if you’re reading current comics. And while they have complicated relationships with Bruce, they do all consider him a father (even when Jason says he doesn’t- he literally flip flops on it depending on how he feels in a given day because of his trauma and stuff, but like there will be times only a few issues apart where he will or won’t admit Bruce is his dad). All of these characters have been adopted (or in Damian’s case obv adoption wasn’t necessary) by Bruce in canon at different times (and Cass also, but that’s only in pre new 52 as of right now)

If you are chosing to ship any of the siblings together (or any of them with bruce) you are chosing to ship incest. That is an active choice you are making, and you have to accept the consequences of that. Any judgement/backlash you face for shipping incest is something you are accepting by chosing to ship it.

And if you go “oh but they’re only adopted siblings not REAL siblings-“ you’re an asshole, because adopted siblings are real siblings. I don’t care if they didn’t grow up together, do you realize how invalidating that is towards like, real life people? The amount of people I’ve seen who are adopted themselves get insanely triggered and upset by that kind of content (not just in this fandom btw!) because it just shows people don’t see those familal bonds as being real? It’s not insignificant.

I know ‘media affects reality’ is a controvercial topic, and like obviously ‘i see this thing in media thus i will do it’ is NOT how it works, but the things you normalize/glorify in media you consume says a lot about your thoughts on the topics. Framing matters. Like obviously ‘haha i watch hannibal, gonna go eat people now-‘ is not the case. especially because that media doesn’t frame it as a good thing. That’s the thing I think people miss in these discussions a lot of the time. If you are like ‘i am going to explore how traumatizing incestual relationships could be through these characters’ with batcest? like go off! that could be interesting honestly, and that’s not glorifying it. But acting like ‘omg i just think its so romantic ❤️’ with stuff between characters who canonically are siblings... again you are accepting the judgement that may come your way by publicly doing that.

anyways, i’m well aware of how prevalent batcest is both in the comics industry and around here, i’m aware plenty of them do read comics, and you definitely missed the context in my tweets of me saying things like “a lot” “it feels like many” etc when saying batcest shippers don’t read comics. Context matters my dude ✌️ (also wanna point out, a lot of really gross people work in comics. Racist people, antisemetic people [even today there was some controversy abt that in some hulk comic i believe?] these people being in those industries is... not a good thing even if its normalized???)

But really I think its kinda funny to uh call me a ‘fool’ for something you think I’m doing because you took my words out of context. And maybe you weren’t trying to come off as smug but you absolutely do here and it just strikes me as very funny that you like... are acting like you’re smarter than me or better than me for being okay with incest being normalized in a fandom for superhero comics, a type of media that MANY KIDS READ AND PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION ABOUT, while I’m bothered by it.

I don’t talk about this stuff much on here because again, I don’t want to fight about it, I’m not gonna go out of my way to try to change people’s minds on any of it because I know that won’t accomplish anything, I much prefer to just... ignore the content I don’t want to see, maybe warn other people especially minors who also don’t want to see it, and move on with my life. You really didn’t need to bring this to my inbox here, but like go off I guess 🤷

editing this quick just to add in the tweets i made i think this anon is referencing that i very clearly started with ‘so many of them’, not me saying it applies to all of them

[melwritesstufff]

What Kissing Tim Drake Would Be Like - Tim Drake Headcanons

recently I’ve been absolutely obsessed with the DC universe, specifically the Batman universe(s) and little Timmy boy over here has absolutely stolen my goddamn heart. so, uh, here’s a headcanon I wrote about him because I love him. thanks for reading! <3

Tim refuses to kiss you at first as he’s too nervous to do anything, he’s insecure and a little emotionally stunted, thanks Bruce, btw, and he doesn’t understand why you’re with him

It takes a lot a little bit of convincing for him to realize that you actually want to be with him and want to be affectionate with him

After that though, he slowly starts to become more and more affectionate to you.

In terms of kissing, it starts with him giving you simple pecks on everywhere except for your lips

Your cheek, forehead, hands, etc. but just not your fucking lips.

One day though, you’re visiting Tim at the mansion, and Alfred tells you he’s been awake for three days straight.

At that point, you’re trying to do anything to get him to sleep.

And sleep deprived Tim doesn’t really know what he’s saying.

So what ends up happening is you’re trying to persuade Tim to go to bed and he’s not really willing. This is how that conversation went.

“Tim you gotta go to bed baby, it's been three days”

“Let me just finish this one case, then I’ll go to bed”

“No, Tim you know you do better work when you’re fully rested. You can’t even think straight in this state.”

“What of course I’m thinking straight? I’m not gay. Unless you’re a guy, y/n. Which I’d totally be fine with btw, I’ll be with you no matter what.”

“Ugh, Tim.. what is it going to take for you to go to bed? I’ll literally do anything.”

“Anything? In that case, can I have a kiss?”

At this point you’ll do anything to get him in bed so you lean down and give him a kiss on the lips. It doesn’t last long though since you’re there not to make out with him but to get him to bed. 

You walk backwards to his bed and he follows you, clearly wanting more. He doesn’t get it though cause as soon as his head hits the pillow he completely knocks out might write a oneshot about this

Ok anyways, on with the headcanon

So anyways, Tim slowly starts to become more comfortable with kissing you after that,

And god damn is he good

Tim is a smart guy and is very observant so whenever you guys are doing something, especially kissing and making out, he takes notes on what you respond to and how you respond

Oh boy he knows all your weak spots

He has somewhat thick lips so kissing him feels so nice

His eyes are closed, his hands on your waist, he’ll pull you as close to him as he can

He wants you to be as close to him as you can possibly be

He’s slightly taller so he’ll have to bend down just a bit 

He tilts his head to the left ever so slightly, as you do to your right

Sometimes, you’ll tilt your head to the left to throw him off. You guys’ll bump noses or foreheads and giggle a bit before going back in to kiss again

He tastes sort of bitter, all that coffee for sure, but also hints of sweetness. He’s bittersweet in its most literal form

When things start to get heated, he has this habit of squeezing the dip in your waist from getting too excited

He really just wants you to have fun, be happy, and feel nice

He’ll kiss your neck and give you more hickies than you can count

When he hits your sweet spot and you moan ever so slightly? It’s absolutely adorable to him. The hottest and cutest thing he’s ever seen

The thing is, if you turn things on him and you’re the one giving him hickies?

The boy will not stay quiet

It’s just hours of

“God, y/n, please don’t stop”

Moaning, very loud moaning

“Ahh, Right there”

“Dick and them are going to hear us”

“Ahh.. Baby, please… more…”

He really just isn’t silent at all

He’s just so vocal

Definitely the most vocal out of the bat brothers

(Though Damian might come in as a close second but I’ll talk about that later)

When ya’ll aren’t making out like the world depends on it, he’ll give you random little pecks on different spots on your body, just as a small sign of how much he loves you

He loves and I mean LOVES kissing the palm of your hand

When you two holding hands he’ll bring yours up to his face and just kiss them is delicately and sweetly

Or when you’re holding his face in your hand he’ll grab your hand and hold it still as he turns and pecks your palm

Or even when you guys first see each other for a date or something, he’ll take your hand and kiss it like you're a princess. He’ll bend down and look up at you and you’re just a blushing mess and he loves it

It tingles a bit but once you get used to it you start loving it as much as he does

Soon you’re both doing it to each other 

It just becomes a new way for y'all to express affection 

Nothing beats really kissing tho

When he’s sleepy is when he gives the best kisses

There’s nothing holding him back as he’s so tired that no insecurities or worries of hurting you get to him

He just becomes a big ball of sweet romantic-ness 

His kisses are just pure candy sweetness

You can really feel how much he adores and loves you with how passionate he is when ya’ll kiss

He just really really loves you

Whether he’s said it yet or not

Thanks for reading this yall :)

Batfam Master List

[captainbaddecisions]

You know what was annoying, back when I saw the Tim Burton batman when i was young isaw that Two face was play by this blck guy pre-two face. and I was like "Yeah thats cool, a black two face" and then when the kinda sequel with Riddler , and he was play by that one white guy, I just remeber just being like "....What, he supposed to be black" and every since i've headcannon harvy as black, tho btw should mention you got a cool harvey as well, facial makes evreyone look cooler

Hey thanks anon and I feel that, I’ve seen more art of Harveys inspired by Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent (Also some cool black Harvey art inspired by the Lego franchise apparently? Good stuff) now, but the movies didn’t have much of a continuity in that regard. Creative choices and whatever, I don’t really know if I can get into specifics but I’m sure someone out there must have about the movies productions and such.

I hope we can have more chances in canon to see a black Harvey but until then there’s some great fandom content right here exploring that too... (I feel at times the fans care way more for these characters than DC but what DO I KNOW) Also thanks!!!

[bigskydreaming]

Can we just talk about all the age reversal aus where Robin is still a thing before Dick comes around??? It makes no sense!!!! Ik you’ve done a post on the importance of Robin before and it just really ticks me off!!! Like, if Damian is the oldest, why would he go by a bird name when he works with Batman? It would make more sense to be like ‘Shadow’ or ‘Shriken’ or just plain ‘Batkid’ but all these authors use the name Robin and then show Jason being resentful when Dick takes it over. Just wtf?

Tbh, I don’t have a ton to say on that particular subject other than I agree with you on it not making a lot of sense, because I just don’t really tend to read age reversal AUs anymore. They’re just not a premise that draws me in, y’know? I have issues with the way Dick’s status as the oldest brother tends to lead to him and his own problems being taken for granted at times, but the solution to that which I’m looking for is to have that addressed, not to have Dick just not be the oldest sibling anymore. I like Dick the way he is….I’m as fond of AUs as the next person, but ones that kinda alter the core of him just aren’t for me.

Like….how to put this…..from my perspective, I’ve noticed that outside of fics by authors who consider themselves Dick stans first and foremost out of all the characters, there’s three distinct tropes in the vast majority of fics where Dick plays a major role, and is regarded sympathetically rather than being in the way:

1) Fics about Tarantula, 2) Fics where Dick is a Talon and 3) Age Reversal AUs.

And the one common element in these tropes is they’re most commonly utilized while depicting Dick as particularly vulnerable, to the extent that he’s like….dependent on the other characters.

In the vast majority of Tarantula fics - majority, not all, there are exceptions of course - but the common thread is Dick tends to have very little agency in even the aftermath of what happened with Tarantula. He’s usually not granted the right of disclosure….people find out despite his wants there, and often despite his attempts to keep it from them (huge pet peeve just btw…..people, disclosure is a HUGELY big deal to survivors, because its one of THE single most powerful ways in which survivors take back control over their lives….they might not have control over what happened, but they can control who they tell about it and when. The tendency to write fics about survivors but displaying no real thought towards the fact that many survivors NEED agency over who they disclose to and when, is part of why I tend to rant about people kinda….commercializing this particular trauma even while saying they do so in the name of spreading awareness or healing or stuff like that….because they’re not actually like….thinking about things from the viewpoint of the survivor. In many instances, stealing a survivor’s right to disclose at the time and place of their choosing can be massively retraumatizing in its own way. And again, please don’t talk to me about how I’m generalizing or insisting there’s only one right way to write survivors…I know I’m generalizing, I’m talking about TRENDS, not specific fics, and I’m not saying its NEVER okay to write things this way, I’m simply commenting on how often things ONLY seem to be written this way).

But anyway, point is, a common theme throughout these fics is that despite Dick being central to them, its a story ABOUT him and what happened to him, rather than actually being HIS story. He himself has very little role in many of these stories, they’re more about what the others do to avenge him, or to take care of him, etc…..which is great in principle….I just can’t help but note the emphasis on him being dependent on others throughout it.

Which brings us to number two, fics where Dick is a Talon…..I’ve talked before how I just kinda can’t, and back out of fics where Dick remains a Talon or altered by the Talon process, because I think most people do that as kind of a metaphor for a disability and finding ways to live with a disability, but to me it will always read as body horror, because this isn’t so much Dick being disabled as it is him being altered head to toe in very deliberate ways by his abusers with the intention of making him something other than he is, and something he never ever chooses or wants to be. And the fact that there’s no need to write stories with disability metaphors, you can just write a character having a disability, so it always kinda feels unnecessary to me, personally, and an inherent tragedy because this was DONE to Dick, and thus is a permanent reminder of his abuse at the hands of his abusers….which is not inherently the same thing as adjusting to life with a disability, though there can be overlap, obviously.

But the other tendency of the Talon Dick trope is how often this results in him being mentally altered. And not just in a brainwashed kind of way, as many of these fics have him raised as a Talon since his parents died and then rescued by the Batfam….but his entire mentality, personality and way of processing things and even speaking is altered….and the thing that bugs me about this is…..why? Why is this choice so prevalent in these fics, when there’s literally nothing innate about the Talons in canon that says the Talon process mentally changes their minds and personalities in this kind of way? Most of the Talons we see don’t speak….because they’re intended to be seen as mindless minions, a force of nature rather than people….its meant to add to their mystique, their threat, their legend….largely on orders of the Court, who thrives on those kind of things. But who is the Talon we see the most of in canon, the Talon that we’re specifically told time and time again the Court means Dick to replace, be the heir of? William Cobb. 

And William is nothing like the way Dick is depicted in most Talon fics. He’s the same as he was before he was changed, just with the changes to his biology now. Mentally and personality-wise, he’s still the same as he was before it. And even in the recent Nightwing comic where Ric was finally brainwashed into being the Talon the Court has been manipulating him towards becoming throughout this storyline…..obviously, the Talon process hadn’t occurred yet, but even with the brainwashing, Ric mentally was still himself in the sense that he could process things, make decisions, speak all just the same as he did before he put on the brainwashing goggles….he didn’t speak most of the time because again, Talons are meant by the Court to be mostly silent enigmas….but when pressed, he was absolutely still capable of it, the same as before.

So again, the question is….why this particular choice, with this trope? To have Dick so radically altered not just in body, and with the emphasis rarely even placed on his bodily changes, as usually they come up with some tech disguise for him or use makeup to make him appear the same as he usually does, at which point his changes aren’t mentioned all that much other than to display his healing factor. No, the emphasis by and large is to how different he is mentally….even though there’s literally nothing about the Talon the Court wants him to be in canon, which dictates that he has to be in any way mentally altered by the process of becoming one. It isn’t his mental faculties the Court has a problem with, its his morals. No other brainwashing or mental conditioning method in comics or fics places such a strong emphasis on limiting the person’s mental capabilities rather than just altering their morality and way of thinking…so why is it different here, with Dick’s stories? And the only common result I can ever find is that it diminishes Dick’s autonomy and makes him vulnerable in a specific way where he’s dependent on the others to a huge degree, due to being less socially capable or even just mentally capable on his own.

And then finally we have the reverse ages AUs, in which Dick is still himself as he was as a young Robin in canon…..just the baby of the family, doted on and protected by his family, who are all fiercely defensive of him and in many of these stories, drop everything to rush to his aid when he’s in danger and rescue him. Which again, is perfectly fine in theory, but the thing this raises for me is…..how distinct this is from Dick’s actual time as Robin, where the actual emphasis was on how capable he was despite his young age, how autonomous and independent and competent even when face to face with villains twice his size and three times his age. 

Situations like with Two-Face were the exception in his stories, not the norm…..much like the later Robins, like Jason before his death, Tim for over a decade in comics, Damian to this day….all roughly the same age Dick is in these reverse Robin AUs…..but when has Damian ever been depicted as that vulnerable and in need of his siblings’ protection, in canon? When was Tim? And in Dick’s own time as Robin when he was actually that age in canon…..how would he have ever lasted as Robin without all these older siblings in canon, let alone managed to become the inspiration for entire generations of other child heroes….if he weren’t as capable of protecting himself as he was…in actual canon?

Again, the focus of the premise, like with the other two tropes, often seems geared towards emphasizing a vulnerability that is kinda just…chosen for Dick, rather than being an inevitability of that trope, and results in him being particularly dependent on the rest of his family.

Understand, I’m not saying this to say oh these fics are all bad and shouldn’t exist, lol, I’m just expressing the common element through all of them that’s why they don’t appeal to me in particular - because as I’ve always emphasized in pretty much all my posts, one of the greatest appeals to me about Dick Grayson, and one of the things I love about him most, is his fierce independence, his commitment to being his own person and standing on his own two feet. And its why I have an issue with the common thread of infantilization that runs through a lot of the fanon tropes that treat him as though he’s incapable of feeding himself, clothing himself, or even cleaning up after himself or conducting himself in public without the help of others.

Because my issue isn’t that these things exist, its that I’m always going to want to know WHY.

Why, when Dick’s core characterization has always revolved around his insistence on his own personal agency and autonomy…..do so many stories revolve around…..denying him this, or stripping it away?

Why is it that he’s most appealing to many people when he’s not just dependent on his family, but forced to be dependent by the very premise of a story, with no choice or alternative in the matter?

What makes that such a common trend, and with his character in specific, as opposed to Jason, Tim, Damian, etc….none of whom display similar trends in their stories or most prevalent tropes?

[spaceorphan18]

The Lion King

Nostalgic memory: I remember the merchandising more than watching the actual film.  It was everywhere.  Constantly.  To the point where I kind of got annoyed with the film because it was everywhere all the time.  Also, as a side tangent - Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who voiced young Simba, was kind of a big deal back in the day -- where he was always on the front of the Teeny Bopper magazines.  I kept a poster of him on my wall for about six months, not because I was that invested, but I felt like I had to.  

So, it’s the Lion King - what some might consider the apex of Disney.  It is, I believe, the most successful Disney film of all time - which is it keeps ending up at the top of all the Best of Disney lists.  (Pinocchio does too, btw, which is fine for animation as an art form, but I’m still traumatized.)  I’ll be honest - The Lion King is not a favorite of mine, but that doesn’t mean I discount how phenomenal of a film it is.  

First of all, let’s talk about Elton John, Tim Rice, and a Hans Zimmer score.  It’s noticeably different than the string of Menken and Ashmen films -- which I’m learning really lean in on the creative lyrics and snappy showtunes.  But I think this film is just as (rightfully) known for its music.  The music is used in an epic manner, and I think bigger-than-life is used here more than any film up until this point, which I think does the film a lot of favors.  The opening scene has got to be one of the best things Disney has ever produced, and the music a as a whole is iconic and worth all the fuss it usually gets. 

(Interestingly, as a side tangent, I think the love ballads of these films have been my least favorites - maybe I’m just more in the mood for the upbeat stuff.)  

The plot, of course, is inspired by Hamlet - though I want to say loosely.  I mean, although there’s some Shakespearean drama going on, it’s still a Disney film.  It has, though, all those themes of life and death and what it means to grow up and what it means to be step up to your responsibility.  This is another one of those Disney films that can lead to deeper conversations to have with kids.  

So.  Here’s my thing.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one - a long, long time, so I had been looking forward to figuring out whether I would enjoy it more not being a kid who’s annoyed by all the Lion King madness going on everywhere.  

The first half of the film is really, really good.  It’s got that epic feel, it’s a lot of fun, there’s a lot of humor in there that I hadn’t remembered at all -- specifically between Simba and Scar.  And of course, the tragedy of Scar’s plot against Mufasa.  It’s all much better than I remembered, so I’m glad for that!  

The second half, however, doesn’t do as much for me though, and I’m afraid to say, had me a little bored.  The story goes through the checklist of things it needs to have done - the romance ballad, the deep and meaningful convo with the dead loved one, the inspiration for growth, and the final conflict.  Timon and Pumba are there to inject the comedy, but since a lot of it is so low brow, I’m ‘meh’ on it.  Also, I was kind of surprised the final showdown between Simba and Scar wasn’t more involved.  I feel like the middle section was a bit more tense.  

Anyway, the voice acting across the board was pretty strong (though I’m a little surprised by the lack of black actors doing these roles, which is unfortunate).  The style of the film being influenced by various African cultures is a good look, and the animation is pretty strong making the film look pretty good.  The Lions are awesome, you can tell they definitely studied real animals, which is a really nice touch.  I think technically, everything is spot on to where it needs to be.  

I suppose it’s just personal preference liking one thing over the other - because as a whole, this is pretty on par with Beauty and the Beast.  

I don’t really have much more to add -- other than Rafiki is my favorite character.  Gotta appreciate the crazy weirdo that he is.  

Final Thoughts: It’s good - Disney continues to dazzle during the 90s.  The story feels a little paint by numbers for me, and the first half is much better than the second half, but kids aren’t going to care, and will probably have a good time throughout.  

[mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker]

Over the years I’ve heard endless discussion about Mary Jane and more specifically how she should or should not be written. I think a very influential voice in those discussions comes from the author of ‘Why did it Have to be You Mary Jane’, a three part essay series that pretty comprehensively examines Peter and MJ’s history leading up to their wedding in order to rebuttal the anti-marriage sentiments from Marvel.

That same author in other places has even discussed how MJ works when she is written ‘correctly’. ‘Correctly’ according to him is when she is written goofy. To quote him.

MJ has always worked best when she’s a bit goofy and off the wall, needing to be brought back to the center, because that way she contrasts nicely with Peter’s overly serious nature and “I’ve got the burdens of the world on my shoulders” personality, and thus she helps bring him back to the center as well.

Someday I plan to dive into certain parts of that essay series that are…well off shall we say, but that’s for another time.

On another occasion I’ve heard a group of fans look at 2 very different 90s Spidey comics and discuss (among other things) MJ’s depiction within them. The comics in question were Spec #184 and No Adj #18. In the former MJ is loving and supportive towards Peter and in the latter she is argumentative and bickering. The individuals discussing the stories spoke about how the comics raise the question about how MJ should be written.

I’ve equally seen endless shade (from proponents and opponents of MJ, the marriag, etc) throw shade of some variety against Mary Jane ‘waiting by a window’, nagging at Peter or disliking him being Spider-Man in some variety. Hell I’ve even seen people complain about her going out dancing with during the marriage, usually with the qualifier of her dancing ‘with other men’.

As a rule of thumb I think people prefer or treat JMS’ portrayal of the Spider-Marriage as how it ‘should’ be written. And I love that portrayal don’t get me wrong, but I don’t agree that’s how it SHOULD be done inherently nor do I agree with the lowkey implication from the proponents of that take that the other takes, like in the 90s, were ‘wrong’.

I’m not going to pick apart each of these takes individually or look at the context of the specific issues they were discussing. Rather I want to take a broader approach.

The question is which of these renditions of Mary Jane work/don’t work. Or if you like, how should Mary Jane be written.

My response is…they can all work.

And by that I don’t mean in theory a writer could pick one of these renditions and commit to it as MJ’s defined personality or role, much in the way Aunt May works knowing Peter is Spider-Man or alternatively works dead like after ASM #400.

No I mean all these different ways to write MJ can all work as part and parcel of the same character. And indeed have…for 50+ years!

Mary Jane isn’t Mickey Mouse (though she is owned by him). She doesn’t have at best 2 moods at any given time, she isn’t simplistic.

This was even THE POINT of all the Marvel characters when they were created. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, et al were trying (albeit not always succeeding) to create superhero characters with more dimensions, people who weren’t just good because it was the right thing to do or else paragons of virtue (or vice if you were villains). Whilst that originally just applied to the heroes with villains and supporting characters remaining fairly simplistic there were exceptions. Doctor Doom and Norman Osborn for example were villains written with at least a bit more layers to them. And as many writers (like Gail Simone) and historians (like Tim Hanley) have assessed, Mary Jane was an exception amidst Silver Age supporting characters, especially female ones.

And she grew more dimensions over the years.

And whilst I’m absolutely not saying there is no ‘incorrect’ way to write Mary Jane *glaresatSlott* there is also absolutely no singular ‘correct’ way, let alone a ‘default’ setting for her.

She’s a (relative representation of a) human being. So she has ups, downs, moods, good days and bad days, and those are going to change in response to the situations presented.

The keys to success are:

a)      Recognizing the right emotion to go with regarding the situation in question. E.g. if someone is dying she’s probably not going to be cracking jokes.

b)      Moderation, variety and balance. That is to say it’s not inherently bad to have Mary Jane wait by a window, or argue with Peter, or take umbrage with him being Spider-Man SOMETIMES! Those are both in character and entirely realistic human reactions for her to have.*And as much as us shippers might love portrayals more in line with Spencer or JMS’ takes on MJ or her relationship with Peter the fact is it’s similarly reductive if she was only ever portrayed that way in most Spider-Man stories. You need both, these guys are supposed to be well rounded characters!

c)       Good execution. I know that’s rather easy to preach and harder to practice, but it’s nevertheless true. After all JMS’ run gets all the love when it comes to the portrayal of Peter/MJ’s relationship and it pulled MJ ‘waiting by a window’ more than once. Kraven’s Last Hunt even did this. Compare and contrast with like Terry Kavanagh though and you see the difference.

The problem with b) and c) in MJ’s broader history is that in the 90s the rule of the day was style over substance/quantity over quality; there were for example a minimum of FOUR monthly Peter Parker Spidey titles back then! So good execution and moderation suffered a whole Hell of a lot because writers were just desperately trying to generate content and do it on time. They either lacked the time to execute scenes well (this applied to non-MJ scenes too btw) and or ideas for MJ got reused in a mad dash for content, hence MJ waited by a window, or nagged Peter about being Spider-Man or wore lingerie because those were the simplest and quickest way writers could tick off including her. Plus this mad dash for content led to many unskilled writers getting gigs to plug in holes in the schedule, which is why so many Spidey minis and one shots are bad.

What I’m trying to say with all this is that all these takes, all these portrayal and all these uses of MJ are valid. They’re just part of the same multidimensional character.

*Hell Peter himself often doesn’t want to be Spider-Man or tries retiring, so why does MJ get shit for on occasion wishing he would not risk his life?

[bat-lings]

Hey, you mentioned in an earlier ask any Damian that Tim was also low-key sexist and tbh I'd love examples cause I feel like this has never been brought up and it's interesting??? Anyway, thanks Ur stuffs super interesting and insightful!

Thanks for your interest & nice words!

Let’s be clear tho Anon (I assume it’s the same Anon both times?), you are 200% entitled to disagree with me. Yes I am unapologetic about my opinions and write looong paragraphs of questionable pertinence to give arguments but like. The goal is to explain “why I think what I think,” never to tell you “why you should think what I think”. You’re very much welcome for the Damian post btw

Now I think Tim, precisely, shows internalized sexism. Doesn’t change the end result all that much though.

Random sequences

Let’s get the most straightforward stuff out of the way.

[Robin (1991) #1 || Robin (1993) #43 & #179 || Detective Comics (1937) #687]

Dunno about you but the first two are particularly cringey for me. That and the agenda section.

Okay to be fair: He does attempt to defend Lynx (first example) beforehand, throwing the on-point “she doesn’t have to go with you if she doesn’t want to” line. All is good for five seconds and then he goes “maybe she likes that treatment”.

We may have different sensibilities but the mere fact that that went through his head for even a second is the perfect illustration of what’s internalized sexism imo. Conscious thought & action level: A+ behavior (being able to identify a visibly wrong situation and taking action against it). Unconscious level: blatant sexism (”maybe she likes it” aka a less visible/more subtle manifestation of bigotry).

He has a… pretty specific way to regard women’s agenda. And is overall patronizing to straight-out disrespectful.

Tim’s treatment of Steph is a well-known fact but this is a call-out post so have a non-exhaustive bunch of examples:

[Robin (1993) #4, 41, 35, 44 || Batgirl (2009) #8]

On we go and see how there’s absolutely no ill-intent on Tim’s part in the next examples, yet I have a big problem with how he’s considering the ladies’ agency:

[Robin (1993) #182 || Red Robin #10]

Notice how it’s all about him whether the lady obeys him or not. His failure to impose the necessary authority or his failure to give the right directions. The girls’ choice/independence just doesn’t factor in. It’s a cop and a vigilante we’re talking about, not some civilians caught in the crossfire.

((btw it’s disputable but his apology in RR#10 is too little too late as far as I’m concerned. Tim gets a pass since Nicieza has him referring to his dumbass traitor!Steph arc but he doesn’t deserve any additional credit either. Okay no I’m being mean, he gets kudos for making a step in the right direction with Steph. Tiny kudos. It’s a tiny step.))

[Red Robin #5]

Tam? Okay. She’s the civilian who got embarked into this crazy story, she is in need of saving. But Prudence? Maybe don’t automatically assume that the assassin needs you to pat her on the back to even consider pursuing her own wishes, Timmy.

Tim can be arrogant to everyone yeah (more on that later), but I don’t remember him negating a man’s agenda like that.

[Robin (1993) #25]

Yeah the kid who will feel betrayed when Bruce tells his identity to Steph just elected to tell her name to Connor whom they both don’t know well yet. While talking in her place rather than letting her answer for herself (something he’s done on several occasions). Then he attempts to decide for her whether she has a right to participate, again. On that note: thank you Connor for putting Tim in his place, that sure doesn’t happen often.

[Robin (1993) #6 & #28]

Uh, yes you can. Give the adult woman who’s been handling Gotham’s streets since before you were born some credit, Tim?

As for Helena, the scene in itself is… well, not okay exactly. He’s basically dismissing her wish to handle a personal matter alone, which could imply he doesn’t think the other adult woman who’s been handling Gotham’s streets since before he was born can handle the case.

I’m just putting it with his constant attempts to keep Steph from participating, often to cases that concerned her directly, and how he tends to take it personally when she doesn’t obey… but he casually brushes off Helena when she’s saying she’ll handle a personal case alone. Double standard? Maybe I got too specific a reading but. I don’t remember that sort of thing happening between Tim and male characters– do call me out if I’m remembering wrong though.

And then there’s the “another vigilante” remark.

Anyway yes Tim can be arrogant towards both men and women. Much like Damian being antagonizing to everyone didn’t negate the possibility of him being sexist, Tim being generally arrogant doesn’t negate that possibility for him either.

Plus the only male characters I’ve seen him be that patronizing with are Chris Kent in World’s Finest #3, and Damian. The ten-year-old who’s regularly antagonizing him and does deserve to be put in his place. Oh yeah, and maybe Dodge, another brat. So yeah I do think there’s a slight difference between Tim’s treatment of men and women, if only in frequency. (and in intensity tbh.)

Yes, he’s been consistently disregardful to his girlfriends.

Anon, you say very rightfully that we shouldn’t automatically assume it’s due to them being girls. Please believe it’s not a conclusion I’ve come to automatically though:

A) While I realize that Tim only having canon girlfriends is due to heteronormativity & homophobia rather than a conscious writing intent to highlight any character trait, assuming that he wouldn’t have behaved better with boyfriends is pure speculation– aaand I am totally speculating he’d behave better if only because he’s never that patronizing or that dismissive of his peers’ agency (examples above) when they’re men. that’s part of why I ship tim/kon more easily than tim/steph.

B) Like with everything I brought up on this post I’m not considering his behavior with his romantic partners separately. It’s a character fault that could take its roots in several things, but Tim’s global characterization makes me think the root is sexism.

C) I understand why you’re thinking there’s no reason to conclude his disrespect is due to them being women; in the same vein I think there’s no reason to conclude it’s not. It’s kind of a stalemate and both conclusions are valid.

Skipping Tim’s habit to break up by letter or by phone, ‘cause that’s not cool and obviously disrespectful but even I think it’s more due to cowardice/inadequacy than sexism.

I don’t think I need to speak about Steph again. Let’s go with Ari. Who Tim casually cheated on by kissing Steph on several occasions.

Being a cheat is, in itself, a distinct character flaw that doesn’t always takes its root in sexism. Plus it’s something I have my reasons to assume Tim has grown out of.

It’s his reaction when he learns about Ariana “"cheating”“ on him (she went ice-skating with another dude once in the 87 times Tim stood her up) that ticks me off. Btw and unlike Tim who didn’t seem to feel all that guilty, Ariana did try to tell him about it but he fell asleep during her confession.

[Robin (1993) #15 & #17]

Two things bother me here, a lot more than the cheating in itself: the possessiveness and the hypocrisy. You really don’t have a right to go all “My Ariana” and to chew her out for the grand treachery that is ice-skating when you’ve been casually kissing Steph, Timbo. What those panels prove is that there’s a double standard in Tim’s head. Which one exactly is up to your interpretation and that’s probably where we’ll end up disagreeing. I read it as the “proper girls don’t get close to several boys at one time, but boys who get close to several girls are either ladies men or boys being boys” double-standard, hence Tim’s blatant lack of self-awareness here.

Btw and the thing that solidified my opinion here: Tim, as a rule, tends to be pretty self-aware, at least retrospectively. He puts himself into question and has no problem admitting when his judgment was clouded. I dunno take YJ #55 or Robin #119 for example (I even selected examples that both have Tim recognizing he wronged a girl!)

So if he’s generally self-aware, but doesn’t see anything wrong with his own behavior in the specific situation where he’s cheating on his girl then chewing her out? I explain it with the above double-standard. He internalized a mindset that keeps him from realizing how hypocrite he’s being in this situation. Also he doesn’t confront Ari immediately, he had time to think about it, it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. That should’ve been enough to allow him to step back and evaluate himself but he just. Didn’t.

Bonus: Jack has been hinted to be sexist, and contrary to Tim it’s safe to assume that was totally intentional.

[Batman (1940) #441 || Robin (1993) #122]

Only two occurrences in decades of canon arguably don’t make for solid basis but they still allow me to build a coherence since our parents do influence us without us realizing. And given how much Tim loved his dad (he said himself how much he got from Jack), it sure isn’t an element that could plead against him being sexist.

.

There’s a bunch of other sequences that I low key read as sexist, but that I’m more mitigated about or in which I gave Tim a pass for various reasons so I didn’t include them here.

All in all when I take a solid look at Tim’s global behavior, I see sexism. While it may not be a “solid canon fact” since it surely wasn’t intentional on the writers’ part, I really don’t think it’s an unreasonable thing to infer from his very canon behavior. And tbh writer intent doesn’t excuse much. Factually speaking that portrayal has been there since Tim’s early days,he’s been consistently dismissive & disrespectful of his female peers and/or of their wishes and agency. It’s part of him & his history.

It’s not incoherent with his character either– Tim has always been intended to represent a normal boy/teen (dude was legit marketed around the fact that he’s relatable). It’s not baffling or coming out of nowhere that a random teen just so happened to have internalized sexism. It’s pretty damn common, even. It’s not like Tim being sexist was a brutal turnaround that contradicted what makes the core of his character to the point of making him unrecognizable (*cough* Talia’s current characterization *cough*).

Hope this explains that.

Thanks for the asks!

[pricryo]

tw: abuse shit, manipulation shit, transphobia ment, death ment, christianity ment, probably more. hi i’m tim wright and today i remembered one of my abusers so naturally, while instilled with fiery rage, i thought i should make a post abt it here for reference as to why i have “don’t follow if you kin ticci-toby (creepypasta) or yato (noragami)” as one of my don’t follow criteria. there will probably be another post on this in the future because there’s really a lot to unravel about her abuse and how it’s affected myself and my friends. this is just one of the main and most notable incidents, roughly around the time our friendship truly started its decline.

putting this shit under a cut so it doesn’t clutter things up on anyone’s dash

her name is grace. i initially met her in the fourth grade (when i was around nine or ten), but i wasn’t really close friends with her until late middle school to early high school. she was always sort of uncomfortable to be around, but she was one of the few people who would talk to me, so i considered her a friend. when i was a freshman in high school, i had just been introduced to the otherkin and fictionkin communities by a friend (named cas) at the time, along with grace and another friend (her name was destiny). 

i kinfirmed being wolfkin first and foremost (i know, i know, how generic) after a lot of reflection and questioning on the subject, and cas, who was also wolfkin, suggested we make a wolfkin pack (a.k.a, mistake number one) under the presumption that all four of us were wolfkin. (hint: only half of us were)

grace agreed, claiming she was also wolfkin, and a pack was formed. now, this wasn’t the healthiest pack, realistically. we were young and honestly? a little dumb. we had this big ~pack mentality~ that was horrid and cringy to look back on, and i’m very ashamed of myself. we were overly protective of each other, saw cas as our boss, and overall were just... toxic in mindset, if i remember correctly. unfortunately, this made us super easy to manipulate.

it started in either january or february (i can’t remember which anymore), when grace told us that her long-time boyfriend (joe) had broken up with her during our high school’s winter formal dance. supposedly, it was during their first slow dance, to be specific. she claimed that he’d been abusive to her before, including hitting her, insulting her, etc., and destiny even backed this claim up by saying she’d seen it. (note: joe was openly known to be autistic in our school, keep this in mind.) we, of course, didn’t take this well. after confronting joe on the matter, he seemed confused and had genuinely no idea what was happening, even saying he hadn’t broken up with her at all.

we further confront him (this time on deviantArt) and he continues to say he has no idea, and he’s very confused over who we are. we... honestly treated him like trash. not because he was autistic, but because he was supposedly abusive. it was terrible. and while we’re doing this, grace is just feeding us more and more lies about the guy. she went as far as to make fake texts between himself and her, where he was saying shit like how we were demons, and that we needed to go to church and we needed jesus, calling grace fat and ugly, saying that he’d won her and she was just his trophy, and even being openly transphobic regarding leelah alcorn’s death, among other things. we would be like “give us his number/account, let us talk to him” and she’d always tell us “oh he deleted it right after” or some similar shit. that was red flag number one, but i trusted her (mistake number two) because she was my friend.

by this time, we're literally enraged. we told the dean of our school about it and everything. we were shit talking joe all over deviantArt and threatening him (which was so immature, and looking back on it, i hate how i handled that situation at 14) and everything. i deadass made what was supposed to be his in minecraft just to pour lava over it and burn it down. terrible shit. but the bottom line: we were very angry.

around this time, i start noticing that the way he types on deviantArt and the way he types in the “texts” don’t match up. it’s super suspicious. red flag number two. he types perfectly on deviantArt, but types exactly how grace types in the texts. i bring it up subtly and i’m all like “haha that’s pretty weird, why does he do that?” grace agrees that it’s weird and then starts saying that she recreated some of them because they were deleted too fast. the typing difference happened on all of them. again, that’s super suspicious, but i really trusted her as my friend.

things escalated. i can’t really remember most of it, but here’s some details i do remember:

there’s a fake instagram made (something along the lines of ‘weirdguy101′ or some similar shit) where art that cas and destiny had made was uploaded, supposedly owned by joe, who was claiming to have drawn it himself. none of my art was stolen. grace was the only person to have taken pictures of that art. red flag number three.

an “undercover” deviantArt account made by grace where she pretended to be a different person to interact with joe as if she was on our side.

a lot of skype calls on the subject - during one, grace calls joe on her home phone and cas and destiny make weird noises in an effort to freak him out - which was succesful.

we make both a deviantArt group and instagram to combat the fake instagram and make vague, threatening posts to him (which i’m very certain is deleted by this point).

the dean told us he spoke with joe, and that joe had zero idea what was happening at all.

we were going to go to the principal over the matter because we thought the dean didn’t take us seriously. i was absent that day because i was sick if i remember correctly, and cas and destiny didn’t go talk to the her because grace didn’t show up, either. red flag number four.

grace would intentionally rile us up if we weren’t having a conversation specifically about the conflict. like, this happened for weeks, and when we tried to have other, normal conversations, she’d butt in baout how much she hated joe and about how we should all burn down his house and shit. i’m fairly certain that some of the fake texts were just to draw our attention back on that topic. red flag number five.

and honestly? a hell of a lot more that i don’t really remember.

cas mentions that he thinks things are getting a little fishy after a while, and i tell him about what i’ve been thinking. we end up calling her on skype and he calls her out because he’s 100% certain that she had been playing us. she’s dead silent for most of the time and doesn’t even defend herself or say he’s wrong. he hangs up on her and i’m there listening to her crying alone (and it’s such an ugly noise, mind you) and i’m filled with disgust and anger and hurt. i’m there for two to three minutes listening before i hang up, too.

even after that, we’re all like, “we forgive you. just don’t do this shit again,” because we still saw her as a friend despite her 100% being trash to us, and we were still willing to move past that. and grace has the audacity to ask if we’ll go to the dean with her in the morning and explain the situation.  like.... she manipulates us into harassing and threatening a kid, pretends to be him and insults us + is transphobic as all hell, literally steals art from cas and destiny under the guise that it’s him, plays us like a game of chess for her own sick amusement.... and then expects us to help her explain to the dean that she was lying the entire time and nothing was wrong. ofc, we said no. things simmer down.

for like a day or two.

and then we’re in a group chat with a classmate named britney who says we need to stop bullying her friend. get this - grace has been showing off the screenshots of what we’ve said to her (which was in no way bullying, btw) and claiming we were bullying her. greaaaattt. grace didn’t bother to tell her the full story (a common theme with her) and now britney has taken it upon herself ot be a good samaritan. she yells at us, removes cas from the chat after one of his alters front, i add him back, and britney refuses to tell us who it was. (spoiler alert: we already know). i agree that we’ll stop “bullying” grace so she’ll leave us alone and the conversation is done.

so naturally we’re all like, “what the fuck dude, it was over? and we didn’t do anything to you? you were just bad to us?” and ofc this sets her off to continually tell us ”it’s in the past, i made mistakes, you should forgive me” even though all the shit she did was entirely intentional. initially i don’t want the reason why she did it, but i get progressively more frustrated and then start demanding to know why. she legitimately didn’t say anything other than “...” on the subject. considering how i was young and had a short fuse, i kinda go off on her abt it. because that’s such a fucking dick move. and she says “well idk what to say except sorry” as if she isn’t aware she can tell us why she did it.

i end up having a breakdown because i realize that i’m a total fucking monster who harrassed a kid and was manipulated into doing s and i don’t even get to know why. cas removes her from the group and we’re left to pick up the pieces.

i end up giving a handwritten note containing a formal apology to destiny and she agreed to give it to joe for me. all was well for a while with grace out of my life.

unfortunately, this was not the last incident i had with grace. i’ll post more on it some other time but like... dm me for her tumblr if you want to block her or some shit. she’s still out there and active on tumblr as far as i know.

bonus: a screenshot where i totally should’ve realized she was playing us, ft. me talking to joe

[readymades2002]

i thought about it too hard im putting a cut here now hehe. i love the sound of my own keyboard

hypnospace very deliberately sectioned you off from the rest of the internet so it sounds like this game is dropping you right into it where you can interact with people on it! that’s interesting

i’m definitely eyeing that “uncover global conspiracies” line with suspicion but i’ll hold my judgement since the line itself is the extent of my knowledge for now

it sounds like this game you’re doing much the same thing as hypnospace but without tapping into the same power (given that you have a page and the ability to interact with people this time? maybe the rules have changed), which is interesting to me! hypnospace was SUPER a game about how you chose to wield that power and what you enforced, as a member of the patrol department.

dreamsettler borrows from the netsettler name. netsettler was a big component of hypnospace’s worldbuilding, and what it was saying about tech, so it’s...idk. it’s an...interesting thing to repeat and it feels deliberate. like they set up an idea and now want to explore it, maybe. the announcement for dreamsettler also says “we’ll see you in your settlement!” which is definitely a thing you can say online! that sure is something that they have decided to go with! (after watching the trailer they also refer to people who use it as Settlers which well okay i hope you are prepared to think about what that means mister game developer) i mean obviously you can do SOMETHING with that, the way that colonization manifests in science and technology as The Unstoppable March Of Progress is definitely Something, i just don’t know if this is the studio i’d trust to handle it. or maybe it’s just a gesture towards something like that. i don’t know what i’m talking about. i’m moving on now

zane being the funny mascot character out of all of this still is definitely a choice! he’s a major player in hypnospace and if you look to the streamer’s world (nightmare) he seems to have gotten over with popular streamers which i don’t know how to take that! hypnospace is not a game i think is great for streaming. i’ve talked about it before but it seems to get flattened into Funny Butter Ice Cream game on streams a lot. at least the streams ive seen. and...zane...seems like the kind of character that these streamers would get endeared to in a “wow i was just like that once” way. like specifically in the way certain users on here get nostalgic for their four chan days. yknow. not THAT dramatic but in a similar vein. tiffany’s situation hits much much closer to home than zane’s did, and her situation is one you have to work to try and fix, lacking the tools to do so, and you ultimately can’t. its a tragedy, and its one that works, but it IS tragic. seeing zane make a comeback like this though i think it’s worth thinking more about. you can’t save tiff. you CAN save zane, if you find his shitty little harassment page and report it. lives get destroyed because of hypnospace and there’s no escaping that, and like, obviously people can grow out of being shitty teenagers. in hypnospace itself, after the timeskip, you see people have grown a lot. tim has had twenty years to grow up and six of them were spent in fucking prison. a lot changes over time. but. idk. i’m thinking of three specific streamers here, two who i actively dislike and shall not discuss, the other being wrtv who i do watch from time to time but who definitely DEFINITELY falls into a certain category of white leftist that dominates this site and that i just.......do not care for. lol *hatefully* and it’s just like. the game going here’s zane again btw feels like okay so this is the perspective we’re making this from and its. hmph. im overthinking it for sure sorry but also i think it’s worth thinking about. if they’re gonna be using this settler shit then they can handle this

i can talk about it a lot and i’m sure there’s room for Issues but i do love hypnospace and i thought it was a really thoughtful work abt grief and the internet and moderation/law enforcement. maybe it will fumble things and fuck them up. i’ll stay wary of that. i am pretty excited for game though !!

[amandajoyce118]

Ant-Man and the Wasp Easter Eggs and References

I never posted this. Whoops. Since I’ve been lacking on the six-sentence Sundays, have this instead.

Obviously, there are going to be spoilers for the movie. Since it’s been out for a while now, I probably don’t have to warn people about that, but… just in case, you’ve been warned.

(Also, I’m going to be honest, while typing this up, I realized it’s been so long since I made my notes, that I couldn’t even read some of them, so there’s probably a reference or two missing.)

The Original Wasp

The original costume that we see for the Wasp is muuuuuccch closer to the comic book costume than the one Hope wears. Funnily enough, her clothing in the Quantum Realm is also what she wears when stuck in the Microverse after being shrunk down because she was turned into a living bomb. Good times. Fun fact: Janet actually designed all of the Avengers’ costumes in the comics. She was a fashion designer in addition to being a scientist and a hero.

The Red Queen

On the wall of Hope’s childhood bedroom is a print of what looks like the Red Queen from Alice Through the Looking Glass. In the comics, the Red Queen is Hope’s supervillain name. Yes, she’s a supervillain in another universe.

Cassie

Cassie’s really good at the game to steal a priceless artifact for a little kid, isn’t she? In the comics, she becomes a superhero in her own right, and this whole sequence just made me think she’d be pretty good at it.

The Accords

For the reason Scott is on house arrest see Captain America: Civil War. Is this really an Easter egg at this point? I don’t know. But it was in my notes anyway.

X-Con Security Consultants

It’s not a subtle pun, but I love it all the same. It’s also a nod to the fact that when Scott gets out of prison in the comics, he also started his own security company.

“Snap your fingers.”

While Scott is learning about magic, he watches a video that features this line when discussing how to effectively use misdirection. Was this whole movie a big chunk of misdirection so that we didn’t think about the finger snap? Maybe. Was the finger snap itself some giant misdirection? Maybe. Who knows? I just like that it got a nod here too.

Agent Jimmy Woo

The FBI agent is a character from the comics. He worked for Agents of Atlas at one time, and later became the head of a school for gifted kids in Mumbai. (BTW, he’s also listed as a contact in May’s phone on Agents of SHIELD.)

Animal House

When Scott is being “kidnapped,” he was busy watching Animal House. Specifically, he’s watching a scene that involves Donald Sutherland theorizing about how small the universe really is.

Hank’s Cars

Much like his keychain of a tank he carried around in the first movie, Hank carries around a whole set of cars in this movie. He also carries around his shrunken lab. In the comics, he also carried a pouch full of things he shrunk down, just in case he needed them.

Sonny Burch

The guy dealing in black market goods exists in the comics. He was the chairman of Cross Technologies. We met Cross in the first movie. Funnily enough, the company used to be under Obadiah Stane. You might remember him from the Iron Man movies. (Geoffrey Ballard, the guy Sonny calls to give a tip about Scott and Hope to, is also a comic book character. He became the villain Centurion.)

Hydra Doesn’t Exist

According to the folks in this movie, anyway. Anyone who keeps an eye on the TV side of the MCU knows that Hydra is still kicking at this point in the timeline in the form of Ruby, her mom, and their soldiers on Agents of SHIELD. (No, those timelines might not exactly line up, but that’s probably pretty close to where we are.)

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga is actually a mythical being, but it’s funny that this story is used in reference to Ghost. Why? Because there is a Marvel character named Baba Yaga. She was the Russian goddess of witchcraft and misfortune… and she also ran a branch of the mafia and set up base in Brooklyn because… why not? Ghost, of course, was also a character in the comics, but the story for the character has been completely reworked for the movie.

Elihas Starr

Father to ghost here, he’s also a comic book character. He was an atomic scientist who became a villain known as Egghead. He was once hired to kidnap the Wasp, amongst other things.

Bill Foster, Former SHIELD Agent

Bill was Hank’s lab assistant for a while in the comics. You know what else he was though? Husband to Claire Temple for a while. He also worked for Tony Stark. And he became a hero in his own right - Goliath. (BTW, Laurence Fishburne's son plays the younger version of the character in flashbacks.)

Team Caps

I’m sorry, but did anyone else find it funny that Hope and Scott decided baseball caps were how they would walk around without being noticed? It’s the same way Captain America and company try to stay under the radar. I guess it’s good Scott ended up on Team Cap.

The Chalkboard

I’m sure there are some Easter eggy things on the board that me, a non science nerd, wouldn’t catch. More eagle eyed fans will.

Project Goliath

Like I said, Bill was once a hero named Goliath. That’s also a code name used by Hank Pym when he was “Giant Man.” It’s also been used by other characters when they were supersized. It was also a project already mentioned by Tony Stark in one of the Iron Man movies when he was looking into old SHIELD projects.

“Janet was the one to endure…”

Bill says this about Janet’s working relationship with Hank. I found the wording purposeful. In the comics, Hank’s mental health disorders and experimentation with his abilities end up combining to create multiple personalities. One of them is Yellowjacket, who was abusive. His temperment in the MCU doesn’t seem to be all that different according to those who worked with him before.

“It’s them!”

Bill Foster says this when he sees a bunch of ants. Why is this a reference? Because it’s a shout out to the movie THEM! from the 50s. It featured giant ants. Hope, Scott, and Cassie, also watch it on a rooftop later.

Ava’s Place

There’s a nod to another Disney franchise in her home/lab. I spotted a Darth Vader helmet on one of her shelves.

Argentina

This is an interesting choice for Ava’s backstory. For one thing, we haven’t seen much of it in the MCU before. For another, the country is most often associated with Black Tarantula in the comics. Magneto has also gone after Nazi war criminals there, Maya Hansen (you remember her from Iron Man) has been kidnapped there, and portals to other realities have opened there. It’s a happening place on the page, so maybe we’ll start to see more of it on screen.

Truth Serum

The whole back and forth about whether or not truth serum worked reminded me of Skye being threatened with it on Agents of SHIELD in the pilot, only for it to be used on Grant Ward to gain her trust instead. It was made very clear that there was no such thing as a truth serum after the fact, but maybe there is.

Stan Lee

The 60s were fun, he says in his cameo. And he wasn’t kidding. It featured Jack Kirby’s psychedelic style, for sure. It was also definitely a good decade for Marvel. The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Daredevil all got their first solo titles that decade. (It was a good year for DC too. Poison Ivy and Batgirl both made their comic book debut during the decade.)

Tim Heidecker

You’ll recognize him as the boat captain from the big confrontation scene. He’s actually the co-host of a podcast. His co-host Gregg Turkington appeared in the first movie in a cameo as well.

The Infinity War Tie-In

Ant-Man ends up stuck in the Quantum Realm while everyone waiting for him outside dissolves into ash. This gives us an explanation for just what Scott was up to during the events of Avengers: Infinity War as the end of that movie is where we see all of that dissolving into ash. This movie apparently takes place over roughly the same time period, just like the last few episodes of Agents of SHIELD likely do as well, making this a very packed time period on Earth.

[boyegcs]

I enjoyed the film but I’m not a hardcore Jurassic Park fan in general so I’d like to hear the side of someone who feels quite strongly about the films and why you didn’t like it! Feel free to rant :)

hi omg thank u so much for giving me an outlet. beware, under the cut is jurassic world spoilers + bitchy ranting (to anyone else who is curious. feel free to join in on the discourse. im curious af)

lemme start by saying that i may just be a pessimist in general, i didn’t sleep well last night, and the first jurassic park is one of my favorite movies of all time. i havent watched the 2nd and 3rd much in recent years, and wasn’t crazy about jurassic world. nothing can do justice to the first movie. it is flawless, beautiful, sentimental, smart, and the animatronics… are so….. good…..

whatever, onto the new movie.

i liked things about it. i promise i did. i liked the chemistry between bryce dallas howard and chris pratt more in this one than the first. maisie was a very good child actress! i love justice smith and even if the dialogue wasn’t great, he was pretty relatable (franklin). i also love the actress daniella pineda so even though she didn’t have much screentime, i like her. and i adored that dinosaur in the cell next to them that then plouwed through the rich ass folks trying to buy the fucking dinosaurs.

uhh… the script. 

the first 20 minutes were soooo rigid and i was like ‘am i just sleep deprived or is this shit or both.’ i was ALSO on team ian malcolm since the beginning: let the dinosaurs die. like, i’ve seen all the jurassic park movies. dinosaurs are vicious af. not “let them burn on the island,” but like, essentially? AND THEN THE FORCED EMOTION AKA THE BRACHIOSAURUS(? IDK DINOSAUR NAMES JFC) ON THE ISLAND. like, thanks for that image. PLUS THE ANIMAL BRUTALITY. LIKE, IDK WHY IT HIT ME SO HARD. THEY WERE VERY MEAN TO THE ANIMALS. which sounds dumb coming from the girl who was just like ‘let em die’ 10 mins ago but, y’know, i don’t wanna fucking SEE IT HAPPEN. 

AND FORCED NOSTALGIA. FUCK U MOVIE. 

the couple reviews i saw were like ‘paying homage, respecting the first movie!’ no. fuck that. this movie RIPPED OFF DIRECT SCENES AND SHOTS FROM THE FIRST MOVIE. claw grabbing through bars. squashed under a car. EVEN THE DUMBWAITER SCENE, COPYING THE INFAMOUS KITCHEN SCENE. i was hands down waiting for lightning to electrocute owen and maisie when they were scaling the house. jfc.

the doctor, or … paleo-vet? (yes who i like!), literally had to GET OUT OF THE CAR and look AT THE SAME DINOSAUR as sam neill and laura dern did in the first movie. btw, there were some cgi-heavy scenes in this movie. idk why im SO susceptible to cgi, but i hate it when i notice it. like the cgi goat towards the middle-end? ugly af. even that cute triceratops with her baby i was like ‘ok but its fake…’ i might just be a negative, judgmental person. 

also, the cheap? thrills? like the writers were like lets add oNE MORE THING to add to this ALREADY TENSION-FILLED SCENE. like the truck and the boat/ferry. when they had to get the blood from the t-rex and it semi woke up and THEN guards locked them in and its like… just give them a break. things like that. idk, it got old fast.

BUT YEAH, WHAT GOT OLD THE MOST FAST, WAS DEFINITELY THE ACTUAL RIP-OFF OF MY FAVORITE MOVIE IN THE WORLD.

it wasn’t paying homage. if it was only a couple things, maybe? but i kept gesturing at the screen… i kept sighing… i probably ruined it for the poor dude sitting next to me who was just enjoying his damn popcorn… it was such a long movie and then the whole THATS NOT UR GRANDDAUGHTER SHE IS /ALSO/ A CLONE. like. thanks for giving me one more thing to worry about. i so needed that on top of james cromwell dying and u really mean to tell me tim put his trust in this piece of shit capitalist dudebro? (or maybe it wasn’t tim from the original and just james cromwell / lockwood dude all along… idk, i kinda was like ?? in the beginning, cause they were talking abt someone in college so w/e).

i dont know i think im repeating myself in circles here? if u have any questions or disagree please lmk! like specific examples or anything. or if u wanna avoid this mess cause im just this angry ball of fury, go ahead too. but thank you so much for asking

ADDENDUM: i ended up really loving blue. i saw the relationship between owen and his dinos in the first movie, but damn, it really grew in this one. the clips from when they were babies, blue PURRING, crying, him holding her when the bullet was being taken out, running away at the very end, fucking saving em all… like. blue is the real mvp. 

i liked things about this movie, but i had zero patience for what i hated about it.

ADDENDUM 2 (I SUCK) but i was really annoyed when owen was fighting all those dudes when the... indo-rex or w/e was in a cage and... idk, he might’ve gotten a scratch, but hes what, a behavioral? scientist??? i mean unless he takes some form of self-defense in his free time, he shouldn’t be so lucky to not get a single blow to the face from however many dudes he fought. but maybe his reflexes got cat-like working with the raptors.... whatever

[ari-zonia]

Momocon Recap and Thoughts

I’m sticking this in a read-more cause it’s gonna get lengthy.

So, I should mention this was my first ever Momocon, so there was that! First of all, I finally got to meet some friends that I've had for a pretty good while now. Like, I had stayed in a hotel room with my friends Dharc, Trevor, MattTetska, and a friend of his. I also hung around Nixcan and her crew for a good portion of the con, which was awesome because I tend to wander aimlessly anyway :P

Other than that I got to meet TRG + Masae, and by Meyneth that was the highlight of the con. On Thursday, Nixxie and I had been just sitting at a table when, I think it was HP mentioned Jon was walking up. So, I got to formally introduce myself to him, which was astounding, especially since I managed to remain so damn calm. Literally, I had walked up to him and just casually shook his hand and said hi. Of course, Jon said hi back. The next thing I said was that I was Ari Zonia, I kid you not he jumped in surprise and went "Oh shit!", which got a good laugh out of me. Like, it was genuine surprise (I knew he was kind of excited to learn I was going to the con in the first place but this took the cake).

If you saw the TRG Q&A panel you probably saw Emile's reaction to who I was as well (me being the cute little idiot asking what the strangest fanart was that the guys have ever seen of themselves), Jon only pointed it out because he had met me earlier in the day (before that started I also snagged a picture with RabbidLuigi who was just confused for a second since we were both waiting for a TRG panel to start and random small girl is like "can I have a picture?"). But after that was when I finally got to just talk with Emile himself, mostly about games and such but he also asked my about Bran which was nice. Also got him and Masae to sign my copy of Xenoblade.

During all the chaos that followed leaving that panel I also handed off all the pictures I made specifically for this. I had tried giving Jon his and Lucah's earlier, but his bag was such a mess he was worried messing them up (poor guy). But after giving Masae hers, and the one for her mom (I swear she was about to cry because 1, she liked them that much, and 2, because I made one for her MOTHER), as well as Tim getting his, and Emile's too, I finally walked up to Jon and offered the pictures again. I tried not to laugh though when his first reaction was to worriedly glance at his bag again, but I had a plan. I literally gave Jon the clipboard I had kept the pictures in (it flips open to store papers in), I didn't need it since I bought it specifically FOR Momocon (I have another exactly like it here at home). But, being the nice guy he is, he didn't want to take it from me. He asked, like, five times if I was ABSOLUTELY sure I was willing to part with it, and he kept trying to hand it back. Eventually I convinced him to keep it and we double checked I didn’t stick anything else in there so he didn’t take them on accident. And then, with what I think is the softest smile I have ever seen on Jon’s face, he thanked me for that. I managed to have a little laugh with him though as I also asked if he wanted the ribbon I had around it, his response was “Well, I’ve GOT to accessorize.”, which was funny for him to say as he took it, but he had another “oh shit” reaction when I mentioned the clipboard was broken (bought it like that). I also got to hug Emile during this time, and by Meyneth he is soft. Friday and Saturday were also pretty neat since I did a lot of wandering around, playing games in the game area (finally tried Taiko Drum Master which is AWESOME, but I’m still learning the timing), but I had also gotten to be part of a couple Persona cosplay Photoshoots! (There was a lot of P5, but I was Yosuke and Naoto, more on the latter soon). Other than that, Trevor and I also had run into Masae and Emile on Friday and Emile and I just proceeded to nerd out (mostly about Xenoblade of course), but I also told Emile that I was kind of upset I couldn’t Streetpass with him because my damn Streepass doesn’t work, and the guy looked actually upset about that. That, and he was really confused (like, gears turning in head confused) when I said I didn’t use to like RPGs and actually didn’t CARE about Xenoblade before he played it. Now, to that Naoto cosplay thing. I’m sure if any of you saw the Thrown Controllers livestream (BTW, Thrown Controllers is AWESOME to be at live) , you heard Emile talking to someone off camera about being Minato (or, as he said the “Protagonist from Persona 3″). Now, the entire context of that, before that Emile was saying something about Jon’s shirt. Well, let it be known that I just cheekily said to Emile “Hey Emile! Did you know with your blue shirt, and Masae’s yellow Tim’s hair turned green?”, because I’m just a dork like that. Now, what prompted the P3 comment was, like I said, I was dressed as Naoto Shirogane (specifically DAN but that’s besides the point), and when he asked that I just went, as I stood up, “I am Naoto Shirogane! Detective Prince! At your service.” as I did a bow, and just sat back down. I had also met MomAnela during this time, both before and after the panel and it was fun to chat with her a little bit. She was surprised we knew Dennis (she plays against him a lot in Splatoon). Then again, I had posted the picture I took with her before Thrown Controllers and then she motioned to get my attention (we were sitting right behind her really) and said “I didn’t know that was you!”, which was awesome to hear. After that was the TRG signing, which in of itself was fun because I got TRG + Masae to sign my 3DS, and Jon signed my copy of the 6th Scott Pilgrim book (I got into the series ‘cause of him). During that I had wanted a picture with Emile, and I swear this next part was totally awesome. Since I was Naoto, I had a little toy gun with me, and I just stared Emile dead in the eyes, drug out the gun as smoothly as I had done all day and said “I want a picture.” Now, Emile, being the punster he is said “I thought you were going to say “I want to take a shot”.“ and he just had this cocky grin on his face. Of course that just made the picture funnier because I circled next to him and said “You are under arrest for your crimes against humanity in the form of wordplay.” But, truly it was just awesome to meet them. While I waited for Trevor to get his stuff signed I also talked with Masae for a bit, and she’s just so sweet. Like, I had mentioned to her it was my first Momocon and that I’ve been having so much fun, and she nearly made me cry when she asked “First of many?” with this look that I could only say is, like “Please say yes!”, and I couldn’t give a straight answer because I obviously didn’t know. But, based on how this year went, I may be able to go again. Hopefully. Anyway, Trevor and I chatted with her for a little bit, which was neat because we got to talking about art, and she was really surprised to hear I’ve never had any lessons and that I’m self taught. Only attributing my constant drawing of her and the guys is the reason I’ve gotten to where I am. Now, Sunday was probably the coolest because I spent basically the entire day with Nixxie and her crew, but also did stuff I hadn’t planned on doing. First of all, I got a picture signed by the voice actress for Pearl (who is my favorite Gem, fight me), and also get a couple other small things to take home (I bought a lot of cool stuff, like pins, a little card for my gender identity, a sealed copy of World Ends With You, a Squid pillow, and a deck of cards). What was awesome though was that I was waiting for Nixxie to get something signed by Lucio’s voice actor and I went to sat down when, guess who, Masae and Emile started walking by. I tried not to lose my composure too much and struck up a conversation with them (after Masae complimented my Female Ness cosplay, and Emile complimented my shoes, the poor oblivious man). To which I then basically was there for the next hour to hour and a half or so just talking with them. Again, mostly me with Emile discussing stuff like Xenocross and some other stuff like DanganRonpa (still surprised he likes DR and Byakuya, not saying that’s bad just surprising). He also asked how I pronounce my name since “Ari” is a real name ‘n’ all, and was surprised when I said it’s a masculine name (He then saw the thing on my lanyard saying “agender” and then something finally clicked in his head)

Also, I should mention that somehow all the guys (and Masae) had come to this really funny conclusion that I’m MUCH taller than I am. Like, around 5′10 or something because they thought I was Bran’s height, and even then they thought he was TALLER. Like, Jon was laughing when we tried to get that picture of him resting his arms on my head saying “I don’t want to crush her!” Other than that there was also me, Trev, and Dharc recording a board of Mario Party 3, and I swear that game is meant to induce rage. Like, Dharc was having horrible luck in general and I basically turned into Jon in terms of pure anger (and I try not to get mad at games). Overall, Momocon was the BEST con I’ve been to, got to meet some awesome people, get some awesome reactions from TRG, and I really hope I get to go back!