#But I feel like it makes sense for the context ^^

[noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker]

The Little Mermaid was my absolute fave Disney princess as a kid. But, I also watched the movie after I saw The Little Mermaid series. And I was so shocked at Titan's reaction in the movie because, nope, he had never been that bad in the series. (The closest thing was when he was furious at Ariel and another mermaid "humanologist" for trying to help a human trapped in a small sub back to the surface. And even then, while he looked utterly furious and scared the crap out of the human in the sub, he still helped him with his powers. Very angrily, but successfully so.)

In fact, in the movie, I just figured that he had just reached his wits' end after all the times he had warned Ariel away from humans and the surface -- and that the thought of her actually falling in love with a human and acting on it pushed him to think he had to react that way to stop her.

But then, in the movie, I was even more shocked when Ariel signed that contract with Ursula, because, in the series, she already knew how malicious and untrustworthy Ursula was, that she only wanted her father's throne.

But yeah, her father had also just destroyed something so important to her, something that he normally wouldn't do at all. So reacting in equal anger and anguish, she did something that she wouldn't normally do either: She took up the sea witch's offer. Because it would let her get away and go after what she wanted.

But, from the context of the movie in isolation, her reaction definitely makes even more sense.

(On a side note and personal note, I feel like the movie, Ariel's Beginning, was kind of the worst of all of them. It felt like the writer's hadn't even put much thought into it. It was very out-of-character writing for a lot of them, I felt. And kind of flat in plot.)

The discussion around Ariel TheLittleMermaid baffles me bc if my dad literally destroyed a bunch of stuff I collected in front of me in a terrifyingly violent display of anger and I had a witch offer me an out if I could score the boy I thought was hot, my name would be on that dotted line before you can say "poor unfortunate soul". What do you mean she's stupid, her dad ravaged her Special Interest Cave like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, I would also run the fuck away

[local-human-disaster]

I'm thinking more about Annabelle's confrontation with Henry, because the way Luke (and AJ too) play it means so much to me. It's so realistically scary. So many details I adore in that short minute, because it says so much to me as a queer semi-woman:

Henry calls Annabelle "darlin'" straight off the bat. Of course darlin' is a common stereotypical southern term of endearment, but compounded with Henry's affection for Annabelle, and Annabelle's confused, "oh shit does he mean me" reaction, there's a sense I get that he's already verbally claiming her as his beloved. Without her consent. She's very much not endeared.

The very third thing Henry says is "give me your foot". With zero context. He brushes aside Annabelle's denial ("that's not mine"), and when she doesn't want to, he forces it on her.

Annabelle's reaction throughout this is constantly trying to diffuse the situation, downplaying her reactions. Forcing the shoe on her is already harassment, but she just says "I don't like this". She only pushes Henry's hands away as much as necessary so he wouldn't touch her in an act of very understandable panic, and then she puts her hands down like she's trying to calm them both down.

Because the reality is that historically, queer women face violence from cishet men, as both queer people and as women. Annabelle's reactions scream to me that she's aware that Henry, a man and a police officer, has so much social power over her, an eighteen-year-old young woman. It's not about being a bank robber or not (Henry clearly doesn't care either), or that she can shoot well; it's that she's a woman and he's a man, and the common sentiment was (and still is, in many circles) that women are men's belongings. Queer women aren't queer to those men, because queerness gets in the way of their "rightful" claim over women. Henry doesn't have to explain himself, because he feels entitled to have her even though she doesn't know who he is. He refuses to listen when she repeatedly says she's not interested out of entitlement and arrogance. He doesn't even consider that she might not be into men at all!! He forces the shoe on her, like putting shackles on her to claim her as his. He can be as violent as he wants, and she knows it'll be his word against hers if she makes a scene. So she tries not to.

Just. I really love that they didn't shy away from the realities of being queer women. So far most gay couples in sfth are in settings where being gay is accepted, like Ditch, like Bubbamiah. But Annabelle and Butch both don't get to be queer women (or non-men) in an ideal setting with zero homophobia and sexism, and those two intersect very nicely (and realistically) here.

[justarandomweeb]

Otay, saw requests were open and just wanted to yeet a Drabble idea/scenario so basically my sleep riddled brain had a thought “which Yandere LL bafoon would absolutely totally not misuse their knowledge of a Y/N who has tics with echolalia”

Context: I had a recent tic where I heard someone say “I love you” and I just started ticking “luv ya” for a minute. So imagine Rodimus “accidentally” setting off a tic like that. Or Rung realizing that tics get violent when stressed so he ever so kindly offer to be a grounding presence (basically a living weighted blanket) for when tics get bad to prevent the dear sweet liaison from getting hurt. Totally not because he wants to hold them noooo

Sorry if this makes zero sense I’m about to hit the hay like a sack of bricks.

(A/N) I didn't wanna offend anyone with tics since I don't know much about tics but, I definitely understand the struggles of having vocal stims and unconsciously saying words that that does not have aaaany correlation to the talk.

Oh its definitely Rodimus, he may laid back, and annoying but god you can't deny that he can be smart and sneaky and at times. Especially after the trigger, now that Tailgate has a taste, being the chatter bot he is talking about this encounter to Cyclonus and Whirl in the bar and now who in all ears? Swerve and if it hits Swerves radius, sooner or later every bot in the ship are trying to make you repeat those sweet sweet words of I Love You, treating you like a damn parrot.

Oh Rung, he's probably one of the bots you honestly say I love you without any embarrassment, he's such a nice bot that you don't feel any shame when you say those words compared to others. He has such a calming presence that those affectionate and warm feelings makes you feel happy that you'd even say I love you to him. But of course its definitely embarrassing to say I love you to anybody, especially your co-worker, maybe after the whole fiasco you can definitely tell him.

Ultra Magnus and Megatron is a 50/50, they got that imposing presence, but at least they won't make it into a big deal and make fun of you by cooing and asking you to say those words again. Right...?

Naudica, Skids, Tailgate, Rewind, Drift and Swerve, you can tell them I love you platonically, pfft I mean its not like they're into you so hard and delulu. Noooo its not like they have you saying I love you rent free in their processor, giggling like school girls in their rooms, no sirrrrrr.

[flightyalrighty]

I've been a (joking) "Ivan has never done anything wrong ever free him" fan but this week's page made me feel sick, but like in a good way. Like when Ivan killed Drago at least you can see the shock and fear in his eyes when he's realized what he's done. And yes it's gory and shocking but it's also almost absurd?

But this page just showcases the type of person Ivan is. He's so incredibly selfish and self-centered that he's willing to kill Sonic, a child, to get his way. And the way he does it is so brutal, smashing his head against the tree. Throwing the safe at least felt...idk, impersonal if that makes sense? I really like the size difference between them too. I know it's because of their difference in species but it also makes Sonic look that much younger and more vulnerable than him.

(Also I love that Ivan grabbed Sonic by his face instead of the back of the head since Sonic can rip through metal if he tenses his quills. It also makes the head smashing feel impersonal in a different way since Ivan can't see Sonic's face)

I also like how Ivan's selfishness is shown but almost kind of hidden since he was mostly interacting with unlikable people. Like yes the ringmaster was rude but he makes the point that Ivan has been late repeatedly. I noticed Ivan got annoyed when he referred to him as Ivan instead of Magnus backstage not in from of the crowd which... yeah? Who refers to someone by their character or stage name when they're not performing? That would've been the last straw for me too. Ivan demands respect he's not willing to give to others.

Sorry for all the droning but I just love this comic so much!

(Context: This was sent on June 6th)

YOU were picking up what I was putting down! I had no idea how to answer this in a way that would feel like a proper response, however! Which is why it took so long! Sorry about that!

Anyway, gold star for you.

⭐️

[the-indigo-symphony]

I really think we do a disservice to people when we place dissociation on this pedestal, making it out to be this big thing that no one is allowed to talk about except in the context of specific disorders. I'm pulling this particular quote from a random article I came across today, but seriously, dissociation is not only an everyday thing, but it's not an uncommon response to trauma.

Emotional numbness is a form of a mental health condition called dissociation. By itself, dissociation isn’t uncommon. Remember the last time you drove to the grocery store and couldn’t remember getting there? That’s a form of dissociation. In fact, if you’ve ever zoned out, lost track of time while reading a good book or daydreamed during your afternoon walk, you’ve experienced a form of dissociation. Similar to when you zone out, emotional numbness happens unconsciously. It’s the result of our minds disconnecting from our thoughts, actions, sense of self and sensory experience of the world around us.

[...]

Trauma, prolonged stress, anxiety, depression and grief all contribute to feeling emotionally shut down. Nemmers says medication, while lifesaving for many, can also trigger a side effect of emotional numbness.

Dissociation is not one specific thing caused by the worst of the worst. It can come from horrible things like prolonged abuse and neglect– you don't need to tell me that, I lived through it and came out of it with DID – but it's also just something just about everyone can expect to experience at one time or another, whether that's because we lost a loved one or because we get overwhelmed by shit going on in the world.

Even when talking about dissociation in the context of trauma, there's forms like this, where people go "emotionally numb" after a loss, because that loss was traumatic and so their brain is trying to protect them. So many people feel ashamed because of this perfectly normal and natural response to loss. Taking the word for what is going on in their head and saying it is being "misused" and "watered down" when it is not, or making it out to be this tragic condition that should never be spoken of... do you think that's going to help them? Or do you think more education on what dissociation actually is will help them?

Dissociation is just a thing that happens. Objecting to any use of the term that isn't somber discussion of a horrible experience that only originates from severe abuse doesn't help anyone.

I would rather more people "misuse" dissociation and actually understand it than have to walk on eggshells to talk about my system or how I respond to bereavement because using an accurate term sets off people's internal alarm bells of "this should not be talked about".

"Dissociation" as a term is kind of in a weird position compared to a lot of other medical terms that slowly enter public knowledge, because people expect it to be misused like OCD and delusions and so on; they assume people are using it for situations where it doesn't apply, that they are "watering down" an important concept. But the thing with dissociation is no, all these people who are using the term "dissociation" lightly are also using it correctly.

Zoning out is a form of dissociation. Daydreaming is a form of dissociation. Dissociation covers a lot of different things, from complex disorders to everyday behavior. People aren't "misusing a serious term" when they describe these experiences as dissociation, and they aren't hurting anyone who experiences more severe forms of dissociation by doing so. I'm not offended when people without DID describe their daydreams as dissociation, I'm happy that they can recognize there are healthy and everyday forms of dissociation, and so when they encounter dissociation in the context of trauma or a disorder, it hopefully won't be as scary to them.

This is a "yes and" situation, not a "no but" situation. Yes, zoning out is a form of dissociation! And this is how I experience "zoning out" as someone with a dissociative disorder! I'm glad you now have a better understanding of medical terminology and will hopefully be able to better understand any medical texts you come across in the future

If you're looking for people misusing "dissociation", I assure you there are still plenty of people who associate any mention of it with senseless violence. How about we tackle that first before deciding the word for a spectrum can only be used to describe the most extreme forms of it

[ilovetenna]

One of the most interesting things to me is Tenna’s ability to change size (and shape, though that is considerably limited). This ability isn’t the most consistent thing in terms of its context and application, so this is trying to make sense of it beyond simply “it’s just funny.”

First of all, Tenna’s size changing is dependent on his emotions. I feel this is relatively clear considering what happens in Ch3, but I think it’s worth reiterating since there are some confusing things involving his emotions and the fun meter.

Now, at first glance we could argue that his size is dependent on this fun meter. And I feel that on the surface this tends to add up. Generally, the higher the fun, the bigger he is, and the lower the fun, the smaller he is. But there are some variations in this that show he isn’t fully bound to the fun meter, and instead is more dependent on his overall emotions. A good example of this is the dead fun meter during the doom board sequence.

As you can see, he is full size. However the fun meter is fully depleted for obvious reasons. I feel that this shows the fun meter is separate from him, like a show prop of some kind. Though I still like interpretations that bond him to the fun meter, it can make for some silly jokes.

Nevertheless, this raises some questions. If his size is dependent on his emotions, then what emotions specifically make him larger or small?

The answer, from what I can tell, is that all strong emotions will make him bigger, but sadness and hopelessness are the ones that make him shrink.

The moments in which he is at his smallest always show him despairing. Whether it be a silly despair like in his introduction sequence, or after his fight, it’s still sadness nevertheless, and once he lets it consume him, he shrinks into… A tiny ant.

This is an important distinction to make between negative emotions and sad emotions. If he shrank with all negative emotions, then fear would also shrink him, and I don’t believe that to be true. During the whole TV world situation, he can be seen experiencing various forms of fear, like when he is trying to find Kris & Co. after they escape, or when he is begging people to not leave him. It is very clear that he is afraid in these scenes, as he talks frantically and misses details going on around him in order to fixate on one goal. If these emotions shrunk him, he would be much smaller way more often.

So now that we have narrowed down what technically makes him shrink and grow, let’s talk about why this is narratively interesting.

I have seen a variety of jokes about Tenna being a child of divorce. While I feel that is only one interpretation of his character, it is something that I find to be… An accurate description nevertheless. Not to get personal, but I am also a child of Divorce, and I can see very clearly how the impacts of fighting parents are reflected in Tenna. I think that this reading of his character is also supported by his size changing ability.

Think of it this way: When Tenna gets sad or upset or hopeless, he shrinks. He looks pathetic. He, intentionally or not, becomes small and vulnerable. He almost becomes “childlike” in that vulnerability, which parallels the idea of a child despairing through splitting parents. In his intro sequence, he very vocally expresses his distress to Kris & Co., but was surprised when they actually wanted to play with him. His smallness is trying to express his loneliness and despair so that maybe, just maybe, someone will care. However, whatever happens, he becomes complicit and follows along even if it means certain despair. His associations with childlike fears, emotions, and wants is something that, I feel, should not be ignored.

Considering Deltarune has a lot of themes about childhood neglect, abandonment, etc., Small Tenna’s behavior is not there for nothing. In a way, in those moments, perhaps he represents a Susie who wasn’t able to get over despair and make a friend. Perhaps he represents a Kris who was isolated and lonely during the divorce. But that’s getting into fanfic territory, and is stepping away from simply pointing out some observations on the source material.

When Tenna is large, we can see that he is much more capable of handling and managing complex things. He can run a show, even. But his smaller self does not want for grander things, and does not wish to make these larger things real. He wants simple things; love, attention, connection. If you are familiar with psychology, you may recognize these as “basic needs” in some models of thought.

That’s preeeetyyyy much all I have for this one. TLDR: Tenna Small = Sad & Hopeless Tenna. Tenna Large = Any Other Emotion Tenna. His mood is very visible and I feel that his sadness parallels other character’s struggles too.

[fell-e]

June 19th

Happy Birthday to me

I KNOW my birthday was already a few days ago, but the reasons for this delay and the lack of posts in general will be explained in the tags. Feel free to skip it tho!

This entire post is for the (at most: seven) Fayrouz fans whom I've promised to release "canon" lore of😭

Press read more for Fayrouz lore!

Before I infodump on my Turquoise lore, just want to let yall know that Fayrouz has two canons,

Turquoise AU (her actual canon storyline, i'd say)

and NRC AU (game adjacent au which i only made bc i wanted her to interact with the other characters).

Turquoise AU was based on a small animatic concept I made when I i finished Book 4 (around 3 years ago) where I wanted to give Jamil a cute shy girlfriend. Thatse it.... (p.s. i made a small ErosEpel AU and i might revive that too)

This animatic was heavily based on themes and symbolisms, like Turquoise Sky, Scalding Hot Sun, Golden Cage, etc, instead of actual Disney related stuff. And without that context Fayrouz being twisted from the sky wouldn't really make sense😭

In Turquoise AU, Fayrouz is a magicless, lowly servant. I haven't decided if Fayrouz will have parents yet, but even if she does, they're very emotionally abusive. Her perception of herself as disposable and more worthless than a grain of sand is what's relevant here, so either she adopts that mentality from the other servants or from her own parents.

One day, during a party, Fayrouz sees someone pour some suspicious liquid into someone's drink. Before the owner could drink it, she slapped it out of his hand. The person being Kalim. He asks her why she did that, and she tells him. A person put something inside his drink. The crowd erupts into chaos and they're both dragged away before they could say another word (Fayrouz for interrogation, and Kalim for protection)

Kalim (in my barely put together AU) is lowkey kinda lonely?? He has Jamil, sure. His siblings too. But after the first assassination attempt, he was forbidden from interacting with the other servants. even some of his own siblings. He's determined to befriend Fayrouz, because, in his mind, she's *safe*. She saved his life. That's enough proof for him, and apparently for his father, who allowed him to befriend Fayrouz (or try to)

Shenanigans ensue, where Kalim tries to interact with Fayrouz while she tries her best to avoid him. (She's intimidated by the Asim's. Doesn't help that an older servant told her lies that Kalim's dad beheads people to scare her). Kalim defeatedly asks Jamil for help, and talks to Fayrouz in his favour. This marks the prolouge? beginning? I guess? They all become friends.

I haven't really fleshed out the story after this, but I'll note some important info:

• Fayrouz's self esteem is absolutely dogshit. I'm talking down the shitters abysmal. Self-loathing to the absolute MAX. I say this because this is a crucial flaw of Fayrouz which leads to some crucial plot points.

• Fayrouz is immediately enamoured by Jamil. Fayrouz sees herself as clumsy, talentless and pathetic, so seeing someone her age be so talented was enough to envelop her in pure admiration (and jealousy, but it doesn't last long). She asks him to teach her everything he knows. And so, growing up, they did everything together. (I'll make comics exploring their relationship in the future if im able to🫠🫠🫠)

• An important plot point in this AU is Fayrouz going missing. Two years before Jamil and Kalim enter NRC, Fayrouz suddenly disappears.

• Im not sure how exactly they'd meet, but Kalim's relative Jasmir (canon relative. i checked. Not the name though, i made that up) forms a sibling-like bond with Fayrouz. Growing up as an only child, he craved for companionship, and was jealous of Kalim always being surrounded by younger siblings. He found the companionship he wanted in Fayrouz.

• Jasmir has a servant twisted from Rajah called Khan(placeholder name). He isn't important to the plot i just love him.

(Placeholder designs for now, but i love them💕)

[mistleaneous-chaos]

Disclaimer: Halfway through when I was writing this post initially, I took a break for a while since I didn't really know what I wanted to do with all the information in it, since I didn't understand the egg rooms in Chapters 3 & 4 Properly. Then I did understand them.

Finally got around to doing the egg room for chapter 3 after missing it and only getting the others and I am so glad I did.

I have lots of thoughts and want to sum them up here, so pardon me if I rehash information, speculate, or just sound outright unintelligible. These won’t just be limited to the Egg Rooms but will involve a good amount of stuff related to them.

There will be many things I discuss, and in the end I will be discussing a theory that I think others have had, but it's been one that's stewing in my brain and I desperately need to get it out.

I feel like out of all the egg rooms, this one and chapter 4’s really gave us a lot to think about in terms of the eggs themselves and their surroundings.

Chapter 3’s being the first ones we’ve seen with other beings is really interesting to me for a number of reasons.

In this room, Kris starts out as if they were not in the Dark World. And it makes sense because they’re not in the Dark World, they’re “Nowhere”. It’s not a place where darkness is deeper than it can be, nor is it the normal world, it is just that, Nowhere. And I think it's possible that whenever it started to become a real, tangible place when Kris visited, that's when it started to creep in, whatever it is that was outside of Nowhere, which is why Kris became their Dark World Form again, because the outside was coming in, the Dark was let inside of a place it wasn't aware of before.

It’s a place for people who are forgotten and “Copies”, such as:

the Rudinn “cards”.

Before anything serious I just love Kris’ thought process of “I suck at cards so I’ll just make my own copies!” These glimpses into their character pre-Us is always so charming to see. But anyways, the Rudinns give us some insight into certain “Rules”, such as those of copies. It’s a slight thing, but they tell us that copies have no color, and the only reason they do is because Kris gave them their color. Now this leads us to something people already probably knew about

The Goners, the characters in Undertale that had no real “place” outside of random chance. The Goners, to me, always seemed as if they were some kind of parodies of certain NPCs such as Monster Kid and The Clam Neighbor. Some of them may not exist in the world people inhabit(depending on FUN value), and some actively replace people who do exist, such as the clam neighbor. I still have no clue what they are meant for, but I do think that Gaster had a hand in their creation, considering the Goner Maker in Chapter 1 and the followers consistently mentioning him.

Everything that's been said about "Copies" takes more of a form when you also look at the pipeline of The Prophecy turning into The Lord of The Hammer turning into Dragon Blazers. Now, there's an entire discussion to be had with Dragon Blazers and Undertale (not Deltarune) and the symbolism of it being a "simplified" and "altered" version of Deltarune the way Dragon Blazers could have been of Lord of The Hammer and so on. But that's for another day. All I want to say is that I think there is a difference being drawn between copies and things that truly had passion put into them, after all:

It makes me think that maybe Gaster's Followers/The Goners could have either been copies of existing people such as Goner Kid(If they even are a copy)

Or some could have been beings that had something drained from them that caused their "color to fade", such as the Clam Girl/"Suzy's" Neighbor

Now then, this brings me to my last point:

The Forgotten Man.

The Forgotten Man, The Man that was behind the tree, is something that's been in the back of my head for years now.

And I think with Chapter 4, it's at least possible to interpret what he means in the context of the Egg Rooms.

In Chapter 3, he talks about how "You"(We'll just assume it's Kris for the sake of this discussion but it could very well be the Player) forgot about him multiple times, and he discusses things such as his schedule (The last part of which I totally think foreshadows Chapter 5's egg room because of Chapter 5 having been intended to be released alongside 3 & 4)

And also, he talks about the Egg. We learn what it is he gives us the egg for.

It's so we remember him.

Which brings me to what I think he means to Kris.

Throughout Chapters 3 & 4 Toby brings to light so many things he'd been foreshadowing with Dess, her disappearance, and what it did to Kris. And that brings us to Chapter 4's Egg Room.

Therapy.

In Chapter 3, when you get the Shadow Mantle, there's an enemy in the dungeon that you don't kill. Kris kills them.

There is no added context in-game for what it is, but in the files, you can see the placeholder for it.

A black deer.

December's disappearance was something that clearly affected Kris a good deal, and it becomes more and more apparent when you think about the things that they've done for "The Knight". They work with the Knight to create the Dark Fountains, but also close them. They do everything in their power to not impede the Knight, but they still want to make Susie and Ralsei happy.

I think that Kris is beholden to something that they promised Dess long ago, maybe around the time she disappeared. I think Kris flinched when they saw the Shelter in the game because they know what's in there. I think the reason they didn't immediately throw the controller out when you got in is because they were relieved. Because they realized that whatever force made the game didn't put what was actually in the shelter in the game.

I think the reason why Kris didn't open the closet even though Susie was gone and they could throw us out, is because they were scared of what they would see in the real world.

I think that Kris killed, or at least indirectly caused Dess' death. Do I think it was intentional? No. I do not think for a second Kris ever would have purposefuly harmed her. I think Kris regrets it. I think they regret it every single second they're awake. And I think, that more than anything else, they try to Forget it.

The Forgotten Man, I think, either represents or parallels the way that Kris constantly represses everything about Dess' disappearance. I think that every time Kris remembers something, they immediately push it down. They keep forgetting...

But we just keep. pushing.

Every time we push to remember, they forget. And every time they forget, the path to reach those memories again gets more and more complex. We went from going into a random room over and over again(With the only thing to remind them of her being an enemy that throws STARS at us), to finding a random room hidden behind a stained glass window with one part of it that resembled an egg.

We just push. and push. and push. And every time we push, the dam gets leakier.

Because at first it was just an egg. Then it was still an egg. But then it was a conversation with a man they want to forget. And then it was a painting that they so desperately wanted to forget about. And next? If the clues are right? We're going to Asgore's Dark World.

And while Tenna only referenced Dess in a manner that implied her being alive? Asgore is heavily implied to have a very, very, personal stake in Dess' disappearance.

I think that the purpose of the eggs is not something tangible that'll be visible in-game or in stats. But rather, I think that they're a sign that we are on the path that leads to Kris finally having to confront whatever it is that they want so badly to forget. And I don't know if it'll have an effect on the game, but I think it'll have an effect on Kris. And whether or not they move on from it, from feeling indebted to a rotting corpse, from feeling like they owe Carol or whoever's manipulating them their service, I think that maybe, juuust maybe, it'll lead us down a path that, while not important to our progress, is important to Kris' progress as a person.

[ladyloveandjustice]

#on the one hand steph not being a prodigy like the other bats but doing what they do anyway fearlessly is one of her most charming traits#and I say this as someone who's other favorite bat characters are damian and cass i love prodigies in fiction#but it doesn't feel true to who steph is. she's always defined herself as one of the 'have-nots' in a world of 'haves'#but you're absolutely right that it boggles my mind how she's genuinely so good in canon when you take context into consideration#they never ONCE mention fighting training! not even a perfunctory 'oh steph got in lots of scraps as a kid'#because...i genuinely don't know why not!#post-52 after Steph has had SO much bat training she's still extremely low ranked in the batfamily in terms of abilities#i stand beside the fact that tim may have technique but steph has raw strength creativity and a scrappiness that could give her edge#she should at least be able to take tim. i feel this in my heart (no hate to tim)

I do agree that Steph having to struggle is part of what makes her so relatable, but it just...wasn't written in a way that made much sense when you look at what she can do vs how little support she had. There are other ways to write her as having to work harder (she could struggle in specific areas but be acknowledged as prodigious in others, for example) that would have been more consistent Either way, it would have been realistic to have seen leaps of improvement by the time she was Robin.

It's kind of the double edged sword-- Steph being an underdog, her resilience, not giving up when everyone's against her, is part of what makes her loveable and inspiring, yet the reason she's was an underdog is because of sexist writing where other characters's treatment of her was often incredibly condescending at best or nonsensical and cruel at worst.

As for Tim, yeah she should absolutely be on his level at the very least Look at this part in Robin 5-- In one corner, Tim has been trained by Lady Shiva and Batman and fought multiple big deal supervillains. In the other corner, we have Steph is out crimefighting on her own for her second time ever with only high school gymnastics experience and scrappiness to rely on.

She gets the drop on him and overpowers him! It might not have stayed that way if the fight had continued, I'm sure Tim-Drake's-gotta-be-the-best truthers would say, but the fact she gives him this kind of beating when there's such a huge experience gap between them?

(and also. despite his claim here it didn't hurt that much he then immediately indicates it actually did and even complains about it in the first page of the next issue, which I always found very funny)

(Tim you're the same size)

So, realistically, you look at this and think she should be better, or at least as good as Tim, if she receives the same training.

And it wouldn't be a knock against Tim if she had been more skilled than him in that area after recieving Batman training, he often admits that he's not the athletic prodigy other Robins are, that that's not his strongest area, his strengths have always been strategizing and outthinking threats, and he can outdo Steph in that area easily.

One thing that always bothered me as a kid, and still bothers me, is it honestly makes so little sense Steph didn't rank super high on the scale of Martial Artists after receiving the Robin training, if it's so amazing. Considering what she could do while untrained, the experience she had, it's baffling that no one ever considered her a prodigy, or that she wasn't at least notably more skilled than say, Tim was, when she started out as Robin.

Like, Steph was in the field and knocking out grown men twice her size with zero training. It was not even mentioned that she took martial arts classes or anything to explain how she can do this, just gymnastics and softball. And both were high school gymnastics, high school softball, not fancy expensive classes??? Even Babs, in Batgirl Y1 had the advantage of having taken martial arts classes and presumably a lot more since her goal was to be in the FBI.

Meanwhile Steph like. She's jumping off rooftops and surfing trains and taking down bad guys with nothing. Tim's gone through extensive Batman training and trained with Lady Shiva and all this stuff, and obviously she's not as good as him and needs him to watch her back at times, but she can keep up with him, and even saves him or get the jump on him quite a few times, and that's incredible when you think about it. Tim gave her gadgets and instructions in the field, but it's never shown that he taught her any moves.

There's even a panel where Batman notes Stephanie almost snuck up on him and "not many people can do that" when again, no training, no martial arts classes, this is way before he agreed to give her any help at all-- and then for some reason, after noting this girl with no training is more talented than most people he knows, just keeps telling her she's not good enough and should go home.

That's a ridiculous level of raw talent, and it's honestly so bizarre nobody in the Batfamily ever noted that and kept telling her to go home. When she does get training, it's very sporadic, it is not clear how much Batman or Black Canary trained her the first time, he disappeared on her and then fired her as soon as he came back, and we never saw her get trained on screen by Dinah (the only person who ever acknowledged she had talent). She sparred with Cass, but Cass never taught her anything. Despite all this, she was noticeably getting way better during the era.

But when she received the six month Robin training that's supposed to make them so strong or whatever...how did that not result in her being a prodigy? She's the only Robin who was an experienced superhero before she took on the mantle?

Bruce literally tells her "Tim did this better" when he was training her about something, which makes no sense considering she came into being Robin with way more skills and experience and martial arts prowess??? When she was surviving on her own and fighting villains before that? When she could nearly sneak up on Bruce even before that?

You could claim she's a "bad student" or whatever, but she was a clearly very good at taking her gymnastic coach's instructions, enough to become a genius at it, so that doesn't really hold water.

The only explanation that would make any sense would be that Bruce taught her badly on purpose. which. unfortunately wouldn't be too far out of character from how he treated her in that era. (And that she apparently improved a lot under Babs tutelage as Batgirl but not his. So. Not a good look for him)

I mean the real answer for why all this makes no sense is DCs misogyny ofc. But it’s pretty wild how there’s no justification for this in universe.

[justafewberries]

Does Katniss still respect Peeta after the hijacking? If not is that just a defense mechanism a reaction to verbal abuse and grief or are those things just the cause of real contempt? Or are those things not the same as disrespect?

Adding your context from the other ask here: That last question is not a dig at Katniss and Peeta (who lost respect for Katniss due to being hijacked) I'm wondering if contempt is a separate factor.

She still respects him, but I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here to use your ask to explore symbolism having to do with respect. When characters eat together, when they "break bread" together, it's a form of communion and respect. so when peeta appears in the cafeteria with this scene:

I'm starving and the stew is so delicious--beef, potatoes, turnips, and onions in a thick gravy--that I have to force myself to slow down. All around the dining hall, you can feel the rejuvenating effect that a good meal can bring on. The way it can make people kinder, funnier, more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to goon living. It's better than any medicine. So I try to make it last and join in the conversation. Sop up the gravy on my bread and nibble on it as I listen to Finnick telling some ridiculous story about a sea turtle swimming off with his hat. Laugh before I realize he's standing there. Directly across the table, behind the empty seat next to Johanna. Watching me. I choke momentarily as the gravy bread sticks in my throat. "Peeta!" says Delly. "It's so nice to see you out…and about." Two large guards stand behind him. He holds his tray awkwardly, balanced on his fingertips since his wrists are shackled with a short chain between them.

It ends with her telling us:

Gale finishes his milk. "You done?" he asks me. I rise and we cross to drop off our trays. At the door, an old man stops me because I'm still clutching the rest of my gravy bread in my hand.

Meaning Katniss did not eat with Peeta at the table. She stopped eating. She did not cast her bread aside and throw it away, however, she took it with her. She gripped it in her hand and didn't realize she was holding it until someone pointed it out.

So, symbolically, one could say she did not share the respect of eating with him, but I still think it's symbolic how she held onto the bread, as if keeping her respect stashed away, but not yet gone. Kind of like how Haymitch points out the "bread in her hand" when he calls to knock some sense into her in squad 451.

[uniquethingtastemaker]

*confused screaming*

I just did the math. I had a mental break while replying to a comment on one of my posts.

Riddle's Dreaming of You is 32k words atm (I'll update the Masterpost)

*stunned silence. rapidly blinks, unable to process. tilts head, staring at the screen*

...It isn't 100% done either. Intense progress has been made since I last mentioned it in a comment. Instead of 10 or 7 scenes that I need to work on, I only have 3! We're getting somewhere. I have a majority... or at least a good chunk of every scene, so that's good.

It’s improvement!! Deuce reminds me every day that even small progress is progress (that's a line in the fanfic btw lol. Riddle thinks it)

I knew it increased to 29k, but going over 30k is unexpected

...How long were these supposed to be?? I think I said 20k-ish. Well... that's about 10k over...

For context, the one work I consider to be one of the biggest is Rook x Observant Reader. I just ran the calculations (there's a lot of content in the scrap pile of my Google Doc, 15k for this one). It's currently 46k words. However, I haven't written a lot of the "3rd Act." So... idk how much that's going to add... I originally estimated it to be 40k.

Maybe whatever I estimate it to be, I should add 10k. So... this one might be over 50k. That seems like a lot, though...

Update: It’s not a lot. Honestly, it’s probably going to be like 55k+ or something. Apparently, I wrote 2k words last night for Riddle. It’s 34k now. I changed the ending and added a scene. I swear I’m not delaying it on purpose. I just have no sense of time or how much I write. I’ll make an actual to-do list both for myself and you all lol. I have…

(Short) Describe Riddle’s Overblot Form

(Medium?) “After Overblot” Section Rewrite

(Small) Finish Card Exchange

(Small Fill… probably) [Undisclosed Unbirthday Party Event]

(Medium) Sidebar

(Long Long…ohhh, i forgot about this one) Rose Bushes

(Medium) Tactile Grounding

(Long… also forgot about this) Finish/Rewrite Reactions to Deuce’s Idea

(……Medium) Clean up modified version and execution of Deuce’s Idea

(Medium Small?) Clean up Riddle’s POV

(Long... Long?) Finish the aftermath of Grim's Stunt and Last Gift Exchange

(Monster) Ending scene(s?)… the Monster is back, and I’m not just talking about the word count…

Oooooh, scary~ *wiggles fingers*

Character growth is beautiful and I take it seriously.

Obviously, I don’t make to-do lists that often. I should. I underestimate how much I actually have. I swear that the changes are worth it! I haven’t touched the first half of the fanfic because it’s completely fine. It’s going to come out. I promise. Anyone can come to the conclusion I don’t have a great grasp on my work load based on the evidence above. So, yeah, I just have terrible estimations lol

…I’m not going to even explain the ordering for this. I don’t even know

I hope people are excited! I am. Comment and interact. Curious to see what you all think about my summary section hints lol. You know the drill. Now, I’m going to go write. Wish me luck. Feel free to guess how many words I gain. Although I might hop to a different fanfic because sometimes that happens

[cosmos-dot-semicolon]

*checks notes* Yeah all the jokes have been made about this matchup already. Makes sense with the overlap in fans.

...I think Hawaii Part 2 has some really good songs, but a lot have runtimes that really drag and outstay their welcome. The sound effects on the instrumentals can also be pretty gratuitous, which makes the final album sound more padded than some of the simpler demos.

Also the lore isn't very good. Most of Tally Hall's stuff is vague, and about some theme that's open to interpretation. Hawaii Part 2 is also vague, but is more about a series of events. It feels like you're watching a mystery (or maybe a tragedy, depending on how you read it), but it's all very much 'this happened. and then this happened. and then'.

My favourite song (but not really) from that album is Tally Hall's demo of Time Machine. My actual favourite song from that album is Labyrinth, which probably tells you a bit about my priorities in music.

Meanwhile, most of Will Wood's instrumentals and lyrics are well-performed and have good rhythms, regardless of whether you like the context of them. And even if you don't like the messages or themes or lyrics in Wood's songs, he's usually very upfront with them, which I respect more than gesturing at ideas and getting your listeners to do the hard bit of writing the songs' meanings for you.

(That being said. These are two great albums. I have listened to them many times over)

[ussrs-wife]

Trying to coin a umbrella term but i’m lowkey inexperienced

Metaminzu is a term for those who experience race, ethnicity, and/or nationality in a trans or deemed unconventional way

• Meta- (from metamorphosis) — change and personal transformation.

• Minzu (民族) — a Chinese word meaning race, ethnicity, and nation depending on context.

Flag meaning.

black stripes on top and bottom — refusing to fade away + anyone whose express their metaminzu identity in a non-conforming way

red stripes (below and above the black ones) — anyone who identifies as “metaminzu” and wasnt mentioned on the other stripes

yellow stripes (above and below the red stripes) — xeno- identities that fall under the metaminzu umbrella

pink stripes (above and below the yellow stripes) — nationality, countries, landmasses, territories, transnation (transnationality + some translocation identities) umbrella

cyan stripe (above one of the pink stripes) — ethnicity, ethnic groups,

blue stripe (below one of the pink stripes) — race, racial groups, trace umbrella

blue stripe (bigger one, above the white one) — europe and everything about it

white stripe on the middle — antarctica and everything about it

green stripe (below the white one) — africa and everything about it

yellow stripe (large one on the middle) — asia and everything about it

red stripe (right besides the yellow one on the middle) — north america and everything about it

orange stripe (right besides the yellow one on the middle) — south america, central america and everything about them

Pinkish-redish stripes (besides the principal red one and the principal yellow one) — australia and everything about it

purple stripes — oceania and everything about it

circle with symbol on the middle — symbol is the mix of the earth symbol with a butterfly, that represents change, rebirth and/or transformation. Black also represents refusing to fade away, white represents harmlessness and acceptance. Symbol being colorful represents diversity.

symbol (both transparent, no color / colorful versions)

+

symbols used to make it

i hope this all makes sense and iam not just tweaking

BTW my blog got termed for the second time and this is my first post 😭

i heavely disliked that there were no umbrella term for those so i made this

tell me if ya feel like i should add anything,,

[avocado-writing]

Perpetua is definitely a sweetheart to his partner, he’s friendly & professional to people that he works with, but he will be intimidating to any pushy/rude people.

Like- someone starts arguing & trying to pick a fight with you during an after-party. Then there’s a huge hand on the person’s shoulder. They can feel Perpetua’s furious glare before even turning around. Perpetua doesn’t make a scene or draw any unnecessary attention, but he clearly wants to throw the aggressor out of the room. He might say a few words, or nothing, but the jerk who was bothering you clearly gets the message.

"I'm just saying, I think it makes a lot of sense if you think about the context of the band before they went big, you know?"

You let out an unenthusiastic hmm and do your best not to seem too impolite. This guy has been talking to you for thirty uninterrupted minutes about a group you don't like and have no interest in chatting about - he never even asked you your opinion on them - but he has you cornered. Literally. He is using his body to block your way out of the corner of the room. You don't really want to make a scene so you're letting it happen right now, but you can tell he's pushing in closer and you're getting uncomfortable. Maybe he's just drunk and doesn't realise. Maybe he's sober and does. Either way you don't like it.

You really wish you knew where Perpetua was. He promised to leave with you after he was done with some admin after the ritual, but you've not seen him for the best part of an hour. Probably caught up with Papa business, which you suppose is important, but you wish he'd be your knight in black silk and come rescue you from all this.

"Hey, are you listening?"

Putting on a strained smile, you drag your attention back to him.

"Sorry, I think I'm needed somewhere else--"

You try and excuse yourself and squeeze past, but suddenly there is a hand grabbing your arm.

"I'm not done talking with you yet--!"

And you would fight back, but then you see your Perpetua.

The thing about your lover is that he doesn't merely approach, he looms; it can be quite unnerving if you're not used to it. You tear your eyes up from the man's face and make eye contact with Perpetua, who cocks his head to the side, a silent question of are you alright?

When you give a minute shake of your head, his claws land on the man's shoulder. The man startles and looks over, his eyes tracing up Perpetua's arm until it meets his odd, mismatched gaze.

"You are being a bother. Please be gone," Perpetua states, in a way which doesn't bear arguing with. Low, level, quiet. The man tries, though.

"Listen, we were just talking..."

Perpetua narrows his eyes and sweeps his head down. His lips curls into a smile as he whispers something into the man's ear, who quickly loses all colour from his face. The man promptly lets you go and practically runs away, and you have absoloutely no idea to know what unearthly things he just heard.

"There. The matter is settled. Are you alright? I am sorry I got held up, I came here as fast as I could."

"Yes, thank you." You step forward and wrap your arms around him, finding an anchor in his skinny frame and cold skin. "Let's go home."

"I will do whatever you want, my love," he whispers into your ear, and you melt, because you know it's true.

[tfbeetle]

This. This so genuinely.I love the depth of the obvious statements like these in TFB’s music, whether to start the song or sprinkled in between and I think they tell a lot more when you think of them in a context of “this is something the writer wants us to hear, and is relevant to the story etc” I like knowing this and tying it to how I feel and perceive the song. I love that these lyrics feel like personal annotations about the situations/etc he’s describing, and that it gives you such a unique perspective. It’s a small part of what makes the e front bottoms music, to me, so unique and particular , and makes their lyrics feel so hard because it’s able to feel so deeply personal almost in a “words left unspoken” kinda of way, if that makes sense. You’re able to find your own personal meaning and it really sticks with you. i love hearing what he as to say. I love the story their lyrics tell. I love how relatable and to the point it is. I love music yayyyy

I love when the front bottom songs just start with just like obvious statements like "sometimes I cry when I get sad" or "she feels emotion"

[princessbubblecup]

More 80s catkid stan! Kapow!

First post for context, @dark-lord-of-awesomeness 's au!

And also without his anti unicorn sight glasses

I imagine stan wasnt the type to care too much about, like, style as a kid, so he wouldnt really think about clothes.

I also think ford took quite a few months-- if not longer-- to feel emotionally stable enough to go out in public for something like shopping (and hed rather stan wouldnt leave the house without him anyways) so i think for a while at least theyd ask carla and fiddleford to do clothes shopping.

I also think the moment either of them got stan something a little too country or dorky he'd develop a sense of style just to complain and insist he go with them next time.

If ford did shop, he'd either go full memory-dive in order to get stuff he remembers young stan wearing, or just make him look like a mini nerd. Sweater vests and button ups all the way to go with his nerd glasses, bay-bee.

Would stan think looking like a nerd makes him look like his ford would? Idk. Maybe.