#also hi! i never made a reintroduction post

[youmearepeaches]

as someone who hasn’t been on tumblr since like 2016, using it in the year 2022 has been a shock. two things in particular

•the use of an app. I don’t remember if there was an app back then but I definitely didn’t use it. the experience is so different?

•the recommendation tabs. I guess that’s how social media works right now and I sort of like it?

[lover-of-mine]

ngl it makes me nervous that in episode ONE after only TWO MONTHS of dating, our first intro to eddie and marisol together is them in his house being domestic and smiling at his son as if they’re both his parents….. i know ryan said their relationship would be up and down and later on eddie is considering how she fits in his life, but they seem to be serious and settled real quick. like not only has she met chris already but she’s hanging at their house with them?? hmm what are your initial thoughts post-premiere?

Okay, imma start this off by saying I only watched the episode once and I usually type my metas and theories out after at least 2 watches (I do one for the plot and one for details) so I might come back to this later. Also, my first reaction to this was actually "Shannon's ghost had more screentime, we're fine". But one, we didn't actually see the date, we saw Eddie telling Buck about the date, even Ana had multiple dates we saw as they happened not as flashbacks, and Eddie was having panic attacks about her. Two, the show made a big show of how Chris is being supportive this time around and Eddie has this whole no secrets thing with Chris policy so Marisol being at the house makes some sense when you look at it that way. Three, this one is less about the episode and more about Eddie's character as a whole, Eddie overcorrects with everything that went wrong once. From telling Chris he can do anything and being ready to crush that because Chris fell off a skateboard to quitting without a second thought because Chris was scared. Tia Pepa said he's gonna die alone, so he went golfing and hiking to meet people when we never saw him golfing or hiking. His automatic reaction to doing something wrong is to do the opposite. And that reflects on his relationships too. He barged into the loft because Buck was mopping after almost dying and that ended with Buck and Chris getting caught in the tsunami, so the next time Buck died, he stayed off Maddie's list and waited for Buck to come to him. He held Shannon at arm's length for months and then she died so he lost months he could've had with her, so when Buck apologizes he forgives him with no hesitation. Shannon kept accusing him of not actually being present in their relationship with him joining the army, so he's all with Ana way too fast. And that could be the case with Marisol too. I stand by the fact we still don't have enough information on Marisol to get anything definitive, which in itself is proof they are not trying to make us care about her or the relationship, but the thing it's the couples episode, the characters reintroduction episode, the show of dynamics episode, and Marisol's introduction as Eddie's girlfriend episode, and it has more of Eddie's dead wife than his girlfriend (which is exactly what I needed, justice for Shannon Diaz and the way she was written to be fridged). Sure, Marisol is chaperoning with Eddie, but Eddie is talking to Buck about the date, not in the date, so the date is not even relevant enough for us to actually see it, and sure she's existing in the same space as Chris but when Eddie needs actual help with the situation, he goes to Buck. We also don't know how she met Chris, and we didn't see them interact, so we don't know how she exists in Chris' life yet. So, like, we're fine.

And also, Buck and Eddie have some personal growth to do before they can get together in a satisfying way and that could absolutely come from low-stakes relationships with other people, like Eddie learning to have fun and Buck learning how to ask for things.

[dulcewrites]

Masterlist

Welcome! You can call me Flower. I am a relatively new writer (fanfic wise). This is my side blog so replies/follows will come from dulcelibra. I write basically anything. Fluff, angst etc. So far the fandoms I’ve written for are: Top Gun Maverick, Outer Range, and House of the Dragon. I am open writing for other fandoms so just let me know if you have any request. My inbox is always open. I try to upload or post regularly, even if it is just posting ideas for feedback. That being said, I would appreciate patience. Also I do have works that are ambiguous readers but as a black woman is important for me to represent that in my writing. Please like, reblog, and follow if you see anything you like 🫶🏽🫶🏽

Ao3

Top Gun Maverick

Good Wife: As their marriage goes through a rough patch, Nia finds her reevaluating her relationship with Bradley, and what she signed up for when she said ‘I Do’. Slight character study based on some lyrics from good wife by Kacey Musgraves (Bradley x oc)

Crush Preview

Outer Range

Despite My Better Judgement: Your eccentric but kind hearted best friend tasks you with the duty of throwing “the best bachelorette party ever” in Wyoming of all places. An unexpected night with a brooding cowboy happens.

New Traditions: As the first holiday season in your new home approaches, Rhett and you start new traditions and make promises

Moodboard*

House of the Dragon

Fool Me Once (multi part - finished): Learning about Aemond’s indiscretions hurts more than you thought it would, and leads you to accepting help from an unlikely source (Aemond x reader)

Finding Common Cause (multi part- on going): A little white lie on Helaena’s part lands both Aemond and Myrah in situation they can’t get out of (Aemond x oc)

Blood in the Water (multi part - on going): Some will say that the deaths of Lady Laena Velaryon and Ser Laenor Velaryon, daughter and son of the Sea Snake and Queen That Never Was, were the first cracks in the long standing alliance between House Velaryon and House Targaryen. But most claim it was sudden union between Ser Vaemond Velaryon's daughter and the King's first born son. (Aegon x oc)

Intrinsically Linked: Love and Pain are two sides of the same coin. Fluid and never ending. Laena and Alicent both know that all too well.

Drowned in Love (multi part): Love in painful and all consuming, and the three of them would not have it any other way. (Aemond x alys x oc)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (paused): Sometimes Aegon is sure that the Gods like playing tricks on him. Your reintroduction into his life only proves that further (modern hotd au, Aegon centric).

Acquired Taste (paused): Sometimes the hungry grows too strong. Edith and Aegon know that all too well. (Modern au Aegon x oc)

Unnerved: Being at court is a game is a game, and your favorite player is a certain long haired prince (Aemond x reader)

Fire & Desire: Many sacrifices have been made to get Aegon on the throne. Including ones made by you (Aegon x reader x aemond)

Paparazzi: Loving Aemond is cherry pie (modern au Aemond centric)

Gone… But Not Forgotten (request): Aemond and you always had a great relationship. But as the Dance of the Dragons begins and tensions rise, you find yourself on the outside looking in (Aemond x reader)

Promises and Premonitions (request): Since finding out you’re with child, you’ve been having the strangest nights (Aemond x reader)

For You Always: you always knew Aemond had a soft spot for you, but you always just assumed it was him wanting to look out for his brother’s wife. Soon you find out that his devotion knows no bounds (Aemond x reader)

Oc list

[chaotic-aro-incarnate]

Listen I don't think we appreciate how big of an impact the casting of Fish Upon the Sky has had for like so much of the development of gmmtv bls

FUTS was originally going to star Pond and Winny

It was then changed to Pond and Phuwin and Winny was given a minor role along with Satang

P'Aun notices Winny and Satang's chemistry between their characters

When adapting My School President, P'Aun decides to change the plot of MSP and writes out the love triangle of tinn/gun/sound and replaces it with Sound & Win being a couple

MSP does numbers and now Winny and Satang are an official branded pair

Winny and Satang then play a couple together in We Are

Back to Pond and Phuwin! Because of FUTS the two become a branded pair

P'Jojo said he was specifically thinking about Pond and Phuwin when developing Never Let Me Go, so there's a good chance the show wouldn't have happened at all if PondPhuwin wasn't a thing (or at least look very different or be given to a completely different set of actors)

Pond and Phuwin also starred in We Are together

But back to NLMG, Perth and Chimmon are first introduced as a branded pair in that show

Perth and Chimmon then star in Dangerous Romance together (it is impossible to know if gmmtv would have ever made them a pair if nlmg didn't exist but for the sake of this post, let's assume that they wouldn't be a thing without nlmg establishing them)

Perth and Chimmon were also set to be in Perfect 10 Liners together, but Chimmon has since dropped the project and Santa Pongsapak has been recast in his role

Back to NLMG, in the Our Skyy 2 special episodes, Marc and Pawin are teased as a pair after having no projects together since 2020 (with My Gear Your Gown)

Shortly after, Dangerous Romance starts airing where Marc and Pawin play the side couple (the os2 was clearly setting up their reintroduction. also worth noting that marc was not in the regular nlmg and pawin was in many of the other os2 eps, so it's a deliberate choice to do this in the nlmg eps)

Marc and Pawin are then set to be in We Are together as well, but due to controversy, Pawin steps down and now Marc is paired with Poon

Back to FUTS!

Before Phuwin took over the lead role, I believe he was supposed to play either Neo or Louis' character (I think it was Neo's) but the point is that they had to recast that role and now Neo and Louis are a pair

Neo and Louis are then cast as the side couple in The Eclipse

Only Friends comes out and Neo gets cast, but allegedly Louis' mom didn't want him star in such a high heat show with sex and drugs and whatnot, so Neo is now paired with Mark

Neo and Mark are then cast as a couple in Cooking Crush, but because gmmtv overbooked him, Mark had to step down from the project and was recast with Aungpao

(this on I have the least evidence for) but Mark is going to be the lead in Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist and is paired with Ohm Thipakorn, which if he and Neo had done Cooking Crush together and cemented themselves as a branded pair, could have been different

Anyways the casting, development, or even very existence of: My School President, We Are, Never Let Me Go, Dangerous Romance, Perfect 10 Liners, The Eclipse, Only Friends, Cooking Crush, and Sweet Tooth Good Dentist, have all been influenced by the existence of Fish Upon the Sky.

Whether or not Fish Upon the Sky is a good show or not is it's own debate. But one thing we can all agree on is that it has shaped a toooon of shows and will continue to do so as these branded pairs make more shows and get recast and so on and so forth. And all of this is directly because they recast Winny with Phuwin.

[benkyoutobentou]

（再）自己紹介 | Langblr Reintroduction!

皆さん　こんにちは！I recently hit a follower milestone and figured that it was time to reintroduce myself, as it's been quite a while, and I don't really have much information about me easily accessible on my blog. Additionally, I'd like to actually write stuff down about how this blog is organized. じゃあ、始めましょう！

Hi, my name is Nobody (they/them), my native language is English, and I like studying languages! Languages have interested me ever since I was a child, but I feel like I never knew how to properly learn a language until I started studying Japanese in 2020. Now, I also study Mandarin Chinese and German! Japanese is my main target language, and I would some day like to make Japanese my primary language. Yes, that means I'm interested in moving to Japan long-term.

Immersion is my favorite way to study, but as of right now, most of my immersion has been done in Japanese. Please tell me what you're reading or watching, or ask me what I'm reading or watching! I especially love talking about books and manga and would be more than willing to share recommendations!

Outside of language learning, my hobbies include horseback riding, gardening, and reading (in English). I also have a degree in music performance, but I don't really consider that to be a hobby since it's something I'm actively pursuing as a career.

As for my blog, I keep it mostly Japanese focused, mainly because I made this blog when I was only studying Japanese, but my other languages do show up once in a while, and much of the content I post/reblog isn't tied to a single language. Here are the tags I frequently use to organize my blog and what they all mean:

#benkyou posting - these are my own posts! These are usually tagged with at least one of the other tags, as this tag just denotes that I was the one who made it, not necessarily the content that it contains.

#languages - these are posts that are typically tied to a specific language or the specific study of languages. Resources for learning languages will also show up here.

#tips - these posts are general studying tips and may not be specifically about language learning, but are applicable to the study of languages.

#study - these posts are aesthetic posts of peoples' notes and study spaces.

#inspo - these posts are inspirational posts, for when you might have a bit of trouble getting into the study mood.

#art - this is just for Japanese art! Usually, it'll be traditional arts and I must admit that I'm a sucker for woodblock prints. If I reblog any sort of Japanese fashion (think more kimonos), it'll also show up here.

#culture - these are posts about the cultural aspects of Japan, such as explanations of festivals and the such.

#aesthetic - these are just beautiful photos of Japan, mostly temples. Again, these are just photos I like, and I really like shrines and castles (once someone called me a "temple weeb" and I'm still laughing about it).

#memes - this tag is for anything fun! Memes aren't the only thing that go in here- things such as polls and silly text posts will also show up here.

Things that I don't post or reblog include vocabulary lists and grammar explanations. I have nothing against them, I just don't particularly use them on tumblr and therefore find no reason to put them on my own blog. I've made a few vocabulary lists in the past, but have found that it's just not for me! Remember that language learning is a deeply personal journey and what works for you might not work for me and vice verse. Just because these things aren't particularly what I look for out of langblr content doesn't mean that they're not important to other people, but I would like to be clear about what shows up (and doesn't!) on my blog.

So welcome to my blog! I hope you choose to stick around a while! And for those who don't know Japanese, my blog name means "studying and lunch boxes."

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Hair Trigger

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam, YJ98

Summary: A junior at Gotham University, Jason finds it difficult to conceal his worsening mental health from his family and his friend, Jon Lane Kent. Family secrets are revealed and boundaries are pushed as Jason and Laney struggle to navigate through school, their romantic feelings, and their trauma. Could the reintroduction of Laney Kent be more trouble than it's worth, or is it just what Jason needed to confront the demons of his past?

I will also do trigger warnings for chapters and if there is smut I have the chapter(s) tagged so you don't have to worry about nsfw in the fic if you're just here for the story itself.

Chapters: 5/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Jonathan Lane Kent, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Conner Kent, Natalia Knight, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Cassie Sandsmark, Chris Kent, Bart Allen, Original Character(s)

Relationships: JayLaney, Clois, TimKon

Additional Tags: University AU, No Powers AU, Sharing A Bed, Romance, Angst

Chapter Five: Image

Clark hesitated a while before knocking on the door. Laney answered the door and turned to go back to cooking dinner without so much as a greeting. "Where's your roommate?" Clark asked as he shut and locked the door behind him.

"She's out of town for the weekend. Where's your stuff?" Laney asked as he washed his hands and checked on the food in the oven.

"It's in the car. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with me staying this weekend?" Clark asked. Laney nodded. "I'm gonna go get my things then, and I'll be right back..."

"Okay... Dad, do you want onion on your burger or no?" Laney asked.

"Onion is fine, thank you," Clark replied as he walked out the door and went back downstairs. He carried his clothes for the weekend in a duffle bag and his air mattress under his arm.

This time, Clark took the elevator instead of the stairs. He opened the door with one hand, and Laney came back over to take the air mattress and set it aside. "How do you like your classes? I remember you said you changed your major," Clark asked.

"I like it... I'm a music therapy major now, by the way," Laney answered as he took the food out of the oven and made Clark's plate. "What're you working on? Anything I should know about?" Laney asked. Clark placed his phone on the counter.

"I interviewed an influencer in Bludhaven," Clark replied, "And we talked about the future of marketing, which used to be your major."

"Yeah? Send me the link when you post it... It sounds interesting," Laney whispered as he poured Clark a glass of milk and poured himself a drink. "Here you go, Dad."

"Thank you," Clark smiled as he bit into his burger. Laney started to eat and took a sip of gin. "You drink?"

"Mhm, not on school nights, though..." Laney replied after taking another sip. "Also, I figured that we would eat before talking about anything serious."

Clark took a sip of his milk. "Oh, no, I wasn't judging you. I was just making an observation," Clark replied, "What's your roommate like?"

"She's a sweet kid. She's a freshman, never lived away from home before, theatre major, and she's a genuinely kind person to be around. It's like having a cool little sister around," Laney answered as he went back to eating, "And don't worry, I'm being nice to her. How're the boys?"

"They're doing good... Chris tries not to show it, but he misses you a lot," Clark confessed, "He won't let anyone move anything on your side of the room."

"I'll talk to him soon," Laney whispered, "I miss him too." They continued to eat in silence for a while, and Laney finished his drink.

"Laney, I can't do this... I just wanna know what happened? I wanna fix things—."

Laney got up and poured himself another glass. "Can I ask you a question first? When you sent me away, why couldn't you just say you loved me back?" Laney asked. He leaned in, tapping his nails on the counter. He took a swig of his second drink.

"Because if I said it, I never would've been able to send you away. All I wanted to do was take it back," Clark whispered, "Lane... What happened?"

"I had no one to hold onto, Dad," Laney started to cry, "And the boys there... They weren't kind to my weakness. I wasn't even there a whole week before they started in on me... And yeah, I probably had it coming to me after all the mean things I'd done in my life, but this was so different." Clark reached for Laney's hand, and Laney recoiled violently. Laney poured a little more gin into his glass. "And my counselor... He was the only one at that school who I could talk to. So, I did, almost every day of those two years... And that's why you couldn't find me on the last day of school..."

"I don't understand," Clark murmured. Laney shook his head.

"No, no... You don't get why that day was so bad for me. I let him take me off-campus. He said he wanted to take me to live with him, and I wanted to go.

We got about an hour away from the school, and we passed by this field, and as much as I wanted to leave with him, I started crying... I told him that I was sorry. He took me back to a restaurant right outside the school and told me to go inside and call the school, and when I got out of the car, he drove off, and I never saw him again," Laney explained as he finished his drink and Clark grabbed the bottle before Laney could pour himself another glass.

"Laney, look at me," Clark pleaded with him, "Laney—."

"It's okay if you hate me for trying to replace you. I want you to be mad at me for it—."

"Why would—?"

"I didn't know what else to do! I lost my best friend, I lost you, and all I wanted was someone to say it back," Laney's voice broke, "I just wanted somebody to care."

He jumped as soon as he felt himself being grabbed and embraced, and Laney couldn't move until he heard his father's voice whispering, "I care... I love you, Laney. I love you, and I'm sorry." Laney wrapped his arms around his father, and as soon as Laney regained his composure, he let go.

"I thought I wanted to be mad..." Laney stepped away from the counter and sat on the couch. He let out a few shaky breaths.

"Can I put the gin away now?" Clark asked innocently, and Laney let out a shaky laugh and nodded.

"You can put it back... So, you're not mad at me? You're not gonna say what I did was crazy and irresponsible and that I could've gotten killed?" Laney asked. Clark pushed up his glasses.

"Laney, I'm just happy that we got you back... Do you remember what you were like when we went to that restaurant to come and pick you up?" Clark asked. Laney shook his head. "You looked like you hadn't slept in days. You were shaky, out of it... You kept telling us you'd give anything just to go home and go to bed. You wouldn't say anything else. You slept on the couch in the living room for weeks."

"It took everything in me not to punch Conner in the face for saying I was scared to sleep in my own bed," Laney chuckled.

"I'm glad that you didn't do that," Clark smiled, and he got up to wash his hands, "You're so much like your mother."

"Stubborn?" Laney asked.

"Driven," Clark replied. Laney went to wash his hands in the bathroom, and he dried his hands on the towel.

Laney turned on the tv, and Clark washed the dishes. "Dad, you don't have to—."

"But I'd like to just this once," Clark interrupted. Laney nodded. Clark's phone rang. "That's your mom."

Laney put the phone on speaker. "Hi, Mom..." Laney answered.

"I just wanted to call to see if your father got in alright... And the boys wanted to say goodnight," Lois whispered.

"Hi, Sammy! Hi, Chris!" Laney exclaimed. The boys both spoke at once in a jumble of words that Laney couldn't quite make out.

"You're not mad?" Sammy asked.

"No, I'm not mad. How was your field trip?" Laney asked.

"It was good. We went to the exploratorium," Sammy answered, and he went on to tell Laney about what he did there.

Then Chris mentioned something about missing Laney, and Laney smiled to himself. "I miss you too," Laney whispered.

"We're making pizza for dinner. Did you eat already?" Lois asked.

"Mhm, Laney made burgers," Clark answered, "Oh, and boys make sure to start your homework and chores before Sunday." Chris and Sammy groaned. Clark dried the dishes and put them away in the cupboards.

"Loving the enthusiasm," Lois joked, and she sent the boys back to the kitchen before she asked if things were going alright.

"We're okay," Laney whispered. Lois made a humming noise.

"Good. I love both of you," Lois whispered.

"Love you too, Mom," Laney replied.

"I love you, Lois," Clark replied, and they hung up. Gus came out of Laney's bedroom and stood by Laney's feet.

"Oh, hello, handsome. Dad, this is Gus Gus. Gus Gus, this is Dad," Laney introduced them. Clark followed Laney and Gus to the couch. Laney rested his legs on Clark's lap as he watched tv.

"You still watch The Wonder Years?" Clark asked, and Laney nodded.

"It's kind of what I imagine you were like as a kid," Laney replied.

"Huh," Clark nodded, "That's fair."

They didn't say much as they continued watching tv, and Clark looked over to say something at Laney, and Laney lay fast asleep with his mouth open. "Laney? Lane, wake up." Laney started to snore. He moved Laney's legs and picked up Gus, and moved him to the side. "Laney?" Clark asked a little bit louder, and still, Laney didn't stir. So, Clark picked him up and carried him to bed while his mattress blew up in the living room. He pulled the blankets over Laney and was startled by Laney grabbing his face, still half asleep and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You're going already?" Laney whimpered. Clark chuckled, realizing that Laney was a little bit drunk, and he let out a breath. "Don't go. Not yet," Laney wiped a few tears away with his sleeve. "I don't wanna stay here by myself," Laney mumbled as he cried.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just getting ready to go to bed. I'll be here when you get up," Clark reassured him, "I promised I'd be here the whole weekend, remember?"

Laney turned over on his side, and with his eyes still closed, Laney uttered, "I remember... But I wish you could stay longer," in a half-broken whisper. Clark smiled and pushed Laney's hair back.

"Goodnight, Laney," Clark whispered, and he closed Laney's door on his way out. He unpacked his duffle bag and grabbed took some of his things to the bathroom.

After he took his shower, he looked around for where Laney kept his extra blankets. He found a comforter in a bin in the coat closet and placed it on the mattress. He left the tv on for a little while before taking his glasses off and going to bed.

Clark woke up a few hours around two in the morning to a loud thud. "Fuck," Laney winced, and he opened the door and stumbled to the bathroom in the dark. He came out of the bathroom a minute later, and he stopped in his tracks. "Hiya, Dad," he greeted him casually before going back to bed. Clark turned over on his back and chuckled to himself.

The rest of the night was calm, even for Laney, who couldn't recall the last time he slept so peacefully. He didn't awaken again until eight that morning to the smell of breakfast. He stepped out of his room, and Clark greeted him. "Good morning, how're you feeling?" Clark asked.

"I don't remember going to bed," Laney yawned.

"I carried you to bed," Clark answered as he flipped their pancakes.

"Well, that's embarrassing..." Laney went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and he came back just as Clark finished making his plate.

"Did you mean what you said about wishing I could stay longer?" Clark asked.

Laney dug into his breakfast and shrugged, "I kind of remember that... Hey, Dad? I really am glad that you came this weekend. I know I wanted to leave things alone, but it means a lot to me that you cared enough to come and spend the weekend with me." Clark took a sip of orange juice.

"It's because I love you. I really do, Laney," Clark answered.

"I love you too, Dad," Laney whispered as he picked over his apples.

Clark reached across the counter and nudged his hand. "Eat your apples," Clark instructed gently. Laney laughed.

"Can I have another sausage?" Laney asked.

"Finish some of your apples, and we'll talk," Clark replied.

Laney ate his pancakes with the apples. "Are you gonna tell Mom about the stuff I said?" he asked, his mouth half full.

"Do you want me to?" Clark asked. "She doesn't tell me about what you two talk about in therapy." Laney furrowed his brows. "You didn't know that?"

"I dunno. I figured Mom told you everything. I don't expect either of you to keep secrets from each other on my behalf... I don't talk about you there. I mostly just talk about my nightmares and the fact that I try to bury my feelings out of fear," Laney admitted, "And you can tell Mom what I said. I'll probably bring it up in therapy anyway."

Clark pushed his glasses up and finished his breakfast. "You have nightmares still?" Clark asked.

"Mhm, it's nothing that I can really put into words. I just know that some of them are caused by sleep apnea... And before you say it, Mom is already trying to force me to get a CPAP machine. It's not that bad—."

"Laney, I just heard you say you don't really need to breathe while you sleep—."

"Oh, Dad, come on. You know that's not what I said," Laney replied as he went back to eating. Clark took a deep breath.

"Sorry, but I'd feel a lot better if I knew you were doing something about that," Clark replied. Laney put his fork down and started eating his apples with his fingers. "Laney, are you telling me that you go to therapy for sleep apnea?"

"Of course not! I go to therapy because I compartmentalize," Laney snapped, "I started feeling like I had to be completely different people at school, at home, at work, just to survive. I can't date, I can't ask for help outside of therapy... I feel like I'm just waiting until the next party so that I can self-destruct... And I called Mom, telling her that I wanted to die on New Year's Eve last year, and she picked me up from the pier." Laney swallowed hard. Clark put his fork down.

"Jonathan... I didn't know—."

"Yeah, well, I'm working through it... It's not as bad as it was before, but I still struggle," Laney whispered, "I thought you knew that much, at least."

"I didn't know any of it. Laney, if you think that I don't think your feelings are important—."

"That's not the problem. It's the fact that I remember how it felt to be able to tell you this stuff, and now I feel like I want to tell you when I don't feel good," Laney coughed into his elbow, "But I feel like I don't deserve it anymore."

"Don't deserve what?" Clark asked.

"I don't deserve to talk to you about things," Laney replied, "And I know Mom tries, but she and I are so much alike that I feel like talking to her is the same as talking to myself."

"Laney, I love talking to you kids. I like knowing what's going on. Even in Conner's life, and let me tell you, sometimes I wish there were things that he would keep to himself," Clark joked, and Laney let out a little laugh. "And I'd pick arguing with you over whatever we've been doing for the past couple of years. I missed being able to go beyond just small talk with you.

I like knowing that you hate the space that's grown between us just as much as I do... And if you want me to do all the work and ask all the questions, I'll do that. Okay?" Laney forced his tears back and nodded, and Clark got up and embraced him just as he did the night before. Laney shut his eyes and let out a sigh as he let his father hold him.

[purplerakath]

Cobra Kai S...all of them - Yasmine and Demetri

(But not Yasmine and Demetri if you get)

So if you've seen me mention Demetri in my Cobra Kai posts, you know I'm not a fan. I kind of want to show off two things here:

An example of the show doing this right.

Some ideas of how they could do it better.

Now this isn't about the actor, this is just how the character is written, and how his growth just isn't there. He has some growth in the 'everyone learns how to karate' but not the emotional growth of being a better person. Anyway, cut for length and all that.

Doing this Right - Yasmine

So in Season 3 Yasmine was reintroduced to the show, after being absent all season 2, and being a minor antagonist and villain in season 1.

Villain and Hero are statements of moral value, if they are doing harm or good. Protagonist and Antagonists are statements of narrative value, if we are following them, or they are in our way.

But Season 3 wanted to shift her from villain and antagonist into a neutral supporting character. Which they did through three scenes. The set-up scene was her reintroduction. The key piece was a classmate calling her 'front wedgie girl.' The final scene was her writing on Demetri's cast.

The important part is the scene with Kyler bullying Demetri. See, Kyler was reintroduced as a villain and antagonist again. And he has his own small moment of depth (when Hawk obliterates the face of Kyler's friend) showing Kyler cares about (some) other people. But to be clear he's still the worst asshole he's bullying Demetri the same way he did in Season 1.

And Yasmine sees this and is visibly disgusted by what's going on. Which is a far removed state from how she was in S1 as a classic mean girl. This cements her shift away from her old characterization. This is a good, quick, way to show who the character is now.

Overall Yasmine had about a minute or so of screentime? But it allowed for a believable change in her nature.

Item One - Consequence

So the easiest way to go about this is when a character's negative trait has a bad end (either cosmic or interpersonal) and they are forced to face that interaction. Miguel is a raging asshole, Sam breaks up with him. Miguel follows Kreese's training, Johnny is disappointed in him. Miguel gets a lot of fairly solid ones because he is- you know, the secondary protagonist after Johnny.

For the internal version we have Hawk's side of the Demetri-Hawk plot of Season 3. Every time Cobra Kai gets worse over the season, we see a little glimmer of Hawk feeling bad about it. This includes breaking Demetri's Arm. Most of Demetri's worst traits are never solved (and worse, keep showing up) while the show tries to flavor him a hero.

"But you just said he had his arm broken" Demetri getting his arm broken wasn't a consequence for Demetri. That was for Sam's story. Demetri got hurt so Sam could face her anxieties after her injuries, and Hawk could start realizing he's made a mistake.

So if one of Demetri's negative traits had a consequence (that he paid attention to!) he would get to shift away from that behavior. I'd say the best and easiest would have been at Moon's party in Season 2.

Of Demetri's shitty behavior most of it is just 'he kind of sucks' (we'll come back to that), but in Season 2 he shared some of Eli's most intimate secrets to make him look bad. Hawk, who was shifting firmly to antagonist by this point, took offense and was ready to beat Demetri up. But Chris and Robby stepped in.

My change would be Chris and Robby do nothing. Just turn to Demetri and go 'Dude, not cool. You're on your own.' Which also, incidentally, gives some shred of moral decency to the Miyagi Dos (which was another issue in S2). Now the cops still show up and break up the party, but after Demetri is left to deal with Hawk on his own.

And then Demetri doesn't abuse Eli's trust again, definitely not with a video he swore he deleted in Season 4 or whatever the hell the thing in S6 with MIT is.

Item Two - Motivation

So characters need a motivation to be a part of the plot, usually. Sometimes plot comes at them and they just gotta deal. But it feels better when the character has a need they are seeking to fulfill. And, secondly, if the need is immediate having a new need that is more personal to give the character better agency.

Miguel wanted to stop being bullied. But once he beat up Kyler it turned into Miguel wants Johnny to be proud of him. Robby wants to find a place he belongs. Hawk and Tory want to take control over what they can in their lives. Kyler likes to make people suffer.

There's a solid intro motivation for Demetri in S2: Hawk wants to mess up his face. Demetri would like to avoid this. That isn't a really solid internal motivation and they never fix this. They gave Miguel the 'my friend is still in there' moments with Hawk in S3, they could have had that be Demetri's (although the whole 'public shaming' thing makes that a hard sell), in Season 6 his motivation is 'a hot girl will stop kissing me if I quit' and also a little bit 'spite.' Which are- fine?

So here's my pitch: His motivation is MIT. The martial arts are a part of his well rounded application. To make him stand out for college. It's a nerdy reason, not cool, not hip. But very good for making his continued part in the story make sense (he's not one of the five leads in the teen cast, but he's higher than Bebop and Rocksteady).

Which leads into the whole 'we're going to MIT together' plot making it more than just 'Demetri is a nerd' (but Demetri is a nerd is fine on its own).

I don't want him to suck...

I don't like lead protagonist characters just- vaguely being shit characters. I don't mind them having flaws if the flaws are addressed. Either through character growth or just framing them as bad. The difference between Hawk growing past his S2-3 behavior or Kyler just- generally being a terrible person (but he's framed as a terrible person).

Demetri does generally shitty things but the framing is always 'but he's the good guy so its okay.'

[little-puku]

Sugi's Family!

more info under the read more because I explain some other stuff

It took me quite some time because I have been busy but here they are! tried to put as little as possible to resume the whole data without trowing spoilers haha

   ︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Dera ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

Dera, is the mother, She works as a Museum tour Guide in the Johto region, she also work in the The Ruins of Alph, Johto's Bell towers and other curious sites as a tour guide. Sometimes she helps her husband with research but she loves to listen his Random facts about multiples things he has found out on his research that she can include as a "fun little trivia" on her guides.

She and her husband Wilbur meet on Kanto when she was working on the Pewter Museum of Science, Wilbur was trying to gather more info about his Thesis to become a professor both fall in love and later on moved to Johto

︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Wilbur ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

Wilbur, is the father, He is a Professor, his main expertise been the understanding of Unowns. He come from Kalos, a romantic soul. Wilbur has a passion for research but sometimes gets carried away when it comes to it, getting a little obsessed about it, but Dera helps him to takes breaks. He asked his wife to marry him with a Omanyte

He has mixed feelings about Victor, Sugi's ex partner, respect due to been a great researcher but disliking him for ignoring the fact his daughter, and his supposed "love partner" has been missing and looking like he doesn't care. He has notice Victor has started to become quite obsessed about the Paradox Pokémon...

︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Victor ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

Victor, Sugi's ex partner. He comes from the Paldea region. He started as a respectable researcher been one of the assistance of Professor Turo and Sada, loving the idea to create a santuary for the Paradox Pokémon. After the accident of Professor Sada... devastated that the investigation was canceled and all the researcher team were distributed to new jobs and new positions. Victor moved to Johto and started helping Professor Elm.

He meet a heartbroken Sugi, trying to distract her from the bad news that her "best friend" Ingo was no longer talking to her due to unknown reasons, he introduced her to what he used to work before even tho both were interested to the idea of Paradox Pokémon and the reintroduction of old species they were far too dangerous for Sugi and how this will affect the Pokémon and the environment.

Sugi and Victor slowly started to develop feelings for each other but Sugi still having feelings for Ingo, she decide to continue knowing she needed to move on on her life even if it pain her knowing that the love of her life will never be reciprocated (but she was mistaken, Ingo loved her but he was missing...)

After some time Sugi got pregnant feeling confused and conflicted about this she still decide to continue her life and have the baby but Victor didnt feel the same... he had other things in mind he slowly started to push her away and focusing more and more on his research, talking her down and disagreed and discussing with her more and more not caring about the her or the baby but more about the research he needed to continue

Victor continue his research in secret returning to Paldea from time to time and entering the Area Zero without permission... Victor slowly becoming more and more obsessed over the past and the future, the Paradox Pokémon, Space Time Rifts, Time travel, etc. Victor losing part of himself every time he spend more time on the Great Crater of Paldea, it seems something in there was affecting him, but he didnt care he needed answers even if it cost him everything he has.

︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Nary ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

The daughter of Victor and Sugi, she is a baby, not much info about her other than even tho she is Victor's Biological daughter, Nary is more found of Ingo since he was more into her life as a father figure than Victor

︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Sugi ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

i have made post about her over here!

︶ּ⏝ׅ︶ Kaede ︶ׁׅ⏝ּ︶

Sugi's older brother. A romantic soul like his father, but a little bit more clueless when it comes to actually understanding his feeling and realizing someone else does have feelings for him. He gets flustered very easily and is flirty without realizing due to him always seen beauty in everything. His family been very supportive of his artistic career, he is bad at pokemon battles even tho Sugi has trained his Pokémon to defend him for dangerous situations but he still will try to fight you if you are been a little jerk. Supporting Sugi about her love for Ingo due to how "gentleman" Ingo has always been to his sister even tho they only talk and send each other present on letters

When Sugi disappeared he entered a very depressive state losing his will to actually continue painting and giving up his career, getting more emotional than before and been the main suspect when she was missing and not feeding up the rumors about him "making her disappear" he removed himself from the public eye.

Not losing hope to find his sister one day, even tho his parents tried to reassure him to continue even if it hurted... none of them ever give up hope specially Kaede reaching every little detail where she could be, leaving him with the theory that Sugi probably "Run away with Ingo to a different region due to her been pregnant by him!!" he was infuriated by this (he got everything mistaken actually due to some letters he found of her and Ingo, and her dairy he was desesperantes been this the first clue) When he was called by Cynthia about info where they are Kaede mistook emmet for Ingo and started a discussion that didnt end up well (from a Pokémon battle to fist figthing... Kaede was the one who starting it... Emmet was just annoyed and confused so he had to defend himself from the accusation)

[aetheternity]

I promised a post about Mika and how Hoyoverse fucked him up forever ago but I was trying to finish like fifty other wips. I'm nearly done with one at the time of writing this so here's the Mika post absolutely no one asked for.

Let me start off by saying I think this little munchkin is adorable. He definitely has the same kind of things going for him as every other playable character up until this point. A lot of random accessories like tassels, belts etc. And the symbols on his clothes feel very Mondstadt. I enjoy characters the most when they have very aesthetically pleasing outfits. (Venti and Aether are the best examples of this for me). So Mika's outfit was automatically very eye catching for me.

However I do believe he does not look like he belongs in this game. I've noticed other people saying it too but for me personally he just feels so oddly disconnected from the other PC's (I'm just gonna write PC's for playable character instead of spelling the whole thing out over and over and over again.)

Like every PC is automatically noticeable and obvious if you stand them in a group of NPC's but for Mika he's got this brighter color scheme that clashes with character's like Jean and Kaeya who when he stands next to them have darker colors on their outfits. So he stands out more than they do. Maybe if he stood next to like Venti it'd be less noticeable. His hair also is so so bright and most Mondstadters have darker hair or natural looking hair colors except for Sucrose, Klee and Diona (even perhaps Bennett and Razor.)

Like seriously look at him in comparison to everyone else in this shot. He's almost more of an eye sore than Traveler. I'd actually argue that he is more of an eye sore than Traveler. But to be fair Traveler's outfit has gotten two years of time to get used to in comparison. But you know what enough about that let's discuss why Hoyo fucking hates him.

Not only did they give Mika the Scaramouche treatment. Which btw is far far worse for Mika seeing as he is the second to last introduced Mondstadter. He was also dropped right in the middle of: Cyno's first banner (a character people have been excited for for two years). The second part of the Sumeru archon quest, Scaramouche's reintroduction and backstory drop and in an event that already had so many beloved characters that we are already extremely accustomed to/love!

This event will also be gone in a couple more weeks (at the time of writing this.) So people who start playing after 3.1 aren't even going to completely understand how egregiously Hoyo fucked this poor baby up. He's had no mentions literally anywhere before this and was thrust upon us with no warning in the worst way possible. Funny that a post I made like a month or two ago is relevant again. The part where I said Hoyo screws their four stars with shitty writing tactics.

He's supposedly a character that was on Eula's exploration team and they made him feel like he was just created a couple weeks before the update dropped. Why has Eula never mentioned him before???? In fact no character has mentioned him before now. They threw in some random voicelines for him from a couple of the knights and called it a day.

Idk maybe this wasn't their fault and they were forced to include him for some behind the scenes reason but this is the worst character introduction they've had so far.

The worst part for me is that he has nothing to even stand out now that he does exist. He's a cryo polearm apparently so he's gonna automatically be outshined by Rosaria game play wise. Not to mention we one hundred percent didn't need another polearm user.

They gave him far too little screen time to really judge his personality which means we've gotta wait till he shows up again and lord knows when we're gonna get another Mondstadt event. Because I highly doubt they're going to drop him into any story quests any time soon. And who knows if/when he's getting a hangout because the Sumeru four stars are definitely getting their's first. This is definitely the most frustrated I've been at a character introduction in this game.

Also I had no idea where to put this. But his weird little ponytail thing annoys me a little. It reminds me of when I was in high-school and a girl would offer to put a boy's hair in a pony tail. But his hair would always be too short so she'd tug the tiny near nonexistent strands into a hair tie and it'd end up looking similarly to that.

Like it's so stupid just cut that part off or let those hairs roam free it's so weird looking 😬 anyway. I'm done ranting if you read this far I'm kind of shocked actually but regardless thank you. This is such a random post but I needed everyone to know how frustrating Mika is to me.

I still want him though. I just wish Hoyo didn't fuck him up like this.

[deertaz]

I'm Back

This account was something I made when I was 14 and in a very bleak time of my life. I have deleted most of my old posts, not only because I wish to forget that time, but also because as an adult, I now understand how venting towards a public space can validate and enable the self-harmful behaviours of other people.

Luckily this account got nothing more that a few notes, with a handful of people looking at what I posted. But, I would like to apologise to anybody who saw my posts and were triggered by it.

I never participated in any group chats or messages encouraging my or the EDs of others. Even then, I saw the danger of such things. However, through sharing my experiences and harmful thoughts in visceral detail, I may have contributed to the validation of others as mentally damaged as I was at the time. Again, I am lucky that next to nobody saw this account.

So, take this as a reintroduction of myself;

Hi, I'm 'Taz', I'm 19. I'm in Uni right now with a freelance job. I love dressing in alternative 'gothic' styles, listening to emo, metal, goth and alternative music. I've experienced a lot since I've been gone, and have been incredibly lucky over the past 3-4 years since my departure.

I have gained lifelong friends who truly value me for the person I am. I graduated high school at 16 and, since then, have found a confidence in myself that I never knew I had. I am capable, thriving and happy with myself and the things I have accomplished so far. I spoke in front of a crowd of 200 last year, and realised how the only thing holding me back is myself.

I no longer feel ashamed about my interests, nor my appearance. I don't hide my love for childish and nerdy things. I'm just a bit odd, but standing out both appearance-wise and personality-wise have turned out to be an asset. It has drawn the most remarkable and kind people to me. I met my platonic soulmate, who has been my best friend for 3 years.

And yes, I have not been friends with that girl I ranted about in 2019 for over 4 years (left the post up since I believe it isn't harmful). What she said and did to me wasn't okay, I'm proud of myself for finally being able to cut her out of my life. I was a very insecure lonely person, who didn't understand how friends should treat you. I never had friends as a child, since I was considered weird. So joining high school (I was 11, UK) made me try to change myself, I was quiet and agreeable. When she offered me friendship I was very happy, but did not have the self confidence nor the wisdom to realise that she was treating me horribly. I understand now, and am quite a lot better with setting boundaries.

I have had two partners, and one on and off situationship thing (lol). I'm not a lesbian, I'm Bi with a preference for women. My parents know. I have a 17 year old brother who I love to pieces, every day I am taken a-back by how much I get on with him. I value our closeness and am very grateful that he's in my life.

My relationship with my mother has been rocky at times, especially from 10-16. But I no longer live at home, so my interactions with her have improved a lot. I love her, she is a kind person, though very temperamental. She is also no longer bedridden!

I am now 19, I am older. I am much better at handling her outbursts. I stand up for myself without shouting back. I realised the best way to respond to her is either by removing myself, or by asking her questions, 'did you take your meds today?', 'why do you think you are angry?', 'Does this warrant shouting?'.

My favourite thing to say is, 'I love you mum, but I hate how you are acting right now.'

It shows to her that I love her, what I'm saying isn't an attack on her character, but on her current actions. It's a pretty good way of letting her know (I think).

Anyways, rant over (for now). For anybody still struggling with an ED, please seek comfort in others. Tell somebody. It's a slow recovery, and you might relapse a few times before it gets better. But it does get better. For anybody still in those awful teen years, it's a shitty waiting game but the end post is in sight, and it's a path to something far brighter.

-Taz

[luna-rainbow]

Did Sam have to sign the Accords when he and the other Secret Avengers got pardoned? I think he would have had to as a condition of being a government contractor.

Okay, I realise this might not be the answer you were looking for but I haven't done a thorough meta on Sam for some time. I think someone asked me previously about Sam's characterisation being different in TFATWS and I've now had a good think and...yes, I'd agree.

Sam, like Bucky, had very limited dialogue prior to TFATWS, but like Bucky, he had character defining moments within those few lines. His introduction in CATWS was just as significant as Bucky's reintroduction. Where Bucky's story mirrored Steve's, Sam's story is a parallel but Sam's actually a few steps ahead of Steve in his life. TFATWS chooses to ignore most of what pre-existing canon has said about Sam, in particular his moral values, just as it did for Bucky.

If you loved Sam's characterisation in TFATWS and cannot tolerate any critical analysis of the way he was written in TFATWS, please stop reading, you have been warned.

And sorry guys for the super long post...

In CATWS, Sam connects with Steve by recognising that Steve was still carrying the war with him. This leads to the group session, where Sam discusses how to carry that trauma. The following discussion, where Sam reveals his loss of Riley, is the moment Steve recognises their very similar experience of losing their partners in battle. They then go on to have this exchange:

Sam: I had a really hard time finding a reason to be over there, you know. Steve: You happy now, back in the world? Sam: The number of people giving me orders is down to about zero, so hell yeah.

Two things here: Sam admits that with the loss of Riley, he lost the reason to continue fighting and this made Steve reflect on whether he wanted to keep fighting with Bucky gone. I'm not saying this with a Stucky lens: Steve looked so stumped that Sam asked if he's also looking at getting out. It's also important to note that Steve recognises Sam is further ahead in the recovery than he is, and asks Sam if there's happiness down the track. I'm not going to spend too much time on this point, but veteran trauma was a big part of Sam's introduction, both as something that made him more compassionate and stronger, and as something that drastically changed his life path. This aspect is omitted for the entirety of TFATWS.

But the bigger character moment here is Sam saying he's happy no one can give him orders. We're never given the reason Sam quit the military, but a recurring theme (prior to TFATWS) is his cynicism when it comes to authority, which suggests that he a) understands that power can be abused, and b) no longer wants to fight battles someone else picks for him.

Personally, I think this is a more defining trait for Sam than the (?fanon) belief that he is a cheerful optimistic level-headed peacemaker. Yes, Sam reasons with Steve a few times when it comes to Bucky -- "he doesn't know you", "(he'd do it for you) 1945 maybe" -- he's playing devil's advocate because he knows Steve can't be objective about Bucky.

Everywhere else though? Sam's just as ready to give a middle finger to selfish leaders and broken organisations as Steve is. While Sam is fairly optimistic about people, he has a stubborn cynical streak when it comes to organisations.

See this exchange when Sam signs up with Steve:

Steve: So how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight. Sam: (throws down his file like a gauntlet) The answer is you don't.

Or this better remembered exchange when Steve firmly tells Fury that SHIELD can't be salvaged:

Steve: How many paid the price before you did? Fury: Look, I didn't know about Barnes. Steve: Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that, too? S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, it all goes. Sam: Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower.

The other two people in the room are Maria and Natasha, who by nature of their knowledge and their background would rightly be wary about trying to salvage SHIELD.

But Sam, the ex-military vet, unequivocally taking Steve's side? Firstly, he shelters Steve and Nat when they confess they're being hunted by "everyone", even before he knew what was going on. At no point does he doubt or question Steve's motives. Secondly, Sam offers to break the law and kidnap a federal officer based on a brief conversation he heard between - sure, two famous Avengers - two people he had just met. Thirdly, as Steve says, Sam "had gotten out for a reason", but a fight against a corrupt government agency was enough to convince Sam to take up arms. And fourth, Sam says “I do what he does” immediately after Steve questions Fury about compartmentalisation and military veterans paying the price. I don’t think the placement of Sam’s line is accidental - it’s very likely that he’s had first hand experience of these same issues, either before or in relation to Riley’s death.

Something - we may never know but this is the story that Sam deserved to tell - has happened to turn a passionately patriotic and optimistic man like Sam into one deeply distrustful of government authority, to the point that he was ready to lay down his life for a near-stranger against a government that he had fought for only a few years ago.

Let's move onto the Sokovian Accords discussion in CACW.

Rhodes: Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have. Sam: So let's say we agreed to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they lojack us like a bunch of common criminals? Rhodes: 117 countries wanna sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, "Nah, it's cool." Sam: How long are you gonna play both sides?

Firstly, low blow Rhodes, and Ross has a long history of unethical dealings so the congressional medal means nothing. Secondly - look at Sam's prescience; within days everything happened exactly as he predicted. It started with they need to report to the UN and ended with Scott and Clint going under house arrest for years while the rest went on the run. Thirdly, Sam has no qualms in calling out Rhodes' hypocrisy in playing for both sides, just as he mocks Tony's hypocrisy later in the movie when Tony asks for the Siberian location.

Sam knew this was the way things would play out because rules are often made by powerful people to benefit themselves. Is it his previous experience with the military or his experience as an African American? Either way, what is clear throughout CATWS and CACW is Sam does not trust authority figures because he predicts (correctly) they will inevitably abuse their power. It is also clear that Sam takes no bullshit, whether that's from allies like Rhodes, adversaries like T'Challa or Tony, or enemies like Rumlow. And finally, Sam understands and cares strongly about veteran trauma because he has had first-hand experience, and he had poured his energy into supporting others like himself.

Final warning if you can't take any criticism of TFATWS’s portrayal of Sam, CLICK [X] AND EXIT THIS PAGE.

So how do we reconcile this Sam, who took over a year of persuasion from Steve to even agree to signing up with the Avengers - another group of authoritative figures who could potentially abuse their power - with the guy who appears at the start of TFATWS killing Libyans (or French?) in Tunisia for the American military? How do we reconcile the Sam who staunchly opposed the Accords with the Sam who is gunning for the same military that put him in the Raft? I don't know.

How do we reconcile the Sam calling Rhodes out for arguing for both sides, with the Sam who tells Karli he agrees with her cause then carries her body down into a street filled with the American military and NYPD? How do we reconcile the Sam who took no compromises in a three-man revolution against SHIELD, with the Sam who compromises with the GRC by giving a speech that spoke nothing of specifics, and compromises with the US government by getting a statue but no recompense for Isaiah's men? How do we reconcile the Sam who passionately throws himself into becoming a counsellor and who gently steers Steve towards recognising the trauma he carries, with the Sam who's unable to acknowledge his own anger or grief over Steve's absence, and who is unable to recognise Bucky's or Walker's military-related traumas? (Because I'm sure someone will come at me, I'm saying "recognise" not "treat" or "accommodate".)

The thing is, Sam - just like Steve - is a BAMF who has no time for BS, and is adept at seeing through powerful organisations trying to manipulate the masses, and he doesn't compromise. While Tony almost talked Steve into signing the Accords, Sam never budged, because he knew what the ramifications of having their freedom compromised means -- a perfect segue into how Sam’s experience as a Black veteran has shaped this view.

The path Steve embarked on in CATWS should have led into a disengagement from the propaganda image of "Captain America". Steve has to realise that to truly represent the core values of truth, freedom and justice, he will need to fight the ultimate battle against institutions buried in America's government that work to ensure these values remain inaccessible to the masses. Just as Sam was a few years ahead of Steve on the trauma recovery path, pre-TFATWS Sam is also a few years ahead of Steve in his recognition and opposition of corrupt institutions.

Unfortunately, the MCU has been acquired by the very corporations Steve and Sam would have been fighting against, and the pro-military/pro-authority undertones of the franchise have...well, become overtones. Sam was allowed to hold anti-authority views as a side character, but as the protagonist in a Disney franchise? His moral stance had to be rewritten to fit Disney's pro-military messaging, and that's a bigger travesty for Sam's character and the Captain America franchise than arguing over whether his advice to Bucky was correct or not.

[tomorrow-and-tomorrows]

Gojou, education, and the question that started it all:

“What should we do with him?”

It’s easy to take this moment for granted, but it’s a remarkable teacher-student dynamic indicating how Gojou strives to offer his students an environment in which they can express their own opinions and values, rather than demanding them to sacrifice their individual conscience to serve a pre-determined set of rules.

Megumi had saved Yuji in the spur of the moment by pushing him out of the way of the cursed spirit, but there’s also the follow up to this when Megumi tells Gojou he doesn’t want Yuji to be executed. In this latter instance, Megumi is able to take part in saving Yuji a second time because his teacher encourages and allows for this formative moment to happen.

Once again, education and the environment cultivated by adults sets the background for the devlopment of each new generation.

When Gojou was a student, he was given the command to “escort and erase” Amanai, a mere child, for the greater good. As a student, Gojou did not experience an environment in which an educator thought to ask the younger generation, ‘what do you think is the right thing to do in this situation?’. What the authorities demanded of Gojou and Geto was to sacrifice their conscience in service of the prevailing system. As a teacher, Gojou’s philosophy directly pushes back against this.

When confronted with Sukuna’s vessel, at first Gojou ostensibly frames this as a pop quiz to review what jujutsu regulations call for in this situation.

But the questions he actually keeps open for Megumi are: what do you think we should do? What are the principles by which you want to live your life? What are the risks you are willing to take when deciding who to save? These are the formative questions that resonate throughout all the rest of Megumi’s ongoing character arc and development. These dilemmas did not arise in a vacuum: they were allowed to be developed, rather than suppressed, in an educational context.

In discovering Sukuna’s vessel, the significance of this situation as a historical moment cannot be understated: it’s a once-in-a-million chance vessel for the most powerful curse in history. Ordinarily, no adult would seriously invite a first-year student to contribute any input at all. However, this is exactly what Gojou does: he doesn’t disregard or belittle Megumi as inconsequential.

I think this is because Gojou understands the element of human relationships. He perceives how Yuji is not just “Sukuna’s vessel”, he’s a person who fought alongside Megumi and with whom Megumi now has a relationship and emotional connection to. That is why Gojou, having known what kind of personality Megumi’s had since he was a child, recognizes that Megumi is personally invested in Yuji’s fate.

He acknowledges Megumi as someone who should be given the chance to continue learning what it means to make decisions in accordance with his values. Gojou doesn’t tell Megumi what is the right or wrong decision, but gives him the opportunity to form his own judgment.

This is consistent with how Gojou let even first-grader Megumi decide, ‘what kind of life do you want to live? Based on what you value, what do you think is the right decision for you?’

Again to contrast when Gojou was a student, in the absence of being supported by adults, he and Geto had made the decision together to act on their conscience and save Amanai. Again, their decision was due to the recognition that Riko is her own person, someone who has human relationships with others and individual desires. They recognized this even before meeting and forming their own friendship with her.

By choosing together to save Amanai, Gojou and Geto were, consciously or not, expressing the desire to live in a world in which young people in the jujutsu world are treated as humans first above all else, regardless of what objectified role they must play for the greater good.

Even though they ultimately failed, it is the act of deciding together what kind of world they want to live in and want to create that Gojou wishes to carry on with Megumi and likely his students more generally. No one ever gave Gojou and Geto the opportunity to express their values, and no adult watched over them as they tried to do what they thought was right.

Now, by asking Megumi what to do with Yuji, Gojou is offering him what no one did when he was young.

It’s easy to see the persistence of the old order that Gojou has rejects. (The panels from chapter 137 would also be relevant examples to use here, but I think that chapter deserves a post of its own when considering how Yuta relates to all this with Yuji’s renewed execution order.)

At the same time, by allowing Megumi to participate in saving Yuji, Gojou must also knows the risk of the guilt he’d feel if Sukuna ended up killing people as has now happened.

That’s a heavy burden to place on a young person. In ordinary circumstances, one might question if it was prudent for Gojou to do so. But there are contextualizing factors to this that may support Gojou’s methods here as worth the high risk of it backfiring (as it has indeed ended up happening in Shibuya).

Importantly, the moment deciding whether to save Yuji was made jointly by Megumi and Gojou; it’s a shared responsibility. Realistically, regardless of Megumi’s answer, Gojou would have single-handedly fought the higher-ups for Yuji’s right to live just as he had successfully fought for Yuta’s life. But by inviting Megumi to be implicated with saving Yuji in a political context, Gojou offers his personal philosophy in which that fight is made together with Megumi as someone who will not always be his student, but who will one day become an ally to this mission of changing the jujutsu world.

Unfortunately, Gojou could never have anticipated being sealed away at this point and leaving his students without his protection. With Gojou out of the picture to take responsibility for Sukuna’s rampage, Megumi will take on the full emotional burden even more than he has already, and this time without his teacher present to lessen the weight of that by defending Yuji from the higher ups.

In the context of the most recent chapter 137, Yuta’s reintroduction to the story actually complicates all this a little in the scenario that his individual conscience drives him to want to execute Yuta for the sake of his friends. And even in the case that he changes his mind to support Yuji, more often than not, and even with Geto and Gojou’s attempt to save Amanai which risked Tengen becoming an enemy of humanity, individualistic motivations come with much higher risks and moral ambiguities than the conservative, traditional system that emphasizes collectivism; the former not a straightforwardly positive principle. As always, it will be interesting how these ideas continue to develop as these questions are brought to the forefront again with Yuta, and then with Megumi’s re-evaluation of his choices post-Shibuya.

[stressed-chaos]

Memories - Part 16

This is a short one, a quick little reintroduction of a character.

Sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday, had to go out. I'll make up to it by trying to post one more tomorrow!

As usual, hope you all enjoy this chapter! Comments are appreciated!

Warnings: I don't think this has any, (but maybe) mentions of eliminating someone.

Thunderous laughter awoke Benjamin from his deep slumber. He squinted his eyes, trying to get them adjusted to the light, shaking his head. Still stuck in a half-awake and half-asleep daze, he noticed the Batman blanket sprawled on him along with an additional weight on his legs. He lazily lifted his eyes to notice a black ball of fur with folded ears drowsing peacefully. A faint smile made its way on his face. Another round of laughter pulled his attention to the kitchen and he adjusted himself to see Y/N with her head thrown back, laughing with crinkles near her eyes. Sitting in front of her, on the counter was Sebastian in a similar state. Someone else would have been jealous, but Ben knew of their friendship. Maybe he was initially jealous of it, though he would never admit it, but that kitten quickly drowned in the river.

He got up, petted Padfoot on the head softly and made his way towards the kitchen, his fuzzy slippers making almost no noise. Y/N noticed him first, “Morning Sleeping Beauty. Did we wake you up?”

Ben shook his head, yawning. Sebastian chuckled and greeted him. He noticed the state of the kitchen and cursed himself for not getting groceries on time, but in his defense, he was very busy trying to work up his courage to talk to Y/N. He took a deep breath, fighting another yawn and the aroma of something delicious hit him. He was about to question it but Y/N beat him to it, “We made dinner.”

“And your favorite.” Sebastian cheekily added.

“You guys didn’t have to.” He was clearly relieved, eyeing the food. He, even after a nap, had no energy to do anything except for sleeping again, maybe cuddling with her, but that didn’t seem as an option right now.

“Well I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me. But buddy, you seriously get some groceries.”

“I will soon. And there is no need to thank me. I did what I had and wanted to do. Still, thank you for cooking. How did you know it was my favorite?”

“I…didn’t. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the stuff. Though, now that I see it, some other things can be made too.”

Ben just nodded, grinning. She had impulsively cooked the thing he loved most beside her. It was a start. 

Y/N went and gave Pads, who had now woken up, some of his food. Next, she served it for the two grown men who were acting like children. As soon as the flavors hit his tongue, he let out a big moan, complimenting her feverishly. He almost let out an ‘I love you’ but stopped himself before he could. Seb had a similar reaction, and he didn’t bite his tongue. Ben wished he could do so too, without it meaning differently for him than his missus. 

Y/N initiated the conversation on the dinner table, asking about Padfoot.

“Oh he’s a rescue dog. I got him about 2 months ago. You always said you wanted to name him Padfoot, to honor Sirius Black,” and due to me, “so I named him that.” He spoke with a glint in his eyes. 

After the dinner, Ben offered to clean up, since they had in his words, so graciously cooked for him. Sebastian also made a quick stop to the 24 hour open store nearby, just to get the essentials for breakfast tomorrow. They noticed the time and convinced Sebastian to stay over. The trouble now being the sleeping arrangements. They had three people, 2 rooms (since one was closed due to them redecorating it) and the couch could not be an option as Padfoot has once again settled himself on the very couch for his nap time. 

After a little thinking, involved with Sebastian trying to get Y/N and Ben on the same bed (he muttered that he felt like a matchmaker for two enemies who were very much not aware that they loved another. And something along the lines of, “I’m living in an almost enemies to lovers plot line”, but fortunately— or er, unfortunately, his words dissolved in the air). Finally it was decided after much silent reluctance from all three of them that Sebastian and Y/N would share a bed and Ben would in the spare room.

Finishing whatever night routine she had, she came out of the bathroom to see Sebastian and Ben, sitting on the bed, talking, far away from falling asleep. Y/N looked over to the nightstand to see her phone buzzing, and a name Tom appearing on the phone, with a frowning emoji and no photo. She furrowed her eyebrows, not remembering any Tom. Shrugging she picked up with a little hello.

“Hey Y/N. It’s me. Where have you been?”

“I’m sorry…do we know each other? I mean your name is saved on my phone, but I can’t remember you.” If she could, she would've seen Tom’s frown with a little gleam of anger mixed with relief in his eyes. She also did not notice the ceasing of Ben and Sebastian’s conversation, both of them intently and not-so-subtly, listening to her talk.

Ben got up and tapped her shoulder. Turning around, Y/N was met with Ben asking about the person on the other line. Y/N mouthed, ‘It’s Tom’. Sensing he isn’t going to speak anytime soon, Y/N continued, this time loud and clear, “Do we know a Tom?”

 Sebastian quickly responded, “Maybe it’s Tom Sawyer,” earning him a soft laugh from both of them. Y/N put the phone on speaker and let out another hello. “How can you not?”

“You see, I kind of lost some of my memories sometime ago. I’m sorry. Maybe if you tell me how we know each other, it may work?” her tone oozed curiosity.

“No, no…it’s alright. I’m sure you will remember me soon,” and the phone beeped, indicating the call was cut. If they did know any better, they would’ve noticed the malicious tone in his voice, but since they, in fact, did not know much better, they failed to notice it, pondering on his words.

Ben and Sebastian furrowed their eyebrows, what the hell did he mean by that?

Y/N merely questioned them about this Tom person. “Oh you met him in a coffee shop.”

Deciding they could not do anything about it right now, they decided to go to sleep. Y/N looked at her phone questioningly for a moment, as if staring at it would answer to the multiverse. Shrugging, she did not think much about it and wished Good Night to both of them before getting under the covers, exhaustion of the day hitting her immediately. In her defense though, she can get tired also while sleeping.

Ben and Sebastian shared a look which said, we’ll talk about this tomorrow.

The man on the sending end of the call sighed and informed his partner about everything, before hitting the bed himself, metaphorically and kicking the wall in frustration. He did feel a little bad for Sebastian for he got involved in the big mess, just due to being friends with them. Maybe he’ll go easier on him, unless he does not interfere. But since Sebastian was a faithful friend, he knew it would not be easy. Maybe eliminate him first was his last thought before sleep caught up with him.

On the other side of London, a green eyed monster predator was formulating his next move to devour his two peacefully resting prey.

Slowly and painfully.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About “Separate Tides” from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...>A-hem< F**KING CALLED IT!

I said that the earliest that The Owl House would return would be late June and early July. And some of YYYOOOUUU sons of witches doubted me by saying it would be fall or winter. Well, guess what! "Separate Tides'' has come and gone, the show is back and better than ever, and we are all happy about it! You see how it pays to be optimistic, you persistent PACK OF PESSIMISTS!

...Sorry. Got a little hot there. I'm just so happy it's BACK!

10 MONTHS! It's been nearly 10 months since this show began its hiatus, large in part because of the pandemic. It was painful. BOY, was it painful. But I can already tell that the new season is going to be well worth the wait just by this episode alone.

But beware you mangey sea dogs! Thar be spoilers ahead when discussing such a premier.

And I swear to you that it's only spoilers for "Separate Tides." I haven't seen "Escaping Expulsion" either, and I promise you will be safe from anybody ruining it for you. But maybe don't read any responses from this post. Thar may be d**ks in these waters. So let's review, shall we!

WHAT I LIKE

Mirroring Season One’s Opening Scene: First off, this is a neat callback to what is the perfect first impression of the series. That scene perfectly introduces us to the type of show The Owl House is, while this one acts as a reintroduction to the world we left for way too long.

Second, this is also a well-hidden character moment. Luz is finally living the life she dreamed of, but it isn't exactly all that she expected. It's a great showcase that despite literally running away to a fantasy world, Luz is still getting a regular dose of reality. And I still love the irony in all of that.

(Plus, King eating the bounty is just funny).

The Recap Recording: This is a smart way to recap events from the season finale. It might be weird that Luz says things that the audience already knows, but she's not talking to us. She's talking to her mom. So she's going to explain all that she can in a way for Camila to fully understand. Besides, not every fan had repeatedly watched The Owl House Season One over and over again like a bunch of frickin' lunatics...You know who you are.

Plus, as an upside, Luz gets to explain new events and concepts for how she and the rest of the Owl House are making a living. In no way does it feel like forced exposition because, again, she's trying to describe as much as she can to her mother. It's a reasonable and natural way to talk to the audience in order to catch them up while also showing what's been happening since we've last left this show.

Luz Can’t Send Texts to Her Mom: ...Well, Texts to Home, it was fun while it lasted, but the current canon has decided that you're done. I'll miss you and appreciate all that you've done for me, but, yeah, this is the end. Sorry.

Alright, now that I got my jokes out of the way, allow me to explain how this is really a heartbreaking moment. Because the fact that Luz is forever cut off from her mother, even through texts, is an idea that just twists the knife in your heart when you really sit down to think about it. Luz's little goodbye at the end of her video does nothing but makes it worse.

On the upside, we get some solid character development as Luz doesn't even hesitate to send the video to Camila, learning her lesson from "Enchanted Grom Fright" about being more honest. She finally faced her fear, even if it was a fruitless effort.

They’re Doing Odd Jobs Now: This is a smart workaround for how the Owl House residents are making money. Some fans guessed that maybe Eda had so much junk piled up that they wouldn’t worry, but this seems more of a logical direction. Even if Eda had enough garbage to sell, she’ll can and will eventually run out at some point, meaning that they will all have to take the odd jobs anyway. So I appreciate the writers used that plot point sooner rather than later, as a fun romp as bounty hunters is something you want to do early in the season instead of later on. Especially with how Dana Terrace confirmed that s**t’s gonna go down in the future.

Lilith: ...I'm still willing to hold off--What the f**k did I say his name was? *looks up past review* Frederick Ulis--Frederick Ulisinsburg!

I am willing to hold off Frederick Ulisinsburg, for now, because Lilith is...sort of on the right track. I mean, I don't like how quick she was to playfully mock Eda or rudely yell at Hooty. But I do think that there is potential for her character. She feels genuine guilt for what she's done, and there's a chance that the new season will explore that further if the writers are smart (which they are). On top of that, there's a possibility that every time Lilith tries to act cocky or full of herself, she will be treated as a proverbial punching bag because of it. Like how her poster got burned down after boasting how impressive she looks. Or how Golden Guard's poster magically sealed itself to her face when Lilith tried to throw it away. It's the latter that primarily got me cackling like a madman due to how deservingly hilarious it was.

And, well...she happily clapped like a schoolgirl! Which was adorable! I can't hate characters who have the potential to be adorable! It's not in my nature!

So, while I am a little hesitant in liking her, I think there's a chance for improvement in her character in the future that I look forward to. We just have to wait and see if the writers pull it off.

(By the way, to the person that came up with Lilith wearing a "battery low" shirt...you're a genius in visual gags/storytelling.)

Greg’s List: Have I ever mentioned that this show is funny?

Who's Greg? Why does he organize a list of perfect bounties?

I don't know, but the idea of some random person in the Boiling Isles is putting it on himself to set up a list to make bounties...I'm sorry, but that's funny to me. It's also probably for how Craig's List was made, but when you really think about it, Craig's List is a funny idea as well.

Eda Isn’t Feared Anymore: I sort of guessed that this would happen, but seeing it is a whole different level of sympathy to feel for the character. Eda's main schtick was being the most powerful witch on the Isles, and that's gone now. She's forced to adapt to this new normal, which she's quick to do, but still. Tt's got to be a rough kick to the ego now that no one even cares about who she is anymore.

It's a low moment for her character that hopefully sets up her own arc for the rest of the season.

Luz Feels Like She’s a Burden: I will demolish her with love and kindness if she even CONSIDERS talking so poorly about herself again! Because Luz is not a burden. She is a beam of light that literally brightens up the lives of nearly everyone she meets. Eda already explains how her life is better because of Luz (through a heart-tugging speech that almost got to me, by the way), but it's not just Eda.

King now has his first real friend who admires him and treats him like the king he wants to be.

Willow has become much more confident and cheerful because Luz was always in her corner.

Gus learns more about the humans he appreciates with his whole heart while also having a friend that treats him like an equal rather than a kid.

And do I even have to say ANYTHING about Amity?

The Boiling Isles wouldn't be better off without Luz. It's better because of her. And shame on this girl for thinking otherwise...even though I fully understand where she's coming from.

I'm about to get personal for a second, so strap in. Because I am a twenty-somthing-year-old who is currently living with his mom. It's as pathetic as it sounds. But it's because I'm still attending college, and she says school comes first and jobs and apartments come second. Despite that, I feel like trash for just...living here as she still takes care of me and pays for the food I can't afford. She says that I shouldn't worry about it, but I still wait for the day I can finally pay her back for everything. Not some things, but everything. And that's Luz's mentality in this episode. The overwhelming guilt she's feeling for thinking she's inconveniencing Eda's life is something that hits really hard for me. It doesn't matter if it's true, but that she believes it's true. It's a heartbreaking character arc she's forced into for this episode that also adds more to why she's one of the many characters I heavily relate to.

Lulu and Hootstipher: Whoever thought of this idea...I f**king love you.

This is similar to when Noah and Owen became friends in Total Drama World Tour. Seemingly one-sided at first, you see a cute friendship that you would have never expected, but it works! Hooty is this happy and naive character who hardly understands what's going on half the time, and Lilith is...Lilith. Their chemistry is instantly fun as their dynamic is quick to understand.

This also shines with potential for character growth, for it could give Lilith a chance to be more caring and Hooty a chance to be more than just the comic relief. If you were to tell me that this is what was going to happen when the season premiered, I would have thought you were crazy. But now, after seeing it in action, I'm genuinely excited to see where this cute friendship between these two goes.

(As long as it doesn't involve fans shipping them. Because Hooty can do better)

Luz Getting Better with Her Magic: Our little bisexual princess is growing up! And, man, is it awesome to see. Luz going from just barely knowing how to do magic to full-on using her spells like second nature just warms my heart with all the character growth it presents. Now, some people might want an explanation for how she's able to do said spells, to which I say: "Who the f**k cares?"

If you ask me, Luz's magic is one of those things that doesn't need a direct answer because it doesn't matter as much. But if you're going to be a baby about it, here's what I can offer: As far as I can tell, it's equal parts having the glyph and mentally picturing what the spell should do. It's much like how Willow draws a spell circle and can either make giant jungle vines or a patch of flowers to land on. Luz's glyphs are her own spell circles. As long as she concentrates hard enough, she can make the glyph do whatever she wants it to.

There. You have your explanation. Now let's just all appreciate the fact that Luz can now throw fireballs and make vine whips like the superpowered teenager she most likely fantasized of being. Ok? Ok.

A Pirate Losing His Head...Literally: ...And I'm gonna go ahead and add that to the list.

I mean, for f**k's sake, WE SEE BONE! He puts his head back on, but we still see the bone!

Eda in a Pirate Outfit: ...That is all.

The Golden Guard: This guy shows up for only a few minutes, and I'm already beginning to like him. He seems just as threatening as Belos while also coming across as a guy who loves his job and being a ton of fun to watch because of it. I adore villains that find that balance of being funny and terrifying. The result is a character who makes me laugh on top of making me scared of what they could do to our protagonists. So far, that's the Golden Guard in a nutshell, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store with him. Whether it involves seeing him play with food as he did with Eda and Luz in this episode or seeing him getting kicked in the crotch like a little punk like him deserves, I am all for it.

(Bonus points if it's Amity who does the crotch kicking if he ever makes an advancement on Luz)

Eda Wanting to Protect the Selkidomus: I love this. It plays into the idea that Eda cares about things being wild and free and despises how Emperor Belos would want to control everything, including the most insignificant of animals. It shows just how kind Eda really is rather than someone motivated by greed...even if she does end up filthy rich in the end.

Emperor Belos’ Brief Cameo: Yup, still terrifying!

And if it turns out that Belos can see the Scrying Potion that Lilith made...we're going to have some problems.

Much like the actual problems that I have with this episode!

(Like that transition?)

WHAT I DISLIKE

King Being Stupid: King has two different personalities in this series. Either he's a pathetic wannabe ruler who seems intelligent or an idiotic Disney comedic sidekick. That latter version of King is what we get in "Separate Tides," and I don't like it (obviously). I don't care how cute it is to see him cling onto Luz's leg and exclaim how he won't let her leave. The same character who helped Luz break into a prison to save Eda shouldn't be the same one who falls asleep when a sheet covers him like a dumbass parrot! King's at his best when he's as intelligent as the rest of the characters. And not as dumb as someone like Hooty.

Eda Being Too Nice Around Lilith: This one bothers me the most. After being cursed for thirty years and having her life ruined by the person she thought she could trust the most, Eda is still all smiley and jokey when talking to Lilith. Yeah, sorry, but I don't buy that. No one in their right mind would be that cool with a person who did all of what Lilith did. It's a major misstep that squanders what could have been a fantastic overarching story of Eda learning to forgive her sister and Lilith trying to earn it. We'll at least get Lilith's guilt, but as is, I feel Eda showing genuine anger towards her would elevate that story by a lot.

IN CONCLUSION

But that's about all the bad things I have to say about "Separate Tides." As is, it is a well-earned, solid A of a season premiere. It introduces new concepts and characters I can't wait to see more of, continues old storylines and character development instead of ignoring them, and still proves that The Owl House is as charming and funny as it always was. Maybe the rest of the season could continue to be great, or maybe things might get worse. Time can only tell. For now, all I can tell you is that "Separate Tides" is a great and fun episode that makes me excited as we set sail to this new season.

(And Scared. Mostly scared)

[magic-is-something-we-create]

 Writeblr Reintroduction!

Hello!! My name is Pax, and I use he/him pronouns! I’ve been running this writeblr for about a year, as of early March, and I’ve made some good friends here, so I figured it’s about time to reintroduce myself, so I can meet more!!

A little about me:

- I’m 20 years old

- My favorite genres are High Fantasy, SciFi, and Horror, especially those with complex worlds and morally gray characters!

- However I’ll read just about anything I find here on writeblr!! so if you have a WIP you want to plug in the tags or reblogs, absolutely do!!

- I play D&D and other TTRPGs regularly! I’m currently DMing a campaign with my friends, and I’m also playing a Numenera arc with them! I also binged all of NADDPod and half of critrole campaign 1 last year so feel free to come talk about D&D with me!!

- I also like Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and Divinity: Original Sin 2!

- Worldbuilding is one of my favorite creative pastimes, outside of art and writing!

- I talk a lot in the tags of posts, outside of my navigation tags, because I often feel too awkward to add on to reblogs a;sldkf

As for what I post here, I tend to reblog advice, memes, and general writing woes, as well as promoting the content for taglists I’m on, or other pieces I’ve come across on my dash. But I also post my own original writing and artwork here!

As far as writing goes, I currently have one main project, and several side projects.

My main WIP is a High Fantasy novel/duology called Firebreathers, and it follows a pickpocket named Ember as they join a rebellion aiming to overthrow the immortal, Chosen king of the Ehlves, while said king scrambles to pull everything together in time to keep magic from disappearing from their world once and for all... a thousand years after he tried to do the same thing the first time.

Themes discussed in this story include the stigma surrounding mental health, what family means to different people, the affects of organized religion, and the differences between vengeance, justice, and atonement.

More details on my other WIPs will be behind the cut, since I don’t want to make this too long for your dash! Thank you for reading, and feel free to pop into my inbox or DMs to say hi!!

One of my side-WIPs is called Whispers, and is set in the same High Fantasy world as Firebreathers, just at a slightly different time, and a very different place. It follows three people, and their involvement with - and attempts at escaping from - a widespread criminal organization known for brutally exploiting the idea of owing someone a “life debt”. The three main characters are: Marika Swiftfoot, a woman who ran away from home and started a life of vigilantism, indebted when avoiding a blizzard with the help of a young man who was working for the Whispers, who have finally found her after ten years; Ivan Greyheart, that same man, with a new name, and several more behind him, who has always longed for adventure and has found himself trapped inland for a decade, and who has never forgotten Marika’s smile; and Dakarsa Silentstep, a young man who is far more than the fragile child he seems, and who has, apparently, never existed at all.

This is the only one of my WIPs I would currently describe as having 18+ themes, as it deals quite a bit with revenge, bloodshed, and implied sexual assault, but I won’t be posting any scenes like that here any time soon. Still, I try to keep minors and adults on separate taglists, just in case I do post something that toes the line.

-

Another side-WIP of mine is called Deity Complex, and it is set in an Alternate Earth/Hidden Magic type world. This story follows a person named Hunter Carrol as they evade a government that is trying to exploit Hunter as a host for a primordial deity of Death to win their wars overseas, while Hunter longs to go home and see their mother again. Most of this WIP takes place in a roadtrip-type format, with a strange girl at the wheel, who seems to understand Hunter’s predicament to an uncanny degree.

This WIP is probably the closest I’ll ever get to writing YA, simply because of the age of the characters and tone of the narration, though it does attempt to tackle themes like militarism and imperialism, consent, existence, and shared trauma.

-

I’ve also started work on a sci-fi WIP, as well as a couple of other fantasy WIPs, but I won’t talk too much about those until I’ve actually introduced them here! Just know that the world that includes Firebreathers and Whispers is expansive, and includes many of the WIPs I plan on writing in the future.

[bonyarishitafuan]

A lot of people probably are gonna hate me for this, and if you disagree with what I’m about to say, please don't bother to respond, just ignore me completely and move on, go make yourself happy.

It’s just that I honestly don't see how this:

can be the same as this:

Personally, I don't care for Dick-lite Pre-Crisis Jason at all, because he’s never seemed to me a real character with any real personality of his own, and I just really don’t buy the idea of a teenager, with still very recently murdered parents that might as well be every bit as the same kind of loving parents and positive influences to their kid as the Flying Graysons, getting over the loss of their old parents’ and accepting someone they’ve only just met around the time their parents died as his true new parent in practically no time at all...especially when it’s happened in a world where a preteen could end up spending the rest of his adulthood fighting crimes in a bat suit after witnessing his parents being gunned down by a mugger.

The only thing Pre-Crisis/Earth 1 Jason Robin seemed to have going on was being a son to Batman/Bruce (and a son to Nocturna, because clearly if he could’ve gotten over his real dad so easily, why wouldn’t he have also gotten over his real mom and come to think of this mysterious criminal lady as his true new mom when she had wanted so much for him to be her son and they had lived together for like a week)--and I feel that if the executives at the time had really wanted Bruce to become a dad, they'd probably just let him settle down and give him a biological child as in the Golden Age, but instead they gave him a second Robin; and the way they laid themselves out to make the relationship between him and this second Robin to be exactly father-and-son despite the fact that Bruce would’ve had to be real stupid to actively endangering a young person whom he consider his own little boy by bringing him to fight crimes just never sits right with me.

It always seems to me like they’re just trying to retcon the original Batman and Robin relationship without actually retconning Bruce and Dick, who hadn’t really been Bruce’s adopted kid just then and had often regarded his mentor Bruce as more of his older brother/closest friend rather than just plain old “dad”--It’s like they’re just trying to remove every implication that there's ever anything gay/creepy in the original Batman and Robin dynamic, simply by bringing in another Robin character, one with the exact same backstory as Dick and nothing that could actually differentiate him from Dick (except him being originally blond-haired and himself outright telling people that he’s “not Dick” in one of his few featurings in the New Titans where he’s portrayed as every bit as much as a smart, decent, capable young person equipped to be a successful young hero just as Dick Robin or Tim Robin would’ve easily been portrayed), and making his relationship with Batman to be plainly, unequivocally father-and-son, then with there being no actual difference between Robin II and Robin I and the two Robins being virtually the same, sure the viewers would see that the relationship between Batman and Robin II and the relationship between Batman and Robin I are very much the same too, and no one could say if there’s any resemblance of a gay couple with a creepy age difference in the original Batman and Robin’s dynamic ever again since they’ve always been father and son.

It just feels so manipulative to me and I hate it, but that’s just how I feel and I’m not saying that it’s truly the case. I’m sorry if this offends anyone who loves Earth 1 Jason. If you love him, that’s great. There’s nothing wrong to love a wholesome Robin and his altogether wholesome relationship with Batman, nor there’s anything wrong to love Red Hood Jason but prefer his softer New52 version which would’ve certainly seemed to be a less drastic change from his Pre52 version if he’s more like his Earth 1 counterpart to begin with.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong to prefer one version of a character to another, to just say fuck canon and recreate a character you love into the way you could enjoy them most and have all the fun you want with them.

What gets to me and drives me bonkers, is when people couldn’t just be happy with their headcanon, but have to go out of their way to tell other people that it’s fact that Pre-Crsis/Earth 1 Jason and Post-Crisis/New Earth Jason are the same character, while in actuality, they weren’t even meant to be the same in the first place.

If DC had ever wanted to just keep using Pre-Crisis Jason but give him a new backstory, they would just follow up on whatever he had been doing with Bruce as his pre-crisis self while casually throwing in his new backstory at some point, just as they did with a lot of other characters such as Donna post-crisis, not give him a full reintroduction in Batman #408 and rewrite his relationship with Bruce from the ground up.

It just makes me want to scream, when people, who never seems to have a lot of problems with Under the Hood and maybe also Lost Days, have to go out and call every portrayal of Pre-52 Jason and some of the more recent Red Hood Jason that shares a resemblance to him wrong for not portraying Jason as that sweet little bookworm he really truly was, and that an entire different life experience just cannot change a character in any substantial way, and Jason being an angry kid with aggressive and violent tendencies is just something that had never been established until the more recent retcon/the OOC work of Jim Starlin, while in truth Pre-Crisis Jason with the exact same backstory as Dick just simply cannot be the same as Crime Alley Kid Jason, who doesn’t even have the same biological parents as Pre-Crisis Jason to provide him with the same gene that the Flying Todds, which were Joe and Trina Todd, had created their son with. 

If Pre-Crisis Jason and Post-Crisis Jason are one and the same, then it’d mean Dick is also very much the same as Jason is the same as Tim is the same as Damian is the same as Bruce and no one character is truly unique and special because every character ever made is just an alternate version of another character.

It had been shown most clearly since his first appearance that Post-Crisis/New Earth Jason, other than literally being a different kid with the same name, was nothing like his pre-crisis counterpart, but rather a bold, outspoken, confrontational, fully independent and proactive ghetto kid, who had got some serious stones to rob Batman’s gear, actually succeed in taking the tire off the freaking Batmobile and getting away originally, and had only run into Batman when he had come back to steal more, and called Batman a “big boob” after he had given him a good hit right in his Bat stomach.

This precious cupcake here↓

↑...that was often used as a proof that the NE Angry Robin Jason is a later retcon/ mere misconception had actually only ever existed in Detective Comics #569-573 during the earlier part of the writer Mike Barr’s run. These 5 issues from Barr are all notably 60s-ish, and while they’re published after CoIE and Batman Year one, it’s clear that they’re Earth 1 stories, seeing that they’re written with characters such as Earth 1 Catwoman. It was only in #574 that Jason’s New Earth origin was first introduced in Detective Comics, right before Batman Year Two; and although the issue was still written by Mike Barr and it did seem to have followed directly after #573, the previous issue was ended with the caption of “The New Origin of Batman”, and the tone of #574 as well as the writer’s latter issues and his portrayal of Jason Robin were no longer the same.

↑Detective Comics #574↑

It was stated by Bruce repeatedly, in both his own title and Detective Comics, that the reason he had taken in NE Jason as his new Robin was to save him from walking down the wrong path and to provide an outlet for his rage.

While no doubt Jim Starlin’s NE Jason Robin (that everyone hates) was the most aggressive and violent, it had never contradicted how the character was initially written by Max Allen Collins, the writer of Batman #408.

↑Batman #410 by Collins↑

↑ Batman #411 by Collins, after Jason had found out that Willis was murdered by Two-Face and Bruce had been hiding the information from him ↑

Although in the end of Batman #411, Jason did seem to have gotten over his anger and saved Two-Face’s life, judging by the way he’d talked about his dad Willis in his first introduction and the fact that he’d never before bothered to find out what had happened to the man the whole time while he’s in the manor where he had all the resources to acquire the information, it was doubtful that he and Willis had had a good relationship, and what he’d felt for his crook dad then could hardly be the same as what he felt later in “The Diplomat’s Son” story.

NE Jason had always been consistent in being a fearless, proactive, feisty individual with a hot temper, even in the hand of a writer with a much mellower sense of writing like Mike Barr.

↑ Jason and Bruce encountered Two-Face again in Detective Comics #580-581 by Barrs ↑

It had been established from the get-go that NE Jason Robin was the type of kid who would challenge Batman and go out handling a criminal on his own without consulting him or anyone else first, and was morally questionable with tendencies to aggression and violence, which was perfectly understandable for someone with his background--Only at the beginning it’s easy to brush these things off, because there's never any real consequence to his behavior and so Bruce was okay when he’d behaved this way at the beginning, and since Jason’d still got a lot to learn and was eager to learn from Bruce at the beginning, it would only be right that he’s more agreeable and willing to obey Bruce, but once he had completed his training and been allowed on the field, it would also only be right for him to feel like he had learnt enough and gotten the hang of the business already, and so just easily slipped into his old habit of handling things on his own, just as he had always been while he had been surviving in the Crime Alley on his own before Bruce came along.

NE Jason Robin wasn’t suddenly turned from 0-100 in The Diplomat’s Son story (though I really doubt that it’d be impossible for someone, especially someone around Jason’s age, to go from 0-100 if they have to deal with what Jason had dealt with in the story)--

↓ This didn’t happen until after the diplomat’s son was let go by the police due to his status, and on his way out of the police station where he’d been initially brought in by Jason and Bruce for raping and kidnapping an innocent woman, the mofo called his victim right in front of Jason and Bruce and threatened her on the phone, which led the woman to immediately commit suicide. 

I’ve always thought it’s a good story and a lot more tasteful than it’s usually given credit for. It wouldn’t even have been the first time a “teenage superhero” has killed in the DCU (whether it was accidental or intentional); it’s certainly not something so dark and controversial that DC wouldn’t go for it, they could’ve easily just gone for it and had Jason Robin murder a criminal then, except they never really showed that he did. The audience just naturally assumed that he did because the whole scene was shown through Bruce’s view, and Bruce could see that even if Jason didn’t really kill the rapist then, he might very well be capable of it, and it makes the whole Under the Hood storyline as well as the continuation of Red Hood Jason possible.

The concept of Under the Hood and the continuing existence of Red Hood Jason works, instead of just being a complete character assassination like One-Year-Later Cass, only with Jason being his post-crisis version with all of his very established traits and his very established problems with Bruce.

If Under the Hood Jason is indeed Earth 1 Jason or similar to him, he would really need to be under some outside influence for him to do the things he had done, for there’s just no other justification for his action.

He would really have to be driven mad by the effect of the Lazarus Pit (which has only ever been showed to exist momentarily on other characters), he would have to be incapacitated the whole time, unable to control his own action or even form any conscious decision--and it would only make it extremely possible for him to do something truly awful such as killing some innocent or other heroes or even someone in the Batfam, since he wouldn’t be able to stop himself even if he wanted to, or be able to tell if that’s wrong; that’s what being incapacitated means, that’s why people who’s committed crimes, even as bad as murders, cannot be held legally accountable when they’re proven to be mentally ill--and if that’s truly the case, then Bruce as well as Dick (who had a pretty amicable relationship with Earth 1 Jason) and everybody else who has any knowledge about the matter would all have to be some real awful persons to not lift a finger to help him, by making it a point to stop him from committing any more murder that he wouldn’t have committed if he could help it, and figuring out a way to relieve him from the influence by means of the various science and magic overflowing in their world, like they’ve repeatedly done for many others who’ve been in the similar position, and eventually getting him the hell out of this altogether traumatic crime-fighting life, so he could finally begin to heal from his extensive traumas, including being forced to kill which has always been a very common cause of PTSD for soldiers at war; and even if Jason doesn’t leave the crime-fighting life forever, he could no longer continue operating as the Red Hood; it’d just make no sense for him to keep up the identity previously belonged to his murderer, and have it constantly remind him of how he didn’t just get brutally murdered, he was also forced into becoming a murderer himself, which.he never would’ve become if he wasn’t literally out of his mind.

Moreover, there could never have been a Tim Robin (even if Tim didn’t go by Robin but something else), if the Jason who died in A Death in the Family had the same disposition as Earth 1 Jason and none of his NE traits which was the one and only justification Bruce had for taking in Tim as his third teenage partner, seeing that Tim is patient and careful and cooperative with all the qualities to become the same kind of hero like Dick, and not at all “reckless” and “rebellious” like NE Jason, and so he’s likely to turn out like Dick and not get himself killed like Jason (that’s the only true significant retcon Pre52 Jason had. Although NE Jason Robin could be rather reckless and rebellious, that’s certainly not why he had gotten killed. They just made Bruce and everyone pretend that that’s what killed him, so it wouldn’t seem so utterly horrible for Bruce to endanger another teenage kid with no superpower or any previous fighting training by bringing them in the business that had already gotten one kid killed, and also for Dick and everyone else to just let him).

It’s a complete disregard of facts and logic to call Earth 1 Jason and Red Hood Jason the same character, which doesn’t really matter as long as it’s only headcanon; but when people push it as a fact, it really just sound to me like they’re saying that it’s wrong to like Pre 52 Jason/Post-Crisis Jason Robin, which I very much do because I actually think he’s an interesting character with an interesting and more coherent story than a lot of other DC characters.

It’s like they’re saying that it’s just plain wrong and unnatural for a person to have aggressive and violent tendencies and be inclined to criminal behavior simply because they had grown up in a most crime-infested place and had to rely on themselves and learned to do what it takes to survive since before twelve, or become more and more violent simply because they’ve been made to work in an extremely violent environment and have never been provided with any kind of actual aid for their mental health the entire time.

It’s like that if a person, after being brutally murdered and then coming back to find that their mentor/guardian who was the closest thing they had to a family and was also responsible for their death in a major way just didn’t seem to be giving any shit about that at all, is filled with such murderous rage that they could very well just go out and kill a bunch of criminals, but they aren’t actually a smol whump baby with no absolutely agency of their own that must be protected at all times all along, then they’re just no good at all and don’t deserve any love or respect or understanding.

...I don’t like myself for ranting about this. I hope I could just not give any shit about this dumb thing, but it’d been driving me crazy and I’d just got to let it out.