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grubloved · 10 months ago

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(...) proponents of the Man the Hunter theory assumed evolution was acting primarily on men, and women were merely passive beneficiaries of both the meat supply and evolutionary progress.

(...) The modern physiological evidence, along with historical examples, exposes deep flaws in the idea that physical inferiority prevented females from partaking in hunting during our evolutionary past. The evidence from prehistory further undermines this notion.

(...) For those practicing a foraging subsistence strategy in small family groups, flexibility and adaptability are much more important than rigid roles, gendered or otherwise. Individuals get injured or die, and the availability of animal and plant foods changes with the seasons. All group members need to be able to step into any role depending on the situation, whether that role is hunter or breeding partner.

more discussion of the specific evidence in the article -- please give it a read! full text under readmore if you cant get the link to work

The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong

Cara Ocobock, Sarah Lacy

18 - 23 minutes

Even if you're not an anthropologist, you've probably encountered one of this field's most influential notions, known as Man the Hunter. The theory proposes that hunting was a major driver of human evolution and that men carried this activity out to the exclusion of women. It holds that human ancestors had a division of labor, rooted in biological differences between males and females, in which males evolved to hunt and provide and females tended to children and domestic duties. It assumes that males are physically superior to females and that pregnancy and child-rearing reduce or eliminate a female's ability to hunt.

Man the Hunter has dominated the study of human evolution for nearly half a century and pervaded popular culture. It is represented in museum dioramas and textbook figures, Saturday morning cartoons and feature films. The thing is, it's wrong.

Mounting evidence from exercise science indicates that women are physiologically better suited than men to endurance efforts such as running marathons. This advantage bears on questions about hunting because a prominent hypothesis contends that early humans are thought to have pursued prey on foot over long distances until the animals were exhausted. Furthermore, the fossil and archaeological records, as well as ethnographic studies of modern-day hunter-gatherers, indicate that women have a long history of hunting game. We still have much to learn about female athletic performance and the lives of prehistoric women. Nevertheless, the data we do have signal that it is time to bury Man the Hunter for good.

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The theory rose to prominence in 1968, when anthropologists Richard B. Lee and Irven DeVore published Man the Hunter, an edited collection of scholarly papers presented at a 1966 symposium on contemporary hunter-gatherer societies. The volume drew on ethnographic, archaeological and paleoanthropological evidence to argue that hunting is what drove human evolution and resulted in our suite of unique features. "Man's life as a hunter supplied all the other ingredients for achieving civilization: the genetic variability, the inventiveness, the systems of vocal communication, the coordination of social life," anthropologist William S. Laughlin writes in chapter 33 of the book. Because men were supposedly the ones hunting, proponents of the Man the Hunter theory assumed evolution was acting primarily on men, and women were merely passive beneficiaries of both the meat supply and evolutionary progress.

But Man the Hunter's contributors often ignored evidence, sometimes in their own data, that countered their suppositions. For example, Hitoshi Watanabe focused on ethnographic data about the Ainu, an Indigenous population in northern Japan and its surrounding areas. Although Watanabe documented Ainu women hunting, often with the aid of dogs, he dismissed this finding in his interpretations and placed the focus squarely on men as the primary meat winners. He was superimposing the idea of male superiority through hunting onto the Ainu and into the past.

This fixation on male superiority was a sign of the times not just in academia but in society at large. In 1967, the year between the Man the Hunter conference and the publication of the edited volume, 20-year-old Kathrine Switzer entered the Boston Marathon under the name "K. V. Switzer," which obscured her gender. There were no official rules against women entering the race; it just was not done. When officials discovered that Switzer was a woman, race manager Jock Semple attempted to push her physically off the course.

At that time, the conventional wisdom was that women were incapable of completing such a physically demanding task and that attempting to do so could harm their precious reproductive capacities. Scholars following Man the Hunter dogma relied on this belief in women's limited physical capacities and the assumed burden of pregnancy and lactation to argue that only men hunted. Women had children to rear instead.

Today these biased assumptions persist in both the scientific literature and the public consciousness. Granted, women have recently been shown hunting in movies such as Prey, the newest installment of the popular Predator franchise, and on cable programs such as Naked and Afraid and Women Who Hunt. But social media trolls have viciously critiqued and labeled these depictions as part of a politically correct feminist agenda. They insist the creators of such works are trying to rewrite gender roles and evolutionary history in an attempt to co-opt "traditionally masculine" social spheres. Bystanders might be left wondering whether portrayals of women hunters are trying to make the past more inclusive than it really was—or whether Man the Hunter-style assumptions about the past are attempts to project sexism backward in time. Our recent surveys of the physiological and archaeological evidence for hunting capability and sexual division of labor in human evolution answer this question.

Credit: Violet Isabelle Frances for Bryan Christie Design

Before getting into the evidence, we need to first talk about sex and gender. "Sex" typically refers to biological sex, which can be defined by myriad characteristics such as chromosomes, hormone levels, gonads, external genitalia and secondary sex characteristics. The terms "female" and "male" are often used in relation to biological sex. "Gender" refers to how an individual identifies—woman, man, nonbinary, and so forth. Much of the scientific literature confuses and conflates female/male and woman/man terminology without providing definitions to clarify what it is referring to and why those terms were chosen. For the purpose of describing anatomical and physiological evidence, most of the literature uses "female" and "male," so we use those words here when discussing the results of such studies. For ethnographic and archaeological evidence, we are attempting to reconstruct social roles, for which the terms "woman" and "man" are usually used. Unfortunately, both these word sets assume a binary, which does not exist biologically, psychologically or socially. Sex and gender both exist as a spectrum, but it is difficult to add that nuance when citing the work of others.

It also bears mentioning that much of the research into exercise physiology, paleoanthropology, archaeology and ethnography has historically been conducted by men and focused on males. For example, Ella Smith of the Australian Catholic University and her colleagues found that in studies of nutrition and supplements, only 23 percent of participants were female. Emma Cowley, then at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues found that among published studies focusing on athletic performance, only 6 percent had female-only participants; 31 percent looked exclusively at males. This massive disparity means we still know very little about female athletic performance, training and nutrition, leaving athletic trainers and coaches to treat females mostly as small males. It also means that much of the work we have to rely on to make our physiological arguments about female hunters in prehistory is based on research with small human sample sizes or rodent studies. We hope this state of affairs will inspire the next generation of scientists to ensure that females are represented in such studies. But even with the limited data available to us, we can show that Man the Hunter is a flawed theory and make the case that females in early human communities hunted, too.

From a biological standpoint, there are undeniable differences between females and males. When we discuss these differences, we are typically referring to means, averages of one group compared with another. Means obscure the vast range of variation in humans. For instance, although males tend to be larger and to have bigger hearts and lungs and more muscle mass, there are plenty of females who fall within the typical male range; the inverse is also true.

Overall, females are metabolically better suited for endurance activities, whereas males excel at short, powerful burst-type activities. You can think of it as marathoners (females) versus powerlifters (males). Much of this difference seems to be driven by the powers of the hormone estrogen.

Credit: Violet Isabelle Frances for Bryan Christie Design

Given the fitness world's persistent touting of the hormone testosterone for athletic success, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that estrogen, which females typically produce more of than males, plays an incredibly important role in athletic performance. It makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, however. The estrogen receptor—the protein that estrogen binds to in order to do its work—is deeply ancient. Joseph Thornton of the University of Chicago and his colleagues have estimated that it is around 1.2 billion to 600 million years old—roughly twice as old as the testosterone receptor. In addition to helping regulate the reproductive system, estrogen influences fine-motor control and memory, enhances the growth and development of neurons, and helps to prevent hardening of the arteries.

Important for the purposes of this discussion, estrogen also improves fat metabolism. During exercise, estrogen seems to encourage the body to use stored fat for energy before stored carbohydrates. Fat contains more calories per gram than carbohydrates do, so it burns more slowly, which can delay fatigue during endurance activity. Not only does estrogen encourage fat burning, but it also promotes greater fat storage within muscles—marbling if you will—which makes that fat's energy more readily available. Adiponectin, another hormone that is typically present in higher amounts in females than in males, further enhances fat metabolism while sparing carbohydrates for future use, and it protects muscle from breakdown. Anne Friedlander of Stanford University and her colleagues found that females use as much as 70 percent more fat for energy during exercise than males.

Correspondingly, the muscle fibers of females differ from those of males. Females have more type I, or "slow-twitch," muscle fibers than males do. These fibers generate energy slowly by using fat. They are not all that powerful, but they take a long time to become fatigued. They are the endurance muscle fibers. Males, in contrast, typically have more type II ("fast-twitch") fibers, which use carbohydrates to provide quick energy and a great deal of power but tire rapidly.

Females also tend to have a greater number of estrogen receptors on their skeletal muscles compared with males. This arrangement makes these muscles more sensitive to estrogen, including to its protective effect after physical activity. Estrogen's ability to increase fat metabolism and regulate the body's response to the hormone insulin can help prevent muscle breakdown during intense exercise. Furthermore, estrogen appears to have a stabilizing effect on cell membranes that might otherwise rupture from acute stress brought on by heat and exercise. Ruptured cells release enzymes called creatine kinases, which can damage tissues.

Studies of females and males during and after exercise bolster these claims. Linda Lamont of the University of Rhode Island and her colleagues, as well as Michael Riddell of York University in Canada and his colleagues, found that females experienced less muscle breakdown than males after the same bouts of exercise. Tellingly, in a separate study, Mazen J. Hamadeh of York University and his colleagues found that males supplemented with estrogen suffered less muscle breakdown during cycling than those who didn't receive estrogen supplements. In a similar vein, research led by Ron Maughan of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland found that females were able to perform significantly more weight-lifting repetitions than males at the same percentages of their maximal strength.

If females are better able to use fat for sustained energy and keep their muscles in better condition during exercise, then they should be able to run greater distances with less fatigue relative to males. In fact, an analysis of marathons carried out by Robert Deaner of Grand Valley State University demonstrated that females tend to slow down less as a race progresses compared with males.

If you follow long-distance races, you might be thinking, wait—males are outperforming females in endurance events! But this is only sometimes the case. Females are more regularly dominating ultraendurance events such as the more than 260-mile Montane Spine foot race through England and Scotland, the 21-mile swim across the English Channel and the 4,300-mile Trans Am cycling race across the U.S. Sometimes female athletes compete in these races while attending to the needs of their children. In 2018 English runner Sophie Power ran the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc race in the Alps while still breastfeeding her three-month-old at rest stations.

Inequity between male and female athletes is a result not of inherent biological differences between the sexes but of biases in how they are treated in sports. As an example, some endurance-running events allow the use of professional runners called pacesetters to help competitors perform their best. Men are not permitted to act as pacesetters in many women's events because of the belief that they will make the women "artificially faster," as though women were not actually doing the running themselves.

The modern physiological evidence, along with historical examples, exposes deep flaws in the idea that physical inferiority prevented females from partaking in hunting during our evolutionary past. The evidence from prehistory further undermines this notion.

Consider the skeletal remains of ancient people. Differences in body size between females and males of a species, a phenomenon called sexual size dimorphism, correlate with social structure. In species with pronounced size dimorphism, larger males compete with one another for access to females, and among the great apes larger males socially dominate females. Low sexual size dimorphism is characteristic of egalitarian and monogamous species. Modern humans have low sexual size dimorphism compared with the other great apes. The same goes for human ancestors spanning the past two million years, suggesting that the social structure of humans changed from that of our chimpanzeelike ancestors.

Sophie Power ran the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc race in the Alps while breastfeeding her child at rest stations. Credit: Alexis Berg

Anthropologists also look at damage on our ancestors' skeletons for clues to their behavior. Neandertals are the best-studied extinct members of the human family because we have a rich fossil record of their remains. Neandertal females and males do not differ in their trauma patterns, nor do they exhibit sex differences in pathology from repetitive actions. Their skeletons show the same patterns of wear and tear. This finding suggests that they were doing the same things, from ambush-hunting large game animals to processing hides for leather. Yes, Neandertal women were spearing woolly rhinoceroses, and Neandertal men were making clothing.

Males living in the Upper Paleolithic—the cultural period between roughly 45,000 and 10,000 years ago, when early modern humans entered Europe—do show higher rates of a set of injuries to the right elbow region known as thrower's elbow, which could mean they were more likely than females to throw spears. But it does not mean women were not hunting, because this period is also when people invented the bow and arrow, hunting nets and fishing hooks. These more sophisticated tools enabled humans to catch a wider variety of animals; they were also easier on hunters' bodies. Women may have favored hunting tactics that took advantage of these new technologies.

What is more, females and males were buried in the same way in the Upper Paleolithic. Their bodies were interred with the same kinds of artifacts, or grave goods, suggesting that the groups they lived in did not have social hierarchies based on sex.

Ancient DNA provides additional clues about social structure and potential gender roles in ancestral human communities. Patterns of variation in the Y chromosome, which is paternally inherited, and in mitochondrial DNA, which is maternally inherited, can reveal differences in how males and females dispersed after reaching maturity. Thanks to analyses of DNA extracted from fossils, we now know of three Neandertal groups that engaged in patrilocality—wherein males were more likely to stay in the group they were born into and females moved to other groups—although we do not know how widespread this practice was.

Patrilocality is believed to have been an attempt to avoid incest by trading potential mates with other groups. Nevertheless, many Neandertals show both genetic and anatomical evidence of repeated inbreeding in their ancestry. They lived in small, nomadic groups with low population densities and endured frequent local extinctions, which produced much lower levels of genetic diversity than we see in living humans. This is probably why we don't see any evidence in their skeletons of sex-based differences in behavior.

For those practicing a foraging subsistence strategy in small family groups, flexibility and adaptability are much more important than rigid roles, gendered or otherwise. Individuals get injured or die, and the availability of animal and plant foods changes with the seasons. All group members need to be able to step into any role depending on the situation, whether that role is hunter or breeding partner.

Observations of recent and contemporary foraging societies provide direct evidence of women participating in hunting. The most cited examples come from the Agta people of the Philippines. Agta women hunt while menstruating, pregnant and breastfeeding, and they have the same hunting success as Agta men.

They are hardly alone. A recent study of ethnographic data spanning the past 100 years—much of which was ignored by Man the Hunter contributors—found that women from a wide range of cultures hunt animals for food. Abigail Anderson and Cara Wall-Scheffler, both then at Seattle Pacific University, and their colleagues reported that 79 percent of the 63 foraging societies with clear descriptions of their hunting strategies feature women hunters. The women participate in hunting regardless of their childbearing status. These findings directly challenge the Man the Hunter assumption that women's bodies and childcare responsibilities limit their efforts to gathering foods that cannot run away.

So much about female exercise physiology and the lives of prehistoric women remains to be discovered. But the idea that in the past men were hunters and women were not is absolutely unsupported by the limited evidence we have. Female physiology is optimized for exactly the kinds of endurance activities involved in procuring game animals for food. And ancient women and men appear to have engaged in the same foraging activities rather than upholding a sex-based division of labor. It was the arrival some 10,000 years ago of agriculture, with its intensive investment in land, population growth and resultant clumped resources, that led to rigid gendered roles and economic inequality.

Now when you think of "cave people," we hope, you will imagine a mixed-sex group of hunters encircling an errant reindeer or knapping stone tools together rather than a heavy-browed man with a club over one shoulder and a trailing bride. Hunting may have been remade as a masculine activity in recent times, but for most of human history, it belonged to everyone.

#scraps book #reading #gender #scientific american #athletics #man the hunter #anthropology #Youtube

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sophieinwonderland · 2 years ago

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do you have any tips on writing a plural kid character?

Ghost: I'm taking this one.

I'll assume that you mean kid-bodied rather than writing littles.

The first thing you want to do is learn how to write good children.

The second thing is to learn a bit about child psychology. Not every kid is the same and different ages will act differently. A good place to start is Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development.

youtube

Sprouts is a fantastic Youtube channel with tons of informative videos on psychology, especially child psychology, that break things down simply for audiences.

I couldn't recommend it enough as a starting place for research into writing children if you want to go a realistic route.

Or, you know... want to be a parent. But who wants to do that?

Now, after you've researched some child psychology and gotten advice on writing child characters in general, we can talk about plural children.

Their Plurality Will Probably Seem Normal

The main thing you need to keep in mind is that children aren't overly introspective creatures. They're incredibly intelligent and quick learners, but they tend to assume everybody thinks the same way they do.

A plural child won't usually realize they're plural.

From their perspective, it will be normal to have "imaginary friends" they talk to. It may seem normal to have selves they speak to in their heads. After all, everyone talks to themselves. And cartoons like Inside Out show them that it's normal to have emotions that are personified. (It's not, but a child will believe it is.)

And adults will probably think the same. Even witnessing a switch will be brushed off as the kid playing pretend because that's a thing normal children do.

An imaginary friend approach has a lot of potential for creating conflict. Young kids may not embarrass as easily. Shame typically really starts developing later. They may talk about their "imaginary friends" to other people. My mom as a kid told me how she used to play with her imaginary friends with her physical friends at the same time. (She also called them "invisible friends" instead of imaginary. She didn't like calling them imaginary and thought it would offend them.)

Supportive parents or role models might speak to imaginary friends to support the child, not realizing they're headmates. Others in the family could see this as harmful or encouraging delusions, and criticize them. Friends might play with them. Bullies could make fun of the host child for having imaginary friends, making the host child feel ashamed of them for the first time.

Play with how everyone reacts to them child's plurality. Keep the reactions different to keep the character dynamics interesting.

With negative reactions, the host child might be pushed into feeling like they're too old for imaginary friends and need to move on. This can lead to conflict between them and their headmates.

Or in a slight twist, an "imaginary friend" believes the child is too old for them and that it's time to leave while the host child urges them to stay.

One thing the video on Piaget's theory mentions is how young children might see everything as being alive and personified. It stands to reason that some headmates could be interpreted as the thoughts of other things. Maybe the child's headmates are perceived through the lens of talking toys or other personified objects.

Only when they're older would they realize that they might have been wrong. That things they thought were normal as a child aren't things everybody goes through.

Self-Discovery Should Be A Central Theme

The realization that they're different from other people as their cognition expands and they become more introspective can be a major catalyst for your characters' growth.

In most stories with children, self-discovery is a huge part of the characters' journeys. This is because children are in a state of constant growth and change.

Plural characters are no different. Most plural children will have lived a life thinking that their headmates were normal. The realization that they're different can be a huge revelation that drives the story.

And this isn't just true of the host. The other headmates who might have always viewed themselves as imaginary may have to grapple with being more. Or maybe the headmate who thought it was literally a teddy bear for all those years is realizing it's part of the child's system and isn't separate at all.

An existential crisis always makes for quality drama.

Adult Headmates

One other tip is to remember that adult headmates in child bodies aren't actually adults. They're a child's idea of an adult.

A real adult is good at projecting confidence and giving the illusion they know what they're doing to children all the time. A real adult does this while having no idea what the fuck they're doing, being insecure about everything, and falling apart on the inside where nobody can see them.

An adult headmate isn't going to magically skip the stages of development. They won't have more experience than a child. They won't have an adult brain.

What they probably will have is confidence. More confidence than even a real adult, because this adult headmate was created from the child's concept of what an adult is. The adult headmate may take on a parental role to the host child, but they won't actually have the experience of a parent, and won't have the same self-doubt that plagues many adults... in the beginning.

As a writer, I believe it's your job to look for ways to break your characters. A headmate who is the embodiment of unearned confidence with no life experience to back it up?

Have their advice lead the child or someone they care about to some sort of harm. That unearned confidence is something you can shatter, along with the character's entire self-concept. You can make them confront the fact that they aren't as all-knowing as they believed themselves to be. Then you can build them back up, learning from their mistakes.

For more tips on writing plural characters, you should check out @writing-plurals.

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whatareyousinkingabout · 6 months ago

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there might be no escape for them

I have evidence, hear me out

Everyone entered the circus via the headsets, mentioned by Jax in the pilot, but that still leaves many questions.

The first question is if there are multiple headsets, or just a single one that every member of the cast used at one point.

I think there's only a single headset for a couple reasons

Caine has mentioned that he has no canonical knowledge of the internet. Multiple headsets would mean wireless transfer, which doesn't add up.

In the pilot, the headset setup in Caine's fake exit and the setup shown at the very end of the episode even have the same chair and item placement. Why would Caine only show this setup specifically if there were multiple? It couldn't have been directed at Pomni because he wasn't paying attention at the time.

Ok so then lets say there's only 1 headset.

What exactly was the mechanism for the cast getting transported to the circus?

I have 3 reasonable guesses

The cast members got completely sucked into the circus, physical body and all. I sort of don't expect this one to be the case at all, since it's straight up fantasy, but may as well list it.

Their minds got sucked into the circus, but the bodies stayed there. This makes more logical sense then the previous guess, but then how do you explain the 1 headset thing? People wouldn't see a body with a headset on and think something is strange?

The headset creates a copy of the wearer's mind and sends it to the circus, while the wearer probably doesn't see anything and moves on. This is why I'm here writing this; because it makes the most sense, and it has scary implications for the cast.

What's even more scary is that there would be an actual reason to make something like the 3rd guess, as opposed to the first 2 guesses.

Product testing.

The circus is C&A's product. There's also a chance that the company is defunct now, looking at the state of the hardware, which is another factor I'll get to later.

When does a character abstract?

Not when someone goes crazy. Kinger is an example of that.

It's when someone becomes obsessed with finding an exit. In the pilot, Kaufmo's room was literally covered in schizo writing about an exit in red markers. Something like that doesn't happen overnight either; abstracting is a slope that takes time to slip to the bottom of.

"B-but what about Gangle in episode 4?! Wasn't she going to abstr-" no. that was a sewer-slide.

Anyways, the point is that a character abstracts, and Caine disposes of them, when they are no longer useful for testing the product. It's a way of making space for more useful testers.

So what does this mean for our cast?

They can't leave because they don't have a physical life to return to. There's no body waiting for them on the outside, no family holding out hope for their return, nothing. Their real selves are just going about life, and they are trapped in a cartoon cage, with escape not even being real.

Now's a good point to get into the theory that C&A is a defunct company, and that the circus was left running by accident.

Now, there's a lot less supporting this idea, but there's still something.

First of all would obviously be the rusty hardware. I doubt the circus is easy to run, so for the hardware to be so rusty if it was being actively tested with wouldn't make much sense at all.

Second of all would be that the circus has been going on for a long time. Glitches and bugs aren't exactly rare to spot, and Caine seems like he's in dire need of an update. The intro song in the pilot starts looping "day after day." If this test was being overseen, I doubt it would be in this state.

So the cast is quite possible stuck in there, quite possibly forever.

Did I miss any details?

#the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc theory #fan theory #theory #analysis

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qstarhalo · 1 year ago

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Reset!Bad, as expected, is pretty different from our regular Bad so here's everything that we didn't really know before! :D

Ghosties/Grim Reaper:

★ We'll first start off with the ghosties and grim reaper stuff. Bad can obviously see us, a fact we've been knew, but he's confused on WHY we're following him and why we won't leave him alone. Meaning that we haven't followed him for that long as it seems. Apparently, we told him that we're stuck and about a barrier? Which can support the fact that the feds can control death or that it wasn't until recent years that we've started following him or other theories about it. He also thought that Pomme and Dapper might've been grim reapers or perhaps mediums since the ghosties were also surrounding them.

Senses (?):

★ In the first few minutes of seeing reset!Bad, he says that he can sense his dead body nearby. Meaning that Bad, through other cycles, is able to find his own body, see what he had on him, and also try to see what killed him by physical scars, wounds, potion effects, etc. unless his body has already regenerated (which in this case, it already has). Along with that, he can feel his presence if he's been somewhere (for a long time?) in a different cycle as seen when he went into the basement of his house. This also means that this helps him figure out if a place is safe/dangerous along with also feeling if there's been a powerful presence to see if there's something/someone he should be cautious of.

Memories:

★ We know Bad can remember up until 1880/1980 (?) and the last 50-ish years are missing/a blur. And we also know that he remembers Foolish and Skeppy, in which he kept asking for Skeppy and if they've seen him around. Though, he doesn't water, especially rivers ("at least it's not a river!" when they were going to spawn by sea) and doesn't like the fact that his house is near the ocean too. To us, this isn't surprising but it's also really weird since he's never had much of a problem with bodies of water. Either he remembers the Euphrates River really well now since his memory is more clearer or something else?

Another new thing is a fear of Wardens, as we can see by his reaction towards the Warden plush they have. We saw the day before that Bad was in the Deep Dark next to a portal, along with at the beginning of yesterday's stream, there's the sounds of the Deep Dark + portal sounds. So, we can assume that Bad might've had to fight the Warden. Or maybe, there's another event that happened in the past with Bad and the Warden/Deep Dark. Including to this, he got really quiet when he saw the pillagers at the mall and then acted as if that didn't happen, which is odd to say the least (perhaps since Dapper died to them and Bad died screaming for Dapper to run, he now feels scared of them?)

Personality:

★ reset!Bad seems more energized and obviously has a clearer mind. He also seems to have way more social anxiety than we last saw him (or at least shows it more) but he is still outgoing. He seems really stressed about the fact that he's stuck on the island, especially that Skeppy isn't there with him. He's still very much a goblin and tries to steal anything that looks shiny to him and he's still really silly and goofy and acts like a cartoon character.

Little things to point out:

★ Bad is hungrier then we've ever seen him, even eating his own body.

★ Bad asked if dapple duo has seen four people riding horses from Heaven in which they have not. He also seems to be questioning something about how if he's here and Foolish is here then.....?

★ He's been really caring towards the eggs, even if he doesn't know who/what they exactly are.

★ Bad said that Cucurucho looked familiar. Um.

★ Along with that, he seems to sort of like Cucurucho (though, it's solely because he seems friendly and they gave him candy after the interview). He doesn't like the red tie bunny servant (Donny Ronnie) though which is good.

★ Bad has died to magic and rabies before?.....

★ He hasn't questioned why he's "roomies" with a 10 and 9 month old dragon egg.

★ Ghosts are apparently tamed by using dirt and rocks?........ (chat ghosties, are you all fine?)

★ He's allergic to expired milk!

★ The tower reminds him of something (Heaven? Or maybe something else?).

★ He still can't read very well.

★ And he still has weak ankles.

Questions:

★ Why can't the ghosties move on? Because the feds control death? But then where did we come from?

★ What's up with the Warden. Please. What's up with that?

★ What's up with the fear of bodies of water? Is the memory of being stuck under the Euphrates River or destroying Atlantis that clear in his head?

#If there's anything that I missed please let me know!#anyways :D #qsmp #badboyhalo #qsmp badboyhalo

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evaundertale · 2 years ago

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A post no one asked for but I wanted to share.

So I got inspired off of seeing a couple if Venkai posts so imma post my take on it. Might do the same for Soriku, Kailette and more.

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This will straight up be a post off headcanons and how I view the Venkai can work I know it's a rarepair and most don't talk about it much.

This mainly will have headcanons and theories on what could possibly grow and how I personally see the ship.

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Okay let's start with Ventus as we know Ventus was alive during the period of time Union Cross takes place but in Birth By Sleep he looks and acts as if he hasn't age in that period of time.

My theory is he got sent forward in time going off not only the of subject X being Skuld but also both Lauriam and Elrena being present in the organization despite being older they were before.

Ventus also been treated like a child/teen from multiple different people. Mainly Aqua and Terra same with some of the others in different worlds to.

There's even his little interaction with Isa and Lea where he might be around their age then.

In this case Kairi and him are kinda treated to same in parallels.

Kairi may not be treated like a kid by her friends but, she is more often left behind for her protection with the both of them often treated like their fragile.

With how Aqua tries to convince Ventus to go home instead of following Terra and Sora and Riku leaving Kairi behind on two different occasions.

(This person made a better comparison on the Riku and Kairi scene with the Ventus and Aqua scene. ⬇️⬇️)

Now you may wonder why I brought up Ventus age. It's mainly because I don't think he aged sense he was awake in BBS as stated earlier.

My theory stems from the time he seeked shelter in Sora's heart he has been asleep or in a stasis like state until he started to wake up in kh1.

My theory is it might have been due to Kairi's heart joining him in Sora's heart.

With that being said I don't think his heart was fully healed in kh 1 but it might have been really close. Especially since we see Kairi have moments where she not only interacts with Sora but there is a scene that I know most say is Kairi recognizing Raident Garden but it could of also been a hint to Ventus who also went there as well.

(I personally think it's Kairi but it's a really nice thought that they both could of recognized it and that caused Sora to think this)

Though I personally don't think he's fully conscious untill Dream Drop Distance or Kingdom hearts 3 due to scenes that implie he's there or at least now he's recognizingly there.

To help support this theory we know that Roxas had impacted Sora emotionally in Kh 2 and even make contact with him in the same way Kairi could in kh 1.

Based on this information we can't say Ventus didn't or couldn't either especially with these moments.

In DDD Ventus armor protects Sora with in kh 3 Sora doesn't even know what comes over him when he says he'll save Aqua.

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Why do I bring this up? It's because I think Venkai as a ship is in the same area of Katara and Aang from ATLA.

Aang was in the iceberg for 100 years but his body and mind are still 12 he didn't age both mentally or physically.

Long story short Ventus is in a similar situation to Aang with his aging.

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Now back to Venkai okay so we know Aqua put a charm on Kairi as a kid to protect and lead her to those who could protect her.

And most say she went to Sora but I'd argue she went to Riku and Sora both. As you may know related to how much I reblog this I think Riku is the light (not just Sora's) but others as well with Aqua and Terra both stating as such when looking at him as a kid.

But not saying much to Sora. Yes Ventus came to Sora's heart seeking shelter but that's due to him already making a connection to a new heart which is Sora's.

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So if Kairi showed up to the Island not having a connection to Sora or Riku yet. Kairi still was sent to seek both the keyblade when sent out but also to find a safe place because the charm.

She probably appeared because Ventus being in Sora's heart and because Riku's heart to.

With Kairi being a princess of heart she could probably recognize darkness and light in a person's heart.

With Kairi in kh 1 stating Riku had changed but not really giving much context and telling Sora not to change. Maybe she felt both the light of Ventus and Sora's ad comfort sense Riku heart was change.

We know Darkness has a scent sense Riku has recognized it before but don't really know if the princess of heart are able to sense a hearts intention I'd assume based how Kairi reacts sometimes to people. We only get to see that side of the princesses through Kairi.

That being said Kairi could have grown a close connection to Sora through the light in Sora's heart (aka Ventus)

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Finally at least this is what I picked up that could have happened if Ventus started to grow conscious again in kh 1 he already has a connection to Kairi through the time she was in Sora's heart.

Meaning that Kairi and Ventus would have a sense of familiarity with eachother not saying it'd go full on romance but in her time of training with Aqua they could grow to be close.

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Both relating in being treated like their fragile. Or how they both were treated like pawns in Xehannorts plan. Or even how they both have memorie issues.

There is alot to work with especially sense Ventus heart is probably still mainly the light side of it sense Vanitas (his darkness) is no longer able to fit there.)

Now that could be like that cause Ventus heart grew darkness back in its missing place. Or Ventus could have a heart full of pure light similar to Kairi's.

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Now into full on fanon side i know most compare Ava and Gula to Sokai but the possibility of them being a great reference for Venkai is there to.

I just think you could honestly build Kairi and Ventus future interactions based off these two.

Not only in similar body shapes but with how the two interact. We've never really gotten and opportunitie to see Kairi fully protect Sora the same way he does for her and if it's cause she hasn't felt confident enough to or cause they might not be as connected as she thought there's a chance she might fot someone else.

(Yes I know in kh 1 she trys to protect Sora in his heartless form but that was once and yes she held him together in the new world but he also got a second change cause of Riku's sacrifice.)

What I mean by protecting Sora is like how much he does by blocking her from attacks or more we don't see that which sucks. And we already know their bond was weakened to begin with.

There's a chance they might just keep growing apart. And in that absence she might grow with other.

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I'm rambling a bit near the end but yeah that's at least my view on venkai and if it ever develops platonically or romantically or whatever i due think the two have a lot of parallels and more to their connection then most think about.

Next probably gonna be a post about Kailette. Or maybe a post about how I view Riku and Kairi's friendship but yeah.

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Extra ramble

There's alot more that could be speculated like this not only being Kairi recognizing this but also Ventus sense he visited it and we know he got memory issues to its a stretch but still interesting to think about.

#venkai #light mention of Sokai #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #Kairi #ventus #kairi x ventus #this heavily talking about Ventus mainly but thats cause no one can ever agree on his age #or when he became conscious from when he went to sleep #so yeah this is heavily about my theories on Ventus

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fandomofhappiness · 3 years ago

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It's actually really sad to realize that Milo Murphy's Law finally found its ending as an animated series, and we're unlikely to ever see a continuing. Recently, I wrote why did this could happened to MML, but I think it’s obvious: the viewer’s attention is captured more and more often by animated series with a linear narrative, with a full-fledged big story, where each character has time and the opportunity to open up.

I am a big supporter of such stories, because I have always been annoyed by fillers - by those non-plot episodes where we watch a slice-of-life of main character (ok, I wasn’t big fan of anime, I’m more fan of cartoons from Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodean). And after all, both ‘Phineas and Ferb’ and MML are exactly this kind of filler-TV show, and I'm sad that a lot of characters remained undiscovered, I mean, those who didn’t get their special moments to understand why they are in the show, why do we need to watch them falling or rising (Melissa’s dad, Brick and Savannah, Neal and Sara’s relationship, Murphy’s law itself). We could only sympathize with the main characters, find out their motivation, their life.

But in MML show is still so much to uncover!

So many interesting locations and situations that could be developed into a full-fledged story or even several arcs for the main and secondary characters!

We didn’t really learn anything about the past of Cavendish and Dakota, what they were like in childhood, what dreams they had, their hobbies and internal dialogues.

Oh my god, even the fact of Time Travel is taken for granted in the show - there is no dealing with age problems, depression among employees sensing the passage of time, some kind of disconnection from the real sense of time - so much drama can be rolled up here, oh, Jesus Christ.

What I definitely won’t forgive the creators for is that in 2 seasons they never found an opportunity to reveal the Time Travel Bureau: the hierarchy, structure, terms of employment, preparation (physical and mental). They had a simple explanation: there are agents like James Bond, and there are, well, cleaners of alien trash. C’mon, they have a fucking tribunal there!

Probably, I would like to end with a wish for those few fans who remained with MML, to find motivation to draw, write texts, covers, create memes for the show - this is how we do not let it die, but keep it in our hearts. Maybe if I was an English speaker, I’d write fanfiction. Therefore, if I’ll have some inspiration and time, I will throw in here my headcanons (we don’t have that much canon), theories and just thoughts about the locations and characters that interest me. Who knows what it will turn into.

#milo murphy's law #mml #vinnie dakota #balthazar cavendish #Milo Murphy #phineas and ferb #disney #cartoons

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

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What I Thought About “Eclipse Lake” from The Owl House

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

If I had to take a guess at who's the most popular character of The Owl House, I'd say that Amity would be a pretty safe bet. And not entirely without reason. Her home life is something several fans can identify with, she wins representation points for being a lesbian, and her development is the most impressive out of every other character. Not to say no one else develops, far from it. It's just that with Amity, her growth is a lot stronger, to the point where the version of her we're introduced to is practically a different character. The rest of the core cast has grown and become multi-layered over time, but in terms of personality, they haven't changed that much as Amity has.

But here's the thing: Amity has grown exponentially all through the sidelines. Despite being in episodes that heavily involve her, there hasn't been one where she had the starring role. Except for now, in "Eclipse Lake," the first-ever episode where Amity takes command. Is the episode better because of it? Or was Amity better off in a supporting role rather than a leading one? To find out requires diving into spoilers, so keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Belos Has Been to the Human World: Welp, I guess I'm tossing my "Belos was Philip" theory into the trash. As are many of you, no doubt. With that said, we still get a nugget of intrigue to know that he did, in fact, see the human realm at some point. Even more than that, he wants to go back. And from the sounds of it, he probably wants to return because it's significantly more pleasant to live there than the Boiling Isles. That bit of information interests me far more than him wanting to invade the human realm and rule it with an iron fist. While that last bit is not entirely out of the question yet, it's still pretty cool to learn as much as we can about Belos' grand plan.

Amity Taking Charge of Luz’s Recovery: Yup. That's about as much as I expected. We're barely into this episode, and already, it's established that Amity would go to great lengths to help her girlfriend. What more could you ask for?

Ghost: I want to pet Ghost. I don't give a s**t that they're a fictional being because I want to PET THEM! 'CAUSE I LIKE CUTE S**T DAMN IT!

Eda Learning How to Turn into “Harpy Eda” on Command: Cool concept for sure. Eda just figured out that she can turn into this thing, so there's going to be trials and tribulations to figure out how. What I personally enjoy is that to transform, not only does Eda have to talk to the Owl Beast, but at times she might have to make a deal with it. They made a truce, so the only way for it to work is for both sides to make compromises for it to work out. Like I said, cool concept. And I hope to see what else happens with it in the future.

Eda Using Anime as a Workout Tape: Well, that certainly explains the screaming. The fact that it was a Dragon Ball clone makes it even more perfect.

Eda calls Amity “Boots”: I love this. I don't know why I love this, but I do. So shove it.

Luz: Now let's take the time to talk about my favorite character. Luz may have taken the back seat in this episode, but the few moments she does show up, she's is on top form:

The way that she's all loopy and delirious from the common mold is hilarious.

The fact that everyone had to literally strap Luz down to stop her from going on an adventure is hilarious and admirable in terms of her character.

The fact that Luz does everything she physically can to warn the others about Titan's fools' blood is incredibly admirable.

And the way she just hurls herself at Amity when she gets back is just downright adorable.

The main protagonist being absent while the other characters go on an adventure is nothing new. But it's still nice to know that the quality of writing I expect from Luz didn't go away just because the episode isn't about her.

Amity and Luz using Tamagotchis to Text: I also didn't know what those things were until someone else pointed it out. I'm not that old...and so help me, I never will be.

Joking aside, I find it incredibly adorable that Luz and Amity have this way to communicate with each other that's only exclusive to them. Maybe Willow and Gus have Tamagotchis of their own, but we have yet to see them with ones, so it's plausible that only Luz and Amity can talk to each other through theirs. Which, again, is adorable. The fact that these two nerds found a way to text each other without Luz using a scroll or Amity using a phone fills my heart with glee and makes me extra happy that they're girlfriends now. Large in part because we get to see more cute s**t like this.

(Luz calling Amity pretty is also a bonus)

Amity Wants to be the Most Awesome Girlfriend: Just the very fact that I can write that is a win. Sidenote: Love the fact that Amity explicitly says the word girlfriend. No beating around the bush, no implications. The writers have her go for it with no looking back.

Loved it. Loved all of it. And I hope to see more bits like this in the future.

King Mentions the Dissection: Hey, sometimes the best and most defining relationships start off on the wrong foot, King. Don't have to call someone out for it.

Kikimora: I admire good comically incompetent villains, which is what Kikimora is to me in this episode. She might have her terrifying moments here and there, but when she's just screeching about how she hates Hunter and focuses more on showing him up, it's a ton of fun.

Coven Guard Captain: This character doesn't do much...but she's still great. She acts as a perfect straight man to Kiki's psychotics, has this weird respect for Kiki that I hope gets explored, and wins comedy points for instantly getting bored by guarding Amity and just ditching her in a hole. This captain may have had a short role in this episode and an insignificant one in the series, but it was fun seeing her give her all despite the short time.

Hunter Bonding with Bird: I prefer "Little Rascal," but I can live with "Bird."

In any case, it was pretty sweet to see these two grow more of a bond. Bird suddenly making himself Hunter's palisman isn't an easy change to accept as much as it is easy for Eda to figure out how to turn into a harpy. Meaning that there will be an adjustment period alongside moments of Hunter learning to trust Bird. And, yeah, it's charming to see Bird try so hard to brighten up Hunter's life. Whether it's leading Hunter toward people who are actually nice or trying to cheer him up when he's digging his own grave, there are so many moments that make Bird the closest friend Hunter could ever ask for. The bond can only grow further from there, and like a lot of things this week, I can't wait to see more.

(Which is basically a recurring theme of this episode. It makes me excited to see more)

Character’s Commenting on Hunter’s Annoying Voice: My favorite part about this is how Hunter suddenly becomes self-conscious about it. On the one hand, I want to go, "Ah, poor baby." But on the other hand, I can't help it when I say, "Haha! You annoying-voiced bitch!" It's just great.

Amity has Abomination Goo in a Bottle: We get it. Amity's VA also voiced Katara. You don't have to rub it in our faces.

(But, seriously though, I do consider this a clever workaround for how Amity can use abomination magic when in a fight. It's pretty cool)

Amity and Hunter: Whoever thought about pairing these two up for an episode...you're the best. You're just the best!

Because this is a brilliant concept. Amity and Hunter are so much alike in terms of personality and homelife that it makes way too much sense to have them interact at least once. What I'm specifically grateful for is that when Hunter tries to associate himself with Amity, the only other intelligent person there, she's quick to shut him down. The Amity in the past might have been slightly easier to sway, but not the one we know now. It isn't until he finds the one thing that can get to Amity that Hunter knows how to exactly break her. Even then, she just barely falls for it, only being swayed when in a panic or in a desperate situation.

But regardless of how much of a jerk Hunter comes across as, it's great Amity tries to reach out to him near the end. She knows how it feels to try and gain respect from family, only to learn what love truly is from someone who cares. It's a moment where even though Luz is absent, her presence still shines through Amity's actions. She is now the person who's willing to be kind for someone she barely knows, and it's fantastic. It's everything I could have ever wanted when these two interact, and it's all delivered so well.

Willow Owning the One Brain Cell Between Hooty and Gus: Ah, Willow. Even when you got severely screwed over this season, you're still the best...Yeah, I'll get to that in a minute.

Owlbert Cracking Apart: Don't mind me. Just having heart palpitations at the sight of Owlbert almost dying. NoThInG tO sEe HeRe!

Expectation Subversion to the Minecart Chase: ...I f**king love this show. I'm telling you, it's hilarious when it really tries.

Hunter Cracks: Yes, I laughed. A lot. But can we talk about the fact that Hunter would rather dig his own grave than disappoint Belos again? That alone says so much where despite having a similar situation to Amity's, it couldn't be more different. If Amity angers Alador or Odalia, she'll either get grounded and cry about it to Ed or Em. But if Hunter angers Belos? Well, I would like to point out how close Belos' weird goopy spear got to Hunter's face and how there's got to be a reason why Hunter has his scars.

You know what? I think I'd bury myself too if I was in Hunter's shoes at that moment.

King and Amity vs. Hunter: Three things!

One, this is the coolest fight scene of the series so far. And no, I will not take any arguments about it.

Two, Amity is right. She is an awesome girlfriend. Seriously, abomination magic is no joke.

Three, I genuinely appreciate these small moments where King actually does something beneficial when contributing to the fight. It makes him much more than a comedic Disney sidekick and someone who can be useful from time to time.

Overall this was an epic, incredibly animated fight that proves that this series is no joke when it comes to action.

Hunter Threatens Luz to get to Amity: I'm not too surprised by this. Amity doesn't care if someone threatens her because, if you couldn't tell from that fight scene, she can take care of herself. But Luz? Well, she's certainly formidable, but that doesn't mean that Amity won't worry about her girlfriend. She will do everything in her power to help Luz, made evident by how much Amity went overboard with a simple illness. So Hunter using that for his benefit is a pretty devious move executed phenomenally.

The Key Cracks: I like to think this was intentional on Amity's part. It's plausible that Hunter's words got to her so much that she accidentally broke it, but it's also likely that Amity knew she was backed in a corner that risked Luz getting hurt, so found a way where Hunter sort of wins but still loses. It's somewhat similar to how Luz destroyed the portal after giving it to Belos. The end result was a situation where everyone is safe but at the cost of delaying the inevitable for the villain's victory. They're both moments where everyone wins and loses, all to move the story forward at a slower pace than one would expect. And, for the fifth time now, it makes me curious about what happens next because of it.

Luz Calling Amity her Awesome Girlfriend: Yeah, my heart melted when this happened. After all of Amity's self-proclamations that she is an awesome girlfriend, followed by a brief moment of doubt, it felt nice to see that Luz explicitly said it too.

(King having hug envy was also a nice cherry on top)

WHAT I DISLIKED

Hey, I actually have criticisms this time...been a while since that happened, huh?

Belos Doesn’t Look All That Threatening: The green scar is cool, don't get me wrong...but this man doesn't look all that threatening without the mask. With it, yes, I'm quaking in my metaphorical boots. But making him look like a chilled-out old man with what looks like a skin infection just takes away all of the horror for me. I mean, look at him:

He looks like a guy who I can easily push over, and boom! The rain of tyranny is over.

I'm more than positive that this is a personal issue. That doesn't mean I won't take it personally, though.

Eda Acting like an Idiot: I get it. Eda wants to figure out how to make her powers work and will try literally anything to do it. My issue is that why does she have to act like a dunderhead at times to do it? I mean, Eda seriously never tried peacefully talking to the Owl Beast, which is what basically caused her to turn into the Harpy the first time? Remember? With the whole making a truce thing?

And why is she being so carefree despite being surrounded by coven guards and blatantly ignoring Hunter's warning, which was very clearly real? Yes, Eda can be reckless and carefree at times, but when a moment clearly calls to take things gravely, she still learns to tone things down a bit. So it pains me to see her act so...dumb!

Willow and Gus Getting Sidelined...Again: I'm not the first to mention this, and odds are I won't be the last, but it really does suck to see Willow and Gus get pushed on the sidelines so far this season. More so with Willow. Gus at least got half an episode to himself, where Willow barely contributes in the ones she's in. Although, in fairness, this is only the first half of the season, and there wasn't much Willow and Gus could do in the episodes we've seen so far. They may get more attention later, but here, it's just disappointing seeing them do nothing more than setting up an inadequate joke.

IN CONCLUSION

I'd say that "Eclipse Lake" is an A- for me. The jokes were solid, it makes me excited for more, and I love everything done with Amity and Hunter...I just wish that the rest of the characters were handled a little better. Most of my issues aren't really that big of a deal compared to everything else done right, but after three perfect episodes in a row, the small things tend to hit a lot harder. Sorry to say, but I can't always let the good stuff eclipse the bad.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I have to mentally, emotionally, and maybe even physically prepare myself for the heartbreak that will inevitably be "Yesterday's Lie." Which I’m not ready for)

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #amity blight #emperor belos #luz noceda #eda clawthorne #toh hunter #the golden guard #willow park #gus porter #lumity #lumity is canon #the owl house reviews #what i thought about

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incredifan34 · 4 years ago

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Incredibles Theory

Recently, I watched a video by Cartoon Conspiracy that theorized that Syndrome, was, in fact, a superhero - more specifically, the child of two supers. I highly reccommend you check it out.

More specifically, in the video, Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Syndrome's parents must've been supers for the following reasons:

Mr. Incredible / Bob Parr seems to know Buddy Pine's mother well, if not both of his parents. As seen with the wedding scene where Helen and Bob get married, most of the attendees are, in fact, superheroes. This would suggest that Bob and Helen's majority of friends / acquaintances are also supers.

Buddy Pine, as a child, seems to be overly eager to become a superhero himself (and has access to advanced tech parts), idolizing Mr. Incredible, showing up at the scene of the crimes, inventing his own tech to give him "powers", and dubbing himself "IncrediBoy". For one, where exactly is Buddy getting all of the tech parts (as a child, no less) needed to make working rocket boots? And two, how exactly where, and when, to find Mr. Incredible multiple times, unless he also had a police scanner / some sort of device that notifies Supers when criminals are at large? (Or, perhaps more likely, he overheard his Super parents talk about where Mr. Incredible normally fights crime?) And why is Buddy the only "sidekick" we see or hear about? This could also potentially point to Buddy having one, or two, superhero parents, ones with access to government technology made for superheroes (i.e. Gazerbeam's eyepiece, gauntlets, etc.).

Buddy Pine seems to be obsessively fixated on "becoming a superhero", so much so that his entire childhood is spent revolving around becoming one, as well as his later adulthood. It seems strange that Buddy is the only "non-Super" featured in the film who wants to emulate a superhero in real life, whereas everyone else seems to be perfectly content with letting the established Supers (ones with powers) do the job of crime-fighting for them.

Forshadowing as related to Jack-Jack Parr, the child of two Supers, supposedly "not having any powers". In the film, one of the points that comes up is Helen Parr, a.k.a Elastigirl, worrying about (or at least noticing) that "Jack-Jack doesn't [seem to] have any powers". This is in spite of Jack-Jack being the child of two superheroes. So this tells us two things: one, that a superhero couple has had at least one child before; and two, that a "non-super" born to two supers has also happened before. Why else would Helen Parr / Elastigirl just seemingly accept so suddenly that Jack-Jack doesn't have any apparent abilities, even though he's still a toddler? ...unless, of course, there was a previous example that she knew of a "superhero couple's baby" turning out to be a "Muggle"...a child, perhaps, like Buddy Pine.

Syndrome's / Buddy Pine's later island base seems almost identical to the base of the Phantasmics, a team of superheroes mentioned in the extra of The Incredibles DVD. The Phantasmics were a super group part of the National Supers Agency, and focused on international threats. Their base, as such, is noted as a "Secret Mid-Ocean Location - Codename - New Atlantis".

Speaking of the Phantasmics, in the video noted by Cartoon Conspiracy, they were headed by team leader Everseer, whose superpowers included telepathy, clairvoyance, and "magni-vision"; Macroburst, a superhero with the ability to control air currents and create high-velocity winds; Plasmabolt, a female superhero whose powers involved shooting bolts of plasma, which was gathered from the insect-like antennae mounted on the head of her super suit; and Psychwave, whose powers included mental force wave generation, temporary mental paralysis, the ability to possess the bodies of others, psychic foresight, thought control, and telekinesis; her superhero uniform was notable for an atomic insignia. In the video montage of the Supers that Syndrome's Omnidroid kills in the film, the Phantasmics (Psycwave, Everseer, Macroburst) are some of the first superheroes to die by his hand.

Buddy Pine bears some physical resemblance to at least two potential Super parents. Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Psycwave and Universal Man were the parents of Buddy Pine, because these two Supers appear first on his "kill list" (Project Kronos). However, personally, I think that Buddy Pine / Syndrome bears much more physical resemblance to the superhero Phylange, who had the ability to project sonic fields; and Apogee, a Super whose powers involved gravity control and levitation. Buddy Pine's facial / ear structure matches that of Phylange; his crooked teeth match Apogee's. Phylange and Apogee were both team members of the team "the Thrilling Three", along with...wait for it...none other than Gazerbeam. Likewise, Syndrome's Zero-point energy also involves what appears to be tech related to Apogee's gravity control / levitation ability.

Speaking of Gazerbeam, he seems to be, essentially, his presence seems to be the biggest piece of evidence in favor of this theory. According to The Incredibles DVD extras, Gazerbeam was originally a member of the Phantasmics, which would mean that he also worked with them off of their "secret island base" of "New Atlantis". (Sound familiar?) However, Gazerbeam's rivalry with team leader Everseer led to Gazerbeam's dismissal from the Phantasmics. After Dynaguy's death, Gazerbeam replaced him as leader of "the Thrilling Three", joining Phylange and Apogee in crime-fighting. In the film, Gazerbeam is also featured heavily somewhat, giving Mr. Incredible / Bob Parr the information on "Project Kronos" post-humously. However, Gazerbeam's previous involvement with the Phantasmics (and their "island base") seems too convenient to be merely a coincidence when it comes to his presence on Syndrome's island.

The "Thrilling Three"'s base seems based out of the same city from the intro. According to, again, the DVD extras, the Thrilling Three were based out of "the Trilling Three Towers...hours of operation effective by noon". (Again, why not start crime-fighting until noon, unlike the "around the clock" listed availability of other superheroes...unless one of the team had to take care of her child?) The Towers must've been based in the same city as Helen and Bob got married in, because Gazerbeam (a later Thrilling Three team member) also shows up at their wedding. Dynaguy, the current TT leader, also shows up to the wedding. However, the other two TT members, Apogee and Phylange, don't make an appearance. This could be due to the trouble their son (Buddy Pine) got into with Mr. Incredible only a short time before.

The only other "tech hero" seen in the film is Dynaguy, who, like Buddy Pine, had "rocket tech" to allow him to fly. Dynaguy, of course, used to be the leader of the "Thrilling Three", before his untimely death because his cape hit a snag on liftoff. Again, it seems too much to be a mere coincidence that Buddy Pine - who could be the child of two of Dynaguy's team members - apparently had the same, advanced "Super" tech Dynaguy had access to, albeit with Buddy reworking it into "rocket boots". Buddy even says to Mr. Incredible, "This is because I don't have powers, isn't it? Well, not every superhero has powers, y'know! You can be super without them! I invented these. I can fly! Can you fly?"

Buddy's / Syndrome's own dialogue as it relates to the Incredibles seems to indicate his own past. In the alternate opening on the deleted scenes, there's this really creepy moment after Syndrome hears baby Violet crying and then says to Bob, "You are breaking the law, Mr. Incredible. You know supers aren't supposed to breed," his eyes just slowly move in the direction of Violet's room. There's something very unsettling about that moment. Syndrome has Bob and Helen trapped with his freeze ray, and there's nothing they can do to stop Syndrome as he moves down the hall toward Violet. (Source) Likewise, Syndrome's decision to try and abduct Jack-Jack to "raise him as his own son" is disturbing in itself...almost like Syndrome has mental issues from his own abandonment / neglect as the child of a Super couple.

In addition to the last point, Syndrome's dialogue as he attempts to kidnap Jack-Jack is also very telling as to his own past:

Syndrome: "Shhhhhh.... the baby's sleeping. (chuckles evilly) You took away my future. I'm simply returning the favor. Oh, don't worry, I'll be a good mentor. Supportive, encouraging. Everything you weren't! And in time, who knows? He might make a good sidekick."

My theory as to what happened in Buddy's / Syndrome's backstory...

So, while Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Buddy Pine is, in fact, a Super - having "super intelligence" - I am of the belief that Buddy, in reality, is not a Super. However, I agree on the point that he was born to two Super parents, just different ones from CC's theory: Phylange and Apogee.

Sometime before the flashback in the intro to The Incredibles, Phylange and Apogee had a son: Buddy Pine. However, being born to two superhero parents, especially during "the Glory Days", likely wasn't easy. When both of your parents' jobs involves dedicating themselves to a life of crime-fighting, where does that leave Buddy Pine?

As a result, growing up, Buddy's parents are frequently away on business. As such, he grows up looking up to, and idolizing, superheroes - and one in particular, Mr. Incredible. I think Buddy's obsession with Mr. Incredible started because, perhaps, he was neglected emotionally at home by his largely-absent parents. As such, Buddy decided to "latch onto" who he saw as a "perfect" father figure and role model - Mr. Incredible, who was an associate of his parents'.

As such, Buddy built up a "shrine" to Mr. Incredible in his house; "invented" his rocket boots; joined the Mr. Incredible Fan Club (or maybe even started it); and even tried to fight crime alongside Mr. Incredible as his sidekick ("ward"), "IncrediBoy". Having been emotionally neglected by his parents, he used this as a way to try and "become worthy" (in his eyes) of the attention and affection they never gave him. In his eyes, if he became a "Super", and "earned respect" as one, then his parents (as well as Mr. Incredible) might spend more time with / praise him.

Perhaps the case could've been that, because Buddy was born without any superpowers, he was more neglected by his parents, in his view, because "they expected / wanted a Super child". So, Buddy thought, if he could become a Super himself, then, perhaps, they might "love him more" then.

Indeed, TV Tropes says of a "Muggle born of mages":

He may be nice-if-pathetic or mean-spirited, but whatever the case, his bitterness and regret over not being a super is a major character trait.

If there's one thing that Buddy Pine / Syndrome seems to practically ooze, it's "bitterness and regret over not being a Super". He seems to always carry a chip on his shoulder because of it.

Buddy Pine / Syndrome particularly has three quotes related to the "absent parent narrative", particularly the "absent father" one:

"I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics that anyone has even SEEN!"

"See? Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works."

"That ship has sailed! All I wanted was to help you, I only wanted to help! And what did you say to me? (Flashback of Mr. Incredible: "Fly home, Buddy. I work alone.") It tore me apart, but I finally learned an important lesson: you can't count on anyone, especially your heroes!"

However, when Buddy Pine is rejected by Mr. Incredible, after the incident with Bomb Voyage, his anger and bitterness comes to a head. He decides that he "can't rely on anyone - not even his heroes", and, over time, becomes more and more hateful of his parents, and Supers in general. He sees them as people who deserve to be hurt - to be punished - and "just as they took away his future", he would "return the favor".

In time, Buddy Pine develops all sorts of tech, most likely taken from his parents' base. He likely goes to a normal university - probably a tech-related one - and is eventually hired by the government / National Supers Agency, possibly due to his parents' influence as (by-then-ex) Supers. He uses the government tech to create weapons of war and other technology, selling them to other countries for a huge sum on the black market.

All the while Buddy Pine works for the NSA, he gathers all of the intelligence he can on every Super, especially after the Supers go into hiding. Previously, the NSA required every superhero to register with them to fight crime legally, so naturally, they would have all of the Supers' information. Buddy Pine uses the government's task of "hiding" the Supers against them, and even his own parents.

However, despite the U.S.'s "Superhero Relocation Program", effectively ending the Supers, this isn't enough for Buddy. He begins plotting his revenge. Likewise, the Phantasmics are still operating internationally, not just in the U.S., off of their island base of "New Atlantis". Buddy, as part of the government / NSA, manages to get sent to "New Atlantis" as an NSA agent, claiming "he needs to do official government business".

So, Buddy scopes out the island, planning his method of attack. In the meantime, he finishes completion of the Omnidroid v.X1, and manages to lure the ex-superhero Universal Man to his death via it.

Not long after Universal Man's death, Buddy launches a surprise attack on the Phantasmics. (That, or he disguises it as an "NSA training session / meeting".) In the battle, Psycwave and Everseer are killed by the Omnidroid v.XI. Macroburst manages to take out the Omnidroid, only to be later killed by the Omnidroid v.X2. The last remaining team member, Plasmabolt, manages to escape the island, and is never seen / heard from again.

With the Phantasmics out of the way, Buddy takes over "New Atlantis", and makes it his base of operations as Syndrome. His next target - not surprisingly - is his own father, Phylange. Luring his father to the island, Buddy uses the Omnidroid v.X2 to kill him, obtaining the first part of his revenge.

After killing a few more Supers, Buddy moves on to his mother, Apogee, luring her to the island to kill her with the Omnidroid v.X4.

Meanwhile, former Phantasmics member Gazerbeam has been working as a lawyer. After being forced into hiding, Gazerbeam used his civilian identity to launch a campaign to get the ban on Supers repealed. Frozone commented that he "had trouble adjusting to civilian life," much like his best friend Mr. Incredible had. Also, Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible's civilian alter ego) had learned in a Metroville Tribune newspaper that Gazerbeam had gone missing. According to the newspaper article, he was last seen outside his apartment on Traction Avenue ten days prior to the date of the article. His past advocacy of Superhero rights—which had lead some citizens to believe that he had actually been a superhero—would have made him a likely target (especially to Operation Kronos, a plan set forth by super-villain Syndrome). (Source)

However, Gazerbeam had also been former team mates (and likely close friends) with Phylange and Apogee, Buddy's parents. After reading / hearing about Phylange's and Apogee's "disappearance", along with that of other supers, Gazerbeam does some extra research. He finds that Phylange, Apogee, and/or their son, Buddy, were last tracked to / seen on "New Atlantis", the Phantasmics' old base.

Thus, Gazerbeam, under the guise of being "recruited" for "Project Kronos", decides to do some undercover investigations. In time, he finds out the terrible truth - that Buddy Pine, his best friends' son, is now a meglomaniacal supervillain, and has been the one killing Supers - but that he's the next victim.

Likely being ambushed after finding out the truth, Gazerbeam has just enough time to swim to the underwater cave, and, using his abilities, carve the word "KRONOS" into the rock wall. By then, the Omnidroid catches and kills him, or he's already been mortally wounded.

And, from that point on, the events of The Incredibles happen as-is.

And, as a final kicker: the name "Kronos" itself is not only a reference to the 1957 movie [Kronos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronos_(film), but also to, in Greek Mythology, the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father, Uranus, and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son, Zeus, and imprisoned in Tartarus.

The period in which Kronos ruled was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent. Kronos learned that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, Zeus, just as he had overthrown his father, Uranus; thus, Kronos ate his own children, until his wife tricked him, and raised Zeus outside of his influence.

In the same vein, "Kronos" could be a reference by Buddy Pine himself to how he views his vengeance - with him as "Zeus", he used "Project Kronos" as a way to overthrow his father, Phylange (and his father figure, Mr. Incredible), "the most-well-known Supers of the Golden Age", even years after the Supers' retirement. And, just like how Zeus locked away all of the Titans (and Kronos) after their defeat to clear the way for him to rule as King of the Gods, Buddy / Syndrome kills so many Supers in order to clear the way for his "new world order".

After all...

Syndrome: [watching live news footage of the Omnidroid] "Huh? Huh? Oh, come on! You gotta admit, this is cool! Just like a movie: the robot will emerge dramatically, do some damage, throw some screaming people. And just when all hope is lost? Syndrome will save the day! I'll be a bigger hero than you ever were."

Mr. Incredible: "You mean you killed off real heroes so that you could pretend to be one?"

Syndrome: "Oh, I'm real. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone's ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be super!"

Syndrome: "And when everyone's super ...[laughs]...no one will be."

#just a theory #buddy pine #apogee #Phylange #glory day supers #incredibles

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writernotwaiting · 4 years ago

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Unsolicited Loki Meta, Part 2 (with a side order of narrative theory)

I’ve been reading a lot of meta about the Loki series over the past few days, and the reactions on both ends of the spectrum are pretty strong. And let’s fact it, as fans of gender-fluid or queer characters—which includes Loki, but also several other franchises (*cough cough* looking squint-eyed at you, Sherlock)--we have been mightily abused over the past few years. Many of us are all viewing the series through the cynical lens of narrative betrayal, and are either desperate to see any Loki content as a blessing from above, or cynically waiting to be sucker punched by the evil Marvel overlords.

I admit, I cannot watch this show without both of those impulses in the back of my head. I really *want* the show to redeem itself, and so I may just be looking for ways to excuse their sloppy story telling, true.

The MCU, as a whole, sacrificed character development altogether in the second half of their movie series in favor of unnecessary battle scenes and plot twists. I would argue, in fact, that the last of the MCU movies to privilege character over spectacle were The Winter Soldier and The Black Panther. The sacrifice of character development came largely because the franchise made a deliberate decision to follow a specific narrative structure that depends heavily on the ideological foundation of traditional masculinity—physical strength, personal agency, an unwillingness to compromise, skill in combat, willingness to initiate aggression to solve problems, a world view that equates vengeance with justice and privileges open confrontation over “back-door dealing”--a formula that the franchise employs regardless of whether its hero is male or female. In service of this ideological foundation, the narrative subordinates all other social roles to support the development of the dominant masculine ideal.

{more under the cut}

The MCU (and the movie industry as a whole, really) has no idea what to do with a character that doesn’t fit the standard narrative pattern: “strong person who fits masculine ideal (even if the person is female—Natasha Romanov, Carol Danvers, Pepper Potts when she comes raging out of the fire to smash Kilian) is flawed and will reach his/her great potential when someone s/he loves dies a horrible death.”

If you look at the franchise, a sympathetic character dies (is fridged) in nearly every single one of the movies—Yinsen, Loki (functionally), Coulson (functionally), Pietro, Frigga, T’chaka, Odin and Heimdall, Loki (again), Everyone Who Gets Snapped, etc, etc, etc. And the deaths of those characters catalyze the epiphanies that enable the “heroes” to fully accept their proper place as Ideal Masculine Defender (again whether the character is male or female).

This is not new. It’s a narrative device which, in fact, is true for a lot of Disney’s animated films (you might have noticed that there are a lot of dead mothers in Disney movies).

Gender-ambiguous and traditional female social roles do not fit this narrative pattern. You cannot squash negotiation and compromise into this structure. Neither will a character fit if s/he prefers subterfuge over explosions. It goes without saying that nurturance, healing, and support are right out. The MCU wants Achilles, not Odysseus, and Penelope is only useful if she dies, rather than outsmarts a banquet hall of suitors for ten years.

So what hope is there for Loki, whose characterization rests on his ambiguity? I really hope that the show doesn’t flatten him out in order to squash him into the current MCU narrative structure.

Some things signal hope for this.

Although it gets dressed up in a 1950s, cartoon vibe (which very much softens its threat), the TVA looks very much to me like the embodiment of the insidious kind of evil that comes from a fascist bureaucracy. Many of the people caught up in it (like the guy who wants a signature and has a cute cat, like the guy who asks whether Loki is a robot, and like Casey) are “just doing their jobs” and don’t think about the horribleness of what the end result of their jobs is. The is the “benign face of evil” that permits any fascist organization to thrive.

The not-so-benign face shows up with the hunter who, from the very start, delights in the ability to inflict pain--slowing down time so Loki feels the pain of the blow even longer than he would in real time, and snickering in his helplessness when he tries to use magic and fails. These are the dark underside of fascism--the SS enforcers that rough up the undesirables (in this case, the variants), and enjoys the power over those whom they see as less than fully human.

I hope that the show means to use this 1984-vibe to highlight Loki’s non-stereotypically-masculine strengths--his intellect, his love of mischief, his loyalty to those who are loyal to him, his ability to solve problems through the back channels rather than by Thor-like confrontation.

And yeah, some folks have complained that Loki’s breakdown in episode 1 comes pretty quickly, and through some fairly reprehensible gaslighting (and careful omission of details on Mobius’s part). I agree that his methods are cruel and manipulative. As for their effectiveness, well, I think it’s fair to point out that Loki has had a pretty shitty day--a pretty shitty couple of years, in fact, which makes him particularly susceptible to this sort of manipulation.

Again, I am hoping that this set up will lead to a more genuine self-awareness and acceptance as Loki re-learns his own strengths without Odin’s A+ parenting to undermine it. Loki needs to learn to live with himself. I’m hoping the series gives him the time and space (pun intended) to do this.

#Loki series #meta #MCU meta #narrative theory #gender-fluid characters #female characters #ideologically driven storytelling

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emachinescat · 4 years ago

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Mama Bear

A Tales of Arcadia Fan-Fiction

by @emachinescat @whumptober2021 day 3 - Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But... ("who did this to you?")

Summary: After Jim’s fight with Draal, his mom sees his bruises, and Mama Bear is unleashed. Post-Win, Lose, or Draal.

Whumpee: Jim

Words: 2,603

Note: This fic was inspired by what Barbara said in 1x13 about Jim coming home from school covered in bruises. As is my way, I took the idea and ran with it.

TW: none

Barbara Lake had always considered herself incredibly lucky that her son turned out as well as he did. It wasn’t her own doing, she was sure of that – she always did the best she could, but being a single mom meant she’d had to work extra shifts to support her small family and never felt like she was there enough.

No, Jim was just a really good kid.

Not many moms could boast that their sixteen-year-old son could cook better than they could, let alone that they made gourmet lunches and dinners (and breakfasts, on most weekends), not just willingly, but happily. And not many moms could brag that their sixteen-year-old son did the dishes or kept the house clean or put aside his own wants and dreams to take care of his overworked mother. Who got up early to leave flowers on their bedside table after a long night at work, or who tucked them in after they fell asleep on top of the covers, still in their scrubs, because they’d been too exhausted to do anything else.

Barbara tried not to brag too much about Jim. She knew that he did have a social life of his own, and as far as she could tell, he was fairly well liked at school and she didn’t want to embarrass him if any of his friends found out just how much he doted on his mother. But sometimes she couldn’t help it, and she’d find herself rambling to her beautician or the nurses at the hospital or sometimes even a long-suffering patient about how her son was one-of-a-kind. He didn’t get into trouble at school, didn’t fight, didn’t skip school, and almost never missed curfew.

Until one day, he did.

It wasn’t even like it was a gradual change. There was no slow fade. She didn’t watch him slowly descend into bad grades or late nights or midnight calls about museum break-ins. There were no signs. He went to bed one day, the same as ever, and then suddenly he was getting into trouble at school, getting into fist fights, missing curfew, breaking into museums in the dead of night. Not only that but his grades – which had always been slightly higher than average – had plummeted, and he’d developed dark circles under his eyes like he never slept and sometimes he moved around like he was an eighty-year-old man and though his good nature and kind heart remained, it seemed strained at times. He still did sweet things for her, but not as often.

At first, she’d thought he was burning the proverbial candle at both ends and his lack of sleep was taking a toll on his mental and physical health. As a doctor, she’d seen firsthand what lack of sleep could do to a person. Their entire personality would change, or fizzle out, and their judgment would be severely impaired.

But then she’d seen the bruises and her sleep-loss theory flew out of the window.

***

Two weeks ago

Barbara thought boundaries and independence were a valuable part of a child’s development, so she always knocked before she entered Jim’s room. Of course, if he were gone, she wouldn’t bother.

On this particular day – one of her rare days off – she was sure he wasn’t home. She hadn’t heard him come in, hadn’t seen his bike propped up against the side of the house or in the garage. The container of store-bought chocolate chip cookies (she had neither the time nor skill to bake them herself) she’d left out for him hadn’t been touched. For all appearances, Jim hadn’t gotten home from school yet.

And so, she didn’t knock as she approached his bedroom door with a laundry basket propped on her hip. Jim always did his own laundry, but she’d seen how tired and overworked he’d been lately and wanted to ease his burden however she could.

The sight that greeted her when she nudged open the door and flipped on the light was one that would stick with her, tattooed onto her mind’s eye, for the rest of her life.

Jim was asleep on top of his unmade bed. It looked like he’d gotten halfway undressed and then decided to forgo comfort for sleep, and lay on his stomach in only his jeans. One shoe was on, the other halfway under the bed. But what arrested her attention so violently was the great rainbow of bruises arching across his back and stretched around his side, disappearing beneath his stomach where he lay on the bed.

She couldn’t help herself. A horrified shriek escaped her, and Jim sprung up so quickly it made her head spin. The panicked look in his eyes did not escape her notice, nor did the way he made a desperate reach for his pocket, like he was trying to grab something – trying to defend himself? When he saw who was in his room, and that they were alone, and that there was no danger, the raw fear faded, though a hint of panic remained.

“Mom!” he squawked, crossing his arms across his chest like that would be enough to hide the dizzying array of green, purple, yellow, and black that blanketed his chest. She noticed with surprise the lean muscles of his arms. Jim had always been fit, but never strong. He’d never said anything about a gym and he’d never been serious about sports, but she filed this information away for later and focused on the problem at hand.

Her stomach twisted as her doctor’s eyes traveled slowly, deliberately down her son’s bare torso. The bruises were worse on his stomach and chest, something she hadn’t thought possible, and she realized with horror that some of them were days, maybe weeks, older than others. This – whatever this was – was not an isolated incident.

Rage like she’d never felt before, like the protective energy of all mothers who had come before her collected into one finely-honed sword, pierced her soul as she came to the only conclusion that made any logical sense: Someone had done this to her son.

When she spoke, she barely recognized her own voice, cold as the furthest depth of the ocean, shaking with unmitigated fury.

“Who did this to you?”

Jim’s answer didn’t surprise her, but she also didn’t believe it for a second. “No one. It… was an accident.” She watched, lips crammed together in an impossibly thin line, teeth grinding against one another, her hands trembling with a righteous anger she had no outlet for, as Jim slowly reached out for the shirt he’d left in a heap at the end of the bed, the other arm still wrapped protectively around his torso. She didn’t stop him. She would absolutely be examining his injuries fully before the evening was done, but for now, she’d seen enough. The sight of her son’s bruised flesh would burn in her memory forever, more clearly than when she saw it right in front of her.

Skittishly, like a cat caught sniffing around back alley garbage cans, he snatched up the shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head. He couldn’t hide the flinch as he raised his arms to pull the fabric over his head. As he did so, she got the full view of his torso, and the wild, impossible thought flitted through her mind that it almost looked like some giant hand had wrapped around his body and squeezed. The image, however nonsensical, sent waves of nausea crashing through her. Her anger swelled again, and the crest of it burst forth, no longer containable, and the only person she could release it on was the one who was actively lying to her.

“James Lake, Jr. – do you think I’m an idiot?!”

Jim froze, his hands stilling completely as he adjusted the neck of his tee. He had never heard his mother direct such cold fury at anyone, let alone himself. “W-what? Of course not, Mom. I just–”

“You expect me to believe that you accidentally hurt yourself this badly? That you woke up one morning and you were covered in bruises? Jim, I’m a doctor. I see people come in for less than this. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have fractured ribs.” Now the anger was giving way to panic. “And don’t think that I haven’t noticed that some bruises are newer than others. This isn’t something that just ‘happened’ and it’s not an accident. So tell me. Who – the – hell – did this to my son?”

A small, ridiculous surge of satisfaction bubbled up inside of her as she watched Jim’s mouth fall open. He’d never heard his mother utter a word stronger than darn before. She’d always been very careful about the language she used in front of him. But his condition released something feral inside of her, and it was honestly a bit of a shock that nothing stronger came out.

She watched his face, saw the conflict in his eyes, knew with even more surety that he was hiding something big from her and trying to decide if he was going to answer truthfully. Well, tough luck. He wasn’t leaving his bedroom until he answered her question.

He must have seen this in her eyes, for after a moment, he dropped his gaze. Heavily, he sat down on the foot of his bed and stared down at his hands. “Mom, I… can’t. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

At this, the fear took center stage again, and Barbara fell to her knees in front of her son, cupping his face in her hands. The tears she’d been holding back with such determination threatened to fall at the way he unconsciously leaned into her touch. His eyes closed briefly, and for a moment he was a child again, sniffling from a scraped knee and being comforted by his mother. That moment ended all too quickly, because his scraped knee was actually a bruised and battered torso, and he wasn’t a child anymore, and he was in trouble.

“Jim. Whatever is going on, I promise, I won’t be angry. But someone is hurting you. You can’t deny that. What is happening to my son?” She tried not to speculate – dared not speculate – but so many possibilities chased themselves through her head, each one worse than the last. Bullies? Abusive teacher? Drugs?

He sat for a moment, a slumped, defeated statue with too much weight on his young shoulders – Young Atlas, Walter’s voice echoed in her mind. She saw the exact moment when he made his decision. He squared his shoulders, set his jaw, and met her eyes once more. Something brewed within those beautiful blue depths, but what it was she couldn’t say. Was it regret? Guilt? Fear?

“It really was an accident,” he finally said, voice slow and measured.

“Jim, really–!”

“I’m telling the truth, Mom!” he insisted so fervently that she was tempted to believe him. Almost.

“Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?” she demanded. “What kind of ‘accident’–”

“A Vespa one,” Jim blurted, and his eyes flickered down to his hands in shame. “I… a friend gave me a ride on his Vespa. I was on the back and got thrown off and rolled halfway down the embankment before a tree caught me right in the ribs.”

Fresh panic wormed its way into Barbara’s mind at Jim’s confession. As horrible as it was, part of her desperately wanted to believe him. If he had been in a vehicle accident, then no one had been deliberately hurting her child. It was just his own irresponsibility and stupidity.

“When did this happen?”

A beat. Then, sheepishly, “... yesterday.”

But – “What about the older bruises, Jim? Did you get into two Vespa accidents?”

“Paintball,” Jim answered without missing a beat. “We had a whole thing a few months back. Guys versus girls. And I got hit. A lot.”

Barbara recalled clearly the size and location of the older bruises that had peeked out from underneath the fresh, reaching ones. They could have easily been from punches or kicks, but it was feasible that the bruises could have come from being shot at close-range by a paintball gun.

Deep down, something still nagged at her. But Jim’s explanation was a siren’s call and she was so tired of swimming.

“Do you promise me you’re telling the truth?” The gaze she fixed on him one would have withered a succulent.

Without hesitation, Jim answered, his voice clear, strong, and insistent. “Yes.”

Relief flooded through her, and she squashed the last remaining doubts, perhaps a bit too eagerly. “In that case, you are grounded.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “What, really? You promised you wouldn’t be angry!?”

“I’m not angry, I’m disappointed. Let’s see, you know how I feel about both paintball and those Vespas and yet you went behind my back and nearly got yourself killed. You’ve been lying to me, Jim, keeping secrets. Is this why you’ve not been sleeping? Why you’ve been so distant?” It didn’t explain why he’d been getting into more trouble than usual, but right now she would take what she could get.

The slightest of hesitations. “Yeah.”

She considered, eyes burning into him, for a long moment, then she sighed, the sound of every evil thing escaping Pandora’s box, and she clapped her hands together briskly. “Okay, come on.”

Jim cocked his head to the side. “Where are we going?”

“The hospital.”

Jim groaned. “Mom, I’m okay. I’m just bruised.”

“I’m not taking any chances, mister. You could have fractured ribs. You should have been rushed to the hospital as soon as the accident happened. Who is this friend, anyway? Why didn’t he take you to the E.R.?”

Jim scratched the side of his neck. “You wouldn’t know him,” he evaded, and Barbara made a promise to herself to revisit this point later. “And we were afraid we’d get into trouble…”

“Well, you did, kiddo. Now, get up. We’re going to the hospital, you’re getting x-rays, and then we’re getting ice cream.”

Jim blinked up at her. She wondered if he realized his arm was curled protectively around his ribs as he slowly eased himself off the bed. “Ice cream? I thought I was grounded.”

“You’re hurt, Jim, and I’m your mother. I’m not a monster.” A soft smile pulled at the corners of Jim’s mouth at her words, and not wanting him to get too comfortable, she added, “You are grounded, though. Absolutely. You’re not going anywhere after school for at least two weeks. And depending on the x-rays, you might not be leaving your bed for a while, either.”

“Mooom.”

“Don’t you ‘mom’ me. Now, put your other shoe on. Let’s hussle. I want you looked at as soon as possible.”

What she didn’t see as she turned to leave the room was the heavy curtain of guilt being drawn over Jim’s face.

Later, she’d drive him home with a diagnosis of two cracked ribs and deep bruising across 80 percent of his torso and a bottle of muscle relaxers for the pain. They’d get ice cream and he would mope about bedrest and she would try to cheer him up (but not too much; he was still grounded, after all). But behind the pain of his injuries lurked a deeper, fierer ache that no balm could soothe, no medication could ease.

With every lie, he could feel the chasm widen between him and his mother, and it hurt more than a few broken ribs and bruises ever could.

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mk-wizard · 5 years ago

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Graham Burns: Analysis of the Nerd of Action

Hello, friends. Today’s character analysis is at the request of a dear reader @petrichornial who wanted an analysis of Graham Burns who is the genius of the Burns rescue operative family from Rescue Bots as well as Boulder’s partner and good friend.

As far as character biography goes, it is pretty simple. Graham Burns is one of the Burns kids and is younger than Kade and older than Cody, but it is never confirmed if he is older or younger than Dani though is is very likely that he is older than her because he is a university graduate though it could be that he skipped some grades from being an exceptional genius. When he was Cody’s age, he was also a Lad Pioneer and was good at it, but after getting lost in the woods one time, he left out of embarrassment. While he is a licensed and expert engineer, it is clear that he is still studying either for a Masters degree or even possibly a doctorate. When he is first introduced to Boulder, it is under the impression that he is just a machine though after learning that he was a person, he still had some trouble respecting him as such. Graham was initially more concerned with analyzing and learning about how Boulder worked as an alien life form which made the bot very uncomfortable if not insulted. Graham quickly realized that this was not right and respected Boulder as a person for the rest of the series. They even become best friends. Amy would later develop a crush on a newcomer and fellow loveable nerd Amy though he had trouble talking to her and even made several goofs along the way before finding the confidence to just say hello to her. It isn’t known how much their relationship progressed though or if anything did become of their mutual attraction since their first meetup. At the end of the Rescue Bots series, the rescue team was separated though Graham and Boulder remained partners as they were assigned to the west coast. While Graham never made an appearance on Rescue Bots Academy, it can be concluded that he is still fulfilling that duty alongside Boulder when the bot isn’t teaching new recruits and like Cody Burns, he remains in touch with the rest of the gang.

As a character especially of his type, I have to admit that Graham really got underrated as he breaks several molds for it. Most obviously, he may be the brains, but is not without enough brawn to hold out on his own. In both the action figure line and the cartoon, Graham has work boots, a construction helmet and for the toy only, a vest. We even see that Graham does get his hands dirty, is in shape, likes to camp and he even plays sports meaning that unlike most geek characters, Graham is not physically the weakest of the team. He also doesn’t have any of those stereotypical setbacks like a plethora of dietary limits, allergies to everything (just cats) and he isn’t asthmatic. Moreover, while he does struggle with his communication skills and talking to girls, he is not so socially inept that he is consistently insensitive or says inappropriate things that make people feel uncomfortable. Graham is a gentleman, he has enough sense to think before he talks, he is not oblivious to feelings and he does like people. Yes, he’s an introvert, but he is willing to open up when the chance presents itself.

Another thing about him that is noteworthy is that his genius never becomes a drag or the only reason for his character. His knowledge of things doesn’t go beyond his industry and he never pretends to know more than he does. And there have been times where Graham had to ask for help. Back in the day, geek characters were always expected to know everything and solve problems by reading a book then becoming experts overnight. In Rescue Bots, Graham shows us that even geniuses have limits and need time to get the hang of skills that are new to them. Furthermore, Graham doesn’t have the annoying speech stereotype of talking with the tone of a book or in this snobbish way. He talks and walks like a regular person. Most notably, Graham is not even the biggest genius in Griffin Rock. That title is reserved for the scientists who reside there or have made contact with it. Nor does he ever get competitive with them or jealous of their knowledge.

The most important aspect of Graham is that he acts his age and human. Even with all his genius, Graham has the same interests as most people his age and does the things we expect him to do when in certain situations. Like eating at his desk while doing homework and he enjoys things like pizza. He is also not above making bad decisions like eating the Magic Meat/Fo-Foo just because it was there even though it smelled awful and seemed off. Or going to Kade for advice on how to approach a girl or coming up with a cologne to solve his problems with his confidence. The most notable bad decision he made though was years ago when he left the Lad Pioneers before being given his last badge out of shame after getting lost in the woods. He is a good balance of capable, but human which is good.

In short, Graham is definitely a sign of the times in how the media does still follow tropes, but now, it does so respectfully and it no longer stereotypes its characters. Graham is Graham first and a geek second. And being the geek doesn’t make him weak and he shouldn’t be if he does rescue missions.

So what do you all think of Graham Burns? Anything you want to add to this analysis?

If you have a Transformers theory or character analysis you want explored, please let me know in my ask box. And please, support me through Patreon or Ko-fi if you want me to make Transformers merch and videos. Or if you want a commission of your favourite bot, let me know in my shop. All links are on my profile page.

Thanks for reading and please, stay safe.

#transformers #transformers fandom #transformers rescue bots #rescue bots #rescue bots academy #boulder #graham burns #lad pioneers #burns family #character analysis #transformers boulder #cody burns #dani burns #kade burns #chief burns #charlie burns #geek #nerd #genius

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whattolearntoday · 4 years ago

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September 18th is...

Air Force Birthday - Commemorates the establishment of The United States Air Force in 1947. As a result of pursuing advanced technology and superior airmen, the US Air Force emerged as the swiftest tactical force ready to deploy anywhere at a moment’s notice.

Boys’ And Girls’ Club Day For Kids - Dedicate this Saturday to celebrating children. Spend the time in meaningful activities, celebrating the wonderment of childhood.

Cheeseburger Day - There are many theories to the beginning of the cheeseburger dating back to the 1920s. One story suggests that Lionel Sternberger invented the cheeseburger in 1926 while working at his father’s Pasadena, California sandwich shop, The Rite Spot. During an experiment, he dropped a slice of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger.

CleanUp Day - Litter, debris, and trash mar the beauty of our natural landscapes. National CleanUp Day puts litter in its place – in the trash and recycle bins. The observance provides an opportunity to make those messes right and give the landscape a fresh, clean sweep! Communities, corporations, civic organizations, parks and recreation departments, and private citizens will all be uniting together.

Dance Day - The day focuses on raising awareness about dance. It also encourages Americans to embrace dance as a fun and positive way to maintain good health and combat obesity.

Gymnastics Day - During the 5th century B.C., gymnastics first emerged as a classical sport. The Greeks developed the practice to strengthen warriors’ skills for battle. Since gymnastics focuses on all the necessary physical traits for hand-to-hand combat, it improves strength, dexterity, and concentration.

HIV/Aids And Aging Awareness Day - Of the 1.2 million people living with HIV infection in the U.S., an estimated 24 percent are age 55 or over. Another focus of the campaign includes those diagnosed after the age of 50. According to the AIDS Institute, increased awareness for an aging population is necessary. Finally, the day also aims to increase support to the growing number of grandparents becoming guardians of children losing their parents to HIV/AIDS.

International Coastal Cleanup Day - Encourages people to rid beaches of the garbage plaguing beaches. Awareness is also spread about preserving and protecting the world’s oceans and waterways.

International Eat An Apple Day - The apple originated in Central Asia. Today, people all over the world enjoy these delicious fruits. There are many different kinds of apples. Throughout the world, apples come in 7,500 different varieties. In the United States, 2,500 varieties are grown.

International Red Panda Day - Red pandas are much smaller than the more familiar black and white pandas. In fact, red pandas are not related to giant pandas at all. Red pandas weigh between 12 to 20 pounds, which is about the size of a housecat. These adorable mammals live in the trees of the Himalaya Mountains. The Red panda’s popularity in Asia features them in cartoons and as team mascots. However, only about 10,000 red pandas live in the wild. Because of deforestation, poaching, and the illegal pet trade, red pandas are endangered.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day - Encourages those looking for a new dog, to adopt, not shop. An observance dedicated to improving the lives of dogs, the day spreads the word about the poor conditions of puppy mills. While reputable dog breeders care for the animals they raise, a puppy mill doesn’t put the animal’s needs first. Not only do the dogs often live in poor conditions, but they’re bred more often than is healthy. Additionally, puppy mills don’t take into consideration preferred characteristics when breeding.

Responsible Dog Ownership Day - The observance encourages current and future pet owners to commit to being responsible for their loyal hound. Being responsible protects not only the dog but all those who may be affected by him, too. Dogs bring many benefits to our lives. Ensuring they remain healthy, happy, and safe is a vital part of our job as dog owners.

World Bamboo Day - Bamboo is a type of giant grass that is hard and hollow. It is also the fastest growing land plant in the world. Certain species of bamboo grow 36 inches within 24 hours. This means that it grows about one inch every 40 minutes.

World Water Monitoring Day - Aims to increase public awareness for water monitoring and recognizes the importance of protecting the world’s water resources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 3 people don’t have access to safe drinking water. This number equals 2 billion people. Unsafe drinking water has a detrimental effect on one’s health. Diseases that result from unsafe drinking water include cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea.

#air force #boys' and girls' club #cheeseburger #clean up #dance #gymnastics #hiv/aids #apples #red pandas #puppy mills #dogs #bamboo #water

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ao3feed-piltovers-finest · 3 years ago

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soap

by xXInsert_Name_HereXx

“Whatever happens, it’s on you.” Vander’s words echoed in her ears.

“Silco thinks he made Jinx.” The dim moonlight casting her shadow along the walls told Vi where she was, “With all his rants and hard earned lessons,” Jinx’s impression of Silco echoed on the walls as she just barely stepped out of the shadows, “but he didn’t make Jinx… you did.”

The shadows on the walls twisted and shrieked, their dark forms getting larger as they closed in on her. The darkness began to cloud her vision.

Vi shot up from the bed, drenched in a cold sweat. She threw the blankets to the side and grabbed her pants from the floor, tripping a little as she slipped them on. She stumbled a little from exhaustion and pain as she scribbled a note and left it on the dresser. She took one last glance around the room before she opened the window and climbed out through it. She shivered a little from the cold air on her bare shoulders as she wandered down the streets towards the Kiramman estate.

Words: 1620, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021), League of Legends

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other

Characters: Vi (League of Legends), Caitlyn (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Ekko (League of Legends), Cassandra Kiramman, Tobias Kiramman, Silco (Arcane: League of Legends), Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Vander (League of Legends), Warwick (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends), Mel Medarda, Viktor (League of Legends), Original Characters

Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends), Caitlyn & Vi (League of Legends), Jinx & Vi (League of Legends), Jinx & Vi & Warwick (League of Legends), Ekko & Jinx & Vi (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends)/Mel Medarda/Viktor (League of Legends), Vi & Sevika, Ekko/Jinx (League of Legends)

Additional Tags: Angst, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone is suffering, OH THE MISERY, Guilt, Big Sister Syndrome, Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, What is Vi doing?, Her best, Good Sibling Vi (League of Legends), Everyone is Badass, Abuse, Prison, Romance, Protectiveness, Support, Physical Therapy, Useless Lesbians, Vander is Warwick Theory (League of Legends), Relationship(s), Past Relationship(s), Memories, Parkour, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

from AO3 works tagged 'Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)'

#a03feed-piltovers-finest #ao3feed-piltovers-finest #caitvi #arcane (league of legends) fanfiction

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makeusfreefromthisfandom · 5 years ago

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Anon asked: Heyyy! Can we have some HC on style 5 as fathers? Thank you

Yes! The boys as fathers have me so soft 🥺

Father Headcanons (Style 5)

I got carried away with these hcs... might have to make a separate post for each later on 😅 long post ahead!

Haru

Personally I imagine Haru with a daughter first

Like can you imagine how cute that would be? 🥺🥺the whole like father like daughter 🥺🥺

Haru doesn’t get this whole babies thing, in fact he’s panicking on the inside, but the moment he holds his child in his arms, it’s like every thought every worry has now become irrelevant

The only thing that matters is the child in his arms❤️

Smiles a lot more now because he is genuinely happy.

Even lets his laughs be heard more often just for his kid lol

When his child grows up a bit more, he definitely wants to teach them how to swim and how to ahem ~be one with the water~

He’s not a pushy father at all tho he won’t ever force his child to go down the swimming path and would rather have them get into something they are passionate about

Nevertheless, he still would like them to know how to swim atleast, it’s not a bad thing to learn

But um...he’s not the best of teachers...

Uncle Makoto here to save the day!

That being said, Haru always wants to be there for his child, be able to go to as much of their competitions/meets/games/etc. as he can even though he’s so busy with his own training schedules

He just wants to be there for them and he wants them to know that too<3

Oh um also...he’s bad at scolding...he’ll try to “scold” his little kid for doing something wrong like picking things off the ground and putting it in their mouth but his child just looks up at him like 😯

Also Haru changing diapers? Haha... “ahh (y/n)! How do I do this?”

He gets better at this tho over time :)

Watch his child not like Mackerel

He’s still confused over this whole father thing, but he knows that he really does want to love and be there for his child<3

Btw how cool would it be to have a dad being a world renowned swimmer? 😱

*haru excitingly watching as you feed your baby daughter (I see him w a daughter ok but it’s your choice) mackerel for the first time*

*baby makes a weird face and spits out mackerel*

“*Haru gasps dramatically* She doesn’t like mackerel.”

Baths with his kid. 🐬

JUST IMAGINE THAT I DONT EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN IT

How precious 🥺

You sitting on the edge of the bathtub, silently watching Haru as he holds his baby in the bath with a small smile, eyes then slowly drifting up to lock in with yours, his smile a bit wider and everything he feels for you and his child, all shining in his eyes ❤️

There cannot be a more perfect, little, peaceful family <3

Makoto

An amazing father!

We’ve seen him with his little siblings Ren and Ran!

That doesn’t mean he won’t panick from time to time because it’s different when it’s your own child

He’s the type to do the whole baby talk and little cooes with his baby but turns bashful when he catches you quietly standing in the doorway watching 🤣

His cooking skills have improved a bit...

You already work so hard everyday for the baby and the house, he wants to lessen your burdens and give you a little break <3🥺

Family cuddles! With you and Makoto on either side and your child/children in the middle! How precious🥺

I see Makoto’s children being a lot more brave and daring than he is like watching “scary” (like Cartoon Network scary XD) movies and wanting going on adventures in places supposedly paranormal

“Dad stop being such a scaredy cat! I wanna go watch this movie already!”

“Ahh (y/n)!! Help me! 😰”

His kids are mischievous bro always do those puppy dog eyes to get him into their schemes

“AH NO (Y/N)! IT WAS THEIR IDEA I PROMISE!”

He also spoils his kids XD

Don’t think that means he doesn’t know when the boundaries are crossed and when he needs to get a bit strict

He may spoil his kids but spoiled kids are a big no no (there’s a difference)

The kids actually grow up to be sweet and respectful

Aww imagine Makoto teaching his own kids how to swim and sending them to an sc🥺

He’s just such a loving father and SO supportive!

His children love that they can come to him with any of their problems and know that he’s going to listen intently and understand, while also offering any advice he might think suitable <3

As if you alone didn’t make his heart well enough with so much love, his heart practically bursts with his children❤️

Ready to sacrifice everything he has for the happiness and well being of his family ❤️

Nagisa

Excitement is an UNDERSTATEMENT

As if this baby himself wasn’t cute enough, just IMAGINE HIS CHILDREN

omg omg omg cuteness overload

He’s jumping up and down when his baby is about to come, however he calms down when he actually gets a chance to hold them and he’s just in a soft, serene state, looking on at his little one with a small smile~

All his little toddler has to do is slightly tug on his shirt, and Nagisa is in a full gushing frenzy

He cries over how adorable they are

Nagisa baby YOU are adorable

He’s such a funny dad always makes his kids laugh!

Like when his child is a baby, he would come over making silly faces that half of the time either made baby laugh or baby cry 😣

Tickle Monster 😏

Finger puppets! I totally see him doing this as a father!

Nagisa won’t tease his kids a whole lot tho, knowing how frustrating it can get having experienced for a good amount of his life by his older sisters

He wants his kids to have fun ALL the time just like him 😁

He shows them his secret sweet stash when he believes it is time

So you’re going to have to be the one implementing the rules and regulations

“Come on, it’s time for bed let’s go, it’s past 11”

“Aww come on (y/n)-chan look at how happy they are! Just give us five more minutes🥺”

The challenging part for you is that you end up having to give in a lot more because now there’s more than 1 who’ve mastered the puppy dog eyes around the house

Another supportive dad! (They all are) he wants to be there for his kids’ firsts! And for all their games and competitions etc.

This is going to be such a fun little family with LOTS of love, support, chocolate, and fun! ❤️

Rei

No theory, no book, no calculations prepared him for the moment his child was placed in his arms

He’s immediately brought to tears and whispers a small “beautiful” 🥺

The type to document EVERY moment of his child

You end up having like 10 albums and tapes of just your kid(s)

ALL of your little ones firsts have all been recorded and documented to reminisce on later in the future🥺

Always nudging you and showing you the cute little things your baby is doing off in the corner🥺

He can be strict

Unlike Nagisa, oh no he is not spoiling his kid’s diet

Their kid is eating their entire rainbow with lots of fruits and vegetables, along with the right amount of protein and milk

However there are times where he chills out and actually bakes cookies and sweets for his children 🥺

And they are *chefs kiss*

However when Uncle Nagisa comes over...those kids know what’s up 😝😋

Wants to show them the beauty of swimming, specifically the butterfly stroke

You don’t have to worry about your kids getting low grades, because Rei will personally take care of that😌

He just wants his children work hard so they can become the best at whatever they choose to do in the future <3

Haha you wanna know what I’m imagining?

Him having a daughter that is an EXACT copy of him

And it will completely leave him speechless at moments XD

“Ahem...Daddy, the way that you pitch the ball is off by approximately 15 degrees according to the direction and pressure of the wind...not beautiful” *pushes glasses up*

Rei is just like 😨😱

Anyways you can forget about having excessive burden on your shoulders from parenting because this man is going to give it his all for you and his children❤️

Rin

The second his baby was delivered, he was already a crying mess, however when they are actually placed in his arms, it’s like all the tears have suddenly stopped, and it’s just a moment for Rin.

However he starts crying again immediately after

He loves his child so much! ❤️

They are a physical embodiment of his love with you! <3

He now understands the sacrifices his own father made for the sake of his family and now Rin is willing to to the same for his own

All his tsundereish tendencies vanish and he just becomes one big softy 😤

Don’t think that means that Rin doesn’t know how to be strict tho

Oh he is a strict dad but he only does is it for his child’s own good

He will shower them in just as much affection after the scolding <3

Like even after he gets a bit harsh on his child and sees their eyes, Rin immediately stops and goes into your shared room and starts sniffling

“H-hey (y-y/n)...w-was I too harsh on them?”

Yes he’s the type of dad to get onto you for brushing your teeth

He’s also that dad helping his kids with math

He has let his emotions show a lot more now.

Like when his baby started taking his first steps...Rin cried, camera in his hand shaking

When his child picked a flower and brought it to him...shark baby cried.

Or when one of his children brought home their essay about Rin being their biggest hero...Rin cried.

A very supportive family!

With you guys going to support him swimming at the world stage, and Rin going to all his children’s events and being their #1 fan <3

I can see Rin owning a “The World’s Best Dad” or “#1 Dad” mug and proudly drinking from it XD <33

He also gets very competitive with his kids! He gets very into the sports and games he plays with them

Teaching them tricks and tips along the way

And swimming? He’s got it in the bag, your child will get the hang of it under a week.

Some days Rin likes to lie with you on the bed, wrapping an arm around you to hold you close and pressing a a soft kiss to your temple, thanking you for being the love of his life and making him the world’s happiest man alive 🥺❤️

A/n: The boys would be such good fathers!They can all have my babies I love the parenting concept! I’m probably going to make separate hcs for them in the future 🥺

#Haruka Nanase #Makoto Tachibana #Nagisa Hazuki #Rei Ryugazaki #Rin Matsuoka #free!#haruka nanase x reader #makoto tachibana x reader #nagisa hazuki x reader #rei ryugazaki x reader #rin matsuoka x reader #free! x reader #free! imagines #free! headcanons #free! scenarios #free! iwatobi swim club #free! dive to the future #father headcanons #parenting headcanons

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