#especially since they're actively trying to find good parts a lot of the time

[section-69]

What is your Hogwarts house?

I'm like 90% sure this is a bot/spam/troll ask but at any rate

I'm an adult man, and

If there's anyone left who thinks Harry Potter is a well written series, I highly recommend the podcast The Shrieking Shack - they reread the books and went into great depths on the author's politics and how they show up in the text, as well as just unpack how messily written the books are.

[thinkingaboutjaedyn]

hidden fear [m.leon x reader]

prompt: mapi has a secret fear of flights

author notes: this is me trying to force myself to write 🙇🏽‍♀️ im going to do abunch of blurbs/mini fics based off single words. this blurb's word is "fear." can y'all tell i have never been to an airport or Ona plane before? yeah.. anyways hopefully y'all enjoy it 💗

one perk of being a soccer player was the opportunity to travel the world and see so many new places that the average person wouldn't have the time or resources to see. you always enjoyed this fact, not even needing to plan a lot of vacations to destinations outside of spain since you have seen many countries; that doesn't mean you don't take the first opportunity to go somewhere else if offer though.

all players are used to flying once they go pro. even before they join the pro leagues, college teams and youth national teams travel quite a lot too. even if it's not enjoyable the players just have to deal with it. taking flights is a part of the job. some people hate it, others don't really care, and some love it.

however, you have never seen a professional footballer ever be afraid of flying or at least admit it out loud. especially not a player who's been pro for more than six years; isn't it natural to get over it at some point? well you met your first when you started dating mapi.

when you first joined barcelona you weren't the most talkative person. often just carrying on small talk during practice and going home right after. mapi was intrigued by your quietness. the spanish team had it's fair share of introverts, but after a while of being in the team they open up to being pretty loud themselves. why weren't you? soon enough she was trying her hardest to get you out of your shell. inviting you to activities outside of soccer related things like dinner or going to the beach, talking to you in the locker room since you were near her cubby, and pulling you into vibrant conversations with the others. all of her effort weren't in vain as you eventually did open up; becoming quite bubbly and even mirroring some of mapi's own social habits.

all this spending time together outside of soccer made the strong friendship between the spainard and you slowly transform into something else. with your quiet nature, you weren't going to confess your feelings first. even after opening up to mapi more than the others; it just wasn't apart of your personality. so instead she took it upon herself to ask you out one day. after practice pulling you to the side after a long practice filled with mistakes to ask you if you wanted to go to dinner like usual, but instead of as friends, it would be as lovers. obviously you said yes and here you are a year later, stronger than ever.

for that entire year you two have been together so far, mapi has been hiding a secret from you. from everyone.

mapi was afraid of flying. she was good at hiding her nerves everytime the team boarded a plane by saying she was just tired or hungry. all her hiding came to a head one day when barcelona was about to be on their way to a uwcl match against lyon.

"do you think they have pretzels in the airport in france? the pretzel shop here is all out," you pout at your girlfriend as you two sit in the airport. it was around an hour before it was time for the team to board the flight, so just like any seasoned flyer, everyone was getting their snacks and drinks.

mapi laughs seeing your pout. finding it absolutely adorable. she pecks it off your lips, "i don't know. do the french even like pretzels?" she says after pulling away. the kiss does wipe the pout off your face, but doesn't help your little problem.

"i don't know and that's why they're so strange!" you throw your hands up in over exaggerated annoyance. your right hand ends up colliding right with keira who was sitting next to you. she playfully scoffs before pushing your hand down, "let's just focus on the match. not the lack of pretzels. they have baguettes which is essentially the same thing but tall and long."

"that's what she said," mapi giggles. her words earn her a small smack on the back head by alexia who somehow made her way over to you three without any of you noticing her. the short haired woman pouts as she rubs the spot alexia smacked her. "act your age, mapi," the spanish captain says, "anyways i came over here to tell you guys that it's going to be raining outside when we board, so have on some type of jacket or coat."

mapi side eyes alexia which makes the woman almost smack the back of her head again. "and i mean it, maria. you get sick easily, don't even try to act like you don't," alexia chuckles. soon after walking off to go tell the others scattered around the airport.

you pull mapi into a slightly awkwardly positioned hug the moment she starts her childish whining. "she just hit me!" mapi fake whines, holding onto your arm. keira rolls her eyes. focusing all of her attention onto her phone instead of mapi's shenanigans. the spainard drags on the act for a few more minutes before letting out a sigh. there was an obvious drop in her mood once you let her go. your mind races to find a reason why your girlfriend went from being her usually childish self to quiet.

"what is it, babes? don't want to wear a jacket?" you joke. trying to lighten up her mood. she lets out a short laugh but goes back to her unusual behavior. mapi tries to make herself behave like usual, but too many thoughts about the rain were bothering her. what if the rain makes the plane act funny? what if the rain turns into a thunder storm? how would a plane even go through the thunder and lightning? too many thoughts that she was not about to share; what would think of her?

"c'mon, what is it? i'm here to help you if it's anything crazy," you lean in towards her. not sure if she was okay with openly saying her feelings in such a public space. well, no one was truly around. all of the other barcleona players in their own conversations, lazing around, or still getting food. no one would hear anything she says.

mapi purses her lips before sighing. what would be the harm in telling you? you know everything else about her. "i'm scared.." she whispers to you.

"scared of what?"

"of the plane. of flying in general," the spainard pouts when your expression of confusion turns into a light hearted one. you giggle but stop once mapi has that sad look on her face. "why have you never told me? and why haven't i ever noticed?" you question quietly. shrugging before pecking mapi's lips.

"babe, did you think i would laugh? i am but not because i find it stupid. it's okay to be afraid of flying. i'm afraid of the dark and i'm not eight anymore"

mapi lets out a genuine laugh at that. easily slipping into teasing you as she says, "oh? thank you for that info, amor. it will be handy later." you give her shoulder a light slap making her say ow. she rubs the place you hit and pouts at her, "what was that for?"

"if you prank me using the dark, i will hurt you," you playfully threaten. mapi just smiles at that. your hand grabs onto her free one and squeezes, "anyways. mapi, it's okay to be afraid of flying. you should have told me sooner so i could be there for you on flights."

"yeah. lo siento, princesa," she squeezes your hand back. just happy you weren't making fun of her; not that she thought you would, but still her mind isn't always rational with its fears. mapi pecks your cheek before whispering to you, "but don't tell anyone else. i'm not ready for the teasing."

you just nod your head. already knowing how quick the majority of the barcelona players are to jab at and joke at each other.

coach soon tells everyone to get ready to go. mapi now feeling more settled after telling you about her little secret. once on the flight, your girlfriend gets all comfortable in her window seat. holding onto your hand for almost the entire flight unless you had to get up and use the bathroom.

telling you about her little secret wasn't so bad after all.

© thinkingaboutjaedyn

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 1 MATCH 1

Qiu propaganda:

“i love them sooooo much i was completely head over heels for cove but then i found out about qiu lin and ol2 and they took that spot in my brain IMMEDIATELY. that should say enough. also i just really want them to win this time </3”

“They're my beloved :] and also the only OL character not disqualified so I had to hdjdbdj I just wanna see how far they can go now :]”

“Genderfluid ADHD monarch. They enjoy mountain biking and ballet. As a kid, if they're set to Crush, they'll desperately try to find a way to link the MC's favorite color to themselves in an attempt to impress. They're the most popular kid in town and for good reason. Can be sharp as a tack, especially in social situations, but also can be so endearingly stupid.”

“Listen. Listen to me. Here's why Qiu Lin deserves the win (ha)

- They're a trans POC love interest (specifically genderfluid and chinese-american)

- They spend a lot of time in Step 1 (the first part of the game where everyone is a kid) being super nice and trying to accommodate for you

- They specifically try super hard to bring you (and Tamarack) into their already established friendship group

- (It doesn't work out super well initially but they're trying, be nice)

- Qiu's also just. Super sweet when you're set to have a crush on them in Step 1

- Like, their word count almost doubles when they have a crush on your MC

- There's one part of the game where you can bring up your favourite colour

- On a friendship route (or if you're set to neighbours), Qiu will maybe make a short comment about something related to your favourite colour

- On crush? Qiu stretches so far to tie your favourite colour back themself. Your favourite colour is green? That's the colour of their jacket!!! It's black? Like their bike, did they mention their cool bike!!! It's white, [imagine this is in italics] the inside of their house (no, really)!!! [end of imagining this is italics]

- They're also set to have an arc about much they accommodate for others and how they go from over accommodation in Step 1 to no accommodation in Step 2 to finding a balance in Step 3

- Also, like, they do in fact go through gender identity issues. In fact, they spend Step 2 not quite knowing their gender identity fully

Now, vote for Qiu!!!!”

Ai propaganda:

“alright fuckers buckle up tight cause its ai propaganda time. heavy on spoilers but i must make the glory of ai mikaze known to the world

ai mikaze is from the idol series uta no prince sama. he is part of the group quartet night, and he sings and also plays the synthesizer. during his route in the game, he was revealed to be a robot, created as a replacement for a former idol named aine who committed suicide in order to escape the stress of being an idol ��� the attempt however was unsuccessful and he’s been in a coma since. as such ai was created as a copy of aine, and their brain activity was linked — anything ai saw, learned, felt, and experienced would likewise be felt by aine while being unconscious.

ai is very curious in nature and enjoys learning as much as he can, and is also very hardworking, constantly putting maximum effort into his activities as an idol. he is known for having a “sharp tongue” however he is just blunt due to the way he thinks and processes situations because of him being an artificial intelligence. furthermore, since he is an a.i., ai states that he does not feel emotions and instead observes and studies those of others — when quartet night was assigned to be mentors to the group starish, ai mentioned he was interested in natsuki and syo as “test subjects.” despite this, he has been shown creating close relationships with his peers in both qn and starish over time

one instance of ai’s interpersonal development is shown by his faith in starish during the second season of the anime. while overseeing the group, he was worried for them while they were preparing for the performance competing for the utapri award. reiji commented on the fact that ai was worried, as it was unusual for him — later, ai was questioning reiji’s “belief” in starish, how he could be worried about them, and also questions what his heart is. while getting accustomed to more personal relationships, he is shown to sincerely care for starish, particularly because he has mentored syo and natsuki, then questions why he feels that way

another example is ai’s change in perspective regarding the idol group he is in; quartet night, formed by the idol agency shining entertainment, consisting of members reiji kotobuki, ranmaru kurosaki, ai mikaze, and camus. (fun fact, the idol that ai was created as a clone of was close friends with reiji during his time he attended saotome academy, which is an idol school associated with shining entertainment). the members of qn are very different in both personality and background, thus they often tend to get into arguments and are not quite as close as the members of fellow idol group starish, whom they mentor, are, rather they are more standoffish with each other — as much as reiji tries to get them to get along, his attempts often backfire and do not last long. ai often acts as a mediator when ranmaru and camus argue, but he still views the others as merely acquaintances and colleagues. 

i cant speak much for what happens with qn in the games bc i have not played them (curse you broccoli for never localizing them…) so i will talk about what happens in the anime. theres one episode in particular where their conflicts become so bad, reiji confesses he is fed up with trying to make them all get along and leaves. the other 3 wait for him to come back- but he doesn't. they reflect over their experiences together as a group and go off to find reiji, where they all come to agree that they may not explicitly be friends, however they work very well together and enjoy being teammates. this was character development for ai, showing that he was able to learn to accept and appreciate his teammates. so not only has he been shown to care for his juniors, but he has also grown to appreciate his own teammates 

finally, we come to his route and story. as previously stated the original games were not localized and i cannot read japanese so what i do know of his route is through summaries and such. in ai’s story, the playable character/mc, haruka, is tasked with writing a solo song for ai. as she did in the anime, haruka takes some time with ai to go out together so she can learn about him and determine how to write the song. as this progresses, ai becomes fond of haruka — this is unknown to him at first, however he eventually comes to realize he has fallen for her. from the uncomfortable feeling while trying to play the song arrangement, to admitting he worries for haruka, to wanting to experience memories he didn't have (thanks robot brain) with haruka, to starting a romantic relationship with haruka. ai essentially went from believing he could not feel human emotions, to experiencing enough of them to be able to love someone. additionally, while being with haruka, ai is able to embrace his true self and accept that, while he is an android, he is also capable of feeling and loving, just as humans do. he was also able to accept that, despite him being made as a copy of aine, ai is also very much his own unique person with his own unique experiences and feelings, and became more confident in his existence.

all of these events demonstrates ai’s immense character growth — from a nonchalant workaholic to someone who genuinely cares about those around him. he was able to accept who he is and become more of his own unique person. not to mention how absolutely sweet he is to haruka, he is so doting and loving despite not knowing wtf he is doing or feeling its actually so adorable. and can we also take a second to talk about how stunning his voice is (SHOUTOUT TO AOI SHOUTA YOU'RE DOING GODS WORK) like, his range, the mix of the calm, almost melancholic sweetness and the ability to pour powerful emotions into his singing despite not initially understanding such emotions, and how well his voice complements the others. he also is simply just stunning. i mean look at him. HES BEAUTIFUL.

ai has captivated me since the moment i looked into utapri and downloaded shining live (a fallen soldier… rip). everything i've learned about him as i've dug deep into the series has made me love him more and more. please appreciate this beautiful lovely guy known as ai mikaze”

[shoukiko]

Hi, you can keep this unanswered and not post it, but I want to help you understand the thought behind some of the points in your criticism post. Before I start I want to apologise if I come off as blunt and rude, that's not my intention and I'll try my best to show my tone as unthreatening but I'm autistic and not a native English speaker, which complicates things lol

*general you used throughout the ask

First, I want to start with this: they all are part of the army. You don't need to dig much to see you'll rarely see a "morally upstanding" person in the army, be it because they're cheaters, abusers, compliant with all that or they're (insert -ist/-phobe category here). UK military spouses are 3 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV). I'm not saying the COD characters need to be written like that, but it wouldn't be "unrealistic" if we take real life statistics into account.

Second, and maybe the most important thing, everyone writes COD characters OOC. The majority of the active fandom on Tumblr and tiktok have seen gifs and 10min out of context clips from the game at best. It's to be expected to not frequently find something actually in character for a lot of the guys. Especially with characters that are just operators like König, Nikto and Krueger. In their case everything is and isn't OOC at the same time because we just... Don't know these characters. We lack characterisation past maybe 1-3 traits about them. I'd argue that's why the fandom liked König so much, other than being masked, he's the perfect paper doll! You can dress him up in whatever characterisation you want and it probably won't contradict his canon (because he barely has one and what he has is quickly misinterpreted (anxiety disorder turning into shyness for example)).

Now specifically on your "How are you going to hc a victim as the abuser?" - simple, whether you like to accept it or not is up to you, but it's not far fetched for victims to become abusers later in life. Just look at serial killers statistics - 74% of US serial killers were psychologically abused and 42% were physically abused as children and later in life followed a similar pattern brought to an extreme. Or on the other hand, a tamer example would be generational trauma because that's how we get that (grandparent was abused and because that's all they know, they implement it in bringing up their child who, for the same reason, implements it in bringing up the grandchild and so on).

The final thing I want to say is, it's good to block people who you don't vibe with. Doesn't matter if it's because they wrote something that personally disturbed you or you simply don't like their blog theme or you see them too often in the tag. Personally curating your experience is key in fandom, utilise the tools Tumblr has given us. Of course as you and others have mentioned that's impossible without some assistance from the other side. Tagging is extremely important (tagging with the correct words without censoring!!! Or the filter won't catch! Rape, noncon, incest ✅; r@pe, n*nc*n, 1nc*st ✖️✖️).

I hope this isn't too messy or long aaaa

I really appreciate you taking the time to type this up and actually speak to me about this, your input is very appreciated. /gen

I do think I could've done better on that post since I wrote it in the heat of the moment, all characters are written OOC and it was ignorant of me to say

"Maybe read the characters backstories and actually take their past into consideration because you guys kinda look dumb for making these characters so OOC."

I hope ya'll can really take the time to see my POV, I did not mean. any harm, I've come across some gross things, but blocking and filtering tags so much as begun to be tiring.

My main issue is tagging, without tagging I am left with getting triggered by random posts because the first few sentences may include something on my trigger list.

That's all I want and also what a lot of other people want.

Writing is meant for anyone and everyone, a form of art and perhaps a for of therapy.

Please tag your work, you are not the only person on the internet.

Thank you for reading!

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

I just got a juvenile mexican black kingsnake, and, against all odds, given the species, we've had trouble getting him to eat. He's not in shed (which we know because he literally just shed like a few days ago and all feeding attempts since have still been unsuccessful, though he seems hungry).

He's very active, but only at night (according to some sources I've read mbks can sometimes switch between diurnal and nocturnal behavior so I think that's probably what's going on). We've tried feeding him both at night and during the day.

Part of the problem is that he's a bit skittish, and so he often freaks out and leaves at the sight of the tongs. We've tried our best to leave him alone and make sure he has a chance to calm down and adjust, but still no dice. (We didn't start trying to feed him until a solid week after I got him. All feeding attempts have been in his enclosure).

One of my concerns is that he might not recognize the frozen thawed pinkie as food, given that the pet store we got him from only fed live to their baby snakes.

Any tips or advice for things we could try? He hasn't started to loose weight or anything yet, but he's gone twice as long without food now than I've seen recommended for an MBK his age and as a first time snake owner I'm starting to get worried.

Sorry about your problem child! It's always so stressful when a new snake doesn't want to eat.

Are you leaving the food in his enclosure for a while? It's completely fine if a snake doesn't want to eat from the tongs, and in fact probably 90% of all the kingsnakes I've ever had preferred me just putting their food down for them and then leaving the room when they were small. You can leave f/t mice in the enclosure for a few hours with no issues at all.

One upside to your situation is that there's honestly not a lot of difference between live and f/t pinkies. There's not a lot of movement going on either way, so as long as you're making sure the food is warm, he should be able to recognize it no problem.

I encourage you to think about how you can make this as easy for him as possible! You're right to try feeding when he's active (kingsnakes are active whenever they damn well please, so don't worry about the timing), but a big suggestion I have for you is to try ditching the tongs for now. If they spook him, don't use 'em - genuinely, it's gross, but it might help him if you just use your hands to sit the mouse down in his enclosure for him to find (make sure to wash your hands afterwards, obviously). There's no law that says a snake has to eat from the tongs, and drop-feeding is a lot less scary for lots of baby colubrids especially. I drop-feed most of my colubrids until they're a couple years old and gain some confidence.

You said he seems hungry, but I'm going to ask you to do a quick husbandry check-in anyway. Make sure his warm side is set to around 85 F and he's got water to drink, and ensure his enclosure feels nice and cluttered. Feeling safe will help a snake's appetite; make sure he has at least two identical hides (at least one on either side) and his enclosure doesn't feel empty. Cardboard tubes and crumpled paper towels are good, cheap clutter. It's easy to over-offer when a new snake won't eat, but also make sure you're waiting at least five days between offering - too frequent and you could spook him.

I really think that he'll probably take it for you if you ditch the tongs for now and make sure he's given plenty of time to find it left in his enclosure. Try not to worry too much - if he's not losing weight, he's okay. There's fearmongering articles out there that say baby kingsnakes can only go a week without food before they start to starve; that's nonsense. I've spoken about my buddy Ed on here before, he's also an MBK and he was seriously sick when I got him, he was just a couple months old and he still went months without eating before he got really sick (he's fine now and a phenomenal eater, don't worry!). No healthy snake is going to starve themselves, especially if you're taking care to ensure your husbandry is appropriate.

[unhetalia]

well. I guess it depends on what relationship head canons you have for ukus if they ever truly got together?

I had to think about this (nap) because I realised just how LITTLE established relationship UKUS I've actually consumed. I think I've read a lot more established RusAme than established UKUS. Maybe because I'm incredibly picky about the latter dynamic? Anyway - because I haven't read a lot of it, I had to think really hard about what it would look like.

I personally don't think there would be obvious differences between Arthur-and-Alfred-as-friends and Arthur-and-Alfred-as-lovers, but that still means talking about how I see Arthur and Alfred as friends.

As friends, banter is a huge part of Alfred and Arthur's dynamic. A long time ago, there was probably real bitterness in their jabs. Over time, it becomes a softer thing. (One of the songs I associate with UKUS is "So American" by Olivia Rodrigo, because I absolutely believe that's one of the things Arthur always says to Alfred - "you're so American", smirking or laughing, no sharpness or rebuke in his words.)

Arthur grew up with a lot of siblings and he's quick witted - but Alfred has amazing memory and can bring up anything anyone has done that he's witnessed, and is really good at knowing exactly what someone finds embarrassing or infuriating. They have fun riling each other up - this is what leads to them trying to scare each other silly every Halloween.

As a couple, this doesn't change. (It works for them, especially since both of them have a hard time expressing themselves sincerely.) The importance of this aspect of their dynamic is the fact that Alfred doesn't get offended by any of Arthur's comments - not the stuff about himself, or his dry, unimpressed observations about everything around him. He finds it funny, and Arthur thrives on that. Arthur has suffered a lot from being tied to people who found him wanting in some way, but Alfred is one of the few people who actively enjoys and seeks out Arthur's company and doesn't seem to find him wanting in some way.

The second thing is they have a good balance of things they enjoy doing together, and things they're dragging each other to. Alfred enjoys a lot of British media and food (once again, something that's more important to Arthur than he can say). Arthur enjoys McDonald's, and doesn't mind eating there when Alfred gets a craving. But Arthur doesn't enjoy the wilderness in the way Alfred does - is a bit ... discomfited at how there's huge swathes of American land that are completely wild. Alfred drags him to these places, for hiking and camping, and Arthur re-discovers a part of himself that he'd lost in England's industrialisation. Meanwhile, Arthur really pushes Alfred to appreciate the depth of English and European history. It allows for both comfort and growth in their relationship.

The third thing - Alfred is high energy, and so curious about the world. I absolutely believe Alfred has a few doctorates under his belt and invents and fixes things in his spare time. While I don't see Alfred working for the government, I can sometimes see him working for NASA. He's constantly tinkering or jotting things down. He's actually incredibly cerebral.

Arthur is physical. He never stopped sword fighting, and practices martial arts. He runs, and goes to the gym, does boxing (I've mentioned these things in my headcanon about England's appearance before). But when he's not doing those things, he does things that quiet his mind. He crochets or knits. Something repetitive and soothing. Meditative.

They can sit for hours in the same room, Arthur knitting while Alfred has blueprints spread over their coffee table. And its peaceful, and you don't think it even matters if the other person is there or not, but Arthur has to go to London for a week to sort something out and Alfred can't get anything done at home and has to go to the office every day.

HAVE I EVEN SAID ANYTHING IN THIS ASK. Basically Alfred and Arthur after having sex is incredibly similar to them before having sex. The act of sex changes everything and nothing all at once. But their relationship is a lot of being able to feel appreciated where you never felt appreciated before, a lot of being able to do things together that you love, and doing things together that you hate but somehow still helps you grow as a person, and also being able to do nothing together.

[astriiformes]

To be completely honest I have been doing some Wrestling as of late (by which I mean. since October) because despite all the joy finishing my conversion last year brought me, debilitating moral OCD and the Ongoing Situation do not mix well. Which has been really hard because it's very difficult to be like well, I'm so glad to have joined this community for real and properly just in time for it to suddenly be a source of immense difficulty for me, too. And I'm trying my best to be involved in organizing efforts and to connect with likeminded Jews but it's still been very hard.

And on top of everything having another friend starting their conversion exploration journey recently has been making me realize how strange and lonely and isolated mine was, because it was so affected by the pandemic and lockdown and I didn't get to join my classmates in doing activities outside of class or celebrate holidays with other people or even go to our shul until fairly late in my journey. And of course I had all the other hiccups, like working with three different rabbis due to circumstances out of my control. And it was so worth it and the right choice, but still deeply imperfect in ways I feel sort of melancholy about.

But this last week I'm suddenly finding my place in ways that have been missing for a bit and it feels so important. The Jewish printing symposium I attended was so amazing, and I finally set up my recurring donation to my synagogue now that I'm officially a member and seeing my name and my Hebrew name next to each other in the online portal is making me smile, and some other people from my shul that I don't know very well but would like to get to know better invited me to a second night Seder at their place later this month that I think will be really good, and I'm doing research for a paper on medieval Jewish science for my medieval history class and reading excerpts from the De'ot ha-Filosofim and Midrash ha-Ḥokhmah and Sha'ar ha-Shamayim, and I've been working on my Yiddish and listening to a lot of Yiddish folk and punk music along with it, and today I think I'm going to finally talk to the LGBT history curator about the queer Jewish archives event we're doing in May, and it feels like something important has clicked back into place, that I think is going to make me both happier & more effective at the organizing work I want to be a part of but haven't been able to engage with fully for months now.

Anyways I feel like this Pesach is going to Get me because of the timing of this all, and also I already had some really, really hard stuff happen to me last Pesach that I have mostly processed but has still had some far-reaching repercussions, so there's an element of anniversary trauma (?) meets healthy processing that I know is going to happen, too.

But it's still a good reminder of why I chose all this, and that religion & spirituality & community really are incredibly important to me, even when they're difficult (maybe even especially when there's difficulty) and also that I am tougher than I give myself credit for and not totally a victim of my own brain! Which is! An important feeling, if not necessarily an easy one.

[magnuswuff]

In defense of Brambleclaw

I have a hot take about the Warriors series, and that's that Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight have one of the *best*, most realistic, and most stable relationships in the whole series. I'll cover a lot of the things I've seen about Bramble, starting chronologically, with TNP.

I've seen a number of things claiming that Bramble was bad for his outburst towards Ashfur and Squirrelflight. Now, while I do think he was a little harsh, I can fully understand where he is coming from. Firstly, he was used to people associating him with his father, and knew that his half brother had to deal with the same, both fighting out from their father's shadow. And his mate's sister claimed that his half brother, who he was spending time with daily, was evil. He didn't want to believe anything but the best of this brother, so much like him. Squirrelflight left him because of it. But only a couple days later, Brambleclaw saw her cuddling Ashfur, who would have known full well about the breakup. Bramble was going through a lot right then, and saw his ex, who had just dumped him, snuggling up with some other dude. And so made a mean comment. Not saying that he should have, but I don't think he's entirely in the wrong for it.

On to the next point, of PoT and OotS. Bramble broke up with Squirrelflight after finding out that she had been lying to him about his kids being his. However, from then on, until the conclusion of OotS, he just doesn't really talk with her. He asks her why she hadn't trusted him to know, he's clearly hurt, and felt betrayed. But despite that, he doesn't try to make her life hard, treating her like any other warrior in the patrols. He didn't give her the harder jobs, he just acted like she was just another clan member, who he wasn't on speaking terms with. Which, to be frank, is a fairly more mature way of handling things than he could have taken, especially with how people point out that he was over her in rank. He actively chose not to abuse his rank. He does, after quite a while, fairly close to a year, or longer, talk to her, and asks her to be his deputy, and she accepts. Some say that changed their power dynamic, but it really didn't do a ton there, since they're now working closer together. And, as I'll get to later, he gladly listens to her ideas. I would also like to point out that despite the kits not being his, he still tried to be a good dad. They were still, from his point of view, his kits, regardless of the fact he'd been lied to about their parentage.

Now for Bramblestar's Storm. I'll keep this part shorter. He had feelings for Jessie, which does happen to a fairly decent number of married couples, one spouse gets feelings for somebody else. But he chose not to pursue it. Thus, in that instance, he chose to stay with Squirrelflight, and to stay true to her, instead of leaving her.

Now for Squirrelflight's Hope. Which many consider to be fairly bad writing, but that's not the point here. The argument that Squirrelflight and Bramblestar have in the first chapter is started by Squirrelflight. But Bramble openly admits that she was right, just that her timing in telling him the idea was bad, which it was. Generally speaking, at gatherings, it's considered bad form to disagree with the leader in front of everyone, especially if they're proposing something that might be unpopular with other clans, to show that you're serious, and united. It's fairly standard politicing. And she didn't do that, which got her chewed out. But, despite Bramble being upset that, in front of everyone, including his warmongering nephew, she had contradicted what he said his clan was gonna do, he admitted that she was right. Later in that same conversation, she brings up the topic of kits. And he says that he does want more kits, but not right then. Which I do not believe is unfair. Things are a *lot* more unstable now than they were between OotS and A Vision of Shadows, with Tigerstar breathing down Bramblestar's neck, wanting to start a fight, a whole new clan that Thunderclan is helping to get set up, and Bramble is also leading the largest clan, and still trying to be a good father and mate. He's got a lot more going on than he did when he and Squirrelflight had their last kits, so saying not right now is not an unreasonable reaction. However, she then spirals into thinking that the very faithful Bramble, who had chosen to stay with her over Jessie, would abandon her and have kits after she died. And spiraling and bringing up things that aren't the initial cause of an argument is pretty common in arguments between people. Especially people who enjoy bantering and playful bickering, like Bramble and Squirrelflight. But the next day, she realizes, like in most arguments, she said some things she didn't mean, and that he did too. And they make up at the end of the book.

Also, Bramble choosing to to let the rogues in was likely influenced by having the prospect of war if Tigerstar found out, and he was likely trying to avoid it. But at the end of the book, he changed his mind, and admitted that he made the wrong choice.

Please tell me what you think, and if you have anything that either supports or disproves what I have to say in defense of Bramble.

I always liked him when I read the books in the mid 2010s, and found it really weird that people didn't like him now. And I still think that it's a little weird. :p

I'll sum things up with a bit from one of the old Warriors rap battles, between Bramble and Squirrelflight, where in the end they agree that most of their problems are Leafpool's fault.

[bonefall]

Could anything be done if a younger, orphaned kit was brought to camp, but there were no currently nursing queens at the time? I’m asking because I’m revamping an old oc story I made when I was like 10, and this type of situation happens in it. In the og story I just made up a magic milk herb that the kit could eat instead, but that’s insane and I’m trying to be a TAD more realistic about plant life this time around lol. I love your au and you’ve clearly done a LOT of cat biology research so I was just wondering if you had any ideas. Thanks in advance!

I have heard stories of cats who had not given birth starting to spontaneously lactate for an adopted kitten, especially if they had kittens in the past, but I wasn't able to find any studies on it to tell you exactly how it happens.

BUT I do know a good bit about how humans induce lactation, I'll give you two options and you can adjust it to what fits your story best. First is inducing lactation, and the second is a shoddy formula recipe.

OPTION 1: INDUCING LACTATION

This is going to work best on a cat who has previously given birth, but anyone who has mammary glands is going to be able to do this.

But, this is going to take some time. As soon as that kitten is discovered, someone's gotta volunteer and get ready. In humans, we start about 2 months before a baby's expected to give it time to come in, but every second counts in this situation.

In humans we use a mix of estrogen and progesterone, and stimulate the teats regularly with a breast pump. The stimulation makes the body release prolactin.

The hardest part of this is finding progesterone naturally. The best source of it is a type of yam that grows wild in Mexico, but my guides are based off England... so, we'll need to find something to help the body increase production naturally.

So, as soon as possible, give the warrior a controlled mix of Fennel (for estrogen), and start putting fish and strawberries into their diet. The pump won't be needed if there's a kitten actively trying to suckle; that's more than enough stimulation.

OPTION 2: FORMULA

The hardest part of this is going to be the fact that Clan cats have no access to milk. In SkyClan, they might make a special mission to try and acquire some from humans. Or, since they're so smart, they may even recognize that they could target unflavored yogurt.

But anyway, the best thing you can get instead is eggs. Crack them, mix them up, and add just a couple drops of flax oil (if the kitten becomes constipated.) Ideally, the milk/yogurt would be added to this poultice.

But, in conclusion... it's difficult. There's a lot in this process. The best thing that could happen is that someone has milk to spare, or the kitten's a little older and could start being weaned.

[allol12]

Arcane Characters + Universal Studios Headcanons

Hi!! I wanna be more active on here and since I've hit a bit of an artblock I've decided I'll do my second favorite thing which is headcanons!

As a Floridian, I decided to start with a topic I am quite familiar with which is of course, Universal Studios. In this imaginary situation they have the 2 parks 1 day ticket bc that's the one I usually use.

Also this would be a modern setting for obvious reasons.

------------------------------

Jinx would 100% ride as many rollercoasters as she can. She rarely gets motion sickness.

If the lines weren't too long she would ride them multiple times all day long.

If they were, Cait and Vi would get sick of seeing her suffer through the long ass lines so they would just buy her an express ticket.

Ekko usually rides with her but he can only take so much.

When she was a little older, Mylo tricked her into riding Jurassic Park (85 ft drop). He thought it'd just be a mean prank, little did he know he created a tiny adrenaline-seeking monster.

She would also violently compete against Caitlyn in Men in Black.

Favorite Universal Rides : Rip Ride Rocket, VelociCoaster, The Hulk, and Men in Black

Favorite Park: Islands of Adventure

I get the feeling Vi would be a foodie. And I can't blame her, theme park food is a lot of fun to explore. (I spent a good chunk of 2018 binge-watching DFBguide)

She would always try to go to a new restaurant every trip, and you will most likely find her chomping on a turkey leg.

When it comes to rides though, she also likes her fair share of rollercoasters. Though, she tries to ride them in the morning off the bat so she could eat in peace without feeling sick later.

I do think she'd like the 3D rides a lot too! I can definitely see her liking Transformers and Spider-Man.

Favorite Universal Rides : Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Rip Ride Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy

Favorite Park: Universal Studios

Caitlyn likes the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I know this is a bit on the nose because her VA was literally in Harry Potter, but it's a good combo between atmosphere, thrill, shopping, and treats.

I don't think Caitlyn is too into rollercoasters. I think she'd be more into rides with movement and a few drops rather than full on coasters.

The HP rides are mostly pretty tame in comparison to the rest of the coasters in the parks, so I can see her liking those the most. Gringotts and Forbidden Journey in particular.

I think she'd definitely be the most into shopping, her favorite park would probably be Studios due to this.

She likes going to Honeydukes with Vi, they like trying all the different sweets and treats together.

Lets Jinx win in Men in Black because she knows if she beats her Jinx will be annoyed at her for the rest of the day. If she's not going against Jinx though, she would absolutely annihilate you.

Favorite Universal Rides : Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, Men in Black

Favorite Park: Universal Studios

This poor man has a horribly weak stomach.

Jayce is NOT a rollercoaster fan. He is strictly 3D and dark rides only, with very few exceptions.

Hell I think the Gringotts drop might be too much for him. Not the first cart, but the second cart for sure makes him feel uneasy. (I am projecting, sitting in the second cart was not fun for me LMAO)

I think he and Viktor would have a blast looking into the behind the scenes part of theme parks, especially the engineering element.

If they're in Universal Studios Hollywood they would absolutely do the Studio Tour.

With the level of charisma he has, I can see him LOVING meet and greets. He really loves playing along with the characters. By the end of the day he'll have his little autograph notebook full of characters.

Favorite Universal Rides : The Simpsons Ride, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Transformers

Favorite Park: Universal Studios

Viktor doesn't really mind rollercoasters. He wouldn't die on them like Jayce, but he doesn't actively seek to ride them. Maybe if the line was short and the group wanted to ride it, sure.

Actually speaking of lines, he would get an accessibility pass so he wouldn't have to stand for extended periods of time. He would also make sure to sit down and take breaks as to not strain his leg too much.

Breaks could also mean going to watch the many shows Universal provides, like the Horror Makeup Show or The Bourne Stuntacular.

Back to rides though, he likes, no, LOVES Transformers. It's fast, the queue is very scientific-esc, and honestly.. transformers just give me machine herald vibes.

He is very awkward when it comes to meet and greets, so he's usually just taking the picture for Jayce. However, the only meet and greet he really truly looks forward to is the Transformers. He is extremely fascinated with the way Universal was able to create such an immersive and realistic looking replica of them.

I think him and Jayce would be intrigued by the interactive wands in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They think it's fun that they found a way to create the illusion of magic by using sensors in the wands.

I think he'd like Forbidden Journey bc the ride makes you feel like you're flying, and he seemed to be having a blast in Ep 3 haha

Favorite Universal Rides : Transformers, Forbidden Journey, Skull Island: Reign of Kong (literally only to see that insanely realistic looking animatronic)

Favorite Park: Universal Studios

------------------------------

My god that took longer than I thought it would. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! I adore theme parks so this was a lot of fun to do.

Also as a bonus, I have a little paper Viktor cut out that I take basically everywhere, including Universal! Here's him in front of the Universal ball haha

[weirdowithaquill]

Okay okay okay

I just

*need* to hear more of you rambling about trains being shipped together I don't care who it is

Although if I am allowed to request a couple I find very cute myself it'd be Culdee and Catherine

Sorry it took me a hot minute to answer (I got sick) - but let's dive in!

Ok - Catherine and Culdee are the very definition of an adorable old married couple, perhaps even moreso than Toby and Henrietta. They *need* each other - and Catherine gets jealous when Culdee takes the Truck out. Likewise, while some of the engines just take whichever coach out, Culdee has specifically requested Catherine be taken off the rotation roster (especially after the Lord Harry era). They are absolutely adorable together, but they can have a... possessive streak.

It comes from the codependency.

(They legit need each other... to survive Culdee Fell.)

At the opposite end of the adorable old married couple is Toby and Henrietta. These two actually recently made history when they became the first two (to steal the term) non-faceless vehicles to marry. Ever. Previous to this, there had been a lot of legal battles and red tape and a whole heap of "they can't marry, they're machines" which the pair fought through... since the 1920's. (Culdee and Catherine legit married the next day, and are still jealous that Toby and Henrietta got hitched first).

Furthermore, Henrietta and Toby adopted Mavis in the early 70s the moment she stopped actively ignoring their advice. It is entirely thanks to Henrietta that Mavis asked Daisy out.

(Toby continues to enjoy watching his wife verbally beat other men into dust.)

Speaking of, Mavis and Daisy really are the very essence of disaster lesbians. There is no understating how ridiculous this pair can be - see the fact that Mavis spent nearly a full decade with her jaw hitting her bufferbeam every time Daisy entered the yards. And to make matters worse, Daisy had no clue! She thought (wrongly) that Mavis had a thing for Toby... which she vehemently objected to because - and I quote - "Toby is too old for such a powerful, commanding woman." Somehow, Daisy also missed the part where she liked said 'powerful, commanding woman'. Cue Daisy trying to flirt with a very uncomfortable BoCo every time he visited the junction while Mavis tried to get her driver to send... 'messages' to BoCo.

The only engine who enjoyed this absolute anime-plotline of a romance was Toby, who revels in chaos.

(Annie is pretending not to listen in on this gossip - but she's totally listening in on these two disasters.)

From disasters to functional beings - Duncan and Rusty continue to hold the title of 'most functional Sodor couple'. And for good reason! After Duncan got over his preconceptions about diesels, he was very blunt about his new feelings for the little diesel. And remember, Duncan is a mix of rock-star, factory worker and punk. So he manages to seem wild and abrasive to everyone who hasn't seen how devoted he is to his little diesel.

Rusty, being cool and calm and petty, loves to rub their relationship in Rheneas' face - because Rheneas can't do the same thing Duncan did and ask Duke out. Because Rusty is petty, let's not be mistaken - that little diesel was happy to let Duncan just sit off the rails because he was rude. Rusty is kind and helpful - but will also sit back and let you suffer from some Sodor Karma.

(This is why I say Duncan confessed - Rusty is gazing off into the sunset, but Duncan only has eyes for Rusty.)

Speaking of poor Rheneas - I've already given him a full post dedicated to the wild ride that was his courting of Duke - but I managed to miss the small detail of Duke adopting Spencer (see ERS for details). And that leads to a whole new realm of disaster for this poor engine. He gets Peter Sam on side, he gets Sir Handel to begrudgingly admit he's... decent enough... for his Granpuff - heck, he even manages to get Skarloey to stop laughing for long enough to wish him luck! He even manages to get some good advice on asking Duke out from Rusty and Duncan! And then.... AND THEN...

Spencer grabs Duke and whisks him away. Away? Away away - to the Boxford Estate. Spencer is not a 'good' engine, and he literally resorts to kidnapping Duke like the old engine is suddenly Rapunzel (Duke has feelings about this). In response, Rheneas had to get out 'The Truck' and make his way across the Island to save Duke... who had already hitched a ride out of there with Edward and was having tea and biscuits while laughing about their respective prospective red disaster boyfriends.

(Genderbent Elizabeth and Thomas enjoy watching Rheneas watch Duke get mended...)

I think that's all from me for now - no Percy x Diesel 10 shenanigans this time, but if someone asks for them, I will bring them. Until then, I'm going to take a heap of antibiotics and try to sleep off this illness some more.

[yjyt85r98r]

Aikatsu song reviews: Onaji chikyuu no shiawase ni

Song

This review might not go as in-depth as I want, or I might edit it later, because despite the fact that I like this song, I have not listened to it very many times.

This song feels fairy-like, but not in the traditional "small and delicate and ethereal" way. It's more like a "grand awakening" kind of way. Like taking heavy steps as flowers sprout out of the ground.

I think this is a good song, but I always feel kind of scared to listen to it because the beat is so loud. Aikatsu has done this with a few of their ballads, but this is the first and one of the worst. I get what they're trying to do. They want to give the song a 'heartbeat', to make sure it isn't boring. But in the end, it just hurts my ears and makes me unable to focus on the rest of the instrumentals.

I like how the key change doesn't happen all at once – instead, the song slowly lures the listener in and out of the new key. I find that type of key change far more pleasant and interesting than the kind that happens all of a sudden with no transition.

Anyway, I think that this song is a ballad done right. Ballads sort of have a bad reputation among those who prefer fast-paced songs, and when I hear a mediocre or overly-simple ballad, I can honestly understand why. But I think this one is pretty good. Of course it's not perfect, and I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it's still really nice.

Vocals

The first time I listened to Sakura's vocals, it was in a duet song, and I thought that I would never actively want to listen to a solo song by her. But then I listened to this and changed my mind.

This song makes really good use of her voice's breathy quality. The vocals are mostly soft and gentle, but with surprising bursts of strength that make them much more interesting to listen to. That one low part in the chorus is especially fun... she almost sounds like a completely different person.

Lyrics

I... feel bad insulting the lyrics... but the English translation kind of reminds me of an 11-year-old's first attempt at a serious song. I don't think it's fair to say that about the Japanese lyrics since they contain some pretty high-level vocabulary that maybe an 11-year-old wouldn't know. I think it probably sounds better if you're fluent in the language, which I am not.

But I feel like these lyrics are exceedingly rare for an idol anime. These days, it feels like there aren't that many songs with lyrics about nature, so these lyrics are refreshing. They have a tone reminiscent of a poem or a folk tale, or even a sort of benevolent commandment, which is also quite rare. They feel strangely nostalgic.

Choreography

One of the most ballet-like dances in Aikatsu, outdone only by Aria's performance. It has the same problem as a lot of choreography for slower songs: a bit too much energy. Most of the dance is slow, but then suddenly there will be this fast series of leaps and spins. The dance would be too boring without them, so I don't think it's a bad thing. It's just a thing that happens when choreographing a slower song. If there was any way to improve it, I think that would just be to create a better flow between the energetic and calm parts.

I feel like the choreography of this one might have influenced the choreography of Alicia's song. Some of the poses and movements are similar.

The dance seems like it would be fun to do.

Visuals

This was one of the most visually experimental performances in Aikatsu, or at least in season 1. They had the performer jumping off a platform, moving patterns on the stage, partially blurred shots, plants briefly obscuring the screen, and a sky that changed mid-song. The CGI was starting to get better, and they made full use of that.

And the stage design! It sort of looks like a level of a nostalgic video game, but I couldn't tell you what game because it isn't any one in particular. It just looks really magical. I love the fireflies and the lily of the valley flowers, and how they're so big that it makes the performer look like a little fairy. Sakura's aura matches the visuals so well that could be mistaken as part of the stage. And the way it grows when it first appears is so whimsical. It's all so pretty, it's a shame it was only used in the anime, like, once.

Good points: Good vocals Bad points: Beat is too loud

Rating: 7.3/10 Personal rating: 7.3/10

[hereliesbou]

Stupid Silly Health And Wellness Headcannons!?

A fun(ny) thing i like to think about sometimes is a character's diet and fitness habits, especially during a time where I'm trying to be extra careful of my own due to my conditions.

What are their habits like, what do they eat on a daily basis?

Do they have a schedule for it all or is it just whatever they're feeling at the moment?

I touched on this a little bit before for Mr. Plant and Argos but that was forrreeeverrrr ago and also it's gone now since I deleted VoidBeau. Though i'm sure there are reblogs floating around somewhere.

But I will reiterate some ideas and also go over some slightly more recent stuff I've been wondering.

-In terms of eating habits for Mr. Plant, I've always envisioned a lot of depression meals. At least before Argos showed up.

Just whatever is there and doesn't require any effort.

A whole carton of blueberries, cheese out of the bag, junkfood galore cause it's just there and ready.

Frying an orange is probably the most effort he'll put into something on a good day.

But also I feel like he's reasonably active that it seems to balance things out? 🤔

Murder and hiding bodies can't be easy.

A single full grown adult is a heavy thing to overpower and move around, let alone three. Maybe more! And what does Mr. Plant do when he hangs around in the dark parts of the void? I always imagine him luring people in for murderous fun.

This is the closest I think Mr. Plant comes to consistently working out, otherwise I don't think he cares very much.

I've always pictured Mr. Plant being a mix of muscle and probably a bit of flab around the belly.

Besides, Ashur did say he imagined Mr. Plant being a "big guy" and ALSO that he doesn't share body types with his characters so

free game. 😎

-I used to always picture Argos being a lot more put together in regards to a better diet, but the more I thought about it, the more I think...

No, probably not actually.

He has a million jobs and probably just barely makes it to any of them at any given moment.

Argos is the anime character running down the road with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth.

Man barely eats I imagine. He's either way too busy or he forgets entirely unless someone is there to remind him.

Even on his days off, I picture Argos snacks more than he eats proper meals. He tries to be health conscious and do meal preps and stuff but between work, hobbies and finding time to spend with Mr. Plant, he just doesn't have the time or is too tired.

However, I do feel like when it comes to other people, Argos is much better at finding time/energy to cook up actual food, especially for Mr. Plant.

I can easily imagine Argos making those super aesthetic lunch boxes for Mr. Plant. Made with extra care and love with all his favourites, and stuff from Argos' garden! <3

On the other hand, I can also see Argos doing it for a co-worker he doesn't like.

Also stuff from Argos' garden.

Expect to not see that person again the following week. Or the next day...

In terms of exercise, it's all of Argos' jobs that keep him active.

As well as his gardening and plant finding... and other less than legal extra curricular activities he may get into from time to time.

Guy's always on his feet.

-Mr. Flower is the put together one. He's got a full daily schedule for breakfast, lunch and dinner and he's very particular when he's out grocery shopping. The kinda guy to spend time reading labels and make note of which brands he'd rather avoid.

Also maybe the type to make comments on your food choices which can be annoying, but he means well.

If you ask for health advice, he'd be happy to give it!

I can also see Mr. Flower being up super early for morning jogs and stuff. He strikes me as the type to have an office job so spending as much time outside of that on his feet is probably important to him.

and for fun (and me)...

-Thorn.

He's a busy guy also but doesn't worry too much about what he puts in his body, though he should.

He eats out most of the time due his schedule and it's a toss up whether or not it's somewhere fancy, healthy or the greasiest burger joint this side of the void.

If it were up to him though, he'd probably stick to the burgers but he's always got someone on his back over his health... Friends, co-workers, even some of his employees.

Because of that, he's got a gym schedule but he probably wouldn't follow it of his own volition.

Thorn's got people begging him constantly to stop smoking or at least cut back, but the problem with that is, if he's not smoking eight packs a day, he's burning through the unhealthiest snacks possible.

Bags of chips, energy drinks and sodas galore, and there's always gotta be some kind of lollipop in his mouth if there can't be cigarette in it.

So everyone just lets him smoke.

I imagine his weight fluctuates a lot.

[keirou-kun]

So because I have zero self control and no one told me not to, I'm gonna scream about my favorite story from the original 1960s Teen Titans comics. This is Issue 14, the story entitled 'Requiem for a Titan!', and it is my go-to example for how Dick Grayson has just always been Like That™. A lot of the stories from this era are a little cheesy for my taste. Not bad! Just clearly products of their time. This one, though, with a little updating of the language, could have been written in a more modern series and I adore it. This got long, so I'm just gonna hide it under a cut.

So! Let's begin with the set-up! This story starts in medias res, with our bad guy meeting Robin in a creepy-ass graveyard and no information on how or why they're even there. Our bad guy, by the way, is called the Gargoyle, for obvious reasons.

that is, indeed, a fucking gargoyle.

The open grave is Robin's, of course, and Gargoyle has Robin throw in his cape, his tunic [revealing that beneath the tunic Dick Grayson is wearing what looks like a freakin' onesie with scale armor on the lower half, good lord XD] and - after some serious hesitation on Dick's part, bc secret identity oh no! - his mask. During this hesitation, we also find out that somehow Gargoyle has not only captured but somehow turned the other three Titans [Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad] over to his side, because they get used as a threat to force Dick's hand: do it, or fight your friends, basically.

not my secret identity...! fine, you win, Gargoyle.

So he does it and then has to focus on…something, we don't know what, but whatever it is makes him look hideous for a hot second before Gargoyle beams him off to a place called Limbo, where the Gargoyle rules supreme, oh no!

nice Two-Face imitation there, Dick.

Now we flash back to see just how the fuck Robin ended up in this predicament to begin with. So, in this run, there's various ways for people to get in touch with the Teen Titans directly, and one of them is apparently via a thing called Titan Hook-Up, where anyone can demand a five minute spot on TV if they have a message for the Titans. Apparently the Titans themselves pay for it, but since they're all literal teenagers who probably don't have part-time jobs due to, y'know, being junior superheroes, I gotta wonder who's actually footing the bill.

it's probably Bruce, let's be real here.

So the Gargoyle goes on, gets his time, and immediately claims to be an ex-con the Titans not only unjustly accused but deliberately withheld evidence of innocence of just to ensure they'd put him away. Not all of them, though! Only one of them did this dastardly deed, because only one of them actively knew. The Gargoyle threatens revenge on all four if the guilty party doesn't fess up. Of course, none of the Titans have any idea who this guy is or what the hell he's talking about, especially since he doesn't match the description of any of the bad guys they've caught so far, but, uh-oh…trouble in paradise; Wally, Garth, and Donna all immediately jump to Robin as the potentially guilty party!

gee thanks guys

An unspecified while later, the team gets called out to go deal with a potential riot at a theatre over a concert that got canceled. That bit of suspicion has been growing in the minds of Robin's teammates, though Robin himself apparently has no concerns of his own on that score.

thanks for that vote of confidence guys.

Unfortunately for the team, it turns out the theatre is empty and the whole thing was a ruse; they've been lured straight into a trap by the Gargoyle, oh no! Robin, naturally, starts doing what he's always done, taking the lead and trying to get the team to jump into action to deal with their enemy. Unfortunately for him, his teammates' suspicion paired with the Gargoyle reminding them that only one of them supposedly screwed him over means that…well…

nice to know you care, team.

At which point the Gargoyle uses his magic ring - just go with it - and a beam of energy transports everyone but Robin to a place called Limbo, a plane ruled by none other than the Gargoyle. He'd wanted to trap all four of them in Limbo, but it seems that our Boy Wonder hadn't harbored any doubts or suspicions about his team at all! Typical Dick Grayson tbh.

that's our boy tbh

Robin, intent on trying to defeat the Gargoyle on his own and get his friends back, immediately goes after the guy, only to find himself suddenly attacked by each of his former teammates in turn; turns out, anyone in Limbo hates everyone in the real world. Even worse, they're all somehow giant-sized. Kid Flash literally flicks Robin across the theatre, Wonder Girl uses the power of her bracelets to throw him into one of the balconies, Aqualad chucks him right back at the stage where Wally's waiting to turn this into a game of catch. Things are not going well for the Boy Wonder, especially since in amongst all this is the Gargoyle egging them on.

Ultimately Robin manages to break his momentum by grabbing a cable, but a poorly-timed sandbag knocks him out, leaving him helpless. Meanwhile the cable he grabbed turns out to be a high voltage cable which starts a fire, driving the Gargoyle away before he can kill Robin himself and leaving Dick unconscious as the fire spreads through the theatre.

that can't be good.

Fortunately the fire trucks are already responding and Robin, of course makes it out while everyone else assumes the other three are dead in the fire. I mean, their helicopter even explodes [it was parked on the roof] and there's no sign of anyone but Robin coming out of the blaze, so why would they? And Robin can't tell anyone the truth, because who'd actually believe it? So he gets to walk all the way back to their secret base trying to figure out how he's going to keep on crime-fighting as a solo act.

you couldn't find a better nickname for wally? come on.

Except, guess who's waiting for him at the secret hideout! Gargoyle and the others, oh no! The Gargoyle's going to take his now-evil Titans and start doing crime and evil, and probably use this as their base, which of course means they can't have Robin interfering. Rather than stay and fight, Dick dives through an escape hatch - a convenient laundry chute, actually; unsurprisingly his own design - that the others can't use right now because their phantasmic Limbo-created forms are too big.

whoops.jpg

So now Dick has no team, no base, and no idea what to do. His costume's torn, he's narrowly escaped death by inferno, he's just really not having a good time of it right now. So what's a Boy Wonder to do? Call it quits and go home? Oh hell no.

he's just always been like this, okay.

He takes on a sudden crime wave - spiked by the apparent death of three of the Titans - on his own, because of course he does. And it doesn't really go too well for him, because this boy is probably all of fifteen years old and not exactly used to being a solo act right now but he's too damn stubborn to stop and ask for help. Things come to a breaking point when he's got civilians feeling sorry for him.

dick honey no

And that leads us to that hill with the gravestones and the Gargoyle, so now we're all caught back up. The Gargoyle now has all four Titans in Limbo and, therefore, under his control to begin a crime wave the likes of which the world has never seen…

Or does he?

you sneaky son of a bitch, Grayson.

Turns out this is just part of Dick's own plan to find his teammates. He's exactly where he wants to be, and it doesn't take him long to find the others. Takes him even less time to start fighting them, knocking Aqualad for a loop wth a single kick and throwing Kid Flash at him a second later. Wonder Girl, however, takes a little more finesse than Robin apparently has, considering she not only lands one hit on him, she lands several.

dick is now really the time...?

But this, too, is all part of Dick's plan, since what he needed was for her to get angry enough for Limbo to start resonating with her emotions, thereby bringing the Gargoyle back from the real world so Dick can actually fight the real bad guy. Because Dick has managed to come to Limbo without being twisted or changed by doubt or suspicion or evil, even though that's the only way the ring can send people from the real world to Limbo. So how did he manage this?

He faked it.

HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS. fuckin' "That's what spies do. We lie." energy right here.

Dick fucking Grayson managed to fake out a magic ring by faking evil thoughts…and he did it by focusing on his anger, I guarantee you, considering he himself states he did it by concentrating on how good the Gargoyle would look behind bars. He did this with spite and anger and somehow managed to look more evil than any other human the Gargoyle has ever seen before in the process.

So now Dick takes the fight to the Gargoyle. Or tries, anyway. He might not have his cape or mask, but he does still have his utility belt. Unfortunately, in Limbo, everything is the reverse of the real world, so a smokescreen automatically disperses, magnetic repulsion actually attracts, and nothing's really working. The Gargoyle finally manages to sever the belt entirely, which not only removes Robin's access to his gadgets but also reveals the truth about what he wears under that red tunic.

that's a fucking leotard. he's wearing a onesie. not even short-shorts, it's a onesie. Dick why XD

However! Robin's not out of the fight yet! He manages to grab his belt and use it as an impromptu arm guard, while also pulling out one last gadget that will save the day!

no, tiny tools, my one weakness!

The pliers are used to break the Gargoyle's magic ring - the one that transported everyone to Limbo to begin with - and doing that means that neither the Gargoyle nor Dick - nor the others - can stay in Limbo any longer. Unfortunately, since the Gargoyle is currently stuck to Dick's arm that means that they're both getting sucked into the space between worlds…until the release of energy throws the Gargoyle clear. Too far out of reach for Robin to even try to grab hold of him again. Not that he wants to.

dick pls

Fortunately, our heroes all reappear on that creepy hilltop in the real world, and even more fortunately none of the three who got caught seem to have any memory of what happened or how they got there. Dick gambled on destroying the thing that brought them into Limbo and it paid off. And he was willing to reveal his identity to his teammates to do it.

okay technically she has back in issue 11 but shh we'll just pretend that never happened it's fine >w>

Are some plot elements a little ridiculous or cheesy? Sure, but no more so than some of the shit we see; cheesy and ridiculous is a comic book staple, after all. It's mostly the dialogue being used, but give it a bit of an update in terms of phrasing and slang and possibly nicknames and honestly this story wouldn't be at all out of place in a modern run. I really kinda love it.

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

Dream doesn't seem to have any good qualities at all unlike his siblings. He doesn't care about people, he's cruel, ruthless and selfish. He blames others for his problems and he doesn't care about those that live in the Dreaming.

Did... Did Desire send this in? 😂 Okay, I'll try and tackle this in three parts: 1) How does he compare in "good qualities" to the other Endless, 2) when does he actually show any good qualities, and 3) addressing the blaming others/lack of care for his subjects.

Note that there are some later-comics spoilers ahead, since I had to pull some examples from there. I have no idea how far you are in the story, so I couldn't limit examples to a specific non-spoiler time frame.

So, to address point #1, it kind of seems like the Endless in general lack a lot of redeeming qualities.

Destiny and Death are truly neutral in everything. Death gets good PR, basically, because she's friendly, but she's still ultimately neutral. Honestly even her friendliness gives me "really good at customer service" vibes rather than feeling like a sign that she'd actually be friendly or nice to anyone in particular.

Desire doesn't do anything especially heroic that we see; the best they do is giving Tiffany their coat when she escapes the burning strip club in Brief Lives. They do save Dream via Alianora in Overture, but even then it's with a nasty caveat. In addition, Desire's the one behind all the Walker family's supernatural problems. Heck, Desire only had the newer generations of Walkers so they could selfishly use them in their plans against Dream. In comics canon they're also a rapist.

Destruction's whole deal is running away from every problem--which indeed comes across as sensible compared to his siblings. He mostly just likes being left alone with his cooking and bad art. But, he has no qualms whatsoever about killing innocents in order to keep running away.

Despair... we don't really get to see her do much so I think she falls under the "neutral" category too.

Delirium is too out of it to really do much intentionally, and what we *do* see her do intentionally is reckless driving and giving an eternal spiders hallucination-curse to the traffic cop who tries to stop her. Her irrational determination to see her brother continues even after it's clear it's actively causing people to get hurt. She doesn't seem to care about people for sure.

So, like. This entire family sucks. I'm not sure I'd say Dream is particularly worse, we just happen to see more of his issues because he's the main character.

Okay, now on to point #2. He does indeed care about others, on occasion, and also has unambiguously heroic moments.

In terms of "caring about others", he's the one who tries to call off the road trip in Brief Lives when he realizes that Destruction's alarms are killing people (although he doesn't find out Destruction is behind the deaths until Death forces him to continue the road trip for Delirium's sake). He seems highly disturbed by Ruby's death in particular, which is part of why I was so peeved at The Sandman Companion giving HIM the blame for it.

He's also canonically good with children; it's just adults he's terrible with. He's nice to the girl on the plane in Brief Lives, he entertains a group of children on a dream-adventure when we see him going about his duties in The Kindly Ones, and Calliope notes in The Wake that his issues with Orpheus apparently didn't start until Orpheus grew up. In Overture he's also kind and protective toward the alien girl Hope.

As for "heroic" moments... okay, I really had to think for some of these, but they ARE there.

Rescuing Calliope is probably the most unquestionably "heroic" situation he's in, since he was not the cause of the situation in the first place, and also has nothing to gain by helping. But he does help her, nonetheless.

Also, he takes hundreds of serial killers off the streets by stripping them of their beliefs at the Cereal Convention. It's hard to say that wasn't a positive move. Plus, one of the reasons he dislikes The Corinthian could be that Cori was causing so much harm to people in the first place.

Even before his big fishbowl time-out, Dream tells off Hob for participating in the slave trade and disapproves of slavery. (I'm going to ignore what The Sandman Companion says about that here...)

He helps Marco Polo out of the Soft Places desert, even though he himself had just barely escaped the fishbowl and wasn't sure if he had enough power to save both himself and Marco.

In my favorite issue ever, Fear of Falling, he gives Todd the advice he needs to get over his crippling fears in both the real world and the dream world.

Also, his treatment Nuala is a good indication that he's not the worst. Nuala gets gifted to him as a slave, to do "whatever he pleases" with... and his first instinct would be to reject such a gift entirely, but since he is bound by the fae's customs to accept any gift, he just basically lets her live in his castle rent-free. She takes up cleaning so she has something to do; he didn't even ask her to do that! His only demand is that she not use her glamour. If he were truly as cruel and uncaring about consent as some analyses (including parts of The Sandman Companion) would have you believe, it's doubtful that he'd treat an intended sex slave that way.

(Of course, if I were being uncharitable, I could point out that non-glamour Nuala is not conventionally attractive, and it could be something about him only being able to respect a woman if she's not sexually attractive to him... but I'm *trying* to be charitable to Morpheus here, for once)

And now for #3: Not caring about the Dreaming residents and blaming others for everything.

Admittedly, in the comics it is harder to tell specific instances about caring for the Dreaming residents, but there are a few. A big one is that he granted Lucien's wish to become a librarian rather than staying as a raven. Another is Abel's story about how he came to live in the Dreaming; Dream offered it to him as a gift, and when he was lonely he also brought Cain and gave Cain a house as a gift toward Abel.

I've been trying to keep this to the comics-universe for consistency's sake, but the show-universe definitely gives way more examples about him caring about his subjects. He gives Goldie to Cain and Abel to replace their gargoyle he had to absorb, he clearly cares about Jessamy and cries over her death, and he seems more upset about his subjects abandoning the realm as a personal abandonment instead of just a "they're my citizens so they should stay here" type deal. Of course, he also granted Lucienne her wish to become a librarian here as well.

And as for blaming others for everything... whew. That's a big one. Because even though he may have done that on some significant occasions (Nada being the biggest one that we see), ultimately, he ends up blaming HIMSELF for everything to an unreasonable degree. I actually won't discuss further examples on this one because it would be massive ending spoilers, but yeah, suffice it to say he overcorrects on that front.

So yes, for Morpheus, I think I'd paraphrase a line from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) that I think describes him well: He's an asshole, but not 100% a dick.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I'm not sure you need people to announce that they're just here for fun? it's tumblr...surely that can be assumed?

i dunno sometimes it seems like when you say this stuff it's a bit of a straw man argument because I don't really see anyone on here taking this stuff that seriously. we are not larries! no one is claiming Paul's kids are fake or anything lmao. yes people like to look at the history but again it's tumblr, it's just for fun.

maybe there is a whole other delusional side to beatles tumblr that i am not seeing, but i think maybe if people are getting mad when you argue with their dumb little posts it's just cause they think that you, in fact, DO want to spoil the party!

I have been waiting for someone to make this joke ever since I got that url. Have had to make it myself often <3

1. "we are not larries" is an incredibly low bar.

2. the specific contents of theories isn't the only thing that makes them conspiratorial. it's about the way they're argued.

3. Actually, I am thinking of One Specific Event from about a year and a half ago that was treated as people "spoiling the party" when in fact it was an example of good faith engagement with a seriously worded discussion post.* Maybe you missed that, and it's not like it's a super common occurrence. But in hindsight, I don't find it surprising given the climate here.

*I can provide more details on this specific thing in DMs if someone is curious. I don't wanna hash it out on main, especially since I was only peripherally involved.

4. This isn't about whether tumblr is your space to have fandom fun – I do assume that. It's about whether someone is making arguments in jest or if they mean them seriously. Both of these things might be fun to someone (but maybe I could have worded that point better in the original tags).

5. No, no fake kids, and this fandom isn't plagued by a central figure who's to blame for all the "bad stuff". Plus, it's "decentralized", so no singular entity is controlling some super specific narrative. This definitely keeps the space in check. That's part of it though: it's all very sociological, which makes my issue difficult to address because most single posts aren't a problem in of themselves, but there's a tangible vibe to the whole thing. That's also why I want to tread lightly here; I know a lot of it is a joke, but it's hard to tell what isn't. Like, yeah, I've been passive-aggressive lately, but I've also been watching this for a long time. And I regularly see things I perceive as a strawman against my position as well as absolutist rhetoric, which reads just as much as picking a fight as any of my recent posts do. If you talk about there only being "one explanation" for something, what is that, other than putting forward your theory as true? Is it really Not Serious? Every time? Even when the post is presented in a serious way, with sources and evidence? People on this site talk about what they expect Mark Lewisohn to include in his Definitely Trying To Be Serious And Factful biography series. Those demands are never serious? And I don't want to just ruin people's fun for no reason! But I also have a hard time dismissing every single thing that Sounds Kind Of Serious as Probably A Joke (and I do do it, pretty regularly) And I semi-often see people doing things that set off my alarm bells, even when they are not proclaiming Stella McCartney to be a lifelong actress. (reminder that several people on here freaked about the For Paul tapes story being semi-debunked last November; like actively scorned people who were trying to figure out how that story came about and where it originated. That's not normal, sorry to say! And, funnily enough, about a year ago, there was a blog on here pushing a very very very esotheric version of McLennon [and even trying to monetize it] and while most people dismissed them for the kook they were, they splashed onto the tumblr scene in an identical way [saying something that amounted to: "how dare you imply this apocryphal Paul McCartney quote might be fake?"] –––– so my question is: is it not that serious? I Don't Know You Tell Me!)

6. This is @ me mostly, I guess. I just feel like this space has become more and more of a monoculture. Shipping is the default angle with which everything is approached. If John and Paul write songs that are maybe not about each other that's not often seen as worth diving into. (See: Beautiful Boy tinhatting). I actually want to try and change this; get more diverse content on this site, but I guess I assume it's not welcome, which is on me, really. I have slides explaining my specific reading of Double Fantasy (yes, seriously) and there isn't really much stopping me from posting them, outside the fact that most people on here seem to have a very different relationship to the songs from the album than I do, so I assume they won't care. But y'know, I'll try to just Make More Content and see what that does. (For the record I know that sounds whiny. And I do seriously want to do better on that front)