#i love messed up family dynamics in fiction <3

[rosaadiazs]

its soo messed up I wish it was at least 700 pages

[bagadew]

Tagged by @vonlipvig

Last song I listened to: We Like to Party (aka The Vengabus) by the Vengaboys. This damn song arrived inexplicably in my head this morning and WILL NOT leave. In an attempt to exorcise it like the demon it is, I listened to this song in its entirety. Unfortunately this didn’t work, and I now know more words to The Vengabus (it’s coming and everybody’s jumping, New York to San Francisco an intercity disco)

Last book I read: Which Way to Anywhere by Cressida Cowell, the writer of How To Train Your Dragon, doing a sci-fi story, of course I read and enjoyed this. I loved the dynamic between the siblings, the cool morally grey space teen, and watching a small magic baby forcibly adopt the space equivalent of OG Alvin the Treacherous. There were other less funny things I enjoyed (like the neat way it conveyed the fact that Daniel is living in a house that is effectively being haunted by his wife’s ex husband) but to be honest I don’t have the time to really go off on one, and this only makes sense to like 1% of you anyway.

Last film I watched: Oh jeez, it’s been a fair few weeks since I watched a film, and I sort of fried my brain with my own filming schedule. I’m 75% sure it was Kill Bill part 2 though, cos my brother and I realised we’d never seen The Kill Bill films, and it seemed like it would be our jam (and it was).

Last TV series I watched: Shogun. I’ve been watching it with my family every week, starting because Dad had read the book and wanted to watch it. As someone who knows basically nothing about that period of Japanese history, I’m finding it very interesting, and I feel like, weirdly, I’m getting a better understanding of some of the cultural influences behind some of the Japanese fiction I already know and enjoy.

Last video game I played: Trauma Center Under the Knife. Both a bastard game that I hate and a brilliant game that I love. The characters and story are great and I love them, but I’m pretty sure surgery is the thing I am worst at in this life and I should be struck off and never allowed in an operating theatre again. I am currently trying to kill an evil spider that lives on the heart of a child experiment (because this game is wild) and I am slightly scared that this isn’t the final boss of the game. In a thousand different universes that child has died of heart spider, but heart spider has to get lucky a thousand times… The Flailing Muppets Who Possess Derek Whenever He Does Surgery only has to get lucky once!

Last thing I googled: Trauma Center Savato strategy. Look The Flailing Muppets Who Possess Derek Whenever He Does Surgery needs all the help she can get, ok?

Last thing I ate: 3 packets of mini eggs. I got a lot of Easter chocolate to eat through.

Sweet, savoury or spicy: I alternate between preferring sweet and savoury dependant on an unknowable force beyond my control or understanding. Right now I like sweet things the best (hence the chocolate eggs).

Amount of Sleep: Full 8 hours baby! I finally fixed my sleep schedule out of necessity of not dying last week!

Currently Reading: Gideon the Ninth! Turns out this book is really good, I can see why you guys like it so much.

Currently watching: A documentary on Honey Ants, these creatures are cool and fucked up in a way I would love to apply to humans in a work of fiction. Living larders for instance are an incredibly messed up idea.

Tagging: @thelastlivingme @bluejaybytes @lightflame @saltykrispycake and whoever else wants to do it!

[adeva-eira]

Have been inaktive for a while now but yay...I'm back!

Now, I want to Start writing Fan fictions again and I have 4 ideas already but I can't decide what to write first...so you can decide! Here are four Prompts and even some art to show you what you can expect uwu please tell me your favorite so that I can see what to write first!

1. Death in the family (ya I took that title from the Batman Movie lol). Basically Reverse Robins with Marinette in there. The family dynamic with Marinette already is established too. Bruce is dead, Damian is Batman, Tim, who died instead of Jason, is Wren, Marinette is Cardinal, Jason is Red Bird and Dick will become Robin later on.

Shortly after Bruce Died, Marinette wanted to help her Brother, Damian, relax. Knowing that he loves animals she takes him to a Circus. There they witness the death of the flying Graysons. They don't hesitate and take in their son, Dick Grayson. Family shenanigans, drama and Lots of fun in this fic!

2.Gotham Sirens. Marinette is a Rouge (just to Mess with good ol' Batsy) and meets and Joins the Sirens. Selina adopts Mari and just enjoys annoying her Ex, Bruce, with her new Daughter. Harley and Ivy have fun too, doing the same thing only with the Joker....hehe...

3. The life(death) of Marin(ette). Marin Cheng is a very deadly Rouge and fought the Bats ever since he could hold a knife. He gets mortally wounded though and as he dies, the last thing he Sees is Red Hood, who refuses to leave his side as he dies.

Tikki takes pity on him though and throws his soul in the body of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, another self of him from another universe, who Fell into a coma due to her real soul giving up on her.

Now Marin has to Deal with being a girl, a Super hero and a teenager while also trying to get to Gotham to protect this universes Red Hood, as a way to thank him for not leaving him on his death bed.

4.Miraculous Lanterns. Marinette HATES Green Lantern(Hal Jordan) with a Passion. One day she wakes up, only to find a Blue Ring floating in front of her. As in trance she speaks the oath and becomes a Blue Lantern. Now she has TWO Hero personas, has to stay close to Green Lantern to use her rings full Potential and has to Deal with the longing to just smash Jordans head into the ground...

[roosterbox]

Fic Rec Friday 3/1/2024

Title: not everything becomes bullshit (not with you)

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley

Additional Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Trauma, Eddie Munson Lives, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, theyre a mess, Miscommunication, ya know the bullshit thing?, yeah - Freeform, that, thats the trauma, along with his damn parents, Healing, Cuddling

Summary: bullshit: n - stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense.

The thing with Nancy comes up with Eddie during an argument and Steve cannot seem to handle it.

———

For this, the last fic rec Friday (of this particular batch anyway), let’s take it back to the start. Back to the beginning of my newest obsession. So here you go - the first Steddie fic I ever bookmarked.

I went into this with next to no knowledge of the context surrounding it. I didn’t know about the whole bullshit thing, didn’t know shit about Family Video, or Vecna, or anything. Heck, I didn’t even know what their voices sounds like (almost still don’t in Eddie’s case - I’ll get to S4 eventually!). But the emotions, man. The emotions just drew me in. The dynamics. Even from this story, going in like 90% blind, I got the sense that I would latch on to Steve Harrington like a dog with a favored toy, and would never let go. Ever. Welp, here I am over a year later, still not letting go of my babygirl.

This fic easily established for me one of my favorite Steddie dynamics. That being emotional wreck!Steve and comforting!Eddie. Everything I’ve seen canonically makes Eddie seem like a great source of comfort. He looks like he’d give great hugs, you know? And Steve just deserves to be able to let himself go, emotionally speaking. That boy has been through A Lot in three or so years - either let him get therapy, or let him cry. Maybe both.

There aren’t very many other characters in this, other than Robin of course. Which is kind of as it should be. And that’s another aspect that I had no context for (still don’t, technically; S3 will continue! Soon!) - her platonic with a capital P relationship with Steve. There’s only a few crumbs of it here, but they are delicious. Also, yet another Steddie fic trope I love pops up here: Robin being extremely protective of Steve when she thinks that Eddie might have wronged him. It’s subtler here than I’ve seen in other stories, but that girl would go feral on a motherfucker for Steve’s sake. I adore that about her.

And let’s not forget that this fic features something else that I adore but rarely see in angsty fics - COMMUNICATION. A huge part of adding drama to relationships in fiction (in RL too let’s be real) is a distinct lack of communication. People keep secrets or dance around what they mean, when just SAYING SOMETHING straight up would solve so many fucking problems, lol. And while this may start out with typical miscommunication shenanigans, the shift when they realize that, no, we need to actually talk about this, is just too good. There’s even a line in the narration that says “communication is key and all that jazz, right?” YES, BOYS. YES. Talk to each other.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the COMFORT in this emotional hurt/comfort story, is out of this world. I can deal with my Stevie baby being put through an emotional wringer as long as someone, preferably Eddie or Robin, is there to comfort him in the end. To remind him that, yes, he is loved beyond measure, and that he deserves said love. How lucky for me (and him) that this fic has comfort in it from both of them?

Just a beautiful, simple little h/c gem of a fic. Steve needs a hug, and he gets several of them. Perfect.

———

Next Week: Nothing! Zip! Nada! Null! This is, officially, the last of these fic recs I’m doing.

FOR NOW

Thanks so much for reading this, and for reading the fic if you do!

[megaawkwardhuman]

throughout my days posting to tumblr I try my best to not be an angy little dumbass cuz nobody like hearing people bitch

BUT OH MY GOD THIS ARTICLE

really REALLY important thing to note: I've said it before on here that guillermo is a character that I love dearly. for a fictional character he's really important to me. I wish I was joking when I say he's help me process shit in the past and made me feel overall better about myself in a weird way? I see a lot of myself in that queer little man

BTW I'M AWARE THIS PROBABLY ISN'T HEALTHY AND WEIRD BUT IT'S TRUE (plz don't judge me)

so I'm a bit biased here

this isn't an anti keeping guillermo human post, this is all word vomit, I have nothing personally against whoever wrote this, and nobody should attack this person (if they are a person? this sounds like it was written by an ai)

oh yeah and there's the real chance this was written by an ai and I'm getting mad at a glorified calculator but oh my god I just need to scream rn let me have this

ok with all of that out of the way HI HI HEY HEY HELLOOOOOOOOOO WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK DID I JUST READ!!?!??!

the fact they get wrong, the bad takes, the headache this is giving me WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!?!? IEUWHJUOFEBK2HODPPIHDWIWINDWIINDWPQ

I could break down EVERY LITTLE THING wrong with this but I don't have the time, energy, or brain cells to annotate and dunk on everything this article gets wrong (plus if this is written by an ai like I suspect there's no real point) BUT WHAT I DO HAVE TIME FOR IS JUMPING HEAD FIRST INTO MY MAIN FUCKING ISSUE

now look look LOOK I get people wanting to keep guillermo human I REALLY DO if you think that way that's fine

hell if done right I AM DOWN FOR IT

BUT FUCKING EXCUSE ME!?!!?!

UH NO THE FUCK IT WOULDN'T????

starting with this: UGH BRUH TF?

BESTIE HUH?!?!?!?

yeah it would be interesting but even if they for whatever reason made him a normal plain basic ass vampire THAT COULD STILL BE INTERESTING

seeing a character go from wanting to be a vampire to killing them when need be to now BEING a vampire is interesting, seeing how his dynamics get fucked with be interesting, seeing him learn how to fully be a vampire (something we only really got a glimpse of back in season 1) would be interesting, HAVING HIM FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR BEING A SLAYER TURNED VAMPIRE OR HAVING TO FACE HIM KILLING VAMPIRES IN THE PAST WOULD BE INTERESTING!!!!!!

but but BUUUUUT HERE'S THE THING

EVEN IF HE CAN TURN INTO A VAMPIRE HE'S MORE LIKELY THAN NOT GONNA BE MORE THAN JUST A VAMPIRE

we don't know what the slayer blood will do to the turning process SO EVEN IF IT TAKES LONGER THEN EXPECTED IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT KIND OF MESSED UP VAMPIRE HE'LL BE IF HE CAN BECOME ONE

like the slayer blood leaves SO SOOOOOOO much room for opportunity if they're concerned with him "being boring" (I feel like being boring would be impossible with the whole slayer thing and the fact that something is always going wrong with him) as just another main vampire

NOW LET'S GET INTO WHY NO: HAVING GUILLERMO BECOME A VAMPIRE WOULDN'T BE FUCKING UP ALL OF THAT PROGRESS HE MADE!

ah yes the block of text that got me to read this

BECOMING A VAMPIRE WOULDN'T CHANGE OR BETRAY ANY OF THAT!

HE'LL STILL GROW JUST NOT AS A HUMAN, HE'S STILL A WARRIOR, ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT FREDDIE? THAT SHIT IS DONE AND OVER WITH, AND BECOMING A VAMPIRE WOULDN'T MAKE HIM UN COME OUT TO HIS FAMILY OR SOMETHING?????

sure most of that wouldn't have happened if he went on the trip back in season 3 BUT THAT'S LONG DONE AND OVER WITH MY GUY WE'RE ENTERING SEASON 5 NOW

next point: him becoming a vampire also wouldn't be him "giving up" IF ANYTHING WITH THE WAY IT WAS FRAMED IT WOULD BE A STEP FORWARD FOR HIM SINCE IT'S HIM DIRECTLY TAKING HIS LIFE INTO HIS OWN HANDS AND NOT WAITING FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE

he saw a problem in the house and he saw nobody was going to do anything about it so instead of doing what he would have done a season ago and waiting he took matters into his own hands

AND IF HE ENDS UP WALKING AWAY FROM THIS SEASON A VAMPIRE OF ANY FLAVOR HE'S PROBABLY STILL GOING TO MAKE PROGRESS

as a vampire no matter how messy the process is HIS CONFIDENCE WILL BE AT LEAST A LITTLE BOOSTED DUE TO THE FACT HE'S ON A MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD MINIMUM

IT MIGHT TAKE A BIT OF TIME BUT OVER ALL HIM BECOMING A VAMPIRE WON'T BE A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

(KEEPING HIM HUMAN WOULDN'T BE A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION EITHER BTW I CAN SEE WHY THEY WOULD GO THAT ROUTE)

and finally a point I can kinda see: him being accepted as only just a human WOULD be nice

he's worked hard to get respect and he's slowly getting it as he moves from familiar to bodyguard to at this point being just guillermo

BUT HERE'S THE THING: THEY DO TO SOME DEGREE RESPECT HIM ALREADY

the baby colin stuff gave him the respect of laszlo, nadja respects him enough to trust him with the money of the nightclub (yeah it was all cuz of a deal he made with her but if he saw him as fully lesser she would have put up more of a fight ageenst testing a human with the club's money) and the time they spent in england while it didn't make them exstreamly close did to some degree made them closer, nandor at this point mostly if not fully respects him, and colin... well we don't know how he'll treat him but if anything carried over from the baby colin shit he should at least give a crumb of a shit about him!

and yeah I do like seeing guillermo navigate around being a human amount vampires

BUUUUUUT it's kinda getting old in my opinion?

like I do like seeing it don't get me wrong but idk I want it shaken up a bit?

and yeah the whole turning gone wrong will do that but after that what then?

this article is trying to say hey let guillermo become a full on slayer cuz that's his true potential

and yeah I love seeing him be a little murder boy that's also not who he is at his core?

even when he's killing vampires left and right it's never out of a hatred for vampires it's so that he can protect others

if anything a human guillermo's full potential wouldn't be just killing cuz his blood says so it would be to protect

now if guillermo became a vampire that would obviously shake shit up a bit

and while I'm down plain jane by the end he's a normal vampire guillermo I've always been team fucked up dhampire guillermo

cuz let's face it guillermo fitting neatly (or mostly neatly) into a vampire human binary is really fucking boring (OR AT LEAST IN MY OPINION)

having him take a long time or need an unusual means to turn him which leads to him not fitting into the label of human or vampire would to me be an amazing way to go about this

in fact the thing I hate the most about this article is the fact that him ending up with a dhampire isn't spoken as a possibility AT ALL (unless I missed it but I fucking refuse to read that dumpster fire again)

having him be a dhampire would address many of the issues this person has with guillermo becoming a vampire

it would make him stand out, it would test him, it would lead to growth, and it wouldn't be boring and leave him with more to do as he figures out his new unique identity with the others

in conclusion: I spent WAY WAAAAY too much time on this

I'm going to slam my face into some grass now

[isfjmel-phleg]

November 2022 Books

Dark Waters and Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden

I enjoyed this series on the whole, but the last book was disappointingly short. It was building toward something intriguing and then...just sort of ends? The climax/resolution left a lot of questions unresolved and didn't have the emotional impact that it could have had if it had been paced at a rate proportional to the rest of the book.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

I've been meaning to get to this series for quite a while, but it didn't grab my attention as much as I hoped it would, so I probably won't continue. It wasn't bad; I just felt it was less original and with less interesting characters than Collins's other works.

The Seventh Raven by David Elliott

An unusual fairy tale retelling in that it's told through poetry--and it works quite well! It's evocative and visceral and fits well into the oral tradition of fairy tales. (Although the youngest brother's arc goes absolutely nowhere in the end.)

Between Jobs by W. R. Gingell

I have a lot of unanswered questions, but the characters and their dynamics are fascinating, and I'd like to continue this series.

The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer

This was absolute Rebekah Bait, and I loved it. Turn-of-the-century setting, eerie atmosphere, troubled young heroine whose assumptions about people lead to her need to better understand the humanity of others--a very enjoyable read.

The Case of the Baker Street Irregular by Robert Newman

I don't remember much about this one.

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

I enjoyed the light tone of this one and will probably continue the series at some point.

The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs

I've had this book for a long time and finally got around to it. Never have been crazy about the romantic plotline, but that (thank goodness) wasn't so much the emphasis. The worldbuilding continues to be this series' strength.

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz

I liked this one more than I expected to. It's set around the turn of the century and deals with an orphan girl who is taken in by sisters who are fraudulent spiritualists and want to use her to assist in their scams. Schlitz writes extraordinarily believable historical fiction, and the themes of attachment to an emotional abuser and having to realize the truth of having been used...hits hard.

Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland

Some fantastic creative ideas that were not developed to their greatest potential.

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

Still don't understand what's going on. I just enjoy Murderbot.

Comics (in order of reading)

Young Justice (2019) Vol. 1-3 by Brian Michael Bendis

From a narrative perspective, this series is a mess. The story meanders aimlessly, and Bendis keep throwing in new characters instead of fully developing his already large main cast. Weird creative decisions are made (this is not one of Tim's better storylines, and I refuse to believe that he would seriously use his actual surname as his new codename? even his friends think it's ridiculous!). However, this is fantastic writing for Bart (and only Bart), whom Bendis seems to understand well.

The Flash: Fastest Man Alive Vol. 1-2 by Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo, and Marc Guggenheim

I went into this series knowing it was awful, and it lived up to that promise.

If you absolutely must tell a story in which a long-established hero gets killed off, you're going to want to build that emotional punch by immersing the audience in why they love the character in the first place. Show him at his most characteristic and endearing. Call back to earlier stories. Focus on his relationships with other well-characters to show what a hole would be left behind if he weren't there. Have him be so close to achieving a big goal, some kind of especial happiness--and then kill him.

This series...did none of that. Bart is practically unrecognizable, he's disconnected from his family and friends, and it all feels very generic. Throw in a contrived and (quite frankly) creepy romantic relationship and an unexplained return of an antagonist whose previously established so-close-to-redemption arc get brushed aside in favor of being generically Evil...and it doesn't work.

The epilogue dealing with Inertia's fate had better writing in terms of emotional impact, but I do not care for the direction of making Thad "an irredeemable sociopath" who must suffer "something worse [than being killed]."

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge by Geoff Johns

Continues dealing with Inertia's fate, and the characterization gets even worse. I would prefer to ignore the existence of this one.

Teen Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day by Judd Winick

The transitional story between Young Justice 1998 and Teen Titans 2003. Probably a mistake considering how the latter would turn out.

Teen Titans (2003) Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns

You've probably seen me rant elsewhere about what this series did to Bart for no apparent reason. The characterization in what little I've read of this series is not great in general, and I don't have the time or patience to continue with this trainwreck.

Assorted other Teen Titans (2003) issues

Read for Thad's appearances. And apparently Bart after returning from the dead and being restored to his previous age starts spending a scary amount of time in VR vengefully killing Inertia over and over. Yikes.

Batman: The Long Halloween and Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb

I'm not an expert, but I'd call these quintessential Batman comics in their style and tone.

First ~30 issues of Robin (1993) by Chuck Dixon

These are very, very 90s so far, and my biggest takeaway is concern for this poor kid. He's doing way too much. He does not have the time or emotional maturity to handle a romantic relationship. He's trying to keep his double life secret and is operating on next to no sleep most of the time. Someone please rescue him.

[nuri148]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Hi Anon! Thank you so much for the ask! No, I hadn’t been asked this before.

It was quite hard to come up with 10 names for, outside of my current blorbos, throughout my life (which is quite longer than that of most people around this site) I’ve consumed and loved a lot of fiction, and so I’ve loved many characters, but also many of them I fell in love when I was too young to know (or remember) why I liked them, or know anything about characterization at all.

Still, I tried to cover a wide variety of works/genres, which as I racked my brains came with some interesting revelations:

- The first characters that came to mind were all males. It took me an extra effort to recall some female characters that I love.

- The list is white af. This can be for a number of reasons, all related to complex societal dynamics, cultural constructs and how the media portrays or ignores this. This is meant a light hearted ask, so I won’t delve into that, but I did want it to make clear that yes, I’m aware this list lacks diversity.

Some of these media I haven't seen for years so apologies if my memory of some details is not very accurate.

Last but not least, as I don’t like the reductionism of “top x”, I am listing with bullets for these come in no particular order. (Except Levi, of course; as current top Blorbo he could actually fill the top 10 by himself.)

Levi Ackerman (AoT) – He kicks ass, he’s a no-nonsense guy, he’s got a rough exterior but it’s a kind person. He’s had a shitty life but he chooses to be the good guy, even if he has to resort to violence sometimes.

Severus Snape (HP) – I said it already and I’ll say it again that I’ve no proof and no doubt that if you were a Snape fangirl, you’ll be a Levi fangirl. Snape makes Levi look like Miss Congeniality in comparison. He too had a rough life,went over to the dark side, yet realised he’d fucked up big time and spent the rest of his life trying to minimize the damage his actions had caused. PLUS he’s a huge nerd.

Mike Ehrmentraut (BB/BCS) – Mike is SO OVER being a badass. He just wants to live a quite life spoiling his grandaughter. His curse is being too good at what he does, and he can’t help but care about the idiots that would die if he wasn’t there to clean their messes. (On the topic of diversity... Honorable mention for Stanley from The Office and Lester from The Wire, whose “I’m too old for this shit” vibes give me life).

Arya Stark (GOT) – She didn’t stay around suffering for her losses nor went into a rampage, nope. She took the long scenic route to become a pro killer to serve her revenge in a cold dish.

Heidi (from the 70's anime series)– Hands down my first and oldest Blorbo. She lived in the mountains, roamed barefoot on beautiful meadows, was friends with a bunch of goats and all the little critters of the alps. What’s not to love? (At the ripe age of 3, I would make my mum buy me goat cheese bc if Heidi ate it, so must I. At 4 my parents took me to the mountains in winter so I could see the snow and the fir trees that Heidi loved. We’re rewatching now and my new Heidi Blorbo is Joseph the dog, he’s got big Mike Ehrmentraut energy).

Jesse Pinkman (BB)– He’s a good guy who fell into the wrong path. He’s had rotten luck, partly brought onto himself through bad choices and poor judgement, yet he still tries to do good and craves some love.  

Petunia Dursley (HP)- Harry's unlikable aunt kinda grew on me over the years, as we saw some of her backstory and how it resonated with parts of my own family history. She grew up knowing herself the lesser child and I believe she never got a chance to smooth things over with Lily. In spite of which P. still cared enough to do the right thing and take charge of Harry (horribly, admittedly).

Omar Little (The Wire) - I don't usually like "bad" characters but Omar was more badass than he was bad. Circumstances made him a violent criminal but he I believe he had redemption potential. Also, how cool is it that he was unequivocally gay in a setting where everyone tends to be so macho... but of course no one would say anything about it. bc it's Omar.

Peter - he's the MC and first person narrator from a rather unknown Ray Bradbury's short story titled “I’m not so dumb” which is one of my favourite Bradbury's tales. Like the title suggests, as the story unfolds the simple-minded Peter will try to show his neighbours that he's not that stupid.

Mafalda - I could not leave out the title character of the (likely) most famous comic in Argentine history. Mafalda's concern for world affairs is of course unrealistic, but it does sort of put those call-outs "in the mouth of babes".

[harley-style]

Reading the Homestuck Epilogues 2 (parts 11-20)

Ayo this time its parts 11-20 lets go!!

⬇️Click here to read part 1 ⬇️

Dave needs john to be way more specific than “you and karkat look cute together”, what a dumbass.

“You make cute friends” nevermind we have TWO (2) dumbasses.

Okay i will admit my bias for davekat is obvious here im sorry ill stop

Well if it makes you feel better dave im also very fucking in a mess about my own identity so

“Because jade” is such an apt fucking description.

JOHN YOU DO NOT FLIP A FUCKING COIN TO CHOOSE WHO YOU DATE W H A T

So this is off to a great start.

I cant even comment on part 12.

Oh no, what?

OH. OH NO. MOTHERFUCKER DONT DO IT.

THE HOE FUCKING DID IT. FUCK.

I’m sorry, they let Dave carry W h a t.

This is unsettling. Props to Dave and Roxy for heartfelt eulogies, but FUCK whatever gamzee’s up to.

Okay i caNNOT read his quirk, im sorry.

JOHN IM GONNA FUCKING STRANGLE YOU

Okay but as someone who 100% knows why dirk did what he did I fully endorse and support John slapping some pointy-shade-bastard’s ass into the fucking concrete. Dgmw i love dirk but. He has made several decisions that i happen to find “not-poggers”.

Oh, fuck. He lost them.

Getting hitched seems a bit too forward but ok

Catch the boquet or else is a red flag, folks.

John you’re right on the nose. I want jade to be happy with dave and kat but the way she’s doing it is. Forceful?

Oh. John and roxy did the. Oh.

Yeah uhm. I also. Really dont adore how davejadekat is going rn.

TEREZI IS THE LITERAL FUCKING BEST SHE’S SO SMART

John is losing it and honestly i dont blame him i would too

Jane. Baby. Sweetheart. N O.

Jane you are literally being so fucking xenophobic right now.

Jesus fucking christ gamzee. And jane. What the fuck.

I really do feel bad for jake. He’s like the butt of the meta joke all the time.

Okay but it concerns me that these kids arent even 30 and theyre thinking about kids? GUYS. YOU’RE YOUNG. CHILL OUT WITH THE CHILD REARING, GOOD LORD ABOVE.

Okay there is a corpse. Oh my god.

Also guys i know im davekat biased but it really is clear to me that out if everyone here they have the healthiest dynamic in that their only flaw is being in denial about there being a relationship. Like. Somethinf that can be fixed if theyre left alone by literally eveyrone else and their issues.

Oh we’re getting political

Yknow, part of why i like reading rn is because its escapism from really heavy issues? Yeah i uhm. Am struggling with part 20. But i love karkat and he is always right so.

Oh is this why davekat fell apart in candy

Why, Jane, don’t you know like calls to like? If you find yourself surrounded by clowns, that’s your own goddamn fault.

And that’s another reading sesh done folks! I’ll be honest I’m losing my goddamn mind. I’m genuinely worried about the fictional politics between these dumbasses and how theyre tearing this family apart. Where the fuck is Mr. Crocker and why is he not policing these kids??? Theyre CLEARLY in over their heads? God….

Okay i know i call them kids when theyre like three years older than i am but still.

Anyway thank you guys for joining me again i hope you had a laugh watching me rage over the homestuck caste being fucking idiots. I’ll see y’all next time in part 3! (Lmk if i should put any tags for y’all to be warned about i am a simple dumbass and cant catch everything)

[maxdurden]

3, 5, 6, 7, 13, 17, 25, 26, 28, 30!!!!!!!!!! or as many as you want i just realized this is a lot of numbers!!!!!!!

3 Biggest self-insert OC?

definitely wes, it's not even a competition. sometimes self insert next gen au ocs for your favorite media can be something soo important to a teenager coping with untreated mental illness. but i also think i project at least a little onto every oc i make. i just think embuing the little guys that live in my head with a bit of my soul makes them more fun, sue me

5 What are some of your OCs biggest fears?

this is a hard question!! i think my ocs are consistently coping with the fear of being unlovable and alone. but also my ocs are very often super afraid of heights, which is definitely projection. wes is afraid of sharks and the ocean in general! that kid grew up near gotham harbor and you wouldn't trust large bodies of water if you'd grown up near that shit either!

6 Do you have any OCs without stories? Will you ever create one for them?

yeah! i have shelves full of ocs that i made in a blind haze and now they sit and collect dust in the broom closet of my mind. and honestly? who knows, but probably not. a bitch can barely write fanfic, not to mention a competent original story

7 What are your favourite relationships between your OCs? (romantic or platonic!)

my favorite relationships are always familial!!! i fucking,,,, LOVE exploring family dynamics in fiction i'm so normal about it. it's why peisistratus has basically the same amount of interaction with his brothers as he does with telemachus in bbyhr (and i think i should get to count AT LEAST echephron as an oc because i showed that man more love that homer ever dreamed of). but!! i had a superhero oc named jaime and their relationship with their dad (xander) was really fun to mess around with! the aforementioned wes has relationships with a lot of canon characters and their relationship with dick is sooo fun to think about (good relationship dynamic to squirm to, even).

i also really like really close friendships! like the kind where two characters just exist as their entire messy selves around each other because they're so close that it doesn't matter. wes was good friends with the xander i mentioned earlier and their dynamic was Ride Or Die, but then when they fought they were absolutely brutal to each other. very sibling-like ig lol

13 Which story has the most lore?

LISTEN i also don't do lore because i'm not a nerd. but if i did lore, it'd be the story that wes comes from. it was technically a dc related universe? i think it could generously be called an au, but it got so out of hand we ended up calling it the councilverse. it had enough of its own lore to justify being a whole ass other world. there were gods and sirens that had insane and deep lore completely unrelated to dc comics. not to mention!!! all the backstory for all the characters (i could not come close to giving an exhaustive list of all the characters. by the end of it there were roughly three or four generations, and three alternate universes within this one overarching concept of the councilverse. she was,,,, messy)

17 What are some tropes and character dynamics found in your wips?

most common character dynamic has to be Messy Family Dynamics. from parental issues to weird estranged siblings vibes, i simply cannot be stopped. swallows in the windless field is playing up the menoetius and patroclus drama, and braved by your hearts resolve is just a love letter to daddy issues lmao. i think i'm a big fan of slowburn tropes like yearning and obliviousness. and the power of friendship? is a trope you'll have to pry from my cold dead hands

25 What’s your favourite genre to write? Is it also your favourite genre to read?

lately i've been REALLY into writing historical fiction. i've enjoyed all the research i've gotten to do for bbyhr. but i also enjoy writing fantasy stuff maybe more! fantasy is by far my favorite thing to read, but i can be picky about historical fiction stuff. i also really like reading superhero stuff, but writing it makes me nervous (i do it for myself but idk that i'd ever publish it for fear of it not being that good and also for fear of dc comics fans [source: i am one and they are scary])

26 What are your favourite books?

i mean,,, i OBVIOUSLY have an unhealthy fixation on the odyssey and the iliad. so, ya know. we are the ants is a book that had a huge impact on me when it came out, it's kinda sci-fi ish but very fun! and i do, i think technically, have to give credit to the song of achilles and circe for being as formative as they were.

i've also been reading A LOT of comics lately because i realized you can get that shit for free on the internet (pls pls pls don't ask why it took 20+ years for me to figure this out i'm just an incredibly lil guy with not a very big brain). so i've recently revisited the red hood and arsenal run that rewrote my brain chemistry as a teenager. but also favorite comics could be a whole other conversation so maybe i should stop there lmao

28 Favourite songs at the moment?

ahh!! i have so many. i've been listening to a LOT of phoebe bridgers and boygenius. so smoke signals and icu are probably two songs that i spend the most time listening to rn.

but also! against the kitchen floor by will wood (i can finally listen to songs OTHER than this one now, though, which is great)

nightstand by dev lemons!! is really good

body to flame by lucy dacus

and!! the kingdom is within you by gang of youths (fun fact: listening to the gang of youths album angel in realtime. and day dreaming about fridging batman for the sake of drama between the robins is a very good pastime)

30 How are you doing? <3

i'm doing good! my birthday was yesterday :3 so that's neat. i am in desperate need of motivation to write (and a cure for the temptation to write jayroy fanfic)

[autism-archey]

@hunter-sylvester tagged me in this, my very first tag game, so thanks hunter!! you are a pioneer of Metal Lords fan content, pls keep doing what you're doing!

3 Ships:

steddie, but listen, i don't Like season 4 of stranger things. i think the plot/writing was bad actually, but. i stuck around for steve, because damn they're good at writing characters and i loved his seasons 1-3 arc. steve & eddie have incredible chemistry that everyone else has already talked about but listen bro. what if they were t4t.

frerard, but listennn its for the DYNAMICS. i feel like frerard fics have like, mythologized this pairing into something distinct from those real people that are alive and exist. they've lifted the personas and adpoted them onto some really incredible works of fiction... there are archetypes and characteristics and relationship dynamics that i see over and over and over again, always distinctly non-normative and queer, and god dammit it gets me ever time.

i'm struggling to come up with a third... i think The Batman (2021) Selina and Bruce. actually yes this one definitely. god i fucking love those two. my heart like actually ached when she left at the end.

First Ship Ever:

This is going back a long time but I wanna say it was Stucky or Destiel that really had me first. which honestly i was right about that, those white guys have chemistry! i used to eat up post-winter soldier fics all the time and i always end up coming back to them. something about bucky on the run or holed up and scared as his memories struggle to come back, and then steve being the first person to be gentle with him. anyway

Last Song:

my god let me tell you. i listened to ethel cain for the first time today (Golden Age) and i immediately started like crying in the car and then i wrote more poetry than i have in maybe months? that was hours ago and i'm still neck deep in her discography =D

Last Movie:

Avatar: the way of water!!! Avatar is basically a new special interest for me and I'm learning sooo much about it. also this movie is Worth going to the fancy theater for.

Currently Reading:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. i think this is the first time I'm rereading the hunger games, and I'm so glad i picked it up over christmastime bc 1) i got sucked into it and finished it in like a day and a half; and 2) what an incredible fictional depiction of revolution. like katniss' character arc, the emphasis on solidarity and community over and over and over again, every detail adds so much.

Vine Deloria Jr.'s The World We Used to Live In, which is packed with American Indian stories on spirituality and medicine men. i only just started it but i'm clinging onto his words like they're air. which, in the busted concrete version of the world now, they might as well be.

Currently Watching:

Dimension 20's Neverafter, which is premiering weekly rn (too slow! agonizing!!) and is just beginning, but already getting really fucking good. I keep my copy of Grimms' fairy tales in the bathroom now lol and the stories are crazy. The boy who could not fear had me at the edge of my toilet fr!!

Currently Consuming:

i mean where's the post that's like "autism costs families $60,000 a year" "all that weed im smoking"

Currently Craving:

my boyfriend come back :( when you're here you always put my head back on my shoulders the right way but it gets all messed up every time you leave

i dont think i have anyone to tag but mayve i'll edit & update with a tag later!

[mejomonster]

Shen Yexi so far is the closest a priest protagonist has come to me (that ive read and not counting whatever he does later sjdjjf) dude works too hard, comes back to work still not totally healed, hears some heartbreaking stuff occured, starts speedwalking and crashed into someone with coffee, immediately apologizes

And ohhhh i think (im making wild guesses here) we have just landed on perhaps... the love interest? A major character either way. This is a *youth* profusely apologizing for running into Him, more worried about if coffee got on Shen Yexi, and not concerned as much that it got on himself. Wearing dark clothes, dark brown hair with curls, black rimmed glasses "newly transferred admin."

Look. Im hoping for a guo changcheng kind of mold. Maybe less of a goody two shoes (given the title of this being the way of evil and all that) but more guo changcheng than fei du maybe?

On the other hand. Im hoping the love interest is an actual killer and stuff because if theres gonna be a cat and mouse mutual chase i want it to be like Light and L or Hannibal and Will. I loved Guardian's mutual investigating chase with weilan but in the end they were on the same side, the tension dropped. Same with luo wenzhou and fei du, ypu realize either 1/3 or 2/3 into it that even with Fei Dus secrets 1 hes never really gonna have evil intentions, at worst just unhinged fucking decisions that might break law. And 2 luo wenzhou is so Loyal to people he chooses to care about that he'll love fei do Regardless now forever, worst case he might just have to arrest fei du himself or else look the other way. Reading modu i thought a potentially fun alternative to explore would be if fei du really had decided to cross a line (in his head sure he thouggt he had, and it was manipulative and fucked up, but at the same time he wasnt the monster he feared he was... and not the one the bad guy expected, and just as good as luo wenzhou felt he was). Had like been the bad guy himself. Now, that doesnt fit his character. But in another novel... maybe this one? I can hope.

Maybe this new admin isnt even an important character ToT maybe hes the killer of the case of the moment or some lil corrupt cop leading to a more important character. Im jumping ahead lol.

If shen yexi crushes on a younger man tho... thatll be yet another age gap relationship in a priest novel. (In modu's defence, cause im not actually fond of the trope unless like there is some useful reason in story or exploration? Well in modu their age differences do so Much to inform so much of how they act: luo wenzhou the savior, the guardian, forgiving things u forgive a child for but not a stranger - also thar way with all he sees as family like tao ran - but simply that fei du being youbg when they met made luo wenzhou want to Take Care and see a stranger as family, the way fei du wants to be yelled at, wants guidance even though he finds it hypocritical and useless, that he uses lup wenzhou in many ways to work out his own issues with his father and seek out an alternative to his utterly fucked upbringing - he also uses Tao Ran for this probably likewise cause tao ran was also older and pushed bu luo wenzhou to sorta Adopt fei du emotionally, the way all 3 of them are in this web of using each other as pedastals for their morals and proof of their own inner guilt and surrogates for family/friends/mentors/victims/saviors they want or feel they lost or are afraid to get. A LOT of fei du and luo wenzhous unique dynamic wouldnt exist without their like 10+ age gap.) So back to this novel like. 28 and new admin is like 21 to 28... its like. Guo changcheng x zhao yunlan. Its... fine? Its not really that much its just. Me lol judging a little if so, cause dating a subordinate is Not professional and Such a mess and well. I get coffeeshop aus and office aus in theory but in reality the idea of dating a coworker boss or subordinate is something i avoid. Djdjjr oh romance fiction and ur tropes. (I say this while shipping coworkers in guardian galore so yes i know djjjdjd)

[proofthatihaveaheart]

April 2023 Wrap-up

i had covid this month which was a terrible time EXCEPT that when i wasn’t miserable with fever watching chopped, i had a lot of time to read. and i read a lot of good stuff this month. bold + italics for faves

THINGS I READ:

Books:

Babel by R. F. Kuang - What a book!!! It’s one of my favorites from the year so far. The character arcs + relationships, especially Robin’s, are complicated and emotional and excellent. Pair that with the broader themes around the role of academia in colonization and student-led revolutions and the linguistics/history, and you’ve got an excellent reading experience. It’s not subtle in all its messages but it is utterly engrossing and it has a lot to say about violence. Also, the rich details of academia resonated with me - the love/hate relationship, the exam stress, the cohort camaraderie - it’s the most accurate depiction of what academia is like that I’ve read in fiction.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon - I LOVED this book. One of my favorites (it was a good month for reading). Just the rich world-building, the amazing characters, the struggle between what is expected of you by others and your personal wants and how each main character fits into this greater theme, DRAGONS, it hits hard.

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong - Spectacular tour through animal sensory systems and worlds. I learned a lot of cool things that made me appreciate how different species perceive the world around them - and how much we still have yet to learn.

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge - humorous essay collection on politics, identity, and life written by a Native woman. overall, it was hit-or-miss for me - some were really fantastic and some fell flat

Die Vol. 2 Split the Party by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans - still very into this comic series. It’s got gorgeous art and messy characters and fun dynamics and really cool ideas playing with rpgs and fantasies and the things people do for their fantasies

Die Vol. 3 The Great Game by Kieron Gillen and Stepahnie Hans - really liked Izzy and Ash’s dynamic in this volume (and in general)

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline - I liked this book. Interesting premise that works well with the themes, good focus on family and tradition

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan - i can see why this is considered a classic. creative and funny with delightful characters. i’m excited to see where the story goes because these first six issues have done a great job setting things up

Fic (all for Arcane):

All the King’s Horses by paxbanana (Cait/Vi, 135k): All the walls come tumbling down. Jinx’s decision triggers catastrophic effects that leave Piltover reeling and Zaun on the brink of war. Vi is desperate to juggle all the broken pieces for Caitlyn and for Powder, but no matter how hard she tries, it’s not coming back together again. Or:  Jinx's attack on Council brings down the whole tower. Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx struggle with the aftermath. Vi balances being there for Caitlyn and cleaning up some of her sister's mess with finding a way to save her sister. Meanwhile, interested parties from Topside and Bottom plot to take advantage of the situation. [Oh this fic my beloved, the CaitVi dynamic, the mystery, the dialogue, the sister dynamic, I truly love this fic with all my heart.]

THINGS I WATCHED

Movies:

Jurassic Park - my friends and i watched this because it’s the best one and not all of us had seen it. an excellent movie, holds up well

Jurassic World Dominion - and right after watching JP, without having planned it before, someone pitched watching the worst movie in the franchise... we had a lot of fun making fun of it but it was an awful movie

TV:

Chopped

The Last of Us (finished) - excellent adaptation of an excellent game

THINGS I PLAYED

Video games:

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure - charming, adorable, and chill. It’s simple but made for a nice few hours and I really liked all the real birds

Legends of Runeterra

[toyfulbox]

4, 5, 7, and 10 💖

4. which muse of yours is your all time favorite? if you stopped writing them: why?

MITSURU MY LITTLE SQUISHY !!!!! fun fact when i started this blog i initially didnt have him on the muse list even though i had him as my icon mostly because i was too scared to rp him... but honestly i love playing him, he's so fun and he has a lot of love stored in him!!!

5. is there a muse you really want to try? if yes: what’s stopping you?

ohhh.. midori takamine... the only thing stopping me is that i dont have a good grip on his characterization and i don't want to mess up or be criticized for it ;;; so i simply dont but if we're talking muses other than enstars. definitely madoka kaname OR mami tomoe! i would love to play them one day, im just. shy. also again, characterization issues w/ me ;__;

7. describe your favorite relationship dynamic. (can be any kind, platonic, romantic, familial, antagonistic, etc.)

I LOVE FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS SO MUCH !!!! please i want ppl to adopt my characters so bad, i love found family i love anything family its just soooo !!! it makes me so happy ;; platonic is also very cute <333 and don't get me started w/ romantic! i do want to ship mitsuru with some characters but nobody plays the characters i ship him with </3 (sora, tsukasa, tomoya, hajime rpers come here pspsps)

10. what genre do you most enjoy, whether in roleplay, or fiction as a whole? (fantasy, period, superhero, etc.)

honestly? i dont have a preference? that being said i've never rp'd scenarios like that. like i do have AUs that i rp for but i don't normally have them in settings bc they're mostly just "modern time" but if u ever do wanna do something fun like that.. hmu 👀

[veliseraptor]

Top 5 fictional siblings!

oh boy oh man. I feel like I've probably answered this one previously but I don't feel like going digging for it right now so you get to read me talking about at least some of the same relationships again

1. Yunmeng Siblings. God! What a mess! Truly a deeply codependent trio with intertwining and sometimes clashing issues and communication problems! I love them. Like...god, no joke, I'm pretty sure it was the Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian relationship specifically that actively hooked me emotionally and that kinda continued to be true (and is definitely true now as one of my major points of emotional connection), but then Jiang Yanli in there and the dynamic with her added? The role she plays in mediating, her self-effacing-ness, the way she is, I think, trying to make herself small in part to offset the drama swirling around the other two and also just generally to avoid conflict? The "older sister taking on vaguely parental role" vibes? I just...love them. And all their fucked up mess.

2. Shi Wudu & Shi QIngxuan. I feel like I was less attached to this as a dynamic on my first read and got more into it on reread because again - say it with me - it's a mess. Shi Wudu's overprotective, somewhat controlling relationship to Shi Qingxuan born clearly out early fear and anxiety about her doomed status but now manifesting in disapproval and judgment, and the tension between Shi Qingxuan's freewheeling, carefree nature and her desire to please her brother...and maybe most of all the way that the fact that they love each other too much ultimately condemns both of them. Shi Wudu refuses to make a decision that will hurt Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan again and again refuses to turn away from her brother even after she knows what he's done. I'm suffering about it.

3. Felix & Mildmay. Remember when I was 13 and read Melusine and possibly was a little young for it but latched onto it so hard and got really, really invested in the relationship between Felix and Mildmay in all its fucked up codependent messy glory? Yeah, that was a thing and it hasn't changed. Beautiful disasters. and like...I feel like in some ways Mildmay's love and devotion to Felix goes without saying (it's not always good for him!) but I was just looking back through my blog and found the part where Felix answers someone judging his relationship with Mildmay at the end of the first book by saying that he is "down in the gutter. With him." and boy!!! for a character who so ruthlessly distances himself from his gutter history in every possible way...that's a lot.

4. Richard & Lymond. Feel like this whole post could be titled "what a mess! they love each other very much but what a mess! and that's definitely also true here. Like from The Game of Kings classic "I will bring him to you on his knees, weeping, and begging to be killed" through...everything in Checkmate tbh...augh. It's almost always Lymond making things harder, also, but Richard just...can never quite walk away from him.

5. As usual I waffled on my fifth but I ended up going with the Sons of Feanor as a whole. A little bit of a different dysfunction because I think their dysfunction is less with each other (though increasingly the 'us against the world' thing probably...isn't super healthy) but more with. the extended family and also the world. But boy do I love a borderline pathologically loyal group of siblings dedicated to a hopeless cause that they kinda know is hopeless but it's happening anyway! and they all die miserably except one who lives miserably! That is, as the kids say, the good shit.

Honorable mention does have to go to Thor and Loki, who do own the tag "tragic siblings" on this blog.

[a-sour-nectarine]

Even though I hate abusive Bruce that is something people overlook. The abuser might just be nice to everyone else but you. My father has NPD which is a narcissistic personality disorder and wasn't diagnosed for a long time till about 3 years ago. He's the type to Give money to people in the streets or food. Can totally fix your truck no issue. Good at helping and doing wiring for houses. But as his kid if you don't fit his reality then he will gaslight and attack you verbally and emotionally. My mother has BPD and I know she loves me but we can't be in the same house in long term living standards because she will blow up over little things and call me crying later and apologizing in a messed up cycle. But everyone who meets her says she's funny and great with kids. I think media sometimes often ignores the aspect of abusive parental figures being... well people. They aren't assholes 24/7. I think Encanto covered generational Trauama and types of abuse well with showing complex characters. Batman just doesn't. I know it's not their intention to make batman a abuser and seems to be a recent thing as they try to make it grimdark and oh so serious. It's why I personally adore the animated series and such. I enjoy the camp of batman. The massive amount of writers and such just don't portray it well if they even wanted to write a abusive batman. I've seen fanfic writers write complex stories with Bruce's abuse in a way that didn't feel like avatar the last Airbender ozai burning the face off his son.

Ok, this is so important. The main thing I keep in mind with Batman—especially recently with all the grimdark arcs, like you said— is that it is very rarely a good standard for a healthy family dynamic. Even if Bruce isn't abusive, he still is... ya know. Bruce Wayne. He's Batman. His kids are all child soldiers who came from really bad situations, or very traumatic points in their lives.

Here's a disclaimer: my family relationships are fairly healthy. My parents are... well, obviously they have their faults. But, for the most part, they are emotionally stable, caring, and supportive. They aren't manipulative, or physically abusive. I'm rather spoiled, in fact. So I don't get it. I don't empathize. But I can try to understand.

I have this platform, however small, and I'm gonna use it.

I would never want to ignore the real life trauma of people. You can be both, an abusive shitstain, and a guy who keeps lollipops in his utility belt for scared children. And someone on the outside might never know.

As zombi says, NPD is deceptive. It's a personality disorder with many different aspects. It can be a perfectionist disorder, a little like OCD, and it can definitely reflect onto other people, especially people close to you, as they are a variable you can "control."

(According to the internet. I have done an hour of research. Not a ton. Not enough, probably, but I have an essay to do tonight so.... not a lot of time.)

But yeah. People aren't like Disney villains. They aren't evil or good. Very few people are just... going out and hurting people just to hurt them.

I dunno. I don't have a lot more to say. Just.... don't look up to Bruce Wayne as the standard of parenting. He's a fictional character in a comic book. He dresses up as a bat and fights clowns. That isn't a healthy lifestyle in the first place.

Don't romanticize abuse and trauma. You have a voice, don't use it for shit like that. If you're gonna do it, do it right. No glorifying toxicity, please.

[incomingalbatross]

Reasons Edward Eager is one of my favorite fantasy/children’s writers:

1. Character-establishing skills

It began one day in summer about thirty years ago, and it happened to four children.

Jane was the oldest and Mark was the only boy, and between them they ran everything.

Katherine was the middle girl, of docile disposition and a comfort to her mother. She knew she was a comfort, and docile, because she’d heard her mother say so. And the others knew she was, too, by now, because ever since that day Katherine would keep boasting about what a comfort she was, and how docile, until Jane declared she would utter a piercing shriek and fall over dead if she ever heard another word about it. This will give you some idea of what Jane and Katherine were like.

Martha was the youngest, and very difficult.

This is the opening of Half Magic, and I honestly think it’s up there with the opening to Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The personality of these children. The sibling dynamics.

2. Character voices. Also the narrative voice, honestly.

Magic by the Lake:

“Only three more days of vacation!” said Martha one sunny afternoon. “Monday’s Labor Day. We drive home then.”

“O day of labor rightly named!” said Jane. “I think it’s mean of them, calling it that. As if going back into bondage weren’t bad enough, without rubbing it in!”

“I’m kind of looking forward to next year,” said Katherine. “We get fractions.”

“Just wait is all I can say!” said Jane.

Knight’s Castle:

Roger enjoyed science fiction books, too, but there their father drew the line. He said they were like having bad dreams on purpose, and if the Flying Saucers really have landed, he didn’t want to know about it. Roger called this Not Taking A Realistic Attitude. All the same, he really liked the magic books his father and Ann loved so, and back in the days when he was a child, before he got to be eleven, he had even hoped that some day something magic would happen to him.

(Children take themselves SO seriously and have SO many opinions and I love that these books respect that even when they’re gently making fun of it.)

3. The kids learn moral lessons in these books, but NOT in a preachy way--more in the fairy-tale way of “once you start messing with magic you need to make right choices or there will be Scary Consequences”. Normally losing your temper or being selfish has pretty small consequences... but if you’re having magic adventures, you’d better learn better, or you may get captured by cannibals or locked up in the Tower of London. 

4. In a similar vein, in every case the kids use the magic that comes to them in order to fix some family troubles that would otherwise be out of their league (but which they can only solve once they’ve overcome their faults enough to not make the world worse), which gives the books a sense that the magic really was given to them as an opportunity to earn their happy endings.

5. The concepts. Edward Eager built an entire book around the idea of “what if you could use thyme to time-travel?” and then named that book The Time Garden. I appreciate the way he thought.

6. All of these children are very literate nerds (for their ages) and it’s just treated as a natural thing that children are. They love books and making things up because they love adventures! Like all children!