#i think they would be a disaster team at first and their arc would be learning to trust each other

[camiliar]

soul eater au O_O

[thatmexisaurusrex]

What if in the big first disaster mini-arc of season 8, Tommy's helicopter crashes close to where the 118 are. Gerrard decides that the helicopter, and everyone that is in it, is a lost cause and that they shouldn't be wasting resources or his team trying to help anyone out of the crash. What if the entire team mutinies to go find Tommy, his team, his helicopter, and the patients he was transporting?

What if the people in the helicopter crash are scattered - some in the helicopter, some flung out of it? What if Tommy was one of the people flung out of the helicopter; lost and out of range?

What if the 118 manages to find the helicopter, only to see that Tommy is missing? But they have to secure the scene, they have to call for back up, they have to make sure everyone still in the helicopter is okay. But maybe Hen takes over the scene and tells Chimney and Buck to keep searching the woods for other survivors.

And Buck feels guilty that he's relieved that Hen chose him to go sift through the woods of this mountain for other survivors, but there's really no time to think about that. There's no time at all.

Lives are on the line.

Tommy is out there.

And in the woods, Tommy is hurt. He's hurt, but he can hear someone calling for help. So, he moves despite knowing full well that might be bad for him. He moves because he's a first responder and will always try to help someone in need. And he finds one of his patients worse off than before. And he feels guilt that due to bad weather conditions and how the fire in the woods traveled (did I not say there was a fire? There's a fire and it's threatening to reach their side of the mountain at any moment), he lost control of the helicopter (and I would like to think there would be another twist too, like the 118 find something was already messed up with the helicopter to begin with, so it was a miracle that Tommy could even fly it at all).

But Tommy could do this.

He could save this one person.

So, Tommy's doing his best. He's working through his own pain as he puts a splint on this person's leg, as he pops this person's dislocated arm back in, as he makes the split decision to burn a cut closed because he doesn't have the supplies and that was the best he could do without the person bleeding out during a hike. And he makes a fucking board out of low branches he rips off trees. And, damn it, he knows his radio is basically busted, but he tries for help, only getting broken static back.

But he is going through.

He just can't hear the other end.

But his words are getting through the radio - they're reaching Buck. And Buck is desperately trying to answer back, he's trying to far longer than he should, he should have realized the first four tries that Tommy can't here him.

But he knows which direction Tommy is going. Because he and Tommy hiked up this mountain before. Buck knows which trail Tommy is trying to get to, so it's a race against time - will Buck and Chimney get to Tommy and the patient before the fire gets to them?

And the answer is that they get there just as the fire does. Nipping at Tommy's heels, but it ends up being stopped by a water drop just in time. Tommy is stunned when he sees Chimney and Evan, he's truly stunned.

He didn't think anyone heard him.

He didn't think they were going to be found in time.

And Buck calls it in, asks for backup, asks for help. Chimney checks on the person Tommy did first aid on.

And Tommy.

And Buck.

They run to each other.

They collapse into each other's arms. Exhausted and running on adrenaline alone. And they're checking if the other is okay - both are very worse for wear. And things seem okay as they wait for help to get to them. Things are going great for Hen too, she successfully saves everyone else in the helicopter crash with Eddie and Ravi's help.

But then.

A tree nearby is unstable.

Tommy sees it just in time.

And Tommy pushes Chimney out of the way, only to be caught under the tree.

And this is bad.

Back breaking bad.

Body crushing bad.

Buck tries not to panic, but it's clear this has shaken him. Chimney is doing his best and is calling for more help.

Help gets there, help finally gets there. And they manage to pull the tree off Tommy. Buck rides with Tommy to the hospital, holding his hand. He paces, distressed, as he waits for the longest surgery in his life.

And Tommy? Tommy should make it. But he's out, he's been put into a medically induced a coma as he heals. And at first, that's okay. Buck can be there. He can make sure Tommy's warm. He can hold Tommy's hand and read to him, and sleep in a rolled in bed.

Until that stops.

Mysteriously, he's not allowed into Tommy's room.

He's not allowed any information.

He's not Tommy's family.

And Tommy's parents are, somehow, technically still Tommy's next of kin - they're in charge of his medical treatment. They're in charge of who sees him.

Buck tries to explain who he is.

They reject the very idea of it.

And it's devastating. Buck didn't think about this. He didn't know this could happen. Tommy hadn't spoken to his parents in over twenty years, yet they're just allowed to come and do this to him.

Buck doesn't know what to do. He can't eat. He can't sleep. People have to force him to do anything for himself as he wonders how Tommy's parents are treating him.

Are they reading to him? Are they spending time with him? Are they making sure he's warm? Are they doing anything at all? Is this all for spite?

Somehow, other people are allowed to visit.

Just not Buck.

Buck is blacklisted.

Eddie is allowed; Christopher too. Chimney, somehow; probably because Tommy had saved his life. Maddie, even. Hen isn't, they can tell something is queer about Hen. Ravi isn't either. Bobby was allowed at first, before he made a case to the Kinards to let Buck see Tommy and it went south.

But definitely not Buck.

And Buck? Buck is camped out in the waiting room. The waiting room he kissed Tommy in. He basically has grown a short beard in that waiting room, he hasn't been shaving.

And all Buck can ask when he sees Eddie or Chimney or Maddie is - how is he doing? Is he doing okay? Is his favorite blanket still on him? What did you talk to him about? What did you read him? How did he look?

And the nurses - they know Buck. They've known him for years. And some take pity on him one night, and let him at least near the room when the parents are gone.

And the parents file for a restraining order against Buck, but it was worth it just to see Tommy.

Tommy looked better than last time.

That was good.

That was what mattered.

And a few more days go by like that with Buck in the waiting room, unable to leave.

Until Tommy wakes up.

He wakes up.

He asks his parents to leave.

He asks for Evan.

And a band of nurses and maybe Chimney rush over and tell Buck the news.

And Buck is running.

Sprinting.

To get to Tommy's room.

He knows where it is.

He memorized where the room was.

And he sees Tommy awake.

And part of him hadn't realized that he wasn't sure if Tommy would wake up. That some little, horrible part of him thought that Tommy would never wake up and he would never see Tommy again.

Tommy makes a joke about how Evan looks like a caveman.

Buck laughs. And cries. And sobs as he rushes frantically over to Tommy and collapses into a hug.

Tommy holds Buck as best as he can in his state while mumbling fondly that Evan smells like a caveman too. Buck offers to go, get cleaned up, but Tommy holds onto him.

Asks Evan to stay.

Apologizes for his parents, that he hadn't expected them to come. That he is going to change his will as soon as he can.

And he just wants Evan there.

With him.

And Buck stays.

[ made a fic based on this on AO3 in my Denial-Verse series ]

[asha-mage]

Anaiya nodded. "We understand your reasons for disliking Elaida, even hating her. We do understand. But we must think of the Tower and the world. I confess I do not like Elaida myself. But then I have never liked Siuan either. It is not necessary to like the Amyrlin Seat. There is no need to glare so Siuan. You have had a file for a tongue since you where a novice and it has only roughened with the years. And as Amyrlin you pushed sisters where you wanted and only seldom explained why. The two do not make for a very likeable combination."

-The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 27: The Practice of Diffidence

Re-reading The Fires of Heaven has made me increasingly confident in the show's read of Siuan's character being book accurate (an opinion I originally articulated here). I always encourage re-reads of the books, but I would very much encourage re-reading The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven specifically if you are doubting the choices the team made in episode 7.

Cause the thing is, Siuan's central character flaw- the one Anaiya is trying to gently cite above, the one on heavy display all throughout both books via Siuans treatment of those around her, is her complete lack of trust paired with a willingness to force and browbeats others into doing what she thinks is best.

It is, ironically, a trait she shares with Rand- both are unafraid to use their power (physical, magical, political- what have you) to make others obey, and both also are unwilling to demonstrate trust and good faith out of a fear of showing weakness. It's something born inherently of their shared insecurities about their respective positions of power- Siuan's young rise to the Seat and the fact that she is carrying on her conspiracy with Moiraine and Rand's belief that he isn't strong enough/good enough/hard enough to be the Dragon Reborn alongside the tendency of the people he cares about to get hurt or have their lives ruined by simple proximity to him.

Throughout both The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven Siuan uses primarily tactics drawn form the same playbook that would later also lead Rand to disaster in the back half of the series: she comes to view those under charge more for their value to her agenda then as people she should be looking after, forcing Min to remain in the Tower against her will, refusing to make any effort to console or reassure those who care about Elayne (Gawyn, Galad, Morgase) that she is well, and engaging in many actions because their are expedient without regard for their moral implications (ordering Mazrim Taim's execution without trial, lying about Logain being set up by the Red Ajah, manipulation Logain so he has no choice but to follow along with her plan). And I don't think it's a mistake that many of those actions either lead to, or directly follow, Siuan's downfall in the Tower.

In fact, Siuan begins to make the turn in her character after encountering Mistress Tharne, which largely sets in motion Siuan's character arc for the remainder of the series: realizing that she can not force the word to conform to her will, not least of all because she is no longer the most powerful woman on the planet, but more over because it's wrong. Mistress Tharne's rough treatment of Siuan, her complete lack of respect or deference, is a wake call to Siuan that gives her empathy and understanding of the way she treated others when she held power. Much of her arc there after is about emphasizing that point, first as a stilled woman serving Aes Seadi, then as a restored but drastically weakened Aes Sedai.

In this way Siuan gets a taste of what it's like to be on the other side- forced and expected to obey, constantly fighting against a system rigged against her from the start, meant to keep her out of circles of power and away from the ability to make decisions as a woman who can not channel, and then as a Aes Sedai who does not stand high enough in the hierarchy. More over it gives her perspective on why things like the Oaths and the Tower's traditions matter- on the ways the Oaths protect ordinary people and the way Tower traditions like 'staying out of the business of other Aes Sedai' and 'respect secrets of individual sisters and Ajahs' help keep Aes Sedai working together and functional. But it's really her friendships, which she is able make on now even terms, with Nynaeve and Egwene, that help her gain empathy and understanding, and in particular allows her (via her mentorship of Egwene) to try and positively influence the Tower's future via reforms to make it more equitable, less mired and fractious and cracked.

As Amylrin, we're told, Siuan ruled by playing one faction in the Tower against another, widening the cracks between Ajahs and within them so that no one was able to effectively oppose her and her agenda- that is until someone came along who could rally support, to take advantage of those simmering frustrations and angers in order tear her down. But that person, Elaida, shared many of her faults and few of her virtues- instead of playing one faction against and brow beating, Elaida (with the Shadow's help) turned the Tower into armed camps ready to lash out at each other. Siuan's tendency (often cited by even herself) to send sisters to do penance on farms for opposing or annoying her, became Elaida using the same tool to humiliate and punish her enemies and using edicts to demote them to Accepted for being weak, and Siuan's precedent for keeping secrets and working around the Hall became Elaida plotting to kidnap Rand and 'make him supple' via Galina's embassy.

And it's a neat closing of the circle, the kind Jordan really likes to play with, that Siuan's redemption for this is her training of the woman who will replace both her and Elaida. Someone who will actually fulfill both women's ambitions of leading the Tower in the last battle- Egwene. Siuan's justice against Elaida is to help prepare an Amyrlin that will be more then either she or Elaida ever could- someone who will be free of their faults, who will be able to unite the Tower as both women dreamed of doing but never could- who can guide Rand and bind the nations to him, who can serve as a general of the Light strong enough to balance the worst of the Shadow. Siuan teaches Egwene how not to do the things she did, to fall into the traps that brought her down- the arrogance, the pride, the domineering, the compromises with her own morals- and it's that teaching which, in part, gives Egwene the ability to persuade the Tower that still saw her as a Novice....to raise her to Amyrlin of it's own accord.

Siuan still should have been allowed to kill Elaida though instead of the Suffa stuff, I will die on that hill.

[cybertron-after-dark]

oooo kimmie, can you tell us about the tfa and rb overlap?

Everyone prepare yourselves bc the floodgates are opened and now I'm never going to shut up about this

In a meta context, there's SO much overlap between the shows. A lot of the same people worked on it, especially the writers, and it 100% shows. Mr. Marty Isenberg you are not slick.

In terms of the actual content of the shows though, the similarities are overflowing.

First and foremost, the emphasis on cultural differences and exchanges with the human-bot relationships. TFA had a good bit of it and it was very very fun every time it happened (bots not really knowing what level of self defense is appropriate to teach a child, being very confused about what exactly humans eat, bee picking up video games, bulkhead picking up art, ALL that good shit), but you don't always get to focus on it with all the action and political intrigue going on. And while rescue bots has its share of intensity, there's a lot more space for the mundane interactions. Blades being tv obsessed, the bots celebrating Allspark day, boulder's love of just Everything on earth. They had a whole episode just about teaching the bots to fish.

There's also the fact that everyone on griffin rock is a little bit Unhinged in a lot of the same ways the humans kicking around Detroit are. Just. Vaguely Weird Vibes in very funny ways. And the same tendency to switch from revering the emergency services which they may or may not know the bots are part of to wildly distrusting them on a dime. Optimus would not leave an encounter with Mrs Nederlander unscathed bro. I don't know if any of the bots could.

Speaking of humans, the villains in rescue bots feel like what the tfa human villains could have been if not for being wildly overshadowed by the decepticons. Evan and Myles? I think you mean Henry Masterson's shitty cousins he only interacts with through the CoD lobby. Madelyne Pynch? That's just girlboss Porter C. Powell. Quint Quarry? Sir that is Master Disaster if he existed for more than like two minutes of a singular episode and bagged more than one bot. Dr. Morocco? Meltdown but better at, like, everything (especially lab safety).

Then there's the constant state of both teams grilling the hell out of each other All The Time. Chaotic. Absolute Creechurs. They love each other so much but they also all live in close contact and see each other all the time and thus they are So Mean To Each Other (though they're a bit meaner in tfa just bc older audience)

The Sumdacs and the Greenes being two duos of an absentminded but well meaning technological genius and his intelligent and Highly Cool pigtailed daughter who both have to deal with the dad's tech going completely out of control is pretty on the nose too. (Oh God now I'm just imagining an au where tfp starscream successfully gets rid of Megatron after the space bridge explosion and sends him hurtling towards earth and crashlanding right on griffin rock whee doc green finds his head. Can you imagine. The misery of tfp Megatron having to deal with a human. He's having several mental breakdowns, 100%)

Even Cody and Sari have a lot of similarity as characters. Cody is a lot more mild mannered compared to the absolute Gremlin that is Sari, but they both still struggle a lot with wanting to help but feeling too small to make an impact, even though they matter so much more than they could ever know. They're surrounded by heros, giants, and it's hard for them not to feel like they're fading into the background. And when both their families realize how they've been making those kids feel they put so much effort to make sure they're loved and feel like their efforts matter. It's the same arc in different forms. And it's so good both ways.

Overall they're both shows that feel like they're trying to say similar things to different audiences. That Earth is wonderful and worth protecting. That any effort can make massive differences, even if you don't feel like you can do enough. That a hero can come from somewhere humble, and the best ones usually do. That people deserve kindness and a genuine effort at understanding. That nobody is without value.

And honestly? That what I love most about both of them.

[taddymason]

What do you think about S6 Jay? I've always felt conflicted about his character due to this season, (but that comes from the fact that Skybound is a total mess). I didn't like how he used his wishes to impress Nya so she would date him. It annoyed me that he kept making decisions that wronged his friends because he couldn't let go of the idea she didn't want a relationship with him. I'm conscious this is the consequence of the messy love triangle from season 3, but it would've been nice to see Jay growing up from his relationship with Nya. (And if the writers were so desperate to make Jay and Nya endgame, at least they could've shown us Jay apologizing for everything he did during the season (lying to his friends, not accepting her refusal). They could've shown us Nya bring up the love triangle, and why she went for Cole when she was with Jay. You know, resolve the problems in their relationship and the things each of them did).

But no, they show us Jay making his final wish: "I wish you had taken my hand, and no one ever found that teapot in the first place". That decision feels like he hasn't progressed about his relationship with Nya from the start of the season. At the beginning of Skybound, she clarifies she doesn't want to be with him, so why would Jay wish she had taken his hand? Like, she's dying, and he's still thinking about that moment. What the hell? There were so many ways that scene could've gone, instead of Jay making her do something against her will. (Kind of? I think that depends on the interpretation of each person).

On the other hand, I didn't like how Nya's feelings were handled. One of the main problems her character had to face in season 6 was feeling she wasn't able to choose her destiny. She found out she was destined to be with Jay, and Nadakhan was forcing her to be with him. She literally said she felt that her whole life had been defined by other people, rather than by herself. However, at the end of the season, Jay wishes she had done what she didn't want to do at first.

I don't know, Skybound feels like an amount of missed opportunities for Nya's and Jay's character development.

Oh, skybound. skybound.

This season is a disaster for me and probably the season I feel the most conflicted about.

Overall I think most of the characters this season are pretty ooc. From Cole making sexist jokes for no reason, to Lloyd remaining strangely quiet throughout the EP5 conflict, to Jay throwing his own friends' security out the window to be with Nya. NOT EVEN S3 JAY (which was also a low point) WAS LIKE THIS. Even with all of his insecurities or rivalry with him, as soon as the situation demanded it or Cole was in danger (S3EP9) Jay could focus on what was at stake.

Instead, for some reason during the middle of the season Jay is EXTREMELY desperate to be with Nya to the point that he doesn't even care about his own team.

Look, I don't even mind that they make a season where Jay is an asshole and has to confront the consequences of his actions to learn to be more mature and aware of what he does (most of my fics are like that anyway). Do they want to do a season where Jay lies until his mistakes blow up in his face and where his selfishness is finally tested? I'm on board. If there is something that makes him such an interesting character, it's his flaws. Jay is selfish, he lies very often, he is opportunistic, and that makes his arcs so different from everyone else's.

Now, I hate that this is all solely because of his obsession with Nya. I've said it before but the worst thing about Jaya is when she becomes Jay's only motivation and interest to do everything he does. The season punishes Jay for resorting to wishes, not for continuing to believe that he has the right to be with Nya as if it were a necessity for him. The moral of the season shouldn't be "if you wish something enough, you'll find a way to make it happen" but; you don't need to be with someone else to be happy. Jay doesn't have to depend on Nya for his own happiness, and the season surprisingly never says otherwise.

From start to the ending, Nya remains Jay's final motivation. Literally her final wish is him imposing her will on her again (I know the wish supposedly didn't affect Nya but I think it's a mistake to make a character's wishes remain static from the beginning to the end of history).

so basically the season is a bunch of wasted potential that could have been a really good season to develop both characters. There are good things in S6, I'm not going to deny it. Jay from EP6 onwards has some pretty good moments, like him learning to be a leader, showing that he is a capable and intelligent member who ends up motivating others (Jay inspiring people is a rant for another day). And it's probably the most seriously the show takes his character.

I think the season would be better if it ended up addressing other things as well. There are many hints of Jay feeling worthless, Jay being insecure because he is poor/weak, believing he needs to be with Nya to be happy. And the season doesn't do much with this anyway. So, wouldn't it be better if the season wasn't Jay and Nya getting back together, but rather Jay realizing his own worth as a person? What if Jay resorts to wishes because he doesn't feel valuable as a member of the team? because he starts to believe that Nya is a better blue ninja than him? Or because his powers begin to fail and weaken as he is not maintaining his true potential by allowing himself to be consumed by his own insecurities? There are MANY ways to resolve this conflict without having Nya come back to him as some kind of prize.

...This is spoilers for my Skybound rewrite btw

but yeah, I agree with everything you say, Jay and Nya deserved better this season and I think what affected it the most was making the ending have to be these two getting back together with just ONE episode of them speaking sincerely

Sorry for the long post, Ty for the ask! ^^

[crime-soncloud]

Alright so Canto 3... Where do I begin (spoilers obvs)

Alright firstly, RIP Effie and Saude, I genuinely was kinda heartbroken over them both. Effies fate was grisly and really helped the themes and backstory of this canto (that's gonna be touched on more at the end). Meanwhile Saude was such a tragic and very noble death, one that neatly parallelled Sinclair. Wasn't at all expecting them to die, I fully thought they would be some light hearted rivals, but NOPE they're not returning.

In terms of the gameplay... Yall I wasn't even prepared, I ate shit on a lot of these encounters, the dungeon was a disaster at points, the first time I've lost an encounter so far, and I had to Grind. Ended up actually improving a decent bit, and finally started blocking and evading. As I said before, Kromer was a struggle, I lost like 5 times because of when she staggered you using the nails and did a bajillion damage.

In terms of the outer layer of the story, without the big moments, I liked how Don quixote consistently fucks up the plans and causes big fights. Also loved Siegfried coming in, wrecking the teams shit, don quixote fangirling, and then leaving. Honestly I would probably be don quixote, I would suck as a team member. Understand why Vergillus was such a dick, still feel really bad for Don, girlie felt broken by that. Really curious what happened before with them. Rewatching it really makes me want to hug Don, Vergillus is abelist for this (/j /silly). Also Don quixote beating up Sinclair after he goes too far was surprising but interesting as hell. Probably important to backstory

Gregor constantly acting and creating stories in these situations is amazing, and Mersault being previously employed by N corp is interesting 👀 there's something that's gonna be unpacked.

Alright then... Time to go through the main arc, that of Sinclair, and the themes. Firstly, while I am an atheist, I have had a fair amount of dealings with religion and religious people (mostly alright apart from a few). However I think the theme of religious extremism, religious hypocrisy, and guilt/responsibility are extremely well done. As I said, Saude in this canto neatly contrasts Sinclair, as while Sinclair betrayed his family out of hatred/distaste of the mechanical parts (another really nuanced and interesting theme with a lot of depth), and never came clean, leading to him feeling deep guilt over his actions, Saude betrayed the team to try to save herself and Effie, and ultimately was able to redeem herself when she found out Effie died, by holding off N corp. Speaking of Effie, to me the fact he was essentially made into a "heretic" by N corp, to me indicates the idea that they are hypocritical, calling others heretics for trying to improve their lives using the enhancements (there's also an argument for the church's persecution of queer people here, but that might not be intentional, just an interesting thought), but forcing them onto people breaking in so they have an excuse to punish and torture them inhumanely because "they're not human" (can you see the queer subtext I'm seeing?). Finally Dante is amazing this canto, in how they also grow, and manages to support Sinclair, and starts to wonder who are they? What did they do? Are they a good person? And this becomes a catalyst for them to be better, more responsible, and to support Sinclair, the things that Dante says in the final part of the story is genuinely amazing

And as for the backstory... I want to hug Sinclair. His dislike of his family for what they did, feeling as though they are colder, due to their prosthetics. And then Kromer and Demian are interesting, Kromer appearing kind and caring but having a clear air of malice, hatred, and cruelty. The way she acts is chilling, and that cg of her standing over Sinclair is Evil.

Meanwhile I have no fucking clue about Demian, he seems kinda cool but has something going on under the surface, we'll probably have to fight him eventually. Extremely curious, his wisdom, sign (that is what we collect in the dungeon), saving of Sinclair, speeches, and the fact that he is the only character so far that isn't a fixer but hears Dante?? Like okay he is important AF. Definitely very interesting.

I was told by @zebrashork that it had to take a break at points in this canto, and it was fucked up a bit, and BOY is it! I'm probably missing a few things though. Also @flextapeyeehaw sorry for tagging you here, but I wanted to say that you didn't say anything about Kromer, when it came to hateable characters, but FUCK KROMER!

Will be tackling the 3.5 chapter/canto, I expect it to be light-hearted. Probably will just rb this with my thoughts on it

[anthurak]

Rosebird Parents Theory Masterpost

aka; Raven Branwen is Ruby’s real Daddy, aka; Ruby is actually Summer’s and Raven’s magic lesbian lovechild.

So I thought it was about time I actually compiled a proper consolidated list of the numerous discussions, explorations, ruminations and half-crazed rants I’ve done on this theory. In case anyone wants to see the full... scope of it all.

(Assembled in chronological order of original posting)

The shitpost that got me started down this rabbit hole.

“Raven the Deadbeat Dad” (first proper theory-post I ever did on the subject)

“When a Crazy Theory just keeps seeming more crazily plausible...” (holy shit I found actual EVIDENCE to this?!)

“Back on this Hot bit of Crazy...” (analyzing the ONE time Ruby and Raven have spoken on screen. Plus some musings on Cinder.)

Reading Between the Lines of just how LITTLE Yang and Ruby actually KNOW about their family (Remember how Summer, Qrow and Tai didn’t even TELL Yang that Raven was her mother until AFTER Summer ‘died’?)

A Rant about realizing that Character Designs are NOT accidental. (Holy shit, CRWBY had to have CHOSEN to make Raven look like she does...)

Why Taiyang is still Ruby’s Father (hey remember how we all agree that Summer is ALSO Yang’s mom?)

Reading Between the Lines of The Warrior in the Woods (has anyone ever thought about how much we ACTUALLY KNOW about the relationship between Summer, Raven and Tai?)

Yes, I do in fact know this all sounds crazy. (It’s not my fault is KEEPS MAKING SO MUCH SENSE!)

A funny little detail about Ruby, Summer and Raven... (Hey remember how this show is so obsessed with color-theory that just about EVERY character is named for a color in some way?)

A theory on how Raven could have knocked up Summer (AKA how it would actually be pretty fitting for Ruby to be a Rosebird magical lesbian lovechild...)

A short rambling/reaction to Summer’s official design (REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT ‘SAME THREE COLORS’?!!!)

Another brief rambling/reaction to the show giving us Summer and Raven mysteriously running off together before cutting back to Ruby.

Why Taiyang is STILL Ruby’s Father (and why it’s kind of hilariously irrelevant as an argument/point against Raven being Ruby’s secret deadbeat dad)

Why Tai and Qrow would hide Raven being Ruby’s dad (AKA, You know how adults in RWBY have a BAD HABIT of hiding really important shit from their kids?)

An In-Depth Analysis of the Interpersonal Relationships of Team STRQ (and why Rosebird is DEFINITELY a thing)

Why Rosebird Parents actually plays in a LOT of classic fantasy tropes (and how Raven has a surprising amount in common with a certain Star Wars character...)

(Supplementary Material not directly about Rosebird but related nonetheless)

Summer and the Crown (a theory on just WHY Summer went after Salem alone, and how Raven knows so much.)

The Disappearance of Raven SadEdgyBirdMom (theorizing on the REAL reason Raven left and why the reasons she’s given are probably bullshit)

Not the Bird You’re Thinking of... (analyzing the parallels between Team STRQ and Team RWBY and why Raven ISN’T her teams equivalent to Blake)

NtBYTo supplemental (Team STRQ is the ‘Disaster Team RWBY’)

Why the Vacuo arc is going to be VERY important to Ruby and Yang (or why the STRQ family reunion is going to be MESSY...)

The Ravens’ Odin (aka; how Ruby possibly/probably being an allusion to the norse god Odin can tie into all this)

An observation on the fact that only RUBY got to see the vision of Summer leaving with Raven... (hey look, a plot hook for RUBY to track down RAVEN)

Analyzing the fandom’s perception of the Summer-Raven-Tai relationship (and why we should probably be questioning just about EVERYTHING we learned about them from Yang...)

(Additional material to be added.)

[taempteng]

So, I finally finished 2ha.

I... have some thoughts.

Let's talk!

【 Story Review 】 The Husky & His White Cat Shizun

I started this story on the 30th of May through the manhua. When I caught up to the latest release, I switched to the novel. I binged the novel day and night, until finally ending the story on the 12th of June.

I want to clarify that I’ve only finished the main 311 chapters. I haven’t read the extra 39 chapters.

This review will only discuss my thoughts on the main story. I'll decide whether to talk about the extra chapters when I finish those in the future.

With that said, what is 2ha?

2ha is short for Dumb Husky and his White Cat Shizun. It came from the Mandarin title 《二哈和他的白猫师尊》 where 二哈 literally translates to “2 ha(s)”. It’s written by 肉包不吃肉 or “Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat”.

What’s the story about?

Well, it follows a man named Mo Ran. He’s a regressor and in his first life, he was the 踏仙君 or Celestial-Trampling Emperor. He was at the peak of the Cultivation World, a tyrant who ascended to godhood. However, at the age of 32, he poisoned himself and died.

But then, he wakes up! And he’s back to 16 years ago, before his life went to shit! The guy he likes is still alive, so are his sect members-

Oh, and his Shizun isn’t dead anymore, he supposed.

Either way, he swore to turn his fate around, ensure his crush doesn’t die in this life, and get back at everyone who had wronged him in his first life! Especially that darn Shizun who he hates the most!

Now that you know what the story is about, what is the story like?

2ha has your blueprint regression story beginning. Mo Ran dies bitterly in his first life, regresses, and swears to annihilate all his adversaries while aiming for a better future. That better future being ensuring his crush stays alive.

You must think that, because of the premise, Mo Ran will use the knowledge of his past life to team up with characters that can help with his goal, have intense scheming face-offs against his adversaries, and eventually find a way to overcome his crush’s death. Right?

Well, you would be wrong!

You see, the events in the second timeline unfurled much differently than the first. And when I said “differently”, I don’t mean “the main character did this, so the other characters did that”. No, I meant “the main character didn’t get to move an inch before something completely sidetracks”.

Usually in regression stories, the main character will narrate what happened in the first timeline and tell the audience how they will counter the events in this new life. In 2ha however, despite being told by Mo Ran about the events of the first timeline, what ended up happening in the current life was straight up different. So, Mo Ran was unprepared and had to deal with the situation differently.

It’s definitely a refresher to see Mo Ran being flustered by the change of events, especially when he’s not written to be a masterclass schemer. He’s not shounen-MC-dumb, but he’s clearly not Sherlock-Holmes-genius. It’s a good balance between being thrown off guard by the unfamiliar situation while also trying to adapt to the new scenario.

So if you had been put off by the idea of a stereotypical regression story, you can rest assured that 2ha subverts this trope. It’s packed with interesting twists and dramatic turns, while displaying compelling characters and rewarding developments. It’s a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and always wanting to turn to the next chapter!

Since finishing the story, what did I think of the ending?

Obviously, as the finale, the final arc had to be the most dramatic. Many things happened that honestly had me restless and fearful. With how the plot was progressing, I thought the ending would be a downer.

By the final chapter, all I felt was peace and calm. Not the kind of “and they lived happily ever after”, but more of a “and everyone moved on with their lives”. It’s the kind of feeling when a disaster happened, but you got away with your life, so despite the depression, you still found a way to pick yourself up again and overcome the difficulty.

The final arc was one heck of a rollercoaster ride, but the ending was sweet enough that it makes you glad that everyone could live as happily as possible. In a way, it’s bittersweet, in that the bitter memories will now only bring a sweet fondness of bygone past and a hopeful future.

So for readers who don’t like sad/bad endings or open/ambiguous endings, you don’t have to worry as everyone in the story (or at least the important characters) gets some form of closure.

Overall, what are my thoughts on 2ha?

I personally think the story is amazing. It’s a long story, and there’s a lot of drama and angst. However, reaching the end after all the turmoil and agony, I think it’s worth the arduous read and late night binging.

For me, even if some characters are unbearable at the beginning or some times, they’re still ultimately interesting and endearing. Even with the characters I despise, I can understand why they act the way they do. I don’t like them and I certainly don’t suddenly like them just because they’re sympathetic, but the characters are distinct, convincing and not one-dimensional.

The plot progression is exciting but not spontaneous. Every event happened for a reason, and you won’t feel as if something occurred for the shock value. As the story progresses, the puzzle pieces will piece themselves, leaving you wide-eyed with realisation.

The story isn’t fast-paced, but it isn’t draggy either. It dwells on emotional scenes to bring out the rawest feelings, making you explore the minds of the characters. It also concludes each chapter with a hook, resolving one scene while making you curious for the next.

It is a story that captivates your attention while squeezing your heart where it hurts. Definitely a must-read if you’re an angst or drama lover! The ending is worth all the pain and anguish.

What is the moral of the story?

Some common themes I noticed in 2ha include loneliness, anger and resentment, and karma and revenge. There may be other themes, but these are the most prominent ones.

I’ll explore these themes more thoroughly in the future. For now, I want to talk about what we can take away from this story.

I think this line by Xue Meng in the final chapter perfectly encapsulates the overarching message of 2ha.

I’d love to discuss how this line summarises the lesson in the story, but that’ll require me to spoil a lot of important plot points. So instead, I’ll leave this conversation for another day. Now, we’ll move on to the final part of this review!

Any last words for anyone who wants to pick up 2ha?

A fair warning before you begin: You will hate Mo Ran at the start. His attitude towards Chu Wanning, his master and endgame, was very frustrating. Although there were sweet moments, the way he went straight for Shi Mei when he comes into view will probably make you tear your hair out.

Of course, it gets better as the story progresses, but if you don’t like seeing one side of the couple mistreating and misunderstanding the other side, then this story is not for you.

Not to mention, there are triggering themes discussed such as SA and cannibalism. If these topics make you uncomfortable, proceed with caution or reconsider starting the story.

2ha also touched upon subjects like misogyny, dehumanisation, hate campaigns — just a lot of heavy topics that may be distressing if you’re trying to read for fun and not to be reminded of reality.

With all that said, if you can handle a good dose of heartache, I highly recommend this story! It’s amazingly written (in my opinion) with lovable characters and an intriguing plot. I give 2ha 5 stars!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be reading those extra chapters!

[mzminola]

In-universe if Jason never died, Tim is just off somewhere in Gotham doing Tim things (until his parents are murdered). But out-universe Tim only existed because of Jason dying, so like...what would the comics look like if either Robin Lives won the poll, or if just didn't do a poll in the first place?

I've seen sketches of Jason-in-the-hospital (in a coma?) storyboarding, so he's out of the picture for a bit. Since he got killed via poll because they were already leaning grimdark/edgier, we'd probably still have Bruce going off the rails, chasing loved ones away, etc.

But we wouldn't get a brand new character when they decided to back away from that. They'd just have Jason recover. Return to being Robin undeterred by the bad experience (it's not like he hasn't gone through shit before). Maybe a little harsher himself, the shift in comics tone already set. Or maybe not! Maybe determinedly optimistic, because he has to make it worth it.

I've seen it pointed out that Jason was pretty isolated as Robin. So I think my main question is: would we still get the extended Batfam of the 1990's/early 2000's that Tim gave us? What's the chicken-egg situation for Tim's characterization, his team-up enjoyment, leading to those connections? I can imagine Jason being down for team-ups, but is Bruce open to letting him fly solo the way Tim was allowed to?

I could actually see Jason working with Oracle a lot more than Tim did at first, since she actually knows who he is. Do Jason and Helena get along? Would he get Tim's first Paris arc, with even more emphasis on being sent to learn healing arts? Does he travel to Bludhaven to badger Nightwing as much, or is there more distance there?

I think Robin!Jason still joins Young Justice, but does he actually get his own solo title? One of the ways Tim had enough plot to carry that was because he wasn't Bruce's kid. Living with Jack and having to hide Robin meant that Tim had both the dedicated cast & shenanigans to fill up the page-time outside the mission, that whomever was writing Bruce's books didn't need to pay much attention to.

If Robin!Jason has his own title to fill up with solo patrols, missions, disasters, that means you either need to coordinate with Batman, Detective Comics, etc for what Jason & Bruce tell each other at the dinner table, or just...have Bruce weirdly uninvolved in his son's life.

Huh. Okay. Jason lives, Young Justice 1998 happens but Robin 1993 doesn't, and I'm still not sure about the extended Batfam.

[bbyfacedx]

first crota fireteam headcanons!

putting this below a cut because it’s ungodly long. i have so many thoughts about them and pre-hellmouth eris i just let the delusions take over.

Eris Morn

Initially very outgoing, optimistic and talkative, typical Hunter sense of humor, curiosity, snd adventurousness, with a touch of that Warlock-y bookishness

Short, about 5’5, and a little chubby, physically in her late 20’s-early 30’s, brown curly hair with bangs, generally very neat and well-kept appearance with a preference for comfy sweaters/long skirts

Competitive and surprisingly intelligent for a Hunter, very nimble and quick in combat, Arc Blade Dancer

Friendly and even a little promiscuous, disastrously non-monogamous bisexual heartbreaker, catches feelings fast and easy

Close relationship with Brya, who acts like a cross between a nagging Russian babushka and the one girl in the friend group who takes closet organization a little too seriously.

Became progressively more mature throughout the Ahamkara Hunt/Great Disaster, during which she was the oblivious third-wheel to Eriana and Wei Ning

Changed drastically after Wei Ning’s death, becoming more reserved but still optimistic and hopeful

Her #1 motivation for the attack on Crota was to help Eriana find peace and heal from Wei Ning’s death; absolutely had strange and undefined feelings for Eriana

Vell Tarlowe

Courageous and noble, a prime example of the “knightly” Titan. Focused on honor and ethics, doing the right thing and never leaving anyone behind

Handsome and boyishly charming, about 6’2 and fit but not incredibly bulky, sun-tanned with beachy blonde hair and blue eyes; think Captain America meets Ken from the Barbie movie.

Multi-subclass with a preference toward Void; more of a lover than a fighter. Will always prioritize getting civilians and teammates out safely over taking out enemies when possible

Probably the second oldest after Toland, has had a long-running patrol in the EDZ villages helping transport civilians through enemy territory

Saved Eris and Brya from being crushed under debris after a Fallen attack, then recruited her for his patrol team; he has a strong fondness for her that remained even after Eris went her own way

Has an extremely sensitive side and cares deeply for other people, especially children; highly empathetic and would give you the shirt off his back if you asked, selfless to a fault

Treats Razor almost like a little brother; he’s Vell’s #1 hype man and encourager of his occasional reckless ideas

Metalwork is his “peace of mind” hobby, enjoys the repetitive process of making chainmail and other small jewelry crafts, especially for his close friends and partners

Immediately hit it off with Omar upon introduction; the extrovert friend who handles social situations Omar is too awkward for

His death in the Hellmouth was 100% pure self-sacrifice; he’d volunteered to guard the rear, didn’t draw any attention to himself or cry for help to prevent the others from getting hurt trying to save him

Died at peace knowing he’d at least helped his team get to their destination safely

Sai Mota

Shy, quiet, and very introverted, unassuming and easily overlooked. She initially gravitated toward Eris’ outgoing nature

Very petite, about 5’3, extremely thin and flexible, of Asian descent, straight dark hair, dark eyes, and freckles!

Knife girl, has at least 6 on her person at all times, stealthy assassin-style fighter, Bade Barrage and throwing knife enthusiast

Carves beads/charms and makes jewelry in her free time, sometimes sells it for a little extra Glimmer

Has a tendency to be easily convinced or persuaded, typically relies on others for guidance and decision-making, very go with the flow and adaptable

Despite being quiet, Sai is unstoppable if you get her fired up about something she’s passionate about. Will lecture you if you talk down on yourself in her presence

Was just as optimistic about the attack on Crota as Eris, if not more, very quick to befriend Vell, Omar, and even Toland

Lost it a little bit after Vell’s death. She knew their mission was doomed and accepted that if he hadn’t survived, she probably wouldn’t make it out either, wanted her death to be meaningful

After they failed to kill the Hand of Crota, she ran in the opposite direction of Eriana to allow her escape, allowed Yuka to keep reviving her so many times as a diversion to keep Omnigul distracted even though it was a waste of her Light

Toland was 100% right about her; she desperately craved her team’s respect, especially from Eris

Omar Agah

Mega-nerd, detail oriented, and painfully socially awkward. Could not navigate his way out of a social situation to save his life.

Tall, around 6’0, very broad and bulky build, not fat persay but definitely a big guy. Dark-skinned Afro-Latino with long locs and brown eyes, says he’s 31 because that’s a Good Number.

OCD as hell and extremely picky/particular/paranoid about everything. Chronic skin-picker, rest in pieces to his upper arms, lips, and fingers, he has tons of scarring and picks so much his ghost can barely keep up with it

Some of his obsessions include: 2 and 4 are unlucky numbers, asymmetry is bad luck, if he doesn’t give his little talismans to people in his life they’ll die horrifically and it’s his fault.

Multi-subclass Hunter. Will obsess over what works best for each specific mission/objective. The most flawless and meticulous builds and weapon-ability combos

His ghost, Karsys, is relatively quiet and uninvolved with Omar, more of a strong and silent protector when necessary

Met Eris when she saved him from certain final death in a lost sector. She stumbled across him by chance, but Omar took it as a sign that she’s Good Luck

Any time he has a risky mission coming up, he’ll pop up at Eris’ door with treats and little gifts and spend the night chatting with her like she’s some Goddess of Fortune

Full faith in the Crota raid because Eris Is There

Absolutely HATES Toland’s vibes. Everything about him screams misfortune and Omar can’t stand it

Gave every one of his team mates their own little talisman before the raid just for that extra good-luck boost; held onto Eris��� though she declined it

Sai and Vell’s deaths pretty much shattered his entire world view. He made sure everything was perfect, that they were wearing his gifts, and they still died.

Felt like he deserved the torture of losing his ghost and having his Light torn away piece by piece because he failed to protect his team. Ouch!

When Eris saw him in his final moments, he urged her to leave him behind and press on, confident that she’d make it to the end even if he’d damned the rest of their team

Obviously it wasn’t his choice to get turned into a bug, but funny enough, Bug Omar is a cricket! And Bug Omar gets encased in amber when Eris puts him in Xenophage. Both crickets and amber are symbols of good luck :)

Toland, the Shattered

Enigmatic cryptic old man scholar, frustratingly cagey, speaks in riddles, major know-it-all and certified well-actually specialist.

Lanky and tallish, around 5’10-11, long black hair and pretty pale from lack of sunlight. Probably a little Native American somewhere in his ancestry, visibly a bit more aged than the others, between late 40’s-early 50’s

NOVA BOMB VOIDLOCK BABY!! Collects Hive weapons for funsies but rarely uses them in close range combat

Poor eyesight and very little spatial awareness, strong disdain for the flesh and neglects basic tasks like eating, sleeping, bathing, etc. when he’s fixated on something. Also super clumsy and constantly bruised from running into shit in his little exiled wizard lair

Toland and Guren are typical freak and freak-enabler. They’re each others’ only company in exile, so Guren feeds into all of Toland’s ideas and theories and gets just as invested as he is

The Hive obsession is strong and he definitely was treading into some dangerous territory, theorized that a Lightbearer could commune with the Hive via hearing the Deathsong and ultimately produce Lucent Hive

Joined the team mostly to get in close proximity with Ir Yut and planned to offer himself and his Light up to her

Unveiled his signature weapon to his raid team as the “Osseous Rifle of Four-Hundred Screams”, but Omar freaked out, said it had “bad juju”, and the nickname stuck.

Clicked surprisingly well with Sai despite not having a ton of faith in her, also close with Eris and Eriana as he’d briefly tutored them in Hive lore when they were preparing for the first attack on Crota. They aren’t sure whether the information he gave them had anything to do with Wei Ning’s death

Guided the team through the Hellmouth, took care of translating any Hive tunes they came across and solving all the puzzles. Genuinely made a valiant effort until they reached Ir Yut

Rocked up to her with all his autistic rizz on some “let’s form an alliance” shit and got balled anyway. Not mad about it though!

Eriana-3

Semi-competent lesbian with a strong will and fighting spirit. If Eris is a Warlock-ish Hunter, Eriana is a Titan-ish Warlock. That big heart gets her into a Lot Of Situations.

Around 5’10, slender but sturdy build and very elegant looking for an Exo. Her plating is white, grey and orange with markings around the crown of her head that resemble a sunburst. Very piercing orange-yellow eyes

Phoenix Protocol Well-lock. Typical strategy is keeping her well up at all times so Wei and Eris could do most of the offense/damage and run back to her for healing

Spent most of her time as a guardian trying to be that ideal super-serious no fun allowed Praxic Warlock— until she met Wei Ning

Fell in love with Wei Ning the first time she heard her laugh, then Wei spent most of their “talking” stage trying to get Eriana to laugh back. Eriana’s laugh is super dorky and obnoxious and Wei loved it

They got married in a simple ceremony at the bar they first met at— Eriana gave Wei a hand cannon as a wedding gift hence the name Eriana’s Vow. Wei gifted her a specially-made version of the Fighting Lion grenade launcher that had enhanced damage perks while standing in a Well

Jax and Wei Ning’s Ghost were in love too :)

Met Eris through association with Ikora— viewed her as a close friend and is very protective of her. There’s something confusing and complex going on with their relationship, but Wei treated Eris like a little sister and Eriana didn’t know how to navigate that.

Easily the least reckless of their group before Wei Ning’s death. That was a major turning point and all her composure went out the door. She became very impulsive and revenge-driven, not caring about the consequences so long as it meant avenging Wei

Relied on Eris for a lot of emotional support after that, which Eris definitely took the wrong way. They kissed and slept together (like actually cuddled and fell asleep) a handful of times before facing Crota, but they both knew it wasn’t anything serious and Eris would never be to her what Wei was

Fond of Vell, Sai and Omar, trusted them to care for Eris in all the ways she couldn’t; still saw them as expendable but had hope they’d be smart enough to retreat if things got dicey

Very contentious relationship with Toland; her Praxic ideology contradicts with his affinity for the Hive and she harbors suspicion that he misled them in the first Crota raid and/or somehow contributed to Wei’s death. She definitely might have hoped that something would happen to Toland during their raid

Her objective for the raid was “avenge Wei Ning or die trying”, very much did not intend to make it out herself. By the time they actually embarked on the raid, she was entirely consumed and blinded by her need for vengeance.

Was essentially “throwing” the entire raid, not playing to her skill set, fighting offensively and Titan-like rather than staying support, never used her Well a single time in the Hellmouth

Not to mention, she was using Wei Ning’s gun the entire time!!! Not, yknow, one of her own long-range weapons that she was used to using to suit her combat style

Died willingly to Ir Yut, assuming that the rest of her team was already dead and she’d taken them all to the grave in pursuit of vengeance— unleashed the full power of her Light as she died as a last-ditch effort to make this all mean something, even if it was only injuring the Deathsinger in the process

[doctorcurdlejr]

what is 911 about?

Excellent question because the way I blog about it one would maybe not be able to decipher this. 9-1-1 is a procedural drama that follows a team of first responders through the various incidents they deal with as well as the various conflicts that come up in their personal lives. The show primarily focuses on a close knit group of firefighters, a cop, and a dispatcher. The incidents vary from kinda funny (gay guy gets a tape worm pulled out of his ass because he was eating too much sushi) to more serious stuff like natural disasters. Well I say serious but the show in general is kinda deeply unserious so often when they're trying to be serious I'm like Haha Okaayyyy (MINUS . EDDIE DIAZ PLOT. WHICH MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM AND CRY AND PUNCH A WALLLLLLL)

Main characters and things to know are basically as follows

Firefighters

Bobby (captain, INSANE back story. Frankly. It's like some comic book shit)

Hen (paramedic, lesbian with an AWESOME cheating arc season 1 and YES she loves her wife and son)

Chimney (paramedic, super chill funny guy when the world isn't too busy trying to KILL HIM like for example getting REBAR through his SKULL in season ONE)

Buck (youngest guy on the team, most little brother vibe ever. Plots usually revolve around his various romantic relationships and his abandonment issues due to his lots of being abandoned)

Eddie (introduced S2 he becomes Buck's best friend. He's a struggling single father and veteran. He hates therapy and loves destroying his life in new bizarre ways like every season. Each time you're like oh it can't get worse for this guy! Don't worry. It does. He loves his son more than anything in the world they're cute. A doctor calls him repressed to his face)

Dispatch

Abby (s1 only. She's taking care of her dying mother and let's loose by dating Buck)

Maddie (S2 intro, Buck's older sister. She's running from an abusive marriage. She is always sitting at a computer going 🥺 and she slays it every time I'm being so deadly serious)

Cop

Athena (Angela Bassett yayyy. Her husband is gay and well ♥️😁👍 she is obsessed with obstructing justice and gets suspended several times i don't think this woman should be a police officer it often scares me that she is but she is played by Angela Bassett and she has a beautiful home and gay husband she resents. So!)

Ummm okay I think that's the basics. It's fun! give season 1 a watch, it's pretty easy to tell if you'll vibe with it in the first episode or two. Or maybe watch karma's a bitch from s1 i love that episode it's so fucking stupid. Will note the Abby plot in s1 is not my favorite but once she leaves the introduction of Maddie and Eddie is awesomeeeee #TheTraumaGang

[jess-total-mess]

okay, my bff is watching the latest season of Young Justice and crying about how awful it is so lets talk about how i would rewrite the series past s1 to be less terrible and more cohesive. readmore included because this is LONG

Season One worked because it had a small cast that had individually focused episodes, good relationship dynamics, and a cohesive plot that was foreshadowed well. Kaldur with his Atlantis episode, the entire episode after the simulation disaster (perfect!), Megan and her thread about identity and her shame around it, Superboy and... whatever the fuck you want to call his arc, but it was GOOD. Artemis had a lot of focus and while Wally didn't get a lot he still has a full episode to himself in Cold Hearted. Zatanna was only there briefly, but she was well-established and even Rocket had some interesting setups despite only being there for an episode or two.

Myself and my BFF both agree that the time skip is acceptable, but needed to be shorter. Way shorter. At most, I'd put it at three years, but let's say two years. That makes Robin sixteen, for reference.

This would give us time to have a few things happen. First, have Robin be co-leader, preparing to step into his role as actual leader. Develop Rocket some more by giving her at least one episode focused on her, and giving her more screen time overall (they did her SO DIRTY). Have Zatanna have an episode with Rocket, even, make them go on a solo-mission like Zatanna and Artemis did in S1, that would be awesome!

The team would then have a lot more experience, they work together great, they know each other. This means we can introduce a few new characters. In no particular order;

Beast Boy! He was set-up in S1 to be Beast Boy, and that's great! He's twelve (?) now, and maybe his powers have activated! Have him be sent to the Mountain, or even have an episode where they go back to him (wherever he might be living now!) and have the entire backstory of his dead mum! It would be emotional for the original Team present for that episode in S1, and would be emotionally charged! Maybe he doesn't join the Team for missions yet, but get him training! Establish his character!

Aquagirl and Tempest! They're already established from S1, so bring them in for a mission. Maybe they have intel and help out on the mission, maybe they just happen to be there, it needs more thought for specifics, but have them be set up to help the Team for the end of the season.

Batgirl! She's older than Robin is in comics canon, and probably in YJ canon too (I don't think we ever actually find out). She's been established as Barbara in S1, so have her join the Team as Batgirl, struggle with the same things that Robin did when the Team was first formed (disappearing, doing her own thing, etc) and have Robin have to teach her that she's got to be a different kind of team player.

Work on establishing and foreshadowing Jason. Robin/Dick is now sixteen, so throughout the season he can transition into Nightwing and Team leader. Have moments throughout the season where he mentions a new person at home, his frustrations with Batman, and have a few moments where we actually see/hear Jason, like what they did with Barbara in S1.

Also, focus on our favourites! How is Artemis handling her sister dating Red Arrow? How is that dynamic going in general? What about Superboy and his relationship with Superman? We saw that it had improved by S2, but actually show us that happening! The two of them working together, Superboy knowing stuff that nobody else does because Superman told him, knowing his villains and studying them like we're shown he can do in S2. We could have more scenes with Red Tornado, or even focus on a different Den Mother (and have moments where the Team is fed up with having a Den Mother! Wally is an ADULT!).

We had the Light, we had NO idea the Reach was there, they weren't even foreshadowed in S1. Instead, if you really want a new main threat, use Apokolips! The enemy of the Forever People from S1, the guys who made Sphere and the motherboxes?

It's not hard to make a loose plot just based on this stuff (I'm just fucking lazy). Follow the concepts and themes of the first season, have episodes focused on relationships between members (ie. Terrors and the dynamic between Megan and Superboy, Secrets with Zatanna and Artemis bonding, you get the idea). Establish the new characters and build up to another threat that the Team has to stop without the help of the League.

Give them undercover operations that are following a thread that leads them to the Light (and whatever they might be doing with Apokolips), and have them bring everyone along! Maybe not Gar/Beast Boy (he's still young and inexperienced, so maybe he runs communications from the Mountain or something? Sneaks out? Who knows!) but have the rest of the Team go kick ass, have Aquagirl and Tempest get called on for help, and give them answers, with still more questions.

And if your really want the Reach to be involved, start foreshadowing them throughout the season! The Light is having communications with someone who isn't Apokolips? Who is it? Why? What do they want? Those can be some of the unanswered questions we're left with at the end, and then in S3 after another time skip, you can bring the Reach in, along with the Beetles and develop that!

For S3, bring in Jason as Robin, establish his character as a brawler and kind of an asshole, but make us care about him before you kill him off for no reason! (Jason's death is incredibly important character-wise but please let us learn who he is before he dies). Nightwing is fully the Team leader now, how is he handling that? He said in S1 (Disordered) that he doesn't want to be Batman anymore, the guy who makes the hard call.

How does that mesh with being team leader? How's his relationship with Jason, with Batman, with Batgirl? If you really want Oracle, you could have her get her paralysis injury from the Joker in S3 too, he's established in S1 as a villain working with the Light to some degree, so why change that?

Also if I wrote S4 I would give Stephanie/Spoiler an episode where she's the focus because I love her and she needs the opportunity to declare "I'm here to spoil your plans!" to a villain SO BADLY

[lusi-raul]

My thoughts on the last moments of QSMP Purgatory Day 4:

In short: I understand Bad’s frustrations and ALSO feel bad for Green Team’s loss and agree that them getting stuck at spawn was a bug…. Also Red just minding their own business and being feral little masked gremlins while this shit was going on is peak BOLAS energy AHAHAHAHA

First of all a short explanation and recap:

It’s 30 mins left before the server closes down and Green is winning against Blue by a huge margin (Red isn’t even on the board LOL) and the Blue’s strategy is to log in at the last minutes to submit the global task in order to make a comeback. Green is also heading off to the global tasks and I can’t rewatch Etoile’s vod to see his perspective on this because he’s still live but from what I understand is that an earthquake/quicksand disaster was happening at that time and when Blue logged on, the green got caught in the disaster WHILE in the spawn protected area and got stuck underground without being able to get out because you can’t place or break blocks. The admins and Etoiles declared it a bug and the admins gave all his gear back to him. The blues then was able to submit their tasks without much problem and resistance from the Green team and overtook the greens and secured the win.

Now the issue:

Bad was a bit upset over the fact that what happened to Greens was a bug because in his point of view, he was prepared for the disaster and has countermeasures against it so even though he thought that even if what happened was not intended by the admins, it was not a bug. He was afraid of the twitter mob undermining their win because they would claim that the blues only won due to the bug against the greens. He was afraid their win would not be celebrated properly due to the twitter mob disregarding their efforts to win today. He is also upset because the epic ending and the final battle against the green to end this day was taken away from them. They were deprived of an intense conclusion to this session. Their win felt so anticlimactic. He was upset the earthquake happened against the green… he wished it didn’t happen in the first place.

My thoughts:

I completely understand Bad’s frustrations. I feel like he was so caught up in the terminologies and was trying so hard to explain and clarify is that he knows full well that a mob will go for him on twitter. I also feel for them…. Imagine winning and no one cheers for you because they think you don’t deserve it. They won fair and square let’s all agree on that. Ket’s give blue the love and celebrate their win as much as we do our favorite teams. Their win might be a bit cheesy but it’s all strategies. All is fair in war guys. Let’s not ruin this event as the audience by taking it too personally guys. There are no real stakes just pure entertainment and let’s treat it as such. If the creators and admins are fine with it we should be too. Even Bad admitted he took it too seriously today on Tubbo’s stream. EVERYONE COMMUNICATED AND HAVE PUT THIS SITUATION TO REST. Bad had gone on to Tina, Etoiles and Tubbos streams and have come to an understanding. It’s not communication smp for nothing… there’s nothing to worry about.

I’m not worried about the Green’s loss because even Etoiles said he had fun. Yes it’s disappointing but the increased motivation this will give the Greens to win for the next few days will bring this group closer together. The Reds were united because they were pushed past their breaking point. This time it’ll happen to green too because loss after loss, the greens are gonna make an ultimate comeback. The Reds and Greens have a joint enemy.. the Blues. It’s an interesting arc. Let’s just view whatever happens unfair or not as narrative potential guys. You don’t get the most satisfying revenge story if there’s no one there to play the villain to make your life miserable. Rooting for Green these next few days.

Reds…. Reds are just a lost cause without Carre and Phil. They’re even crazier today than day 1. Their base is death valley. I’m not worried about them even one bit. Their Bar isn’t even on the board but they’re having the most fun being masked little gremlins of the server. Phil and Carre come get yo kids! This group is literally the definition of the neighbor kids your parents wants you to play with AHAHAHAHA.

[eyesontheskyline]

god you are so right, im so glad you are writing for hotchniss bc this is the first time i’ve seen someone get into all the details about them and i am thrilled!!!! I cant believe i forgot about Minimal Loss… To me that is a situation where as a team of profilers they have to be on top of their game, and season wise, its the 2nd time a character gets tortured or hurt and the others witness it (reid first, then emily, 3rd time if u also count elle) So hotch’s reaction when emily gets beat up is just insanity to me. The man who never loses composure, who always keeps a stone cold face even when he is in the middle of a divorce, with tears in his eyes and feeling helpless- Like that happens then and we never see hotch losing composure like that during a case involving the team (ofc the foyet arc doesnt count) so yeah i totally see your point and i agree!!!

With them its like they are always toeing the line of something more, its a tension that i can always feel with them and while i respect people whose cup of tea isnt hotchniss, I dont get how they dont see the insane ass chemistry

Ahhh thank you, I'm having the best time getting back to them. I don't think it had ever occurred to me to ship at all until Minimal Loss, like I just wasn't around fandom at all, so I didn't watch things with that kind of eye? But that just sent me down a rabbithole and I'm still wandering around in the warren now lol.

I definitely think a lot of writing / directing / acting choices were made that point to Something More, and there's also just the twin-flame-ness of their characters. Like they're very similar in a lot of ways that I think would make them understand the parts of each other that would be hard to share with someone else, but also different enough (like, Emily is naturally tactile, and different things get under their skin) that it wouldn't be an inevitable disaster the way too-similar pairings sometimes are.

I think they have a lot to offer each other at any point in the timeline and that is VERY FUN FOR WRITING.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Hunter x Hunter + Pokemon, let's go!

Like I mentioned earlier, this is the brainchild of my friend, @doodle-storm, who has completed only the Hunter Exam and Zoldyck Family arcs but knows a lot about Pokemon, with me, who knows all of HxH but barely anything of Pokemon, giving occasional suggestions. Enjoy!

We decided to do three Pokemon for the main five and only one for each of the more minor characters. I'll break it up into parts. My friend's thoughts are in green, and mine in purple.

Gon:

Togepi - "Because he's a cute egg boy! And he's filled with joy and happiness and they share it with kind people." "Aww. The spikes look like his hair too!" "Oh yeah! Also they tend to start to act like their trainers, so I can see them kind of jumping into things together."

Ursaluna - I told her a bit about Kon, who was sadly not in the beginning as he was in the manga. "He's a foxbear." "Ooh. Well, there aren't any foxbears, but there are bears..." "Maybe one that looks intimidating? Just because that's funny, and also Kon wasn't supposed to be... befriendable." "Right. Then there's Ursaring, but there's also this one, which looks more intimidating."

Wooper - "I feel like he needs a water type, you know, because of his fishing pole?" She was debating on Wooper and a few others for a bit. "...it looks holdable." "...you're right, it does. Okay, that's cute."

Killua:

Absol - "He needs dark types, I think..." She catches me looking at Absol. "Oh, right, Absol's your favourite, isn't it?" "Yeah." "I think that works. Absol shows up when there's a disaster, but it's to warn people. It's kind of misunderstood."

Sneasel - It was Lucario for a time, but she switched it at the end. "It's got the claws... also it can ride on his skateboard with him."

Alolan Raichu - "It is very important that his pokemon be able to ride on his skateboard with him. ...or!!! It could surf right next to him!"

Kurapika:

Gallade - "Oh, that looks right." "Right? It even has the red eyes, and it's a fighting type."

Cubone - "Hey, wasn't there a pokemon that... lost its family or something?" "...Cubone???" "That's it." "...yeah it wears its mother's skull." "...sorry."

Corviknight - "It also has red eyes." "He seems like he'd have a bird too." "Yeah. Also, you could give the Phantom Troupe a Tinkaton." "..." "...they attack Corviknights with rocks and hammers." "...why?" "Just for fun, I think." "...you're kind of evil for this."

Leorio:

Audino - "There aren't that many medic pokemon and they're all kind of too adorable I think?" "Oh but that would be kind of funny if he hid it behind his back or something." "That's true!"

Gimmighoul - "He needs his money. It's a little ghost!" "...oh. That's kind of sad actually." "?" "He only started really wanting money after he couldn't save his friend so... having the money pokemon be a ghost type is kind of..." We both became sad.

Stoutland - "It warms up to people really quickly and is loyal. And it has a moustache to improve its social standing!" "Hey, Leorio's always wearing a suit probably for similar reasons." (Also I insisted after seeing it was called the Big-Hearted pokemon, though I couldn't elaborate on why to my friend.)

Hisoka:

Hypno - "It led a child into the woods. Canonically. A small child." "Ah." "Like there is no doubt that was a child." "...checks out."

Meowscarada - "I want to give him the evolved weed cat. Something about its smug face." "...'looks like this man's arms have turned into flower petals'..." "Also, since it's a grass type, it'd be strong against Gon's team." "You want our boy to be weak to Hisoka???" "Well, at first! Then it's more satisfying when he beats him!"

Gengar - "Look at that face. That grin." She said nothing more. It had already been decided.

[fabuloustrash05]

I absolutely LOVE the Red Team's dynamic lol. If it's okay with you, do you have any headcanons about Raph and April's friendship?

Gladly! I have a whole headcanon on how they bonded and became friends!

In the beginning, Raph and April didn't really get along. Not that they hated each other, it's just they felt they had nothing to talk about and nothing to bond over. Raph just saw her as the girl his brother was crushing on and April thought he was an asshole. It wasn't until Leo's disaster of a love life came into play that these two started to bond and form some sort of friendship. They both were the first to know about Karai and warned Leo about her, and he did not listen. Ever since that day, they've been a judgmental buddy duo, seeing stupid shit go down and texting the other about it, ranting together. The "Leo shit talk" got more insane when they found out she's his sister, and jabs and insult were thrown by the Red Team towards Leo about his failure of a love life. The two would also sometimes bicker from time to time, April wasn't too please when Raph was the one who had to come and save her when she was kidnapped by the Kraang in that one episode, and for a few months, Raph didn't let that fact go, constantly teasing April about it.

That was their dynamic for most of seasons 1-2, but by season 3, the Red Team started to bond and build a friendship beyond "shit talking other people". April and Raph were the only two who took responsibility while at the farmhouse. April truly saw another side of Raph, for she always knew and saw him as the hot headed rebel, but seeing him broken over his brother made April look at him in another light. And with Donnie and Casey finally getting along, April started to rely on hanging out with Raph more since her two best friends had no time for her. Raph in fact started to spar with her, and April in truth liked sparring with Raph more than the other Turtles because she knew he wouldn't hold back on her and give her the challenge that she needed to help her improve. Raph started to see April as the big sister he never had and respected her greatly.

When Mona Lisa entered the picture, thing took a big turn. April couldn't help but fangirl over how cute Raph and his girlfriend were together. They quickly became her OTP. During the season 4 space arc, Raph wrote love letters to Mona Lisa and April was the only one who knew about it because Raph would ask April for advice from time to time on what romantic thing she should say to Mona (and also proofread them lol). I like to think April was the one who gave Raph that push to be more bold and confident with Mona cause "girls like that". April became Raph's go-to for dating advice, and unknown to April has been planning Raph and Mona wedding since they came back from space.

April was defiantly the maid of honor at Raph's wedding and of course becomes the fun loving Auntie April to his kiddies in the future, babying sitting them whenever Raph and Mona go out for date night.

Despite all their fun, the biggest thing that solidified their friendship was Splinter's death. April and Raph were the ones there to witness it first hand. Splinter was right in front of them when Shredder stabbed his blade through their Sensai's stomach, killing him instantly. They have a shared trauma, and after Shredder was killed in the season 4 finale and everything was at peace again, April still felt haunted by what she witnessed. The only person she felt she could talk to about it to, the one person who knew the same pain she was going through, was Raph, but Raph refused to open up. I can imagine that April would try to talk to Raph about it but he would dismiss her, telling her that he's too busy to chat, until one night. Up on a rooftop, April found Raph alone looking up at the stars. After some small talk, Raph finally breaks down, crying to April about everything. Through his tears he tells her how he feels he is to blame for Splinter's death, how he wishes he could've done something instead of "standing there and watching like a coward". He would tell April how he feels he's cursed to always loose people he loves and cares about, "First I lost Spike, then Mona Lisa, and now my dad is gone too! I loose everyone I love!!" April would comfort Raph, hugging him as she cries with him, telling him none of what happened was his fault. She reminds him that those people are still with him, telling Raph "Spike may be gone, but Slash is still around always there for you, and Mona Lisa, though she is beyond the stars, I can guarantee she is thinking of you everyday." April's words get to Raph as she expresses that she is feeling the same way he felt, hopeless and broken, telling Raph she hasn't felt pain like this since she lost her mother.

Their shared trauma and opening up to one another that night is what officially made them become true close friends. They felt that they finally understood each other and grew closer as friends.

Overall, their dynamic is that their both 110% DONE with everyone but one is more ready to result to violence compared to the other: