#making the change i want to see in the world. or supporting ian's ]

[theharellan]

It's important to know that Solas never gets exactly what he thinks he wants in the end.

He wants to be the one to undo his mistake, to tear down the Veil, to make the world anew. Because it will fix him, fix his mistakes, undo the harm he has done to the world. His pride tells him it has to be his hand that does it.

In this version of the story he isn't alone in wanting the Veil gone, and many of his reasons for it he shares with the people loyal to his cause, but he does also hope it will cure his wounds that are now scars.

But the world that was is dead. Because Mythal is dead, because Felassan is dead, because countless others are dead, because he has been changed by the world for better and for worse. And there is no bringing it back.

So Ian ( @theshirallen ) tears down the Veil. The new world is not born out of Solas's pride, but Ian's love and hope for the world that will come next. Not the world of Elvhenan or the Thedas we know, but one that can have the chance to be whole again.

[hellcat1980]

Don't (Shameless Big Bang Round 13)

Excerpt:

Mickey wakes up quickly after hearing his phone go off. Seeing it is a message from Ian, he decides to call him. 

“Hey,” Mickey says in a raspy, just-woke-up voice. 

“Hey,” Ian replies. “I took a reset dose.”

Mickey sits up and rubs his thumb on his nose. He knows what Ian is doing, and he wants to tell him to come home. “How you feeling?”

Ian shrugs, taking a drag off the cigarette. “Shaky. I thought about the ‘remember when’ game we were playing last night, and I remembered something.”

Mickey sits back, intrigued. “What is that?”

Ian runs his hand through his hair and begins. “You.”

Mickey shakes his head trying to clear the sleepiness. “Me? You remembered me?”

Ian looks up to the sky. It is harder to get this out in words. “When my world goes dark, when everything is jumbled, you can fix it. You make me all better.”

Mickey grips his phone tight and swears he is ready to break, but he has to stay strong. There is too much to work through, and he will be damned if once again he says things are okay when they are not. “I know baby, I want to have you come home so I can run my fingers through your hair and help you through this. But what happens the next time you make a big decision? Why do I get the aftermath but not the beginning of the decision?”

Ian shakes his head. “But, maybe for just a little while? I said I would start talking. We can get past this Mick; we always do.” 

“Yeah, like always, I can bend and let you have your way. Fuck me and what I think, as long as your world is okay,” Mickey says with some malice cut into it.

Ian’s shoulders sag; this is not going as planned. Last night space sounded great, but in the light of day, it was the last thing Ian needs. He needs the stability Mickey offers and yet he can only blame himself that Mickey can’t give it. “It is not even like that. I saw an opportunity and took it. Jo said that they only review so many cases a year, and if I didn’t act on it now, I would have had to wait longer.”

Mickey pinches the bridge of his nose. “Joe again huh? Who the fuck is Joe, and why does their opinion matter all of a sudden? How the fuck did you even meet this Joe anyway?”

Ian huffs. He’s always a jealous asshole. “I met them running in the park. They were wearing an EMS shirt, and we stopped for water at the same spot. We started talking. I mentioned I missed it. They remembered my court case and told me about the program. It was completely in public and nothing wrong was done.”

Mickey stares up at the ceiling and lights a cigarette. “Listen to what you just said. Listen to the words… You talked all this over with some stranger. You didn’t even give me the chance to be supportive; you took away my ability to be involved with this. Once again, a big FU to me when it came to our lives.” 

“This again? Mickey, would you have even listened to me? Would you understand why this means so much to me? Or would you once again get caught up in the change that was gonna have to happen for this to work?” Ian asks, putting out his cigarette and lighting another. Great. Now he is chain smoking.

“We will never know, will we, Gallagher? You took that opportunity away from me. I gotta go, we are getting nowhere again. I have to go make arrangements for Iggy to work with me. Have a good night.” Mickey hangs up without allowing Ian a chance to respond. 

Ian sits in shock. Did he really do that? Did he blow up his own marriage? He jumps as the back door opens and Fiona comes out with a fresh Gatorade. She sits down on the porch and lays her head on Ian’s shoulder. 

“Wanna talk about it?” she asks. 

Ian lays his head on top of hers. “I think I fucked up.” 

Moving slightly, she reaches for the cigarette, and as she exhales, she begins to speak. “I knew years ago he would set a match to everything you were working for.”

Ian tries to cut her off, but she shakes her head. “Let me finish, please.”

Ian signals with his hand for her to continue. 

She nods. “Then I watched you two figure it out in prison and get married, which again I wish I could have been there for. But you have made it almost two years married; however, you still did this without talking to him. You rented the apartment without talking to him. You have to ask yourself why. Why do you keep doing these things without trusting him?”

Ian looks at her, confused. “I trust Mickey; I trust him with my life.” 

“But you do not trust him with decisions, Sweetface. I hate to cut this short but I got an emergency at home, so I am leaving tonight. I came out to say goodbye,” she says as she stands up. 

Ian gets up and gives her a hug. “Thanks for leaving with something to think about. Have a safe flight home,” Ian says as Lip comes out with her suitcase and tells him he is going to drop her at the airport. They’ll have pizza and movies when he gets back.

______________________________________________________________

Posting DAY for @shamelessbigbang !!!! Thank you again @sam-loves-seb for beta-ing and editing this! @darlingian for the art work!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63686257

[thebutterflyeffectarchives]

Books I’ve consumed so far in 2024:

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll

How to Read Nature: An Expert’s Guide to Discovering the Outdoors You Never Noticed by Qarie Marshall

Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli

The World According to Physics by Jim Al-Khalili

How Not To Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind by Clancy Martin

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet by Sean B. Carroll

Listen: On Music, Sound and Us by Michel Faber

The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh

I am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman by Leslie Feinberg

Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words by Maxfield Sparrow

All the Flowers Kneeling by Paul Tran

Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults by Finn V. Gratton, LMFT, LPCC

Nisa by Marjorie Shostak

Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky

21 Lessons for the 21st History by Yuval Harrari

The Book Of Secrets by Deepak Chopra

The Joy of Science by Jim Al-Khalili

The Rock Warriors Way by Arno IIgner

The Pursuit of Endurance by Jennifer Pharr Davis

Quantum Mechanics, Technology, Consciousness and the Multiverse by Martin Ettington

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Connecting with the Autism Spectrum by Casey “Remrov” Vormer

Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession with Einstein by Brian Greene

A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson

10 Days in Physics that Shook the World by Brian Clegg

On Being a Therapist by Jeffrey Kottler

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the language of the human experience by Brene Brown

What do you really want? By Cayla Craft

The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

Chemistry for Breakfast by Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

A Molecule Away from Madness by Sara Manning Peskin

Quantum Wonder: How the Tiny Drives Our Immense Reality by Carl AL-Khalili

Building a Life Worth Living by Marsha Linehan

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply by David Brooks

Speed Reading by Kam Knight

Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth

You Are Not an Imposter by Coline Monsarrat

You are the Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History by Alan Sepinwall

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey by Florence Williams

DBT Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dialectical Behavior Therapy by Sheri Van Dijk MSW

Move on Motherf*cker: Live, Laugh, and Let Sh*t Go by Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt, Emma Bryne PhD

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Real and proven strategies for managing anxiety by Charlie Norman

CBT Workbook: 7 Strategies to Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Panic, Worry, Intrusive Thoughts by Mind Change Academy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A comprehensive guide to DBT and using Behavior Therapy to Manage Borderline Personality Disorder by Christopher Rance

Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theoretical and Practical Considerations by Hale Boyd

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Regulate Emotions, Panic, Anger. Guide for BPD by Dustin Drig

How Confidence Works: The new science of self belief by Ian Robertson

Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh

The God Equation by Michio Kaku

Dialectical Behavior Therapy by Cindy Crosby

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed by Jim Al-Khalili

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh

Einstein in Time and Space: A Life in 99 Particles by Samuel Graydon

Reality is Not What It Seems by Carlo Rovelli

Resurrecting the Body, Reinventing the Soul by Deepak Chopra

A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett

What the Future Looks like by Jim Al-Khalil

Retirement 101: From 401(k) Plans to Social Security Benefits to Asset Management by Michele Cagan

Still the Mind by Alan Watts

Anchor System Thinking by A.I. Shoukry

Finance Basics by Harvard Business Review

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

A Brief History of Earth by Andrew Knoll

The Physics Book by DK

Investing for Beginners by David Cohne

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and your Health by Professor David Nutt

Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality by David Linden

Psychedelics by Professor David Nutt

What do you need? By Lauren Wesley Wilson

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Endure by Cameron Hanes

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Die with Zero: Getting all you can with your money and your life by Bill Perkins

How Humans Evolved by Robert Boyd and Joan Silk

No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz,PHD

The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World by Suzie Sheehy

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Bumpin: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy by Leslie Schrock

Choose Strong by Sally McRae

Outgrowing God by Richard Dawkins

Can We Talk about Israel? By Daniel Sokatch

Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays by Stephen Hawking

Hal Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultra Running by Hal Koerner

The Science and Art of Running by Cooper Barton

Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek

North: Finding my Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek & Jenny Jurek

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Securities Industries Essentials by Kaplan

Above the Clouds by Kilian Jornet

What is Life? by Paul Nurse

What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Mastering Logical Fallacies by Michael Withey

This is why you Dream by Rahul Jandial,MD,PHD

The Tao of Running by Gary Dudney

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

Parallel Worlds: A Journey through Creation, Higher Dimensions and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku

Dance of the Photons by Anton Zelinger

Quantum Body by Deepak Chopra

The Heart of Understanding by Thich Nhat Hanh

Annuity 360 Learn All You Need to Know About Annuities by Ford Strokes

Quantum Entanglement by Jed Brody

Relationships by Ram Dass

The Way of Zen by Alan Watts

Ultimate Confidence by Ralf Aabot

101 Essays that will Change the Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

The Science of Happiness by Brendan Kelly

Fighting for our Friendships by Danielle Bayard Jackson

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant

K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts

Know that I Am by Eckhart Tolle

Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller

Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships by Dr. Sue Johnson

Girls that Invest by Simran Kaur

Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

Retroactive Jealousy by Vincenzo Venezia

Right Thing, Right Now by Ryan Holiday

The Best American Essays 2022 by Alexander Chee & Robert Atwan

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Insecure in love by Leslie Becker-Phelps PHD

Codependent No More by Melody Beattie

Be Here Now by Ram Dass

Reality, Art, and Illusion by Alan Watts

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

We Will be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by James Patterson and Matt Everymann

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Series 7 by Kaplan

What Every Therapist Ought to Know: Attachment, Arousal Regulation, and Clinical Techniques in Clinical Therapy by Stan Tatkin, Psyd,MFT

Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel

Touching a Nerve: Our Brain, Our Selves by Patricia Churchland

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank Wilczek

Creativity, Inc. ( The expanded edition)by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

Bang Crunch Stories by Neil Smith

There are places in the world where rules are less important than kindness and other thoughts in physics, philosophy, and the World by Carlo Rovelli

Let it go by chelene knight

Waters of the world: the stories of the scientists who unraveled the mysteries of the oceans, atmosphere, and Ice Sheets by Sarah Dry

List of Books I Consumed in 2023:

The Last climb by David Breashears, Audrey Selkeld, and Audry Salkend

What is Life by Schrodinger

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Beyond Feeling: A Guide to Critical Thinking by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero

Furniture by Kevin Sheetz

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Relativity by Albert Einstein

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

An Immense World by Ed Yong

Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku

White Holes by Carlo Rovelli

A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda

Outlive by Peter Attia

Until the End of Time by Brian Greene

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Ghosts of Everest by Jochen Hemmleb

Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

Mind and Matter by Schrodinger

Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin

Grit by Angela Duckworth

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a fuck by Mark Manson

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Ethical Slut by Janet Hardy and Dossie Easton

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

Homo Deus Summary a Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Harari

Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold

Why we Believe in God (s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith by J. Anderson Thomson

Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution of Modern Science by Werner Heisenberg

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Chopra

Sacred Woman by Queen Afja

Everest: The West Ridge by Thomas Hornbein

Tracks by Robyn Davidson

The Ink Dark Moon by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikoku

Einstein by Walter Isaacson

Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack - An Ugly Toad's Transformation into a Prince

You know, after my what if scenario about Ian going to generic-off-brand-reddit for advice about his cheating, an element about it stuck in my mind. Specifically it was the part where Ian felt guilt for "subjecting" Alice to his sexual desires despite her being a willing participant.

It got me thinking about the possible reasons why Ian cheated. I mentioned his low self-esteem in that post as a big factor in why it happened. I suspect it might even have been the primary reason at the root of everything, and why he wound up distancing himself from MC after moving away, even though they were in a relationship.

It could be, regardless of MC's personality and reassurances, Ian's self-esteem was so low, he was convinced that they were far too good for him. In fact, being with him was almost like a punishment, something awful inflicted on others that left them as suffering victims afterwards.

We've seen plenty of hints in teaser images after all - Ian being mocked mercilessly for just wanting to be friends, assuming MC wouldn't want to date him, just settling for a relationship if he can't make something of himself... Plus there's the clear low self-esteem we've seen in the demo, both in his phone calls and in the afterlife story. Not to mention the emotional abuse his mother put him through to make him believe that his feelings and thoughts were sinful.

If every single person Ian tried to make friends with rejected him, made him feel ugly, like being around him was the absolute worst... that'd do something to a guy. Only MC seemed to see beauty in him before he transferred schools. He certainly didn't get along with Shaun either. I mean, having that strong "ewwwww" reaction to seeing him half-naked probably didn't help Ian's confidence all that much. Overall, Shaun seemed to struggle to hide his distaste for Ian, and I can imagine Ian would pick up on that.

For Ian, MC would be the exception to the rule that the world is telling him - he's ugly, gross, sinful, and not worthy of love.

Then Ian gets thrown into a new place without MC's support. This is a place that don't know him or his past at all. Surprisingly, he's not rejected there. He makes friends. Maybe he attributes it to getting a makeover. He changes his appearance drastically, focusing on his appearance much more. He makes an effort to change for the better. He makes himself "worthy" of love while there, and people respond positively to that change. By changing who he is in order to conform to what he believes is beautiful, he finally gets the approval of someone who doesn't have to settle for the old him.

In a way, it could be seen as a mercy. Sure, Ian gets caught up in his new friends, his new attractiveness and the excitement of being accepted, but a part of it could be feeling like he shouldn't "bother" MC. They put up with so much from him over the years. After all, they had to deal with the old, ugly him most of their life.

Talking with MC can also remind Ian of who he used to be - that ugly person people were forced to tolerate, who was more of a disgusting punishment than a welcome presence. In this new place, he got a fresh start with people who don't know who he used to be. He can mold himself into someone new, someone acceptable, someone people want. Sure it means forcing himself to socialize more than he's comfortable with. Sure it means changing himself completely, but that's clearly for the best. It's what society wants. It's what will change him from someone unworthy to someone he can actually be proud of for once in his life.

Ian doesn't want to go back to being who he used to be. He doesn't want to lose his acceptance. He makes excuses when he misses MC, convincing himself that they're better off not hearing from him as much, probably even happier without him constantly there weighing them down. He loses himself in this new "beautiful" person he's become, accepted and adored by far more people than he ever dreamed.

Ian never allowed himself to find others attractive because they would never find him attractive, in his mind. He rejected other people preemptively besides MC in his mind before they could reject him as another way to defend himself. Now... they accept him. Now they're not something to be wary of, and he can finally notice that they are actually as attractive as his fictional husbandos, waifus, and spousus from all the anime and video games he used to indulge in. He's too busy for fantasies now when he has the real thing.

It's a slippery slope, letting discomfort and things slide in order to finally get that approval Ian has desperately craved all his life. It's addictive, these sparks of approval even if part of him feels guilty. He doesn't have to settle for someone who can "see past" his "hideous" appearance. He doesn't have to subject them to tolerating a version of him that is unworthy. He can finally be happy.

But damn if Ian isn't so lonely. He's always masking, being this person others approve of, afraid of showing the real geeky person underneath. He hides his love of anime and games. He drinks more, parties more, gets into the more socially acceptable trends. The party scene is rough, but he's learned how to deal with it. He's got people to guide him on his path to stardom and modeling, how to present himself in an appealing way. He is told by his teachers, an agent, producers, and peers what's acceptable and what's not, even if it's taxing on him.

As much as Ian doesn't want to look back to who he used to be, he craves that deeper connection with someone. He tries to find it in his new friends - acceptance without the baggage or memories of who he used to be. It leads to lines being crossed, things he questions are right... but he fears losing what he has now more than the doubts gnawing at the back of his mind.

Ian can't go back to being that ugly and unwanted person he used to be.

It's only when Ian does something that he can't make excuses for, something so unforgivable that shakes him to his core, that he finally realizes that he's lost himself along the way. It's why he immediately calls MC in tears, broken by what he himself just did. His first instinct is to run back to his safe space, the one person who accepted him unconditionally at his worst, when everyone else rejected him. Unfortunately he knows that what he did would hurt the one person he didn't want to suffer because of him most of all.

Ian is at his lowest point in this moment. He has everything now in this place, but he feels even more vile and unlovable after doing as inexcusable as cheat on his partner.

So when MC breaks up with Ian, he can't accept it. The one person who accepted him even at his worst finally rejected him... and it's all his fault. He can't blame this on societal beauty standards or people being jerks... this is all on him.

Ian is forced to face himself now, both who he was and who he had become. The person he became won so much approval, got on the fast track to stardom and became a model. It's something he can't give up. He can't go back to who he used to be... but in the process he sacrificed the one good thing from his old life that once meant the entire world to him.

The only thing Ian is do is beg and spend the rest of his life making it up to MC. He has to fix this mistake, even though he knows it's unforgivable. It's the only way he can live with himself. He can still keep the person he is now, but just carve away the bad parts. He did it before when he moved there, and he can do it again. MC is the only thing worth keeping from his old life. He can just combine that one good thing from his old life to his new, superior life. He can do better. He has to. He made himself better once - he can do it again. There's still hope!

Ian can't go back to being that ugly reject... and he can't handle being a sinner. He needs to be absolved of his sin by the only person who can forgive him... and he needs the approval of the world that he so desperately fought to attain.

While this might not be the emotional journey Ian winds up taking in the final game, it certainly is part of his struggle for Sunshine in Hell. Ian is in the wrong, and he will be the first to admit it. His relationship with Alice was toxic, but he's not a bad person. He never wanted to hurt her, even if he didn't think about her wants, needs, and feelings as much as he should have.

Of course, Alice forgiving Ian, but still ending things just adds an extra complication to his tangled up emotions. It doesn't feel like forgiveness to him, true forgiveness if she's shutting him out. He has to make things right between them. He can't lose the one person who saw the ugliest sides of him and still told him that he was beautiful.

No one else could ever do that for him. Now... no one ever would again.

To Ian, Alice was the only person who could see past his flaws, and he is the only one that can see past hers. Who else would love her if not him? She needs him just as badly as he needs her. He just has to make it up to her so that they both don't have to suffer alone because of the stupid mistakes he made.

Unfortunately Ian never realized that Alice never saw his looks as something to overlook in the first place. She always found him adorable, precious, and lovable. He just could never see that in himself. He still can't see that person he used to be as beautiful.

Ian is a flawed man suffering from traumas and mental issues who desperately needs help from a therapist, and maybe medication. He needs better cooping techniques and to learn how to better balance his desires in a healthy way. It's tragic that he winds up causing so much damage to himself and his partner while on this twisting path to become a better version of himself, a version of himself that isn't a punishment to be subjected onto others.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[dr-spectre]

Amy changed because she's growing up.

I know you have zero experience dating, but if you spent your younger years mostly obsessed with someone, seemingly chasing after them, would you still want to be that person later on? Amy's love for Sonic hasn't changed, but everyone knows that. But she wants to grow and share her love with the world, something that yes doesn't have a set goal, but if you were to say "I want to help make my community better" then that can mean a variety of things.

I understand that the lack of a solid answer is something you're upset about, but maybe the fact that Amy doesn't have a solid answer is the point. She's yet to find that way she feels like she can help the most.

As for the Ian Flynn part.

I'm starting to suspect that you don't like references/continuity /hj

He's continuing the arc Amy had from the Archie Sonic run. Where she matured from a little girl who used a wish granting artifact to get older and be a Freedom Fighter into someone who was a leader and was there to support others, even if she was ignoring herself.

Okay, here's the thing, the way time works in the Sonic universe is that the characters don't really age up, it's simliar to other cartoon like series where the characters go through a LOT yet they stay the same age or age up by one year. A great example is Pokemon, Ash and his friends have gone through 8 regions yet Ash is still the same age. Sonic and his friends have done a fuck ton together yet only one year has passed throughout that entire time due to Sonic having a birthday party in Generations and Amy having her birthday in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.

It's hard to say "this character has grown up" when they honestly haven't. Unless you mean grow up in the sense of going through a lot of experiences and learning and even then, my issue i have is that Amy wants to change out of nowhere. She has no real reason to change her ways of being "obsessed with Sonic." There's no catalyst or spark to wanna put her love into the world. The only reason why Amy is vastly different in Frontiers is because the writer(s) are different. That's literally it.

Other characters like Tails and Shadow have gone through growth and their stories HAD A PROPER STRUCTURE TO THEM SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM CHANGE!!!! Tails spends most of SA1 following Sonic and being player 2, but when he has to step up to save Station Square, he's scared at first becaused he's so used to having Sonic around, but then he realises "no, I cant stay in Sonic’s shadow anymore, i have to step up." And he saves Station Square from Eggman's giant ass bomb.

That's what we call a character arc. A character grows over the course of the story due to actions and events from seeking out a goal. And guess what, you see this growth in the next game, Sonic Adventure 2 where Tails is much more of a leader and strategist after growing more confidence in himself.

Shadow is so self explanatory that i don't think I need to tell you what character arc Shadow goes through and how it's properly shown to the player throughout SA2 and not just in a single cutscene.

If the point is "Amy doesn't have a clear set goal yet and is trying to figure that out," then they maybe should have made that more clear? They had several hours in Frontiers to explain that better? Amy in Frontiers didn't really do anything and the whole "sharing my love with the world" thing came about because she saw two ancients who were a couple get absolutely destroyed in a flashback. Nothing else. How would she get "i must share my love with the world and leave Sonic" from a couple dying? Was she really THAT moved by a random couple getting blown to bits? Her entire life goal is to follow in her hero's footsteps and prove how capable she is, why would she drop it after seeing two people die in a blast? If you want Amy to have a character arc then fine, but you gotta do more than that. Because that scene with Amy and Sonic in the flower field comes out of nowhere due to the story not really building up towards it.

Also if you are saying that Amy has grown, then why did they change Generations and toned down Amy's affection and anger there? In an old story? It would be good to show what Amy used to be like and maybe in future stories show Amy going "you know... maybe I was a little out there with my affection for Sonic, I need to learn to tone it down." But nope, they changed Amy to reflect with how she's shown today and I think that goes against the whole "oh she's growing up guys!" When they LITERALLY REWRITE HISTORY!!!!

I also really recommend watching this video on the topic of Amy's characterisation because it'll probably explain my points better than I can do.

I do believe that there is a world where they can blend old Amy with her new traits, and I know it can be done because it was done in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog which had one of the best received appearances of Amy by a landslide. Everyone loved Amy in that game and so do I. They didn't suck out her personality and claimed "oh it's because she's grown up! THAT'S why she has no personality or fun banter anymore guys!!!"

And with Ian Flynn... look, I do like references, I LOVEEEEE how the series is trying to actually take previous stories into account, but i don't like poorly written references that are just there to make people go "OMG ITS DA THING!!!" There's so many groan moments with his writing its unbearable sometimes. I dont fucking care if it's Generations and its meant to callback to the past, saying lines from Sonic Adventure 2 and Heroes straight up without any clever play on them is fucking lame as hell and makes me roll my eyes.

This dialogue reminds me of the shit i wrote when I was 13 and no I'm not just trying to be snarky. I LITERALLY DID THIS SHIT WHEN I WROTE SPIDER-MAN FAN FICTION WHEN I WAS 13!!! I REFERENCED LINES FROM OTHER SPIDER-MAN MEDIA AND IT WAS AWFUL! THIS IS AWFUL TOO!

If you are a writer who's writing something in an existing franchise and you are a big fan of it, you have to learn to contain yourself, otherwise you'll make cringey dialogue.

And referencing fucking SONIC SONG LYRICS IN DIALOGUE IS SOOOOOO AWFULLLL!!! I get it that Ian Flynn is a fan, but my god, he needs to cut back on the fucking references because they get in the way of shit instead of adding flavour to dialogue. I'm so tired of it. If you're gonna call back to old lines, be creative to it, add layers to it. Don't take the lazy route, be fun with it!!!

HELL THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT OF SONIC GENERATIONS WITH NON SONIC FANS DID IT BETTER THAN IAN FLYNN!!!

In the scene after rescuing Tails, Sonic gets deja vu on a place he's been to before but he's unsure due to how long it's been since he's seen Green Hill. And Tails doesn't know because he wasn't in Sonic 1.

This dialogue exchange makes sense. Green Hill was just an area Sonic visited once and has no emotional connections to.

However, in the "remaster," they just straight up say Green Hill and Tails knows what South Island is just to get brownie points from Sonic fans.

Also I'm gonna ignore your point about Archie Amy because I'm talking about game Amy here. Archie isn't canon to the mainline series and that universe is basically dead. Its weird that Ian Flynn would continue the character arc that Amy had from Archie and just apply it to the games.

Also also, if i seemed angry or snobby then I wanna say sorry about that. I dont wanna make anyone feel sad or upset or feel dumb. At the end of the day, im just a heavily passionate fan and sometimes that passion can really get to me. So hopefully I didn't come across like I was some elitist prick or anything. I just get annoyed when I see a lot of points that go against mine constantly over and over again and I just need to shout out my own or I go crazy lol.

[penguinlife]

Being part of a following

It is funny to me that over the years, I have joined and left a few followings. I was a massive supporter of the Olympic skating sensation VirtueMoir. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. If you don't know about them, please look them up on Youtube. They were amazing. Scott and Tessa started skating when they were 10 and 8. They competed in the Olympics a few times and also won a few times. But it was after the Sochi Olympics in 2018, and Thank You Tour that the fans went crazy, mostly on Twitter. Everything was analysed in detail. It seemingly looked like they finally hooked up. It was during their thank you tour that things changed. And then it just evaporated. They went their separate ways. We will never know what happened there.

Scott and Tessa are still good friends, but they are married to other people and are parents now. I sometimes go back and look at all the videos, but it is no longer the fan frenzy it was.

I supported Carol Chaves and Colby Schnacky. They were adorable. They are youtube influencers. They started in Covid with daily vidoes. It is still worth a watch. Carol is now married to Caleb and Colby is MIA. He sometimes still goes on Tiktok live.

Here is my fav vid of them.

There was Nina (Elena) and Ian (Damon) from The Vampire Diaries, known as Delena. It was sonhot when they were on, and super awkward when they were not. Ian turned on the fans, and they lost respect for him. He still blames the fans for how his acting career ended. But to be honest, it was the way he spoke to the fans, that did it. With all fandoms, as we have seen, there are a few that overstep, making it toxic. But normally, the fans will collectively manage the problem. When TVD ended. We all moved on.

I am also a Swifty who ships Taylor with Travis. I can't wait for them to get married.

So now to Polin. I love Luke and Nicola and hope for their happiness. Yes, I want them to be together. Mostly because the world needs more of that soul mate energy. We need to know that their love is real and exists. But, if they don't come out as a couple, it will be fine. We will be dissapounted, but it will not be the end of the world. I want to see Luke in everything and also in nothing (wink wink). I will support their careers no matter what. Well, except if they do something that is illegal or morally corrupt.

Fan ships come and go. It should not be your whole life. Your happiness, joy, purpose, and value should be determined by your own life.

[rabbithaver]

i finally decided to actually write out some of my major headcanons for Silver. i like him a lot as a character and i think people overlook him too much lmao

I genuinely believe that Silver has been decoupled from the timeline completely. This means that changes to the future made in the present do not affect him. He may not remember the specific events of 06, but he absolutely remembers growing up in an apocalypse and frequently has lines that support this in the comics. Him being unaffected by changes to the timeline explains why his personal history has not changed, despite the future being saved multiple times. ALSO, Ian Flynn has confirmed that Silver is not in control of when or how he travels through time -- I believe that whatever or whoever is sending him back and forth is the same thing that separated him from the timeline.

Silver is deaf, pushing about 70% hearing loss. It's not congenital -- his hearing sucks because he's from a timeline where things blew up constantly and he had no hearing protection. He relies mostly on lip-reading and guesswork, but wants to learn ASL when he gets a chance... if he gets the chance. Time is wibbly-wobbly for him. (I should note that this one is personal to me -- I myself am HoH due to otosclerosis and I'm definitely projecting my declining hearing on him lmao)

I know Silver is canonically the exact same height and weight as Shadow and Silver, but I personally don't find that very... likely. All three of these dudes are 3'3" and 77lbs EXACTLY? Nah. Shadow and Sonic, maybe, but not Silver. I headcanon Silver as being smaller and lighter than the other hedgehogs because he grew up in a timeline where food was hard to find, and thus didn't grow as much. He's very scrawny and basically has almost no meat on his bones, but you'd never guess because he's got The Fluff.

Elaborating on the food thing: his relationship with eating is probably totally screwed. Think about it: he spent his whole youth eating whatever he could get his hands on, and he probably had to eat as quickly as he could so he could stay on the move. The idea of eating to enjoy the flavor is like, completely alien to him. He also tends to stash food away for later, as he's not used to knowing when his next meal will be. He does it entirely out of habit, even when food is abundant.

Silver's immune system probably sucks. Every time he goes back to the past, he catches some illness. This is largely because he's not used to the pathogens 200 years earlier, but I also like to imagine this is because he's got some sort of autoimmune disorder.

You cannot tell me this boy does not have asthma. I am aware that this is kind of a fandom in-joke, but it makes total sense. If he grew up in a world of smoke and flames, his lungs probably look like burnt toast. Someone get him an inhaler please.

Silver has PTSD and severe anxiety, both due to his personal history growing up in a hellscape and also because repeatedly going back to the future to find his time in disarray due to events in the present is probably traumatic as all hell. His biggest trigger is most likely building collapse, but I can't imagine he doesn't have kind of a hard time with explosions after the Eggman War. His cheerful optimism and helpful attitude is his effort to deflect from his trauma.

Expanding on the anxiety thing; Silver struggles when he doesn't have something to do. We actually see this in canon in the 2022 Annual story "Future Growth." He has no idea how to function when he doesn't have a mission to focus on. Being in the past with no clear directive is insanely triggering for him and he totally fails to cope.

While I'm talking about his mental illnesses, I want to make it explicitly clear: he is REALLY good at hiding this stuff. His friends in the Resistance/Restoration don't find out about his issues for years, and this is specifically because he instinctually hides anything that could be perceived as a weakness. He's been conditioned to hide any and all weaknesses because it was the only way to survive in the post-apocalypse. Being visibly affected by your trauma is a quick and easy way to get dead, so he simply... doesn't. This kid cannot stop masking his trauma at all until he's literally at his breaking point.

There is no way he doesn't have intense Survivors' Guilt. Going back to the Metal Virus arc in the comics, he's the only survivor of a shuttle crash in Issue #25. All of those people died. They actually died - if they were zombots, they would've survived that crash, but because they were still healthy, they didn't have the ability to recover. Silver probably feels that because he was trying so hard to get survivors to the shuttle, he led those people to their deaths. I specifically am pointing to his dialogue here as evidence of this:

He probably dreads going back to the future. Like, think about it. He's admitted to being lonely (IDW #8) in his own time -- probably because his history separates him from the average person! The only friends he really has are in the past, the vast majority of whom are likely long dead by the time he's born. And while his friends are always happy to see him, I can imagine he has a lot of anxiety thinking about the fact that they inevitably start to associate his arrival with something bad coming down the line. That's rough, buddy.

He's very proud of his ruff and he takes really good care of it. It's super thick and very soft. However, when he's having a rough time, he's not as thorough, and it tends to show. If you know him really well, you can get an idea of his current mental health just by looking at the state of his chest fur. A happy Silver is fluffy, a struggling Silver looks like he was left in the washing machine.

Silver has a really hard time with media that involves apocalyptic worlds. He knows that it's just fiction, but it reminds him of the fact that he's the only one who remembers the apocalyptic hellscape he grew up in. It reminds him that as much as his friends want to support him, they can't truly understand what he's been through; his background is only real to him. It just leaves him feeling lonely and sad, so he avoids it as much as possible.

Silver doesn't sleep well in real beds. Maybe it's just a lifetime of growing up surrounded by an apocalypse, but he has a really hard time getting comfortable in a real bed. For months during the Eggman War, he'd spend hours tossing and turning before finally giving up and curling up on the floor in a corner. It's just not what he's used to at all.

anyway i think about him a normal amount :)

[shannendoherty-fans]

Beverly Hills, 90210 Cast Remembers Costar Shannen Doherty at 90s Con Following Her Death: 'Incredibly Brave'

Doherty died at age 53 on July 13 after her years-long battle with cancer By Stephanie Wenger and Kate Hogan Published on September 14, 2024 03:19PM EDT

Two months after the death of their costar Shannen Doherty, the Beverly Hills, 90210 cast publicly reunited.

Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris came together on stage at 90s Con Florida to remember their late costar, who died at age 53 on July 13 after her years-long battle with cancer. (Tori Spelling was also supposed to be in attendance but dropped out days before the event.)

During the panel, Green, 51, reflected on Doherty's "incredibly brave" and "difficult" cancer journey. The two were longtime friends who leaned on each other throughout the years for support.

"She’s to me an amazing example for everyone of [how] she put her own challenges and her own health things aside and really wanted to share with everyone the experience of all of it, and it was incredibly brave," he said. "Going through something as difficult as that and being open to being completely transparent and sharing with everyone is brave."

Carteris, 63, discussed how the actress became an inspiration to people in her own life. "I have a friend right now who is really sick with cancer, and she said that Shannen really inspired her," she said. "I think that her legacy is truly making a difference for those who are struggling to know that there’s hope."

Doherty's journey ended on July 13, nearly a decade after she was diagnosed with cancer. Following the news of her death, her former 90210 costars remembered her with touching tributes.

“Shannen was young and so courageous. By sharing her journey, she has helped so many,” former 90210 costar Carteris told PEOPLE in July.

Garth at the time posted two throwback images of herself with Doherty from the hit 1990s drama series. "Our connection was real and honest," she explained in the caption. "We were so often pitted against each other, but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship which was one built on mutual respect and admiration."

She went on to remember Doherty as "courageous, passionate, determined and very loving and generous."

Spelling remembered Doherty in an episode of her podcast misSPELLING on July 28.

“For everyone around the world that was going through something, whether it was cancer or any other kind of disease or ailment or connected to a hard time they were going through … they really did look to her for inspiration and power to carry on in the moments when they felt they couldn't — and I got to see that in person,” Spelling, 51, continued. “I got to see that in person her whole life, which is beautiful.”

Doherty first received her diagnosis in 2015 and spoke candidly to PEOPLE in November 2023 about her Stage 4 breast cancer, which had by then spread to her bones, saying at the time that she didn't "want to die."

“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she told PEOPLE. "I’m just not — I’m not done.”

The star appeared in TV projects like BH90210, List of a Lifetime and Riverdale and launched her Let's Be Clear podcast in December 2023. She always made it a point to show that people with cancer could still live full lives and make meaningful contributions.

“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age — ‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” she told PEOPLE in 2023. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work, embrace life and keep moving forward.”

[navii-blaze]

Maybe you are saving something like this for later but I thought I might as well take a chance and ask-

Can we get a rundown of your Mobius 37 Years Later AU?

I was going to save this for later and release some sketches with it but my tablet's on the fritz right now so I'll yap a little

Mobius 37 Years Later AU

tldr: Sonally kids who came from Robo-Robotnik's dimension, were taken to another dimension to keep him from finding out they survived and grew up in a dimension where its Robotnik was already defeated.

Sonic and Sally's childern from the alternative future, survives Robotnik's nuclear devastation of the planet via being put in stasis tubes. Since time travel machines are already a thing the freedom fighters have figured out by this point, the capsules are given coordinates to travel to another dimension where they can be safe. However, the attack damaged the capsules, leaving the childern stranded in stasis on a planet essentially devoid of life now.

Enter Prime!Sonic, who sometime after the events of #197 (being told by Zonic that the new Robotnik is there to stay in Prime!'s dimension), is contacted by Zonic to do "one last zone hopping favor." If you remember, he kept sending Prime! out on adventures (pre-Ian run) to save different zones since he has main character syndrome, and by this point Prime! is getting tired of dealing with everyone else's problems. Zonic brings him to the ruins of Robo-Robotnik's planet, and shows him the capsules where the kids were still being kept in stasis all this time. Zonic explains that he's breaking multiple rules right now since he stopped involving Prime! in saving other zones, but he couldn't stand by anymore and believed Prime! deserved an explanation on why he doesn't want to send Robotnik 2.0 back to this zone.

Zonic and Prime! make a deal where Prime! will continue to deal with Robotnik 2.0, accepting him as his "new" Robotnik, if Zonic is able to locate the destination AltFuture!Sonic and Sally had programmed the capsules to travel to. Zonic finds that in this dimension, Robotnik has been defeated, and has very little risk of him returning or at least would be the most prepared for if he did. Prime! travels with the two childern to this dimension and explains the situation to the Sonic and Sally residing there (dubbing them 37!Sonic and 37!Sally), and tells them that he will take care of the Robotnik who destroyed their home if they can help take the childern in as their own.

37!Sonic and Sally agree to take them in, 37!Sally already having parenting experience with her current child, who accepts the twins as her new siblings.

The twins grow up (were 3-5 years old when put into stasis) in an era of peace, only being told later in life that they were from a different dimension and that their parents were actually killed by Robotnik. The au essentially serves as a Next-Generation story, taking a similar approach with the Light Mobius arc where it's pressumed that this dimension had a very similar past with the Prime! dimension, with a few details changed here and there. Other notable characters in this au are Lara-su, the current guardian of the Master Emerald, various other new freedom fighters (not exactly the same ones seen in Light Mobius), older supporting cast such as Amy and Tails who serve as mentors, and Zonic who periodically checks in on the twins to see how they're faring.

The twins help (against the wishes of their parents) in fighting new threats and villains, all while slowing piecing together that they aren't from this world.

To understand who exactly these childern are and where they come from, please follow my sleep deprived ramblings below the cut

Essentially, it all focuses around these two carbon copies

Yep! And if you don't know who these are, they are Sally and Sonic's childern (unnamed, only the mobius x years later arcs actually named their kids) from an alternate universe set in the future after Robotnik has been defeated. Or, presumably defeated, since this universe is also the one that Robo-Robotnik (the one that replaces the original one in Prime!Sonic's universe #75) originates from, and has been secretely hiding in his spacecraft as an uploading A.I. for 20+ years.

^ from #22

Now, there is confusion on if this Robo-Robotnik is the same one seen in #19, who's Sonic was a half-roboticized cyborg and needed Prime!Sonic's help to defeat him. Ian Flynn has (can't find exact source rn) gone on record to say that these two Robo-Robotniks are different people, but it's explicitly stated here (#75);

That this Robo-Robotnik is the same person in both of the realities we've seen before. Meaning that the cyborg Sonic seen in #19, along with the other half-roboticized freedom fighters (who were "defeated", but that may not mean killed) are the same ones who are shown in the alternate future timeline.

Consensus: archie sonic writers probably wanted to merge the two alternative futures together for simplicity at the time, did it work? Who knows.

But for purposes of my au, these two Robo-Robotniks are the same. Which means that FutureKing!Sonic is the same as Cyborg!Sonic, and FutureQueen!Sally is the same one as Cyborg!Sally. But that's not all! These two are also the same ones from the Sonic in Your Face Special

^first image from the special, second image from #22

What's special about these guys? Well they're the ones who "made" Nicole! There's a time paradox here so don't think about it too hard.

But by gifting Nicole to Prime!Sally in the early archie run, Prime!Sally was able to essentially create a new timeline because of the upper hand she got from Nicole, making Prime!Sally and Future!Sally different people now.

To wrap it up, these are the same people

(#SiYF special, #22, #19)

(#19, #22, #SiYF)

Not the same people as FutureKing!Sonic and FutureQueen!Sally, this is Light Mobius, different alternate reality:

ONE MORE THING, that I haven't really seen being addressed, is if this future timeline shown to Prime!Sally via Source of All (#sonic super special 11):

...is the same future as seen in #22 and #SiYF. For the sake of my sanity and the fact that it is also set ~20 years in the future like #SiYF is, I'm saying yes. It's the same alternative future being shown.

Doesn't matter much in canon though since they're all dead 👍

[ablatheringblatherskite]

my thoughts on ep 1 and 2 of the live action ATLA series!

So it is absolutely GORGEOUS. like the visuals??? the costumes?? THE VFX??? OUTSTANDING. CHEF'S KISS. INCREDIBLE. the worst thing is Zuko's scar and like ok whatever nothing we can do about that.

Episode one was fantastic we actually see a lot of great additions, which is COOL! like more of Monk Gyatso, and the actual attack on the Air Nomads... 😭

I'd say writing wise it's not as great as I want it to be. A touch too many monologues for my taste, especially in the first episode, but nothing too bad. Could've been better, but definitely DEFINITELY could've been worse *eyes the movie that will not be named*

You can tell they're trying to squish important plot points together instead of spacing it out across more episodes I mean especially since Netflix decided everything has to be EIGHT EPISODES. but the pacing is actually good considering that LOL

but oh the EMOTIONS. THE EMOTIONS?!?!!

the actor of Aang oh my gosh, Gordon Cormier, OMG. DUDE I NEARLY BAWLED MULTIPLE TIMES BASED ON HIS PERFORMANCE ALONE. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING 😭 HE'S SO GOOD 😭 and he's so cute too he's so baby I'm wjrhwhrhwhdhwhdhwh

I love the actors of Sokka and Zuko whdhwhdhshdsjjdhsjd. Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu? DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

SOKKA WAS HILARIOUS we BURST out laughing SO MANY TIMES, he was so GOOD 😭 the jokes he cracked were genuinely funny wwhdhwhgd and the SARCASM especially. and HIS ACTING THE ACTING HE NAILED IT?? It was so natural and THE EXPRESSIONS HE'D MAKE AND JUST. ALL HIS ACTING CHOICES IN GENERAL WERE SO GOOD. HE WAS HILARIOUS. and other than the funny parts in general he was just so good! HE GETS IT. HE IS SOKKA.

and Zuko was so good too like, we haven't gotten to all the juicy angst yet so I can't fully judge, but so far he's done SO well. Like especially the moments he'd get really angry and also HE'S SO GOOD AT MARTIAL ARTS. SO.

BUT HE'S ALSO RLLY FUNNY TOO??? especially when he gets annoyed with Uncle Iroh LIKE THE BODY LANGUAGE WAS SO SUBTLE BUT IT WAS HILARIOUS. and YES UNCLE IROH WAS GREAT TOO, I LOVE HIM SO FAR. HE IS ALSO HILARIOUS and does seem like Uncle Iroh to me so far!!

Katara hasn't had much to do yet and much like. acting stuff or much to do with her character yet but like that's okay, I'm pretty confident they're still building it up. They haven't gotten to the JUICY bits yet. But she was already so good too.

I'm really interested in some changes, like how they focus more on the Avatar State as a plot point? It's interesting LOL. There was also a shot that showed that in this universe, Katara actually saw her mom die?!?? like omg, that's so gruesome I'm crying.

and it's true that they cut out the sexism arc of Sokka 😭 BUT BUT BUT. IAN OUSLEY. OH HE GETS IT. Like you can see he's really doing his best to keep it a part of the story, like in his acting choices, he's still trying to include the more sexist aspect of his character even if the script isn't supporting it. Like he really truly did his best with what he had and he nailed it, it's the script's fault

And I will say I'm not crazy about some of the stuff they added to Suki? like, I wasn't crazy about the whole "thank you for bringing the world to me" thing, but it's just okay LOL. She's frickin GORGEOUS tho

(also I was really hoping we'd get the scene of Sokka wearing the Kyoshi warrior outfit and makeup but sadly they didn't put it in but it's okay)

OH BUT THE CRUMBS. THE SOKKA AND SUKI CRUMBS. OH THEY'RE SO CUTE. ESPECIALLY THE SCENE IN THE DOJO WHERE SHE'S TEACHING HIM?? OH IT WAS SO CUTE. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. you can tell they're doubling down a bit more on their romance, especially since we know it's already gonna be endgame, but it's making me wonder how they'll tackle Yue 🤔

but yeah. Sokka and Suki stinking adorable I was SQUEALING MULTIPLE TIMES, I LOVE IT I LOVE IT

and the BENDING. THE BENDING IS KRIFFING GORGEOUS. IT'S SO GOOD. THE STUNTS?? THE MARTIAL ARTS?? BEAUTIFUL!! MAGNIFICENT!! PERFECTION!! and the VFX?? HECK YES. AUGH!! I'm definitely not disappointed about it. And I love how dangerous the bending legitimately feels?? like it feels so LETHAL. And there were some really shocking bending moments that were done incredibly well. I loved it.

so YEAH. IN CONCLUSION. so far, judging from just the FIRST TWO episodes... I rate it a 7.5/10

The writing is maybe a 6.5/10, but the acting for sure a solid 9/10. DEFINITELY worth the watch imo, BUT so much more enjoyable with an open mind and acceptance that it's not supposed to be a carbon copy of the show.

[lorelei-larai]

I had a brainstorm in less than 10 minutes, let me share a piece of my brain with you about the Au "I see you" (No, I'm not going to change the name, I have no idea what to call it)

I rambled on about YN quite a bit, now it's time for world building and other characters.

First, I want to talk about Ian, the guy gets a lot of attention in a lot of fanfics as the cheating ex, well I'll change that, you, the player, never said yes. You two were never in a relationship, that doesn't mean you don't care, just that you have bigger concerns than being in a relationship. There was never any infidelity, but you and Ian still grew apart because of his acting role. Although when you were young Ian played along with you and all those imaginary things, now that you are older he thinks it is nonsense, so you don't really bring up that subject with him.

Second, Shaun, my boy, my beautiful boy, is busy most of the time and is the only one who vividly believes that you see ghosts and weird things. He has been a constant support, he usually seeks advice and inspiration from you when talking about designs, he has the bad habit of taking you to cemeteries and haunted places so that you can then draw on a sheet of paper what you saw. He can be a jerk sometimes, but he never let anything happen to you. Whether it's in movies or not, he knows very well how to ward off evil spirits.

Third, Jack, the most important one here, he was definitely human, he went from Joseph to Jack, he died on the scene and now he is some kind of entity, only, after thinking about it, if he is a ghost that spends his time stuck to you it is practically a red flag in a ring full of bulls. If you look at him, talk to him, or touch him, nearby spirits will know that you can see them. So, Jack really has to be as strong as possible to protect you.

I was thinking about the types of spirits in the world, where Jack would fit in, and he would be way below.

The lowest category are those ghosts of people who have forgotten their death or simply do not want to finish what they left behind in life, so they haunt a specific place. Whether they are aggressive or not depends on the ghosts, but they are friendly most of the time and quite weak.

Then there are the wandering souls, these spirits have a task to fulfill, their hunger for revenge moves them. Or on the other hand, they are spirits who choose their goals, and they continue just for that.

The third and most dangerous type are those who are older, have lost themselves and only seek to harm whoever they can.

Similar to the game, as Jack said "I can't do anything you don't want me to do" These spirits feed on people's thoughts and feelings. If they move things and cause damage, these people will think that the ghost will hurt them and the spirits will become stronger to effectively harm them. If you enter a haunted house it is better to be brave, if you are afraid of that ghost you will make it stronger.

Following these laws, Jack would actually be the second type of spirit, unless he scares people secretly to become stronger. Because even if he really adores his Sunshine, His love only makes him more clingy but not exactly ready to fight with spirits full of teeth and disfigurements.

So! Let's add one more category, demons.

Yes, angels also exist but they don't get involved in human trouble.

Jack spent 40 years on the VHS, alone, it was hell itself. A punishment for his actions, an innocent sacrifice.

Then he is granted another chance to redeem himself. He doesn't get any guidance on what to do, he doesn't really know he is a demon is until he meets you. He can't see himself in mirrors or anything but he feels his wing and tail, he thinks the horns are too much.

Jack, like the player, saw spirits from a young age. And he's confused, but he clings to you and protects you as much as he can. He's seen what all those spirits can do, he won't let them touch a hair on your head. He's very overprotective.

He decides pretty quickly that that's his purpose, he's to redeem himself by leading you down the right path, leading you through all those spirits. You're practically him, alone, no parents, with a shitty job and struggling to stay afloat. So he'll offer you his hands to lift you up no matter what happens.

The fact that he falls in love is just a side effect, he is here to stay by your side until the end of days.

Jack can take a big, scary form as an eldrich monster because we don't have enough eldrich jacks here. So I'll fix that myself, it's still scary, preferably he hides it from his Sunshine, he really doesn't even know what he's capable of and he doesn't want to hurt you by accident. Of course that happens a couple of times.

Edit: The reader becomes a boy named Gabriel, but feel free to replace him with your Ocs or self inserts. It's just easier for me to refer to a "she-her/he-him" by a name than to leave everything ambiguous.

[theharellan]

Ask about character meme: Ian around veilguard! How does he feel about everything? Does he have any Ian-specific regrets that feature in the fade prison? (Also somewhat unrelated, but curious: seeing as Ian supports him throughout, how does that relationship affect what the “good” ending - the persuaded out of tearing down the veil one - look like for him?)

ask solas questions about his relationships | accepting

By Veilguard, Ian and Solas have been in each other's lives about ten years (whether you count the two years between Inquisition and Trespasser is debatable, but Ian definitely lived rent-free in Solas's brain so). This is a drop in the ocean compared to the whole span of his life, but it does make Ian his longest and most stable relationship throughout that time.

They become incredibly close in that time, with Ian knowing much about the nature of the Veil, Solas's role in the shape of the world, almost everything. When discussing much of what we learn about Solas in-game with Ian, he does notably keep Mythal's name out of his mouth. Ian knows he was a spirit and that he took a body and regrets it, but not that he was begged to. He shoulders much of the responsibility not only because he was complicit in them, but because of his own damage surrounding Mythal. He wants to preserve her in his memory as much as the memory of others.

Speaking of Mythal, and Ian-flavoured regret, I think one of the reasons Solas doesn't let Lavellan follow him is out of fear that doing so will change their nature. Commit them to a path he sees at odds with who they are. It's one reason he doesn't let Ian, and why Ian has to force Solas's hand to join him. Ian having a hand in the deaths that were to come should their ritual have gone off without a hitch troubles him. He's afraid of ruining Ian's life, of him becoming to Ian what Mythal was to him, if he hasn't already.

There are other regrets, but I think that coupled with Solas's difficulty in seeing the sacrifices Ian (and others!) have made for him as choices they made because they loved him and/or believed in what he was fighting for (similar to Harding or Davrin sacrificing themselves for Rook/the Veilguard) makes it the loudest one. It is easier to see himself as the villain, including when it comes to the person he loves most.

As for the last question, the favoured ending of this blog will probably be a non-canon end where the Veil comes down because I think it would work just as well for the themes of the game and much of what they were building to with Solas it's more fun to have that worldstate change. Solas in-game makes no argument for the Veilfall because he has resigned himself to betraying Rook, but Ian would, which leaves some room for Rook and companions to feel differently about it. In our little fic/verse it wouldn't be so destructive (also notably Ian tears down the Veil, not Solas) for reasons that we're still plotting, but Thora Cadash probably has a hand in it because the dwarves have some stake in the current state of the world, too.

Obviously since that's not canon it may not happen all that often, Ian joins Solas not because Solas agreed to stop, but because he can't bear Solas to go alone. He vehemently disagrees with the idea that the Veil should remain and that Solas should, in a moment of high emotion, shackle himself to another cause after being freed of one, and will voice that in the final cutscene. But if this is how it has to be, he will be with Solas.

[timtimtara]

Finished my first watch of the live action Avatar The Last Airbender series. I'm definitely going to be watching this a few times.

Initial thoughts after the season 1 finale is that I'm impressed by the level of love shown to the original series. The changes they made to the story for it to translate to 8 live action episodes weren't that bad. I tried to stay away from all the fan grumblings about this series so I wouldn't be looking for faults and I'm glad I did. I was able to see it without someone else's opinions clouding my judgment.

I liked that we got to see more of Azula's descent into madness. Ozai really was a horrible parent on top of being a garbage human being. I think the live action really highlighted just how horribly Azula was treated by Ozai and just how young she really is to have to deal with his mindgames. She really had absolutely zero positive support under Ozai's influence.

I enjoyed the additional focus on the past Avatars outside of Roku in this one. Kyoshi and Kuruk are such fascinating characters on their own. I look forward to seeing more of them in future seasons.

The casting on this series was really well done. The younger cast especially was delightful in their joy. They really hammered home just how overwhelmed they felt becoming child soldiers in a madman's war.

Gordon Cormier as Aang did really well depicting Aang's heartbreak and loneliness as the last of the Airbenders. Aang as a character has always been about the tragedy of being the last and how one learns to be hopeful on the face of that tragedy. His Aang really made me think about how much he struggles being the sole source of Air Nomad culture and he's 12, so there's so much he just doesnt know or experienced. I look forward to seeing how his Aang grows into his role as the Avatar.

Kiawentiio Tarbell as Katara just made me love her so much. Katara has always been one of my favorites because she's so determined and hopeful about life. I loved seeing a Katara who was just learning how to be herself, learning her powers, and just being a badass by holding her own against the forces that wanted her to be less than herself. She's gonna be amazing when she comes into her own. I can't wait to see it.

Sokka, my beloved. What can I say that isn't just me gushing about how much I love him and relate to his struggles as the elder sibling with so much responsibility on his shoulders. Sokka is the character that makes the world of Avatar so relatable. So thank you Ian Ousley for being a Sokka that showed him at his most loveable and hard headed and self doubting and annoying and absolutely the bravest warrior of the Southern Water Tribe. Ousley's Sokka is a gift, imo. He understood where Sokka's determination comes from and he did a great job depicting everything that makes Sokka who he is. Even when he's being an annoying little shit, he's just so...Sokka. I need more Sokka in my life, is all I'm saying.

Zuko. My goodness, Zuko. Dallas Liu is a phenomenal Zuko. He embodied the determination and internal conflict that is Zuko so well. And he remembered to be funny! Zuko is such a moody little teenager trying to be a strong leader and Liu did such a good job at showing all aspects of Zuko's character. And his relationship with Iroh!

Omg, Iroh, you break my heart. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was the perfect Uncle Iroh. He was the elder statesman who'd seen too much war and had lost too much in it. I felt like you could see how much he regretted his lack of empathy for the people his nation warred against until it was too late. He's a man who has many regrets in his life and trying to guide his nephew towards being the Fire Lord the world needs is the one small thing he can do to make up for his mistakes. Also, I didn't realize hearing "Leaves from the Vine" would have me legit crying each time they played it. Well played Netflix, well played.

Which brings me to the music. Thank you for keeping the iconic background music because this series wouldn't have been what it is without those audio beats. The music of Avatar is what makes so many of the dramatic moments what they are. The Avatar theme song has always given me chills and they used it really well here.

There were only a few points that I didn't think were well dome, but in the overall story that we got told, they weren't that distracting. I'm sure I'll have some grumblings I'll share as I do rewatches.

[katatonicimpression]

How come you dont vibe with comic sambucky? I haven't read many comics with either of them so I'm curious

I guess it just feels kind of lopsided? But not in a fun way. And then sometimes it feels a different kind of lopsided but in a bad way.

Like, it's easy to read buck as being infatuated with sam. He's got his "I care about not letting him down" thing, and his "I can't shoot him, he's too pretty" moment. But from Sam's point of view, he's just a mate. That's the only way I see it idk. He likes him, but you don't get the impression he's a massively important feature in his life, unlike with the mcu where you can feel the attachment and reliance.

(sidenote: I actually think this is a good thing. The times when sam's personal life gets overtaken by steve's entourage (especially ian) tend to feel off - they often make it feel like Sam himself views steve's life as more important than his own. He has his own life, his own family and friends. His 2015 series understood this - i.e. that he needs his own supporting cast to feel like an actual protagonist, and not steve's accessory.)

But yeah this lopsided-ness isn't a bad thing per se, you could go somewhere fun with it. I actually think Cold War missed an opportunity here. By having Bucky be attached to Sam in a way that Sam doesn't really reciprocate could make for a really good showdown between them. You have bucky pretending to be evil in order to trick steve into going along with something, and he's expecting to fight steve. But no, he gets Sam instead. And sam is like "Bucky's being a dick, so I'll fight him." because he's not too emotionally invested here. But bucky is thrown because he's not emotionally prepared to fight someone he has all this admiration for and nothing but good will.

This contradiction in perspectives comes to a head. Boom. Emotional climax. Changes the course of the plot. Falling action etc etc

But no, they didn't do that. They just threw a fight between them at the end there with some dialogue that didn't feel meaningful to me at all. Sam came into the situation with no real emotional investment and left it that same way. Just clocking in and out of work at the Captain America factory.

So that's the first thing, it feels like Sam doesn't have these feelings, and they don't really do anything with that asymmetry because I don't think they realise it's there, because these writers don't think Sam needs a complete internal world.

The other lopsided thing is the Falcon and Winter Soldier mini series. This just gave me bad vibes sorry. It's a mini series about Bucky and his pain and his problems and his wacky antics. Sam is there to play the straight man to his antics, and to nurture and tend to him.

Sam should never be cast as the straight man. In any sense of the term.

I am fundamentally uninterested in a version of this dynamic that is primarly driven by Sam looking after bucky. So, for me personally, interepreting their relationship in this series as romantic would turn it into something I don't like. Sam looking out for a friend? Fine, good, in character. But make it romantic and suddenly it's wrong to me.

I am fully convinced that this is not an appealing dynamic to sam. Like, a person who's coming to him for comfort and help? Not his type. Look at the people he's drawn to: Leila, Steve, Thor, Misty, Kyle (ignoring jet because that's just so so so ooc and regretable). It's people who are dominant, maybe authoritative. People who don't need anything from him, but want him anyway. People who pursue him, not people he's chasing after. He's specifically into Thor, and not Jane. Idk I just think that this version of their dynamic is one which is hard to imagine Sam even wanting.

This is all just very subjective opinion. And I do think that it's easily possible for them to get some interactions that give them a tone that I am into.

Personally, I am very keen on having them interact more outside of Steve. I think they're relationship to each other is more interesting without him there (and certainly without ian there. why is ian always here?) Hell, like I said, Cold War absolutely could have given us a more intense vibe from them. But it didn't. So, as it currently stands, I just don't vibe with it.

[ebooklibrary]

Love & Gelato Trilogy by Jenna Evan Welch

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Love & Gelato

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

Love & Luck

"I wanted this to be real life, not a detour...."

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once-inseparable siblings.

But when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s finally able to escape her anxious mind—and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is, if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

Love & Olives

Santorini felt like an island holding its breath. As if it were keeping in a secret...

Liv Varanakis doesn’t like to think about her father much, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight, leaving her with just a few painful memories of their shared love for the lost city of Atlantis. So when teenage Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father, who explains that National Geographic is supporting a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and asks if she will fly out to Greece and help—Liv is less than thrilled.

When she arrives in gorgeous Santorini, things are just as awkward as she'd imagined. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. Liv doesn’t want to get sucked back into her father's world. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo, her father’s charismatic so-called protégé, to witness her struggle.

Even so, she can't help but be charmed by everything Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the sun-drenched villages, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

EPUB link

[hewholivesinhisname]

Running away from School

You know, it kind of makes sense that the world is so dark.

If I, the one who was rejected from the Illuminati, am the light, than it makes sense that wherever I am not, there is not much light. People will just do whatever they want to do and

I just had a traumatic event involving getting a bill from the library for 15$. no one wants to hire the poor, of course, right?

Netanyahu as it turns out didn't fund Hamas. He played ball with them, and other things I've found is that the palestinian people, they generally support Hamas. So, I guess this is this game people want to play with democracy, huh? They elect a government that is violent, but then when that government gets in wars and someone fights back against them they claim they are not responsible even though they voted for them.

I'm glad I'm not voting for any of the candidates in America anymore. I can't support what America does. I don't even really trust president Trump even though I know he will probably stop some of the wars.

Anyway, when I was a kid I just escaped a lot from school. It was horrible. all these institutions are horrible. They try to make them look nice. I guess I got an "education", but I didn't want to be there. They didn't respect my choices and I was forced, of course, to get good at school. I was in special needs and of course the kids would pick on me for being special needs.

That sort of thing I realize can and will follow you around for the rest of your life because the other kids when they grow up focus on any thing at all to discriminate and pick on you with. The takeover of the schools by the gays.... is that an improvement or a loss?

I honestly don't know because at the very least the gays have some sort of code of ethics surrounding discrimination against minorities of which is so rampant. People HATE anyone who is different.

Ambiguity really bothers me and the world, really, is very ambiguous. and it's evil. You can't trust anyone it seems. Willliam, who was so lovey dovey with me never returned a library book. He can't even do me the favor of returning a library book.

Man, and he's one of the elders here.

Daniel it seems is my only friend at the moment. All my other friends don't want to help me. They might help me for a night or something like Ian did. But really everyone needs longterm support and everyone needs a job and men are expected to provide something. Women just want to provide sex.

It really kind of poisons, sex, you know?

How should people be?

-People should have generally good intentions towards each other and always be working towards good things for themselves and others. Exactly how this works may change over time and with the situation, but everyone should be doing their best to be empathic, non-self centred, happy, joyful and bringing good things to others.

-people should support patriarchy, especially for humans. They should not break up families. Women must get married and those how break their vows should be ostracized and/or punished at the very least.

-People should be actively waging peace which is to say working together to live longer for all people.

-People should be inclusive of animals, plants and especially the environment in this.

-People should make sure that there is ample opportunities for the poor, that there is adequate work, that wages are adequate, that the rich do not oppress the poor and should

-Seeing as lies are so common, people should be sensitive of what is a lie and what is not.

-There should be someone in charge with a clear hierarchy and clear roles. Everyone should be responsible for things.

-People should oppose war.

-People should be straightforward with their values.

-If people follow a holy book, they should do their best to actually follow the values expressed in that holy book. Muslims should fight to expand the Ummah, Christians should have the lord's supper and preach the gospel to others. Jews should read the torah and do their best to work, etc.

-People should not have excess technological requirements and should not give up their sovereignty to machines of any kind.

-People should take responsibility for their actions and not do things hid responsibility.

-People should not be excessively punitive or aggressive.

-People should live a pleasure based or materialistic lifestyle which harms themselves or others.

-People should make an effort to find god and obey god.

-Kind and Compassionate is a big deal.

That's a start at least. In my life, I've been part of so much bullshit. So much specialization which degrades humans. So many secret agencies around. So many churches that have no intention at all of really empowering and making sure the poor are taken care. Lots of hatred towards Jews, Whites and Men, Hatred of Nerds in school. So, you have to do well in school but if you DO do well in school you are hated. Bullshit like this. Teachers who don't put a stop to that culture of nerd hatred. Women especially who oppose anything. The police that side with them.

Is anyone paying attention to this though?

There's so much that is negative in this world, honest

Probably a big part of it is that I'm not eating today and I'm hangry. It feels good to be able do that. It's a mitzvah, you know?

There's a jewish guy who lives right next to me now. I should probably ask him if he can help me get a job or something. Money has been very, very stressful for me because, of course you need to do all sorts of evil to earn money. The things that make the most money are the ones that are the most evil. That's what it seems at least. maybe it is different in different countries, but their rarely seems to be some kind of work plan to employ everyone and pay everyone for things.

All the meritocratic extremism, all the technologism and stuff kind of pushing everyone towards brainchips and such. No one is arresting Elon Musk of course. No one is arresting the rich for taking rights away from the poor.

The people have been extraordinarily cooperative with everything they should no be cooperative with. Because of this, the world, really it is hurtling towards destruction and honestly it's the devil who I can rely upon the most.