#oh wow that got long

[zouisalmightie]

and that’s the thing like tommy didn’t end things with buck because buck wasn’t out. he ended things with buck to give him the space and opportunity to get comfortable with the idea of dating a man without the added pressure of having to think about and worry about how tommy felt. he didn’t want buck to have to rush out of the closet he wanted to give him a chance to truly think about how his life will shift if/when he starts a queer romantic relationship.

[galactic-rhea]

Do you guys ever think about how the generational cycles of abuse slowly crumble in The Simpsons? Do you ever think about it?

I love The Simpsons, and by no means it's supposed to be taken as a show that takes itself seriously, because it doesn't. But yet it handles heavy themes, it does handle strong subjects, particularly first seasons had certain, strong character's driven episodes meant to actually make you take it seriously. Even later seasons, albeit it becomes less and less of a thing (it becomes a bit heartless), has certain episodes like that. And is what makes The Simpsons a bit unique on the adult shows landmine.

Not to say it's completely original on this, because The Simpsons come from an era where sitcoms were everywhere, and sitcoms tend to be 70% comedy and then a few strong, heart-felt moments. This is because to keep you laughing, you need downs, otherwise, joke after joke after joke, you get a monotone story were there's no stakes nor pauses between a punchline and another. Comedy needs a tiny bit of seriousness, so you feel your feet on the ground, and then they will throw at you a joke, that, if is well written, is meant to surprise you, you don't see it coming. In the Simpsons, many of the classic jokes you remember best? You don't see them coming, not really, because the way they wrote the jokes in the simpsons is actually very clever, if I were to graph them, there would be several curves and points because they're jokes within jokes within jokes.

And then is a bit of dark humour, that is meant to reasonate with the audience somehow. So you laugh a bit at the fact that Homer's dad let him drink beer just so he would stop bothering him, but then the show makes you care, sometimes, about Homer being extremely hostile with his very old dad. But then you also laugh at the fact Homer's mom was a hippie, a rebel hippie, at that, that took him to Woodstock and is one of Homer's happiest memories of his childhood, and then you don't expect her literally dying.

And returning, in a way, just because she wants Homer and his family to continue what she started, and the show makes you care, the show makes you feel for the characters. Because Abe is a war veteran, he was awful to Homer and to his wife, but you also know he cared, and you also feel bad because he lives in a retirement home and wants to live with Homer and his family, but Homer will literally start the engine and leave him there, and at his age, he doesn't deserve that, but what does he deserve? Should Homer forgive him for everything? No, not really, you don't have to forgive abusers, but then it gets messy and complex because abusers don't deserve to be abused.

Homer, however, does forgive Abe, sometimes (and because of the nature of the show, it gets retconned, or forgotten, or brushed away, and etc). But more interestingly, he forgives his mom. Homer's mom was a much nicer parent, she was kind and Homer's refuge for happiness, so it's easy to forgive her, despite the fact that leaving Homer with someone like Abe was certainly, not a good choice, and we know that many, MANY of Homer's problems, all come rooted from either trauma or behaviours he learned from his childhood. And he's rightfully angry about it, he acts a bit like a rebellious teenager, because Homer is fairly inmature and this is because a extremely troubled youth.

But he forgives her right when she's literally a corpse in a chair, and then the closure comes from finishing what she started years ago as a radical environmentalist advocate.

So Homer knows, extremely well from first hand, his parents' flaws, and he is, to some degree, aware of how these affected him, which is more than most of the audience he represents realizes. But he's still an awful parent. He is abusive, towards Bart, but he also cares and tries deeply. He does an incredible much better job as a parent and as a partner than his parents.

And that's still not enough. That's not enough because trying doesn't mean sucess. The nature of the show makes it a bit harder, because sometimes it can be uqite inconsistent. There's a whole episode focused on how Homer decided to give up a lot and to stay under the awful working conditions from Mr. Burns because of Maggie, and then there are episodes where he literally forgets he has a third child.

But that's still better, somehow, than his upbringing. The bar was low, quite low, but he doesn't know anything else, and yet tries to be something different. And that's, from a narrative sense, interesting.

The cycle is breaking, is not completely over, is not a good job, but it is an attempt, it is watering down the abuse, it is making it less awful. Is like trying to purify a river, you're starting to remove the trash bags, you blocked the wastes tubes, the water is still contaminated, there's no grass and the ground is infertile. But it's a start, you need to start somewhere.

And then, in the futures episodes with Bart (and Lisa, and Maggie, even) we learn that, he isn't doing that much better either. Bart is divorced, his ex hates him because he's inmature and his children aren't very fond of him. Lisa's marriage is a bit of a mess, and her relationship with her daughter echoes a bit the one she had with Marge and Homer: She can't understand her, there's a lack of cummunication.

But it's still incredible, much better, than what they knew while growing up. Bart tries to be more responsible, he isn't abusive, his problem is that he's inmature and therefore can't connect with his children. But he doesn't quite yell at them, or tries to choke them (at least in the future episodes I remember, there are several). And unsurprisingly, he resents Homer a lot, which is logical, given everything, but he's also baffled that his children love Homer, and as a grandparent, he actually does quite a good job.

And the cycle is almost completely broken. Perhaps you can't absolutely clean it all, at least not in so few years, but it's happening and the change and evolution is logical, despite it being a sitcom, it is quite well written and sadly realistic. Bart and Lisa and Maggie don't have perfect lives as adults, and they struggle and the narrative shows you that a lot of these struggles come from their toxic enviroment.

And they're still doing better, because Homer and Marge chose to do slightly better than their parents. And so the cycle is near to the end.

I could talk about Marge, but sadly, in terms of her upbringing, there isn't much, besides the fact that she grew in a conservative home. We know her mother told her to held back tears and always pretend to be happy and force a smile, which is how she carried out in her life in many facets. And then we see she tries, at first, to teach the same to Lisa, and then decides to break that rule, to break what she forced herself to do and let Lisa be sad and express her emotions fully.

We also know she was quite bullied by her older sisters, and she's the one to always try to stop fights between Lisa and Bart, and the first one to try to stop rivalry between them when Homer tried to make them fight the other for attention.

Marge is flawed in a sense that she internalized a lot of misoginy and conservative ideals and then, sometimes, she tries to spread it, unwillingly, because is what she knows. Despite this, we know she supports Lisa's interests in studying and artistic skills. We know her mother was cold, and a bit detached, but Marge tries to be as warm and supportative as possible.

The Simpsons reasonates, mostly, with a generation that came from similar home enviroments, and, to some degree, some people in the audience could realize of their own flawed origins or how they carried those flaws, because I think the creators and writers had this in mind, the change and the struggle with trauma, the "not being good, but being better than what I remember".

So there's that. Deeply, deeeply flawed people that were raised in awful enviroments, and ultimately fail at being "good" parents, but they tried to change, and they tried to be better, and trying does matter in the end , because it's a start. They didn't end the cycle, but they planted the seeds for it. And to me, that's extremely interesting, and more so because this is the fricking Simpsons, a comedy, but like the context and narrative it generates, reasonates deeply with me despite not being for any of the generations the Simpsons represent, I'm a queer person in their 20s that was raised and still lives with an awful, awful family, but that I know their upbrinding was just so so so so much worse. And I know they try, and is not enough, and I can't quite forgive that, but I can see they try. And I know the cycle ends with me, at the very least.

[bizarrelittlemew]

i was hoping to make a post like this under happier circumstances, but here goes.

as some of you know, everything with the cancellation and renewal campaign has happened right on top of the worst part of my mom's cancer treatment (plus the show was cancelled on my actual birthday 💀). i won't go into details, but it's been tough. lots of ups and downs, mostly downs, luckily ending (for now) on as much of an up as circumstances allow. the whole thing has been weirdly tied to the cancellation for me, kind of amplifying every feeling. the grief got mixed up, and there was so much of it - mourning the loss of the kind of future i thought i'd have with my mother and the time we might not get, mourning the end of a show that means so much to me and is such a big part of my life. different types of grief, sure, and of different magnitudes, but in one big ugly swirl. i sort of had a breakdown right at the start of february, and it was because of news about my mom, but it morphed into my brain telling me everything i'd ever written was shit and wanting to delete it all. stuff like that, spilling over.

anyway. i was holding off on writing this post to see if the show got picked up by someone else. but i still want to say it. because what also spilled over was the support and community from this fandom, and being in this space (despite the rough times and high emotions) helped me through it, because of all of you here. whether we talk regularly, or you left a comforting reply or simply a like on one of my posts about having a hard time (i tried to keep them few), or wrote a nice comment on a fic, or said something funny or nice or insightful in the tags of a gifset, or was active here (or on twt) in any way, talking/sharing/creating stuff about the show - THANK YOU.

you all helped me through all the ups and downs, and i am so grateful. thank you for being here, listening, distracting, helping me feel some joy despite the horrors. i love you and i love this incredible show and all it has brought and will continue to bring and inspire, and although it should go without saying, i'm not going anywhere. just do me a favor and give yourself a big ol' hug from me, and know that you made a difference for some random guy on the internet (but in reality for many more, and for this fandom as a whole, just by being here and being you) 💕

[lupiinist]

alright, so, i'm writing something and wanted to share my black sisters hcs because i like them so much (and also because i need to so i won't forget it)

first of all, bellatrix is a very good sister. she's a bit unhinged, sure, maybe can get a little violent, yes, but it's alright so long as you don't mess with cissa and andy (or regulus and sirius by extent, but she prenteds she doesn't like them)

they have a thing with nicknames. for everyone, they are bella, cissa, and andy. but for each other, they are trix/trixie, cissy/ciss, and an/mendy. the only other people who get to call them that are their loved ones (sirius, reggie, ted, alice and rita)

narcissa likes jewelry, she has rings, earrings, and necklaces to match with every single one of her clothes, and she can even make her own, she likes to chose gemstones and knows most of them by name (her favorite are emeralds and rubies)

bellatrix is a ballerina, she has so much strength in her body, like, she doesn't look like it, she looks scrawny at first, but she's very strong and flexible, ballet is a thing requires a lot of focus and determination, and for everything that she's chaotic, she has her moments of peace with dancing

andromeda tonks is bisexual. fight me on this one.

i feel like andromeda would also be a lot into fashion, like, just generally, she likes clothes and loves to push gender norms with her clothes, she rocks in dresses, and she rocks in suits, and sometimes she mixes both and guess what? she rocks!!!! (no, but seriously, andromeda tonks in a suit. please.)

the three of them like to gossip, like, a lot. they paint each others nails, bellatrix learned at a young age to do her sisters' hairs, so she does them whenever she gets the chance, and they talk about every bit of gossip they hear

narcissa painted her hair black once because she felt left out from her sisters. next thing she nows, once the paint fades, bella and andy have dyed their hair blond. now they all match

once they all have their lives apart, they still like to hang out when they can. cissa brings draco to his favorite aunts (although he likes pandora a lot too), sometimes bella brings rita when she's not working, and ted likes to pick andromeda up from their meet-ups so he can at least say hello to his in-laws

when they were young, their parents used to fight a lot, and it used to get really loud, so the three of them would get together in bella's room, and she would sing them a song until things got quieter. she's a surprisingly good singer (although narcissa is better)

when andromeda marries ted, bella and cissa walk her down the aisle, one on each side

[sluckythewizard]

[PUT INTO PLACE, TIED DOWN AND ARRANGED, AND IS NEVER THE SAME, AGAIN.]<-listen to my favorite songs. VAMPIRES ARE WONDERFUL ARENT THEY. THE FLESH IS SO MUCH MORE DURABLE. SO MUCH STRETCHIER THAN HUMANS. THE STRESS DOESNT KILL A VAMPIRE THE SAME WAY IT DOES A HUMAN. YOU CAN TAKE THEM APART THREAD BY THREAD AND LEAVE THEM WIDE AWAKE WITHOUT WORRY OF THE BRAINMATTER SPOILING UNDER VINEGARY AGONY.

[jesncin]

FINALLY MADE IT TO MA'AL'S DEBUT EPISODE IN YOUNG JUSTICEEE

can I get a YEEEHAAAW!!!

Haha they're already doing the "marginalized villain is too extreme in his methods for justice" nonsense but I'm honestly just so happy to see him that nothing is knocking me from this high rn

[disposal-blueeee]

doodles

edgar vargas and squee by johnen vasquez

scriabin by zarla-s

[pizzacastella]

anyway bc of the residual Workplace Violence™ im feeling

what if aguefort hired another sorcerer teacher (could be full time, could be a sub) bc its his solution to jace's complaints abt how heavy his workload is. the new hire comes in and jace acts very polite and cordial bc hey its work, its easier to just smile and nod. its all fine until jace realizes its even more work.

starts as something small, mayb jace doesn't like how they teach (saying that as sorcerers they need to be perfect, no point in casting if you dont have it down to a t, etc etc). then some students go to him w concerns abt how they dont feel they're applying themselves properly, asking if they could transfer to his class instead. then he tries to talk to the new hire about those concerns but they just insist there's nothing wrong w the way they teach, even puts down jace's own method of teaching and starts giving him pointers on "how to improve it". jace gets so mad at this ofc bc why tf is this person treating him like he's the new hire? who tf do they think they are? he's been here for four goddamn years, and they're what? two weeks in? FUCK OFF!!!

"thank you so much for your input." jace would say to them instead bc it isn't it socially acceptable to banish people to the red waste for a month.

jace goes home to porter and he immediately starts ranting about the whole thing, talking so much shit about this new hire. porter listens to him quietly bc its better to let jace have it all out. however, it does takes jace the entire night. they're already getting ready for bed and he's still yapping away to the point where jace is so preoccupied w talking that he mindlessly follows whatever porter gestures. he doesn't even realize that he's straddling porter's lap until he felt porter kiss up a particular spot on his neck and suddenly he forgets his words.

"keep talking." porter encourages him but it's so difficult to form sentences when porter's hands start to feel him up under his sleep shirt and he can feel porter's hard on. he starts whining, desperate and needy, hoping porter would just get on with it. jace abandons the ranting entirely and goes to kiss him, feeling porter smile in the kiss. "'ya done?" porter chuckles a little bit when they pull away for air. "y'know, i could always just kill that guy off for 'ya." jace is aware of how that shouldn't turn him on, but it does.

anyway porter fucks it right out of him (sorry idk how to write it) and jace actually mellows out after. yeah he's still mad but after he found out someone slashed their tires and their teacher evaluations came out bad, he feels pretty good :3

[camels-pen]

the difference between zosopp and sanuso (romantic OR platonic) is that Usopp is Zoro's specialest little guy and Zoro is someone Usopp hangs out with and looks up to and hides behind when things get scary, but Sanji and Usopp are best friends. They horse around, they beat each other up, they confide their worst fears trying to one up each other. Usopp hides behind Sanji sometimes, sure, but idk, Sanji's weaknesses are more obvious (bugs, fighting women, etc) so there are times when Usopp has to stand in front of Sanji too, yknow?

Like, how do I say this, all the crewmates are equal- Usopp and Zoro are equals- but with Sanji it feels like more... comradery? Zoro's a rock in a terrible storm- even rocks tend to get weathered and chipped and worn down, but they overall stay strong and steady. He has trouble being vulnerable and there are times when the burden he's placed on himself to keep the crew safe is crushing his chest. Usopp would help with that and be very understanding, but the point I'm trying to get with that is that those moments are few and far between. So I feel like Usopp, especially after Water 7, would take Zoro's lead on something like that, and keep most of his worries to himself or only talk about them sparingly unless they're really bad and/or he can't hide them.

Sanji is like a tree in a storm; he can be strong, yes, but it feels like he bends and sways with the storm, and has more obvious breaking points. He can relate more to Usopp's struggles rather than resorting to blunt honesty that might border on callous like Zoro. And while, with Zosopp, I tend to think of scenarios with Zoro being blunt like that as a good thing- because sometimes when you're spiraling, it's nice to have someone say exactly what's great about you and shoot down all your worries with straight facts that you can't argue with- I can also see this as being a bad thing. Anxiety can really twist up your brain sometimes, you know? And despite the words, the tone could still mess someone up if they're already feeling like a burden on others in some way.

With Sanuso it's a lot more understanding and thoughtful words. It's distractions and comfort food and patience- the kind reserved for Usopp- until Usopp talks about whatever's troubling him. Compared to Zosopp, it doesn't take as long for Usopp to open up, since he's done the same thing to Sanji at times and it's more familiar to him to talk and commiserate with Sanji about his worries and doubts and such. However, there are times stuff like this has absolutely no effect and Sanji will end up at a loss, no idea what to do or how to help over the course of several days with Usopp being quiet and keeping his distance, and he'll end up working himself up about it which will only serve to make Usopp feel worse and. yeah. bit of a vicious cycle with them.

So it's like. Usopp can be weak with both of them, but since I see Sanji as the type of guy who'd be more open with his worries (at least compared to Zoro), there's less of a need to 'perform' and be his best self around him. He's comfortable around Zoro, yes, but he is constantly wanting to show that he won't be a problem to him. On the other hand, while he's more open with Sanji, and Sanji with him, they tend to relate a bit too much with each other and they both have issues with causing trouble for others and being 'deserving of love' so failed attempts at consoling one hurts the other and creates an unpleasant cycle of misery and avoidance before some other crewmate (Zoro) tells them to quit being stupid and just fucking talk to each other.

[capn-twitchery]

very messy grace wip i may or may not finish >:3

[peppermintmochafem]

if you sit on someone's lap while they get head it is basically like you are getting head and you both get to have your fingers in the hair of the person going down on them and you get to control how they do it and it is so incredible

[hood-ex]

I have seen you talking about Dick & Dami's relationship and Dick & Tim as well,but what are your takes on Dick and Jason actually?

Like how you wish their relationship should be portrayed today and where are them missing when it comes to making those two acting like siblings?

Do you think in the past their dynamic was better?

How Dick views Jason and how Jason views Dick?

This is difficult to answer because there are like 8 different stages to Dick and Jason's relationship with various dynamics. They also view each other a bit differently depending on which stage we're talking about.

The way I would like their relationship to be portrayed today isn’t necessarily possible thanks to Jason’s integration into the family and acceptance of the no killing moral code. For me, their ideal dynamic is portrayed in Outsiders #44-46. And I know people are gonna find that regressive as hell but, tbh, that dynamic is far more interesting than the kinda awkward thing they have going on now.

Although, I don't mind that they acknowledge their brotherhood in a serious manner now. Like before they'd kinda be like, "Eh... I mean... we were adopted from the same guy but... brothers? Eh..." And now they're more firmly in the, "We're brothers," camp. So that development is interesting.

Character progression wise, it wouldn't feel right for for them to be super close in the way that, say, Dick and Tim are (unless we saw a lot of trust and relationship building between them), but at the same time, there is part of me that kind of wants them to have that older sibling bond (except Jason is closer in age to Tim than he is to Dick sooo actually let's just leave older sibling things to Dick and Cass... not that Cass is much older than Jason though so LOL this is why Dick has to lone the oldest sibling thing by himself... which is funny because Dick is technically no longer the oldest sibling, he's a baby brother now... except Dick and Melinda's relationship really hasn't progressed much sooo you could say they share blood but don't consider each other family yet, in which case, Dick is still the oldest... I mean, regardless, Dick is the oldest sibling of the Waynes... god why did they have to make all of this so difficult 😫).

[fisheito]

finally unlocked maid blade's intimacy rooms and i just. i gotta say. i am very pleased. SO VERY pleased. excellent, everywhere, all around, fantastic loved it start to finish (i got a little worried in the middle bc distressed blade gnaws at my sympathetic heart chamber) but now i am filled with new images and new appreciation for big floofy skirts and blade's adorable master-pleasing ways

[beansterpie]

8, 11, 17, 18, 20, 24, 30 and 33 for fitzfool/fitzloved!

ty for the ask!

8.) What do they love most about the other? Why?

I think what Fitz loves most about his Beloved is his kindness <3 and also his playful/mischeviousness lol, or more like a combination of the two. Beloved often uses the latter to express the former, and I think he was such an important presence in Fitz childhood (and adulthood, once the Tawny Man triology comes around) for caring and fun, considering so many other people in his life were concerned with his usefulness.

And I think the Fool loves Fitz's big heart. He fucks up a lot and is like, one giant ball of bad trauma responses, but he cares really deeply about a lot of things, and he feels strongly. In a world that has been so callous to him, I think that appeals to the Fool a lot. His kindness is also another one-- I find that Fitz is a guy who has a lot of shitty kneejerk reactions, but then he tries to see things from different perspectives and attempts to be accomodating (often to a serious fault lol).

And of course their shared history is a big part of all this. They were bright spots in each other's lives when they were still too little to defend themselves from all the people that wanted to hurt them, and I can't really undermine how important those memories are to both of them.

11.) How do they feel about nicknames/pet names? If they like them, what pet names do they use? If they hate them, why do they feel that way?

Oh I think they'd both really like pet names lol. Casual ones like 'dear' or 'love' or 'sweetheart'. That being said, idk if they'd have anything more specific or unique that they consistently called each other, considering "Beloved" is such a Thing™ between them. I also really like the idea of Fitz eventually gifting the Fool with his own true name, "Keppit". Idk I think it would be a really meaningful gesture, and also it's a very cute name lol.

17.) How well do they communicate? Are they open with their feelings/thoughts or more reserved? Why?

I think once they like, get their heads out of their asses, and finally admit that they have romantic feelings for each other, and will prioritize each other over everyone else, then yeah! Of course, that's the Big Obstacle though, and we see what happens when they don't manage to convey that to each other (so many decades of misunderstandings and missed opportunities like LEGIT).

But if they managed to admit that to each other, then I think they would be able to communicate pretty well, because the Fool's belief that Fitz doesn't return his feelings/his feelings for Fitz would be a burden on him (Fitz) vs Fitz's inherent low self esteem and deep depression and trust issues and heteronormative expectations is what really causes their miscommunications.

18.) How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

I think we've basically seen this on Fitz's end, since the Fool goes through periodic bouts of illness whenever he sheds his current skin. (I'm sure the very few non-RotE followers I have who are even reading this are going ????? at that, but I am being literal.) Anyway, when the Fool falls to fever in Assassin's Quest, from what I remember Fitz literally held him almost the entire time, and also had Nighteyes cuddle him from the other side, no? So yeah, I think Fitz would be extremely attentative, maybe to the point of being a bit stifling lol.

And the Fool would also be very attentative, but like, in a slightly more chill way. He'd have great bedside manner, is what I mean lol. Unless it was really serious-- then I think he'd be pretty frantic and quite fragile about the whole thing.

20.) How do they comfort each other when one of them is upset? Is this method of comfort effective?

If they're in a place where they're able to communicate better than in canon lol, like they have an established romantic relationship, then yeah I do think their ways of comforting each other would be effective. I think even in canon, when their communication leaves something to be desired, they're still (usually) a very comforting presence to one another!

And I think largely that would be sitting and listening with understanding. Which the Fool especially is already excellent at, it's Fitz who usually struggles not to get defensive or otherwise put his foot in his mouth lol.

24.) How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often?

I think they compliment each other quite well, for the most part! I think Fitz runs the risk of being like, overly clingly sometimes lol. Which to be clear I think the Fool would like most of the time, but he's also someone who values freedom so if Fitz isn't able to be chill about it, it could become a problem. But the solution to that of course is for Fitz to realize that everything is ok, and This Good Thing isn't going to disappear from his life suddenly.

30.) What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

Hmmmmm love languages..... I think acts of service is definitely one for Fitz, spending time together for both of them, words of affirmation for the Fool, as well as giving gifts (his carvings). Ngl I'm not well versed in the concept of specific love languages lol, but I do think they work well together!

33.) How do they flirt? Who’s the worse flirt?

I feel like their flirting would be a lot of coy looks across rooms and comments that don't make sense to anyone else, at least from the Fool's end. And I suppose that depends on their living situation lol. If they're at Buckkeep, then they really can't be public about their relationship (unless the Fool is living as Lady Amber, which would open things up a bit more, but even then propriety is quite important at court), but if they've moved away somewhere private where they can live however they want, then they'd be a lot more obvious about things.

------

Ty for the ask, sorry for the late response!

[confetti-critter]

Another silly guy joins the confetti/birthday cake shrine

[deus-ex-mona]

my five surviving braincells when something remotely good happens: