#thanks for asking for my opinion anon

[smoldragonblood]

what would you have liked to have seen done differently?

Not sure if you’re talking about the entire show or just Catra/C//A’s arc, but Im going to assume the latter. Anyway;

More episodes: even though I know that they had restrictions, the show still needed more episodes to cover the things Catra has done and for her to fully heal and develop. (And to cover worldbuilding and other characters arcs) 

Boundaries: They should have set boundaries for how far Catra would go. Adora had been her best friend for their entire lives, yet Catra wouldn’t hesitate to scratch, kick, degrade and manipulate Adora in the worst ways possible. I understand where this loathing comes from, seeing as how Adora had ‘control’ over her life since the beginning (enforced by SW), how she thinks that Adora ‘left her for new friends’, that they were on the opposite sides of a war, and that the Horde influenced her way of dealing with separation and vulnerable feelings but there comes a point when you go too far to be forgiven in the amount of episodes and time they had.

Forgiveness: The Alliance should’ve not trusted and have ‘forgiven’ Catra so easily. She nearly destroyed the planet, she tried killing them multiple times, she controlled(corrupted?) Adora with First Ones tech, she manipulated Entrapta and sent her to Beast Island, she took over Mermista’s kingdom and had probably caused multiple casualties while doing so, and she abused her friend Scorpia, her soldiers, and Adora. Now I’m not saying that she shouldn’t have been depicted doing those things, because the part of being redeemed is being bad, but the way the entire cast forgave her was too quick, and no one seemed to really bring up the things she did and how she hurt them. Adora didnt really seem to talk to Catra about how she hurt her, and instead all we saw was Adora blaming herself for everything while Catra said sorry at least twice without Adora taking a step back and saying; “We can’t be in a relationship now, we both need time to heal. The things you’ve done to me hurt me.” There are other characters other then Catra: Crew-ra had created wonderful and amazing characters, with interesting backstories and arcs that had developed and grew over time. But why did they put the effort into those characters if Catra and C//A was going to be the front and center of S5? Glimbow barely had any development (romantically) other then a quick side-episode where Glimmer apologized for the shitty things she’s done and a “I love you” moment during the last battle, Spinnatossa was there just for a few moments, Micah reuniting with Glimmer was just a few seconds, Hordak barely got screen time despite having an important story arc, dont even get me started on the clones, Wrong Hordak and what could’ve been development between Shadow Weaver and Micah, the arcs a lot of characters had going for them ect. ect. ect. I get that Catra, Adora and C//A needed to develop, but they made too wonderful of characters and too amazing of arcs to just drop it all in favor of shoving them in the corner to make way for C//A and Catra.

Healing: I would’ve liked to seem more healing from Catra, and less of them pilling trauma after trauma on top of her (felt like they did this to gain sympathy from the viewers). Her healing (or at least improving) should’ve started at at least S4 or maybe even towards the end of S3 because of how many seasons they had, and this would’ve made Adora and her’s relationship healthier, because them getting together right after going through all of that…the both of them aren’t in the right conditions to be in a relationship with each other. Catra barely had any time to process what happened to her or heal from it, and Adora had a shit ton happen to her as well. I want healing not a speedrun for a relationship.

More show don’t tell: The thing about Catra’s hair should’ve been brought up. She cut off the lighter brown tuffs after Shadow Weaver left (beautiful symbolism by the way), and the show should’ve had the liberty to show us her cutting off those tuffs. Same with her getting her hair cut by Prime, that should’ve been addressed. Theres also a little bit of a problem with a game of “show don’t tell” with the watchers and “tell dont show” with the characters. Because we see everything that had happened with Catra and the things she’d gone through, while the other characters didn’t, yet we don’t really see Catra telling anyone what she went through (which should’ve been used for understanding with the characters not sympathy).

More SHOWING of healing not SAYING: She said only once that she’d, ”work on her anger issues”, and that was never brought up again. I had an ex-friend that said they’d “work on their issues“ and they still treated me and their friends like shit. And this is just my personal preference but maybe Catra should’ve been less of an asshole to everyone in S5? I get that she went through a lot of shit, but she could’ve apologized for being such a dick such as; “I’m sorry I’m acting this way but I’ve been through a lot, I hope you understand.” (And this shouldn’t be said only once or shown only once)

Holy fucking shit this was long- anyway sorry it’s late, I may have forgot this was in my drafts. If you’ve read this far without getting bored I applaud you

[doublel27]

My main problem with tarlos is that the relationship is starting to get too unbalanced and too one sided. Carlos is always doing the chasing and fighting for tk, i feel like he's always giving more than what he's getting, always putting tk's feelings and needs above his.. I'm not saying that tk doesn't love carlos but i just wish they were more balanced. Also i really didn't like all this tk and cooper thing,tbh..Idk but i feel like tk should be a bit more self-aware than this about the whole cooper thing.

Please don't take this as a tk hate because I'm not hating on him, i actually like him so much and i hope I'm being too rude i just like your to read your opinions and I'm really interested in your take on this ☺️💗

Thanks for your kindness, Nonny, so I hope you take it with the same kindness when I say, sometimes I wonder if canon and fanon get confused here. Mostly, because, canonically, Carlos doesn’t do that much chasing of TK. Mostly, he lets TK go when TK leaves and TK comes back of his own accord. Or whatever happens, happens off screen. Also, TK offers Carlos emotional support in spades in the show, and I’m very confused by this narrative.  I suppose there are three major events I’d even consider under the realm of chasing: We can argue Carlos chases TK in 1.01 when he is standing behind him at the bar watching TK have a good time before he asks him to dance. But TK doesn’t require a lot of convincing beyond Carlos’s sweet smile. He hops right out into the dancefloor and if 2x04 is to believed, things got hot and heavy within fifteen minutes. In 1x03, you could argue it’s chasing, as Carlos verbally worries about having to chase TK and Michelle points out Carlos is just sitting on his ass, and he won’t know unless he asks TK out. Carlos asks TK out for a date to the bar and TK says yes, without apparently, much chasing necessary. And then, we’d consider 3x04 chasing? But is it chasing if your ex-boyfriend’s work partner called you under false pretenses, because she knew that you would want to be there if he died? And you stay, but you’re not sure you should be there, and it takes your mom coming and knocking some sense into you before you say what needs to be said. In other instances: 1x10 - TK says he has no idea what he wants or what he’s doing or where he wants to live. Carlos immediately backs down, saying if it’s not meant to be it’s not meant to be with the saddest Carlos cow eyes, and TK immediately hates that but was honest. Carlos insists on paying and doesn’t push, doesn’t chase. They spend the day working on that intersection when the solar storm hits and...we have no idea what transpires between Carlos calling TK impressive to Owen and when Carlos comes to pick TK up. Clearly they have a conversation, but who initiates it and what is said...Your guess is as good as mine. But as Owen points out, TK made a life decision that day. Then, they go sit out under the northern lights and it’s TK who takes Carlos’s hand and tells him they make a good team.  In 2x04, TK is very rightly upset by the fact that Carlos and he run into Carlos’s parents, and not only is Carlos very weird but offers no explination and is very surprised TK is upset. Carlos tries very hard to pretend that was a normal interaction. Bless his heart. TK only walks out after he says the line “Someone who loves you who you supposedly love back?” and Carlos flounders, unable to form words or sentences. We don’t know what transpires between them after TK leaves and before he comes back, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve talked much as TK knocks and Carlos throws out the passive agressive “Are we breaking up? Or did we already? Because it felt like we did.”  What we do know is TK comes back and fights to explain what was going on with him, and then somewhere in all that realizes what was happening with Carlos, and it’s TK who offers to be the support Carlos needs. Carlos is very pleased to be offered this and worries that he may never be ready to introduce TK to his parents as his boyfriend, and that may not be enough for TK. TK stands by him.  In 2x12, post the confrontation in the firehouse, TK shows up at home to Carlos cooking a meal, which we know is Carlos’s form of offering his heart. TK tries to apologize for the firehouse, and we know that some sort of conversation we missed off screen, because Carlos said they already agreed to let that go when their dad’s filled them in on the plan. I want it to be so noted that Carlos is the one that rebuffs TK’s efforts to make amends here. TK backs off when Carlos says they’ve already handled it. We watch TK center Carlos frequently in season three, even when TK is struggling. This man wakes from a COMA due to hypothermia in 3x04, and the first thing he does is tells Carlos to breathe and is the one who reaches out for Carlos first. Like, the pure strenght and determination to do that is crazy (and I don’t know how medically accurate) In 3x08, TK is drowning in his grief, nearly relapses and then ends up on a plane that nearly crashes, but on the tarmac, when Carlos comes flying at TK, TK shifts directly into soothing mode for Carlos. He immediately assures Carlos he’s fine, that it’s not his blood, He holds Carlos’s face and repeats I’m okay until Carlos repeats okay back at him. Like, TK’s an emotional disaster at this point and still takes the time to put Carlos’s worry at ease.  In 3x05, 3x11 and 3x12, we see TK offers support in Carlos’s ability to do his job, in his ability to be a detective while he’s just a beat cop and “helps” with footage research. In 3x11,  particularly, we see him use a couple of their key love languages with Carlos in the loft, including the loving teasing with “raging bull” which brings me back to Carlos busting TK’s balls in 1x03. And TK is making Carlos a salad, which is returning one of Carlos’s key love language of acts of service through food. Just because TK isn’t great at food, doesn’t mean he doesn’t put the effort into trying to give Carlos his love languages right back. And then in 3x13, when Carlos is desperately trying to center TK and TK’s addcition in their relationship and making TK’s recovery his responsibility, TK doesn’t let him. TK thanks Carlos for his research and says that Carlos is on the same train of thought as Cooper. He calls Carlos sweet and appreciates everything Carlos does for him, and then moves to flirt with Carlos.  I’m sorry the stuff with Cooper bothered you. But was it Cooper specifically, or the way the Cooper stuff made Carlos feel? Because Cooper isn’t just some friend, or a casual aquaintence that is taking up TK’s time or getting three am phone calls. Cooper is a sponsor, and part of their job is to be available to their sponsees as needed. Cooper has offered TK 24/7 support as a resource. But it’s not a two-way street. Cooper isn’t going to be calling TK at three am. He might call TK if he hasn’t heard from him in awhile or if things are signaled to be off. But it’s a mostly one-way street, of Cooper being a support for TK. Even Carlos knows this, consciouslly, even if unconsciously he feels differently. Cooper is a resource that is helping TK stay clean. Staying clean is a matter of life and death. Addiction, left untreated, is a death sentence and we’ve almost lost TK to drugs too many times on the course of this show. If it helps you at all, think of Cooper as treatment that is keeping TK alive. Carlos feels isolated and impotent and helpless, which is realistic. It happens to partners of addcits but it also happens to partners of cancer patients and partners of people with long-term chronic illnesses. I experienced it as the partner of someone who was transitioning. It is emotionally difficult to watch the person you love most struggle to live and know that there is nothing you can do to fix that life threatening illness. THAT is what Carlos is struggling with, in this episode, and Cooper is just the manifestation of that for Carlos to be mad at.  What Carlos needs is his own support group, to manage these feelings as TK turns to people who understand what he is going through, Carlos needs the same.  The last thing I want to address is the Carlos putting TK’s needs and emotions above his. Carlos does do this, but it’s not what TK is ever asking for. TK wants Carlos to take care of himself. But Carlos Reyes puts EVERYONE above himself. I say it all the time: but Carlos is last on the list if he’s ever on the list at all. He would do anything for his friends and family, and even his job, at his own expense. We watch him lose sleep over cases, working them on his own time, be it Katie or helping Michelle or searching footage for Owen’s stalker. We watch Carlos put all of his feelings and needs in a box so that his parents won’t decide they don’t love him if he is just a little outside of what they’re expecting, much to his parent’s endless bafflement.  But TK Strand, sees this part of Carlos, that will give anything, and TK gives back just as hard, and sometimes calls Carlos on this behavior. And THAT, man, that ability to let Carlos feel his feelings or to take care of himself-like in 2x04 when he asks Carlos to explain it to him, or in 2x12 when he doesn’t let Carlos get away with saying he’s okay after their house burns down, in 3x04 when he asks Carlos to breathe, in 3x05 when he tries to get Carlos to come to bed and when that doesnt work stays with him, in 3x08 when he makes sure Carlos knows he’s okay, in 3x11 when he makes Carlos a meal and also names his feelings for Carlos as he tries to pretend they don’t exist, in 3x13 when TK is the one who asks Carlos what is wrong, well, that’s TK centering Carlos.TK centers Carlos and fights like hell to be there for Carlos, even in the depths of the drowing grief and depression and relapse.  And that, dear nonny, is why I am a Tarlos fan. I know these two will fight like hell for each other. And that is beautiful. 

[smash-chu]

hello, i love your art. it is very bouncy and looks like it has a weight to it, which is very nice to look at and something i struggle with in my own art. however, i noticed that you are swedish (?). and i would like to know your opinion on the current tumblr topic of offering guests food at your house. thank you

Thanks!

I wasn't raised by inconsiderate beasts like some other swedes were, so if you're a guest at my house you get food and fika

[saltymongoose]

Hi Mongoose and Frog-anon! (Maybe I should just take up an identity now lol. Maybe Spectre-anon? I don't remember if anyone got that one. 8s) It's so funny that you started talking about who would have seen Batter's other side. I was thinking about this last night too! The situation with Jeb feels so spot-on, Mongoose! The Phobos one feels so true- just- oh man- if HE could see Batter's other side. I support it so much, haha.

If I could add my two cents on it, I definitely want to vouch for the Employers not seeing it. If they knew, they'd probably wouldn't have let Batter stick nearly as close to the Player. Their arrogance and dismissal of Batter prevents them from seeing it for a long time after, if at all. I kinda think of it as a Dedan situation. Hank is in the same boat, but even if he does see it, he doesn't comment on it. Batter could look like anything, and Hank doesn't care. Hank will only prove: he is better in every way-- especially in the threatening department.

San and Dei are grouped with Phobos, seeing the flickers. They can't explain it neither, just that SOMETIMES it's there. Asking the Player doesn't help much, since the response to seeing the weirdness is "oh yeah, it's fine," or "he's always been like that." They slightly relax at this, but will subtly pull the Player away from Batter when the flickering gets more active. It just puts them on edge.

2B isn't around Batter often to see it, what with frequently staying behind at the base and not wanting to interact more than necessary. He tries to scrutinize Batter for the anomalies in-person and via footage, after being warned by San and Dei. There is something off(//shot) … but 2B begrudgingly hasn't acquired concrete proof. It's a bit of a blow to the individual whose specialties relate to intel and observation.

Jebus sees it, and he's in the same situation as the Player in being able to actually control how he perceives Batter. Jebus doesn't really have a preference how Batter appears, as long as Batter continues to prioritize "protecting the player" above all. (Well, maybe the normal side... Jebus doesn't like imagining that THING hovering around the Player when he's not around.)

Tricky definitely sees it and screams "DUCK!1!1!! :D." Enough said. Lmao.

That's it for now. I just wanted to get this out there. I have the urges to draw so much of this. >8O

"ayo, it's frog anon! speaking about bad batter, how'd the main 4 react to him? cause i think if they knew the guy can look like a giant monstrous lizard, they'd hold it over his head constantly about how the player would react so negatively and hate him once they found out that their "favorite" puppet was a monster capable of hurting them. that is until the player either goes "ah, lizard monster, very cool :]" or "yeah i knew, still think he's neat though" giving the batter more to gloat with" - Frog Anon 🐸

Both of these asks are pretty similar, so I decided to group them together, hope you guys don't mind! 😅 Also, I checked and it seems Spectre Anon isn't taken so you're good on that haha. :)

So for how the other grunts would react to The Batter's more monstrous form, I think that Spectre Anon is right in who would be more concerned about this situation. Beginning with Hank, he wouldn't really care about what form the Batter takes or why. His main focus is on how to make it known that he's better than your puppet in every way possible, not what his competition's appearance is. It doesn't matter if they're humanoid or monstrous, if they want your attention he's going to treat them as a threat either way. Plus, Hank has great faith in your intelligence; if you'd been controlling the Batter for so long, why the hell wouldn't you know about this other form of his? He just assumes you're aware of it and continues with his efforts for your favor.

(Under a cut again because wow there's a lot of characters here)

Sanford, Deimos, and Doc see it differently though. For the former, it worries them at first. Nevada's not exactly new to weird elements like this, but for one of your companions from another world, it's concerning. There was no explanation for the monster that they saw in the place of the Batter in those rare moments, and the fact that the flickers happened so rarely made them think he was intentionally trying to hide this side from you. It made them more protective, and they tried to separate you from him more often. When they managed to do that, Deimos would definitely be the one to make little jabs at the Batter for his appearance. Trying to sew the seeds of doubt in his mind about how rational it would be for someone like you to want to be with him, perhaps even threatening to "reveal" this supposed secret of his. Sanford does the same in a way, but he hints at how disdainful your puppets "dishonesty" is, as if he were able to turn into a weird crocodilian thing it'd be one of the first things he told you. (Surprisingly enough, Hank also joins in on some of this but he doesn't leverage anything about your approval in it, it's literally just insults lol.)

Although it frustrates them greatly when the Batter has no reaction to their taunts or suspicion. Honestly, he doesn't care about their opinions; he has you already so what's the point in listening? It's not like those impure beings know him anyway, and the only person whose input actually matters to him is you. Deimos and Sanford wonder why it has no effect, but the answer would come after they finally managed to pry him from your side just long enough to tell you about his strange form. But instead of being surprised (or scared, for that matter) you're just like "oh, you see him that way sometimes? That's interesting. Kinda cool, isn't it?"

(And despite your nonchalant reaction, it actually is kind of intriguing that they see the Batter's "Bad Batter" form. Because that only happens if you see the Batter as something of an enemy. The Batter always looks like himself either way, but the only time you saw this other viewpoint of him was with the Judge's ending so you know something's going on. It seems the boys disliked him more than you thought.)

2B's suspicion of your puppet only increases with the form. He's not around you and the Batter enough to tell for certain what's going on, and his own attempts and investigation fell flat. While he'd loathe asking the others for help on matters concerning you (since they usually get defensive or suspicious of what he's planning on doing), he'll have to do so here, which irks him. But once he finds out that he wasn't just imagining things and that there really is something off (ahaha) with the Batter, it just makes him more wary.

To Doc, it doesn't matter if you're aware of its existence, just the fact that he has the capability of becoming that thing is unnerving. Surely something of that stature would have its own instincts and impulses? What if the Batter lacked his usual self-restraint with you around? What if he hurt you? It'd be easy to do with teeth like that, and even easier to overpower you if you resisted. Your safety is Doc's first priority, so he'll try to work with San and Dei to separate you as much as possible when these "flickers" start happening more often. Though he can't stop his lip from curling in disgust when he sees it. How weren't you even the slightest bit unsettled?

Moving on to Jeb and the Employers, Jeb's in a similar boat to Hank in not really caring about what form the Batter takes. However, he has a bit more control over how he sees him. Unlike the main four, Jeb feels less animosity towards your puppet, something that's reciprocated (a little, but still). This means that the flickers happen very rarely, so much so that he didn't even really notice the Batter could look different until you actually mentioned it. But any reservations he has against your puppet are removed by your reassurance, so he doesn't have much of an opinion. (At least not openly.)

The Employers also don't care, but they aren't given the chance to because of their own dismissal of the Batter as a legitimate threat to them. He's annoying; a mere pest to be rid of, but he isn't worth consideration beyond that. As such, he was never a monster to them. Besides, the Auditor is the embodiment of a "portal to hell", and all of them could be considered monsters in their own right, so it'd be hypocritical for them to think that anyway. Then again, it's not like they cared about that in matters concerning you anyway haha.

Finally, Tricky would probably just agree with whatever your interpretation is, and his opinion on threats to your love is generally the same across the board. Essentially, he'd think the Batter's form is cool because hey, big strong things with sharp teeth are fun to fight! And he is going to try to fight the Batter because that's what he does with all of his rivals. He's not really worried about the Batter's other form because he plans on getting rid of him either way, Ducky or no. (And yes, he would totally yell something like that the moment he sees him lol).

[hoediaz]

"honestly eddie's so single-minded sometimes that i really don't think he'll...consider lucy so much as he considers lucy's impact on buck" woah that observation jumped out and hit me in the face. I could never properly articulate Eddie's single mindedness before, especially with him reducing his world to the few people he really cares about. Because it's so true. I don't see him caring about Lucy as a person much at all (unless they become long term teammates). But her impact on Buck?

yes! the thing is eddie is SO compassionate and he DOES care about every single person he comes across, there's no arguing around that. he even cares about people who don't deserve it, he's endlessly sympathetic. but there's a difference between caring about people and seeing them as they are. bc even with mitchell and the mom from 4x13 i'm blanking on, his sympathy for them was tied up in his own image of himself and the fact he's like. just such a good person. but it's not really about them. even as he's playing nice with taylor, even though i'm 100% sure if for whatever reason he ended up in some scenario where taylor was upset or hurt in front of him he would be Eddie about it (kind, compassionate, etc), i don't think he's ever considered who taylor is as an individual outside of her impact on buck bc she just. doesn't matter to him, not like buck does. in the context of the job, of course he would have lucy's back, of course he would care about her if she was upset or whatever, it's eddie. but she's not family (at least not yet question mark), buck is, and the only thing that rivals eddie's compassion is his loyalty.

actually and you know what it's kinda interesting that we've seen eddie be sympathetic and understanding of objectively bad people (again mitchell and the mom), and the only time we haven't seen eddie be Like That is taylor (pls his comment about the crash in dosed...king wtf). the fact that in the same episode we seen eddie being exceptionally kind and friendly with linda and may we also see him Like That with taylor at the dinner...it's interesting but anyway yeah long answer short eddie's single-minded about the people he loves, he Cares about all people at all times, but he doesn't See them, not when they pose some kind of threat to His People

[rosarrie]

Hey I know you probably get this a lot but how did you get into making music? I’ve always wanted to make music but I don’t know how to play any instruments. it’s overwhelming and I’m not sure who to reach out to.

i have actually never gotten this question and i would LOVE to give u some tips!!!

I have been singing since I was rlly rlly young, I would print off lyrics to my favourite songs and just spend all day singing them in my room, and I'd sing while my dad played guitar when I was little, but I didn't get serious about music until I was around 18??

Being surrounded by like-minded people who also were passionate about music really helped me to take it seriously! So I'd definitely recommend looking for communities of musicians. Soundcloud, discord, twitter, insta, they're out there!!! u just gotta look, engage with people whose music you admire and start conversations, look for discord groups to join all that jazz.

I also believe you need to have fun FIRST AND FOREMOST in order to get good at anything, otherwise what are you doing it for?? Don't worry about getting good, just worry about enjoying the process and ALWAYS acknowledge ur small achievements (like learning ur favourite songs) and eventually you'll get better over time!

Honestly, I barely know any instruments myself, I learnt guitar and have forgotten every chord, and I barely play ukuele, I just use it to write songs and record demos lol. To give actual examples of learning to sing while having it be fun, I would make my own english vocaloid versions as a kid and sing them, I'd also download karaokes and make little recordings of myself to them in audacity (I use to be so proud of them and would show my parents LOL) just keep it fun!

ackowledge every achievement, find people that inspire you, and remind yourself that the process itself is meant to be enjoyable!!

[vasiktomis]

random john seed headcannonz to make me emotional go

Not exactly headcanons plural and more just A Take, but I personally get upset over the potential for John’s weird strange fucked up ways of letting people get close to him and how he uses Cleansing, Confession, and Atonement as a means of establishing bonds with his followers. Very likely by no means the first person to HC this, but it’s the little things that make me emotionally over him.

John’s put hundreds of people through the Atonement process, but everyone who survives his recruitment has his sincere trust from the moment they are atoned. He remembers every face and every name, and takes time to interact with his followers when they cross his path despite being so busy he hardly sleeps in his own house.

There’s a degree of poignancy in putting someone through the same trials he’s experienced, and I think that beyond the religious aspects of Atonement (which there are many), John has come to lean on this system as a gauge for knowing who he can surround himself with. In harming others, he’s also extending an invitation for them to empathise with treatment he’s been subjected to. It’s an opportunity for transparency on his part.

Because he personally puts his followers through the process, he either 1) gets to enjoy torturing a wayward sinner who resists him until they die (good for Urges™), or 2) gets to establish a fairly profound degree of camaraderie with someone capable of being cracked open in every sense, yet who is still willing to pledge their loyalty to the Father (by extension, to John). No matter which way the scales tip, the result reinforces his faith that what he’s doing works.

Because he’s seen into the minds of every one of his followers in Holland Valley, and because every one of them has endured the trials he’s put them through, he knows that he’s truly surrounded by people who are like him, and who genuinely appreciate the ugliest side of him.

This is part of why he gets so frustrated when it comes to the Deputy imo, because he’s sort of forced to put them through the same mock-process and allow them to live, when his system isn’t designed that way. To John, allowing the Deputy to slip through the cracks and bypass his personal screening process is equivalent to letting the snake into the garden. It spits in the face of what he’s come to rely on to ensure he feels safe around other people. This makes him feel incredibly vulnerable, and destabilises his relationship with Joseph, who has otherwise been enabling this practice for however many years. By extension, his relationship with the rest of the family is put under strain. His faith suffers similarly.

Also why some of his audio clips depict him acting sincerely upset over his allies being killed. He’s put genuine stock into this group of hand-picked people outlasting the apocalypse with him. In his narcissistic little brain, it’s like losing real family members/extensions of himself.

TL;DR John Seed has such strong confirmation bias and such a need to feel like a special little guy that the whole Atonement thing has become a lot less about god and functions essentially as his personal Bestie Test

[yjwhatif]

i can see Dick and everyone not really thinking about Lor or what happened to him or theorizing that Bart could be in SERIOUS danger because while yes, they do care about Bart, Conner has been their best friend for ten years. they've spent months thinking he was dead and now he might not be. after all the losses, they might be able to get HIM back. i can understand why they're more focused on that and leave the Bart situation at "we can trust him to handle himself" even when they probs shouldn't

I totally agree anon, it’s definitely understandable - whether they overlooked information or not, Dicks reasoning for choosing Conner over Bart was very valid - it’s a difficult situation and I do think he showed an appropriate level of objectivity to justify the decision he made. Conner was literally asking for help - that was the path they had to follow.

Though, I do think Zatanna has a bit of a habit of overlooking others when she fixes her focus on something/someone that means a lot to her. We saw it in her arc where there were multiple moments when her fathers well-being came before her students (something I started writing about but I don’t think I ever actually finished - part one’s on here somewhere)… My point being, as soon as they link Bart’s mystery friends to Conner, we never see Zatanna mention Bart again - her focus return’s to being completely set on Conner. Therefore she only looks as far as the answers regarding Conner and overlooks any which could suggest Bart’s not as dismissible in all this as they are willing to believe. Once they have that solid lead on Conner - that’s it - Bart becomes an afterthought. (Oh, and I just wanna clarify that this isn’t me hating on zatanna in any way - it’s just an observation I’ve picked up on with her character throughout the series that I thinks interesting.)

The only person to bring him up unprompted is Artemis - which either speaks to her having more of a connection to Bart than the others or simply that she’s just better at not letting her emotional investment in something/one sway her focus/judgment… of all the OGs who have taken on leadership responsibilities, I think Artemis has proven to be the strongest, with her ability to remain objective without losing touch with her reasonability or empathy… but that’s a whole other post that I will probably never get round to doing - or at least not until after we finish the season anyway.

Obviously all this is just my personal perspective on thing and any other interpretations are completely valid - this whole situation is just so interesting to me and I really wanna see what the outcome is of them discovering what Bart has been through. Also I want to finally get an answer on whether they told anyone about the information they gathered on Bart - because fair enough, if they want to follow the Conner side of things, that’s fine - he means a lot to them - but I will no longer accept them doing that and NOT passing on the Bart information to those who may still want to continue looking for him. There are people who care just as much about Bart as they do about Conner, and I don’t think it’s fair for Dick to be the one who makes the decision on who knows what regarding him - he needs to let (at the very least) the outsiders decide whether they want to trust Bart’s judgment or continue the search for him… OR, failing that, tell big boss black lightning, who I think technically oversees everyone and let him be the judge on who gets to know. That would be the reasonable thing to do.

And on that note, I’m gonna call quits before this gets any longer (oops 😬)

Thanks for your message anon!

LB

[oliveroctavius]

Which spider-man/marvel characters do you love to hate or just plain LOATHE in general?

Mostly stickin' with early comic Spidey, as what I know best. On a scale of love to loathe:

Peter Parker - a terrible friend and insufferable human being. But you can't hate him more than the world already does because karma is real (but only bad karma) (and only for him). No matter what he deserves, he'll always get worse while trying to become better.

JJJ (early silver age) - Yeah, yeah, secret heart of gold and all, but I love when he's just a clueless selfish capitalist who causes problems via shortsightedness then sits pouting in the mess he's made, baffled that his heart of gold didn't prevent this.

That nazi scientist who got himself eaten by a swarm of killer bees and is just an evil swarm of bees now - self explanatory.

Kingpin (bronze age and USM)/Tombstone (TSSM) - I'm cool with villain-wins nihilism when it's making a point about the futility of individual action against institutional evil.

Roxxon Corporation - see above except they're not even a person who can be sexy about it.

Bart Hamilton, Dr. Faustus, Dr. Kafka (TASM2) - I wish all predatory psychiatrists a very Get Punched In the Face By Spider-Man.

Norman Osborn - via fruitcakegoblin: "Hating Norman used to be a fun "oh you!" sort of thing because he was written to be hateable but now that Marvel's been woobifying him he just genuinely makes me mad." It's fun when readers, writers, and characters all agree on how much he sucks though. Which they usually do. Norman has a unique talent for making everyone in radius want to throttle him.

and in our top spot: Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal.

YOU. Cloning doesn't WORK LIKE THAT and I refuse to suspend disbelief because screw you. I hate the skeevy predatory overtones to the Gwen fixation. Horrible cowardly gene-obsessed copycat creepazoid buck-naked green goblin knockoff bastard. Your villain persona doesn't even look like a jackal and you should feel bad.

[atlasshrugd]

im sooo happy we got a filler fluffy episode, like episodes 4 to 7 were so fucking intense and it looks like things will get worse they needed to let us breathe for a while lmao

tbh me too. i get people’s problems with this ep but i guess i am just so starved of affection that it felt so nice to not have anything big going on. like it felt like i was experiencing all that joy and contentment through them. it felt especially deserved bc kp have gone through a lot together, bc of each other, and in spite of each other. so the fact that we could get them fooling around as horny sappy boyfriends experiencing new things together was like a balm over my wound. there are logistical problems w this episode that take ppl out of it but i honestly just want to ignore it bc nothing can take happy kp away from me. and i also think the sweeter the fluff the more devastating the angst will be, which is always a plus. higher highs and lower lows amiright. idk i guess i just like seeing these two jaded and traumatised individuals find peace and a home within in each other, and having a few brief moments of solace before shit hits the fan (as it always will in the mafia world). people lately have been saying ‘bring back filler episodes!’ bc they prefer to see characters dynamics more than actual packed-in plot, which I also agree with. so I think this episode did what it set out to do. lulled us into a false sense of security but gave us a glimpse of what could be. idk I just have a lot of feelings

[pencilscratchins]

Why is Ken Burns your nemesis? Also, I love your art and commentary so much

pbs affiliate ken burns stole a gingerale from me in 2015 and he will pay for that in hell

[ninjnerd-anaklusmos]

What do you think of Satan and Belphie's dynamic?

Heya!

Okay, wow. I love them together honestly. The chaos they create by being the youngest of the family fuels me in ways words struggle to explain accurately. I love how they are both gremlins together, but that they also have the smarts to back up there nonsensical pranks.

They also have a close bond, I feel like Belphie tries to look out for Satan, because he is technically the youngest. Satan also looks out for Belphie, because that's who he is, he loves his family as much as he won't ever admit it to Lucifer. They also have shared interests (*cough*pranking Luci*cough*) and really don't have to hold a conversation to hang out with each other.

In summary, they have youngest sibling energy and are wonderful together! (Poor Lucifer, all his coffee is poisoned.) I think I'd rate it around 7/10, definitely good interactions, but not my fave pair of bros together.

[zilodak]

What's your opinion about Daud with freckles? I think that might be cute 😊😊 (btw I love your art, it feels so alive)

Yes

[tutuandscoot]

Hey, you seem to be one of the few sane vm fans left, so i wanted to talk to you about something. I also believe the two of them aren't romantically involved and quite possibly never even were. I have a feeling that the reason why they don't do public collaborations and in general distanced themselves is bc the fans were so crazy. The only way they could have a normal life was to separate themselves so people would leave them alone. So people who so desperately wanted them together actually contributed to them distancing themselves from each other (at least publicly). I don't know why people think they hate each other now or don't talk at all. I think it would be smart of them to keep their interactions private since people can't behave themselves. I 100% believe they are still friends but prefer to keep it quiet so they can lead their lives without constant whispers and everyone analyzing them for the slightest clue they are together. I look at old blogs from 2018 and i cringe so badly, i cannot image how awful it was for them to see all that crazy. To have a wonderful relationship questioned at every turn and to feel like they can't be themselves because someone will interpret it a different way. It makes me sad, we kinda brought this upon ourselves. They felt the need to distance themselves because there was no other way for them to have a normal life. If they toured today people would still talk about their relationship and trash morgan and jackie. It is maddening. Sorry, this was kinda a rant, but i had to get it off my chest.

OMGGG Anon you have no idea how much I agree with this!!!!! This is so ridiculously on point and tbh I was actually thinking similar things the other day. Also… I LOVE RANTS so you’re rants are welcome here. Now settle in for one of mine ✌️

So firstly- while I wasn’t on blogs/Twitter any of that before like November last year- and in 2018/19 my extent of following VM was just following them on Insta. Basically everyday I’m so glad I have a blog about them NOW rather than 4 years ago coz I would not be able to handle it. I’m so sensitive and feel a lot about the people I admire (not just VM, others too: dancers, mentors, etc) and I would not be able to handle the hate- much like you even now with the small samplings it makes me sad. I have an VM Insta page as well and the other day someone just decided to drop into my DM’s and say ‘how could they have broken each other’s hearts’ and it made me so angry. I just deleted the msg coz I wasn’t gonna waste my time. 🙄

I 100% believe they were never romantically involved. I’ll do my best not to lay out all my points in another 5000 word essay but essentially what I see that others may constitute as ‘too lovey, familiar, comfortable with each other, etc..’ I put down to two things.

1. They are dancers. I’m a dancer and I’ve had to do similar stuff to what they do some programs (carmen, MR) with people I’ve just met, let alone known for 20years or was romantically involved with.

2. They are very very close friends who were by each other’s side for 22 years. They’ve been through everything together. They are so comfortable with each other. They love each other, they care about each other, but they can also be silly together and tease each other like best friends do. They themselves say they are each other’s family. Each other’s parents, siblings are as much their’s as their own.

But especially what people would freak out about during and post-PYC, the TTYCT and RTR, (according to some of the more toxic blogs) is they are mature adults who are obviously very secure in their sexuality. They know how to control themselves but are also very aware of their physicality and interactions together. And honestly, I think they are attracted to each other- they just don’t want to fuck each other. This along with the fact they had been partners for over 20 years. I think that’s the main thing people would forget when they blatantly objectified them: that VM don’t know any different. Being so close is all they know and if they were to have that taken away from them- not by their own choosing I think would utterly crush them. [The way they have managed it so well and are so at peace with it is because retiring was their decision and they did it exactly how they wanted] That’s how they show and express their love and after 20 + years of being under the microscope and so heavily scrutinised by judges, coaches, audiences and internet trolls, they become each other’s safe place. For ex: all the hugs/cuddles at the end of MR:

The soft face caressing and almost kisses (chore or otherwise):

Lovingly staring into each other’s eyes during interviews, endless complements for each other:

X X

That’s not them being romantic. That’s literally them being in their safe space. The figure skating world is harsh enough, let alone add on all the internet a**holes trolling coz they have nothing better to do with their lives. Those cuddles and caresses and looking into each other’s eyes is like home for them. I was thinking earlier how when they take their bows + leave the ice (more during shows but I guess also competitively) they almost always very quickly retreat back into each other. I don’t get the vibe they are overly comfortable under the spotlight (literally the rink lights but I guess also just in the public eye). They love performing, acting, dancing, skating and telling a story together, but I don’t think they crave that audience appreciation. Some performers do, which is fine. But they don’t. They do it for each other. So when a program ends and they cuddle/kiss/hold each other close, squeeze hands and tap tushies, etc, they are just being grateful for each other and probably do it as a comping mechanism for the screams and cheers and the odd feelings that causes. It’s like they say- they could not cope with being singles skaters. The only reason the do what they do is each other, and because they only feel safe in those uncomfortable environments because they have each other.

Now I’m not a therapist/psychologist, whatever, and I’m not trying to implying that people are dumb, but why is it so hard to accept that that closeness and affection is something more special and even more intimate than being romantically involved?? Maybe, as rare as it is, it’s something even more special that should be admired instead of criticised and probed at endlessly.

I truly don’t get the obsession with making up fake relationships between real people on the internet, I don’t get the point of it, especially when I’m the case of VM in ended in “heartbreak” and anger for the people “shipping them”. What is the benefit of making up and spreading shit about people you don’t even know? How low is that. Why are people so obsessed with people they don’t even know having sex they feel the need to bully people about it? That’s so fucked up to me.

I think it definitely contributed to them becoming more private. I also I think as they prepared for retirement it was a natural evolution. I pray they don’t know the extent of some of the trash online about them- I don’t even know the worst of it and I never want to coz like I said- it really upsets me. I think about that short video of them answering Twitter questions and one of them was ‘what’s the craziest rumour about you’ and the way which Scott says ‘there’s some nasty stuff out there’ in retrospect, breaks my heart, coz there’s stuff that he knows that he considers nasty. And that’s probably not even the worst if it.

They did not/do not deserve any of that. What did they do to deserve this? I hate when people say “it’s their fault, they bring it on themselves”. And while I don’t think everyone commenting that meant it literally- it’s was just more hyperbole, my limited knowledge of the extent of the toxic nature this place used to be says there were people who meant it- and used it as permission to objectify them.

As much as I often comment things like ‘omg just let me live’, I’m not thinking of it in terms of their ‘romantic relationship’ I just mean they are incredible performers, artists, and their partnership/existence together is so beautiful it makes my heart beat faster. And they are so brave for being who they are, with each other despite all the trash talkers.

So yes anon. I think you are very on point in that it contributed to them distancing themselves publicly. And I fucking hate that that’s a possibility. I don’t think it would ever, ever affect their feelings for each other tho. If anything, I think they would mutually feel that it was for each other’s wellbeing and safety, that they didn’t want each other to be affected by any trash.

And after everything they’ve been through, I think they are truly relishing in figuring out their friendship not only removed from skating, but from the public eye. I think that’s something they always looked forward to figuring out and exploring together. They are courageous, brave and creative people who aren’t afraid of new challenges, and while in the physical respect they aren’t as close as they use to be, I think in other ways they are learning to be even closer, and/or understand each other better. And that’s amazing after 22+ years of skating together, 25 + years knowing each other, that there is still more they get to learn about each other, and they aren’t sick of knowing each other. That’s amazing. I could not have more respect for them if I tried.

Something I had talked about recently/while ago, wtevr, was can people not comprehend that T&S know better than anyone in the world where they stand in terms of their feelings for each other. After that long together do people really have the audacity to think they can tell T&S how they actually feel about each other, that they know more, understand more about what T&S have been through. And that T&S deciding to be with other people romantically spits in the face of what everyone thinks is true love.. and them deciding to be with other people means point blank that they hate each other??? WTAF???

Scott committed to Tessa the day of their first competition when he fucked up the steps and she stayed with him. As long as Tessa wanted to do this with him, he would be by her side. He would not be the one to let this incredibly special girl down. Tessa gave up the national ballet school for Scott at just 9 years old because she had committed to him, and she would not break that commitment and because she was already starting to feel a special connection with him that the idea of dancing with one partner and creating these stories together appealed to her more than a ballet career. He stayed with her through her injuries, she helped him through the hard times leading up to Sochi, and they returned to competition TO BE WITH EACH OTHER. How do you just reject and forget all of that as soon as you stop spending every day together. So I don’t know if these online trolls are really that dumb, or just enjoy contributing to the destruction of perfectly stable relationships coz it’s fun.

They may not be able to find the words to define their relationship, but they know what it means to them, and they know it’s one of the most important things in their lives and they will always have each other. There’s no way in the world everything they have experienced together can be undone. And I hate that people can’t just accept that the famous people they wish had some perfect, typical love story don’t, and what T&S have, as unusual as it is, is not only better, but it’s what Tessa and Scott want. And if you claim to ‘love’ them, to be a ‘fan’ of them, you should genuinely care about them and want them to be happy, even if it’s not want you think is perfect for them- how would you know.

Hope this satisfied your feels anon ❤️❤️

*most of these gifs aren’t mine-full credit to owners

[bolly--quinn]

RE: Rick and Morty. What sort of things are people saying where you think they're watching a different show?

Oh! Just like the usual stuff like misunderstanding Rick's character and nihilistic attitude as a positive (he actually cares a lot) or on the opposite side excusing most of his awful behavior just because of his backstory (obviously it's tragic I guess but it's not an excuse to be awful to people around him). And I think just most of it is when people complain about the rest of the family being "awful" but ignoring the exact same traits in Rick or preferring it ?? (especially towards Beth and Summer tbh, like obviously you can prefer one character to another but the double standard of vilifying one character for doing pretty much the same things as another that gets special treatment in the fandom is a little ????) like it rubs me the wrong way because the whole family is pretty awful but that's kinda the point ?? But some parts of the fandom treat certain characters like they're the worst for no real reason other than the fact that they aren't Rick ???

[hoediaz]

Hello I wanted to ask you something because I've been struggling a bit with this fandom lately, and I really admire you and appreciate your insight. I've been noticing a lot of post 5A fics where Eddie has to apologize, Eddie is hurting Buck, Eddie is the villain because of his decision, and I don't understand? I get that Eddie has made some poor decisions because he feels like he has no other choice/feels like he can't ask for help, and I acknowledge that Buck has every right to be hurt and upset as his best friend/partner, but there are a lot of fics where Buck freezes Eddie out and it's written that Eddie deserves it...and I just feel like maybe I'm missing something. Eddie needs help and aside from how he went about some things, I don't get why he would need to apologize for that?

omg hi well first of all i am just a silly lil lad (gnc) so i'm sure someone else has already said this Better than i have BUT i agree that there have been some interpretations of eddie's decision to leave the 118 that are...less nuanced or that kind of set eddie up as the villain and buck as the Victim and while it is No Where near as bad as the Lawsuit Arc Era™ it's definitely Present bc there is the impulse in some corners of the fandom to prop buck up as the hapless victim which...i think people know my opinion on that alkfms if it's ur thing....sure it is just Not Mine <3

i think that what's really interesting about s5 so far is that buck and eddie's conflict IS so nuanced -- they are both at fault and neither of them are at fault at the same time. they've gone through this massive trauma together and now they just don't know how to handle it so they're avoiding it altogether. and there's a lot of reasons for buck to be upset! i'm not saying buck Shouldn't be, bc of course buck is a really emotional guy! only that it's no One person's fault. buck and eddie are Both avoiding the elephant(s) in the room, they are Both falling back on bad habits (buck clinging onto the wrong kind of intimacy; eddie making Big Decisions without consulting others). right now they're hurting Each Other and Themselves completely unintentionally. and i think it could really go either way: both buck And eddie icing each other out, or both buck And eddie holding on extra tight, and i guess we'll just have to see which one it is! but in terms of fic i've read both versions done really well, as long as there is that nuance! no one is the bad guy here, except maybe for all of their compounded traumas afmsl

i think where some interpretations go wrong (to me!!!) is when buck is written in a way that he doesn't understand eddie's choice, or when buck (or the narrator) explicitly thinks eddie is The Bad Guy. because the cornerstone of buddie is that they understand each other! it's bc they understand each other so well that they Can't talk about anything real this season. so yes, buck can be hurt, buck can be really hurt by eddie leaving in the aftermath of madney and everything else, but not without compassion and understanding for eddie. and that's what's so interesting! is that buck loves chris too! buck might not have made the same choice as eddie, but if there's anyone who understands why eddie made the choice he did, it's buck. even if it hurts.

so i guess they both "need" to apologize -- not because either of them is in the wrong, but because buck and eddie have both gone through a horrible no good time and they haven't heard a lot of apologies that they probably deserved to (from shannon, from abby, from their parents, etc) and a pattern they've already established in s3 is that they DO have apologies for each other, even if they're not "needed." but yeah, overall: it's complicated! it's nuanced! fandom is not always very good at nuance (and sometimes they really really are)!