#thebirdrambles

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so you know the lazurus pit rage? the annoyingly pervasive head-cannon.

i have a shot in the dark at one of the reasons.

people think bucky barnes return as the winter solider and jasons return as the red hood are similar.

now arnt they? no they are not. on the surface and at the bare bones maybe, dead sidekick returns and is antagonistic. and the idenitity being revealed.

like thats it. bucky barnes was brainwashed by the soviets and then red skull, once he was removed of the brainwashing, he was a solid ally. jason todd was trained by a force classically “opposed“ to batman, but was not brainwashed or even manipulated.

and also key: bucky barnes did not pose an ideological opposition to steve, no in the way jason did, bucky “came back wrong” as in he was brainwashed into a perversion of who he was, and used as a tool of the people he fought.

jason came back wrong as in, his death solidified the idea of brutal justice/the broken nature of the justice system,

they are both tragedys, but bucky comes back. scared, changed, but he goes back to the belifes he once held.

the tragedy is that jason cannot go back both him and bruce are changed by his death. they cannot go back to versions of themself who can love each other. and that is the tragedy.

so making it so Jason is out of control and can be fixed with hugs?? goes against that. it robs it of the tragedy, and the integrity of the characters. one of them will have to bend, to change, but they cannot, the story cant stay intact, so one of them ends up, off, weird.

jasons return is about the tragedy of trauma, and how it can change people, change them so much they can no longer love each other, how they had to become different people to deal with the trauma. and those people are strangers, haunted by who they once were to each other.

and thats a story i find fascinating.

not to mention that jasons boundrys are often trampled “for his own good” by bruce and the family, to get him back. congrats thats the worst possible thing to do. its still an allegory for trauma, but now its about how you should roll over and accept what happened to you and go back to who you once were to please your family, how you should kill the person who survived, to become the person before. ive read plenty of jason joins the family again fics. but these days? they sound like horror storys.they sound like nightmares.

but the mcu is pretty pervasive, and the comic storys pretty famous. so its easy to conflate the two under “dead sidekick who came back wrong”

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you know what yall get my discord rant about the yassified constantine ya thing. [<-is edits->]

I'm just speechless[spoiler: i find my voice p quick] on the whole yasstantine ya thing and by speechless I mean disappointed to the bone and very close to cussing the house down. Also the story is so shite? like he has a mum and is part of a magical lineage but in a weird not John way? Like there's a good post about how two panels show the massive difference between the two. Also? How can u wright John Constantine without his mum dying as he was born? Like it affects sooo mutch. It's like rebooting Spiderman and not killing uncle Ben. It's the catalyst of all catalysts.

Also I'm not saying John ain't pretty when he's young, because he's decent looking in the first hellblazers, but he's scruffy there, also he's[yasstantine] a poser. Like John ain't a poser. Idk how to explain it but making John pretty and airbrushed and ticktoc alt is fundamentaly opposed to who the actual charecter is. Like they look at all the reasons ppl like him and changed them. John is a queer northern man who had dealt massively with childhood trauma and abuse as well as poverty, and stripping him of that is something I wish I could be surprised about DC doing but given how DC are already trying to downplay and flatten him

(don't get me started on the king shark thing or the flirting w batman. John may not have self respect but he does have a burning hatred for the rich and batman is not an exeption and the "oh John's such a slut he even fuked a shark" fuck off.) Ok speechless was a lie ^ pissed of queer and punk Londoner who has to many opinions on John Constantine and to many fights they want to pick with dc.

John is an inherently political charecter and that's where he is best. And you can't strip him of his context as a British punk queer man who lived through the aids crisis and Thatcher and the coalminers strikes and section 28. But DC want to strip him of his politics and so put him in America. No! John's story is important and speaks of things the government want to ignore. Issue 3 of hellblazers cover was taking the piss out of Thatcher. Hellblazer isent just a comic its a comic that calls out the bull going on in the world, and sits you down and forces you to empathize with people, and to show how bigots are pathetic. I read hellblazer and I can point to the things my parents have told me about, and more. Hellblazer is political, hellblazer is important and hellblazer tells me my history. Hellblazer is about people that I could know, and the horrors I have to face. Idk how to say it but hellbazer and John Constantine are so important to me in a world where most English language media is American. Where you learn all about America. And we have alot less media telling it how it is. England has a massive issue with putting old horrors under the rug.

And it's hard to explain to some people that didn't grow up with the horrors, or there parents didn't warn them if the horrors they lived thru, about the council estates, about section 28, about the privatisation of the verge, about all the British issues shoved under the bloody carpet. I read hellblazer and it tells me that these horrors do exist, the wounds that scar us still do exist, but people survive and people are good. [note- by horrors i mean the real life horrors, that are either played straight or allgorised]

Also from a story point of view, disregarding context, disregarding charecter, John's story is so fuking British. "The Americans want someone to succeed where they haven't, the English want someone to fail where they have," is a p good summary of the difference between the two countries media [i am heavily generalizing the common trends of american vs british media please dont @ me w outliers] We [brits] like watching someone else go through the shitter like us, to show that were not alone. We don't get happy ending. We know. We like morally complex arseholes who make bad choices. We don't want superman. We want our gritty hope that we may not be happy, but we can make choices that matter. We want to see people like us suffer and be absolved and be punished. We want the truth that is glossed over. We want to know that life sucks, and we take delight in watching other people go through the shit we do. Witch is why u need a British writer, not just because of knowledge of the context, but because the story is fundamentally different to American stories.

… ok I have alot more feellings and opinions on that than I thought

Tldr I hate it but it's inline w DC's attempts to de politicize John and in doing so showing they fundamentally don't understand the character and why people like him, and then ruin him in an attempt to make him "popular" when at the core of his character he is at his best when he isent popular with everyone [john is a character that should piss large groups of people off, and hellblazer is a comic that should make large amounts of people uncomfortable, but dc want to remove the discomfort, and defang the comic and character, selling out john. no the irony isent lost on me]

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some thoughts on the original authority run, queercoding and midpollo, tad disjointed

The authority is an action comic. Dialogue is sharp and bitchy, you have to look further than what their saying, Apollo and Midnighters sheer common proximity, if their not speaking their probably standing next to each other should speak for themselves.

Some people consider issue 8 of the authority to be the canonization of their relationship, Apollo's kiss on Midnighters cheek, after an argument over whether Apollo can recharge in time not to die, is where you finally cannot say "their just guy friends" it's a powerful few pages, and mirrors a common trope if relationships, the "don't do this you will die/ i'll manage love, have faith" Additionaly a few pages prior, Midnighter is cradling an unconscious Apollo, eyes closed, the most calm and at peace he gets.

If that isent enough, they embrace at the end of the issue, and jack promptly tells them to "get a room", they still hold hands while side hugging.

The subtext is heavy even before this, even in the 3 issues in stormwatch where they debut.

Modern readers, now cynical of queer baiting, may accuse the authority of such, but it's made clear that although they didn't get to kiss each other on the lips, they are a couple. This is reinforced by usage of common romance tropes, as said above, as well as sheer constant physical proximity. Midnighter and Apollos relationship in the authority is queer codeing, very heavy queer codeing.

Several charecters make jokes hinting at it, and they are pleasantly respectful, oh their not nice, but this is the authority.

Examples are: "get a room, you two" "who wants to be Bert and who wants to be ernie" "and where's the dynamic duo" "you see that? The Midnighter actually spoke to someone who wasent Apollo or you" "I don't know what you see in him. I really don't"

Not to mention their own dialogue, the epitome of bickering married couple "Shut up you wine like an old woman" "he never ceases to amaze me. Or irritate me"

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ok so im making this post of mine about losing home = losing innocence/trust in the home about Jason.

so jason lost his innocence and trust in home very young, but he refound it with bruce- he cant go back to cathrine and Willis before the violence and drugs, but he rebiult home with bruce- jason refound his innocence. but, he started quesioning bruce and batman, and then he ran off to find his mother

so jason lost home, and then found it, so he could have thought that he could rebuild again with his bio mother as the cracks were getting dangerously big in his current home(w bruce)

but jason dies, and when he returns- the home is a house, it has changed (everything has changed) bruce is no longer his dad, the house is no longer his home (literally, the house was damaged in the earthquake and partial rebuilt im p sure)

so everything is different, and he cant go home.

bruce wants jason to go back home, but by bruce wanting jason to go back to thinking of the manor as home, that means he wants for jason to regain the innocence, bruce is rejecting jasons loss of innocence, and rejecting who he became.

bruce thinks that jason can regain his innocence(like he did when first at the manor) but thats also why he lost jason, jason shoving down everything lead to garzonas and the loss of home, but i dont think bruce realizes that, so hes still pushing for something he thinks will work, but wont, and even if it did, would be doomed to end badly.

and jason is so hurt from the ending of trying to make another home, that he may not be able to again, jason may not want to make himself vulnerable again, because he thinks that any good things/ homes/ family end in tragedy(willis and cathrine, bruce, sheila)

so its all a tragedy, because there is no good end, and neither can become who the other wants them to be,

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sense of alienation from your ‘home’ vs the fact you never had a house that counted as home

something about home being a place you can never go back to, but its not just a physical location.

home is, in my mind, the state of mind you were in as a child. the state of mind before you ran away, be that at 8 or 18, home ends when you first question it, and from then on, no matter how much you stay within those walls it is still not home.

home is a combination of sounds, places, people and sensations.

but innocence is the thing you need. without it, with the knowledge that the wall are rotting, and there are skeletons under the floorboards, you can never go back.

you lose home when you leave it, its why so many people lose it by going on a journey, escaping the home “when your in a burning house, you think the whole worlds on fire” you leave the home and realize the world is not on fire. and you can never return. it will only ever be a house now. the flames no longer comfort you. they just show how different you are.

if home was a physical place, it would be easy. nothing is ever easy for a child of the flames.

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brutalia......... hrgnn

thee divorcees..

the thing with them is they look back, but they cant go back

a song i love, the fools song, has the lyrics “so you set off on some old road, but your wearing your new shoes, and its not long before your feet start to ache”  and it applies to bruce and talia so much, you cant go back, and even if you try to, it will hurt. talia looks back, but knows that it will hurt to walk back (she cant lose the independence lex-corp gives her) and bruce tries to walk back but cant (he and talia have both changed to much)

something something you made each other into the people that can no longer love each other... the tragedy is that they both love each other for who they were, and cannot love each other for who they are now.

its that bittersweet love from your youth, that you will never quite stop loving, but it will never work now, for you are grown, but you still comfort/tourcher yourself with those memories. and their face still makes you remember.

its two people who love each other but in some ways the love is to strong for them to be together... the love is foundation to them in many ways, buts to fundamental, maybe they could try and make it work, but it would require the stripping away of everything after.....

hngrnnn i have to maany feeling about them for it to be coherent..

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I totally get what you're saying when you're talking about dc flattening constantines character, like as a queer northerner who found hellblazer at a time I was really getting into politics, it was really important to me to see British politics and issues being discussed that way. The whole thing with the hippies in Jamie Delanos run really reminded me of the stuff my parents used to do and I don't think I've found that anywhere else. And the whole thing with ravenscar still rings true to how the mental health services in Britain are at the moment. The whole magic system was pretty interesting too and took a lot of occult concepts you don't really see in pop culture and to see that all flattened into an Americanized "generic flirty wizard" in recent years has really been pissing me off for a good while now

exactly!! yea the hippie stuff also really resonated with me, and its why i love hellblazer, my parents were part of that community.

and thats why hellblazer is important to me- it covers english alternative history of the 20th century! john lives and interacts with all these people that dont get their storys told. hell when i read john constatine: hellblazer one of the thing that cemented it as having the true hellblazer spirit was bring up and talking about windrush. hellblazer is best when either confronting the current issues, or how old buried issues still affect us.

and ravenscar and the british mental health system... yet another example of the hellblazer covering important issues that unfortunately still ring true!

and im glad im not alone in getting pissed of at the americanisation- and you've really hit the nail on the head there.

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one thing that annoys me about pretty much any media with combat in, is how blasé about head injuries they are.

I hit my head on a bus pole, not even losing consciousness, and 2 months later I'm still getting headaches, I had major speech issues for 10 hours, and I've basically been having one long migrane since.

That was one hit. And I have a thick skull.

The Dr explained to me that a concussion is basically your brain getting bruised. They get worried when it's a brain bleed, when a blood vessel is ruptured. To see if its a brain bleed you need to have a brain scan. I was to young for it to be worth the high radiation to the brain. If it is a brain bleed, I was told the answer would be neurosurgery.

My friend has his head slammed into a locker. He had a brain bleed. They scanned him and said it wasn't bad enough to risk neurosurgery. He still suffers from migrains and at one point only attended one day in 4 months. For a meeting. He's still struggling, years later.

What I'm trying to say is that damage to the head can be lifealtering even for relatively small damage. If I my head hit that pole harder I could have had permanent speech issues. I could have lost consciousness. Just because of standing up on a bus going round a turn.

Every person batman hits in the head is at risk of death or brain damage. Every person unconscious for more than a few minutes is at risk of death and major permanent brain damage. It's not safe or calculated, you can't calculate it. Brain damage is notorious fickle. The most you can do is fuiger out what is most likely to be affected based on where a person was hit.

The aim of hitting a person in the head is to knock them out or to affect their cognitive abilities.

The aim of hitting a person in the head is to give them brain damage.

Brain damage that could kill them. That will put them out of work for weeks maybe even years. That could affect them for the rest of their lives. It could take their speech, their ability to think, to emote.

But for batman it's the better option. It's the option that's touted as better than guns and killing.

Giving people brain damage. Because their poor and criminals.

It makes me laugh now when people say that batman doesn't kill. That he doesn't do permanent damage.

Look it's fiction I get it. But frankly forget how the people he hurts have to subject themselves to the american heathcare system. Forget the people that will be disproportionately targeted. If you hit somone in the head you should acknowledge that anything from a headache to death could happen.

Hell it's actually happened in the comics. Batman punched guy gardener so hard it gave him brain damage and a major personality change.

But its just ha ha batman punched green lantern.

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*walkes out the brainrot discord channel covered in blood w a shellshoked look on my face* yea mu innitial thought wernt lying the paralels and diffences between bucky coming back and jason coming back really are interesting[<- STEVES UNENDING FAITH IN THE MAN BUKY WAS VS BRUCE ALREADY HAVING GIVEN UP ON JASON, THE GUN SCENES HAPPENING IN REVERSE IN CAP WITH STEVE READY TO SHELD HIMSELF IF BUKY IS TO FAR GONE VS JASON NOT HAVING A PLAN FOR IF BRUCE SHOOTS HIM, BUCKY KILLING INNOCENTS AND STEVE STILL FORGIVING HIM, JASON NOT EVEN CONFIRMED KILLING A GUILTY MAN AND BRUCE LOOSING FAITH]

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ohhhh so you know how sometime wrighter say that like the batmask thing. is like molded to be angry. as like an indimidation thing.

somthing about funeral masks and having a mask to protect yourself but you become it and you cant remove it. like a mask of anger after jasons death- anger to cover grief, but the mask sticsk and the greif is beried and rage is all that there. tempting fate. making your own funeral mask.

basically bruce made the mask into one of anger to hide himself and the fates went ooooh. how nice of you mr wayne *proceeds to make him into the person he wants to project* *makes it so he cant change back* if you want to be angry and feared we will give you anger and make you be feared :)

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so if you change the end of Worlds End so they all fled in the carrier to another world as theirs was destroyed

and then they were flung into the main dc earth

and realised they shouldent really interfere in big things because they learnt their lesson

so they now protect the earth from multiversal threats

then you borrow the midnighter going on missions without the authority from his first solo

he is on a mission when he encounters spiral and then decides to fuck with one of the bats (not flirting hes married) (goes after spiral to gather intel on the new world???)

thats how you can make a good transition into dc with the charecters staying intact

and you can have them intefear in their own ways, but not the whole “lets take over the world this will be fine”

then u can have all the shenanigans of the authority as well as them stopping massive threats. so them messing w justice league, the bats, whoever

and that is how you wright a good merge of wildstorm and dc

also you can have other wildstorm teams survive, and then the authority being found by the justice leage and all that conflict

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one day im gonna write a meta on ffxiv and how the one story-line works with different people

but oh i love the way its gonna happen and you know it is, you can see your charecter resigned when u make some decisions, the flashes of what other people r up to that inform you of whats going on, how you build hypothesis and pick up on threads but you cant do anything about them till the story allows you. things will blindside you, things will fall into sicking clarity, and things will be seemigly obvious.

and its different for each person! not gonna spoil anything but the plotpoints i called out and knew were gonna happen were v diff from the ones my friends figured out! thing i was blindsided by, they has known, and things i figured out they were blindsided by! [when i say i screamed i told you so about one thing. like man i called that SO hard. ]

the game rewards you for doing sidequests and being curious, analyzing the story and people action, it wants you to question how things will affect the future! [i soooo called it yall]

idk i just find it really interesting how the game works you to want to do the story, and also how it rewards critical thinking and engaging with the story, but also how different people experiences and knowledge will lead to different experiences!

anyway love the game, love its story. and most of all the fact ive played.... err over 150 hours and im still on the free trial. i havent even spent time on crafting

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💖❌🌹 for any you want!

[this got Long so much more under the cut]

thank you for asking!!

so gonna go with 'weapon' from this ficlet more explanationon the verse here [they are a variation on aftruda]

💖 Has your OC ever been in love, be it romantic or platonic or otherwise? Who with and did they ever express their feelings or keep it private? How long did these feelings persist / do they still feel this way?

romantically they still have the alchemist and the hunter, the alchemist is a fellow member of their ladys inner circle, and becomes the weapons second in command, the hunter is a knight and after the ladys death ends up working a lot closer with both of them, they are all in a relationship, but it often straddle the line between fwb/romantic and queerplatonic. the bonds are very strong and they care a lot for both of them, even if they dont always say

their feelings for the alchemist grew slowly, they slept together long before there was much fondness between them, when they realized they did love the alchemist, they told them right away, not wanting to hide it from them, more not wanting to make them uncomfortable and being honest than with hopes of reciprocation, luckily she returned the sentiment, what followed was a disastorus attempt at being a 'normal' couple before they both desided they were happier with how they were, just know knowing the full extent of the others feelings.

it was different when they were introduced to the hunter, they got on surprisingly well and both respected the others relationship with the alchemist [the weapon and teh alchemist had been on a bit of a break and stayed that way when they met up again and the hunter was there] they became fast friends, and so they became three [im still not sure how they became a trio in a relationship, as the weapon would respect the relationship to much to start anything, even by accident, with either, and i dislike making the alchemist shove them together. same for alcohol induced confessions/makeouts. i have a feeling an onlocker shoved them all in a closet.]

they are still very much in love with both of them!

in general love, it takes a while to warm up to people, but they are loyal as a dog, romantic/platonic doesn't really matter to them,

[they also have a childhood bestie who was manipulated into betraying them by a guy but its personalTM and dont want my petty projection to become a major part of the story]

❌ What kind of things would end any relationship for them? Is there a history behind why these things bother them? Could they ever take someone back despite this? If so or if not, why?

betrayal. mostly of their personal secrets/story, but also hurting another person they love, they would cut ties and bear the wound for a long time.

the history is mostly to do with having been taken advantage of a lot [woo! autisum and the chronic need to please] and having their boundrys trampled all over

they could never go back to what the relationship once was, and it would take years to even talk, but if the traitor was manipulated or victim to another they could eventually at least converse, or be able to be around them without lashing out- half of it because they are setting boundary's, half because they cant be nice or civil with the betrayer, and dont want to kick them when their down

💋 How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why?

them and their people have their own brand of affection, lots of hidden meanings and subtle gestures, most common with the people who spend a lot of time in court/among high society, most of them are warriors, so you get the rougher affection too, they have several younger people they mentor in various strengths, and they balance respect for the kids skill and independence with being a shoulder to cry on and supporting them in what they want. they are pretty physically affectionate, lots of hugs and being physically close with people, they also try to be emotionally affectionate, complementing people a lot, they value open communication, and emotional talks are common.

overall they are careful with affection, and they think they do it a lot less than they do, from an outsider it can be hard to see t, but if you know them the love n care they have for you will always shine through

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hi the post above finaly got me to wright down alot of my thoughts to do with john and the community's hes been part of and how that affects him [through my eyes as a younger person in alot of the same community's, looking at the people who have lead similar lives- minus the occult stuff[mostly]] its long but there is a tldr

[for context my tags on the post: #especialy “John wouldn’t probably own a bisexual flag ever or have any pride memorabilia”#that really made something click im my mind for john#alot of they way i approach john is through the lens of an old punk#idk how to explain but you have these people that are subtely off from the norm but normal people cant quite put a finger on#and you could never tell from looking that they say go to all the protests and riots and sing for the tories to die#theres people who wear it proudly#and people who hide it because of others reactions#or just cause its personal and not strangers buisness#i feel john grew up with people having enough reasons to put him down. hes not handing them more#but also theres a difference between pride in part of your identity and showing other ppl and strangers it#some stuff is very personal- im p out and proud queer but there are some other apects of my identity that im very proud of#but dont want to shout from the rooftops#cause its personal#and i think thats how john feels about his bisexuality#its part of him and i dont think he hates it#but its just. a part of him#sorry for the long tags tldr your right and i hadent thought about it like that but it makes alot of sense#john constantine]

I always feel it’s important to look at the character and the history, and not ascribe newer ideas and things to older characters- i think there is a lot of value in looking at how john would approach it differently than lot of people now- especially looking through the groups has been part of, the people I know like john [northern, working class, dysfunctional family situations, bounced around alternative groups and subcultures] sexuality isn’t really a big thing? people are accepting of queer people but. it’s just not a thing that’s announced, gender roles are being broken by most people anyway and there’s just this acceptance and disregard of labels that tends to come from being in the mixed community of all types of people who have all had millions of different labels - I found out that two of the people I consider my aunts are both bisexual cause my mum was joking about how they can pick anyone but neither have had a long term relationship. it’s just so casual, you love who you love, and you are who you are and it’s not really anyone’s business- i found out an old friend of both my parents was a trans woman- unfortunately I never met her before she passed- but I wasn’t told until years after I came out as trans because it wasn’t a big thing, just one part of the identity of an old friend. I think it’s hard for a lot of queer people to see someone talk about 'oh we don’t care about the labels' and how it’s not that important, but the way it is now and was seems to be the true ideal of that idea- no one cares about the labels- if they turn you down they turn you down, if they correct the pronouns they have corrected the pronouns, "be who you wanna be do who you wanna do". You’re the captain of your fate.

I mentioned bouncing around groups and labels, and it’s something I see a lot of irl and very much informs my view of john, I am part of a community of people who have all been through different subcultures and groups- rude boys and metalheads and hippies and punks and travellers- all having stood against the mainstream but found no one label fits them. most of the people I have met at the gatherings have very complex identities- rude boy to punk to post punk- hippie to punk and so on, the mixing and combining of subcultures to make something that’s the best of all the things you love and are- I know we talk a lot with john about him being punk/expunk- but he was a hippie for a while and has been part of many subcultures- to view him as a binary- punk and then post that, seems reductive- I know these days people have ideas more solid borders on subcultures, you’re a punk or a goth, rude boy or hippie- disregarding the long history of people being part of both or multiple groups- and the groups that form from those overlaps. so yea I think it important to acknowledge that john has been part of many subcultures and that informs him- especially the identity issues due to not being wholly one thing, it’s why my community is great- no one is simple, it always a mix- folk and punk, ska and folk, dub sets played on fiddles and banjos- it’s about celebrating our defences, and coming together in our differences to appreciate and celebrate the complexities and contradictions of others, and the things that come from that. one love and all that.

we are the sum of our experiences- and we should celebrate that!

but it comes to a point where you get tired of breaking down all the influences and your just you. are you punk? are you buy? are you a rude boy/girl? are you gender queer? you get tired of the labels and boxes and are just you- after all YOU are the sum of your experiences. other people can look at you and try an analyze you but that’s their thing- your you and the labels that used to matter don’t as much- your comfortable being you, you like some of the music some people do and some music others do- you dress like this but also like that. labels and trying to be a certain thing can get tiring, it’s easier to just be you. it’s a long road to get there- and a hard one to- but as much as I revel in being part of a group of people with the same experiences as me- it can get tiring having the only parts of my identity they engage with be the part we share- god knows I’ve made lots of friends through queer solidarity but sometimes I want to be me not the labels, to be looked at in three dimensions, its why there is a community of people whose best answer to most questions is 'it’s complicated'

ok that ran away from me but that’s why I think johns identity is complex and his queerness isn’t a big thing he shows of.

tldr: often people who go from subculture to subculture trying to find something that fits them get to old and tired to make themselves into the latest thing and no longer can be asked to care about labels and end up content being them and if u wanna try and break them down into all the separate identities then that’s your thing but it’s a bit weird mate. And that’s why I agree that johns not loud about his bisexuality.

[a-wild-things-rambles]

ok so in plain text, [coffin lady] is a revernt. someone that died and came back because they had unfinished business [normlay revenge]

but coffin lady had deaths of the soul/spirit. basicaly she changed s much due to tragedy and greif thet she died inside but not. like literaly. but still revenant. so she dousent know but she gets stronger and where prev she had an affinity for magic and an awareness of it, its getting stronger [i dont have a magic system per say but coffin ladys magic is basically her persuading/asking spirits/powers for help. she isnt necessarily getting stronger in magic but her will and power in how much she can ask for is]

she wanders around helping people [getting attacked and almost burnt at teh stake for being a witch] and meets a alchemist/hunter while serving a noble lady. they. ehh fall in love is a stretch at this posint, but over 100 years they go from mostly human to very powerful, its not that they love each other yet, but they are the main witness to the others transformation, they are the only other person who understands [and once the lady falls and the others die they are the only witnesses to who they once were]

at the latter end of that time, the alchemist meets another hunter, a traveling archer, whos ideals match up well with the groups- hunt and kill monsters who harm people, but not all in-humans are monsters and some humans are. he falls in love with the alchemist, who falls in love right back. the hunter loves the alchemist for who she is, and is aware of who she can be both bad and good, but believes she can be good [coffin lady is vibing in the background as a go between, helping them get each other the right gifts. the hunter and coffin lady get on well]

hunter and the alchemist have a kid, but the thing is its been 200 years and coffin lady aint exactly human anymore, and has alot of power shes giving off [this is when we see the beginnings of the goodhood. also while the alcemists extended life is partialy due to alcemy the hunters isent and they both age slower due to coffin lady] so when she blesses the baby and swears to protect it. well boom you have a baby with magic! [coffin lady is made to do free babysitting for life]

the daughter is raised decently. they are all trying not to be abusive or controlling, and for the most part they succeed, but they are deeply damaged individuals, with lots of sorrow, also they hid their less nice pasts from the daughter, and train her in various forms of combat. its flawed but unintentional, and they are trying, but its hard when your broken too [mileage will vary on this. they did fuck up but in my eyes its something that when you have an eternity you will. not forgive. but make peace with. but thats based on my personal experience]

the daughter find out about all the stuff under the rug, as well as wanting to get some freedom. she blows up and fuckes off to wander around hunting things, while occasionally coming back. lots of teary arguments, lots of the daughter yelling, its a mess. she justified in blowing up and is pissed about the secrets, as well as the flaws in how she was raised

the messTM calms down, its strained at times, but normal family messy.

the hunters getting old now, slowly and mostly gracefully, but hes aging. hes mostly calm about it, hes happy with his life, and is pleased hes survived so long, going out in a blaze of glory sounds alright, but at home at peace surrounded by the ones you love? he would have it no other way. the alchemist is aging to, slower, but still there. [coffin lady] looks older to, but they both know its to stay with them, not a sign of the journey towards death.

the hunter dies how he wanted, surrounded by his family, his loved ones recounting tales of his life. [coffin lady] has a power, to guide the dead onward, she offers to lead him to his afterlife, but he refuses, he wants to stay.

eventually when the alchemist dies she decides she wants to stay as well.

the daughter has some kids, some bio some adopted, all of the are blessed by [coffin lady] the spirits of the hunter and the alchemist wander, helping out the growing family, the weapons of the hunter and the alchemist are passed down, often duplicated, each family member gets weapons passed down or new ones made for them.

the family grows as the generations pass, spreading out and helping people, they gain a reputation as fair, and a reputation for being very lucky and blessed. they stick to the core values of protecting people, whether monster or human, and are the middle ground in the constant war of the supernatural against humanity. many 'monsters' marry or are adopted in, and many bonds are forged. still the original trio help the family, now a clan with branches everywhere.

the daughter has barely aged past 30, and is still in the peak of her fighting prowess, wielding her fathers bow and arrows. she wanders still, like the rest of the family, making their way to safe havens every so often, meeting each other, drifting apart and together. it works well for family as large and complicated as they are.

so thats the story! [so far]

[a-wild-things-rambles]

u ppl p know i can a bit of a stickler for characterization. but honestly i cant be fuked to debate over the minute details of characterization, with people taking p solid stances on smaller differences.

i like to think most of my issues with other ppls characterizations stem from not wanting stereotypes or derogatory characterizations to be perpetrated, normal to do with class or race, and how that affects the characters characterization, such as ill frown on anyone using morrisons talia characterization because its rooted in racism and antiasian stereotypes such as dragon lady and dragon lady baby mama, and if you characterize stephanie brown as a dumb reckless kid, which is rooted in classism and sexism.

but if people have different opinions on things unlike that? i try not to care! i understand its my personal opinion that is affected by how i read the source material. the minute of 'the true batman characterization' or 'just how angry should jason todd be' while interesting to debate, gets annoying when people are trying to say theres a true answer thats for everyone. i vary on the batman scale hour to hour[and depending on the situation], and i vary on my opinion on the minute of jason and dicks brotherhood often to.

idk i think what im trying to say is its comics. 'true' characterization is a myth and i think you should just think critically about whether the characterization is harmful, but other than that? its free reign. people will have different opinions and you should be able to respect and deal with that, and if not, remove yourself from the conversation[i do that a lot] i will enjoy good faith debates over the minute of characterization, but as long as its not harmful or derogatory. well you can do what you want

[not saying you should never critisise ppls opinions just open mind and dont engage unless its harmful. and dont bitch about them where they will see it<- that is the reason i have so many drafts] [also i specifically said free reign to unharmful opinions. if its rooted in racism or classism or homophobia or so on call that shit out]

tldr: ive decided to give less of a fuck about characterization and stick to removing myself if i cant good faith debate if its harmless.

added reasoning: i think arguing against harmful characterizations has bled over into how we argue about nonharmfull characterizations and we need to tone it down a little. we're here to have fun so have fun! but when seemingly innocent characterizations are harmful it can be hard to treat actual innocent characterizations in a different manner