#time traveler todd theory

[inked-out-trees]

CHAPTER 3: NON-CONSENSUAL MAGNETISM

Teenage Chris Bean decides he's quite done with life. Fifteen years later, life decides it's not quite done with him.

[sanguineterrain]

hey sanne! hope you're having a good day!

love your fics soo much and i always jump up a little when i get a notification for when you post on ao3!

i have a request if it interests you! what if jay and reader get stuck in a hostage situation together? like at a bank or a convenience store or something? just obsessed with the idea of jason being protective and badass in his civilian identity!

thank you for your lovely fics! 💕

thanks for the request!

jason todd x gn!reader. mild violence, robbery, jason being cute and sweet and a little awkward as per, reader is guilty of judging jason by his appearance.

****

The bell above the door chimes as you enter your favorite convenience store. You haven't been in a while, but the older clerk still nods and smiles at you, saying hello in an accent you don't know. You greet him back.

He's a nice man, sometimes sneaking in a free pack of gum into your bag. Proof that capitalism hasn't squashed everyone's spirit yet.

Actually, you used to regularly stop here to get a treat on your walk home. Lately, though, the prices have been too steep for your meager wages.

Three dollars for a bag of chips is actually ridiculous. Are they 24K gold chips? Will they cure fear gas syndrome?

Stupid inflation.

You take a step back, thinking maybe the price will lower if you put some distance between you. Instead, you bump into someone's shoulder. You quickly back away, apologies on your lips.

Whoa.

The shoulder belongs to possibly one of the biggest guys you've ever seen. Even swallowed up in his red hoodie, he looks like he could bench press four of you. He towers over the packaged cookie display, which is what he'd been looking at before your misstep.

He's also wearing long sleeves and jeans in eighty degree weather, which is... a choice. Maybe he has an iron deficiency. You want to tell him but think better of it.

"Sorry," you say at the same time that he says, "Sorry, y'okay?"

His voice is soft and deep. You nod, and he barely glances at you before he tucks in closer to the shelf, as if anticipating for you to pass him.

Instead, you bump into the adjacent shelf and knock a couple Doritos bags to the floor.

"Dammit," you whisper.

Hoodie bends down before you do, startling you with his speed. He puts the chips back. He looks at you, and you look at him.

His face is young, nose crooked like it's been in a lot of fights. He has a scar traveling from his right eye across his face to his lip.

Never judging a book by its cover is great in theory, but this is Gotham. Judgment keeps you safe.

He's cute, though. His lips are pink and full. There's a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose.

But you're not about to interact with anyone more than you need to at a convenience store, so you turn around and hope he doesn't try to approach you.

And it's like Hoodie can hear your thoughts because a moment later, he goes to another aisle, leaving you alone. You relax and peruse the chips in peace.

Cheetos. Are Cheetos worth three dollars and tax, though?

Maybe just a drink.

You go to the fridges and stare, debating between a ginger ale and a Snapple when the bell above the door jingles.

"This is a robbery!"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.

You turn and see a guy in a ski mask with a gun pointed at the cashier. The old clerk is shaking and has his hands up. Yeah, you're never coming back here again. Overpriced Cheetos aren't worth it.

But then to your right, you see Hoodie, crouched on the ground. He gestures for you to get low. You hesitate.

"Hey," he says, as quietly as he can. "I ain't gonna hurt you. I'm gonna get us outta here alive, okay? But you gotta trust me a little. C'mere."

Hearing him speak at length, it's clear that Hoodie is Gotham-born and bred. And he's certainly not from the Heights. His drawl is thick and, dare you say, comforting. It's old-school Jersey, like you could walk into a diner and find him chatting with the retirees. The thought startles you.

What was that about books and covers?

You get low like he wants and scurry over to him. He scoots back against the last fridge and gestures for you to do the same.

"This is the blind spot for the cashier," Hoodie whispers. "I don't think he saw us, so you'll be okay here."

You nod. You can't speak. Can't move. Can't breathe.

"Hey." Hoodie tilts his head to find your eyes. His eyes are a brilliant teal. What a pretty color. "Hey, y'alright? Can you make a fist for me?"

You make a loose fist. He nods.

"Good. Now..." He checks around the shelf. It sounds like the clerk is still emptying the register. "Squeeze your fist and inhale. Then release your fist and exhale. Can y'do that?"

You clumsily follow his directions. He makes the fist with you.

"Good, good. Okay. 'S okay. Nothing’s gonna happen to ya, alright?"

You have no idea how he can promise something like that.

"When I push this shelf, run for the other side, okay? And when he's distracted, you'll leave out the front."

Your eyes fly to his in alarm.

"What?" you hiss. "Are you crazy? He'll shoot you!"

"I'm really fast," he says.

Oh, okay. He's insane too. Cool.

"Hurry the fuck up, old man!" the robber shouts. "I will shoot you."

Hoodie glares venomously in his direction. "Can't let 'im get away. Ready?"

No, not ready, definitely not ready!

He pushes a shelf with one leg. It crashes to the floor. Briefly, you wonder if he's ever crushed a watermelon between his thighs. From the size of them, he definitely could crush—

Okay, not the time.

He nudges your arm when you don't move. You book it to the other side of the store like he ordered. The robber clomps across the store, leaving the clerk.

"That was stupid, guy!" the robber shouts. "Really fucking stupid!"

Bang! You yelp and duck.

"What's stupid is your aim," Hoodie growls.

There's a few grunts and a landing punch. By the time you get up, the robber is out cold on the floor. Hoodie is disassembling the gun and unloading the chamber. Then he goes to the clerk.

"Thank you, good boy," the clerk says, still wobbly with fear. "Good Jason. So good."

Jason. A name for your savior.

"It's okay, Mr. Kourakis." Jason keeps talking, but it's not a language you understand. It's... Greek?

Just who is this guy, exactly?

Mr. Kourakis nods, shaky hands grasping Jason's forearms as he steadies himself. Jason comforts him for a moment, then gently extricates himself to retrieve the money from the unconscious robber and return it to the register.

On impulse, you take a Mrs. Fields double chocolate chip cookie from the shelf on your way to the register.

Mr. Kourakis keeps talking, obviously panicked. Jason soothes him in his rumbling voice, picking up the shelf he knocked over with one hand, like he's holding a basketball.

"Sorry, um, did you call the police?" you ask, interrupting their conversation.

Jason glances at you. "No cops. They're messy and inept. I told Mr. Kourakis that I'll take care of this."

Your brows rise. Inept? Looks like your savior has a great vocabulary too.

"And by 'take care of,' you mean...?"

He smiles a little, the scar on his lip stretching white. "Not like that. I meant that, uh, I got a buddy who knows a Bat."

Right, of course. You're four blocks from the Red Hood's territory.

Jason touches Mr. Kourakis' arm and tells him something else in Greek. Mr. Kourakis nods, then wearily flips the OPEN sign to CLOSED. He disappears into the back room after that.

"You can go," Jason says, not unkindly. He types something on his phone. Then he shuts it off and looks at you. "You hurt at all?"

You shake your head. You're still trying to puzzle him out. He's the weirdest Gothamite you've ever met.

"How do you know Greek?" you ask.

You don't know why you're asking questions. You should just take the blessing and leave.

"Study abroad," he says around a smile, like he's telling a joke that you're not privy to.

"...Right. And did you learn how to disarm a robber while you were abroad, too?"

"Nope," he says mildly. "I take jiu-jitsu classes at the Y."

You look at the crumpled robber on the floor. His mask is off and he has a black eye and a drying bloody nose. You doubt they teach that at the Y.

"Thank God for the Y, I guess," you say, turning back to Jason.

He shrugs. "Gotta defend yourself in Gotham."

No arguments there.

"Yeah. And thank you for, um. What you did back there. I got—I've never been held at gunpoint, and I guess I just... I dunno..."

Jason steps forward and makes an aborted gesture, like he was going to touch your arm. He doesn't, though, instead just nodding.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he says tenderly. "'S normal to be scared. You did great."

Jeez, is this guy a counselor? He looks too young to be doing that, though.

"You didn't seem scared," you say.

Jason shrugs, suddenly tense. "Ah, I just hide it well."

"Oh. Well, anyway." You put a few dollars on the counter and hold out the Mrs. Fields cookie. "'Least I can do is buy your cookie."

Jason's eyes widen. "I—y-you don't hafta—"

"It's really no trouble! It's all I can do to thank you. Because you really saved our butts today."

You shake the cookie a little. Jason hesitantly accepts it, then glances at your money on the counter.

"You shouldn't," he says. "This place price-gouges. Chips for three bucks is insane."

You grin. "It really is! But I don't mind. I've kinda lost my appetite, in any case. You deserve a cookie, Jason."

He blinks once-twice-three times at your use of his name. "Oh. It wasn't a big deal."

Is he serious? He can't be. "Of course it was! You risked your life for me. Thank you, seriously."

You start to back up towards the exit. Jason watches you, a mix of bewilderment and bemusement.

"Well, I gotta get home. Feed my cat." You make finger guns. God, you're lame. A good-looking guy saves your life, and you lose all sense. "Thanks again."

"Wait!"

Jason follows you outside, cookie in hand. His mouth is open like he's about to ask a question. You wait expectantly.

"Um." He swallows. "Prince Street."

"What?"

"The bodega on Prince Street. I know the owner. He's got better prices. You can tell him you're my friend. To, y'know, get a discount. Not... not that I think you're—I mean, I don't—"

You smile. Jason cuts himself off, looking a little frustrated.

"You're really sweet," you say. If you were crazier, you might kiss his cheek. "Thanks for the tip. And thanks for today. Take care, Jason."

"Yeah," he says as you walk down the block. "Yeah, you too."

[kingcrow01]

DC x Marvel Fic Recs

@jas-per11 @letthedeadghostrest

Hello! I saw your post, and I've been meaning to rec some DC x Marvel fics anyways, so I'll do that here. I don't know what you've read, so I'll start with

Peter Parker / DC Series:

The Dark Matter Multiverse Series by @mysterycyclone

Dark Matter is the blueprint for most Peter Parker / DC fics, and it's also fucking fantastic. If you're reading a crossover and don't understand why, without explanation, Peter is talking to ghosts? Why he by default ends up living in a firehouse? Read Dark Matter.

Spider and Bat Friends Series by @emmacortana

So far, 12 well written and hilarious works from my all-time favorite author, Miss emmacortana. This, coming from someone with over 1,500 bookmarks. She's that good.

Bitsy and The Bats Series Series by @wibbwoby

Haven't read this one in a while, so I don't have much to say, but Rated T for Traumatized is an absolute classic.

Pizzaverse Series by Irisen

A heavier read, wherein Peter tries to keep his job, make rent, and has a lot of unfortunate run-ins with Gotham's rogues.

Peter & The BatBoys (Doctor AU) Series by @thepoppypress

Peter is the Wayne family's doctor. He has a... chaotic time. I've only read Part 1, but I am still including this here because it's a series.

Peter Parker needs a hug (From the BatFamily) Series by @true-blue-fool

Shorter fics about Peter bonding with the Batfamily. Part 3 is especially cute.

Spider and Bats Series by @superklutzkent

Peter Parker whump, featuring the Batfam. All of the whump.

Let's take a break and look at some DC x Marvel fics that DON'T feature Peter:

Steve Rogers: Man out of Time and Place Series by RavenclawAngel

After Civil War, Steve gets exiled to DCs earth and builds a new team.

from the nucleus flight Series by @blackkatmagic

Khonshu whisks (Comic) Moon Knight away to DC. Very well written and passionate. If it's not your thing, don't let the Bruce Wayne/Marc Spector tag dissuade you from reading; since it's unfinished, the ship hasn't happened yet, and it's too good of a fic to miss out on.

The Devil's in Gotham (Remastered) by @prince-link13

Matt Murdock moves to Gotham and befriends Jason Todd, his neighbor. Bruce Wayne/Matt Murdock

Marvel/DC Crossovers Series by @bamboozled-and-alone

What it says on the tin. My favorite, part 2, is Matt Murdock taking care of Damian Wayne.

Echolocation Series by Firecat23

Matt Murdock and the bats; though, part 6 does have Team Red, meaning Peter.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Peter Parker slash fics:

Cassandra Cain/Peter Parker

Along Came a Spider Series by @rags-n-bones

Quiet Respite by @faeriekit

I'm not too far in this one yet, but it's Faeriekit, so it's bound to be good.

Peter Parker/Tim Drake, affectionately called redspider

a shining spider web by Selador

Needling by LaughingFreak

How dimension travel can lead to love. Series by Psychic_Queen05

My current Favorite Ongoing Peter Parker / DC Crossovers:

The Ones Burnt by This_is_lovin

After the events of No Way Home, Dr. Strange's magic sends Peter to Gotham. He wakes up in another boy's body, and has to deal with the consequences. Part one just ended with a bang, you all should be there for part two, it's gonna be awesome.

Arachnomaly by @songue85

The (Comic) Amazing Spider-Man, being neighborly in Gotham. Plus some sick art from the author.

time flies by (bye) by WHYISEVERYNAMETAKEN

Two difficult years after No Way Home, Peter ends up in Gotham, but with a whole lot of introspection. One chapter left; you better be there.

All of the rest, that didn't fit in the prior categories:

Unforeseen Consequences by @mysterycyclone

Gotta Get to Rock Bottom! by @emmacortana

Read the initial notes first.

Set Naked on Your Kingdom by sassydandelion

Peter's Gotham Debut by BlankGeode, Leeavy

This Was Home by @emmacortana

The Peter Parker Theory by nicfics

and even though we are strange and exquisitely scarred by Wingfeather6913

What happens in New York by @violent138

A Long Way From Home (And No Way Back) by Vivia_wants_boba

Ignorance is Death by No_idea_what_Im_doing_lmaooo

One Dead Spider by Miellonek

If you do check out any of these fics, always leave a comment. Authors love those, it’s like catnip to them.

[favoritebatfam]

OK, do you know how there’s so much age Fuckery in Canon?

I’m thinking that’s because no one actually has that many legal documents.

Dick Grayson was born in a circus. I don’t know if he was born in a hospital or if it was at homebirth, but it is also kind of likely and (I read it in a fic somewhere) where his parents lied about his age so that he could get away with performing.

Jason Todd was a crime Alley kid who is unceremoniously adopted. He is also still legally dead, and I feel like it is heavily debated in the family if you can count those months that he was dead as him living, or if they shifted his birthday somehow. Bonus points if you think about the post floating around that age resets after you end up in the pit so Jason is now the youngest.

Tim Drake uns so many secret identity scams, that I will not be surprised if he’s genuinely forgotten how old he is. I mean, Janet and Jack could’ve also done the same thing that the Grayson‘s dead and lie about ages so their son would be taken more seriously as an adult and just never remember afterward.

Damian Wayne tends to have more consistent ages, but I still think that his aging might be a little messed up due to the fact he was grown inside of a tube. This is straight from the comics. We don’t know if he came out as a baby, or he came out as a toddler. For all we know, he came out as like a five-year-old because Ra Al Ghul didn’t want to have to deal with his heir being weak.

With Bruce and Alfred, it’s a little hard to justify the age fuckery, but I’ve come up with some ideas things that might help.

I think that Bruce kind of stopped celebrating his birthday after his parents died. He might’ve picked up celebrating again after he adopted dick, but he probably doesn’t put any candles on a cake or anything or at least any number candle. Probably a lot of people have also forgotten how old he is, and a lot of the family are trying to look through newspapers to find out about Bruce’s birth. There could also be some sort of thing where there’s a debate about time travel counting towards his age and if he is older than he is supposed to be or younger or whatever.

Alfred just straight up immortal. he’s done so much in his life that it’s kind of hard to figure out how old or young he could be. I’ve seen a couple different theories floating around where He got blessed by some being, or if you go with the Gotham is sentient theory, Gotham is slowing both his and Bruce’s aging. Also, Alfred is very strong and has to be very fast in order to be able to clean all of the manner and not get sick or die.

Actually, this is kind of pointing towards maybe the bat family having so much to do with the general curses of Gotham or maybe even blessings from being safe, helped that they probably have fucked up ages. I genuinely don’t know. I am sleep deprived and very curious now and will probably make a skit later after I take a nap or look through more Tumblr posts.

Enjoy my ramblings.

[hermajestyimher]

Hello <3

I am currently 20, in the process of enhancing every aspect of my life so I would really appreciate if you could generously list your resources for self-improvement in general.

And one more question, how to make people take me more seriously? I am quite the youngest member in my family and everyone have always been so over-protective of me that they always see me as this little girl even though I am almost a grown woman lol.

Thanks!

Thanks for your question. I commend you for wanting to invest in yourself and self-improvement.

The resources I use to shape my mindset toward success are a mixture of books, podcasts, subliminals, and direct revelation from God. I'll break these parts down for you:

✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞

Books:

There are a lot of books out that deal with the topic of self-improvement and you are almost guaranteed to find some that will be able to help you in whichever area of your life you wish to get better at. The key, when it comes to these books, is that you have to find ones that you know you can action realistically in your life. Theory can be energizing and inspirational, but it is ultimately futile if you are unable to put the gained knowledge into reality.

You must seek books that are practical in their way of describing how to succeed in whatever subject they touch upon and focus exclusively on that specific book so that you may action its commands and see real results in your life.

I'll give you 5 books that I've used throughout the year that have helped me mold my character in meaningful and practical ways:

She Comes First, by Brian Nox.

Can't Hurt Me, by David Goggins.

The Alter Ego Effect, by Todd Herman.

Stop People Pleasing, by Patrick King.

Fabulosity, by Kimora Lee Simmons.

Podcasts:

Podcasts are a good way of keeping your mind "fed" constantly with content and knowledge from others. I use them not just for knowledge, but also for entertainment. I enjoy podcasts that deal with politics, human psychology and behavior, societal phenomena, travel and culture, business, success life stories, and even some niche topics of interest.

Whatever podcasts you choose to listen to will be a very personal choice. My rule of thumb is to not waste time listening to someone just because they seem authoritative in the field of self-improvement if the messages they are putting forward do not resonate with you. It's ok to be picky with this type of content.

Subliminals:

This is something that I've never touched upon before directly on my blog, but it is something that I've been digging into a lot lately and I've found has been positively impacting my life.

Subliminals are audio messages that we play in the background while we do other activities. The concept behind them is that our subconscious mind can pick up and internalize the messages being played and therefore can help in reprogramming our own internal self-concept and beliefs. It can help you manifest things because you genuinely believe that they are possible for you, rather than pretending.

Subliminals are extremely powerful because if utilized correctly they can help you shape your entire personality and perception of yourself towards one that is more self-loving, positive, and confident. It can help us erase the damage of harmful things we've internalized throughout the years and replace them with thoughts that are working in our favor.

If you or anyone else from the blog would like for me to dive deeper into this subject and share some of the subliminal that have helped me (including my own creations), please let me know!

God:

This part is simply all about having communion with God. I've found out that in the periods that I'm away from him and that I do not take our relationship seriously, I become an easier target for spiritual attacks and also less in tune with my spiritual gifts. It's hard to hear from him when my spiritual life is filled with so much baggage that does not come from him. And whether you are aware of it, everything around us is spiritual in one way or another: the music that we listen to, the people we spend time with, the places we live, the content we consume, the things we allow others to speak into our lives, etc.

It's important that I read my Bible, pray, and worship without ceasing. God purifies our spirits and removes bondages this way. He gives us a renewed mind full of discernment and peace. We can hear from him more clearly and be led through a path of prosperity.

This is something that I need to get back on with him, as I have fallen off throughout the years. But understanding that you do not have to make life alone and that investing in your spiritual life can only tenfold your riches in the physical realm is crucial for us to live a life of purpose and success.

✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞

I hope this list was helpful, and if you or other people would like to delve deeper into any of these or other subjects, please let me know.

[damianwaynerocks]

back on my batfamily true crime bs

bruce and jason get into a huge argument. a massive one that ends in jason being barred from going on patrol with them. so what does he do? silly revenge.

jason todd starts an anonymous true crime podcast called that’s just called “todd tales.” it’s an investigative podcast about the death of jason todd.

since he’s legally dead & decides to be an anonymous podcaster, he goes full in. talks about his upbringing, saying things like “i spoke to one of jason’s old neighbor’s and this is what she has to say”

and the “neighbor” is stephanie who thinks it’s hilarious and goes along with it. “he and his mom’s boyfriends always got into fights,” she says with a british accent, “and one time i heard him & his dad yelling at each other, and then there was a loud crash. i walked out and his dad was at the bottom of the stairs.”

which leads jason to speculate that jason todd killed him, calling him “a badass motherfucker no wonder bruce wayne was in such awe of him”

and then as the episodes progress he talks about the theory that “jason todd secretly became robin but because he was so smart and cool bruce wayne had no idea that he was fighting with batman”

he has theories that he “investigates.” he goes over the official story- that jason was traveling with bruce, got kidnapped and held for ransom but something went wrong & he was accidentally killed - and then he says “but that’s fucking bullshit *laughs* as thought bruce wayne couldn’t pay a ransom”

his next theory is the truth, that he was robin & got murdered by a villain. he has two guests to prove it.

“im alvin draper, bruce’s former assistant,” tim (who is mad at bruce for making him go on a patrol on bernard’s birthday) says with a voice modular, “and i remember, after jason died, bruce ordered me to call the mortician who did the autopsy and tell him that bruce was offering him $1,000,000 to get out of gotham & sign a non-disclosure form to never speak about jason.”

jason then gets an “autopsy tech” who helped with the autopsy, the tech that bruce supposedly didn’t know was in the room because “bruce wayne is fucking stupid”.

“of course, the truth needs to be out there,” roy says dramatically. “no way he was accidentally shot like the official story says. he had several broken bones, obvious signs of blunt force trauma, and several burn scars, but absolutely no bullet holes.”

he gets hate comments about how he shouldn’t be talking about a dead teenager, but he doesn’t stop. (jason secretly loves it because it makes him feel like he hasn’t been forgotten) (but also he finds it hilarious bc they have no idea)

and bruce is furious. he knows it’s jason. he makes an official statement saying that the podcast is horrible and disrespectful. dick makes one too, saying that he can’t believe someone would do this about his little brother.

bruce, dick & damian hound jason to stop it. bruce yells at him, dick is trying to be nice because “i understand, but-“ and damian is like “i know i’ve given up murder but you’re considered dead anyways so therefore it does not count”

then alfred tells him, sternly, “master jason, please stop.” and jason feels so bad, so small because, like, it’s alfred, and deletes the podcast after the final episode.

but he’s still not allowed back on patrol.

[vintagerpg]

This is Crystal Barrier (1987), a module whose attempt at cleverness is admirable, but ultimately a failed experiment. Boris Vallejo on the cover again (a pretty good one, at that). Interior art by Todd Hamilton and Jeff Bush. I don’t want to say it is bad, because it is not, but it is definitely somewhat unconventional. It also recycles at least one interior piece from War of Darkness.

OK, plot. This links in to the civil war in the Dragonlands as laid out in the Dragons Role Aids sourcebook. Ostensibly, the players are looking to destroy a drug that the bad dragons are using against the good dragons. However, in doing so, they encounter the titular barrier and fall through it into another dimension where a Necromancer is fomenting the civil war by having captured the soul of a dragon lord. This feels like an inside-out Dragonlance already, but it gets even moreso: there is some light time travel involved and Fistandantilus-like, the big twist at the end is that the Necromancer is a future version of a player character’s mage. I like this in theory, but it all happens so fast it feels similar to when a show gets canceled and they try to wrap up another season of story in the finale (actually, thinking some more, it reminds me of how Millennium got a weak send-off after its cancelation as just another episode of The X-Files). It doesn’t satisfy. Also, what the heck happens if the mage dies on the way? And wouldn’t the Necromancer be worried about that?

The module is interesting in the way it applies different rules to the world beyond the crystal barrier, in a way that I think predates the way different planes work in Manual of the Planes, which came out around the same time. The encounters there tend to rely on large numbers of monsters, though, which is a drag.

[tornrose24]

I was thinking over some stuff and realized that if the timeline/world of TGAMM was close to real life, then there would have been a lot of real-world issues/factors that could have affected Scratch/Todd’s anxiety, which in turn led to losing his soul. Especially in the decade that would have led up to the year he likely lost his soul.

So knowing that he was in his 50’s in the early 2020’s, and that he was in his 40’s in the early 2010’s, let’s look at what happened in the 2000s:

-The Y2K scare. I’m not sure if Todd would have been tech-savvy or would have bought into that theory, so I think this could be crossed out.

-September 11th 2001. Yeah, I think this incident would make someone uneasy about flying for several years.

-The war that occurred afterward. I don’t recall if the Arabian Peninsula was on Adia’s map, but every time a war happens, it usually puts people off from traveling out of country or in certain areas. Also, it was an awful time for a lot of people for various reasons.

-The 2008 economic recession. I recall that being an uneasy time, and I could see that as one reason why Todd would have stayed with the job he had. Especially if people were losing their homes or it was hard to get a house during this time. Furthermore, I could see the recession having a major negative impact on Brighton.

-Scratch mentioned that he didn’t pursue romance and the show bible said that it was because he was afraid of heartbreak. It could be because he was already shy/withdrawn to begin with, but there’s other factors that could have come from real life events. If he was LGBTQ plus, then that was still a bit of a hot topic in the 2000s (and assuming Brighton is in Illinois, same-sex marriages weren’t legalized until 2013, in which case it would have been too late for Todd to try to pursue anyone). I imagine that Brighton also wouldn’t have been inviting for romantic potentials, not to mention that the recession wouldn’t have helped. Also, I remember there was an over-emphasis on fitness and  physical appearances and how men and women should look like (in order to be considered attractive) that continued into the 2010s for a time. (I can still recall when fast food chains used models to promote their food). Todd would not have fit those ‘standards.’ (Plus I don't think he'd be too willing to give up food to try to obtain a look that is near impossible to achieve, but it might explain the weird abs obsession in that one episode).

And with these factors, it makes me wonder just what Adia was up to work-wise, because I can’t imagine traveling would have been too popular during the 2000s for reasons I already stated, and YouTube (or the equivalent of YouTube in TGAMM) wasn’t doing sponsors for much of its first decade. Unless she was lucky to get a job that allowed her to travel.

Side note–phones that could do face times existed as early as 2010/2011, so that adds to the timeline of exactly when Todd would have lost his soul.

[meili-sheep]

Genuinely disgusted by how people keep victim blaming Diluc, saying Diluc is the source of all of kaeya's problems. And some of the people slandering Diluc are Diluc fans themselves!

Don't get me started on the "jokes" this fandom writes about him. I personally don't think physical violence or 'characters getting blamed for something they didn't do' are funny jokes.

I'm so tired.

Wish people would realise how shitty of a person kaeya is. It doesn't help that Genshin rewrote kaeya to make him likeable.

(Kaeya and collei are friendly with each other, Kaeya babysitting klee when she already has albedo)

Sorry for rambling. I'm sick of how terribly Diluc is getting treated. And I am avoiding most of the fandom, but I still end up running into these people.

Honestly, like Diluc low-key has been getting shafted for a while. In the fandom and in canon.

And the only reason I think that he's been kept in Mihoyo's basement is because his lore is just so end game heavy. So that's why he hasn't popped up again. I think Mihoyo realized that the traveler could just ask Diluc shit, and he'd be able to solve like 70% of their problems.

As for the fandom. I personally am both fascinated by fandom as a method of looking at people's social interaction and as a method of studying their interruptions of media in a creative way. But also holy cow does it suck to be in here sometimes. And I feel I am desensitized to people's shitty takes on Kaeya and Diluc. Partly because well. I'm a Jason Todd fan, so I've been having the shit beating out of me since like 2014 (when I got into superhero comics). And I do see a lot of parallels between fan interruptions, Bruce's relationship with Jason and Kaeya and Diluc. Like Bruce has deeply wronged Jason. And I'm not talking Under the Red Hood, I'm like talking RHatO #25 and whatever the hell was happening in Gotham War (I'm honestly trying to forget that). And so has Kaeya. Like Man is not that stupid, his decision to tell Diluc that was entirely selfish. You have to have like no emotional intelligence to do what Kaeya did. And Kaeya had consistently proven he does have that. He had a great moment of weakness and now continues to be too weak to actually apologize. He's also dense in a way I'm not a fan of. Because if you really think he's gonna be a spy and betray Mondstadt I would ask you to take a literature course to expand your critical thinking and analytical skills. Because it would make no sense. Like he might for like half a second, but then he's gonna turn around.

Anyway. If you want a piece of advice, the only advice I can give you is to not engage and let it roll off your back. You're welcome to come here and bitch if you want. As I am the Hate Crepus corner. And I'd say I'd warmed up the Kaeya but honesty I think I've just warm up to how *I* write him which is different.

On a positive note, I'm working on a theory that Jason Todd and Diluc Ragnvindr are Lesbian Wraith characters. No, I will not explain at this time.

[deadcrowcalling]

the olive theory

Neil hates almonds, and Todd loves them. Giving almonds to Todd becomes a tradition, lasting even after one's death.

warnings: angst? major character death (canon-compliant), grief, sad :(, some fluff at the beginning maybe, not proof read we die like neil, bad formatting due to the fact i'm writing this on my phone in the notes app lmao, ooc writing??

a/n: my first fic yayyy!! this was supposed to be rlly sweet and fluffy anderperry but it most definitely isnt :(

It was an oddly well known fact around Welton that Neil Perry did not like, perhaps even despised almonds. It was a not-so well known fact that Todd Anderson loved almonds. 

"Who wants my almonds?" Neil spoke over the hubbub of the dining room. One boy named Anthony had snuck in bags of trail mix from town and had been using them as payment for notes and homework answers for weeks.

Todd immediately perked up. He gestured for Neil to hand him the almonds, and as he did, Todd immediately put a few in his mouth and began to chew.

Charlie, who had been in the middle of telling off Cameron, quirked his eyebrow at Todd. "Since when have you liked almonds so much?"

"I love almonds," Todd said in his usual quiet tone. "Always have."

Charlie scoffed. "Where were you all those times Neil made me eat the damn almonds?"

Todd shrugged and kept eating the almonds. Neil watched as the scene progressed. "If i had known you liked almonds so much, Todd, i would've given them to you sooner," he smiled.

And so a tradition began, if Neil received almonds, they'd go to Todd.

•December 10, 1959

"Meeting tonight?" Todd asked Neil as he sped up to walk at the same pace as the brunet. 

Neil hummed. "Oh, that's reminds me," his hand traveled to his pocket and pulled out a bag of almonds. Todd's eyes brightened. "I've had everyone forfeit their almonds from Anthony's trail mix for the last few days."

"You didn't have to do that," Todd smiled sheepishly, taking the bag from Neil.

"I wanted to." Neil smiled. "You're my friend, and nobody else likes almonds, with good reason,"

"Hey!" Todd interrupted. "Almonds are great."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself." Neil shrugged, shaking his head as Todd rolled his eyes.

That night in the cave, as Pitts read a poem from the book, Neil bumped Todd's shoulder. In his hand was an almost-empty bag of trail mix, everything gone except the almonds. Todd gratefully took the bag from Neil's hand and began to eat.

•December 13, 1959

Neil paced back and forth in his shared room with Todd, reciting his lines as Todd wrote something in his notebook. Per usual, he had a bag of almonds next to him, snacking away.

"Have you told everyone when the play is?" Neil asked nervously. "I don't want anyone missing it."

Todd nodded. "You mentioned it at the last meeting, remember? And you've already told Mr. Keating."

Neil sighed. "Oh, yeah, right."

Todd set his notebook and pencil down. "Is everything alright? You seem on edge." 

"It's just, the play, my father, it's-" he sighed, messing with his fingers. "Nerves."

Todd hummed. "You'll do great, i know it. You'll be the next Frank Sinatra within no time." he smiled. Neil's mouth rose into a small smile. Todd gently kicked at his leg from his perch on his bed. "If they ever remake Around the World in 80 Days, you better be in it. I'll go see every showing of it if you do." 

Neil smiled and sighed. "I'm getting worked up over nothing. Thank you, Todd. For everything."

Todd smiled and continued eating his almonds. Neil groaned and mumbled about how he had zero taste for liking something so disgusting and Todd giggled.

•December 15, 1959

Todd was right. Neil did amazing. But, to the poet's disappointment, Todd wasn't able to inform his friend of his success before Neil's father dragged him into a car and drove off, not before telling Keating to stay away from Neil.

On the way back to Welton, Todd wondered how much trouble Neil would be in. His gut felt uneasy with worry. Mr. Perry was in no way fond of Neil's longing for an acting career, everyone knew that, even though he was spectacular. 

Todd tossed and turned in his bed for what felt like hours. Eventually falling asleep, he was soon rudely awoken by Charlie. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking the sleep out of them. Charlie was... crying? The rest of the poets stood in the doorway. "What is it?" 

Charlie took a shaky breath. "Neil's dead."

Todd's insides were buzzing. The air felt thick and it felt like he was drowning. His ears rung with a painful sharpness and his brain ached. "What?" His voice was feeble, and his tone quivered. 

Charlie sniffed. "He-" he wiped a tear off his face. "They said he killed himself."

Todd shook his head. "No-no..." he chuckled nervously. "Neil wouldn't do that. He- he wouldn't kill himself."

"Todd.." Knox said.

"No!" he said, voice a bit louder than it should be. "Neil wouldn't leave us. He- he wouldn't leave us. Why.. why would he do that? You're lying." His breath was unsteady now, and his chest rose and fell with an unstable pattern. 

"I wish i was. I really, really do, Todd." Charlie said, voice shaking.

•December 18, 1959

Neil's funeral was somber. His mother was hysterical, sobbing the entire time while his father stared on, face expressionless as people spoke about his late son.

Todd's eyes never left his feet. Not while he was carrying his friends casket, not while he was speaking about his friend, not while they were putting him in the ground. God, they were putting him in the ground. Snow fell upon the dirt as they shoveled it upon the casket that held Neil's body. Todd felt numb even thinking about it.

The night they returned to Welton was hell. Todd walked into his room, some part of him still expecting to see Neil's smiling face practicing lines or doing trig homework.

Todd sat at Neil's desk and immediately fell apart. He sobbed into his hands just looking at the dogeared pages in Neil's chemistry book or the pencil shavings sitting on the desk. A single pencil sat out. Todd opened the top drawer of the desk to put it away, and sobbed even harder at what he saw. A little plastic bag of almonds, Todd's name written across it in permanent marker.

it was an oddly well-known fact at Welton that before his death, Neil Perry did not like almonds.

Now, neither did Todd.

[wizardiest-wizard-of-oz]

if anyone wants I have a musicals playlist that's over 200 hours that has I think around 205 musicals here's an alphabetized list let me know if I'm missing any I should add (I don't like Andrew lloyd Webber musicals and I'm also not a huge fan of jukebox musicals more specifically mamma Mia) and if anyone wants a link please ask me

13

21 Chump Street

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

35MM

36 Questions

42nd Street

The Addams Family

Aida

Aladdin

Alice by Heart

Allegro

Amelie

Anastasia

Ani

Annie Get Your Gun

Annie

Anything Goes

Avenue Q

Back to the Future

Bat Boy

Beauty and the Beast

Beetlejuice

Be More Chill

The Big One-Oh

Billy Elliot

Black Friday

Bombshell

Bonnie and Clyde

Book of Mormon

Brigadoon

Bring it On

Once More With Feeling (Buffy musical)

Bugsy Malone

Bye Bye Birdie

Cabaret

Camelot

Carousel

Carrie

Catch Me if You Can

A Catered Affair

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Chess

Chicago

A Chorus Line

Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein)

The Colour Purple

Come From Away

Company

Crybaby

Curtains

Damn Yankees

Days of Wine and Roses

Dear Evan Hansen

Desperate Measures

Dog Man

Dreamgirls

Dreamland

Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Drowsy Chaperone

Duolingo on Ice

Elegies

Epic (all released sagas)

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Falsettoland

Falsettos Revival

Firebringer

Flora the Red Menace

Follies

Fosse

Frankenstein

Frozen

Fun Home

Funny Girl

A Funny Thing Happened

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Grand Hotel

Grease

The Great American Trailer Park

Grey Gardens

Gutenberg

Guys and Dolls

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

G*psy

Hadestown (broadway)

Hadestown (off broadway)

Hairspray

Hair

Hamilton

Harmony

Heathers

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hello Dolly

Honk

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (this one is just for Patrick page)

How to Dance in Ohio

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Hunchback of Notre Dame

In the Green

In the Heights

Into the Woods

In Trousers

It Shoulda Been You

Jekyll and Hyde

Kimberly Akimo

The King and I

Kinky Boots

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Legally Blonde

Lempicka

Les Miserables (english and french)

The Lightning Thief

The Lion King

Little Do They Know

The Little Mermaid

A Little Night Music

Little Shop of Horrors (english and german)

Little Women

Lizard Boy

Love in Hate Nation

Love's Labours Lost

Mad Ones

Make Me a Song

Mame

A Man of No Importance

March of the Falsettos

Marguerite

Martin Guerre

Mary Poppins

Matilda

Mean Girls

Merrily We Roll Along

Miss Saigon

Monty Python's Spamalot

The Music Man

My Fair Lady

My Heart Says Go

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Nerdy Prudes Must Die (I only have one song because I'm waiting to watch it with my friend before adding more)

A New Brain

Newsies

New York, New York

Next to Normal

Nightmare Time

Nine

Octet

Oklahoma

Oliver

Once On This Island

Once Upon a Mattress

Only Murders in the Building (Death Rattle Dazzle)

The Pyjama Game

Parade

Pippin

The Prince of Egypt

Prodigal

The Producers

The Prom

Ragtime

Ride the Cyclone

The Rink

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Schmigadoon

Schmicago

Scottsburo Boys

Seussical

She Loves Me

Sherlock

Shrek

Shucked

Six

Smash

Some Like it Hot

Something Rotten

The Sound of Music

South Pacific

Spiderman Turn off the Dark

The Spitfire Grill

Spongebob

Spring Awakening

Starship

State Fair

Sunday in the Park with George

Superhero

Sweeney Todd

Sweet Charity

The Theory of Relativity

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Tick Tick Boom

The Time Traveller's Wife

The Trail to Oregon

Twisted

Urinetown

A VHS Christmas Carol

The Visit

Waitress

Wait Wait Don't Kill Me

West Side Story

Wicked

Water for Elephants

Wizard of Oz

The Wiz

Zombie Prom

Zorba

[nightmare-grass]

My Adventures With Superman: Where do we go from here?

- This show takes on the Superman origin story but focuses on his beginning as a young adult superhero, which is different from nearly every other depiction. He seems just out of college, like he’s 20 or 21. This would mean everyone else in the DC universe is younger too.

- People often compare Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent on equal grounds, like they’re supposed to be the same age, so maybe they’re going to be? I don’t know if this show is ever gonna branch out and show other superheroes, other places besides Smallville and Metropolis, but it’s a fun thought exercise.

- So maybe Bruce Wayne is also just starting his Batman journey. He might be in Gotham in a self-made suit, like in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, or he might be training all over the world still. We know Bruce is a genius, so he can learn any subject he wants in a shorter time than normal, so he might’ve skipped college to travel the world right after high school, training with the best fighters and the League of Assassins and studying college-level texts on the side because he’s just extra like that. 18 at the beginning of his training, and there’s varying accounts of how long his training took. Some say 7 years, some say 12 years, and that makes sense.

- If we want reporter Clark Kent interacting with billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne at all, we can’t have them be the same age. So! I propose a future season where we finally get more superheroes interacting with Superman so he can feel less alone in the world. For that, Bruce Wayne would just be returned home after a 7 year absence learning abroad. He’d be about 4 years older than Clark, but he’d be perturbed by their lack of height difference. Bruce wants to start his crusade against the criminal underbelly of his hometown, Gotham City, but to have the perfect cover story he needs to play up the rich fail son front of Bruce Wayne, and he’s not pleased about this perceptive reporter from Metropolis who’s built like a brick shithouse. See, Bruce isn’t dumb, and he keeps up on the news, especially about global security threats. Bruce knows about Superman, and he has his theories, but he develops a new theory once he meets Clark.

- Wonder Woman is immortal but people don’t necessarily know that. Wonder Woman is an urban legend Clark learned about in history class when talking about World War 1, World War 2, all the biggest global conflicts in human history. A goddess who comes out of nowhere, saves the day, and disappears for decades at a time. Diana Prince, however, is a mild mannered museum associate. As an immortal warrior born of clay, she always looks like a woman in her upper 20’s and speaks like a woman who is centuries wise. She keeps to herself mostly, but she keeps close tabs on global security threats, like Bruce does. She knew as soon as Superman came on the scene that she didn’t need to get involved as much anymore. She barely held herself back on Zero Day because the US government was all over that, and it would’ve been too high profile if she’d been involved. It didn’t even last long enough for her to fly over to help.

- In the comics, Bruce Wayne adopts the newly orphaned Dick Grayson when he’s 27. That means if I start Bruce Wayne at 18, give him 7 years of training, making him 25, and make him 3 years older than Clark at the beginning of the story, meaning Clark is 22 when Bruce is 25, then he gets to be Batman for 2 years before running into Dick Grayson, 10 year old, and adopting him. Then, he gives Dick a few months of training before letting him become Robin, so we have 27 year old Bruce, 10 year old Dick, and 24 year old Clark.

- The comics also say Bruce was 34 when he adopts a 12 year old Jason Todd. That means Dick was Robin for 7 years before he and Bruce had a falling out and Dick went solo, becoming Nightwing. Dick and Jason should have a 5 year age difference, if Dick was 17 when Jason was 12. Then, there’s a bit of time fuckery when it comes to Jason because he dies and gets resurrected as Red Hood. Jason dies at 15, and gets resurrected in the Lazarus Pit 3 years after his death, making him effectively 18 when he comes back. Bruce would be 39 at the time of Jason’s death, and 42 at the time of Jason’s resurrection.

- Superman would be 31 when Dick becomes Nightwing and Jason becomes Robin, then 36 when Jason dies, then 39 when Jason comes back as Red Hood. I think that fits rather well.

- Tim Drake came along only a short while after Jason’s death, like a month or so, so Bruce is 39 when a 14 year old Tim Drake becomes the third Robin. Clark would be 36 at this point still. And then Tim becomes Red Robin at age 17, following in the footsteps of his hero Nightwing who also went solo at 17. Tim spends 3 years being Robin, meaning he spends the time Jason is dead being the third Robin.

- Comics place Bruce meeting his son Damian at age 43, meaning it’s a year after Jason comes back and suddenly he’s got a new son he never knew about. Talia left Damian with Bruce when Damian was 10, following the grand Robin-adopting tradition. This means Damian was conceived when Bruce was 33, right before he met and adopted Jason Todd. Superman becomes 40 at the point where Damian is adopted as the new Robin.

- With this timeline, it’s difficult finding spaces for Barbara, Stephanie, Cassandra, Duke, and all the other important Bat Family members, but it’s not impossible.

[brown-eyedblues]

Songs (or specific lyrics) that are Billy-coded with some elaboration:

>Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek

“Can I be used to help others find truth/ When I’m scared I’ll find proof that it’s a lie/ Can I be led down a trail dropping bread crumbs/ That prove I’m not ready to die/ Please give me time to decipher the signs/ Please forgive me for time that I’ve wasted.”

I actually can’t really elaborate that much on this one- just know that every time I hear it, I think about Billy being at war with himself over whether he should stay with Murphy’s men or join Tunstall’s forces. The way he just continues to make tough decisions, hoping they are the right ones.

>Work Song by Hozier

“When my time comes around/ Lay me gently in the cold dark earth/ No grave can hold my body down/ I’ll crawl home to her” AND “My baby never fret none/ About what my hands and my body done/ If the lord don’t forgive me/ I’d still have my baby and my babe would have me.”

Ok, ok… this one really reflects the romantic in me. Billy would be the type to not let anything between him and the woman he loves. He also knows that his girl loves him unconditionally- no matter the trouble he finds himself in the middle of. He might not be a saint in the Lord’s eyes, but none of that matters because he knows his girl looks at him like he hung the moon and all of the stars.

>Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan (This version specifically)

“Mama, put my guns in the ground/ I can’t shoot them anymore/ That long black cloud is comin’ down/ I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.”

So I found out recently that this song was actually written for the movie “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid” in 1973… BUT I thought it was Billy-coded before I even knew that. Also- I feel like this one is a little obvious… While I hope the show takes the conspiracy theory route…. We all know how Billy’s story is suppose to end.

>Candy by Paolo Nutini

“Although not the most honest means of travel/ It gets me there nonetheless/ I’m a heartless man at worst, babe/ And a helpless one at best.”

This is another daydreamy romantic one. But this particular line really gives me Billy vibes. Billy knows that this lifestyle is not the most honest and safe. He knows that there is a cruelty to his outlaw ways, but his girl could always bring out the innocent, kind side of his personality. He is at her mercy, and he couldn’t be happier.

>Soul For Every Cowboy by Big Head Todd and the Monsters

“When hell falls cold and wet/ His heart soon forgets/ That ever he was loved or wanted to be loved/ And a soul for every cowboy/ And a star to guide him home/ And an angel to bring him/ A song to sing when he’s alone.”

Listen, I KNOW this one is a little obvious. I don’t think I need to elaborate more

Guys- I wanna hear other songs you guys think are Billy-coded. I have a whole arsenal of songs where these ones came from. Let me know if you want to hear more!

[abstract-moth]

Questions come from here

6 - Which character do you relate to the most?

13 - Are there any themes in Nimona that you especially like?

16 - Do you have any headcanons about how Ballister and Ambrosius met?

19 - How much time do you think passed between the cannon scene and the last scene of the movie?

22 - Do you have any headcanons that you'd like to share?

28 - What other media do you recommend for people who enjoyed Nimona?

44 - Is there anything about the movie that you liked better than the comic?

45 - Is there anything about the comic that you liked better than the movie?

51 - What are your favorite Nimona fanfic tropes to read and/or write?

57 - Have you made any fanworks for Nimona (fanfic, fanart, meta analysis, etc.)? Please self-promote and share your work!

Sorry if that's too many! Skip if you need to, and of course you could always answer more too.

Thank you so much for the ask! I love participating in these games so I appreciate all the questions

6 - Which character do you relate to the most?

In theory, it should be Ballister. He's my favorite character and I relate to being betrayed by loved ones. But in actuality, it is absolutely Ambrosius. The model minority and perfectionism themes just hit a bit too close to home.

13 - Are there any themes in Nimona that you especially like?

I really really liked how the movie approached classism and systematic injustice. These are usually very complex topics, so I was genuinely surprised at how well the managed to portray them.

16 - Do you have any headcanons about how Ballister and Ambrosius met?

My headcanon is that they met very boringly when Ballister joined and was introduced to Ambrosius’ class. This originates from a personal hot take where I think fiction (and thus fandom) puts too much weight on first meetings. Sometimes you meet the love of your life on a random Tuesday and you don't even realize it. There are things to cherish in the mundane, and sometimes you can only truly appreciate it years afterwards.

However, I will say that I think they had a slowburn friendship that gradually built over the years. I also see Ambrosius as the first one to develop a crush. He didn't say anything to Ballister tho, instead waiting for him to realize it on his own. This caused years of pining.

19 - How much time do you think passed between the cannon scene and the last scene of the movie?

It’s hard to say. I would guess anywhere between a month and a year. Todd’s broken arm makes it seem to be about a month. However, the finished infrastructure and increased travel makes me say minimum six months. If I were forced to write a post-cannon scene (heh), I would put it at about 3-4 months in. It gives enough time for the kingdom to recover a bit, but still leaves the politics in a bit of a shaky place, allowing for interesting stories. It also a gives a little time to learn about the outside and just starting to interact with the other civilizations out there.

22 - Do you have any headcanons that you'd like to share?

I mentioned a few previously. I will link a few below bc some people added some interesting discussions in the notes.

The Director intended for Ballister to die in the arena

All the knights are terrible detectives

Ambrosius and Ballister's class were little terrors

The Queen had a child and the Director was acting as regent

28 - What other media do you recommend for people who enjoyed Nimona?

oh dear I am very bad at recommending media.

well first of all, read the comic. It is very good and examines the story and themes in a different way.

also check out ND Stevenson’s other works. She-ra is also a favorite of mine

As another post pointed out, the Broken Earth Trilogy hits similar themes of social injustice, being othered by society, and tearing down broken systems. Fair warning tho, it is very much sadder and more violent.

44 - Is there anything about the movie that you liked better than the comic?

I already mentioned the themes of classism and systematic injustice, so I will add that I think Queen Valerin is awesome. Plus, I find it interesting to analyze her. Was she a perfect paragon who was trying to promote change until the system tore her down? What exactly was the nature of her relationship with Ballister? Did she see him as a son or more like a means to an end? Did she ever try to protect him from the media or better integrate him into the knights?

45 - Is there anything about the comic that you liked better than the movie?

I liked the general vibe of mystery and intrigue, especially around the myth of Gloreth. In the comic everything just feels a lot more mythical, which makes the reader more contemplative.

Not necessarily liked better (bc they are functionally two different tellings), but the dynamic between comic Ballister and Ambrosius is definitely more bitter and angsty. It's a nice contrast to the movie.

51 - What are your favorite Nimona fanfic tropes to read and/or write?

I actually have not read or written a lot of fanfic for the fandom. Though I would absolutely love to see Ballister and Queen Valerin’s relationship explored in more detail. There's the inherit tragedy of that story.

I also like seeing interesting takes on Ballister, Ambrosius, and Nimona's dynamic. The fandom is kinda sold on them being a family, but I think they all have a really complicated and chaotic dynamic with each other. So it's nice to see works that explore how weird they are together (but still nonetheless care about one another).

57 - Have you made any fanworks for Nimona (fanfic, fanart, meta analysis, etc.)? Please self-promote and share your work!

So far I only have this one drabble.

I am also working on a longer one shot. Now that finals are over, I am really excited to start working on it again. I am also thinking of writing another one shot that mirror it thematically

That's all I have for now. Thanks again for the ask!

[tornrose24]

For the longest time–ever since I saw that Jinx would be an antagonist for what I assumed was the season 2 finale back in 2023–I had this idea of how season 2 would end and how a season 3 would begin. Mainly if The Ghost and Molly Mcgee had the same exact season 2 ending where the ‘protagonist is sent off to a safer location and brings someone along with them, but the other place is in deep trouble’ much like in Amphibia and Owl House. So here was my headcanons:

Season 2 ending

-Jinx gets the victory over Molly and Scratch.

–Ghost council turns out to have been in on Jinx’s plan from the very start (which would explain why they were oddly ok with making Scratch the Chairman in order to keep Molly from the position since SHE was the one who killed him.) But they changed their minds when Scratch’s time has chairman proved to be better for everyone overall.

-Jinx might possibly drain Molly of her life force, given the threat she possessed (which DID happen in the show)

-Scratch gets hit with something that brings him back to life. Alternatively, in the event that the wraith theory was true, he is put under circumstances where he is forced back into Todd’s body and thus comes back to life.

–Jinx banishes Molly and Scratch out of Brighton, or else they are sent away by someone for their own safety. We don’t get to see Scratch back to life just yet under the circumstances.

–The last two minutes reveal that Molly and Scratch end up somewhere very far from Brighton, but still on Earth.

–If they have someone along with them, it’s either Libby and Ollie or just Libby.

-We get a shot of Molly seeing Scratch alive for the first time, but we don’t see it until he does. Either by the ‘look at the hand’ trick, or if Molly has her phone and does the selfie feature for him so that he can have a way to see what happened to himself.

–We get five seconds of Scratch processing he is back to life…. And then screams his head off. Cue the end credits and a very LONG wait for season 3.

Season 3 ideas:

–Very first seconds…. Scratch is still screaming and Molly has to shut him up.

–Turns out Scratch didn’t get completely merged back with his living body/come back to life. If he runs into something, gets hit by something hard enough, or gets scared easily, his ghost form will easily pop out of his body (and thus, the show title still makes sense for the season).

-Opening song now includes Ollie, June, and Adia (more on her later) for the group hug in the song. Song doesn’t give away Scratch’s current condition.

-However one or two of the Disney chibi shorts gives away that Scratch comes back to life.

–Jinx has complete control over Brighton and plans to extend her reach to the rest of the world of the living. It will be shown that a few humans and ghosts are planning to find a way to go against her.

–Scratch can’t do a ghost portal because…. reasons. His powers are likely weakened as well.

–The whole season isn’t as long as the other ones, but its mainly Molly and Scratch just trying to get back to Brighton, and all the misadventures they have.

-Which of course is nothing for Molly since she’s moved around a lot.

–Molly gets a bit sidetracked by wanting to help out the people she and Scratch meet.

-Running gag of Scratch being mistaken as Molly’s dad or grandfather when he’s in living form. Other running gag is how often does his ghost form get knocked out of his body. (Answer: a LOT).

–The big question regarding Scratch’s character arc in the season is if he wants to go back to being a ghost or fully return to life and embrace what it means to be alive.

-Adia would feature as someone who runs into them during their travels, and Scratch will have to confess more than she is ready for.

–There would be ghosts that pop up during the travel back to Brighton as well.

…….And that’s all I have. Your thoughts? 

[geopolicraticus]

My new Frontiers Column is now available in the Fall 2023 EMERGENCE newsletter from the IBHA. Here is the text:

Frontiers – Fall 2023   

Last month I traveled to Poland to attend a conference of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC)—the theme of the conference was Civilizational Security: Clashes of Civilizations, Clashes within Civilizations, and Stable Global Futures—in part to make the case for the role of big history in studying civilization, and, by implication, the role of civilization studies in big history. Since big history aspires to be a form of scientific history this poses immediate problems, as civilizations primarily have been studied by the methods of traditional history and the social sciences, whereas big history, while not neglecting the social sciences, has been primarily oriented around the natural sciences.

I tailored my remarks to the theme of the conference by arguing that civilizational security���a concept introduced by conference organizer Grzegorz Lewicki—demands that we avoid old misunderstandings and familiar cognitive biases by clearing the ground and starting over from first principles. The failures of civilizational understanding that lead to instability and conflict, I argued, ultimately flow from the foundations of our understanding (or misunderstanding). To overcome these failures, and thus to overcome the misunderstandings that have led time and again to catastrophe, may require a novel effort to understand what history and civilization are at the most basic level.

Big history and the study of civilization share, or could share, many core concepts in a newly founded scientific discipline that approached both history and civilization in the scientific spirit, each drawing equally from a scientific method reformulated to be relevant to human experience in time. A newly founded historical discipline in which history and civilization were unified in core concepts might be a distinct kind of history from traditional humanistic history in which the critical study of documents is central, and also distinct from the kind of scientific history in which the empirical evidence of genomics, physical anthropology, palynology, and archaeology are central.

One could argue that traditional humanistic approaches to history are as different from contemporary scientific history as humanistic psychology is from psychodynamic psychology. We have grown accustomed to there being many different schools of thought in psychology—Freudian, Jungian, Adlerian, behavioristic, cognitive, and humanistic, inter alia—each with their own distinctive methods, but it strikes us as a bit strange to entertain the same idea in regard to history. To be sure, it is widely recognized that most historians have an implicit philosophy of history, and we can divide historians into schools of thought based on their philosophical presuppositions, but we rarely go so far as to recognize distinct methods of historical inquiry, except insofar as they are the distinct methods of the auxiliary historical disciplines such as Sigillography (the study of seals), palaeography (the study of handwriting), epigraphy (the study of inscriptions), numismatics (the study of coins), and so on.

Nevertheless, we have, at least de facto, humanistic history and scientific history existing side-by-side almost as schools of thought in psychology exist side-by-side, with each learning from the other, but neither fully reducible to the other. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge methodologically distinct forms of historical inquiry that complement each other in this way, but which remain distinct even as they develop in concert. Fundamental conceptual differences do not necessarily hinder the progress of science. Physics cannot (yet) unify quantum theory and gravitation, and light can be described as a wave or a particle depending upon the kind of measurements taken, but physics continues nonetheless.

We all know that many historical accounts of the past disagree. Historians argue endlessly with each other to try to sort out these disagreements, whether by demonstrating the truth of one’s preferred account, or by accepting part of one’s rival’s account and revising one’s own views accordingly. Such disagreements are most familiar in relation to matters of historical fact, although they also intrude as differences of philosophical presuppositions, and, as such, are more recalcitrant to resolution. What I want to suggest here is that there may be different ways of reconstructing the past (and preconstructing the future), distinct from factual and philosophical differences, which different accounts suggest different insights as well as different explanations that complement each other, deepening our understanding, even as they remain distinct disciplines.