#//nothing like it has happened in canon but there’s also nothing in canon disproving it. so.

[brightest-colors-forever]

Bad Apple is a music video that people like to try to reanimate in various places! You have access to the internet, right? You should be able to look it up :)

[a video of Kinkajou’s wing. The first 15 seconds of Bad Apple appear to be animated on it.]

Wow! I’ve never considered doing something like that!

[fanfic-obsessed]

Mental Break

Despite the title I think this will be a funnier one.  As a reminder, disregard anything in canon (if such a creature even exists for DC) that contradicts this.

We start with Jason Todd, the Red Hood.  He comes to Gotham having been manipulated by Talia Al Ghul to believe that Jason had been easily replaced by Tim Drake as Robin. That Bruce likely never loved him. 

We are sometime in that strange time after Red Hood delivers his bag of heads, but before anyone knew he was Jason Todd.  He had plans to attack his replacement, but wanted more intel first.  

He tracks down his replacement and douses him with something aerosolized that would induce truthfulness for a short time and asks/shouts at him to find out why Tim took the mantle of Robin.  Tim answers with something to the effect of ‘It was the only option’. Now what Tim means is Gotham needs Batman, and Batman needs Robin, and nobody else was stepping up.  What Red Hood heard was that Bruce was forcing this child to be Robin, that there was some kind of hostage situation going on (Much later, whenever this story is told, Bruce gets an aggrieved, tired look and says ‘I was the hostage in this situation’). 

Somehow this twists through the Pit Madness until Jason is convinced that it was not that Bruce replaced Jason with Tim and that Bruce never loved Jason. Instead he comes to believe that Jason's death broke Bruce so badly that he believes that Tim is Jason. That Bruce kidnapped a neighborhood kid and forced him into the Robin costume so that Bruce did not have to face his son being dead.  Tim is, of course, just trying to survive what must be a terrifying and surreal experience.  It also gives Jason a good explanation why the Joker is still alive (Killing the Joker for Killing Jason means admitting Jason is dead).  Jason manages to hack into the bat computer and get some, but not all, of the videos of Tim’s training and nothing that he got dissuades this belief.  Particularly since many of the early videos have Bruce drunk, calling Tim Jason, and being unnecessarily rough (Some of which was deliberate to try to get Tim to quit).  He also manages to miss any evidence that Alfred knew anything about Tim being Robin, so he thinks that Alfred, in his own grief, is missing the whole ass child that Bruce has apparently kidnapped. 

So now instead of planning a confrontation between Batman and the Joker he is considering the implications of Bruce finding out Jason’s identity. He is asking himself if it would break Bruce further, if Bruce would hurt Tim for ‘pretending’ to be Robin/Jason, if Bruce would even believe Jason. 

To the confusion of all the Bats, Red Hood’s entire personality abruptly seemed to shift. He was still a crime lord, still killing. However, before he had clearly hated the Bats, now anytime he crossed paths with either Batman or Robin he asked strange, aggressive yet concerned questions about their well being and mental health. 

Even more hilariously, Red Hood goes to Nightwing and (after proving that he really was Jason Todd) convinces Dick of this belief.  Dick thinks back to his own first interaction with Tim, where Tim was trying to convince him to come back, and comes to the, entirely incorrect, conclusion that this actually supported Jason's theory. Dick reframes the conversation in his head until it seems as though Tim was asking for Dick to rescue him instead of what was actually happening. He is also only rarely in Gotham so cannot think of a single instance that disproves Jason’s theory. 

What happens next can only be described as Shenanigans. 

Batman, and Robin are trying to figure out why Nightwing is suddenly working with the Crime Lord Red Hood. Also why Batman calling Tim Robin in the field makes him flinch. He keeps refusing to come back to the Cave or the Manor (because Dick is sure he will spill the beans about Jason and is afraid that will break Bruce further) and is possibly trying to lure Robin away. In addition Nightwing keeps asking really weird questions about where Tim is sleeping and how he is getting food and is he going to school.

Nightwing and Red Hood are trying to figure out (subtly, a term which neither actually have any grasp on) how deep Bruce's delusions go, how much Tim understands about what is going on, and how to get Tim away from Bruce long enough to get them all some help. Plus trying to find a therapist specifically for Tim (whom they assume is going to be deeply traumatized out of all this). 

Just all around Shenanigans.

[wickmitz]

SEDGEWICK SABLE & MITZI MAY : an overall study, part one .

discussing their individual characters, their relationship, their respective scenes, and a plethora of details found in-between.

this question is a good one! though i’m going to prematurely apologize for the length of my response to it, since this requires some extensive analysis. mostly because i feel like fans are prone to misreading and misinterpreting mitzi’s and wick’s relationship a lot in general, but also due to the fact there’s a lot of outside elements that are currently affecting their relationship as we see it in the comic. so to even begin to understand their mindset on the date, we have to rehash previous events and actually understand what’s happening within those moments. after all, like most good character writing, there’s a lot being said without actively telling the reader every little thing! it’s also important to note that this romantic relationship is very complex, with both parties involved being extremely human in nature ; prone to messing up and feeding impulses that, while understandable, aren’t exactly wise or good natured. for example, you will see some rather heavy miscommunication in this dynamic! but to start off with this beast of an analysis, let me discuss some statements i’ve seen made in regards to wick and mitzi, which are not only extremely biased in wick’s favor, but are factually untrue. these topics will come into play later! and will help establish some key elements i’ll mention again when recounting the events of the comic.

some opinions i’ve seen thrown around that are treated as canonical fact are a combination of ‘mitzi’s been setting out to use wick from the start / she isn’t actually interested in him / is merciless when taking advantage of him, and etc etc.’ -- and in order to properly begin this analysis and what’s really going on, you have to cast these ideas aside! i, personally, don’t think any of these views are true and serve as an extremely simplistic explanation for mitzi’s behavior, while also robbing wick of any actual agency he may have. he is not some helpless victim led astray by mitzi’s tempting offers and curves, and has even been stated to not be as morally righteous as he claims by tracy on occasion. he, like mitzi and everyone else in lackadaisy, is a heavily flawed individual! and that’s important to keep in mind as i go through and a.) debunk these misconceptions and b.) actually discuss the events of the comic, including the in-between we weren’t privy to as readers. i also don’t think i need to clarify this, but just in case someone out there is thinking it in passing : i cannot make it clear enough that mitzi is just as flawed as wick, if not more so! she is not an innocent party in the events, and i won’t shy away from discussing the morally ambiguous things she does either. however, it’s undeniable that she gets more hate than wick, or any other man in lackadaisy, thus i find it prominent to disprove the cartoonishly villainous reads of her character. i might defend her more than wick here, or approach her with more sympathy, but this doesn’t ever negate her wrongs and i know this. but with all these disclaimers, preamble, and topic starters out of the way, i’m going to go through these points one by one ( alongside their scenes together ) and discuss them as i see fit.

the first time we see mitzi and wick together is in the comic page introduction three : where they’re photographed together with some other noticeable faces, with a date of ‘5-21-1927’ dated in the corner. the two are beside one another and are leaning into each other’s space, an action that seems commonplace for them given how they’re depicted in the phantom bootlegger as well. it’s also worth noting that despite the rather tragic circumstances surrounding them, the two still appear to be in high spirits -- both donning a smile while flashing an almost coy look at the camera. they look as though nothing is amiss about the situation at all, honestly, and given their proximity, it appears they’re close. i’ve offhandedly mentioned to others that i wouldn’t be surprised if wick were standing in atlas’s ‘spot’, so to speak ; since he’s always shown standing to her left. it gives couple vibes! something that’s rather unremarkable since we know from wick’s own mouth that he’s been interested in mitzi since her days as atlas’s wife, as well as the implied affection at first sight in the side comic limestone. but i’ll note it nonetheless, because if this photo was taken before the proceeding events ( a likely story, since freckle is absent in the photo ), then this implies a closeness between wick and mitzi. they are comfortable around each other and are rather pleased to be in each other’s presence well before acting upon any feelings in a romantic light, unabashedly friendly before the other lackadaisy crew as well as not minding being posed so closely while being photographed together. they are on good terms and have likely stayed that way since they’ve known one another -- i feel like people act as though wick and mitzi had no genuine bond prior to the events of the comic, when it seems rather implied they were at least friends before. this also very weakly discredits claims of planned manipulation from the start as well as mitzi not liking wick outside of his money. the only thing up for debate, in my eyes, is how close they were, not if they were close at all … though now we reach actual canon events, most notably pages such as : formaldehyde, overtime, hallelujah, overture, caveat, and rendezvous respectively. these are pages that i’ll be talking about in length, since i see them as necessary reading ( and rereading ) for these two before volume two’s events.

formaldehyde, overtime, and overture are sort of bundled together for what they reveal where it concerns mitzi’s plans with wick as a person in her life. i think it’s easy to view her joy upon seeing sedgewick in the paper as an opportunistic lightbulb ; ‘good news’ that she can exploit and a balm applied to her financial troubles that had her looking at the obituaries for some levity. but i’d argue she is genuinely happy for wick too, with both selfless and selfish intent. while actually celebrating his success isn’t her main concern, i see some part of her proud of him nonetheless -- even if it’s an unspoken congratulations. though what’s more pressing is that it’s here that we see her intentions as clear as day, which is that she plans to schmooze wick’s investor friends in order to keep the lackadaisy afloat. emphasis on the investors here! her letter to wick shows her priorities clear as day, sending extra club pins and drawing attention to the desire for extra company, and not just wick’s own. when wick swindles the rather bored crowd the lackadaisy’s way, we see how mitzi leaps into action ; giving the men her full attention and chatting them up, making her motives clear as day to them while maintaining some business coyness. the real apple of her eye here is edmund church, who is poised to appear as the leading man where the investors are concerned, and even her body language is attentive towards the man. facing him directly, leaning the full weight of her body towards him …

but while doing so, she is visually turning herself away from wick. back practically turned to him and his presence all but ignored. it’s clear he’s not her schmoozing target, which implies she’s not searching for an investment from wick himself ; as though this is a line she doesn’t wish to cross, and would rather find her money elsewhere despite her mounting desperation. we also know that before these events that mitzi has sold everything she could in order to make things work, including rather sentimental items like wedding china and not limited to whatever mansion her and atlas previously lived in. to me, this shows that mitzi was never planning to use wick at all, really, and in fact was so against the notion that she’d rather manipulate his friends than the very easy target beside her. while she’s arguably a selfish character, people seem to not grasp how hard she tried to keep wick from becoming more than a loyal patron to the lackadaisy. it’s only when all other avenues have been exhausted that she attempts to use him -- and we’ll talk in depth about this decision later, since it wasn’t an easy choice, much less something she decided to do without some inner turmoil in her heart. and while yes, her exploiting wick’s investors is her using him to a degree, it’s worth noting that ( and i cannot stress this enough ) wick was more than well aware of her intentions and brought the men along anyway. he feeds these men to this lady he fancies, something church will call him out for in caveat and something borderline confirmed in overture itself. wick is hardly the idiot people make him out to be! he may be prone to obliviousness, but he’s no toddler who fails to understand even the most obvious social cues. at this point in the comic he trusts mitzi completely ; unfazed by the rumors she killed atlas and believing her incapable of violence due to how long he’s known her. he thinks her kind, he thinks her graceful, and his fondness for the widow is palpable in most of their early scenes … and even somewhat during the time in which their bond is strained.

in fact, the first time mitzi acknowledges wick’s presence beside her is when wick pipes up to offer her advice on how to win church over. not only is he aware of what she’s doing, he is now actively encouraging it by offering up tips and tidbits he probably learned himself when securing church’s investment, all while he smiles and leans towards her, a flirtatious and admiring nature about him.

sedgewick sable may be one of the kindest men in lackadaisy, but he’s still a capitalist at his core, someone who knows how important money is and is used to the give and take society he’s a part of. and while he’s still helping mitzi here, there’s also little denying the fact that he’s doing this to garner brownie points with her … there is some self interest he’s serving here, even if he’s rather sweet about it. as church so eloquently puts it, wick essentially tried to “charge in with ( his ) group of shareholders in a great display of concern for the lady.” and while wick vaguely denies this claim, i think it’s more than obvious that’s exactly what he tried to do here, especially given how quickly he admits it’s “difficult to resist a damsel in distress,” while adorning a rather sly look. what happened here is wick was bluntly called out for his readiness to use the investors so he could get in good with mitzi, appease her and impress her in some way, and he seems rather shameless about this intent thus far. many fans misinterpret this scene, due to being fiercely protective of wick and quick to sense church’s antagonistic role. and just to be clear, when i say antagonistic, i mean that he is the voice of opposition against something that wick’s arc is all about ( i.e. being in a relationship with mitzi ). because of this, fans are inclined to dismiss everything that church says as patently untrue. however, i find it pertinent to reassess church’s specific wording. when he speaks to mitzi in overture, he calls her business ‘criminal reputations’, and though mitzi is able to win him over enough that he stops complaining, he goes right back to his original opinion come caveat, where he states that ‘there’s no reason any of us should have an interest in illegitimate business’. what church says next, however, is curious ; he brings up both mitzi’s reputation and wick’s, pointing out just how incongruous they are, and spells out for him that if he’d like to associate with criminals, then he is in the wrong career. at no point does church tell wick not to have feelings for mitzi nor to pursue them -- what i believe church is essentially reminding wick of is that people will notice his associations with the lackadaisy if he decides to mix business and pleasure like he did tonight. after all, what wick has done, in the simplest of terms, is try to goad his investors into making an objectively harmful business decision so that he could get in good with a woman he fancies. the problem is hardly that wick goes to the lackadaisy ( after all, church and the other investors do go to speakeasies! ), or even that he has a clear interest in mitzi may. rather, church is warning wick against letting his personal feelings guide him into making poor decisions in his business.

it’s not shown how wick reacts to church’s advice, but seems to initially dismiss it, as he spends the rest of his time ushering them away and paying for viktor’s medical bills, an action he does partly due to wanting to look good in front of mitzi once again. while i believe wick would’ve paid them anyway ( he couldn’t ever just let viktor die ) i still find it interesting how the comic highlights ivy using mitzi against him and this working effortlessly. he stops asking questions and stops debating about the ethics of taking viktor to the hospital and merely pays the doctor when quackenbush gets there … before scrambling off to make himself useful at the little daisy.

all of this is to say that wick is hardly some helpless victim who was being used against his will here. he had something to gain from this too and helped these events unfold, completely aware of mitzi’s desire to win over his investors for her own needs. wick’s knowledge of this will come back into play soon enough, although we’re going to talk about mitzi real quick, as well as the comic page rendezvous.

after the events of killjoy, mitzi’s already dire situation takes a turn for the worse due to unseen circumstances, with many things falling at her feet at once. the last vestiges of their reputation has been tarnished alongside what was a golden opportunity, the lackadaisy is trashed and destroyed, she finds out that mordecai has taken all their arsenal, viktor is shot to hell, and had it not been for the presence of a stranger, the likelihood of her, rocky, and zib kicking the bucket was too likely to be comfortable. naturally, mitzi seems composed during these stressful events, keeping her cool as best she can and acting unfazed by what was imminent danger ; to a degree, this show of apathy is genuine, in the sense that mitzi is unafraid of death and physical harm. she made the choice to stay in the lackadaisy despite knowing she’d be safer on the other side of those doors, and in loggerhead she even implies she’d rather take the risks and die because allowing the lackadaisy to fade out of existence is a ‘sadder fate’ in her eyes. i don’t think i need to talk in length about how unhealthy this mindset is or how much this demonstrates mitzi’s obsession -- her selfishness to cling onto her husband’s ruinous legacy is so severe that she would even be happier perishing in its place, an almost passive suicidality mindset that i don’t see touched upon often. but for all her nonchalance about shootouts, there’s this worsening tiredness and despair that clings to her eyes and gestures when the pig farmers are slain. forced to do nothing else but accept the grim reality of such a brutal aftermath and see viktor’s awful state for herself, another blow she gets to see up close. they could’ve lost everything here, and they almost did! it’s a devastating end to a once hopeful evening, one that has her aimless and with no real plans for a future. i don’t think mitzi even thought to use wick even upon hearing about his offered charity, yet i believe we see the exact moment when such a thought crosses her mind ; maybe not for the first time, but here is when the idea becomes too tantalizing to ignore. she’s out of options and wick is there, like always, and mitzi’s desperation ( her grief ) eclipses any care she has for wick in a singular moment that changes their dynamic completely.

we’re finally at rendezvous, which is probably the most important page ( or at least one of the most integral pages ) to wick and mitzi’s relationship. a lot happens here between these two characters despite the simplicity of their actions, after all, chatting for a little and then kissing isn’t much to sneeze at plot wise. but what’s pressing here is the visuals and the dialogue rather than their actions. we start off with mitzi entering the little daisy cafe and catching wick tidying up the mess rocky and freckle created when they ran through the building ; he’s obviously waiting around to hear of viktor’s condition and doing something useful with his hands in the meantime, having been interrupted from where he’d been staring at atlas’ picture on the wall. miss may makes light of his ‘raiding’ and says she could’ve just made him something to eat if he really wants and wick responds in kind, sarcasm and banter exchanged briefly before they touch upon the events unfolding around them. mitzi expresses her gratitude and ensures she’ll pay wick back ( something she says without being prompted to ) before telling a curious wick about viktor’s condition. unable to help himself further, he asks mitzi what happened tonight, to which she remains silent -- wick realizes he’s better off not knowing and relents with a smile, to which we get this line from mitzi.

there’s a properness to this, where she goes as far as to stop using his nickname to address him as sedgewick instead. her paw reaches up to begin fiddling with her necklace ( something she does whenever thinking or reminded of atlas ) and before she can finish her thought, her attention is forced from wick onto the very picture he’d been staring at previously. my opinion on this scene is that, for all intents and purposes, this reads like some sort of formal rejection ; flavoring in ‘you’re so kind’s and ‘such a swell man, you are!’s before ending with your resounding no, so to speak. i think in this moment, mitzi was going to be honest with wick instinctively, especially after he saved her some trouble despite not having to. ”and i would hate to …” use him? lead him on? seemingly promise something she’s incapable of delivering upon? maybe she suspects he paid for viktor’s bills to win her over ( a semi correct assumption ) and wants to clear the air on that. say that while she’s thankful and while wick is an amazing person, he won’t be ‘getting’ anything out of this from her … not right now. i’ll talk more about how i believe mitzi views wick in a moment, but all in all i struggle to see what else she would’ve been trying to say here if not some kind of soft rejection. values his loyalty and kindness too much to lead him on in that way, or take advantage of him -- until she isn’t, which just happens to be obvious in this next scene. i need it on record that visually this is one of the most compelling scenes in all of lackadaisy to me! there is something so disturbing about it, somber, an eerie feeling that something is amiss and that mitzi’s state of mind is undeniably poor. that her view of things is clouded and warped, and this will overshadow any of her true thoughts or feelings due to this skewing of priorities.

and here we have this brief moment, a single panel of silence that doesn’t last more than a second perhaps, before mitzi ultimately kisses wick. what we see visually is wide, doll eyes staring at atlas -- her husband framed in time and sat at the little daisy cafe, surrounded by men who admired and feared him in equal measure, successful, and ‘looking’ down at her. seeing him renders her speechless, only roused from this heavy stare down when wick replaces atlas with his own face ; confused and worried, not at all similar to the emotionless expression she was taken by, but it’s interesting nonetheless. it’s only then that mitzi pushes into wick and kisses him! and i think this very scene is when mitzi not only thought to use wick, but was far gone enough to actually do so as well. there’s a lot of things to be potentially dissected from this scene! mitzi’s obsession with atlas, how she’s far gone enough to ruin a friendship just for his sake ( and for her own as well ) … or the fact wick seems to be her new direction, shallowly filling what space atlas has left behind, perhaps easing her loneliness and money woes all the while. this scene is never discussed and it’s criminal it isn’t, when there’s so much being said here in the silence of it all. she is haunted and tormented and all she can see is atlas, and after everything that’s happened to her and the lackadaisy, wick becomes an avenue and a tool for the sake of it. it’s not a kiss she seems to even enjoy and it looks as though it’s entirely impulsive and forced on her end.

with comics, it’s finicky to decipher what happens between panels, but what’s obvious here is that wick doesn’t respond to her advance immediately, which causes mitzi to pull back. she apologizes vaguely, giving a dismissive ‘i do that sometimes,’ something that’s probably not even true given how valiantly mitzi loathes feeling like a ‘harlot’, so to speak. she’s obviously trying to brush this incident aside ; either having come to her senses and being rightfully embarrassed or taking his unresponsive nature as her having read him wrong. feigns aloofness when wick asks what she does so often exactly, still distant by all means, and had it not been for the olives and their forced proximity, she might’ve made her leave. as quickly as the impulse came, it had left, and i don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility to think mitzi quickly regretted her actions here due to how emotionally driven they were. but instead she lingers and stays, and then ( in my eyes, given the composition of the pose ) wick yanks her into another kiss now that the surprise has worn off. after all, he did want this! she had caught him off guard is all. it’s worth noting she looks more at ease with this kiss, knowing it’s reciprocated and enjoying it as a passionate thing led by wick rather than herself. maybe she can excuse it now, her attempt to use him, since he’s ‘leading’ so to speak. regardless, this is where rendezvous ends … however, i want to address one more thing before i move on completely.

there’s no true way of telling what happened after this comic page due to the morning timeskip we experience. all we know is that wick eventually went home, after being out ‘later than usual’, which could imply he stayed for a lengthy period of time after or could simply be referring to the fact he didn’t leave with bix at first. i’d argue the earlier assumption based on the fact wick technically ‘left early’ anyway due to the raid, but that’s besides the point. people seem to believe that mitzi selfishly dropped this investment deal onto wick, that it was solely her idea, yet we see multiple times in volume two that this isn’t the case at all -- and that wick not only agreed to meet with her, but seemingly for the purpose of talking about his potential investment. here we have wick acknowledging he made last minute plans in grindstone, as well as mitzi heavily implying wick was very much into the idea of investing in her business last night in doublet :

wick never refutes these claims and the narrative does nothing to disprove this either. so it’s safe to assume that either during their necking or thereafter, one of them brought up the idea of wick investing and they both seemed eager about the prospect, enough so to agree upon meeting later in order to discuss the actual details. once again, wick is well aware of mitzi’s intention during the events of her date, an intention she barely bothers hiding because they’ve agreed to talk about it, and we’ll put a pin in that for later. now that we’ve actually concluded the canon events leading up to volume two ( as well as some moments in between ) i’ll briefly talk about mitzi’s and wick’s feelings during this time.

one of the biggest problems they’re facing currently, and one that will worsen over time, is that neither of them are on the same wavelength here. there is undoubtedly mutual attraction between them as well as affection, but how they view and understand these emotions is where they stay divided. we have sedgewick sable who’s well aware of his feelings ( or, in time, thought he was anyway ), has been since meeting mitzi for the first time, and is so bold in his fondness that he lingered inside her circle despite her marital status. he knows he wants mitzi romantically or at the very least casually … everyone around him can tell this too. it’s not some secret or taboo sin wick is prone to shying away from! he doesn’t even care about the rumors or her widow status -- or how bad it would look to be public with her given the mysterious and illegal circumstances she’s surrounded in. he desires to impress and woo her on top of being helplessly smitten.

where they seem to differ is that while wick is keenly aware of his attraction, mitzi is not. or, more accurately, has no clarity to which she can view it and understand it for what it is. during the events of the comic, she’s long since rewritten her memories of atlas and has painted them in this golden picture of pure happiness and true love and joy … she’s romanticized her past with him, purposefully forgetting things in order to maintain this ‘i had a fairytale life when i was married to atlas’ viewpoint. we see how this perspective affects even the most major of things, like the way mitzi casually spits in the face of her old life with the band, now adamant about the fact she was miserable then and felt just oh so disgusting while performing. while i believe some of those feelings are true, i also believe that mitzi is inherently devaluing things that aren’t related to atlas due to a mixture of obsession and grief she’s not looking in the eye. when you lose someone you love or loved, the sudden hit of loss makes it very easy to morph the person in your mind into someone perfect and godly. mordecai has likely done the same thing. it’s simple to deal with heartbreak in that way, to better love someone when they’re dead and gone with only memories and photos and feelings left behind as evidence they were ever there at all. in many ways, mitzi can’t comprehend atlas anymore, and has channeled her wounds into this constant conflicting fixation instead of something to heal. so, naturally, she is not thinking about herself -- her desires, her wants, her thoughts, or her feelings ; it's a chorus of atlas and the lackadaisy instead. mitzi isn’t in the space of mind to inspect her feelings towards wick and figure out whether she likes him or not … not when all she cares about is her priority. it also doesn’t help that zib, the person who arguably knew her best ( but doesn’t know her anymore despite how they both pretend otherwise ), immediately accuses her of using wick at the very beginning of volume one.

again, zib isn’t wrong and it turns out his fears are more than valid! but it’s worth saying that mitzi’s clouded mind is already having the notion of ‘you don’t care for wick like that, you’re just using him’ shoved into her brain as evident fact from someone who’s important to her. while she fancies him and would, in another world, be more than eager to engage in frivolous courting and romantic inclinations, i don’t think she herself knows that. but if she did take a moment and examine what she’s doing and how she feels now, she’d probably dismiss all that and be more than convinced that she’s manipulating wick, utilizing his attraction to her while having none of her own in order to steal some much needed money from his pockets. like i mentioned in this post, mitzi likely believes atlas was her one true love and that she’d never love again, furthering this notion of her accidentally puppeting her own emotions to be more understandable in her eyes. this ( coupled with guilt for using wick so brutally ) is also why she appears to almost avoid romance entirely during their ‘date,’ only ever resorting to such overt flirtation when desperately trying to get wick to talk to her about what she needs to talk to him about. her methods and actions during those events are more calculated, as was her initial kiss in rendezvous. it’s also worth noting the next time we see mitzi is while she’s getting ready, sat at her vanity and looking particularly small and numb. it’s giving some levels of dissociation! this is not the expression of someone who’s remembering the events of last night fondly, which sadly includes the kiss between her and wick.

but still, we as the audience know she likes him subconsciously. we cannot always trust her perspective and instead need to analyze and look at the little things to infer if her views and genuine feelings align. her constant fondness for wick shows itself even during moments where mitzi believes she is uncaring. she is usually smiling at the mention of wick or from being around him, will casually touch him affectionately, and is visibly enjoying the act of posing with him in photomajig. everything i’ve previously said more than proves she cares for him to a rather utmost degree too. like most of their relationship and respective characters, these two extremes can coexist in their own unique way, and i wholeheartedly believe they do. i’ll also acknowledge that i haven’t talked about wick much, but don’t worry! we will get there in volume two soon enough, which i will now be covering and analyzing in detail as well.

as mentioned previously, the next time we see mitzi is after the events of last night, likely sometime in the afternoon given later events. she is putting in her earrings while sat at her vanity, surrounded by a seemingly endless supply of photos ( another metaphor for the past and how it never really leaves her alone ) as she looks on with an apathetic sort of misery. she gets up and totes around a tommy gun which she then shows off to the portrait of atlas in her ( still his ) office ; giving him a rather generous debriefing that leaves out some integral details, like viktor being shot, before harping more on mordecai and how she needs to deal with him so things won’t get worse. the only mention of wick here is her telling atlas that it ‘wasn’t a total loss,’ though her rather kicked expression, as well as how quickly she brushes past the details of that, implies she isn’t satisfied with the state of things. i also find it interesting how little she admits to the deterioration of things here, before the portrait of her dead husband, because while this can be seen as tracy not wanting to recount all the events we’ve just seen, i think there’s a level of avoidance here too. mitzi isn’t keen on vocally admitting to how bad things are, how much was lost last night -- perhaps due to the fact she’ll be forced to confront the actual helplessness of her situation, and realize that things aren’t exactly fixable as it stands. there’s actually very few instances where she willingly shares her feelings or talks about the state of the lackadaisy to anyone, and the few times she actually does so, it’s either a.) a weapon to utilize against someone else, like some kind of guilt trip, or b.) it bursts out of her like a dam. she is extremely private and reserved where it concerns her emotions, always wishing to appear competent and above things, and in my opinion, it’s something worth noting. after this, she decides to call the maribel hotel and confront asa about his and mordecai’s involvement in last night’s tragedy.

the phone call itself plays out, in the most simplistic of terms, with mitzi’s desire to discuss things being disregarded as asa avoids her through various means. he questions why she’s bothering with such low quality hooch, and upon mitzi trying to bring the conversation back to the original topic ( aka why asa would do this ), he then pries about the lackadaisy’s desolate state before telling her to quit before things worsen. mitzi expresses confusion, but once again isn’t able to form an entire sentence due to asa abruptly ending the call after deciding for her that they’ll just discuss this over lunch. all in all, it’s an extremely rude and frustrating exchange. and sadly this won’t be the only time today where mitzi tries to talk to someone about a rather pressing topic, one very important to her and the wellbeing of her establishment, only to be dismissed at almost every turn until the very end of things.

in the next page, mitzi is depicted silently stewing in a chair much too big for her, glaring daggers at nothing in particular, more than angry at her failure of a phone call. she is unresponsive to rocky’s rambling, including the potential hiring of freckle, and only rouses herself out of her irritation when realizing she can bring the two boys along in some sort of display of power. it’s a rather weak and grasping attempt at maintaining some level of control, especially when she outright tells asa why rocky and freckle are there : “you see, my circumstance isn’t quite as hopeless as you -- ” it’s a very obvious posturing, a weak show with nothing really backing it. neither asa or mordecai are impressed or swayed by this at all, with mordecai even calling out that rocky is some band member rather than some gun for hire. his insults rub salt into mitzi’s wounds ( which is why she believes asa brought mordecai at all ) and only then does she discuss viktor’s awful state, a hasty guilt trip that quickly loses its shine the longer she drags it along. while i may view mitzi through a more sympathetic lens than most and hardly believe her major flaw to be manipulation, she is still capable of it and will stoop so low when it may benefit her, or perhaps whenever it makes her feel a bit better. and this brief interaction with mordecai is one such case.

the overall contents of the lunch and the car scene thereafter proves rather irrelevant to my topic, so instead of summarizing how it goes ( poorly, it goes poorly! ) i’ll be talking about certain events that will matter later, or will help us understand where mitzi is at mentally by the time she actually meets wick for their planned visit. the major components being how asa treats mitzi during this impromptu meeting and the state mordecai leaves her in after they discuss atlas.

to touch upon asa’s treatment of mitzi, even from as early as the phone call we see that mitzi is forced to have a conversation with asa on his terms rather than her own terms. mitzi sets out with a clear goal in mind -- learning why asa sweet would attack the lackadaisy in the way that he did -- and she's repeatedly talked over and threatened, with her questions remaining unanswered. it’s very clear very quickly that asa doesn’t respect mitzi nor view her as someone worthy of his time like atlas was, and almost appears to approach her in a misogynistic manner. he demeans something as simple as her ukulele as a ‘teeny little guitar’ and acts as though mitzi’s tears would be bothersome to him, some sort of burden he’d be forced to deal with rather than a valid emotional response to threats, degradation, and the likes. while asa is by no means wrong with some of his observations, he’s certainly rude and uncaring with how he goes about it. when he tells mitzi that he’s here to suggest that she step down, because he so generously has her interests in mind, she doesn’t buy it ; once again bringing up last nights events, where asa willingly armed the pig farmers with the lackadaisy’s arsenal and sent them over her way without so much as a warning. asa dismisses this coldly, once again dodging any fault and claiming it was ‘happenstance’ and entirely mitzi’s own doing. even now, when he’s actively threatening her and making it clear they won’t stay friendly if she keeps trying to make it in this business, he still won’t fully admit to any sort of responsibility for the disastrous night he helped put her through. while this seems rather typical of asa given his disrespectful streak ( something even mordecai, as valued and as useful as he is, suffers because of ) it’s worth noting that this side of him is new to mitzi and not one she was at all expecting. she even says as much here, in heartstrings :

we also know that mitzi only met atlas due to her performing at the marigold speakeasy first, and it’s likely asa was rather present in her life due to his bond with her now husband. asa even admits that mitzi may be confused because they’ve ’managed a friendly coexistence for so long,’ once again hammering home this idea that up until this point, asa was indeed kind to mitzi, or at the very least cordial. but with atlas out of the picture and mitzi trying to take his position, suddenly asa is more than okay with getting her killed or taking all she has left -- even his plan is nothing short of apathetic and cold, an afterthought, expecting her to give up something important to her and only offering a one time offer to play at the marigold room ‘sometime’ with that ‘old band of hers.’ i’ve actually seen some people claim this was a valid out for mitzi to take, which i can’t disagree more with, since a.) her band days are not something mitzi is interested in anymore and b.) she’s sold basically everything to keep the lackadaisy afloat, meaning she’d be more than poor if she gave that up. playing once or maybe twice at the marigold room wouldn’t save her financially! it wouldn’t do anything for her at all, besides giving mitzi some sort of last hurrah in her mata hari dress, something that doesn’t even fit her anymore. while it’s clear to anyone that she needs to let go of the past in order to be happy, accepting this poor excuse of a deal from asa is just her trading one past in for another one. this is also why zib’s out, while certainly better, isn’t something good for mitzi either. but that’s another post on its own, so i’ll leave it alone for the time being. what’s important here is that mitzi is ruthlessly betrayed by a man who used to like her and is treated as a lesser thing due to his view that she’s too incompetent to run a rumrunning business. he also brings up atlas to, in mitzi’s eyes, ‘intimidate ( her ) into agreeing with him,’ and towards the end of the lunch, she looks particularly kicked and undoubtedly hurt. she leaves this meeting that could’ve stayed a phone call with a potential enemy made and with the world on her shoulders, now more determined than ever to be someone people like asa would be forced to respect. instead of being dissuaded, she’s been encouraged, and it’s not hard to realize why.

her scene with mordecai leaves her in a similar predicament after their very brief truce is broken, with him perpetuating asa’s threats as well as saying, “as though you could bring the remains of atlas’ estate to anything but further disgrace,” before promptly leaving. these words, plus the subject matter and who said them, leaves mitzi staring out the car window and actually brings her to literal tears. her eyes are suddenly watery, and when rocky tries to make her feel better, we see one paw hastily wipe at one eye in particular -- already having spilled a tear or two by the time her hires have made their way back into the car. i cannot stress enough that throughout the entirety of this brief arc, mitzi has been constantly ridiculed and told she is not good enough at this job to be doing it, on top of the extremely sensitive subject of her husband being brought up twice over, which only served as one more jab to be made at mitzi’s expense. she desperately wanted the lackadaisy to work before, some sort of memento to atlas that she could keep going, and being told to let go of it in such a harsh way isn’t going to have the intended outcome. most people become vindictive and determined when told something is ‘impossible’ or that they won’t ever be able to accomplish what they want because they’re too incompetent to do it, they see this as a challenge, they get angry, and they start fighting harder for the goal in question. it’s rather human : to be fueled by wounded pride and to want so badly to prove others wrong, to taste the victory of accomplishing something deemed impossible, to warrant the respect of your peers … mitzi is all that and then some, since she’s gripped by an obsessive grief that refuses to let her go.

she wants to do this for atlas, she needs to do it for atlas, and there is no life or goal outside of the one in front of her. again, as mentioned paragraphs before, she’s made it clear she’d rather die than see the lackadaisy wither away into nothing. asa’s and mordecai’s threats, their insults, were never going to do anything except push mitzi further down the path she’s already on. and with the added bonus of mitzi now being in an extremely fragile emotional state ( one she hasn’t had a single break from since last night ), this then causes her decision making skills to be finicky ; more likely to make rash calls and to act desperately, rather than thinking clearly and with her head. mitzi does her best to sweep her fraying mental state under the rug for the sake of business, with the comic page haggersnash providing the visual of her reapplying her makeup near the traitorous eye and she even goes as far as to change her clothes, though there’s no denying the perpetual state of misery clinging to her character moving forward. and like we’ll see in wick later, mitzi probably also didn’t get much sleep last night herself. that paired with the nonstop events that refuse to work in her favor, and the occasional mental breakdown, is more than enough to reiterate for a final time that she is not well, despite how good she is at appearing so.

shutting the door on mitzi and her no good very bad day, we then shift back into wick in the second and final part of this essay.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think Snape stopped being a bigot by the time canon rolled around or do you think he still thought of muggleborns as inferior but didn't act on it cause he was always around Dumbledore?

We know his love for Lily won't change anything, Lily herself points out how Snape's completely fine with calling every muggleborn but her a "mudblood" and even participated in bullying them. He sees Lily as an exception so there's no guarantee that even her death would change his views on the rest.

He probably never outright voices it because he's tied himself to Dumbledore, but that doesn't mean he can't still hold those bigoted views deep down.

His treatment and bullying of Hermione doesn't make him look good either. Yes, she's an overzealous know-it-all who annoyed Snape, but I wonder if that was simply it or if his bullying of her was motivated by blood prejudice as well.

As far as I remember, there's nothing in canon that proves Snape is still a bigot, but there's nothing that disproves it either. Thoughts?

Honestly we aren't really told anything about his opinions about muggleborns and muggles during the books. If I had to guess, I'd say his opinions didn't change much. Lily was always an exception, so I don't think her death would change his opinion on muggleborns as a whole.

We see this outlook with Slughorn too:

“Your mother was Muggle-born, of course. Couldn’t believe it when I found out. Thought she must have been pure-blood, she was so good.” “One of my best friends is Muggle-born,” said Harry, “and she’s the best in our year.” “Funny how that sometimes happens, isn’t it?” said Slughorn. “Not really,” said Harry coldly.

(HBP, 70)

He knows some muggleborns are brilliant and talented (like Lily and Hermione) but he considers them exceptions, not the common muggleborn. The perfect special muggleborn. The talented ones he cares about.

I think Snape is a little similar, if for completely different reasons. Slughorn looks down on muggleborns because of how unfamiliar with the muggle world he is. He's a pure-blood who was raised to think muggleborns have lower chances of being talented and exceptional.

Snape, on the other hand, has something very different going on in his head. I think he also has this tendency to look down on muggleborns, and he always had, but not for the same reason as Slughorn. In Snape's case, it comes from his hatred of muggles. Snape hates his father and the circumstances of his upbringing. He probably holds some resentment towards his mother for staying and raising him in a poor and abusive environment. And, it's not like Snape's mother was overly involved in his life either, he was allowed to just run around the streets alone since he was seven (or younger) and that was pretty much it.

Snape associated the muggle world with pain, humiliation, and neglect. And while the Wizarding World wasn't free of pain and humiliation, it was better. The Wizarding World came with magic, the ability to at least have a chance to defend himself, a chance at belonging (we Lucius except Snape into Slytherin easily when he arrives), and pride. Snape is an incredibly talented wizard and he knows it, and takes great pride in it.

So the wizard side of things was always the better one for him. The one he preferred to associate himself with (calling himself the "Half-Blood Prince" is an example of that). And I think his outlook on muggles and muggleborns is still somewhat colored by this even as an adult.

I think it did tone down since his youth, I don't think he's as extreme as he was when he joined the Death Eaters as a teenager, but I think he's still prejudiced against muggles and muggleborns (more muggles than muggleborns though), at least to a degree. I mean, these sorts of outlooks don't just change overnight. So, while I think Snape isn't advocating for muggleborns registration anymore, he still looks down on them and expects less of them, like, a subtler sort of prejudice.

I think Snape's bullying of Hermione is mostly for her know-it-all attitude, being friends with Harry, and being a Gryffindor (a whole different prejudice). But I think there is a little muggleborn prejudice in there too. I don't think it's the main issue he takes with her, but, like I said, it's unlikely he just completely got over it.

And, we see that looking down on muggles and muggleborns is pretty common in the wizarding world as I mentioned with Slughorn and while Dumbledore wouldn't be happy if Snape called muggleborns "mudbloods" he himself is just as prejudiced against muggles. He looks down on them like all of the wizarding world does, in subtler ways than the Death Eaters. So Snape probably wouldn't make an active effort to change his opinions. Even the Weasleys look down on muggles:

“Are they doctors?” he asked Ron quietly. “Doctors?” said Ron, looking startled. “Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they’re Healers.”

(OotP, 484)

“Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. “Er — Yes, I think so,” said Ron. “I think Mom’s got a second cousin who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.”

(PS, 73)

All wizards, even the more muggle-accepting ones are pretty prejudiced, it's that ingrained into their culture. So much so that Hermione stopped talking about her parents even to her friends, the Weasleys' squib cousin is never mentioned, and confounding or obliviating muggles is considered harmless even though we saw it can cause harm even to wizards (Lockheart). The wizarding world is a very prejudiced place even if you don't go around shouting slures. So I think Snape still holds this baseline level of looking down on muggles and muggleborns their whole world seems to practice, but he isn't advocating for their registration and death anymore either.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Superhero fans for years have been saying that Dick Grayson 'has a thing for redheads' because his two main canon love interests are redhead women and his most popular mlm ship is from one of the worst DC adaptions ever with a guy who also happens to be ginger but Princess Koriand'r is a black woman,Babara Gordon has multiple black adaptions and his other gfs have been Bea Bennett who is black too and Helena Bertinelli specifically when she got rebooted to be black/white mixed and Tim Drake is said to canonically have a type in blondes because he's canon bi now thanks to Bernard Dowd but in his second solo he was dating a black girl named Tam Fox and way back in his first run his first crush Ariana Dzerchenko dyed her hair blonde because she thought that's why he liked Stephanie Brown and Tim straight up made a very strained fake smile while thinking 'I hate it' and the fandom made a whole meme fanart trend of Kon-El Kent being upset and wishing he was blonde so Tim would've chosen him instead since he was previously considered Tim's canon boyfriend by fans.But when black people headcanon Hobie Brown as stritcly black4black or perfers to date black women over anyone else and make jokes about how he'd never date a white person because of how black punkish he is and there's nothing to disprove either since his only love interest is his Prowler variant's Mindy Mcpherson who's a black woman and him and Gwen Stacy were left ambigious in the finale version of Atsv,we're being 'uninclusive' and 'too mean'.Lol.Lmao even.What's y'all's opinion on the Percy Jackson show deciding to let Leah Jeffries keep her natural hair instead of the blonde afro wig they considered which was a good call in a meta sense since book!Annabeth Chase hates being blonde because she wants to be seen as more than her hair color btw

[lovemyromance]

Idk why the EL/GAs keep thinking they have "gotcha" moments.

Like they always bring up "Well Azriel can't be with Elain because he immediately thinks of Mor"

Ok - aside from the fact that it was explicitly stated by CASSIAN (you know if he's catching on, it's already obvious to everyone else) that after 500 years it seems like Azriel was moving on -

Why are people forgetting they've been friends for 500 years. He will ALWAYS care about her, but now his romantic feelings for her are shifting to Elain. They're not in love yet, who knows if he's completely even over her yet - but he is yearning for Elain enough to stop throwing Mor glances and thinks about Elain so much he forgets about Mor when Rhys asks.

Also - by that same logic - nothing he has done with Gwyn is romantic either then if he's still "pining after Mor" 🙄

Then they go on and try to bring up how Elriels can't accept Gwynriel but we ship Vassien??

Like hold up - first of all - just because the Elucien Gwynriel venn diagram is a circle, doesn't mean it's the same for Elriel & Vassien.

EL/GAs need each other to split Elain & Azriel apart.

Elain & Azriel are already romancing, even with Lucien in the picture. We don't need to ship Vassien to get rid of Lucien. He's doing that by himself lmao.

I don't even ship Vassien. Like don't get me wrong, I think it'll happen - but I'm not crazy about it either way. I'm not going to throw a tantrum if they don't end up together.

So this constant "Oh how come you say Gwynriel is a crackship but you ship Vassien" needs to end. We don't ship Vassien automatically if we're Elriels! That's what happens when you ship canon ship - you don't need to ship something else just to ensure your ship is endgame.

Elriel is canon, however which way you look at it. Everything people are doing is to DISCREDIT what is written - but it doesn't change what is on the page.

These people need to spend more time workshopping their "crumbs" and "scraps" to prove their ship before they spend all their time discrediting Elriel. Because - in case you haven't noticed - "disproving Elriel" still won't magically make Elucien & Gwynriel have moments of chemistry together on the page. Even if we say the BC ended Elriel - it didn't start Gwynriel or develop Elucien because at the end of ACOSF ....

Elain still avoids Lucien. Gwyn still has not expressed interest in Azriel. Azriel didn't even freak out when she got taken to the blood rite. Lucien still stays far away from them in the human lands.

Nothing has changed about the EL/GA relationships - even if you claim Elriel has sank.

[ladysarai]

@inception30daychallenge day 1: my favorite thing about the movie

I think my FAVORITE thing about Inception is how MUCH there is to it, as a movie. You can watch it a zillion times and get something new from it every time, and you can read one person's take and be impressed and amazed because you didn't even think of that take!

But what REALLY makes me sit up and pay attention to a piece of media is Characters, and Relationships. I love how MUCH the cast did with so very little... I want to know EVERYTHING about Arthur's relationships with Mal and Dom, (okay, ESPECIALLY Mal) just because of the way he calls Mal "lovely" and because of the way he PUTS UP with Dom and follows him around and has obviously been loyal through So Much Shit and then the way he SMILES in the end. Cobb himself is a hot mess, and given only the context of the movie, you have to wonder why anyone would put up with the things he puts Arthur through, so there has to be a history there, right?? And OF COURSE I'm here for Arthur and Eames and their shared history, whatever that may be (they're married okay). The fact that in the paper script, Arthur and Eames could have been played so differently by two other actors is... It's a little awe inspiring, and just makes you really appreciate what actors can bring to their roles.

I love that every single time I watch it, there is something new to notice, some new nuance to pick up on, a new piece of canon that can be used to spin out headcanon or fic from. And I absolutely ADORE that so much is open-ended and there's no real WRONG interpretation; I think that's what's given the fandom such lasting power over the years. We're give so little actual canon that very little fanon is actually contradicted. It's kind of beautiful that way.

On a personal note... When I say that I'm new to the Inception fandom, I mean BRAND NEW... like as of April of this year new. Which is not to say I didn't see the movie when it came out in 2010, because I did! I watched it more than once! But here's the thing... You ever have those experiences where OTHER PEOPLE ruin a thing for you before you give it a chance yourself?

That's what happened with me and Inception. I thought "hey, fun movie" and left it at that. Largely because my younger brother was in this weird "I'm a Movie Connoisseur/Expert and My Opinion is the One That Counts" stage and as someone with self-proclaimed "man crush" on Leo, he was All About Cobb, who is easily my LEAST favorite character. He was also All About arguing for the "it's all a dream" theory over the ending, which I think beautifully demonstrates the main difference between us: I am an optimist and prefer happy endings. So he would Not Shut Up about this movie and how GROUNDBREAKING it was and how the pessimistic viewing of the ending was the Only True Way to watch the movie. (May I say how much I fucking love that this has generally been disproved in the last 14 years? Because I have serious Schadenfreude over that.)

(I was also RPing in a panfandom LJ game at the time with people who were obsessed with playing characters played by Certain Actors and our game wound up with an Arthur and an Ariadne and I think they shipped them but it was full of ~drama~ and I wanted nothing to do with it so I kept my Barbies on my corner of the game and avoided theirs.)

ANYWAY, this is a very convoluted and long-winded way to get to my point. Which is that I largely forgot about Inception for the last 13 years-ish. Then I was rereading some old fanfics in March and because I liked an author, I went to see what other fandoms they'd written for. And somehow I fell into Inception and discovered Arthur/Eames, and HOW THE FUCK DID I MISS THAT????? After a few weeks of reading fic, I decided to watch the movie again and, well. Then I was watching it every other day for several weeks.

Moderation? What's that?

So another favorite thing about this movie is that I got back into fandom for the first time in... god. Almost ten years???? Because of it. Which is a little miraculous by itself.

[elainsgirl]

Lucien has also already made friends. Should he make new ones because it happened off page?

Hey Anon 🫶

Exactly 👏👏👏

Even Nesta’s friendship with Emerie was foreshadowed in acofas. So I really do not understand this elucien arguement that the twins aren’t elains actual friends or found family bcs it happened “off-page”. Sjm hasn’t explored the twins and elains’ dynamic yet leaving it for Elains book like she hs with The valkryies and IC girls. I just find it very telling when people try their best to disprove this friendship. Bcs there is nothing to disprove.

Canon = Nuala and Cerridewean are Elains friends. Canon = Vassa and Jurian are Luciens friends

Canon = even IF Elain wasnt “friends” with the twins, that doesn’t mean she will be friends with the BOE as it strays from Sjms fmcs making friends with 2 other women forming a powerful trio friendship. There’s a reason Mass made it canon and confirmed that Nuala and Cerr are Elains friends. Obviously she is planning on exploring that otherwise there is no point of creating the friendship in the first place.

If your claiming Elain isn’t friends w the twins bcs its off-page (I disagree w that take but whatever) keep that same energy for Lucien & BOE.

If your claiming there’s no point for an Elain book if she’s already made friends - then there’s no point in a gwyn/Azriel book.

[giantchasm]

Dazor: Hello Peony. I’d ask about your ghosts and powers, but it seems that’s already been covered. Could you say more how you feel on Nick and Rhiainfellt? Understandable if that’s too much, otherwise more about any of your parents’ friends?

...But it's okay! I have Glock. And you know what I think? You only need one good friend to truly be happy. And I've got more friends than that, anyways! They're just not my age. I know I should probably try to be nicer to Rhiainfellt. I can only imagine she feels really alone. A long, long time ago— like way before me or even my parents were born, there was this mass exodus of people who used magic from intergalactic society. Among these people, the Jambandrans especially suffered. Most of them... uh, didn't make the journey, and even fewer have survived to modern day. Rhiainfellt's the only Jambandran I've ever met. And I imagine that has to be pretty lonely. Not knowing anyone who looks like you. Not knowing your history or culture or where you came from. It also doesn't help that she can't use magic— just another thing that makes her stick out like a sore thumb amidst her family. And with all of that in mind, I wish I could like her, but... I dunno. She's depressing. She's really resentful, and I think she should give her mom more credit sometimes. I don't think she feels the way Rhiainfellt thinks she feels about her at all. Then as for Nick... kind of self explanatory, yeah? Just about any person associated with the Mirror World is nothing but trouble... and people allied with Dark Mind especially. I don't care if Nick's dads think Dark Meta Knight is nice. He's a monster! And the less time I spend around him the better. Sorry, Nick. Both that I can't hang out and that you have to be subjected to that buffoon. It's not your fault your parents have bad taste.

...Oh my gosh! What a colorful cast.

This is another ask that only ended up being so much about Peony and more about the world she lives in and the people surrounding her, but it was still fun to answer. I like and have thoughts on all of my fankids, even if she's the favorite.

I think I may be the only person out there who ships Daroach/Rick. To my credit, it started as a joke. But then I got... invested somehow? In my Kirbyverse they grew up together, were partners in crime for a bit, then had a messy breakup after Rick turned over a new leaf and Daroach didn't. And now they've made amends!

Pick is here too, of course, because there is NOTHING I cannot stand more than when people remove a canonical female love interest from the equation to ship her more popular partner with a guy. Not that Rick is a popular character or that it happens to him. But it's about the PRINCIPLE of the thing, y'know? And Rick has two hands.

Also, yes, before anyone gets on my case for it: DMK was involved with The Sectonia Incident in my interpretation of the Kirby universe. I think people can get... really weird about people writing the character that way sometimes?

There's this pretty aggravating trend I've noticed in the fandom where something that is not canon will get misconstrued as Objectively Canon (I.E DMK being involved with that, Void Kirby theory, ETC), then people who are annoyed with this misinfo will go around saying canon actually Objectively Disproved that thing. Which... it did not do, either. Canon makes no comment on these situations. There is no "correct" interpretation. Just let people have fun, man.

So, yeah! I think DMK deserves to be a little bit of a dick. As a treat. I think portraying him as not the instigator of that incident, but rather a loyal servant who helped Dark Mind get away with all of that makes him an interesting parallel to Taranza himself. I like writing it that way, so it's canon to my Kirbyverse and by extension the world Peony lives in.

Which is all to say Peony's not a fan of him. Even though, as usual, she's sort of simplifying the situation. DMK is not a wonderful person, but he's no bogeyman, either.

Rhiainfellt is interesting. I originally came up with her based on the simple idea of "Awww... wouldn't it be cute if one of the Mage Sisters adopted a Jambandran like Hyness adopted them all those years ago?" But the more I've fleshed her out the more... weird and messed up she's become. I think she has an American Psycho monologue going on in her head at all times.

A troubled kid for sure. You know it's bad when even the girl who talks to dead people thinks someone's a little too much. Ohhhhh, poor thing. 😔

To be clear she doesn't have another parent or anything, by the way. All hail Zan Partizanne's single mom swag.

@kirbyoctournament

[mattzerella-sticks]

"You can live a normal life. Fall in love."

I think this scant piece of ranting says a LOT about how Bruce sees Batman. It's not just a duty. It's a curse. Your blessings are also your damnations. Bruce thinks that you cannot fall in love while you are a vigilante (despite COUNTLESS EVIDENCE THAT DISPROVES THIS - Dick and Babs, Clark and Lois, Ollie and Dinah, etc.)

But Bruce has a very myopic viewpoint that leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. He hasn't had success in romance as Batman. It's Batman's fault. He can't give up Batman. Ergo, he cannot 'find love' in the nuclear family, heteronormative sense because of Batman.

Let's look at the three 'greatest loves' of Batman's life according to his and Ghostmaker's trip into his psyche.

Selina Kyle. Talia al Ghul. Poison Ivy.

I'll work backwards. Ivy is a placeholder because she was never really his. She never loved him, and his love for her was chemically induced. But he has her there, why? Maybe to say that it doesn't work out because she chose someone else.

Talia. The mother of his child who is also the Demon's Head. It would never work because of his strict code against killing and her ambivalence towards it. Ironically, they have the healthiest relationship imo that probably was born from necessary co-parenting. While they don't care for what the other does, they respect and care for each other and have deep history. He thinks if he can't make it work with the mother of his kid, who can he make it work with?

Selina Kyle. Probably the closest (at this point in canon) Bruce has ever come to having a relationship that works. But every time it looks like it'll be a sure hit, something gums up the works. Most of the time, it's each other as there are key aspects of their identity that neither are willing to compromise for. And usually, when there is a compromise, it's usually on Selina's part whereas Bruce can continue being Batman. That puts a huge power imbalance in the relationship. It doesn't work out because Selina will always be drawn back to crime, and Batman will have to stop her. Bruce supposes that's what you get for falling for a criminal.

In all three, Bruce creates logical reasons why Batman is incapable of having a relationship and uses that to justify why he cannot have romance in his life. Why having this duty is a curse. Why he is showing love by getting his kids 'out' of the life, through whatever means necessary.

However, with Selina taking a chunk out of crime through a grey method, she is pulling at a foundational aspect of his personality - I'd argue the safety net Bruce created for himself when he was that boy in the alley - and, in turn, making the Batman/Zur persona go nuts. Zur sees her methods not a way to help Gotham but as an attack on him since, if this can save Gotham what is the point of Batman? What was the point of Bruce's vow? What was it all for?

Zur is giving Bruce a reason to keep going, to keep putting on the mask, so he doesn't have to confront what's under the mask when there's no crime to fight. To deal with his personal life and relationships and mhi that need to be dealt with.

And Selina and the Batfamily are right, this shouldn't have turned into a war. They shouldn't be fighting. This is an unforseen side effect of them fulfilling Bruce's wish which is to make Gotham safe when, in reality, maybe thats not what Batman wants because what safe Gotham would need Batman?

Almost like when in Infinite Crisis, Superman of earth one asks his earth two counterpart: "if your earth was perfect, why did it need a superman?"

A safe Gotham doesn't need a Batman and, after all the stress and trauma Bruce has suffered since he put on that cowl, he is not ready to hang it up. It is his burden and his joy. As much as he grouses about the crime and how much work it is to keep Gotham 'clean' he hates sitting on his hands with nothing to do.

Ironically, Batman of Zur En Arrh reminds me of what happened to Robin in Teen Titans Go! in 'Uncle Jokes' when Starfire started acting like Cyborg and Beast Boy, breaking the natural order of how he saw the world and making him go cuckoo. The same thing is happening to Bruce.

He needs to realize that he can still be Batman but he can also not be in control. That Bruce is the one stopping him from finding 'love' in a traditional sense, not Batman. That he has love and a family and he does not need to keep pushing everyone away because he thinks it's better for them and he knows best.

Batman is Gotham's greatest hero, Bruce Wayne's love, but he's also Bruce's greatest rogue. Duality.

[theluminoussunflower]

very random question incoming but since you know a lot about dps maybe you can finally help me find peace. it doesn't hurt to ask right..? (this turned out longer than anticipated sorry about that..)

do you have any clue how people pinpoint the exact birthdays (in neils case also death day) of dead poets society characters? i know they're in the wiki but like.. where did we get them? am i an idot? do they talk about that somewhere? in the script maybe? is it just a very popular headcanon that everyone decided is real?

people claim december 15th is the day Neil died. i looked at the document todd has to sign looking for a date and i can see 12-5-59 at the bottom right. that means december 5th is the day everyone had to sign, right?

that would make neils death day maybe (!) the 4th. which could make sense because that day was a friday (the play wouldnt be on a weekday right? december 15th 1959 was a tuesday..)

but then again they are most likely signing a week or so after neil died, which would put his death day in late november??

where does december 15th come from? is there some random interview? is it really really obvious? is it all fake? please help an idiot out..!

thank you so much and have a nice day 💛

hello anon! hopefully i can provide a bit of clarity.

in terms of birthdays, they're all made up. the only birthday we're vaguely made aware of is todd's but we're not given an exact day. it's about mid-way through the movie, so i personally place it at the beginning of november, which is about halfway between the start and end of an autumn semester in the states. (i go with november third since that's ethan hawke's birthday, but to each their own).

the wiki isn't really the right place to look for like actual information about the movie because people just make shit up on it all the time. kind of annoying if you're actually trying to find out canon, but it's fandom wiki so we can't really stop it lol i personally disagree with most of the birthdays provided on the wiki (someone on there thinks pitts is a taurus when he's CLEARLY a capricorn /lh)

in terms of neil's death day, december fifteenth comes from neil's dad's calendar on his desk in the scene before his suicide. it's reeeaaallly grainy so it could be anything, but it looks like a teen number, and there aren't that many pages left on it. i had never seen the 12-5-59 date on the contract until this ask, so that definitely puts a hole in the december fifteenth thing, and i agree that a tuesday is a weird day to have the opening night of a play on. so it's two contradicting props.

but i think the suicide happening with snowfall and just before finals puts it more towards mid-december, though you could be right about it being more around thanksgiving (vermont gets snow starting in november)

to my knowledge that is the extent of the december fifteenth stuff. if there's any more, someone can reblog and add, but in short, it's basically fanon looking really deeply into props lol there's no interview, it's not in the script, it's really not that deep. if you think his suicide was late november, there's nothing that concrete to disprove it.

let me know what birthdays you think the boys have, because i basically just give them their actors birthdays lol

anyway happy neil dies day <3

[carrotcouple]

The Sky of Tevyat, The Irminsul Tree and Summoning Circles

Before we start, here’s a disclaimer. These are just weird things I’ve noticed while playing Genshin Impact. I could literally have no ground to stand on at all. I do not know all the genshin lore so I might point out something that isn’t what it actually is. A lot of this information can be linked to characters that I main so you can excuse me as someone who is biased right away if you so desire. I’ll try to keep this as unbiased as possible though. Some thoughts in this are actually thoughts of my wife @rest-in-bees. This post is me seeing a bunch of dots and connecting then but if you’re looking for a conclusion, there is none. 

So I’m sure at some point all of us have looked up at the sky of Tevyat and have gone, huh, that’s the shape of a flower!

I tried to take a clear picture. It was kinda hard. But it’s a ten petaled flower with multiple layers. I at first said ‘oh that’s just the sky programming overlapping and also because of my camera angle, whatever’. And I carried on with my life. I like looking at things from weird angles and messing around with my camera, so I kept looking at this flower and carrying on with my life. Until I noticed that the sky only looked this way in Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and Forest Sumeru. In Fontaine and Desert Sumeru, the sky doesn’t look like this. 

You could just say that they decided to do better for these areas! Mondstadt, Liyue and Inazuma were early on nations and so they have a basic sky that isn’t really well done. At first this is what I believed. But then out of curiosity I decided to see if there are finer tuned details in the Mondstadt sky that would make it seem like they actually somewhat worked on the sky. 

The sky does have details to it. Also to test things out I decided to see what it would be like if I ran all the way from the chasm to Desert Sumeru while looking up at the sky. When you enter Desert Sumeru the sky gets incredibly unclear because of ‘sand’?. As soon as you exit this area, the sky is completely different. I thought this was interesting. Of course, we can still argue that this is still nothing significant! Which! True! 

Anyway, I mostly thought of this and then let it go. But see, I happen to be a Wanderer main. And so one day while looking up at the sky I decided to mess around and completely flip the camera, which resulted in me staring at Wanderer’s hat. 

And I kind of froze because…I was looking at a flower in the sky made of stars, why am I looking at one on Wanderer’s head where there are even dots on the black parts of the hat that look like stars? So then I asked my wife, hey, what kind of Tevyat flower does that look like? A Niloptala Lotus? And she said, maybe? But I think it looks more like a Kalpalata Lotus because it’s layered petals. 

Quick Kalpalata Lotus 101. Kalpalata Lotuses are local specialities found in the forest part of Sumeru. They are used as ascension material for Nahida and Dori. The fun thing about the Kalpalata Lotuses is that legend says that they are the first thing to have ever been created in the forest. Their roots are said to be connected to every plant across Tevyat including the Undying Divine tree. Amurta scholars have proven this wrong, but people still believe it. You can find this information in the Genshin Archive under Materials. 

So the Amurta scholars disproved this. But then it occurred to me that we do know a plant that has it’s roots connected everywhere across Tevyat. The Irminsul tree. Canonically, their roots are said to cause Leylines and you can find its roots in the form of petrified trees in the Chasm, Dragonspine, Shirokoro Peak, and even Mt. Damavand. The Frost Bearing Tree is considered part of the Irminsul tree as well. But here’s the fun fact. Kalpalata Lotuses are not lotuses. They look like lotuses but they’re actually false. Weird when you connect them to their lore similarities to the Irminsul tree, but then you remember that the Irminsul tree can literally falsify history. 

Another thought. We’re told that the sky of Tevyat is fake. 

Anyways, needless to say, I started to become drawn to anything that looked even remotely similar to Wanderer’s Hat or the flower in the sky or Kalpalata Lotuses. 

This is when I remembered that I’d seen something that looked like Wanderer’s hat before. 

Istaroth’s moon dials. They look almost identical to the ring behind Wanderer’s back which is what his hat becomes. 

But then I realized that Wanderer’s little ring in his windfavored state reminded me of summoning circles. Namely: 

I remembered when Ningguang summoned the Guizhong Ballistas and Venti’s skill. I’m sure there are other characters who have displayed this, I just can’t quite remember them at the moment. So then I thought…interesting? What do other summoning circles look like in game? So I went to go look. 

The ones I found in Fontaine look eerily like the same kind of pattern and like Wanderer’s hat. I thought it was really weird that Wanderer’s hat and ring in his windfavored state looked exactly like a summoning circle (this is when I developed a theory that when he tried to erase himself from Irminsul, someone summoned him back and his hat is his summoning circle, but that’s a different post). 

And then I remembered. 

Venti’s statue in Mondstadt is surrounded by a flower like structure that is nearly identical to the sky flower. And Venti’s statue says ‘The Gateway to Celestia’. And I wondered if maybe it was called that because it’s a giant summoning circle that connects Celestia and Mondstadt. 

And then I wondered if Tevyat’s sky above Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and Forest Sumeru is a giant summoning circle. Which is probably a crazy idea. But. Whatever. I have interesting thoughts sometimes. Time to go work on an extensive post about why Wanderer is incredibly sus character lore wise.

[wildissylupus]

Here's another rant for you, Kiriko isn't a poorly written character or contradictory or unnecessary, people just generally don't understand the meaning of her lore.

The Age Gap

First thing I want to address is the age thing, more specifically people saying that it doesn't make sense that Kiriko and Genji could be close with Genji being 35 and Kiriko being in her early 20s.

As someone who has their dynamic with my cousins who I have the same kind of age gap, I (obviously) find this incorrect.

I've seen people act as though Genji took her to parties and stuff, but realistically, they most likely only interacted while Genji was at the Shimada house or while training. Also its been shown that both Genji and Kiriko didn't have personal connections outside of they're families or the clan until after the Shimada clan fell. So of course they would be close, they literally only had each other.

Not only that but as I'm writing this I'm reading the Yokai short story and on the first page it is shown that the Shimada brothers obviously treated her like a younger cousin/sibling.

That and her young age is actually a big part of her story, growing up being a main theme in her cinematic, and her age actually influencing a lot of her views. Which I will get into later.

Her Personality

I've seen people say that Kiriko's personality in game contradicts what we were shown in her cinematic. The thing people forget is that the ideviduals she interacts with are people she is close to, her mum and her neighbours which she either learned sign language for or she was just generally close to.

This is important to recognise because she doesn't know most of the cast of Overwatch. So of course she's not going to treat them the same way that she treats people she considers family.

Not only that but Overwatch specially did nothing to help with the power vacuum they created. They are literally the reason the Hashimoto have so much control now, of course she's not going to be overtly nice to its members.

Not only that but the three members of Yokai that we know are stated to be younger then Kiriko, teenagers. She's leader and she needs to act like it because if she doesn't, kids could die.

I think this is most shown in her interaction with Ana;

Ana: You remind me of myself when I was younger.

Kiriko: That a compliment?

Ana: You be the judge.

Kiriko: Okay, thanks for the compliment.

Her Interactions and Relationships

"I won't say the Shimada were perfect, especially at the end..." - Kiriko, Yokai short story

I've seen people say that Kiriko defends the Shimada clan while also being "too hostile" towards Hanzo. The line above disproves the first claim, Kiriko just sees the Shimadas as the lesser evil of the "Shimada vs Hashimoto". Not only that but the whole being "too hostile" with Hanzo thing can be justified by one thing, canonically Kiriko doesn't know the finer details on what happened to Genji.

The most she could know is that Hanzo killed Genji, that's it. And we don't even know if she knows that, all she could know would be that Genji is dead and Hanzo skipped town.

Not only that but because she doesn't know the finer details she most likely believes that Hanzo abandoned her family and Kanesaka, either for no reason or he abandoned the post he killed his own brother for.

I hate how people act like everyone would be fine with Hanzo, like, Kiriko has a right to be mad at him and be openly hostile.

As for her other interactions I do think that some are brought down by poor line delivery, that's it.

But as I mentioned before, Kiriko has no reason to be nice to an organisation who didn't help fix a problem they caused.

Her Role in the Story

I believe Kiriko was introduced in order to cause conflict in the Shimada storyline, because I'm tired of people believing that Hanzo's redemption would be an easy road. Realistically Kiriko, Angela and Cassidy, along with other Overwatch agents, would at the very least not trust him and at most despise him.

Just because Genji has forgiven Hanzo doesn't mean his actions still didn't have consequences and I think Kiriko will be an example of that.

I also think that she will be a driving point for both Ana and Cassidy's opinion that sometimes Overwatch did more harm then good.

Essentially I think her character is going to be a driving point for other characters until she gets her own arc, maybe in a mini/separate story campaign.

(I honestly love the idea of her getting an anime)

Her Voice (this is more of a theory/headcannon)

Personally I think her having an American accent is a result of her having to go into hiding after the Shimada clan fell. I believe she had to learn how to do an American accent so the Hashimoto wouldn't hurt her. Because they didn't really seem to know Kiriko in the cinematic and her having an American accent would throw people off of gaining the suspicion she was related to the Shimadas or her mother in any way.

It a reasonable assumption considering the Hashimoto literally kidnapped her dad and is forcing her mum to work for them.

[orangepanic]

I adore Asami, she is perfect! Beautiful, intelligent, reliable, hardworking, and more giving to her friends than they deserve (not always, but I am still mad at how she was treated in season 1)

Iroh is also perfect, but not as much Asami, you know, he had never got to act against his father, never been put to that situation (and I think he would have choose to do the right thing, as Asami did)

Sometime I think, what if Asami wasn’t that perfect for being around Korra‘s team? Like what if she had a problem that didn’t let her to be physically strong? And be involved that much in team avatar, like if she had a chronic pain in her leg? What if her other strength would have attracted more attention? Like her resilience? More feminine kindof strength (I think Pema has it and is really underrated in the comics)

What if Iroh would have fallen in love with her (or had been attracted to her) because of her more feminine side?

I sometimes get the feeling if a character is not a badass in combat, their other strengths are not taken seriously…

By feminine strength I don’t mean things like self sacrifice or anything that might get unhealthy, I mean things like nurturing spirit, in this category 😁 I hope my babbling is not very unclear😁😁

This is super sweet. I love Asami very much, too. It's also the reason one of my favorite things to give her are flaws.

Asami (like many female characters) is often accused of being a flat "Mary Sue" who is good at everything and seemingly perfect. She's rich, intelligent, gorgeous, courageous, caring, giving, brave, forgiving. She's a skilled fighter and fashionable and can build a sand sailer with spit and duct tape. Literally nothing wrong with her. Which has the danger of making her uninteresting or only useful as a love interest - which is often what the fandom does. She's been reduced to the "and girlfriend" role and I hate that for her. It's one of the big reasons I don't like Asami's canon ships.

But like you said, there is so much we don't know that could be going on beneath the surface. We don't even have to change canon for that. Asami is squeamish - she's the only one who spits out Gommu's soup. She's got a bit of a temper. She doesn't seem to have friends or family as shown by her going out of her way to make friends with Team Avatar even after what happened with Mako and Korra because she's got no one else. How lonely and isolated must her upbringing have been? Then there's everything canon can't disprove. It's likely Asami is inexperienced in both relationships and sex. I write her as disorganized and a terrible cook. She has a ton of baggage from her mother's death and her father's betrayal and even Mako that carries into her future relationships. She loves pro-bending but isn't a bender and that's always hurt just a little. It's just as possible she has chronic pain she doesn't show.

Because Asami comes through for everyone. Want my boyfriend? Okay. Need a ride? Sure. An airship? Here you are. Kidnapped? I got you. Trapped in the desert? No problem. Training dummy? Wheelchair pusher? Driving instructor? Your team is out of money? Wanna live in my house? Asami is so desperate to be included and the only thing she can think to do is give, give, give. I like to think at some point she just stands in the shower and screams. And I don't think if Asami was worse at fighting that would change. She'd find a way to help because that's what she does.

Anyway, I actually think General Iroh does fall in love with her because of these softer qualities. Yes, Asami is beautiful, but what Iroh wants more than anything is an equal who will love him for who he is and not for his title or wealth or family name. And he's looking for that inner strength Asami has. In longer stories like AWOL or Severance or Starvation Paradise it's always Asami's resilience, her treatment of him as an equal partner, and her tender care that make Iroh truly fall in love. She's someone he can rely on, not to give give give, but to be his other half no matter what.

Which is why this is the best ship. :-D

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, People, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 22: Stronger, Faster

Please reblog or comment on this with your thoughts! I really want to know what your opinion of the episode was!

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:03 - Said no one to a transformers fan ever.

00:15 - I don’t know what happened to Ratchet’s lip-sync.

00:26 - *throws to the Ratchet fans* FEAST!

00:33 - Raf’s a smart character, wouldn’t he know that Ratchet needs to test it a few times to make sure it’s stable? …Or does Raf want to put Bee’s life at risk?. O-Ó

00:58 - I get the other shots, but why the Cliffjumper one? His death didn’t have a negative effect on the energon supply.

01:41 - It’s like listening to your parents discussing the taxes.

01:59 - aww.. baby no! I wanna put him in a blanket.

02:08 - could you imagine being a parent in the early 2010s, thinking your child’s just watching an innocent show, then walking in and watching this scene? The episode is honest to goodness about drug addiction and there’s nothing anyone can say that would disprove it.

02:19 - Imagine if that had actually killed him? Like everyone returning after a mission to find Ratchet dead on the floor.

~intro~

03:12 - an amusing sight

03:24 - Ratchet’s first move to check if he was better than fine was to rotate his arm/check his shoulder. For anyone who theorises hidden, long-term injuries on the bots, there’s one for ya.

03:28 - I’m sad that his energon was so low… but which one belongs to the others? A possible consideration would be that Optimus is the bottom, then Bulkhead’s above Ratchet, then Arcee, then Bee, from their frame sizes and such. Where Bulkhead and Optimus use up more energon due to their larger sizes.

03:56 - that’s so strategically cruel.

04:49 - Oh Damn.. Optimus ain’t playing around (obviously) but he doesn’t use that tone at any other point. It’s so… uncharacteristically in character of that makes sense.

05:08 - way too high risk. Slim odds of reward. Arcee has a bad habit on taking on too much during fieldwork. It’s incredible how she hasn’t been held back more often.

05:53 - Mm.. there’s not enough appreciation for the way vehicon’s prepare to land.

06:10 - why would he put the ground bridge up there?? HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET BACK? + could you just imagine Bee, Bulk and Optimus waiting behind the rocks, trying to make small talk.

06:18 - Slay Ratchet. Damn.

06:50 - so that idea from before… still imagine that. Just because it doesn’t work in canon, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be pictured.

07:16 - now I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t say that the fact that they included this shot could’ve meant something important, especially how the camera lingered on Bee for a second before the zoom (he’s the focus point in the shot. He’s the least blurry in the zoom). This will not be the last comment I make that’s probably me just thinking too hard.

07:22 - the side eye.

07:23 - That sounds familiar..

HA CALLBACK.

07:32 - *cri* He looks so proud. Good.

07:36 - Oh n o ✨ he’s now become aware of the size difference in a way that isn’t making him worried for the safety of the children (also Ratchet’s canonically called Raf ‘little fella’ I will now abuse this fact.)

07:46 - ‘no secret’ then proceeds to reveal that he’s on drugs.

07:48 - you can see the shift in the other bots features.

07:57 - … what. Did. He. Say?. W H Y A R E T H E R E N O H I N T S ? !

08:04 - this one’s a quick translation.. *concerned husband noises* + that slight glare though.

08:09 - Now kids remember, don’t do drugs. And if Arcee suggests it’s a good idea. It isn’t.

08:20 - Optimus probably has some history with drug addiction/abuse (might not have been him, but a friend *cough cough* Megatron)

08:26 - Damn, Optimus really on edge this episode.

08:43 - expressive story telling.

08:46 - Under influence or not, Ratchet still called Bulkhead ‘Bulk’. He must’ve done so before, but still.

08:50 - Bulkhead’s more likely to respond with a nickname if he gets addressed with a nickname.

08:51 - Ratchet just bitch-slapped Bulk. Damn.

09:16 - oh hells no. Ratchet’s fist should never be that close to Bee’s face like that. + From experience, when someone air punches so close so your face, once you recognise that you’re not actually going to be punched, you relax, but if you still believe you're in danger you're going to remain on edge. Bee keeps himself tilted away, meaning he still sees Ratchet as a threat.

09:22 - *cri*

09:25 - Bee’s eyebrows raise higher after Ratchet insults him.

09:29 - pretend he was straight? Yeah. But seriously, what an uncomfortable situation for all of them.

09:42 - that’s a dependency. It’s never a good thing.

09:52 - Arcee’s tone indicates she’s still upset, otherwise she would’ve been a bit higher pitched.

09:57 - There’s something about the way Optimus reactions (physically) when Bulkhead stops him that’s really interesting. I cannot work out what though.

10:05 - that’s how Knockout stands.

10:10 - I very seriously doubt that Ratchet chose Bumblebee to stay back as a randomised choice. If he had called him ‘Bee’, maybe, but he didn’t. He said ‘Bumblebee’. It was intentional. Considering that Ratchet’s still very strategic, despite being under influence, he would’ve been more likely to put Arcee on the sidelines (she goes against orders, makes unnecessary risks and is not as good at fighting compared to the others + the others are a bit more durable.). There are a few reasons why he might’ve chosen Bee. Although I want to say that it’s super unlikely, I cannot rule out the idea that a drugged up Ratchet could be a bit ableist, explaining why he’d first remove the disabled bot- but, as I said, highly unlikely. What’s more likely is that he’s putting Bee on the sidelines because he sees him as the weakest after he immediately backed down from a challenge. Then you also have the idea that there’s still apart of Ratchet that would put himself in the face of danger to protect Bee.

10:13 - WHAT DID HE SAY?! THE SYLLABLES RARELY MEAN ANYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO BEE’S DIALOGUE SO THERE’S NO HINTS!

11:01 - He’s an ass, but he’s got a point.

11:47 - what was gonna be the plan?

12:03 - this is a serious part, why would they include something so comedic? + he do be having a really good aim tho.

12:29 - Torture for the location of something important… the irony. (IYKYK)

12:41 - Optimus’s reaction shot is like every animal reaction to a loud noise in the distance.

12:44 - Really reflects on how often Autobots torture someone from the way everyone reacts.

12:47 - the shot would’ve been more impactful had Ratchet been kneeling, rather than leaning over.

12:57 - Nothing can stop the indestructible force that is Optimus putting his hand on someone’s arm/shoulder to make them calm down.

13:02 - Bulkhead and Arcee standing in the back watching them.

13:08 - Miner vs Minor. Both make a lot of sense before the rest of the dialogue.

13:11 - ‘servant class, not warrior class’, I need to do my research, damn. Are there classes between Servant and warrior? I imagine there’s probably ones below Servant and above warrior, so the lowest class the autobots would fight is warrior. Are the classes the same for the autobots? *

13:14 - his headlights weren’t coloured properly.

13:17 - with each shot the camera gets closer to them. + Optimus’s really fed up.

13:20 - he got the Lego mouth.

13:33 - I refuse to believe that the nemesis isn’t moving every five minutes.

14:24 - OH. WOW. Low blow.

14:59 - That was quick. Especially considering that that was not the original coordinates.

15:18 - they established early on that Ratchet could do that.

15:23 - ..where is he going?

15:34 - they either removed a scene or there’s a giant error. Bee wasn’t with them.

16:11 - domineering: asserting one's will over another in an arrogant way.

16:34 - I stand corrected, Megatron isn’t on the ship… for some reason.

16:51 - Knockout hasn’t fought Ratchet before.

17:16 - underrated line + delivery.

17:20 - Megatron’s got a big hand.

17:23 - that’s what it feels like to loose an arm wrestle.

17:31 - Knockout immediately suggesting drugs.

17:37 - WTFRaG.

17:49 - …Okay but like I know he doesn’t mean it this way, but I prefer to imagine that Megatron’s witness Ratchet sitting in Optimus’s lap.

17:53 - dude wants to drug a whole army.

17:56 - first move. Call out husband’s name.

17:58 - second move. Admit to wrong-doings.

18:05 - Optimus grabbing onto the handrails (I wasn't able to get a clear shot)

18:08 - He’s so concerned.

18:10 - FRAGGIN FINALLY I CAN GUESS. ‘Yeah? -on it.’

18:14 - Optimus didn’t even finish his sentence before running to the rescue.

18:23 - her legs are moving faster than she is.

18:26 - NOTHING CAN STOP HIM NOOOOW.

18:32 - he won’t stop moving. It’s beautiful.

18:38 - Oh dear.. oh Ratchy no!

18:44 - Knockout’s had like a 0% success rate with that saw.

19:35 - his eyes are blue

19:50 - THAT LINE DELIVERY!

20:07 - he k n e e l s

20:12 - that pool of energon wasn’t there before and he wasn’t actively bleeding.

20:14 - smexy scenery.

20:21 - babes has been by his side the whole time.

20:24 - ‘you bled out’ >:)

20:31 - Aww! But also.. he punched Bulkhead.

12:32 - shut up. You’re crying.

20:35 - he finished his sentence.

20:41 - AAAAAAAAA

20:52 - so energon is a blue crystal that needs to be mined, where it’s then turned into glowing light blue cubes where it becomes a dark blue liquid and is injected into the arm? But if it’s purple it’s dark energon. If it’s green it’s Synth-en. But dark energon stays in crystal form and doesn’t need to be replaced, while normal energon needs to be stocked up and can burn.

21:24 - this is just the plot of Hercules (the Disney movie)

———————

And that was Stronger, Faster

A lot lighter and darker than I remembered it. A very good watch and even if it’s just known for being the drug addiction episode, I’m glad that it’s known.

It’s a very dark topic, but I think it was addressed well. 10/10 would watch in a binge and when being selective about episodes.

*so this touches on my question

[cookierunconfessionblog]

https://www.tumblr.com/cookierunconfessionblog/740050713997099008/kinda-bugs-me-how-when-i-wanna-hc-a-character-as?source=share

This really made me think. I want to add something to this conversation, but it’s about shipping.

Disclaimer: Before I go on with my point, I’m talking about ships that aren’t illegal. The following conversation is talking about ships between consenting adult characters that aren’t related. (Hoping if I add that then nobody will twist my words into something I don’t mean.) I’d also like to add that this topic could be applied to fandom spaces other than Cookie run, but I’ve seen this happen within the Cookie Run fandom as of recent. This ramble is entirely my opinion. You can disagree, I am not stating fact. Now that all that is out of the way,

My main question I want to put out there is: Why should we have to try to prove if a ship is canon or not? What is so wrong with liking a ship, even if it’ll never be canon?

I think there’s a lot of miscommunication or misunderstandings when it comes to discussing ships, because everyone views the term ‘ships’ differently. A lot of people view the act of shipping two characters as wanting that pairing to be canon or claiming that ship is already canon, but I don’t think it should be viewed that way. You can ship two characters without wanting or claiming the pairing to be canon. Especially if the characters in question never actually interacted and you have absolutely no evidence of the two characters sharing feelings for each other.

I keep seeing people try to ‘prove’ a ship is canon or disprove a ship literally everywhere, and I can’t wrap my head around it! Why is it bad if a ship isn’t canon? How does a ship being canon could have more validity than non-canon ones? I just don’t understand.

I don’t think we should be viewing canon as this unchangeable law, that everybody has to abide by, because I feel that pressuring other people to religiously stick to canon limits the creative mind. Of course, if you enjoy sticking to canon, I won’t hate or judge you for that. There is nothing wrong with adhering to canon. I find myself doing that very often, as well. however I do feel we should let people play around with their creative works without forcing them to adhere to what exists in canon. I don’t think anyone should be viewed as less of a fan if they find themselves straying from canon.

Adding onto the headcannon topic: If we all were forced to stick to canon for every single fandom, then what about sexuality and orientation headcannons? Especially since the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t have an abundance of genuinely good representation in a lot of canon works, sticking to canon would be super limiting.

I’d like to see others feelings on this dumpsterfire. Maybe I am missing something and someone with an opposing opinion could enlighten me? I may be stupid.

How to stay hydrated: Take a sip of water every time I say canon in this post. Lol

ㅤ