#(flynn is a great bad/good influence)

[crusherthedoctor]

Hey all, hope everyone's doing good. Thought I should give an update on my current perspective on things around here, as it's shifted for reasons I'll get into.

In a nutshell, I'm feeling better than before... but I also think it's time for me to semi-check out of current Sonic discussion.

By now, you all know that with the exception of Superstars and Dream Team - and Jimbotnik, because of course - I've not been enthusiastic about much of the current stuff. Whether that be the likelihood that they'll continue with a Frontiers direction, the SA2 milking that has made me more sick to death of its influence than I thought was possible, the Year of Shadow in general not being all that enticing if your top ten does not include him, IDW still causing the same repetitive back-and-forths with its characteristically terrible decisions and disproportionate praise from fans who don't actually buy the comic, various other bits and pieces that plant further Eggdad seeds into people's heads, a bunch of other stuff that I'm just apathetic about while everyone else goes crazy over them... it's not been a great time for me. I'm the Garfield, and the current direction is the Monday.

That would all be one thing, but as you may expect, it's the fandom that really irks me. I don't like how it's considered necessary to make every post a bestseller in order for your opinion to be seen as valid and insightful. I don't like how you're expected to not criticise something just because it's popular or "iconic". I don't like how everyone dedicates themselves to the same old lengthy discourse that will continue to not change anyone's minds either way, since the only people listening are the ones who already agreed with them. I don't like how you have Flynn/Archie/IDW stans on one side, and an increasingly common "Japan only, no one else should ever touch the series, also the Japanese fandom is the only one with good people in it, I was born in the wrong country uwu" mentality on the other side.

And... I don't like that I've brought these concerns up so many times before when I know it'll always fall on deaf ears. Why do I do this? Why do I bother? For the fandom, I guess. But if the fandom doesn't even respect me, if my words are always doomed to ring in an empty hallway, why should I bother?

While all this has been going on, the Paper Mario Thousand-Year Door remake has been on my mind quite a bit, as it has been for a lot of folk. As someone who has always loved TTYD, as well as the original N64 Paper Mario, I'm happy to report that I absolutely adore the remake, and quickly considered it a gold standard as far as faithful remakes go. :) There's a lot of reasons for that, but that's best for another time. Anyway, after a certain point, it occurred to me... hasn't it been a while since I've been able to just relax and join in on the hype for something? Hasn't it been a while since my opinion lined up with that of the majority? Hasn't it been a while since, regardless of not actually posting, I felt like I belonged somewhere, and wasn't being made to constantly feel like I'm worthless because I'm not an artist, animator, etc?

I think this is something I've been needing for a long time now. The irony of it coming from the bing bing wahoo man is not lost on me.

After how the past few years in the Sonic fandom have felt like a classroom more than anything, watching everyone repeat the same Why ___ Is Secretly Good/Bad three hour manifestos over and over, and flogging themselves for being Not-Japanese, can you see why the simple pleasures of "hehe Vivian :3" would appeal to me? Can you see why I'd prefer to unwind? I made a valiant effort, but now, I can't force myself to keep up with shit that I'm not passionate about for the sake of a community that doesn't care about what I have to say anyway. I need to find myself a place on here that I can be at ease with.

So what does this mean for my blog? Well, nothing too jarring, just that my focus may shift a little for the time being. Despite what all of the above may imply, I'm not turning in my Sonic badge. I still love the franchise, even if I'm not so fond of its overall current direction. And obviously, I still love Eggman, that'll never change. I'll still answer asks about the series, talk about things I like, reblog stuff I like, work on Stellar, spread Egg Propaganda, and so on. But unless I'm asked about them in certain contexts (ie: "how would you improve this character"?), I refuse to talk about IDW, Frontiers, or anything else whose contents and fandom circles cause me migraines.

Not because toxic positivity, but because after the joy of gushing over Vivian TTYD, and remembering the feeling of belonging, I can't do this again. I can't change Tails calling himself Wildly Inconsistent. I can't change The End being a nothingburger. I can't change Lanolin being an arsehole. I can't change Surge's shilling. I can't change how unprofessional the IDW crew is. I can't change what they're doing with Eggman, and various other characters. I can't change any of these things, no matter how much I or anyone else rants about them, and half the time, no one is seriously listening anyway. So many words for so little results. So I need to move on, stop wasting my time, and turn my attention on things that actually make me happy instead of just... deflated. Maybe if I do that, I can belong again. Maybe when the direction inevitably changes again in the future, it'll feel like it came faster.

So yeah. That's where I'm at now. I hope you guys can understand.

[egg-emperor]

Hey there! Lurker on your blog. I have to say I agree with your takes. I don't know where people get the idea that Eggman is becoming good. That's never going to change. We wouldn't even have a main villain otherwise! It's much more interesting to see Sage go down a path of villainy and imitating her father like most young kids do with their parents. I love those artworks of them being evil together. It'd be so fun if we got a game where Sage dresses to match her dad more and even attempts to laugh like he does!

It's good to know I'm not alone. 💜 I feel like I'm in this little spot with a very small number of people that don't agree with all loudest sides of the debates right now because I don't believe it's even happening to complain about in the first place. Eggman definitely isn't ever going to become a good guy. I don't know what the fandom is talking about, he's so far morally gray and is still very much evil.

He's the main villain of the series and always will be, he's one of the most iconic ever and they're not gonna make him a good guy and lose that status and replace him with some random guy lol. Sega JP emphasized how he's a bad guy and cool villain the day the update dropped through Sonic channel. All official stuff is still describing and showing him to be very much so.

Since accepting and analyzing Frontiers Eggman much deeper down to every line of dialogue, I realized it's just brought forward a bunch of even more evidence I can use and emphasizes how much of an evil bastard and bad person he in cool new ways that encourage deeper thought. It's been very cool and fun to me to dive in deep as someone insanely fixated on analyzing him XD

And it's also still surface level with the way he was still constantly plotting, scheming, wished he could use what he's learned about the ancients and the end to his advantage, showed low empathy multiple times, laughed at Sonic's death, and made it very clear how much he hates working with Sonic and co. And on top of all that, his dynamic with Sage is based on his narcissism and egotism.

This also didn't change at all in The Final Horizon, it also showed it in even more cool ways and it's great. Sure the fandom created their own vastly different fanon version of Eggman and his dynamic with Sage and talk like it's canon and let it overshadow all the real cool and interesting things about it, but the official media is unaffected. Eggman is the same character I know and love as ever there.

When I shut out what the loudest parts of fandom are telling me to think and feel, I genuinely like what I see and analyze Eggman's characterization to be. I see what they were going for even without Flynn's later writer commentary. And I'm really happy I genuinely like it, I feel happy, content, and at peace with how he's being portrayed and it's relieved me of so much stress and worry.

He's not going anywhere, he's the same diabolical narcissistic egotistical bastard that I adore and find so funny and entertaining! And the new stuff taking him in interesting new directions that emphasize the character he already is and not changing it but further strengthening and solidifying it instead, makes me so happy and appreciate and understand it in even more ways.

That's my funny horrible special guy and I love him so much 🥰

And Sage is still very much not a good person either, knowing all about how terrible Eggman is and still remaining loyal and loving. That combined with his narcissism and ego - the reasons he praises and takes pride in her for the first place - is a delightfully dangerous combination. Just think about how his massive ego and evil could be even further boosted and enabled by her!

And the influence Eggman can have on Sage will also be very fun in return. She's compliant with his orders and knows exactly who he is, what he wants, what he's capable of, and how terrible he is and sticks by him. I'd love to see more of villainous Sage and how Eggman's influence can affect her that way, like seeing even more of the pre Sonic influence Sage will be very fun.

Final Horizon gave us a nice example of how she supports him conquering the world and I'd love to see more of her attitude and feelings on it and what she's willing to do to play her part in it. I also really enjoy art that gets it right and shows Eggman and Sage being evil and reveling in it together. I'm excited to see more because their canon dynamic is fun and has potential to be excitingly chaotic!

Sage trying to mimic aspects of Eggman like behaviors, quirks, and maybe fashion would be pretty funny. I think he'd allow it to an extent, as he'll enjoy how it shows her admiration for him, helps remind people Eggman is her father more which it's easier for him to take pride, and he'll just be very pleased to influence someone in an evil way... so long as it doesn't steal any of his spotlight! XD

[julie-su]

Still left frustrated that KTE and it's surrounding issues sew the seeds of 'Generational trauma sucks' and then goes on to flop the landing with 'but that's your FATHER, he's trying his BEST, so you have to love him. okay?!' -- A good point was almost made.. Then squandered. And I suppose it comes down to "Damn, dude, I think you shouldn't have tried to work this one out under the licensed Sonic The Hedgehog Comics".

I mean- that's what was set up with Janelle-Li, Athair, Sabre, and Locke, wasn't it? As much as we all tend to hand-waive the swirling depths of these comics, there are clear lines to be drawn.. Or perhaps I'm playing 'death of the author' to see this one out. Either way - Janelle-Li is dying, and Athair, Sabre's father and daughter of Janelle-Li, refuses to leave his place as Mitre of the Lost Tribe, deeming it an act of religeous importance* This frustrates Sabre, who sees Athair as cruel and heartless, thus he seperates from his father to see his grandmother before she passes on.

This sews the seeds of an apathy for religeon in Locke, who goes on to roll his eyes every time his ex-wife brings up Echidna Theology; of course, she is an avid studier, and frequently visits the.. Aurorium.. (Aurora is a once-echidna, who had evolved into a higher being with her connection to the Chaos Force, appearing to those sometimes to aide with their issues. Y'know.. Like Jesus, but not! I say once-echidna, as she appears to suit whichever species of mobian she visits.) ... ... This leads Knuckles to have not a clue about Echidna Theology, even so in that he feels uncomfortable stepping foot in the Aurorium, without much of a thought as to why.

*Echidna Theology is thus influenced by The Ancient Walkers, who are highly connected to the Chaos Force - who very much fortold of dangers coming, and their great wisdom was documented into the Tomes - which are essentially Echidna Religeous Texts.

... It's just.. There's clearly a strong thought put into the understanding of cyclitical generational trauma; even when we have moments in Penders' stories of Locke going 'hmm, I know I've gone wrong' as we explore how 'chucking your kid into the wilderness and waiting to see if he copes' is an archaic training method set by Rembrandt, after his first son died on a lone mission... Rembrandt being a guardian from 11 generations before Knuckles. That's a lot of years of chucking your kid out into the wilderness! (Though, interestingly, it seems that in the middle, Tobor lived at home with his mother, with sporadic visits from his father, until presumably he came 'of age'.)

I suppose I wrote all of this to say; I feel like removing "Locke being a bad father" in an act to fix his character feels antithetical to what story was being told, and also does a disservice to the story itself. I'd much rather see stories where we explore the trauma and cyclitical abuse, and call it for what it is - not unlike Flynn's run with Locke. There are some really fun plot threads to follow if you allow yourself to really pull the story apart and look at its ooey, gooey innards (... And a lot more things to complain about, but I get that part out in private chats, HEY-OO!)

Well, my final write-off is; I wrote all of this at 1am, incredibly sick, and off my konk.. so if I've misremembered anything, do tell me.. POLITELY, in asks or replies ^^

[spiderman616]

Indulging in ur request to discuss Archie: I thought Ian Flynn mostly just smoothed out bumps in the writing of the comic until he started being forced to make it closer to the games— he seemed like a huge Archie fan bc he would constantly slip in obscure shit from old issues or use old plot points, but he did like the games too so there was some shit used there which is fair. Although to be honest the show Archie was based on, SATAM, was more similar to the games than even the comics ended up being after it got past that initial period of newspaper strip continuity. Not trying to suck up to him bc there were plenty of past writers I really enjoyed as well, and I think Ian had some greenness to his writing at first that he’s kind of grown out of that went in directions that weren’t so great in Archie. I think back when I read Archie I liked it when Ian’s era came in mainly bc it started getting consistently better artists like Jon Gray and Tracy Yardley (ik you don’t like them but I liked the clean lines it was very easy to understand where the characters were placed and what the pose was… sometimes. There were absolutely weird ass expressions and fumbles lmao)

in regards to flynn's run its hard to say what elements were because of sega/sonic team's growing involvement in the story, the requests of the editor at the time (who wanted to reboot the continuity at issue 160 but was talked down by flynn) and flynn's own personal biases and choices. there's no doubt ian flynn was a big fan of archie, having sent several of his own scripts for stories to the comic before being hired, but he was also the first lead writer for archie sonic who was actually a fan of the sonic video games, and i don't think that didn't affect how he wrote the comic. little things like characterization tended towards the characters' game counterparts, and plot details like the seven chaos emeralds in the special zone may have utilized concepts from previous issues but were also tinted by flynn's enjoyment and knowledge of the game. any prior writer, if tasked with the same jobs flynn had, would have handled things differently. saying something is "similar to the games" when the only games you had to work off of were sonic 1 and 2 is also a little bit disingenuous, seeing as there really wasn't much readily available story material to work with. to archie's credit they did sneak in influences from the genesis games when they could, but the plot was still majorly based on satam. flynn isnt a bad writer by any means but i dontttt think he was all that. previous issues also had really good writing, its just that the last few issues before 160 had a lot of behind the scenes turmoil that made flynn's direction look better. you can't pin everything you like or dislike about the comic's story on one specific person, something people are quite fond of doing with both flynn and penders. saying the art only got good after 160 is also... not true lol. post-160 art was more on model to the mobian style maybe, but saying that is better just betrays your personal opinion rather than any objective quality difference

[shadamyheadcanons]

My thoughts on Sonic Frontiers

I really enjoyed it and appreciate everyone not spoiling it for me :) I meant to post about Frontiers months ago, but this took forever for some reason. Naturally, there’ll be spoilers under the cut.

(Are Frontiers details still considered spoilers? Idk. If they are, let me know!)

I like how many callbacks there were to previous characters and events. It made it feel like an actual narrative with greater stakes. There’s actual continuity now!

Tails and Knuckles were handled better than I ever could have anticipated. I haven’t loved them so much in years! I couldn’t ask for more.

Eggman and Sage are standouts. I’m interested to see how they’ll write Sage moving forward. I could see her feeling torn between supporting Sonic or Eggman.

I feel...conflicted about Amy in this game. Her compassion is there, at least, and she's not the bland cheerleader she was in Forces. She wasn’t a jerk like in Free Riders, either. Thing is, though, what I love most about Amy is how fierce she can be. It’s directly tied to her brand of kindness. She needs those strong feelings, both the good and the bad, to be her. And there was barely a glimmer of it in Frontiers. I was so excited when it finally popped up and she argued with Sonic about not doing enough to help the Kokos, but she backed off really quickly. She just got shut down.

I fear that the writers have decided a milder Amy is more “mature” than her fiery, feisty former self. I don’t want them to make her boring because they’re afraid of what she used to be. I’m scared that the Amy I grew to love is gone for good because people think she needs to be “Nice.”

She needs that energy. She needs that spark. She carries around a giant hammer, for Chaos’ sake. You can’t give her a giant hammer and then tell me she doesn’t have guts and a temper.

We already have Cream. We need Amy!

I’m hoping it’s just a side-effect of Frontiers’ somber setting. Ian Flynn *gets* her, so if they keep giving him more influence, then I have hope. And this is still an improvement in some ways.

As a side note, they really toned down her crush, huh? They emphasized how important love is to her (as they should), but none of it really seemed directed specifically at Sonic. Every time she mentioned love, she looked away from him. And if she’d decided to go on a journey to spread love around the world in literally any other game, she’d have invited him...but she didn’t in this one. And he showed no interest in joining her. Idk. I’m not saying she’s over him--I don’t think she is--but I’ve been seeing Sonic x Amy fans going nuts over this game for months now and calling them “canon,” and I don’t know why.

I saw far more chemistry between Sonic and Knuckles, no contest.

This game does a great job making use of the characters’ strengths. I love how Knuckles got to show his expertise with the ruins. I love how Amy was able to point out the freshly-recovered nature of Kronos Island, implying she goes back to the towns they’ve helped in the past and checks up on how they’re doing. In a game where Sonic’s friends can do so little, these details say a lot.

I was disappointed when Sonic’s cyber-corruption was immediately fixed by the cheesy “let’s hold hands” Power of Friendship deus ex machina moment. Cyber-corruption was built up for the entire game as something debilitating that couldn’t be easily fixed. Sonic was straight-up deteriorating, barely able to stand, and the stakes felt extremely high. Making it harder to undo all that--and bringing in his friends to do so and repay everything he’d been doing for them--would be ideal to me. This would have been the perfect place for the new story and playable characters they’ve promised! Give them their own missions! Use the corruption as a reason Sonic has to be sidelined! It’s obvious the devs were feeling the time crunch by that point in the game, so I don’t blame them too much, but it would’ve been seamless.

As it is, though, I am absolutely thrilled that I’ll get to play as Amy again!!! It’s been so long, and some leaks have been hinting at Origins Amy DLC, too!!

Give me the hammer! It’s! Her! Turn!

Finally, I’m really excited to see what they do with the time skip--or at least I’m assuming it’ll be a time skip. They’re all going on journeys and Tails literally said “You won’t even recognize me the next time you see me,” so I’d say it’s pretty cut-and-dried. New powers, designs, etc? Who knows?

[bad0mens]

Got tagged by @suspiciouspopsicle for a character ask game!! <>

Characters were Hikari, Partitio, and Yuri!!! LET'S GO

How I feel about this character

All the people I ship romantically with this character

My non-romantic OTP for this character

My unpopular opinion about this character

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Hikari

How I feel about this character

My sweet summer child who falls into so many tropes that I love. I love him and I love to torment him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Just Partitio honestly.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Brotp would be Hikari and Throne or Hikari and Castti. I feel like Throne would be more like a cool older sister versus Castti, who is a little more 'team mom' and has to remind him to take care of himself.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Hikari does have bad taste in friends, but also I think as he has difficulty not seeing the potential for good in the people who have betrayed him, and even if they've stabbed him in the back, wanting to save them anyway.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I really wish we had gotten to see Hikari actually process some of his immense trauma.

Partitio

How I feel about this character

Love him! A big, lovable guy who has no idea what a capitalist actually is.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Just Hikari!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Partitio interacting with anyone is great, but especially Osvald and Castti (bullying him relentlessly)

My unpopular opinion about this character

I... I don't actually know if I have one?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Squeenix continues to deny me letting these characters process their trauma. But also admitting that Roque is much more a stepfather to him. (a secret third thing. Let Partitio have a gun)

Yuri!!

How I feel about this character

MY BOY

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Just Flynn

My non-romantic OTP for this character

With Estelle as siblings, with Karol as best older brother, with Judith as the bad influence gang

My unpopular opinion about this character

He caused Cumore's death, but I would argue that he didn't murder him.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I mean, come on Bandai, just admit that Fluri is canon. It's okay. You can do it.

Tagging whoever wants to do it!! Just tag me if you do so I can see!

[tinyravenfeathers]

I had two similar theories: First that the influence of Galahad/Jenkins. Jenkins is the anti-apple, his story ends with his direct ascension into heaven, basically, after having kept himself so pure in order to find the grail. So in the Library universe Galahad of course doesn't die...I would think he'd still have his "superpowers" so to speak. He touches Ezekiel, right before the lift, who's to say a little paladin-like spell didn't take place?

But if that's too much of a stretch, think of what Ezekiel's been through. Adopted into a family of thieves. Becomes the greatest thief in the world by age...what...25? But in S2E07 "And the Image of Image" Ezekiel flat out says that Librarians are chosen for their expendability. He points out his own anonymity and states that he has "no ties to anyone or anything in the real world." This is a little weird after verbally sparring with Jenkins at the beginning of the episode over Ezekiel posting himself doing an Ollie Impossibly off the Great Spinx of Giza and stating people don't know him as a Librarian, they know him as Ezekiel Jones, Professor of Awesome.

Which can mean that he has acquaintances, but not friends. He's the professor of awesome, but he keeps his anonymity, he's not on any books as that would make him trackable. His world is unstable by default.

Humans are wonderfully adaptable. Younger adults even more so. You find a way to live in this world that meets all your needs, no matter how dangerous it is, you learn to love the danger. You adapt to the situation and tell yourself it's okay, this is how you want to be, or you change the situation as best you can.

Ezekiel's alone, and he's learned to rely only on himself, love himself almost obsessively (something Jenkins comments on in S3E07 "And the Curse of Cindy") because his sense of home is his ability to provide for himself, to escape any bad situation.

Further, in S1E09 "And the City of Light" he points out (in the middle of his anger that people are being ridden by the original inhabitants of Colins Falls) that he's "made a good living walking the line between snatching and borrowing". Also, in S1E04 "And Santa's Midnight Run" upon giving Eve a present she asks "How stolen is this?" and he replies "Is it really considered stolen if no one knows it's gone?"

So to me that means he has a moral code and he's done the work of defining it himself. He skims off the top. He's not hurting anyone because he's trying to live as lightly as he can, so that he's not trackable.

He only enlists with the Library "to find out who's trying to kill me." (S1E01)....but then the Library gives him so much more than he's expecting, that he can allow himself to expect from anyone. Eve is practically a mother figure (mentioned something like that with Alternate-Timeline Ezekiel in S1E10 "And the Loom of Fate"), Cassie is the nicest sister he's ever had, Jake, Flynn, and Jenkins all older brothers/uncles. He's lived an incredibly lonely life and all of a sudden, here's food and shelter and friends who he can depend on, who depend on him.

So, what's his sin? If he's found self-worth by giving to those worse off what he steals and makes his living by skimming off the top, what's his vice? In the Apple of Discord episode, we never see his eyes flash like everybody else's does. The Apple's influence never takes hold, because there's nothing to hold onto.

Ezekiel has chosen his own righteous path. Through necessity and by the suffering inflicted by his nomadic lifestyle, he's weathered the some of the worst circumstances and still come out smiling.

He's not the worst version of himself. Like Galahad, he's the best version of himself, and mere greed cannot win against Ezekiel Jones.

ok so my apple of discord thoughts

"worst version of yourself" is kind of an overstatement bc its less that it makes you worse and more that it takes away the parts that are good, if that makes sense? it doesnt make anything, it just warps and takes from whats already there.

so with jake, he thinks those things about art and being the only one who understands/appreciates it, but hes too kind to act on those thoughts yknow? and the apple took away the kindness that kept him from acting.

with cassandra, shes interested in those practical applications with fatal outcomes, but she would never act on them, again bc of compassion and self control. the apple took that barrier away.

eve and flynn see themselves as above the others bc of their various experiences and powers, but they dont act on it bc humility and caring for their teammates, being able to recognize their skills are necessary. humility specifically in flynns case. again the apple took that away.

my theory is that it did affect ezekiel. it took something away. not sure exactly what, but im thinking something along the lines of kindness again, maybe his care for others - the thing that makes him steal for charty rather than personal gain. the reason it doesnt outwardly affect him is he already hides that part of himself. the others cant see a change, they cant see whats been taken away, bc he hides it so deep down that they cant tell its been stolen.

[innytoes]

20. Oversized sweaters with nothing but sexy panties underneath for Rulie (or Rukebox) because I have to ❤️

The text came right after she'd managed to wrestle herself into the very, very sexy dress Flynn had helped her pick out last month. The one she had been saving for a special occasion, and by that she meant 'a date night where she really wanted to blow Reggie's socks right off'. And also the rest of his clothes.

Except she'd managed to wriggle it on, when her phone chimed, and Reggie's name (surrounded by hearts) popped up on the screen.

💖Reggie💖: Sorry doll, emergency surgery and all the other vet techs have already left 💖Reggie💖: promise I'll make it up to you

She read the text, took a deep breath, and texted him back a quick 'good luck, hope the critter is okay, love you'. He didn't respond, didn't even read the messages, which meant it was probably a bad one. She hoped the animal was okay.

Then, she stared at herself in the mirror, taking a moment to appreciate how good she looked before starting on the process of wriggling herself out of the super sexy dress. At least she hadn't put make-up on yet. She threw her hair into a basic bun and padded back into the bedroom, hiding the dress back in the back of her closet and ditching the bra that admittedly made her boobs look great, but wasn't exactly the most comfortable.

Instead, she put on with her favourite oversized sweater, the fleecy one with the pastel galaxy print that came down over her hips. She ordered herself a pizza, as well as one for Reggie that he could reheat when he got home, and opened a bottle of wine. And then, she grabbed her laptop and selected a random episode of Gilmore Girls to mope to (just a little) and curled up under a blanket.

By the time Reggie came home, Lorelai and her mother had had three different fights and Julie had been texting Flynn a long, multi-text screed about how Reggie was the perfect mix of Luke, Dean, and Jess (as Flynn sent increasingly mocking texts back).

He opened the door with his key, before sticking his hand through and waving a white handkerchief. “I come in peace!” he called. “And I brought Cookie Dough ice cream! Don’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad, you goof,” she said, peering over the couch and smiling when he stuck his head through the door. Her smile dropped when she saw the amount of blood on his scrubs.

“Bad case?” she asked.

“Hit-and-run, no chip. The pup lost a leg, but we think she’ll make a full recovery.”

“I’m so proud of you,” she said, and he looked embarrassed and pleased at the same time. “Go take a shower, I’ll reheat your pizza in the oven.”

“You got me pizza after I bailed on our date?” Reggie asked, touched.

“You were saving a puppy, of course I did,” she said, getting up and taking the bag with the ice cream out of his hand and leaning to press a kiss to his cheek. She puttered around the kitchen while he cleaned up, reheating the pizza, stashing the ice cream for later, pouring Reggie a glass of wine as well. She was just rummaging around in the dishwasher for the pizza slicer when she heard Reggie return.

“Holy shit, Jules, are you trying to kill me?” he asked. She looked over her shoulder, confused (but victorious, pizza slicer in hand). Reggie moved into the kitchen, pulling her close and sliding his hand down her back, then up her thigh. “Those damn panties,” he growled, hand resting on her ass, fingers sliding over the dark purple lace.

She flushed, smiling her way into a kiss anyway. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her date night panties, that was true. “Pizza first. Then dessert. Then you can help me take these off.”

“Deal.”

[postwarlevi]

AOT parents and Disney movies

Official WD animation only

What they want to watch vs the movie that gets played repeatedly.

Erwin - He's the old school dad and would love to watch Fantasia, but his toddler does not appreciate it like he does. Instead, The Emperor's New Groove is on daily. Erwin is finally starting to laugh at the jokes, and loves Yzmas "is that, my voice?" line.

Levi - If he has to pick, maybe Dumbo, since he gets a happy ending with his mother. Just no Bambi. His kid puts on Lilo and Stitch. Levi is all about Ohana, and likes the Elvis songs. They're not getting a dog, though.

Miche - Give him The Jungle Book. Baloo, King Louie, the Vultures, he knows the lines. His kid likes it when dad does the lines, but otherwise? It's Cinderella. Miche is willing to play the stepsisters for laughs.

Eren - Give him Atlantis, give him Treasure Planet, he wants adventure! Actually gets to watch Snow White. Doesn't know how this happened, but accepts it nonetheless. Likes Dopey at any rate.

Armin - He loves the animation of Sleeping Beauty. The whole thing is gorgeous. He gets to watch lots of Peter Pan as his kid loves pirates. That came out around the same time so it's not that bad.

Jean - Says he wants to watch Lion King. Feels like a Simba most the time. What's actually getting played, is Tangled (tell me you didn't see that coming) but when he gets told he's reminded of Flynn, he enjoys the film a little more.

Connie - Oliver and Company is his jam, the songs are fun and he loves dogs. And yet, The Aristocats rule in his house. Turns out he's a cat person too and he likes the songs in it as well.

Reiner - He likes The Sword in the Stone. He likes the setting, the characters, and the Wizards Duel. His child loves The Little Mermaid, though, and he happily watches it with them everyday.

Porco - Just wanted to watch Aladdin. Has great sidekicks and an awesome villain. Gets stuck with Alice in Wonderland. Doesn't understand it at all but likes croquet match part.

Hange - Give them Big Hero Six or Meet the Robinsons. Tech, inventors? Yes please! Turns out Wreck it Ralph is on all the time, but they enjoy it just as much!

Mikasa - Loves the story of Mulan and thinks it's a good influence. Turns out it is and she and her child watch it all the time. However, they also like the sequel, and Mikasa cringes every time.

Annie - Don't tell anyone, she likes Frozen. Elsa is the ice queen, after all. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh gets put on, and she finds she likes Rabbit a lot. Tigger however, needs to calm down.

Sasha - Loves Robin Hood due to the archery involved and the comedic villains. Her kid gets her to watch Hercules and she likes the action, fantasy and jokes just as much. Plus Meg is awesome.

Historia - Does like Cinderella the most. Who doesn't dream of being a princess when they're little? Her kid likes Moana and she likes the characters willingness to ask for help and confront her enemy after losing hope.

Ymir - Wants to watch Tarzan. Doesn't know if she likes Tarzan, Jane, or Clayton the most. Winds up watching The Rescuers and finds herself rooting for Bianca and Bernard against that crazy mad Medusa and her crocs.

Pieck - Quite likes Beauty and the Beast. Doesn't think Belle is odd at all, and loves the songs. Lady and the Tramp it is though, and she likes the old classic feel of it. Does NOT like Aunt Sarahs cats.

-------

Made kind of quick, hope you like it! Do you think these are accurate? What would YOU watch?

Maybe we'll do a mini Pixar version?

[beevean]

@mashounen2003

The whole thing with Fiona Fox (and Scourge, for that matter) is a mess, indeed. There's a lot of misinformation, as well as Flynn fans once again not wanting to admit their fav writer fucked it up big time. Long story short: Flynn tried to write an abusive villain (Scourge) and a reference to Joker & Harley Quinn (Scourge & Fiona), but never understood Harley was supposed to be Joker's victim

Flynn also grew fond of Scourge, who became his pet villain & a Mary-Sue. Scourge's abuse towards Fiona was shown, wasn't ambiguous, and unlike Penders, Flynn recognizes emotional abuse as a bad thing. But Flynn didn't do all the necessary steps to clearly send the message that Scourge was evil, so now everyone thinks Scourge is some anarchist sex-god anti-hero

Also, Fiona was portrayed as massively petty & mean; before Flynn's run, Fiona was painfully underutilized but had some interesting depth and the potential for an uplifting story. When Flynn turned her into Scourge's victim-- Sorry... "girlfriend", her personality changed completely. There are clues of Fiona having secretly been manipulated by Scourge since a long time before her "betrayal", but this all remained at subtext-level

As you probably already know, Flynn has a problem, not with his own ideas on morality, but with how he makes morality work in his stories' universe. He thought Sonic & the Freedom Fighters would think that traitors like Fiona are worse than genocidals like Eggman or abusers like Scourge. & his stories mirror some of that too. Scourge is undoubtedly a vile monster but is treated a bit better, while Fiona is just misguided and has untreated childhood trauma but is written as an alpha bitch

That's also why I don't like when fans wanna make Fiona a good guy again and they give her a "redemption arc" when, TBH, that's not the way to do it. More of that in this post in my "mashounen2003" blog: post/646874203783577600/a-couple-of-grievances-i-have-with-some-tails-x. I recommend to take a look at what I reblogged from other people about both Fiona & Scourge (use tags "Fiona Fox" & "Scourge the Hedgehog" if necessary).

Admittedly, I'm a bit biased in favour of many concepts from Archie (yeah, I'm a fake fan, I should feel ashamed, yadda yadda yadda), but I like Archie mostly for its potential, not so much for what was actually done with its concepts (minus a few genuinely great stories). I still dislike most of Archie but for its ideas' execution; its concepts are interesting. I'm willing to pair Tails with Fiona, but only after rewriting this from scratch and doing some "character deconstruction".

Sorry for the long chain of continues in your ask box. There are many things omitted by both Archie fans (because they skipped every comic issue before Flynn, they're spellbound by Flynn and can't admit he did something wrong) & Archie critics (because they just stopped reading after all the genuinely ugly shit, so they didn't look beyond that)

I'm still a bit conflicted myself. Flynn isn't like Penders, he's not an abuse apologist or rape apologist like Penders; Flynn did point out other characters' emotional abuse & crappy actions during Penders run; & Flynn's versions of Shadow -& the entire Team Dark- and Knuckles in Archie (not in IDW) are some of the best in the franchise (that's why fans accuse SEGA of keeping Flynn's hands tied 24/7 now). But... *sigh*

Flynn has good ideas, but he executes them poorly half of the time, and he's quite unprofessional. If the audience thinks something is really "cool" or a trend at a given moment, Flynn lets that "cool" or "trending" thing influence his work a lot. "House of Cards" happened largely because Marvel's "Civil War" event, as infamous as it was, also had record sales. Metal Virus was so stupidly depressing because The Walking Dead was still popular at some extent

And the same happened with Scourge & Fiona, albeit this'd only be evident 10 years later, when the 1st Suicide Squad movie was released. Jared Leto Joker was sanitized as hell, pretty much like Scourge; Harley was just arm candy for Joker while the abuse was never even mentioned (even though anyone who watched DC cartoons or read DC comics knows Harley is a victim and, not a long time later, gets away from Joker & becomes very much a hero), pretty much like Fiona and it was all because that "bad boy & bad girl" thing, devoid of the source material's context, was popular because there were many teenagers romantizing abuse. In Archie's case, Flynn fans lacked the context for Scourge's creation and didn't know about Fiona's previous appearances because they never wanted to touch the comics before Flynn's run (which I can understand, but still... they were still canon; moreover, Flynn outright referenced them time & time again until Archie's reboot)

I should have written all this on a post on my own blog. Once again, I apologize; I wrote this after being suddenly inspired & I didn't want that inspiration to go away. I also recommend reading "toaarcan" Tumblr account, maybe asking him about this; he can explain all this better than me, more patiently and in a more concise format, and he's useful as he has opinions different from the prevailing ones in the Archie-Sonic fandom and in the Sonic fandom in general. 

I had to put your askes like this haha

I appreciate the perspective of someone who has read the entirety of Archie, the good, the bad and the very ugly. I go by hearsay and posts of other people, which is not enough to form a complete analysis

Huh, Flynn turning another female character into an asshole? Apparently he did the same with Rouge (to be fair, such an amateurish mistake was common at the time :\). Also Fiona being treated worse than Scourge? Sheesh...

I would like to see his Team Dark and his Knuckles in Archie, especially his Shadow. I don’t like justifying his mistakes with “mandates”, but with Shadow I can believe that he had to change his personality to follow the current canon one :\

Also yeah, Penders... I’m glad that the dude was pretty much exiled from the franchise and we don’t have to worry about him again, because man, what little I know about him makes my skin crawl.

[orlbloom]

orly: you're a bad influence riley, you were supposed to tell me know! orly: luckily, flynn did a better job at stopping me. mainly because he groaned at the thought of going to the uk for the weekend. something about having plans with his friends. teenagers orly: my mum would be so pissed if i showed up in the uk and went to nandos before even visiting her orly: it has been a while, sorry that the first message i sent you was just about my stomach. but i'm glad you're doing good, i'm great!

riley: i would be the last person to judge you. once those cravings hit, you'll do whatever it takes riley: if you came to look for someone to talk you out of it, you chose the wrong person. riley: now maybe don't say it out loud that nandos is your biggest reason let alone... figure your family might be a bit upset they weren't the number one reason you went back 🙈 riley: i'm good.. doing good. can't complain too much. other than the fact that it's been way too long since i last talked to you. how are you ???

[oskarwing]

I really wanna talk about the parent child relationships in Midnight Mass

I’m not sure if I’m good at writing this sorta Meta but here goes nothing. Very many spoilers follow.

Let’s start with the adults: 

First we have Erin who suffered so much at the hands of her mother and later because of her mother’s abuse. We don’t get much detailed info on Peggy Greene but from what we can gather she was a lot like Beverly Keane, who seemed to idolize her (though that probably got easier for her after Peggy was gone), in her self-righteous over-pious manner. She just happened to be Beverly with an alcohol problem and a daughter who she could take all her anger at life for not working out her way for God loving her just the same as everybody else out. The dove scene is really such a good scene. But Erin was stronger than her mother, stronger than the abuse that was about to repeat itself and when she found out that she would have a child of her own she left and tried her best to give her kid a better life than the one she had. And she found the strength I think with the help of the same God her mother most likely used as legitimation for her abuse (don’t get me wrong I believe it was Erin’s own strength but she also clearly found something in religion that helped her gather it) and it helped her to carve out a path for herself and her unborn child.  

Sarah’s relationship to her parents is such an interesting one because we get to see the end of it. The man who she believed to be her father has been dead for a long while and her mother is suffering through the late stages of dementia. And Sarah showed up for it. As a doctor she most likely knew what would be happening as soon as Mildred started to show the first symptombs but she wasn’t going to leave her mother. That kind of care for an elderly parent shows something that is proven in Mildred’s character time and time again: She is a very devoted parent and the love between mother and daughter flows both ways in every scene they are in together, after the birth of her daughter her world turned around Sarah and she loved her with all she had. There are a few scenes that show that Mildred’s understanding of the duty she felt towards her family came from the old values of her time. She wouldn’t have taken off with John and their child not for a lack of love but because in those times, in catholism still at least where I’m from, you can’t just marry a priest. You can’t just have a child with a priest eventhough you’re married and then fuck off with him. As a woman, as a wife and mother you have to stand with your husband, stand with your child and you have to stop running after fantasies I’m sure Mildred had. I’m saying this all from her perspective btw, I don’t necessarily think running away with John, in the way he wished to, would have been good for Sarah but honesty might have been and her old fashioned values were also what kept her from being truly honest with her daughter.  To John on the other hand Sarah is a fantasy, a dream he couldn’t reach. His daughter, his baby, so close and yet so far away getting to watch her grow into an adult but never being able to really be her father as in her Dad instead of her priest. And it’s painful to him, he clearly loved Mildred, loved Sarah but he was also kinda selfish in his love that in the end took Sarah away. At first he isolated his child by starring at her giving her the creeps and the feeling that she had done something wrong that he knew she was gay and dissaproved and then he took it upon himself to ‘cure’ Mildred in the same way he was. Sarah wanted to take care of her mother wanted to be there for her in those final months and John decided it was up to him to give Mildred a youth potion to make it so she’d never die. And with that he took away from Sarah what is without doubt a hard but for many people a very important last part of the relationship between child and parent. John was a complicated man and would maybe have been a great Dad he certainly showed a lot of fatherly love for his altar boys but he couldn’t have the family in the way he fantasized about and in the end it was that fantasy that made him act the way he did.   

Riley Flynn causes his parents a lot of pain. Him killing that girl in the beginning, his alcoholism, him simply not liking the place, the home they build for themselves through hard work causes the Annie and Ed so much pain and financial loss and you can see how tired they are, how much guilt they feel for failing their son. Ed calls out his own guilt and says that he doesn’t belive it could be Annie’s fault because ‘your mother’s a saint’ but what I truly love about Annie and Ed Flynn is that they both aren’t saints. As a mother Annie is very much overprotective and suffocating, wanting to keep her children on crocket island and hating the notion that they might leave her, even though she is kind and sweet and loving. And while Ed seems rather checked out as a father but he is the more honest parent, never talking down to Riley and telling him as it is, telling him about the pain he caused him while also admitting to the guilt he feels. The Flynns are flawed people even in their religious practice (I think the way Annie speaks about Ali showing up at church when Hassan seemed to be nothing but nice to her spoke very loudly to the fact that Annie is rather misguided sometimes) but they are good people at the core of it and their parenting might have been part of Riley’s way into alcoholism but it wasn’t only them. There were things they couldn’t change and things they had no influence over like his heart being broken by Erin running away, the sort of people he went out on parties with and so many other things...  Yes, they may have shaped their son in a way that made him vulnerable to addiction and the party scene of the stock and tech market and brought him to the point where he killed a child but it doesn’t happen through parenting alone and they also shaped him in the good ways. Him not losing himself when Pruitt changes him, him being brave enough to warn Erin, him standing up for what he believes in those things were also shaped by Ed and Annie. They are one of the best example of flawed but good hearted Christians I have seen in recent media and their portrayal was one of the most heartbreaking ones. 

Now the kids: 

Let’s start with Leeza. Little Leeza Scarborough who before it comes to her wonder gets treated with pity and overprotectiveness from her parents and the island community at large. Leeza was injured by Joe Collie transforming him into the island’s villain and her into the ever present victim.  What happened to her is without a doubt horrible and I understand why Wade and Dolly started to become these overprotective parents, why they were so easily sucked in to John’s and Bev’s scheme. Their little girl was almost taken from them eventhough Wade is the mayor, one of the most powerful people on the island he had no influence over what happened to Leeza even was the one who took her out that day and what followed the accident was as we can gather from their conversation with Sarah a lot of pain and financial burden though they say they would have done it all over for Leeza. In fact a lot of places in crockett island are wheelchair accesible and I am sure that Wade as mayor made it so (I can’t really imagine that a small place like the island was very inclusive though I may be wrong).  After Leeza is healed they don’t want to question in don’t want to think about what might have been the cause for it. In fact they stop questioning anything after that point, after Leeza walks again they are completely vulnerable to Bev’s manipulation and them letting that happen, them just going along with everything, Wade protecting John after he kills Joe long after Leeza forgave him and with her forgiveness send Joe on a better path is what in the end makes them lose her. Because Leeza isn’t that little victim who needs pity and help, she is a strong minded, strong willed young woman with a lot of wit who similar to Erin finds strength in her faith but in a way that isn’t devotion without question and when the Easter vigil is held she doesn’t follow her parents eventhough she loves them deeply. She forgives them I think, because that’s what Leeza’s character is about in it’s core but her parents were two of the instigators behind what happened on the island, without Wade’s protection John and Bev couldn’t have come as far as they did and they put their trust in them because they loved their daughter so much they didn’t stop to question if maybe what made Leeza walk again was also a bad thing. 

Ali and Hassan don’t have it easy and I as a white person really can’t speak much on the racism and religious discrimination they face.  I can say this I think: The first line spoken about Ali before we even really get to look at him is “You didn’t invite Aladin” and already sets us up for what both of them know: They are the outsiders. Not only because they just moved to the island but also because in their faith they are different from their peers and religion can often be a community building event for people before it is anything else. Ali starts balming his father a little for that, for not trying to fit in more with the community, for moving after his mother’s death and then not trying to be closer to the people around them and for the pain all the pain the two of them went through before Crockett island. It isn’t oly peer pressure though of course that brings Ali to St Patrick’s. Sure, Ali wanted to be part of the community but also desperately wanted to believe that there was a devine power who could if he just did it (it meaning faith) the right way he might find a way to avoid the pain of his parents. Hassan knew that and he warned him that that wasn’t how it worked. Hassan was a protective Dad and maybe he overdid it from time to time but his worries were never without reason, his need to keep his son safe from a world that hated him for a crime that happened when he wasn’t even born yet never unfounded and him wanting to make sure his kid kept the memory of his mother alive never anything but the wish of a griefing man and loving father. In the end when they pray together there is peace in them. They face their ends with the dignity Ali’s mother would have wished for and they face it as father and son. While Beverly the true religious terrorist of the story burns away without it. 

Warren is the youngest Flynn and it is never directly stated yet omnipresent that his coming of age happens in the shadow of his older brother’s mistake.  Annie warns him away from drinking when he goes out he in fact doesn’t drink. He never drinks because of what his brother did.  Warren would have been 12 when Riley killed that girl and so he would have seen and felt what his brother’s actions did to his parents fully without being yet old enough to maybe see the nuance.  Annie and Ed probably try to right the wrong they believe to have done in parenting Riley with Warren and that’s a lot for a kid. I do think it’s pretty usual that parents of multiple children especially when there’s a larger age gap try to do better with the younger children, but that isn’t fair is it?  Warren is his own person not a second chance to do it over.  And yet seemingly he does what is asked of him. He’s alter boy, he’s charming and helpful and sweet, he doesn’t drink (even when he does smoke pot) and he helps his father where he can with his work.  But in the end he feels guilty because he thinks he wasn’t enough and says at that last dinner he would have been different if he had known he wouldn’t see his family again. But Leeza is right they know and they love him and Warren deserved to not be perfect all the time. 

Littlefoot saved Erin and Erin payed her back with all the love she had. She was never born but she gave her mother the strength and willpower to leave.  In her speech to Joe Leeza said he reached through time and took things from her she didn’t even know she had yet.When Erin left her husband she reached through time and saved Littlefoot from a childhood like hers and when John gave Erin the angel’s vampire’s blood he reached through time and took away her child, a child who would have been loved and cared for. A child with an amazing mother and probably a great step-dad.  Littlefoot’s story is tragic because she never got one. 

[astrognossienne]

scandalous beauty - dolores del río - an analysis

“I love my native Mexico but I love Hollywood, too. It has brought me much happiness and yet, while here I have been miserably unhappy also. But through it all I have found myself, my work and my true destiny.” - Dolores del Río

Like Lupe Vélez, Dolores del Río was a pioneering Latina actress, however del Río’s reach was longer. Far from being stigmatized as a woman of colour, she was acknowledged as the epitome of beauty in the Hollywood of the 1920s and early 1930s. While she insisted upon her ethnicity, she was nevertheless coded white by the film industry and its fans, and she appeared for more than a decade as a romantic lead opposite white actors. Returning to Mexico in the early 1940s, she brought enthusiasm and prestige to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, becoming one of the great divas of Mexican film. With struggle and perseverance, she overcame the influence of men in both countries who hoped to dominate her, ultimately controlling her own life professionally and personally. Her sophistication, style and artistry bewitched everyone from Stella Adler to John Ford, Federico Fellini, and her great friends Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, who proclaimed to be “totally in love with her, just like forty million Mexicans and one hundred and twenty million Americans who couldn’t be wrong.” She was America’s first Latina superstar, and by the early 1930s, she was one of Hollywood's ten top moneymakers. Hers was a charmed life, but not even she was without problems. A child of privilege in her native Mexico, her family’s status was destroyed in the Mexican Revolution, and her desire to restore her comfortable lifestyle inspired del Río to follow a career as an actress. Discovered and promoted by American director Edwin Carewe, her obsessive protector and Svengali, as the “female Rudolph Valentino,” del Río’s aristocratic, Spanish-European background was constantly pushed to counteract Hollywood’s racism against Mexicans; indeed she was generally thought to be one of the most beautiful actresses of her era, and was the first Latin American movie star to have international appeal. She worked for over five decades and paved the way for Latin American stars in American cinema.

Dolores del Río, according to astrotheme, was a Leo sun and Aries moon. She was born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo López-Negrete in the Mexican town of Durango; she was an only child born to parents who belonged to the wealthy Mexican aristocracy. She was the second cousin of actor Ramón Novarro and a cousin to actress Andrea Palma. They lived the high life in the company of intellectuals and artists. Dolores attended a prestigious school but soon their world was turned upside down, threatened by an insurrection led by Pancho Villa in the region. Del Río and her mother escaped Mexico City disguised as peasants, while her father crossed the border to the United States. When the family eventually reunited in 1912, they did so under the protection of Francisco I. Madero. In 1920 she married the 18-year older attorney Jaime Martinez del Río and became a socialite. Her career got off to a good start when in 1925 when the lauded American director Edwin Carewe was invited to her home and saw her perform and dance for her family and friends. He persuaded del Río and her husband to moved to the United Sates and go to Hollywood to be in his films. While in Hollywood, del Río played a variety of leading roles, from European aristocrat to "native" girl to European peasant.

Within a few years after her arrival, she was a major hit and her appeal was astonishingly broad. She quickly came to command a substantial salary and to exercise control over her choice of films, scripts, and camera angles. Despite the fact that she did not speak English when she first began and had to have the director 's instructions delivered through interpreters, she made the transition to sound films gracefully. Her accent was deemed slight, attractive, and not specific to a particular country. As socially attractive as she was, physically and personality-wise, the truth is that a major part of del Río’s seamless transition into Hollywood is down to racism and white supremacy. While her contemporary (and nemesis) Lupe Vélez was viewed as the "bad Mexican wildcat" (to be fair, her temperament didn’t help this stereotype), Dolores was viewed as the "good Spanish lady." The contrast between the two stars and their degrees of acceptance reflected society’s stereotypical dichotomy between "good" Spanish and "bad" Mexican images– which has its roots in U.S. history. While most Mexicans were perceived as racially inferior, the elite Hispanic Californianas were deemed European and superior while the mass of Mexican women were viewed as Indian and inferior. Californiana women who possessed land and intermarried with Anglo men were depicted positively; they were represented as aristocratic and virtuous and they epitomized "good" women; but this was at the price of denying their racial identity, and being treated as racially superior to Californiano males and the rest of their people. So as such, she soon divorced her Mexican husband Jaime in 1928 and two years later married MGM art director Cedric Gibbons (who happened to be Gary Cooper’s wife’s uncle).

Soon after her marriage, she was romantically linked with actor Errol Flynn, filmmaker John Farrow, writer Erich Maria Remarque, film producer Archibaldo Burns, and actor Tito Junco. However, it was her affair with Orson Welles, who considered her the love of his life, that was arguably her most high profile relationship. She and Welles met at a party hosted by director Darryl Zanuck. The couple felt a mutual attraction and began a discreet affair, which upon eventual discovery caused the divorce between Dolores and Gibbons. Their relationship lasted for 4 years; she ended it when she got word of Welles cheating on her. She decided to end her relationship with Welles through a telegram that he never answered. According to his daughter, Rebecca, until the end of his life, Welles felt for del Río a kind of obsession. Weeks later, her father died in Mexico. With these personal and professional downturns, Dolores del Río returned to Mexico in the 1940s and became a significant part of the Mexican film industry’s Golden Era. She was the muse of director Emilio Fernández and starred most notably in Las Abandonadas (1944) and La Malquerida (1949). On a national and even international level though, Dolores del Río will perhaps always be best remembered for her role in the 1946 classic María Candelaría, which is said to be the film of which she was most proud. It also marked the first tentative steps of the Mexican film industry into the world of serious cinema and was the first Latin American film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946, where it won the Grand Prix (now known as the Palme d’Or) for Best Picture. After her triumph in her native homeland, she returned to Hollywood and played opposite Henry Fonda in The Fugitive (1947). She continued to work steadily, starring in various TV shows and films until retiring in 1978. On April 11, 1983, del Río died from liver failure at the age of 78 in Newport Beach, California.

Next week, I’ll focus on her one-time lover, an iconoclastic disruptor who took on the conventions of Hollywood and won: the amazing Taurus Orson Welles.

Stats

birthdate: August 3, 1904

major planets:

Sun: Leo

Moon: Aries

Rising: Leo

Mercury: Virgo

Venus: Leo

Mars: Cancer

Midheaven: Taurus

Jupiter: Aries

Saturn: Aquarius

Uranus: Sagittarius

Neptune: Cancer

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot:  She had a large, warm-hearted, extroverted personality that was always eager to embrace life, love and success – in big doses. There was something about her that assumed the divine right to live life to the full, and her intensity and impatience, along with her personal ambitions, pulled her ever onwards into new projects, fresh relationships and greater challenges. She was something of a gambler and had a daring and dramatic spirit which propelled her forward to make her mark, a sense of personal destiny which can only be exciting and noble. And she was prepared to fight for that glorious destiny if she had to, although she would rather simply steal the show and convince everyone with her intelligence, originality, courage and fabulous style. One of her most beguiling qualities is that she was totally lacking in guile and pretense. Although her own personal destiny was what interested her, paradoxically she at first looked for people she could admire and make into personal heroes. Strongly influenced by a favourite teacher, friend, poet, sports champion or movie star, she could then emulate them and learn through experience how to be great.

She loved the process of creating, as well as the applause that came at the end. Indeed, she relied on those adoring strokes and affirmative responses more than she liked to admit. Life without people would be colourless and boring for her. Social interaction was her life-blood – she could be the life of the party, a real ham and an eccentric, ready to take up the most outrageous dare. But when her extrovert escapades dry up, so did she. She may have, in fact, driven herself to exhaustion and then collapse like a child, home from an all-night rave-up. Yet despite her headlong rush into the experience of life, she was not necessarily irresponsible. Daring and highly idealistic dreams worked away inside her and made her want to improve things, to show people the way, and she may have simply taken charge – for a while. Intensely self-motivated, she did not respond well to orders from others, even though she could be quite bossy herself. There is a touch of the preacher inside her, and she approached her work with great enthusiasm and commitment. She needed space to do her own thing, to learn from her own mistakes, and to learn how to impose her own brand of self-discipline. Her innate self-dramatizing tendencies made her a natural for the theater, business, lecturing, the media – areas that involved group interaction and provided scope for her original and iconoclastic ideas.

She had great presence with a strong-featured face and a sunny glow of inner self-confidence and displayed a regal quality in her posture and carriage; was definitely well-built. She sought perfection in whatever she did and could be very critical of herself and her own efforts. In this way, she often became overly critical and pedantic, especially under stress. She was basically an honest person, and it disturbed her greatly when she had to deal with people who were not. Anyone who violated her sense of trust had a very hard time getting it back. It was very important for her to know that she had the security of a guaranteed paycheck coming in regularly. She had an artistic side to her that obviously influenced her choice of career as an actor. Once she had decided upon her career, she was able to (and most certainly did) pursue it with great determination. She had boundless enthusiasm and big ideas coupled with high expectations of succeeding. She was also self-sufficient and broad-minded. Her genuine pioneering spirit, positive outlook and large-scale personal ambitions led her right to the top. She needed to learn to think before you take on a challenge, and all risks should have been carefully considered. She needed to learn to relax and slow down. She was anxious to prove herself both to others and to herself. If anyone said that she couldn’t do something, she defied them to try and stop her. As long as she felt that she was the one in control, she had a high degree of optimism and was fun-loving, loving to play at life. 

She had an original mind and used every skill she possessed to gain control of her affairs. She found it hard to let go of the past, and it would have been good if she did so that she could grow. She was willing to tolerate austerity for as long as it was justified. She respected institutions for as long as they served her purpose. She had the ability to judge what was viable or important. She belonged to a generation with fiery enthusiasm for new and innovative ideas and concepts. Rejecting the past and its mistakes, she sought new ideals and people to believe in. As a member of this generation, she felt restless and adventurous, and was attracted towards foreign people, places and cultures. She was part of an emotionally sensitive generation that was extremely conscious of the domestic environment and the atmosphere surrounding their home place and home country. In fact, she could be quite nostalgic about her homeland, religion and traditions, often seeing them in a romantic light. She felt a degree of escapism from everyday reality, and was very sensitive to the moods of those around him. Dolores embodied all of these Cancer Neptunian ideals, when she returned to her native Mexico in 1943, a country of which she was very proud, her decision to return to her roots changed her career. As a Gemini Plutonian, she was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, she showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, she questioned more and learned more.

Love/sex life: She had a heroic conception of herself as a lover. She saw herself as strong and in control, the protector of the weak and the saviour of the desperate. Unfortunately, the realities of her love life didn’t always support this notion. Often it was her tender feelings that required protection and her desperate plunges in and out of love that called for a saviour. In order to justify this discrepancy, she often had to be less than honest, both with her lover and herself. The person most likely to win her heart would have been that individual who made it appear as if  she was the champion when, in fact, she was the one crying for help. Her tendency toward self-deception often extended to a failure to admit to her very natural emotionalism and sexual passivity. Unfortunately, there always came a day of reckoning when she had to “own” her emotional susceptibility and capitulate to her sloppy feelings of dependency and her deep-seated need for affection. The good news was that surrendering everything for love wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it was. She may have lost her dignity but what she got in return made it all worth while.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Virgo

Lilith: Pisces

Vertex: Sagittarius

Fortune: Taurus

East Point: Leo

These points in her chart, however minor, packed a major punch in her sex appeal as well. Her North Node in Virgo dictated that her tendency to dream and be disorganized needed to be tempered by developing more practical and down-to-earth attitudes. Her Lilith in Pisces meant that she was a woman who was a natural born mystic and cultivated her own myth. Her Part of Fortune in Taurus and Part of Spirit in Scorpio dictated that her destiny lay in attaining personal freedom through seeking material security and comfort. Happiness and good fortune came through tangible and practical results that had a solid foundation. Her soul’s purpose lay in delving fearlessly into the unknown. She felt spiritual connections and saw the spark of the divine when she could strip away the outer layers of experiences and get to the core of a situation. East Point in Leo dictated that she was more likely to identify with the need for pleasure (including the potential of liking herself) and comfort. Vertex in Sagittarius, 4th house reveals that she dreamt of the pinnacle of adventure when it came to mating. Her psyche yearned to be carried away to the ends of the earth or to be exposed to every manner of religious and/or philosophical theory known to man and then some. Her yearning was strong and really deep when it came to rarefied experiences of any sort. Encountering and wanting to join with her demanded that she always had an itinerary that will provide her with the maps to explore the roads that they have not yet traveled, to say nothing of the different worlds they have dreamed of but not yet experienced. She had a childlike orientation, in all of its manifestations, toward relationships on an internal level. That implicit dependency and impressionable nature that was instilled in her childhood persisted far into maturity. The concomitant explosions and occasional tantrums when these constructs are violated also accompany this position. She had a need for emotional security and comfort in a committed relationship, no matter how many years it has endured. She often had deep fears, typical of children, of abandonment, as well as a need for protection and universal acceptance, no matter how she acted, which she needed her partner to respect and nurture, rather than rebuke, especially in adulthood.

elemental dominance:

fire

earth

She was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. She generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. She was exciting to be around, because she was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, she could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, she chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, she was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because she was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—she was be bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at her best, her confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves. She was a practical, reliable man and could provide structure and protection. She was oriented toward practical experience and thought in terms of doing rather than thinking, feeling, or imagining. Could be materialistic, unimaginative, and resistant to change. But at her best, she provided the practical resources, analysis, and leadership to make dreams come true.

modality dominance:

fixed

She liked the challenge of managing existing routines with ever more efficiency, rather than starting new enterprises or finding new ways of doing things. She likely had trouble delegating duties and had a very hard time seeing other points of view; she tried to implement the human need to create stability and order in the wake of change.      

house dominants:

12th

9th

1st

She had great interest in the unconscious, and indulged in a lot of hidden and secret affairs. Her life was defined by seclusion and escapism. She had a certain mysticism and hidden sensitivity, as well as an intense need for privacy. Traveling, whether physically across the globe, on a mental plane or expanding through study was a major theme in her life. She was not only concerned with learning facts, but also wanted to understand the connections formed between them and the philosophies and concepts they stood for. Her conscience, as well as foreign travel, people and places was also of paramount importance in her life. Her personality, disposition and temperament was highlighted in her life. The manner in which she expressed herself and the way she approached other people is also highlighted. The way she approached new situations and circumstances contributed to show how she set about her life’s goals. Early childhood experiences also factored in her life as well.

planet dominants:

Mercury

Sun

Venus

She was intelligent, mentally quick, and had excellent verbal acuity. She dealt in terms of logic and reasoning. It is likely that she was left-brained. She was restless, craved movement, newness, and the bright hope of undiscovered terrains. She had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. She likely had strong leadership qualities, she definitely knew who she was, and she had tremendous will. She met challenges and believed in expanding her life. She was romantic, attractive and valued  beauty, had an artistic instinct, and was sociable. She had an easy ability to create close personal relationships, for better or worse, and to form business partnerships.

sign dominants:

Leo

Aries

Virgo

She loved being the center of attention and often surrounded herself with admirers. She had an innate dramatic sense, and life was definitely her stage. Her flamboyance and personal magnetism extended to every facet of her life. She wanted to succeed and make an impact in every situation. As a Leo dominant, she was, at her best, optimistic, honorable, loyal, and ambitious. She was a physically oriented individual who took pride in her body. She was bold, courageous, and resourceful. She always seemed to know what she believed, what she wanted from life, and where she was going. She could be dynamic and aggressive (sometimes, to a fault) in pursuing her goals—whatever they might be. Could be argumentative, lacked tact, and had a bad temper. On the other hand, her anger rarely lasted long, and she could be warm and loving with those she cared about. She was a discriminating, attractive, thorough, scientific, hygienic, humane, scientific woman and had the highest standards. Her attention to detail was second to none and she had a deeply penetrative and investigative mind.

Read more about her under the cut.

Dolores del Rio was the one of the first Mexican movie stars with international appeal and who had meteoric career in the 1920s/1930s Hollywood. Del Rio came from an aristocratic family in Durango. In the Mexican revolution of 1916, however, the family lost everything and emigrated to Mexico City, where Dolores became a socialite. In 1921 she married Jaime Del Río (also known as Jaime Martínez Del Río), a wealthy Mexican, and the two became friends with Hollywood producer/director Edwin Carewe, who "discovered" del Rio and invited the couple to move to Hollywood where they launched careers in the movie business (she as an actress, Jaime as a screenwriter). Eventually they divorced after Carewe cast her in her first film Joanna (1925), followed by High Steppers (1926), and Pals First (1926). She had her first leading role in Carewe's silent version of Pals First (1926) and soared to stardom in 1928 with Carewe's Ramona (1928). The film was a success and del Rio was hailed as a female Rudolph Valentino. Her career continued to rise with the arrival of sound in the drama/romance Bird of Paradise (1932) and hit musical Flying Down to Rio (1933). She later married Cedric Gibbons, the well-known art director and production designer at MGM studios. Dolores returned to Mexico in 1942. Her Hollywood career was over, and a romance with Orson Welles--who later called her "the most exciting woman I've ever met"--caused her second divorce. Mexican director Emilio Fernández offered her the lead in his film Wild Flower (1943), with a wholly unexpected result: at age 37, Dolores del Río became the most famous movie star in her country, filming in Spanish for the first time. Her association with Fernández' team (cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, writer Mauricio Magdaleno and actor Pedro Armendáriz) was mainly responsible for creating what has been called the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema. With such pictures as Maria Candelaria (1944), The Abandoned (1945) and Bugambilia (1945), del Río became the prototypical Mexican beauty. career included film, theater and television. In her last years she received accolades because of her work for orphaned children. Her last film was The Children of Sanchez (1978). (x)

[commonwealthoccurences]

Companion HCs: Adopting Shy!Teenager!Sole

Note: Sole is 13-14 in this, therefor it’s completely platonic! I’m disturbed that’s something I have to clarify but I’ve been on Tumblr long enough that I’ve Seen Some Nonsense. 

Cait:

She may not have her shit together at first but she’s determined to be the best parent possible and give Sole everything her parents never gave her

She takes things slow when it comes to getting them to open up and tries to moderate her tone and temper; asks them simple questions to get to know them and tells stories to them (PG ones, of course)

Ferociously protective. If anyone, and I mean anyone, comes near them with ill-intent she flies off the handle.

And maybe part of that’s her projecting the fact that she wished someone protected her when she was young, but she also simply never wants them to feel scared or upset or as if she won’t protect them

Gets them something to keep with them so she’s always with them, even when she has to go somewhere and they stay in Sanctuary, like matching hats or little charms she might’ve scavenged from a collapsed store

Hancock calls Cait mama bear when she flies off the handle at Flynn (rightfully so. Hancock tells Sole to turn away and takes care of that problem like he does canonically)

Cait starts calling Sole little bear after that

Teaches them how to defend themself right away; she never wants them to feel powerless if she’s not around

Cleans herself up to better herself for them; she absolutely refuses to turn out like her parents and therefor goes cold turkey from alcohol and chems

It’s hard as fuck, but Sanctuary comes together to support her

Cries when they tell her they love her and call her mom the first time

Also teaches Dogmeat commands for intimidation so if Sole’s alone they have someone else to be intimidating

Sole definitely grows up with a bit of a take-no-shit attitude. They also know their worth and won’t be walked over

Curie:

Delighted to help out Sole

She definitely tries to get them interested in the sciences, but if they aren’t, that’s okay

Initially she goes on walks with them around Sanctuary and asks them questions about what they like

Picks flowers with them and teaches them how to dry/preserve them

She deals quite well with their shy silence and doesn’t try to start conversations too often; she tells stories without expecting responses and makes sure to subtly encourage any talking by showing great interest

Teaches them French, which comes in handy when they’re in Diamond City or Goodneighbor and they need to let her know they’re anxious or uncomfortable

As soon as they let her know what will soothe their anxiety around other people, she does it without hesitation (buying stuff for them, etc)

They have their own little house in Sanctuary together with a small garden

She teaches them the scientific names of the flowers and what they need and gets them a journal to write everything down; loves encouraging their curiosity and gets excited when they ask questions about anything

As soon as they show an interest in something she throws herself into it with them

Tells dad jokes but doesn’t know they’re kind of terrible; Deacon encourages this and fully enjoys the looks on Sole’s face

Deacon’s the fun, loud uncle

Lots of hugs from Curie as long as Sole’s okay with it, she’s very physically affectionate

Danse:

Kind of a stereotypical dad in the fact that he doesn’t really do great at verbal affection but their trays are always loaded with food and they always have something once they show interest in it

Can vibe with the shyness. He’s quiet, they’re quiet, and he finds no reason to try and get some conversation out of them

They can both be quite awkward but it’s fine

Not great with physical affection either

If they show interest in repairing armor or guns or shooting he’s through the roof with excitement

Constantly glaring at everyone who looks at them even a little bit sideways

Honestly has scared the shit out of some people just by his expression

Builds them their own size-scaled power armor

If they gift him something, even if it’s just wildflowers they found, he accepts it quietly and once they leave he cries

If they call him dad he also cries quietly

“There’s just something in my eye.”

Desperately wants to be a good parent and is kind of insecure about it

Has check ins with them where they have a healthy discussion about if he’s upset them in some way or if they’d prefer he deals with something differently

The first time they travel on their own he’s worried out of his mind, as if he didn’t raise a soldier of a kid (not in a bad way, but they’re more skilled at self defense than most adults)

Sole probably inherits a rbf from him

Deacon:

The fun parent

He can be serious though

In the beginning he tries to overcompensate for their quietness by being his loud, bombastic self

When that doesn’t seem to work he gets the memo and tones it down and relaxes

Honestly they get to see the “real” Deacon pretty soon

He’s naturally joking and loud, however he doesn’t relax and just exist with someone very often

That’s what he does with sole, though, and they open up more after that

Unfortunately they’re exposed to the things the Railroad deal with quite early on, and the shit that goes with the Institute

He makes sure they’re capable of defending themself but it’s quite scary to know that an organization wants your family dead

He makes sure to reassure them that nothing will ever happen to either of them

When they start to open up more he allows himself to act more like he does with the Railroad around them

Takes them on fun disguise runs

They’ll come to realize that they’re low profile stake out missions, and he just didn’t want to leave them behind

Always makes sure they eat first; he’s dealt with food insecurity before himself and part of his protective nature is making sure they know he’ll do everything in his power to make sure they never experience that

Matching sunglasses? Absolutely.

BEAMS when they call him dad

Gage:

Probably the most reluctant parent out of all of them, to be honest

The raider lifestyle is the worst nightmare for a child; for a week he tries balancing things, since it’s all he’s known, but he very quickly gets them out of that situation

Changes their appearances and moves into Sanctuary. Preston’s suspicious when he avoids talking about his past but accepts them

He’s also extremely quiet around the new settlement, so they’re a matching pair

As protective as Cait, that’s for damn sure

Asks them questions quite often to make sure they’re okay: “Did you get enough to eat, kiddo?” “Those boots fit okay?” “Are you warm enough?” “She didn’t bother you, did she?” “Are you tired?”

Doesn’t take offense or try to pry when they give one word answers; he gets it

Not much for physical affection either but if they seek it out he gives and reassures them they’re not bothering him. If they hug him he pats them on the back and says “Thanks for the hug, kid.”

His first gift to them is a gun and knife

He means well

If they call him dad he will get emotional but doesn’t cry

Will cry years later when he thinks back on it; they’ve softened him up somewhat

Encourages them to hang out with Preston and learn about the Minutemen. It’s valuable experience and while he and Preston aren’t exactly friends they respect each other and he knows that them knowing him will be a good experience for them

Reluctant when they find Dogmeat but lets them keep him when they ask; they don’t ask for much and it’s never something ridiculous

Fondly refers to him as a mutt

Eventually ends every night by giving them a sideways hug and kissing them on the top of the head. “Goodnight, kid. See you in the morning.” Before they head to bed

Hancock:

Initially a disaster parent

He has no idea what he’s doing and his lifestyle isn’t set up for bringing in a kid

He cleans up pretty quickly. He doesn’t use drugs if they’re around, but he continues smoking cigarettes.

Seeks out Nick for advice

Sets them up with their own room and makes sure when they ask for something he jumps to get it; not to the point where they become entitled and spoiled but God he wants them to be happy and know he cares

Makes sure to enforce that you respect everyone unless they disrespect you, no matter where they come from

Everyone in Goodneighbor makes sure their drug use and drinking is done out of sight of Sole; their usage is their business but Hancock won’t accept them being a bad influence

Eventually almost everyone in Goodneighbor knows and takes care of Sole affectionately. They respect Hancock and respect Sole equally

They started referring to Sole as the Boss as a joke on Hancock, but Hancock, after laughing his ass off, agrees and the nickname becomes permanent

Once again, Sole grows up the opposite of entitled; they’re very hard working and respectful and that’s why Goodneighbor loves them so much

Hancock gifts them a necklace; it’s a wide circle, about the size of an American dollar coin, with a cutting of the fabric from his coat in the center, sewn tightly around the circle.

Eventually he introduces them to what it’s like to run Goodneighbor and involves them in the decision making

MacCready:

Another kid? Done.

He knows there’s a lot of kids out there he can’t help and he takes Sole under his wing without hesitation

He hasn’t raised a teenager yet, but he treats them with respect and always asks their opinion and if they’re comfortable

Adds another bullet to his cap after a couple days

He’s worried their shyness is the result of trauma; there’s no way anyone in the Commonwealth doesn’t have it, but he hurts at the thought of them going through 

something particularly horrific

Doesn’t try to bust down their walls and get them to open up

Instead, he remains quiet and lets them come to him

Smiles to himself the first time they call him dad

Perfectly open to physical affection and is quite proud of them the first time they ask for a hug

Probably retreats back to the community where he left Duncan rather quickly

His merc work isn’t somewhere for a kid and he probably turns farmer once they find the cure for Duncan

The first time Sole and Duncan bond over something he’s sobbing internally (cries externally too)

Eventually brings both Duncan and Sole back to Sanctuary; he knows the community there is good to raise them

Farmer!Mac with two kids and a small house and a dog? Adorable

(everyone in sanctuary agrees)

Uncle Preston becomes a thing and that’s his official title to the kids

Mac and he become good friends; Mac’s fond of people with good, solid morals and once he hears what Preston did/does for the Minutemen and the people they protect? Respect +100

Nick:

Good with kids, straight up

He’s lived in Diamond City with kids running around all over the place for a while, so he knows how to talk to them

Just treats Sole with respect and expects nothing from them (affection wise) other than the same back

Tries to keep them out of detective work. It’s depressing and he wants something more wholesome for them, as wholesome as things can be in the Commonwealth

Considers moving to Sanctuary and includes them on that decision

Takes on less risky jobs, he’s got someone to care for now

Ellie adores Sole as well and eventually co-parents, and takes over parenting while Nick’s out; whether she and Nick are platonic or romantic in this situation is up to you

Nick comes back one day and she pulls him aside to tell him Sole called them their parents and they both get emotional

He takes care to note what their favorites are; color, food, etc

More than happy to adopt Dogmeat, especially since he proves to be a good protector

Is worried about the fact that he can’t be around all the time. He knows Ellie’s a good parent, but he wants to be there for everything and he simply can’t be

Does have a couple talks with Sole about this to make sure they know he’s not trying to get away from them and he loves them dearly

Tells them stories about funny cases to make them laugh when they’re upset

Blows up at McDonough if he steps a toe out of line in Sole’s direction; McDonough wouldn’t dare kick him out and he knows that, he brings too much business in

Piper:

She takes one look at Sole’s face and the adoption papers are already signed, she doesn’t hesitate a bit

Overcompensates for the awkward silence by talking a bit too much, but eventually figures out they probably feel weird about that

If they and Nat get along she’s elated

Nat honestly brings them out of their shell a bit and it’s not uncommon to see Piper shouting after Nat and Sole running off, yelling for them to be careful and be back before dark

Stays in Diamond City

Sometimes asks Ellie to babysit; they’re good friends and Nick and her get along quite well

Can get a bit heated if anyone is rude to the kids

She’ll fist fight McDonough without hesitation if she has to, she doesn’t care

Not much changes in her lifestyle, she raises them the same way she’s been raising Nat and does her best

Preston:

Fantastic with people, it’s part of his job

Takes on the role of parent readily despite his internal panic

Worries he won’t be good enough; he’s never taken care of kids full time, and he knows being a parent is vastly different than babysitting

Definitely instills Minutemen morals in Sole; he won’t tolerate intolerance

The first time they get sick he’s full of panic. It’s a simple cold, but he refuses to leave them alone for even a second

Relaxes a bit

He used to be out of bed and immediately dress, promptly returning to duty

Now he’s still prompt but he walks around in his pajamas more

Relaxed with physical affection but never initiates; he never wants to make them uncomfortable or make them feel like he’s trying to force himself into the parent category

If they call him dad he’s walking on clouds for the rest of the day; the fact that they think that highly of him??? Amazing

Worries he’s not good enough but when people compliment his parenting he figures he’s doing alright

Honestly complimenting his parenting is the best thing that can happen to him

X6-88:

???????

Who put him in charge of this human and what is he expected to do with them????

Fumbles hard at first

Consults the scientists (who I’ll assume put him in charge of them) and eventually picks things up on his own

Institute scientists make the mistake of trying to instill things he doesn’t approve of after he grows attached to them and cares more for them than the Institute

Suddenly they’re missing a synth and his teenager

He knows the Institute like the back of his hand; they won’t find him. Ever.

Takes them to Sanctuary when he hears the radio and seeks out Preston

He respects Preston and the way he protects everyone, considering he feels that way towards Sole, and eventually, far down the line they become friends and platonic co-parents

X6 parents ¾ of the time, but he often seeks Preston’s advice in the beginning

Doesn’t particularly care if they call him dad; they’re family either way

Definitely asks them about and takes interest in their interests

Just wants them to be happy

Considering they’re pretty much his only family, he’s very attached to them; not in an unhealthy way but as they get older they call each other their best friends

[saladbroth]

this is seriously the weirdest fandom i have been in. bobby is not a good person in canon jatp? like why are you fighting people who don’t like him? people can dislike who they want to without attacking them

hi! first of all, i am not attacking anyone and attacking people is not my intention, and i’m sorry if it came off that way, i simply shared my opinion on bobby.

second of all, we don’t actually know bobby is not a good person? we see him in two scenes as bobby, and not many more as trevor, and in neither scene is he protrayed as a bad person or shows signs of being one.  canonically, bobby was close enough to the boys to play unsaid emily with him, and he didn’t “steal” all the songs either because a) he’s the sole owner of sunset curve’s music after the boys died and b) bright, finally free and the start of edge of great was not on his albums. i know many people think of him as a bad person because as we see it, he didn’t give credit to sunset curve, but we only know of him through julie’s perspective and i highly doubt this man who’s traumatized enough to have an on-call therapist 25 years after the fact, would tell his daughter or her best friend about that stuff. i do believe trevor made some bad choices, and yes, the boys’ anger at him is justified but also they’re traumatized from dying and haven’t had the chance to work through that yet. it’s a shitty situation for everybody, but i personally don’t think jumping to conclusions about trevor/bobby and hating him as much as he is hated is the right thing to do.

for further exploration of that, i can strongly recommend this essay by @a-tomb-with-a-view

now. i’m not fighting people who don’t like him. people are allowed to dislike bobby, and while i don’t personally don’t understand that, they can do whatever they want. my post came from people demonizing him, and painting a 17 year old who loses his best friends and bandmates as a murdered and killer and from the massive amounts of unproportional hate bobby gets as a character. people are allowed to dislike characters, and if you simply dislike bobby because he’s not a vibe or you just do - that’s totally fine by me.  but i’m not gonna sit here and watch people say he’s a killer/ he was jealous/ he planned this/ he wanted this, because it’s obvious trevor still struggles with the boys’ deaths and there is literally no basis for these claims, except for three nearly dead 17 year olds who get caught up in their feelings. 

for the attacking part - i wasn’t attacking anyone. i’m genuinely curious as to who i supposedly attacked with my post. i don’t hate people who dislike bobby, i just very much don’t like people in this fandom demonizing him on no solid basis.

if this is about the race thing, which i’ve seen people take issue with: i’m not saying everybody who dislikes bobby is racist, because that’s bullshit. characters can be disliked regardless of skin colour or ethnicity.  but this fandom has a track record of disliking and dismissing characters of colour (willie, julie, flynn) and thus it seems a bit suspect when a character who, in his younger version, is played by a man of colour, gets demonized and hated on disproportionally to the (white) actual villain of the show. it just seems suspect and i simply pointed that out. if you feel attacked by that, then i suggest not blaming me, but rather examining your own behaviours and biases, because you probably aren’t a horribly racist person, but white people have internalized biases and need to work against that, even if it is uncomfortable, and i’m not saying this to attack anyone, but that kind of thing can influence how we think about people and characters.

my intention was never to attack anyone, and i don’t have issues with people who dislike bobby. my issues lie with demonizing a character we know very little about, and basing that hate on points that can be disproven fairly easily. that is all.

[ghastspidergwen]

I love @doctorsiren's dadskall au, and I thought I'd write a little fic about it. basically, the dadskall au is where xisuma and ex (alex)'s dad is doomguy, but some sort of accident/crazy magic/whatever made him and iskall share a body, go check out doctor siren for the whole story, she has great art, too!

disclaimers (you can completely ignore this section if you want): I have played about 15 minutes total of all the Doom games, read none of the books, seen none of the movies, but the ost is great, so this will probably be ooc for doomguy. xisuma and alex are more based on the featherweight au versions, not the real hermitcraft versions. this story is not part of the dadskall au nor any of dr siren's other aus, it's just a break for me to write some fluff. it takes place ~3-4 years after where fw currently is (s7 election era) but is not set in the fw au world. link to the post part of this is based on. ...and I think that's everything, onto the fic!

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Xisuma took a deep breath, “I think dad’s alive.”

“You said you saw him die,” Alex, previously known as Evil Xisuma, said, turning to his brother, “They told me he died”

“He wasn’t exactly dead, it’s hard to explain. It’s more like...the horcruxes in Harry Potter. When dad died, I think there was some magic at play that made it so his ‘soul’ transferred into the nearest healthy, person. And I think I found them.”

“Uh-huh, and who might that be?”

“HALLO!” Iskall burst in, “What did you need me for?”

“Iskall? Seriously?”

“He was there that night and I have no reason to believe-”

“You really think Iskall-”

“It’s my best guess, everyone else was injured, and the magic had to choose the nearest healthy person, so it must be Iskall.”

“What must be Iskall?”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Iskall?”

“No, Iskall86,” Xisuma said, sarcastically, “Of course this Iskall, how many Iskalls do we know?”

“I still have no idea what we’re talking about, can -”

“No!” The void brothers turned to him and responded in sync. Xisuma pulled his brother into a side room, “Stay right there, thanks Iskall.”

“What?”

Xisuma exhaled and closed the door behind them, “Phew, OK, I have reason to believe that 13 years ago, Iskall was present the night that dad-y’know-and since everyone else there was either corrupted or injured, as the only uninjured person, dad’s spirit ended up inhabiting his body, but’s been so weak that it was only using Iskall as a means of staying alive, not influencing him or trying to take control of his body at all. Do you get me?”

“A little.”

“And I think I know the spell that will separate them, and give dad his old body back,” They went back into the main room with Iskall, “Should I do it now?”

“Blast ‘im,” Alex backed out of the room, putting a protective wall between him and the magic.

“WHAT?!”

A glowing green ball of energy swirled between Xisuma’s hands, and Iskall backed into the wall, “H-hey Xisuma, what are you doing?”

“This...shouldn’t hurt.”

Iskall held up a hand in a stop gesture, “SHOULDN’T?!”

Xisuma blasted him with the magic. Iskall glowed green, floated into the sir, then split into two people who fell down.

“I...think it...worked,” Xisuma muttered, collapsing to the floor.

Doomguy looked up, and noticed someone lying, unmoving, on the floor. His saving-people instincts kicked in, and he pulled himself over to the person. “C'mon, don’t be dead, don’t be dead,” he said, shaking them.

Someone was shaking Iskall. He sat up and opened his eyes, “Holy heck, it’s Doomguy!”

“You’re alive!” Doomguy said relieved, and pulled Iskall into a hug.

Absolutely starstruck, Iskall sat there, frozen. It’s Doomguy, I love Doom, Doomguy is right here, and he’s hugging me, it’s Doomguy! Iskall’s mind looped.

Pulling out of the hug, Iskall spotted Xisuma crumpled on the floor, “W-wait, I got-gotta check on my friend.”

Doomguy turned around, and spotted his son on the floor.

“Xisuma!” He stood up and stumbled toward him.

“Wait, you know Xisuma?”

“He’s my son. Well, your son, too. Our son.”

“Wha-”

“Short answer, I am you. You are me. We’re the same person.”

Looking at his hands, one thought crossed Iskall’s mind, I’m Doomguy. It was closely followed by “I HAVE A SON?”

“Two sons.”

“TWO SONS? And one of them is dying!” Iskall sprinted across the room and cradled Xisuma’s head, “I don’t know what to do!”

“Health potion?” Doomguy suggested.

“Oh, yeah,” Pulling a potion of healing out of his inventory, Iskall splashed it onto Xisuma. He held his breath and waited to see if it would work.

Xisuma opened his eyes. He sat up.

“Dad!” He jumped up, and buried his face in his dad’s chest plate, giving him a hug the same way he did when he was younger.

“I’m your dad, too,” Iskall said.

“You know?” Xisuma asked, breaking off the hug.

“Yeah, Doomguy told me. So give your poppa a hug,” Iskall uncrossed his arms and gave a very confused Xisuma a hug.

“Oh, OK,” Xisuma awkwardly pat Iskall’s back until he stepped away.

“Is Alex here?” Doomguy asked.

“He should be right outside, he didn’t want to be in the same room as an untested spell.”

“Wait, you didn’t test it? Then why did you cast it on me?” Iskall asked, panicked.

“How many people do we know that have another person living inside them?”

“Wels/Hels, I’m pretty sure Ren did for a while, a pregnant lady,” Iskall ticked off on his fingers.

“Different circumstances. Wels and Hels are one person, like two sides of a coin, Ren-I don’t know what happened with Grimdog or The Red King or whatever, but I definitely don’t want to mess with those, and did you just compare yourself to a pregnant woman?”

“Uhhh...nevermind.”

“You said Alex was just outside?”

“Yeah,” Xisuma pulled the door open, to reveal Alex sitting on a bench outside, drumming his fingers against the seat

“Did it work?”

“Yeah.” Stepping out of the doorway, Xisuma revealed their dad standing behind him.

“Hi, Alex.”

“Dad?”

“It’s me,” Doomguy sat next to his other son.

“Dad!” Alex hugged him, and they pulled Xisuma into the hug after a second. They sat there before the hug was interrupted by another pair of arms joining in.

“Family, together again,” Iskall sighed.

“What’s up with him?” Alex asked, glancing at Iskall.

“I’m part of the family, call me Dadskall.”

“OK...Dadskall, can we have awhile alone with our dad?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. See you later.” Iskall trudged out of the room.

“I haven’t seen you guys in forever! How long was I…”

“15 years.”

“So that would put you guys in your mid-30s, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Has anything big happened in the last 15 years?”

Alex pulled off his helmet, “Nothing too bad. I was imprisoned for a bit of it,” he glared at his brother.

Xisuma also removed his helmet, “I said I was sorry, how many times do you want me to apologize?”

“I wasn’t saying it’s your fault, I was just making the point that-”

“I get it! I was an idiot and I didn’t listen to you when you were clearly right.”

“Just like old times,” Doomguy chuckled, he examined his son’s faces, “You look so much older, like real adults. I’m so sorry I missed out on the last 15 years, I would’ve loved to see you grow up.”

“It’s not like you could do anything about it.”

“I know you would have been here if you could.”

“Also how did you guys get those scars?”

“Someone needed to keep slaying the demons after you left,” Alex shrugged.

“I angered some Watchers years ago.”

“You angered some Watchers?” Doomguy asked, standing up.

“I just realized someone was right, but it was too late to save them.”

“Darn right, I was.” Alex and Xisuma also stood up.

“I...forgot how tall you were,” Doomguy said looking, at up at Alex, who was only a few inches taller.

“Oh, yeah. Xisuma was jealous he never got this tall.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Sure,” Alex smirked.

“So, anything else new?” Their dad intervened.

“Daisy’s still alive.”

“Should’ve guessed,” he chuckled.

“Oh! You’re a grandpa!”

“What?!”

“Yeah! I adopted a guy named xB. I’ll call him over, so you can meet!”

<Xisuma> hey xb, can you come on down to my base, I’ve got something to show you

<xBcrafted> ?

<xBcrafted> yeah, be there shortly

“How did you meet this xB?”

“I was doing some exploring between seasons, looking for a good seed, when I found a small single player world. xB was alone in there. Poor kid was only 13, didn’t know where his parents were, said he had been handling himself for the last 2 or 3 years, so I took him back to Hermitcraft with me. He’s a great kid, you’ll love him.”

“Xisuma has practically adopted the entire server.”

“Server? You’re an admin?”

“We both are. I’m main admin of Hermitcraft, Alex is the backup admin.”

“I’m so sorry I missed out on all of this stuff. I really wish I could have been there for you two.”

Something thumped into the outside of the building they were in, and the door opened, “Freakin’ rockets, stupid friggin’ elytra,” xB mumbled. “Oh, hey Uncle Alex, hey, dad.”

Doomguy gasped, “I love him already!”

“Wha-”

“xB, this is our dad, Doomguy.”

“Wait, I thought he was dead.”

“Wonky magic stuff.”

“OK then. I’m xBcrafted,” xB said, offering his hand for a handshake.

Doomguy scooped him up in a hug, “Hello, xB, you can call me Grandpa Flynn, or just Grandpa, or just Flynn, I don’t care. I have a grandson!”

“Nice-to-meet-you,” xB gasped.

“Dad, I don’t think he can breath.”

“Oh, right,” Flynn released his grandson, “sorry, got a little overexcited.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Glad to be back.”

“Do you want to go meet the rest of the server? There’s just under 30 of us, total.”

“Oh, you’ll love all of them. There’s me, of course, but Hypno and Jevin and Wels and False are all set up near me, Stress and Gem are also pretty close, and Doc and Ren are just past them, and…” xB rambled as the other three grabbed their helmets.

“You ready?” Alex asked, pushing open the door.

“Let’s go, I want to meet the rest of your family.”