#(she was a traumatized teenager it is NOT her fault. but i will still talk abt how it effected steve bc unfortunately it did fuck him up a

[bwat5-blog]

A Heart Imprisoned: Vi's Time In Stillwater

**Spoilers For All Of Arcane**

Vi is all of fifteen years old, when she is kidnapped by the Sheriff of Piltover himself and thrown into the bowels of Stillwater prison. There she will spend seven years of horror, isolation, abuse, and fear. Accused of no crime, with her name not even on the record, she has no hope of escape or mercy until the naïve rookie Enforcer who will change her life comes to her cell.

What I want to try and delve into today, is the impact these seven years have on Vi as a person. Vi continues to be one of the most grossly misunderstood characters in this show. Even now I can come up with no logical explanation as to why, but that's okay. I don't think logic plays a big part in the anti-Vi crowd's day-to-day anyway. But! Still we soldier on, and hopefully by the end of this I can illuminate a tragic part of this remarkable character's story in a worthwhile way, and lend even more to the cause of helping see the humanity in her story.

Lead Up:

I have covered the events of Vi's childhood in heavy detail in other documents. So here, I will just run down a quick list for understanding.

Sees death of birth parents on bridge of progress: Age 9

Spends 6 years as part of family with Powder, Vander, Mylo and Claggor: Age 9 - Age 15

Vander, Mylo and Claggor all die violently in front of her. She barely survives brawl with more than ten armed thugs working for Silco, she is wounded during incident, she is separated from Powder in traumatic manner that leaves her ravaged by guilt.

Imprisoned for seven years until Caitlyn Kiramman frees her: Age 15 - Age 22.

To say Vi's life even before Stillwater has been harsh is a mild understatement to say the least. She begins her story in tragedy. And even though Vander and her siblings love her, the undercity is a hard and dangerous place to grow up. She is not saying things like "wanna see how that ends" to a knife wielding attacker at fifteen years of age because her life has been easy.

We also need to review a few telling things about Vi before her imprisonment to better understand the teenage girl who is sent to Stillwater.

"When people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish.. whatever happens, its on you"- This lesson of Vander's will come to haunt Vi's life for years. He gives her this speech entirely from a place of love and support, talking to her about being aware of the consequences of her decisions as the other kids look up to her. But when things go so..so wrong. Vi internalizes this to the point that she is unable to move on from the guilt of what occurred.

"I grew up knowing I'm less than them, that my place is down there. I want Powder to have more than that, and I'm willing to fight for it."- Take note of what she says. She doesn't protest that she isn't less than.. only that she wants Powder to have more. Vi tells us so early that she doesn't see more for herself. Only more for those that she loves, and that she is willing to bleed for it. And she will... over and over..

"I know you wanna hurt the topsiders for what they've done to us. But who are you willing to lose?"- Again, another of Vander's lessons that Vi tries to take to heart. it leads her to try and make the right decision to protect those she loves, and through no fault of her own ends with Vander taken, and Benzo and Grayson dead. She tried to stop fighting. Tried to lead with her heart and the world crushed her as a reward.

"You've got a good heart. Don't ever lose it. No matter how the world tries to break you"- See above.

"Take Care of Powder"- Again, this one is tough. Vander's last words to Vi are not of comfort to her, but instructing her. I am NOT bagging on Vander. Had things not gotten even worse Vi would have been the leader of their family now and Vander knew she could do it and was trying to help her be strong. Unfortunately, because things go so terribly, all it is is another source of guilt driving Vi into the dark.

Losing Powder:

Tragically, Powder in an attempt to save her families life detonates a monkey bomb that kills Mylo and Claggor, and initiates the series of events leading to Vander's death as well. All when they were so close to escape. Powder is a little girl. this is NOT her fault. And she is shocked when she comes around the corner to meet Vi's rage instead of praise...

But as I have stated. Vi was only fifteen and having been through all that she had, lashes out at her little sister. Hitting her, calling her a jinx, and aggressively grabbing her face before walking away in horror at her actions, stolen by Marcus before she can make it right.

Conclusion: So what does that all mean in a nutshell? A fifteen year old girl who has already lived a life of loss, and violence, has her entire family taken away her violently in one night, save for the little sister she feels she has betrayed. She is then thrown in a terrible, hellish prison, with the only thing to focus on being the loss of her family, Vander's lessons, and how she believes she failed him, her brothers, and most importantly, her sister.

"I spent so many nights, in that shitty prison. On the freezing floor, hungry, bloody, counting the hours. The only thing.. the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to you."

In Stillwater:

Thankfully for all of us who don't hate this character for breathing, we see none of what happens to her while she is in here outright. But there are a few things we know:

She is routinely assaulted- When she and Caitlyn are speaking she says to just send in whoever is going to hurt her so she can get on with her night. The warden confirms this with absolutely zero shame. And when Caitlyn opens Vi's cell, Vi is rolling her shoulders out like she is getting ready to fight.

There is no record of her or her crimes - Marcus locked her up with no trial, no paper trail, no nothing. She would have been kept there forever. Routinely beaten and totally stripped of her identity. Gee, I wonder why she tattooed her name on her face. They tried to erase her from existence.

She isn't in solitary all the time, as she had access to the tattooed goon she keeps wrecking throughout the show- I'd say this is probably the only reason she is at least slightly functional and still able to socialize in the real world to some degree.

A Layman's Understanding Of The Impact On Her:

First and foremost lets dispense with the obvious. I am not a mental health professional of any kind. But as an adult with a basic understanding of people I feel confidant saying that seven years in a violent prison being victimized and assaulted are what leads to the guarded young woman who has turned her body into a weapon that Caitlyn Kiramman meets that day. Cut off from any kindness, or love, or understanding Vi has hardened herself to the outside world because the last time she tried to do otherwise, her entire life was taken from her. And I am not going for the pity points or for dramatics. But she was fifteen... I'm going to guess something akin to her crying for someone to help her, or for her sister and than being viciously beaten is not outside of the realm of possibility. Her entire life has taught her over and over that the only thing she has to offer is her ability to do violence. An article from the University Of Santa Cruz a few years ago gives us more trustworthy information than my blathering:

"many prisoners "believe that unless an inmate can convincingly project an image that conveys the potential for violence, he is likely to be dominated and exploited throughout the duration of his sentence."

"prisoners may come to think of themselves as "the kind of person" who deserves only the degradation and stigma to which they have been subjected while incarcerated."

"For some prisoners, incarceration is so stark and psychologically painful that it represents a form of traumatic stress severe enough to produce post-traumatic stress reactions once released."

The need to keep up walls and hide their vulnerability, the hidden inner belief they are not worth any better, and deep seated trauma even manifesting as PTSD. Sound familiar? Not to mention the fact that is all started for her when she was fifteen and in the wake of a terrible loss.

I have seen many people lambasting Vi over her inability to cope with change or see that her sister has changed. Let me ask you folks a question. You see your entire family die in front of you, you are almost killed, you get thrown in a horrific and violent prison for no reason holding on to the hope of your last surviving family member, and then you get out and the sweet little girl you were ripped away from is a MURDERING. MENTALLY ILL. TERRORIST (Don't yell at me Jinx fans I'm just proving a point). How well do you think your going to cope?

This is just a drop in the bucket and absolutely a layman trying to learn a-little about how something so terrible would impact someone's emotional and mental health. But it was worth exploring. Like the grouchy broken record I am I have continued to proselytize to all of you regarding the humanity at the core of Arcane being its true heart. So the misunderstanding of perhaps the most human character in the show, someone who wants so badly to love, be loved, and to stand for those she cares for, well... Suffice it to say, I will keep playing this song for as long as I need to.

As always thank you for reading! Keep standing up for stories that matter. See ya next time.

[theha1rarch]

actually wait before i start on stuff bc i forgot i wanted to write this up in honor of sinday & taking a page out of @milleroptimism's book to share sad usfw hcs ...

i think we should talk about the fact that while yes, steve has slept with a lot of people. yes he had a bit of a reputation in high school, but even after high school he was still sleeping around a lot. yes, this is all very true. i'll be the first to admit that steve is a bit of a slut (affectionate) ...

HOWEVER, i think we should also talk about how much of that is steve being starved for human connection. & like yes part of that is being touch starved (on a separate note we should talk about the fact that sex was like the only positive touch steve had for a while), but overall is/was about steve just wanting/needing/craving human connection & just wanting to feel something with someone. wanting to feel close to someone. wanting to feel a little less alone, even if it was only for a short period of time. & like how much he clung to that? even if it was just sex ... it was something. something he had.

but like i think the other side of this is the fact that the people he was sleeping with ... weren't really in it for the same reasons. like, they were just there for sex, a good time, especially considering it was with steve harrington. the hot commodity, y'know. which kind of means ... they weren't as focused on steve & his feelings as they possibly should've been. & steve being who he is, that instinctive selflessness, the need to make other people happy. especially considering he didn't want them to leave & he was just so desperate for this connection he was getting ... all meant that steve didn't exactly focus or worry about himself during these escapades. like his own pleasure, his own satisfaction went out the window. he just wanted to make the other person happy. service top to a t. even if ... deep down, he kind of wished it was the other way around. or at least, a little more equal. but he'd never admit it, never put his needs or wants before someone else's, never admit he wants to be cared for. for one, no one needs to worry about him anyways. for two, he couldn't risk losing what he had especially considering he only had it for a short time ...

& then the final thing i want to cover with this ... is yes it's about wanting human connection, but over time becomes more about wanting a permanent connection. like to put it simply, steve wants to find someone who he falls in love with & someone who loves him back. he wants to find The OneTM. he just, wants, to be in love. he wants a relationship, something to be built into something beautiful & permanent, that will last forever. so he yearns. he continues to sleep with people, hoping to find something. he looks for love over & over again. he pines & yearns quietly & hopelessly ... only for it to seem impossible, pointless, unreachable. only to watch it happen to everyone around him, but never seem to be for him. only for it to fail every time he tries, only for that spark - that connection to never seem to be there with any of the people he takes to bed. or for them to not want the same things steve wants. again, most of the time, they really just want a good time with steve harrington ...

& maybe it's this, all of this, along with the fact that one time he did think he found TheOneTM ... it didn't work out. & she fell out of love with him (or maybe never even really loved him in the first place). but maybe it's all these things ... that make steve think it's never gonna happen. he's never going to find that person, that permanent connection, no one's ever going to fall in love with him. maybe it's just not in the cards for him, just not meant for him. maybe he's meant to just sit on the sidelines & watch it all ... & maybe ... just maybe. that's because, he's unlovable. & he always has been. maybe just maybe.

[iiannabxth]

unpopular opinion, i guess, but despite the fact that nicole claims to be a sociopath, i really don’t think she is. (that being said, she still isn’t a good person.)

throughout the game, she does express empathy and sympathy for characters like jecka, ari, or even jeffery, but will actively choose to ignore her wrong doings in order to peserve her own piece of mind- something that most teenagers do. in each of the endings, nicole will reflect on the actions she took to end up where she did. her reactions can range from denial to her own faults to a realization of what she really did.

though it’s a comedy game, so everything is incredibly exaggerated, nicole is clearly depressed and extremely suicidal. she’s addicted to drugs to distract herself from her own thoughts, which allows her to feel better, even if just temporarily. i think her numbness and recklessness probably come more from her disregard for her own life, rather than for a desire for entertainment. she also has no positive role models, as her brother is slobbish and lazy, and her mother is abusive and irresponsible.

nicole was implied to be a relatively normal person before the events of both games, having become popular in her other school once she became pretty. she also talks about what it felt like to be considered an outcast and to be left out. during the game’s opening, she says she used to be nice and and friendly to people, but she ends up changing her tune just before the events of the game begin, choosing to decide not to care about anyone but herself. she even explains this to her mom during one of the routes.

from what i gathered, her dad was a nice person who was constantly taken advantage of by people (including nicole’s mom), which led him to kill himself. nicole was probably traumatized from watching her father’s suicide, and decided after watching it happen (and having the only words on his suicide note being “nicole’s fault”) that being nice wasn’t worth it.

for example, after the whole school turns on her in the suicide ending, nicole describes how hopeless and miserable she felt. she says how she learned exactly what people wanted from her, which was sex more often than not. she spends the entire route being friendly to people (mostly boys) she doesn’t like for the sake of “being nice” and getting them to like her, only for it to blow up in her face because she didn’t want to sleep with them. she feels taken advantage of, just like her dad, which drives her to suicide.

regarding her apparent lack of empathy, she is said to feel sorry for what she did to ari, though she chooses to ignore it because guilt makes her feel bad. as jecka pointed out, ari didn’t really do anything wrong, which makes nicole feel upset because she knows she messed up. it’s clear that nicole has a morale code, though it’s a bit twisted. she hates people who are homophobic, racist, sexist, etc. (she makes a few odd comments throughout the game, but my point still stands). her lack of remorse comes to people like kyler, who nicole hates because he is a known rapist and misogynist.

as i said before, jecka, ari, and jeffery are probably the best examples of nicole feeling bad for others.

jecka is nicole’s best friend and the person she cares most about. a key moment in the game that shows this is when jecka gets mad at nicole and they temporarily end their friendship. after realizing she’s in the wrong, nicole goes to apologize by getting herself stuck with the counselor (a man she openly hates) all year so that jecka can smoke in peace again, which was something she’d previously complained about.

ari is important because i think she represents nicole’s own sexuality. while nicole is overly harsh and abusive towards her in one of the routes, in the other, she supports ari at first, telling her that even though coming out might seem tough, nobody cares and that most people would be fine with it. i personally believe nicole is gay herself (based on her respective interactions with jecka and emily) and i think that how she chooses to treat ari is based on how nicole feels about herself.

regarding jeffery, nicole probably sees a bit of herself in him. therefore, since nicole hates herself, i think it led her to immediately hate him too. (that’s not to say he isn’t weird and annoying, of course.) jeffery is the school loser that everyone either ignores or abuses. nicole says in the opening that she used to be that kid too. in jeffery’s deranged texts to nicole, he says a lot of the things that nicole had said herself. in one of the routes, nicole can choose to talk jeffery off of the ledge, which leads him not to kill himself nor shoot up the school. (i think jeffery has schizophrenia, so there’s that.)

but like i said, just because nicole isn’t exactly a sociopath doesn’t mean she’s not a bad person. she’s still pretty awful and makes dumb and harmful decisions. i think she’s lowkey a well written character that’s really funny, but has a moments that actual inspire reflection.

anyways, i wanna know what yall think. i could be wrong, and she really could be a genuine sociopath or have sociopathic tendencies, because as i understand, sociopaths are made, not born.

[brucewaynehater101]

Do you think after BruceQuest the bat kids + Oracle and Alfred (maybe or maybe not Batman)

all but blatantly cut contact with the Justice League?

Even if Batman forgives them for leaving him for dead even with all the evidence in front of them, they've still shown themselves wildly unreliable to even their own members

Unless the Justice League forces themselves into a Bat's conflict or other situation or the bats genuinely have no other option

Bats lean towards each other for help, next best thing is Young Justice or other heroes of their generation, and as last resorts, mercenaries or villains, maybe even ex-LOA members

The Justice league (including Batman if he sticks with em) are the last last resort and are the last people to learn of Bat-involved incidents, if at all

Maybe rogues outside of Ra's learns what BruceQuest was, how it ruined Red Robin's reputation irreparably and uses it to annihilate the League's PR by showing the truth to the world?

I know Mr Lex Luthor would lap that shit up

Especially if Batman is still on good terms yet Red Robin is still dealing with the aftermath years later

Everyone is pulling their hair out because Lex is doing an objectively good thing for the wrong reason and when his villainy is toppled again—

Red Robin isn't going to live his life like his repaired reputation is gonna last

Ooh. How would the Bats react to the JL post BruceQuest?

Cass, Steph, Duke, and Jason do not have a relationship or rely on the JL. Jason probably is already upset at the JL for a variety of reasons. All that would change if the batfam is Team Tim would be those batkids being colder to the JL. Maybe they also pull off pranks.

In the end, those Batkids would be the equivalent of hearing your sibling talking about their toxic workplace and hating those fuckers (who you rarely see/interact with) on principle.

For Damian? It's a toss-up. It depends on how he views Tim and the JL. If Damian wants to become Batman, he might see the JL as a necessary step for that. He might need to have several conversations with various family members and his friends (like Colin and Jon) to understand his own position and thoughts on the JL.

For Babs, I hc she helped them a lot with their systems and other work. She probably feels guilty about Tim (not believing/supporting him and his traumatizing trip he did alone). If she was also on Team Tim, she would pass all system management to Vic and maintain a slightly frosty professional distance from them. Her Birds of Prey would become aware that she helps them, but she only assists the JL in dire circumstances.

Dick would have mixed feelings about it. He kind of told other heroes that Tim wasn't to be trusted and that he was having a mental breakdown due to grief. Now, what they did with that information is not Dick's fault. They should have supported the teenager and understood that Dick was also crumbling under his grief/responsibilities. So, Dick feels conflicted. He wants to make it up to Tim, though, and probably maintains a more professional distance from JL.

Alfred is also guilty of not being there for Tim when he needed help and care. However, I like to imagine he makes very pointed comments at JL members when they visit for their direct actions in that situation.

I do think that the batkids join together to mutually say "fuck you" to the JL, but in their own ways.

Batman/Bruce is iffy. On one hand, people like to use the BruceQuest as Bruce's kick in the pants to be a better father. On the other hand, he does his whole Batman Inc shit and is in Gotham less. So, it depends on how you picture him dealing with that trauma and his relationships with his family. If he's doing the less local Batman stuff, then he's probably more with the JL (and thus not on his kids' side).

The Lex Luthor theory you have going on? Brilliant 👏

[eggtqrt]

can we talk about the apology scene between niko and jenny in ep 6 after niko's psycho date? we start out with jenny being emotionally vulnerable that she's sad about what happened and despite it not being niko's fault, niko immediately takes it personally

and the delivery of this line honestly truly captured the essence of being a teenage girl. Like yeah, it's a knee jerk reaction and probably an immature one but it is so incredibly relatable to immediately jump to that conclusion. And then Jenny instantaneously replies that no she doesn't hate her "But even though there's no way you could've known about Maxine, I also don't forgive you. Just not yet, anyway." Which in my opinion is a great response? Like it clarifies that she holds no ill will towards niko but she's also still coming to terms with the emotions of a traumatic event. But Niko is still not convinced and frankly again has an incredibly relatable response

And Jenny immediately says stop that bullshit because ofc she should. But I just found it so emotionally impactful that this scene validated both Niko and Jenny's emotions but managed to call out that Niko's thought pattern wasn't healthy without demonizing her for it? To have a scene between two female characters that acknowledges the ambivalence between them without villainizing either of them was just incredible

And then at the end something about Jenny saying "So if you love love, wanna help people, then do it." (Even if she says don't try to help me, which is honestly a valid boundary) and Niko's tiny smile afterward WAS SO TOUCHING

[isaaagloom]

nobody wants to hear about this but i wanna talk about it!!!

if i see one more person saying jinx is just a "weird incest" character in reference to her not liking caitlyn, im gonna LOSEEEE IIITTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jinx has had only a FEW proper parental (ish) figures throughout the show, and if we're being honest, none of them were AMAZING. but to jinx, anything wouldve worked. because she was a CHILD for a lot of this. in act 1 of s1 it is obvious that jinx looks up to vi so so much, as a traumatized child character would, especially one in jinx's position!! as she grew up she was sooo used to vi being her (pretty much) primary caregiver. to taking care of her, talking to her, and just spending time with her overall. even if vander did a lot of the financially supporting all of the kids, it was clear all of them looked up to vi in some way!!! THATS WHERE act2 comes in, jinx (whos now believed that vi abandoned her... poor girl omg) finds out vi is with an enforcer and whatnot, and fully believes that vi ditched her to go with enforcers, who she's been raised to not like, even BY vi!!!!! jinx is angry about this?? obviously???? take this from HER perspective. your older sibling abandoned you, ditched you, and the entirety of the undercity just to go be with an enforcer, who she's told you allllllll your life to not trust. THATS FUCKED UP ISNT IT!!! this isnt me blaming vi at all, i love her just as much as the next lesbian arcane fan, but from jinxs head, thats really fucked up!!!

the reason jinx doesnt like caitlyn is because she thinks that caitlyn is gonna take her place. and not even in the sibling sense. you can see jinx obviously isnt protective of vi in a romantic sense, but she's used to being the only one that vi was kind with! in act1 of s1 you can tell that vi was only really "softer" towards jinx, because she was so young... because they were siblings... whatever you wanna call it. from jinxs head, vi has only ever been softer with her! and now seeing she's doing it with caitlyn, thats obviously gonna make her upset!! this isnt caitlyns fault, this isnt vis fault, its just my poor girl being rightfully upset about years of misunderstandings and lies told to her!!!!

she believes caitlyn is taking vi from her, or taking her attention or even love. its a common trait a lot of (especially people with bpd, which jinx SO obviously has) people have!! thats why she lashes out at caitlyn or gets upset thinking about the two of them, she doesnt believe vi can still love her and love caitlyn.

bringing back the enforcer bit. jinx was taught from a young age that enforcers were bad, that you should stay away and all these different things, especially after her own parents were killed by one! next thing she knows, vi seemingly is abandoning her and leaving for, who she learns is an enforcer. the people who showed no mercy killing their parents, or just overall being cruel to people in the undercity!!! id be pissed too tbh!!

jinx is so me and if any of you people say anything about jinx being weird again im going to become violent!!!!!!! if i got anything ab this mixed up or wrong i apologize, again im just a teenager whos hyperfixated!!! im not a professional arcane-ologist :3333

this is really long idk if anyones gonna read it all..!! giggled

[ladymorghul]

I think what annoys me the most about arguing Aegon is a victim of his marriage is they won’t extend that logic to anyone else. By that decree, Daemon was a victim; Viserys married him to Rhea to secure the Vale, and he was a teenager. In the main series, is Joffrey a victim when he’s betrothed to Sansa at 14? Maybe he was only abusing people because he was afraid to be with her. It’s a laughable take that refuses to acknowledge the sexism of Westeros and the way Helaena’s only purpose in this family is to have Aegon’s babies. Even young Aemond calls her “[Aegon’s] future queen.” That is what she is, for her entire life; she exists to secure his claim.

They want to say Aegon hates incest (a headcanon never suggested or substantiated in the show, he says he doesn’t want Helaena because “she’s an idiot” and they have nothing in common, not because she’s his sister). But then they also want to argue even though he hates incest, he loves his wife and has consensual sex with her. But only when he’s drunk, because the relationship is so traumatizing to them both. I can’t even put this blame on Tom, because all he said on it was “Aegon didn’t want to marry his sister, he didn’t want this life” which is what we see in the show! (I can blame him for the idea that Aegon, who fully deserts his remaining child with the man who twice tried to murder him, is a loving and caring father, but different discussion.)

This is long, it’s just so frustrating to see this concept passed around by people who either don’t want to think critically about AWOIAF and Westeros, or are misogynistic enough to believe Aegon was the victim here, and not Helaena. They didn’t even marry in the show at exceedingly young ages for Westeros; the twins are 4 in series 2, and Aegon is ~22. The script for 1.09 has Helaena at 20 and the twins I believe are just mentioned to be toddlers. But these are then the same people who spent two years saying Madam Sylvi raped and groomed Aemond, when Aegon would also be the abuser there. If they can acknowledge a 13 year old being taken to a brothel against his will is “problematic”, can they not realize who would be hurt in this marriage? The 16 year old forced to have her brother’s babies and do nothing else or the 18 year old who spends his time raping women and watching children fight each other? Nevermind that he again takes a young teenager to lose his virginity in this season. We aren’t meant to see him as a sex pest at all 🙄

yeah, you make a lot of good points here and unfortunately we have reached a point where we can't discuss the negative aspects of aegon without aegon stans jumping you because their love for aegon has blinded them to his faults and pushed out any critical discussion about his character.

and it's like they try to say "we know he's not good" but then they don't let anyone bring up any of his faults without getting piled on for being a "hater" as if any talk about the negative aspects of his character automatically means you hate his character.

and i definitely agree there's a lot of misogyny from some of his stans in addressing his position in relation to helaena and it's really sad people can't understand how they're not equals in the family or in the westerosi society.

as for tom.. i think it's a bit more nuanced. i believe that the writers were set on overkill for him (what we saw in s1 + not knowing valyrian + being asked to ride sunfyre like he doesn't know how, etc.) and there's likely things that he discussed with the writers that he thought were good for aegon's story that never translated to the screen, which happened with multiple actors on this show. OR not being fully aware of what the character was up to because they were given limited knowledge from the writers. we also have to remember that at the time of the promo tour, at least half of the season was still being edited. you never know if everything you've filmed will make it to the screen and there's times when actors shoot the same scene with different perspectives (kieran burton talked about how they had quite a few versions of the bracken blackwood scene including one where davos is crying which is so different than what we actually got to see on screen)

but yeah, i definitely agree that it's a problem and a lot of aegon stans are lashing out at anyone addressing these negative aspects of his character. and look it's fine to hate the writers' choices for him, there's definitely writing choices i genuinely dislike when it comes to aegon, but the truth is that whether you hate those choices or not they are show canon and people will address them.

[jqmalikhsgib]

sea view

five

you were very irritated. you couldn’t believe that she has the audacity to comment on your sons post. after harry blocked kendall, along with her family, you’d blocked her from your socials as well. you just never let corbin know. in fact you and harry never told corbin who he’d had affairs with. it wasn’t like you kept the affair a secret.

corbin was old enough to know his dad wasn’t faithful in the past. part of him resented harry for it for a long time. he couldn’t believe his father would hurt him mother like that.

over time though, corbin forgave his dad. he made a mistake and got his shit together. harry made it up to them every single day, he’s still doing everything in his power to prove he’ll never make that mistake ever again.

you were currently on the phone with harry, crying. you were so sick of harry’s past trying to bite you in the ass when you’re trying to move on with your life.

“i know baby. it’s not much we can do though. i mean, we can get corbin to make his account private.” harry sighs.

“i want him to live life like a normal teenager, harry! he shouldn’t have to censor himself because one of your ex bitches are harassing us!”

“honey—”

“no, i know. im sorry. it’s not your fault.”

harry knew that wasn’t true. if he’d been a faithful husband to begin with, none of this would be happening. you wouldn’t be crying alone in your bedroom.

“it is though, baby. i fucked up! that’s gonna haunt me until the day that i die. i—fuck! if you want, i’ll talk to kendall,”

“absolutely not! i don’t want her anywhere near you or the kids. just—set up the meeting and i’ll show up. im gonna handle this once and for all.” you state angrily.

“baby, that’s not a good idea. listen, ill unblock her, text her myself, let her know stop fucking with my family, okay? no need to meet up with her or anything.”

you sigh.

“fine! but harry, i swear to god if she—”

“i know, honey. now, is my girl calmed down a little?”

“stop! you know i hate when you talk to me all sweet and cute after ive just been pissed off.”

“mhm, i know you like it thats for sure. how are the kids?”

“corbin and the girl he was dating broke up. he’s been a bit depressed.” you pout at the thought of your oldest experiencing his first heartbreak.

“is it bad that im kinda happy?”

“harry!”

“what?! im not happy he’s sad. im just relieved he’s not dating anymore. he has his whole life to date, angel. he should just be a kid for right now.”

“i think next year he’s gonna try out for soccer!”

“you mean football, baby.”

you playfully roll your eyes. “whatever you wanna call it, babe. im just worried he won’t do as good as he wants. he really wants to impress you.”

“he’s half english, love. it’s in his blood to be an amazing football player.

“promise you won’t make it a huge deal, harry? if he doesn’t get in he’ll think you’re disappointed in him if you show any sort of excitement.”

“i swear, baby. how’s my princess doing?”

“payton sorta got in trouble in art school for saying a not so nice word today.”

“no?! not my baby girl! she wouldn’t.”

“mhm, she did! apparently she asked her teacher what a dirty little slut meant.”

“what?! where did she,”

“where do you think, harry! when the teacher called she told me she heard it from our room one night. i was totally embarrassed.”

harry laughs loudly. he couldn’t believe his little girl over heard the two of you in the middle of sex. obviously a bit traumatic but, hilarious. he could only imagine what you looked like as the teacher tells you what happened.

“harry, it’s not funny! our seven year old daughter heard us having sex.”

“it’s your fault!”

“my fault?!”

“yes! i recall you being a brat. had to put you back in your place, baby.”

at this point the conversation shifted. you squeezed your thighs together, trying to create some type of friction.

“you can’t say shit like that when you’re gone. it’s not fair!”

“you know i love teasing you, baby. but i miss you too, love. you have no idea how many times ive got a hard on, on stage. it’s not easy hiding it either. with these outfits lloyd has me wearing, i can’t move around too much.”

“what song turns you on that much when you sing it?”

“baby, it’s not even the music. the energy i put out, i give the crowd a show. sometimes you just pop in my head and im gone! fuck, i miss the taste of you.”

you whine. “can’t wait until you’re home. then this problem will go away. i can finally get fucked properly. this vibrator isn’t doing me right, harry! it’s not big or thick enough!”

“need my cock that much, huh?”

“mhm.”

“promise you, baby. when i get home, im gonna fuck you like you need, yeah? gonna make up for all the time we lost, love.”

“promise?”

“one thousand percent.”

you smile at the thought. your youngest son interrupted you right after. you sigh before letting harry know you’ll call him later. you end the call before getting up and going to hayden’s room.

“hi, baby! what’s wrong?”

hayden sniffles as he lifts his arms out. you giggle before picking your son up. “you just want cuddles from, mommy, yeah? im here baby. i love you so much.” you begin to kiss his cheek as he giggles. “you love mamas kisses don’t you, baby!”

you kiss his cheek again as he attempts to clap his hands. “god, you’re the cutest six months old in the entire world! aren’t you, baby?!”

you set up a few toys on the floor and set him down so the two of you could play. you couldn’t wait for your other kids got home from the park and your husband came home from tour in a few more weeks.

[m3nt4llyr4v3d]

One thing that kind of (absolutely) bothers me about this show is the weird… avoidance?? Or major mistakes or flaws the characters have??

(This is me going off of the top of my head, and sooooo much personal bias is in this, be warned)

I’ve seen this being talked around the critical tab a bit and I just wanted to ramble: for some odd reason, the show is very consistent with blaming/placing fault on a character’s minor flaws, but the major shortcomings are just brushed aside (this somewhat applies to some parts of the fandom as well)! A few examples I could think of off the top of my head:

Marinette- Marinette’s blamed by the narrative for things she can’t even control or have nothing to do with anything. Like, in Penalteam, where she has to work to be a team player?? Even though in the episodes beforehand Chat’s whole thing was that he felt like he was being replaced/ set aside by the whole team??? At the same time, Derision made every instance of Marinette’s more unsavory acts in regards to Adrien (which was originally absurd comedy) into something serious because it’s a trauma response now! Which means every instance of her doing those things is now under the context of “oh god this is a traumatized teenager potentially breaking the law due to a trauma response and absolutely needs therapy!!”, while also… just… quietly sweeping all that under the rug under the guise of “well she does those things BECAUSE of the trauma” while not acknowledging just how many bad implications are there now. (I could go a full hour talking about how much Derision fucked EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. OVER.) Oh, and her being secretive with Chat for… no reason? This one is kind of acknowledged but also, the crux of the issue is brushed aside in the season 4 finale? Like, in Kuro Neko when Chat is trying to, like alleviate some of her duties by gathering some of the Miraculous cause he also knows some of their identities? And she says no and says he’s wasting her time? I get he was pestering her about it, I do, but the authors were saying that her reasoning with being secretive was that she was had so much responsibility… but when the opportunity arises for someone to alleviate that, she turns it down? (Honestly liked the fanon reason that she was scared of Chat Blanc timeline and him getting to close to her way more)

Adrien- His naivety in specific situations (the whole “taking the high road” advice) being criticized HEAVILY, when it’s kind of understandable he would give that? I get that it’s bad advice in this situation, I don’t think he’s part of the problem for giving it though. But his pushiness towards Ladybug? The godawful communication he had in Season 4 (this is a Ladybug issue too)? Nah, let’s just ignore that. His… really concerning mental health (Guilttrip anyone? I mean he literally tries to cataclysm himself why is no one talking about this?) What are you talkin’ aboutttt, it’s all good here! In fact, we’ll never bring that up again, how does that sound? (Please delve more into that in season 6 dear god)

Chloe- It’s… understandable??? When the show harps on her being a bully I guess?? But the issue I have with that is that the show acts like this is the WORST thing she’s done, being a petty vindictive teenager. The show rarely brings up her failures at being a superhero (for how much some fans bring up the train scene, I’m 1000% sure the show literally forgot) or the fact that she, y’know. Literally betrayed Ladybug and worked with Hawkmoth! For how much the show loves dogging on her and treating her like a secondary villain I’d expect like, a little bit more in showing that off? Also, the literal two grown adults setting her up as a scapegoat for the whole mayor thing, then the show acting like she’s the one at fault still?? And that sending her away with her mother was a good thing????

Gabriel- “Oh he’s too obsessed with his Ladybug to actually save his wife! He’s cold and distant but still loving actually!” What about his neglect? What about him literally ignoring his wife’s wishes (there was no way he didn’t know beforehand I’m sorry)? I genuinely don’t care that he “made the right choice” with his wish, he stabbed Marinette in the back to do so. Literally LOCKED ADRIEN IN A WHITE ROOM AND AT SOME POINT WAS ATTEMPTING TO AKUMATIZE HIM…! But nah, he’s just too ambitious, he’s a loving father, whatareyatalkinabout? He’s a hero! (😨)

Andre (Bourgeois)- “His flaws are that he gave up on his dream to live an unhappy life! Oh but we’re gonna ignore his role as a literal corrupt politician, look he’s redeemed now! He even sent that she-demon Chloe away! What do you mean he literally raised this child to act this way? Nah, everything is Chloe’s fault and we’re not even going to acknowledge his hand in literally raising her with these values since she was basically in elementary school! Look he’s adopting Zoe, isn’t that sweet? Nevermind how we just won’t acknowledge where Mr. Lee is, if he’s alive, or if Zoe is even okay with everything that just happened! (I mean, cmon, she literally lived with Audrey for years, she would reasonably be a little put off by this, even if she thinks Chloe is a lost cause)

These are just a few I could think of, though. Honestly my biggest wish is that the show would stop bringing the character’s least offensive trait/fault (compared to others) and truly acknowledge the worse aspects of them.

Bit that’s just me rambling like a madman, I’d love to know what you guys would think!

[queenjunothegreat]

Hello, everyone!!! Who wants to be sad??? I apparently did because I wrote this. Always a good day when I get to write about how much I fucking hate Beryl Grace tho! Anywho, moving on!

And now here we have day five: And That Will Be Enough

“Your hair’s getting long again,” Leo commented quietly. “We’re gonna have to cut it soon.” Jason just grunted and pressed his face harder into Leo’s stomach. Leo sighed. “Jace, you know I haven’t gotten the whole Professor X telepathy helmet perfected yet. You gotta talk to me.” Jason was silent for a long time. If it were anyone else, Leo would have gotten frustrated, but Jason always chose his words very carefully. “Estelle’s two years old now.” “She is,” Leo agreed, not really sure where this was going, but willing to follow Jason anywhere. Jason squeezed Leo tighter. “She’s– She’s so little.” “She is.” Jason went silent again, and Leo almost couldn’t breathe for the tension that hung thick in the air. Then, in a small, fragile voice that Leo knew from his own experiences whispering about his sins in a confessional booth, Jason said, “I was two when my– When I joined Lupa’s pack. D’you think I was that little?” *** Jason and Leo go to Estelle's second birthday party, which brings up some memories. Turns out being abandoned in a park leaves a mark Ao3 Anniversary Collection Day 5: Parents

Through a series of coincidences that were in no way any fault of their own, Leo and Jason never got around to meeting Estelle until she was two years old. Piper had gotten to meet her (apparently being rich and homeschooled came with its perks) but convincing the faculty of Edgarton to just let two of its students go galavanting across the country to see a baby had been a little too difficult for even Piper’s charm. Then, of course, summer had rolled around and they meant to go see her, but Jason had been unceremoniously slapped with Quest Duty from his dear old dad, Leo had managed to break his leg, and the Jackson-Blofis household had gone on a trip to Germany to introduce the baby to her grandparents, and Jason and Leo were once again back at school, still without having been in a room with everyone’s favorite baby. But this time it was different. Now, Leo and Jason were at NRU and it was much easier to convince their professors to give them the weekend off for their surrogate sister’s birthday party. 

And what a party it had been. Leo hadn’t been to a birthday party that was anything but a roomful of traumatized demigods eating pizza and pretending to be less traumatized than they were in years, and he’d never been to a party for someone that young. It had mostly been for the adults and gathered teenagers, really and truly, but there were a few kids from Estelle’s preschool there, too, and Percy had put on a quite frankly masterful puppet show for them all. They’d all had a grand old time, and the weekend was over too soon, leaving Leo, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Percy, and Annabeth to all climb on Festus’s back for a hard ride to New Rome. All in all, a fun, worthwhile experience, and Leo was glad they’d finally gotten the chance to meet Estelle. 

The problem was Jason. He was… quiet, but not in his normal “sitting back and keeping watch” way, more in a morose, contemplative way that Leo didn’t really like. Nobody else had noticed, but Leo was as fine tuned to every change in Jason’s mood like it was his job, so he noticed. So, when they finally got to New Rome and they all went their separate ways, Leo didn’t even say a word before climbing into the lumpy twin bed that had been assigned to Jason. 

As expected, Jason immediately crawled into bed after him, and wrapped his arm around Leo’s waist, and pressed his face hard into his stomach like maybe he could hide from whatever thoughts were stuck in his head. Leo frowned softly and  began carding his fingers through Jason’s hair. Along the line, Jason had finally decided to grow it out from the standardized crew cut of the Legion, but he still never let it get too long because he hated the way it felt tickling the back of his neck. 

“Your hair’s getting long again,” Leo commented quietly. “We’re gonna have to cut it soon.” Jason just grunted and pressed his face harder into Leo’s stomach. Leo sighed. “Jace, you know I haven’t gotten the whole Professor X telepathy helmet perfected yet. You gotta talk to me.”

“I don’t know who Professor X is,” Jason mumbled, still hidden away.

Leo rolled his eyes, and gave a teasing tug to the lock of hair around his finger. “Shut up. Yes, you do, and I know you do.” He felt Jason smile, and he went back to his previous petting. “Now, come on. Tell me what’s up. Please?”

Jason was silent for a long time. If it were anyone else, Leo would have gotten frustrated, but Jason always chose his words very carefully. “Estelle’s two years old now.”

“She is,” Leo agreed, not really sure where this was going, but willing to follow Jason anywhere.

Jason squeezed Leo tighter. “She’s– She’s so little.”

“She is.”

“Sally loves her a lot. Paul, too.”

“Yeah. Lots of people love her.”

Jason went silent again, and Leo almost couldn’t breathe for the tension that hung thick in the air. Then, in a small, fragile voice that Leo knew from his own experiences whispering about his sins in a confessional booth, Jason said, “I was two when my– When I joined Lupa’s pack. D’you think I was that little?” 

“Jason,” Leo breathed. He wanted to wrap Jason up, maybe even fold him up and tuck him behind his ribcage so he could stay warm and safe in the space he’d carved out of Leo’s heart. He couldn’t do that, though, not with Jason clinging to him like he was, so he just cradled Jason’s head like it was the most precious thing on Earth. “Oh, god Jason. I’m so sorry.”

“Sally wouldn’t leave Estelle, would she?” Jason asked in that same tiny voice. “Not-not when she’s so little.”

“She wouldn’t,” Leo confirmed. “Sally’s a good mom and she loves Estelle a lot.”

That seemed to be a breaking point for Jason because he took in a deep, shuddering breath and suddenly Leo’s shirt was wet. “Why-Why didn’t my mom love me? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Leo said the word so fiercely that it came out almost like a snarl. Fiery anger and hatred flared to life in Leo’s chest, just like it always did when Beryl Grace was the subject of discussion. “Jason, no. You didn’t do anything. You were a baby, and what your mom did was wrong. I don’t– I don’t care what was going on with her and Jupiter or whatever, moms don’t leave their babies in parks, and if they do, that’s not the baby’s fault.”

Jason was shaking like a leaf, so Leo gently bullied him until they were both sitting up and he pressed kisses to every inch of Jason’s face, taking care to kiss away any of the tears that still clung to his cheeks. When he was done, he situated himself in Jason’s lap so he could tuck Jason’s face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. He pressed one more kiss to Jason’s hair before he leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “You were good, Jason. You are good. You’re kind and brave and a better son than someone like Beryl would ever deserve to call son, and I love you so much.”

Jason made a little choked sound in the back of his throat and clung to Leo like a lifeline. “Did you have a good mom?”

“My mom was the best,” Leo said with a wistful smile. He pulled Jason back just so he could press their foreheads together. Jason’s eyes were just as beautifully blue as ever, even red-rimmed and teary and Leo didn’t bother to smother his besotted smile. “She loved me lots and you know what? She’d have loved you, too. Almost as much as I do.”

Jason leaned forward that last little bit and pressed their lips together. It wasn’t a great kiss, it was far too salty and wet to claim that title, but it was one Leo knew he would remember for the rest of his life. It didn’t fix anything, not really. No matter how many times Leo proclaimed his love, it would never fill the hole Beryl had so cruelly carved out with her neglect, but maybe it didn’t need to. They couldn’t fix it, but they could face it. They could face down their ugly, hurtful pasts together and walk hand-in-hand into the brilliant future that awaited them.

And maybe that would be enough.

[tea-time-with-london]

It was not Steve's fault at all that st*ncy ended. Him trying to get her not to tell barbs parents was literally him trying not to break an NDA that could've gotten her and other people killed. Him trying to get her to go to the party was an attempt to get her to loosen up and stop worrying about it, so that she would break the NDA and get people killed. Steve was not a shitty boyfriend.

Confession #70

Before I answer this, y'all don't have to like...censor ship names with the * on my blog LOL it's okay to type them out.

Okay so...personal opinion...neither Steve nor Nancy were solely responsible for the break up. I don't believe it's fair to place a break up on one person's shoulders. These are two teenagers, who tried to navigate a relationship, while also being exposed to supernatural forces, death, trauma, etc. The blame for their relationship ending is not placed on just one person's shoulders. They're just kids.

Diagnostically, Nancy has PTSD. She meets the criteria for it. This 16 year old was traumatized by her friend's death, and wanting to investigate, to find answers, is quite literally how she attempted to cope with Barb's death. We can make the argument that she had tunnel vision, and the only thing she was focused on was getting justice for Barb, even if that meant breaking the NDA. And sure...maybe she wasn't totally thinking about how breaking the NDA could potentially harm other people...but Nancy knew something was up with the government and Barb's death. Nancy Wheeler, in her own way, wants to make the world a better place, and that includes getting justice no matter the cost.

Steve was exposed to these things, too. Maybe not to the extent Nancy was, but still. The way he copes is by using distraction techniques. This isn't something that can work for Nancy because she is, by nature, a very investigative and answer driven person. She cannot afford to use distraction techniques, like a Halloween party, to cope with her friend's death. This is Steve's coping skill, and that's not a bad thing. They had been working on their costumes, so clearly they were both at one point excited to attend the party, so Steve talking about the party wasn't out of malice, and it wasn't him trying to be dismissive of Nancy even if it could have come across that way. It was him trying to get Nancy to use his coping skill, not knowing that she needed something different. She wanted him to take action with her.

Steve and Nancy, not purposely and not maliciously, hurt each other. There is no 'one is more wrong than the other'. Steve and Nancy got together at a time in their lives where they, unfortunately, could not give the other person what they needed. Nancy could not give Steve the reassurance he needed, and Steve could not give Nancy the action she needed. That is so heartbreaking to think about, given what they've gone through. Steve and Nancy deserve grace and compassion, not blame. If all of us were in their position, we wouldn't want people to blame us. We'd want compassion and understanding.

All in all, they both needed to understand each other more. They both needed to grow, respectively. The one thing I love about season 4 is how you can see their growth. The audience can see Steve becoming more emotionally vulnerable, wanting to take part in the action that Nancy needed in the first place (volunteering to go with Nancy to the library, being the first one to jump in the lake). I believe in season 5 we will see Nancy start to come to terms with her trauma, and realize that it wasn't Steve's fault, or her's, for Barb's death. And there's where the reassurance piece comes into play, with Nancy reassuring Steve that neither one of them were to blame.

I'm curious to see where the Duffers take them in season 5. I'm curious to see the...what did Robin call it? "The rekindling of two flames who never should have been snuffed out." Maybe Steve and Nancy's flames needed to be snuffed out in the beginning, only to be relit and burn brighter in the end.

[trashc-anon]

Disney PJO is mellow

post with spoilers, duh. srly I doubt I'm thinking anything new, but I need these thoughts out of my head!

i recently watched Season 1 out of curiosity (i know, so late) and wow! first impression is how they mellowed out almost everything. I'm re-reading book 1 to double check my impressions and coulnd't get past chapter 3 without writing this post, because the changes in tone are so drastic!

HUGE POST BELOW kinda rant-y

First things first: I adore they decided to cast age aproprite actors, make the insanity they go thorugh obviously insane! (im englishing well)

That said: Percy in the books is an angry lil shit! Boy was ready to throw down with anyone and everyone. Series!Percy barely has a funcionting personality. Not dishing on the actor! When the character is supposed to be angry and angst-y, I can see him doing his best <3 My critique is with the writing. It seems they decided to make Percy more approable and relatable as a "good kid" as opposed to a traumatized ADHD student with consistent behavioural issues. It happened in the movies too. Movie!Percy got to be snappy because the actors and audience were older, but not nearly the level of rage and disrespect a 16 year old could have.

Given how mild series!Percy home life is vs book!Percy I don't mind as much as the the series develops because it looks like character development after repeated murder attempts.

Which brings me to point 2 - the reason I can't get past chapter 3: SALLY FUCKING JACKSON! She's a saltless cracker, overgrown teenager still wheeping over her summer romance with "the guy"! I knew the fandom had glorified her, I've seen some posts "hey, did you actually read the book?" And I hadn't since middle school, so my memory was clouded, but fucks sake! I was drinking the emo Kool-Aid to forget that mess of a plot hole. Thank fuck they rebranded series!Sally. She actually has a personality and seems like to know what is what and try to prepare Percy as a demigod who will outgrow her protection.

The diner flashback scene in which she talks to Poseidon helps her "I knew all along" know it all attitude, which doesn't work in the books because as far as she explains it: she and Poseison did the do, she got pregant and they never saw each other again. No reason to be greek mythology geek, definitly not enough to know about camp and the lastest breaking news in the mythic world.

(Poseidon's involvement creates some morality questions for me, some "how are we going to handle some topics later on" issues when episode 3 comes up, but more on that later)

I blinked and missed the reveal that she married Gabe to protect Percy, and the cascading logic of how her different personalities affected that marriage is mindblowing.

It affects the type of Gabe she married, therefore, how much of his abuse was Sally's fault. Series!Sally has agency and talks back, the kind of woman I can see attracting a god. More importantly, if she's making the decision to deliberately put her beloved son in contact with a nasty person whose smell will deter monsters, she won't put up with a monster herself, rather a loser who might as well be stanky trash sitting in the corner for too long. B

ook!Sally just doesn't sell that kind of confidence and since the books are first person POV we have to postulate that over the years Sally fell victim to Gabe's abuse (resulting in her lack of outstanding personality) and justified staying in the relatioship as "protecting Percy", which makes her complicit. Which is not great mom. And I do remember later in the books its resolved off screen and she "marries a nice guy, florishes as a person and has his baby". Errrr.... It's fiction, and I don't care for the mother character abused for the sake of her child to be saved by another marriage and have another child.

3: don't have much to say about Groover, I love him every time. <3 Book!Grover whines more and is a bit of a coward, while series!Groover is more like the sweet resilient pacificist that chooses non-violance. (and a twelve year actor saying "I'm 24" to Ares was hilarious!)

4: WILL ANY INSTALMENT WILL EVER SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF CHIRON AT PERCY'S PRIVATE SCHOOL?

He is the one functioning "trust worthy" adult in the entire camp and he leaves for months at a time to teach at private schools? Leaving behind, I don't know, teenagers and a drunk god to look after the smaller ADHD kids with powers all year round? Does no one see a problem with this? *side eye*

As a plot device it only serves to give Percy A SUPER POWERFUL SWORD WITHOUT HIM EVER HAVING BEING TRAINED FOR IT, and to have Percy trust him before arriving at the crazy camp that regularly send children to their deaths.

(AND THEN THAT PONY HAS THE AUDACITY TO PIKACHU FACE WHEN PERCY IS REAVALED POSEIDON'S KID WHEN ITS IMPLIED THE ONLY REASON HE WAS AT THAT SCHOOL, AWAY FROM HIS OTHER HUNDRED UNDER AGE CHARGES, WAS TO PROTECT PERCY THE BIG THREE KID NO ONE KNEW WAS A BIG THREE KID)

*inhale**exhale* I'm cool I'm cool

I will probably have more thoughts as I reread the book. I think I will write my impressions of series!Annabeth before she turns up in the next chapter so I have a more controled before and after impressions.

so far, overall, I was bored up until episode 3 with Medusa, and boy! that's when you can tell Uncle Rick is involved in the production process. After the first book series being critized for lacking diversity, he did his homework on many polarizing subjects which I appreciate being talked about in middle grade books/ series. And I think that will bite him in the ass when it polarizes the fandom in coming seasons and Disney cuts him out.

See ya!

[thistlecatfics]

Harry Potter characters in therapy with me

(as a EMDR-trained therapist specializing in trauma primarily working with older teens and young adults)

Dumbledore

If he’s an adult, I refer him out. I very rarely work well with adult men (or older adults in general), and I think he’d be particularly difficult. 

Teenage Dumbledore though???

Slow, slow, slow relational psychodynamic trust building to start. Let him try to dazzle me, acknowledge it, and acknowledge he doesn’t have to. Unconditional positive regard goes a long way.

When he admits he still loves Gellert and it’s safe to say that in therapy, I leave the session and immediately burst into tears because I’m so proud of him. 

EMDR around the memory of Ariana’s death + any associated memories around the core belief “It was my fault” and moving towards “I did the best I could.” 

Harry

Ok let’s say it’s in his early 20s, and he’s lost without his saviour identity and also his PTSD (/CPTSD) is really starting to wreck havoc in his life

Start with some grounding and stability around dealing with PTSD symptoms - lots of DBT skills

Honestly I think EMDR might not be a good idea because everything is fractured and hanging on by a thread but I would never raise the possibility to him because he’d be like “no I want to do the fastest most intense way to get through this” immediately. There would be such a therapeutic rupture around this if it came up, and I think he’d stop going to therapy for a couple months. 

IFS!! His very loud protector parts need some thanking and acknowledging and re-directing. 

Cho

Very much My Type of Client

I’d seek supervision around traumatic grief because I feel like I don’t have enough experience with it and would be super insecure, and my supervisor would be like “you go this.” 

Start with some grounding skills but in a very careful and client-directed way so as to not add onto the shame of having feelings

Lots of validating feelings

Practicing viewing feelings nonjudgmentally 

Potentially EMDR around the memory of Cedric’s death and her thought that she should have somehow been able to stop it. I think she’d be super into EMDR as soon as she clears the first memory. 

Ginny

A CSA survivor (because I think that’s the best equivalent of her experience with diary Tom) who goes on to be a high achiever super athlete savior type? totally my type of client lol

Trust building stage is deceptively long because obviously she wouldn’t talk about the diary for a long time, and she’s theoretically only coming in to help her quidditch performance lol. It takes a year to mention Fred and then YEARS before she mentions the diary.

Family is SO complicated -- very much would be defensive of any possible criticism of her family, and so I’d tread very carefully there, and let her be the one to say anything that might be critical. 

She’s absolutely a chatty, shoot-the-shit kind of client, and I’d probably let her get away with that for a year before I start to push her on it. 

A lot of unconditional positive regard and harm reduction talk around her chaotic substance use. 

Please ask me more <3 <3 (feel free to add an age + motivation for seeking services if you want) 

[anyoldfandom]

Unpopular opinion perhaps but idt Circe and Rex are a good couple and hear me out. This is not Circe hate I fucking love Circe. She's my girlie. I will jokingly call her Rex's goth gf but like...their dynamic is kinda not great.

Starting with Rex he is extremely codependent with people. Not in an only bad way - he just wants to solve people's problems bc that's what he's used to based on his circumstances. He's the Cure, the specialest guy in his world and everyone knows it even as he doesn't want to be. But he is so used to not just being reliable, but relying on others if he thinks he can't handle something - which isn't often bc he's 15-17 and forced into a hero complex, but it happens. He's used to Six and Holiday saving his ass and having to work with other people. He's also very people-oriented, craving deep connections and willing to open up to anyone.

And in contrast, we have Circe. She is clearly very independent, likes solving issues on her own and hates swallowing her pride, which is fine bc she's ALSO 15-17 and traumatized and manipulated by VK a lot. VK outright said she was in a terrible place when he found her and I don't doubt it, bc that's his MO, playing off of people's desperation. She was a manipulated, discriminated against and traumatized teenager who I want to make abdolutely clear I do not blame for her actions. Girlie clearly has a lot to work through.

But ultimately, I think this makes Circe and Rex a bad romantic couple. Their romantic moments read to me more like kids with no experience dating rather than a deep connection. When they fight, it's always really, really bad, and usually Rex is feeling the brunt of the argument - which again, is not a dunk on Circe. Rex has had emotional support for as long as he can remember with Holix, while it's clear while VK was around the Pack did Not get along. But it's just...shitty for him. He has to consistently be the bigger person which, if he was another character with another backstory willingly and consistently engaging with her it wouldn't be that bad. Noah, for example, could probably handle it better than Rex and be able to better communicate that hey, this isn't fair to lash out at him and that's something to work on. (Again, not a dunk on Circe - people can have negative traits that are not their fault that they still need to rectify to be fair for others. Also, it just flat-out makes her a more interesting character.)

But Rex? Rex is the hero. He's the savior, because that's all he remembers. He's the guy who has to show empathy, has to give other EVOs that aren't blatantly evil second chances, because he's used to no one else doing it. So to me, it just...makes for a bad dynamic for both of them. Rex takes too much shit from Circe bc he wants to help her, and then oversteps her boundaries with what she wants to deal with alone and upsets her more. Circe feels like she's being pitied or talked down to by Rex, and then she either lashes out or gets cold.

I think, honestly, that if they weren't traumabonded...they wouldn't even be that close. Their personalities don't mesh - they could be good friends, but surface level friends. People who talk about their interests or only hang out in friend groups, and that would be fine. But in a romantic relationship, it just...doesn't work.

[quirkle2]

HELLO ermm i love ur zombie au and i have a few questions about it i came up with while scrolling thru the tag if thats fine !!!!

ritsu and mob arent quite the same after being cured and all, but what about teru and reigen and tome?

By the moment mob gets cured, is the apocalypse also coming to an end?

how did teru and reigens adventure while searching for the kagebrothers go?

how did reigen and teru react to meeting tome?

why were the kagebros and teru with reigen? where are the kageyamas' parents?

HOPE THESE ARENT TOO MUCH I LOVE TJIS AU BYE

hello!! im glad ur likin it so far :]

this is a lotta questions (which, dw, i am stoked about) so this gets kinda long. tome backstory inside of a mini tangent tho so<3

(i talk abt the typical zombie au stuff but Also there's child and parental death here so be careful)

all of them are affected pretty greatly by this—it's an apocalypse after all. reigen is probably a bit hyper vigilant about keeping the kids in his sights, since last time he failed to do that, they got separated for like 2 years, mob got turned into a zombie, and ritsu gained trauma <3 he became quite protective over teru as time went on, since the kid was rly all he had left. it's actually a point of minor tension between him n teru; that is, teru being tired of his constant worry. reigen generally does a pretty good job at hiding those worries, but as time goes on that ability to mask it slips from his hold

he makes a strict rule that if they're going somewhere, they are using the buddy system and reigen Needs to know exactly where they're going. you can imagine a group of teenagers that want privacy have a bit of an issue w this sometimes, but they mostly understand

teru is very lucky to stick w his adoptive father for the whole journey (he'd.already adopted teru by the time the apocalypse rolled around) and he's very aware of that. he's no doubt run into plenty of dangerous situations with a plan that he does not bother to inform reigen abt, and therefore has given reigen approximately 16571651 heart attacks, and most likely has traumatized himself as well. teru is generally better at keeping a good mindset in situations like this, but it does indeed get to him sometimes. he's still just a kid, and it all feels kinda hopeless to him, bc even if they Do find ritsu n mob, what then? even living in a settlement doesn't guarantee your survival

teru seems to stick closer to people after everything—he hates being alone and gets kinda scared when left to his own devices. he likes hearing people talk around him; prolly a product of reigen constantly talking to him during the journey to keep their minds off of the Horrors. he cannot deal with silence

^ i WISH i had more to say about reigen n teru as a whole but unfortunately the main gang gets all of my attention and brain power . whyam i like this

tome is pretty hardy, and even though she lost her original family and ended up walking away from her adoptive one at the settlement, she rarely lets people know that gets to her other than a convo or two here and there with ritsu. she Is a little paranoid after everything, and it's a bit of a mix between her own paranoia and trauma getting to her along with ritsu's contagious vigilance. they both look over their shoulders for threats and sleep with their weapons—when tome joined ritsu n mob, she was targeted as well, so she's adopted some of those prey instincts

sorry if i go on a tome tangent here, but a theme w tome throughout this is that she never quite fits in anywhere. she never feels like she's somewhere she was Meant to be, and she's just kinda wandering from group to group searching for something that can replace the hole her original family's deaths left

i don't have a set-in-stone scene in my head for how it happens, but i've always imagined tome has a sister, either older or younger. in this au she's younger, and she unfortunately becomes a zombie. whether it was tome's fault or not, she Believes it is, and she did what everybody had told her to do—tome "mercy" killed her sister.

the Reason she joins ritsu n mob is because she sees a way for her to "redeem" herself—ritsu didn't go through with that choice. ritsu chose to spare mob, and take care of him, no matter How hard it got, and she feels like if she helps out w this, and aids in keeping somebody's beloved sibling safe, then she's still a good person. she doesn't rly do it for Him, Or his brother. she does it for herself (and sometimes she wonders if she's even More horrible for that)

she finds a purpose through ritsu and mob, but i wouldn't say she fully feels at home there. to delve into another question a lil bit, reigen n teru reacted well to tome, and reigen and her got along just like they do in canon. she becomes good friends w them, but there's times when she feels like the odd one out—because she is. she's the new person trying to meld into this group that already has a history and strong bonds, and even if she gets along w them well enough, she doesn't rly,,, sink right into it like it was made for her, yaknow?

she feels a little distant from everybody when mob is cured, too, bc their History is shining through and they're laughing and crying and hugging him and tome doesn't rly know how to intervene, or if she should, so she kinda hangs back and lets them have their moments of victory. and she quietly wonders if this "redeemed" her or not. she doesn't know. she doesn't feel like it did.

ANYWAY SORRY tome tangent over. is everybody still here [empty auditorium] excellent

to answer ur question about the apocalypse ending, no not rly ! it's certainly Slowing Down now that a solid cure has been created, and it will continue to do so for years, but i think it'll be ? a long while before zombies are a thing of the past for them. society was Wrecked by this shit so the kids will feel the effects of this well into their adult years

teru and reigen's adventures were generally ????a lot safer than ritsu's, since they were able to stay at settlements regularly, but they still ran into some trouble. the most fun parts about it to me are when they come across areas where ritsu n mob have been before

at some point they arrive at the settlement were tome was from ! and like clockwork, they Always ask—has anybody seen two kids, both with black hair, about yay high? one's got a bowl cut, the other spiky? names are ritsu n shigeo kageyama and they Finally get that spark of recognition in somebody's eyes. they ask the Head Guy of the settlement this and he goes "oh wow yes i Have seen ritsu, u must be the family he was lookin for! he was brought in here just a month ago... he was very sick,,he seemed better when he left with tome but i woulda liked him to stay a little longer, he still looked pale. no sign of that other kid tho... he did mention a brother" and they. ooookay. 1) ritsu was alive at least a month ago .holyshit.this is the closest to proof we've ever gotten, 2) the fact that ritsu was "very" sick has them concerned tho, and 3) He Wasn't With Mob ? uhm.

i rly am so sorry; reigen and teru tend to get the backburner spot in this au so i don't spend nearly as much time and energy fleshing out their story bits. they feel so shallow rn..,, ill hopefully fix that soon

aaaaand ritsu and mob were with reigen n teru bc their parents died. the only "good" detail abt this is that they didn't have to go through becoming zombies. ritsu was sleeping over at a friend's house when the worldwide panic set in, and the kageyama parents and mob were on their way to pick him up when they got into a crash in the crazy state of the roads. mob obviously survived w some wounds, but their parents weren't that lucky. teru and reigen were in the process of fleeing the city as well when they found him by the crash site by chance, and they picked up ritsu afterward in their mad dash to run. mob was the one to tell ritsu their parents just died—you can imagine how well that went

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Dahlia Propaganda

"The fandom hates her so bad. She's the antagonist of the trilogy, so I understand some dislike of course but they hate her SO MUCH. she's a 14 year old girl with a twin sister, she gets dragged into crime by her cop step sister and her pedophilic teacher, dahlia betrays them both, steals the money for herself and abandons them. she slowly goes on a downward spiral in an attempt to protect herself. at college age, she kills her step sister and the teacher in an attempt to not be found and charged for the past crimes. the defense attorney for the case questions her testimony and she poisons him. the rest is just her continuing on that path and killing, attacking or blaming anyone who threatens her safety. this is a BASIC reading of her character. The fandom cannot understand this. they think dahlia seduced the teacher and that she's a crazy bitch. the games themself hate her. there's a male character who's so similar to her but WORSE (no backstory) and the fandom fucking loves him. But, dahlia? she's hated so much for no real good reason. I'm not talking dislike of her choices, but calling her a crazy bitch and refusing to look into WHY she acts like that and what lead to her demise. it's so ridiculous."

"she is based"

"Hell, she was fucked over by the writing itself, too. She's written to be this cold, unfeeling, master manipulator and was portrayed as the one at fault in a relationship she had with a 20-year-old when she was FOURTEEN. She's basically treated as this evil temptress who makes boys fall in love with her and then hurts them. It's. It's pretty bad."

Yukari Propaganda

"YUKARI PROPAGANDA: SHE IS LITERALLY SO CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING. People call her a bitch for uhh [checks notes] having a a brief freak out after she's shown live footage of her father's gruesome death? For [checks notes] accusing Mitsuru of lying to them about important information (which turned out to be COMPLETELY TRUE, by the way, but fans still mock her for this)? For [checks notes one last time] being mean to Junpei, who gives as good as he gets with rude and sometimes sexist comments in response? And even then, several times she apologizes or reassures him that she was just kidding when he seems genuinely upset by her words, so it's not like she isn't compassionate towards him. She is also routinely mocked and villainized for (huge spoilers) wanting to risk it all to attempt to save the protagonist after he passes away saving the world. To be fair, this turns out to have been the wrong choice, but let's be real -- she was a grieving teenager trying to save her friend slash crush. Yes, she was emotionally all over the place during The Answer. Of course she was! THE WORLD ALMOST ENDED AND HER FIRST LOVE HAD TO DIE TO SAVE EVERYONE. LIKE, THAT JUST HAPPENED TO HER. And everyone somehow just expects her to behave perfectly rationally when she's a 17 year old girl who just lost someone important to her and also almost died with the rest of humanity. Girl is traumatized and grieving and all people can do is call her a hysterical bitch or whatever other shit they wanna come up with." (by @ragecndybars)

"she's NOT a bitch she has a hard time opening up to people + she's a 17 year old dealing with grief after one of those people dies leave her alone!!"