#But also all the people I did help and save

[riot-grrlboy]

I think when they refer to “opioids in cough syrup”, they’re referring to DXM, dextromethorphan, which is a cough suppressant and in high doses a stimulant and dissociative (not an opioid, but still a party drug that interacts with alcohol). Either that or how cough syrup used to near-universally contain codeine (which is considered a “weak opioid”, and now you do need a prescription)

They could also be referring to sizzrup/lean, which usually contains codeine or promethazine, but is uh. Not just cough syrup

Also, everyone should have Narcan, whether they use opioids or not! Literally last Friday I witnessed someone overdose at a party. One of her friends had Narcan and it saved her life. I had Narcan on me as well and offered it to her friend when I saw what was happening (they didn’t need it, but I was eternally grateful I had it just in case). Even though I don’t use opioids, and don’t personally know anyone who (intentionally) does, I have other drug-using friends and Narcan can be life saving when fentanyl and xylazine are found in most street pills and powders. In many states, you can request Narcan at your local pharmacy and they’ll give it to you for free and this is a GOOD THING that SAVES LIVES

Narcan is an example of the good that could come from a decriminalization and harm reduction approach to drug use. At my sister’s old college, they made a rule that anyone caught drunk underage would be expelled from the school. So what happened? When underclassmen drank too much, they stayed home and died instead of going to the hospital. Three students died of alcohol poisoning under this rule.

Criminalization doesn’t make drug use go away, it pushes it into darker, scarier, more dangerous corners and punishes people for being young, dumb or miserable. People experiment and drug use goes back millennia. College kids are gonna try molly at a rave or do coke in a club bathroom. High schoolers are gonna smoke weed and steal their parents’ pills. Middle schoolers are going to sneak cigarettes and water down bottles of alcohol. Addiction starts early for most people, and making drug use safer and improving peoples’ material conditions is the only way to help them escape it alive and well

Addiction is one of those things seen as unforgivable for poor people, and par-for-the-course or even cool for rich people. If someone tells you they did speed in the bathroom, is your reaction different than if they said they did meth? Is snorting cocaine materially different from smoking crack? How does the “prescribed” status of controlled substances (like methamphetamine HCl, oxycodone, adderall) affect your view of someone using the drug?

You can currently be prescribed, in the USA (non-exhaustive, some only locally), methamphetamine (YES, METH), amphetamines, marijuana, psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, codeine, DXM, oxycodone, codeine, morphine and, YES, FENTANYL. There’s a reason why a lot of drug use is considered self-medication. Because these drugs do have medicinal uses, and people do experience in-the-moment benefits from them. Imagine if all the drugs on the market were medical-grade, and proven safe, and drug use could be monitored by a provider invested in your wellbeing instead of a dealer invested in your dependence. Imagine if you had to walk into the pharmacy to get your drugs. Imagine if a trained pharmacist could explain the dangers associated with the drugs, and give you advice on how to stay safe, and provide you resources to keep you safe.

Curious about something you mentioned in your post last week, you said that in your opinion all drugs should be legal and I’m curious about how that would be a positive at all? Like I get weed bc it’s pretty harmless but when I think of drugs I think of cocaine and heroin, which have destroyed so many lives. If it was widely available wouldn’t that end up hurting more people than helping? That’s just my opinion but I’m curious on the other side

I do think all drugs should be legal. This is said knowing that addiction runs in my family and that the only reason my older sister is my *sister* is due to drug use and addiction. Otherwise she'd be my cousin.

Making drugs illegal does not stop people from getting high. It does not stop drug related crime. And it certainly does not stop drugs from tearing families apart.

Addiction is a symptom of a larger problem. Solve the problem and the addict problem goes away. Solve the addict problem and drugs stop ruining lives and destroying families and creating massive amounts of drug related violence. Places that have roled out decriminalization strategies effectively have seen an overall reduction in crime rates across the board, a reduction in recreational drug use, and a reduction in bloodborne illness like HIV. Creating safe needle exchanges as well as safe places to get high with medical staff onhand has also created a locale where very few people die from overdose.

Most people hear "decriminalize all drugs" and think I mean a free-for-all. I don't. I think the drug market should be regulated. I don't think you should be able to get ketamine or heroin over the counter at a walmart like you can get asprin. But I think it's time to stop putting people in jail for getting high.

My aunt tore her life and her family and her health apart for years while she was addicted to heroin. My sister, her daughter, needed to be removed from her care due to the amazingly bad choices she made as a mother due to her addiction and her prioritizing drugs over the health and safety of her daughter. My aunt has had multiple heart attacks from the damage the constant drug use did to her body.

My aunt is more than a decade sober and do you know why? It's not because she got a wakeup call when her daughter was taken away, because at the time she willingly and freely signed her over to my parents because that got her "out of [her] hair". It's not because she had a heart attack, because she went right back to it the moment she was out of the hospital. It's not even because she spent time in rehab and prison, because the moment she was out she was using again.

No, my aunt got sober because her life changed. She was put on a better pain management plan. She got out of her shitty marriage to her shitty husband. She completed some education to make her more hireable so she didn't have to rely on less than safe means of paying her bills. She reconnected with my sister and reforged their relationship once she was 18. She bought her own house. She found love with someone who didn't give a shit about her past and brought out the best in her.

My aunt was a deeply unhappy person. Heroin made life more tolerable for her. Until she couldn't tolerate life without it. Until she'd do anything, anything, to get her next high.

A lot of addicts are addicts because they are self-medicating for something else and their drug of choice has chemical properties that makes their brains crave it more. If you fix the "deeply unhappy" part, you create a healthier environment for that addict to take control over their life again. Without it, they are far more likely to continue to relapse.

Knowing this, why would I then want to add the threat of prison and jailtime- life-ruining things themselves- to an addict's list of concerns?

Look up rat park sometime. In the rat paradise, drugged water was freely offered, and occasional a rat here or there would take a hit or two, but rarely enough to even get high and almost never habitually. Addiction literally didn't exist even though the rats were taking addictive substances. But the rats in cages, seperated from each other, with no enrichment, crammed into small spaces and stressed to hell? Those rats took hit after hit after hit until they overdosed and died. The addict rats were deeply unhappy. The drugs were their only escape. The paradise rats had to be lured in with sweetened drugs to even consider and even then they rejected them. The caged rats did not need sweetner, even though the drugs made the water bitter.

If we can see such a stark difference in rats having their needs met vs rats experiencing isolation and stress, what would happen if we showed human addicts the same consideration?

I think a lot better results than continuing to jail deeply unhappy and desperate people for doing the only thing they can think of to cope.

[hxney-lemcn]

Late Night Chaos — Daisuke x gn! reader

summery: things start going bad on the Tulpar, and the worst possible outcome comes to fruition

tw: reader is implied to have trauma surrounding domestic violence (specifically loud arguments), Jimmy making the worst choices imaginable, if you watched/played the game then you should be good

a/n: haha, so I choose unbearable angst...

wc: 1.2k

Master List

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six

Tense. That was the best way to describe how you felt. Eyes locked forward, tuning out the conversation around you. You despised fights, bringing you back to a time you long wished to forget. This was meant to be a party, a break from all the monotonous work, a celebration. Apparently you all had to share a communal birthday party, and according to the veterans (Anya, Swansea, and Jimmy), it was Captain Curly’s turn. You were excited, looking forward to having a good time, have some cake and maybe play some games. It was a surprise party as well, which made it all the better. You and Daisuke had taken charge of decorating, placing up banners and balloons with the help of Swansea. Even Anya was excited, putting a birthday hat on Polle, the Pony Express mascot. 

The captain had looked surprised, a small smile curling on his lips as you all stood in front of him wearing birthday hats…but you noticed it seemed a bit strained. Unfortunately, he was the only one able to make the cake, leading you all to wait for it to be made. The air was light though, everyone sitting down and waiting for Curly to cut the first slice. Well, at least that’s what you were waiting for, instead, Daisuke asked Curly to make a speech.

“Can’t argue with that,” Jimmy agreed.

“Speech, speech, speech!” Daisuke chanted with a grin. 

“Go on,” Anya nodded, also seeming excited. 

“I…” Curly hesitated, blue eyes trailing across you all in uncertainty.

“...Hey,” Jimmy cut in. “What’s wrong?”

That was the catalyst. Curly had explained that you were all losing your jobs, and were the last shipment for Pony Express. You felt your stomach drop, hunching in and eyeing the older adults that surrounded you. You were merely an intern, you could bounce back from this, but the people whose entire lives depended on this job? You were just waiting for the pin to drop.

“Pony Express finally kicking the bucket, huh,” Swansea grumbled angrily. “What a joke. And we’re the punchline.”

“I don’t have any savings,” Anya spoke up shakily. “T-they can’t just do this, right?” You continued to look down at your empty plate, feelings unbearably uncomfortable. Glancing at Daisuke who sat beside you, he seemed to feel the same, the both of you the odd ones out.

“Pony Express was one of the last manned crew freighter companies,” Swansea explained. “The writing’s been on the wall for a long time.”

“When did they tell you?” Jimmy asked, and you felt yourself freeze. His tone was icy calm, but you could see the anger swimming behind his eyes. 

“Earlier this week. I was instructed to wait until we’re closer to the haul destination. But I can’t keep something like this from you all.” Curly responded, and just like that it was like you could hear the pin hit the ground.

“...So I guess you got what you wanted, without the guilt,” Jimmy chuckled humorlessly. 

“Jim…” Curly trailed off, looking like a kicked puppy. His people pleasing tendencies were starting to make you feel sick…and the electric tension you felt in the air. “If I had known…”

“I can go back to my…how’d you put it?” Jimmy mocked, causing your shoulders to tense. It was then that you started to disassociate, mind turning empty as Jimmy continued to berate the Captain. You flinched when Jimmy hit the table, wearily eyeing Jimmy’s angry expression. Too much, this whole situation was too much, you felt the incessant need to run, but also frozen in place. 

You nearly jumped in your spot when you felt Daisuke’s warm hand envelope your own, looking just as uncomfortable, but also worried. You squeezed his hand tightly, using it as a distraction from the unsettling atmosphere when Captain Curly began to cut the cake, fidgeting with the rings that lined his fingers. 

You had become more on edge after that, jumping at any noise that was too loud, scared of making the situation worse somehow. Anya, who you had looked up to as being strong, had become battered, clearly terrified of what her future held. Swansea had become even more isolated, swiping tools from Daisuke’s hand and muttering ‘just lemme do it’. The captain seemed tired, unsure how to fix an unfixable situation. Even you knew there was no way for there to be an option where everyone won. Then there was Jimmy, more irritable and snarky, like a mini whirlwind causing a trail of disaster in his wake. If you were avoiding him before, then you were acting like he had the plague now. 

Sure, when he snapped at you for seemingly no reason that one time you were ready to fight back. He had just been an annoying boomer who thought he was better than everyone else. But now? Now it was different. He was a desperate man who had no hope, and that’s what terrified you. The pure, unbridled anger in his eyes at the party made your skin crawl, and you thought for a split second that he would do something that would bring you all down with him. 

…

“Hey, you okay?” Daisuke asked softly. It was only two days after the unfortunate ‘party’ and all the effort to get you to open up seemed to have been instantly undone. He noticed your discomfort during the argument, but he had been wrapped up in his own effort to try and act like everything was okay instead of addressing the problem head on. But it got to the point where he couldn’t ignore it, heart twisting painfully everytime you tensed at his touch, the split second fear in your eyes before calming down when realizing it was just him. 

“Yeah,” Your response was desolate. It was obvious you weren’t okay, and Daisuke nearly backed down, but your blank gaze didn’t sit well in his chest. 

“You’re lying.” He hated confrontation, but he didn’t like seeing your teasing and cheerful demeanor subsiding into something timid, frightful and bleak. Sure, the crew had an argument, and even he felt like he was walking on a tightrope, but you didn’t need to be so scared. 

“You’re right,” You didn’t even try to fight back, fingers twitching, feeling on edge. A silence fell between you both. He was getting nowhere, and he wasn’t sure how to get you to just tell him what was wrong. It was better to share your worries than keep them in, but he also didn’t want to pry too deeply into a topic you didn’t want to share. 

“Why?” Daisuke asked, feeling hopeless.

“I have a bad feeling,” You spoke, eyes finally landing on your frowning boyfriend. “Something really, really bad is gonna happen. I just know it.”

You seemed to have a foresight that he lacked. Your haunting words echoing through his head as the red emergency lights blared throughout the ship only four days later. Everyone scrambled to the Captain’s corridor, and Daisuke could only watch on in horror as Captain Curly stood burnt, hands and feet trapped in the emergency foam, Anya ordering you to get her medical supplies. As you rushed past and made eye contact, an understanding was held in both of your gazes. 

You were right. Something really, really bad had happened.

[m3vl0vesu]

𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕

A/N: Fluff! For once...but not really this is a simple one-shot but kind of mixed in with the rest of my Spidey stuff iykwim. Starts out a little sad. I also just bend the rules of how spidey senses work to go with the fic

!IT IS A ONE-SHOT PEOPLE.!

A reckless Spidey

An injured Spidey

Your thoughts

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

You tapped the edge of the building, watching the way your legs swung back and fourth. It was insufferable. You were insufferable, it's why the mission went hay wire. It was your fault. Your fault. Seven people got severely injured because of your carelessness.

"Spidey..."

What's worse is that he was here, Nightwing. The 'guardian of Bludhaven' his words always made you feel worse. How embarrassing

Nghtwing was a natural leader, his instructions were clear. The tabloids were right, Gotham didn't need a 'friendly neighbourhood Spider' they needed soldiers. Robin was right, he was better. Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy

Your hands gripped the edge, the guilt pounded in your head. Why couldn't thing go your way for once? "Spidey. Look at me"

God. Why did he have to use that tone? You royally fucked up, who manages to make made Nightwing mad?

"Kid, I'm not mad." Lies. But might as well humour him

"And what, your 'just disappointed?'" You added, mocking his voice. Earning a tired sigh from him. Wow, how hostile.

"Can you at least come a bit closer? You're going to fall..." "So? I'll just swing away." You could barely listen to his words, all your senses going off. There was always danger in Gotham, it never stopped but it was manageable. Unless something big happened, so you right now you were fighting the urge to cry. .

.

.

A long silence followed, for a second you thought he was gone. Until you felt his presence next to you, great. "I'm fine dude." "And for some reason I don't believe you." Ha ha very funny, you totally weren't stressing right now or anything. You felt him nudge you lightly, "you can't save everyone, you know that right?" You knew that more than anyone, the people you knew, the things you lost. It was common knowledge, but it didn't excuse your behaviour- "But you did?" What?

"What?" "Yeah, things could've been a lot worse if it wasn't for your quick thinking." "But...It was worse because of me." He just shrugged. Shrugged?? Hello? "I'm pretty sure that was group effort, so don't be so tough on yourself." He turned to you, a gentle smile displayed on his face. You couldn't see his eyes behind the mask but you could tell that they were kind ones. He had always been the one hero you looked up to most, it was still weird thinking about how you were now technically co-workers. You wanted to tell him everything, but you couldn't even open your mouth to say thank you. If you did, there was a high chance of you sobbing, please let it just stop here. You didn't know how many more kind words you could take. "Look, you're still new to this whole crime thing, but you're doing well. And I'm not just talking about the big fights with scarecrow and things like that.." Oh god. "..you, helping the little guys really matters. Batman tends to get caught up in all those huge fights but all he wants to do is keep the people safe and cared for. Like you do, all that energy and happiness it's important."

Please stop

"You...you remind of someone." Fuck, these words are not helping. Ha.

He got up and got down from the building, not before giving you a gentle squeeze. Now you were sure that you were going to throw up. After a few minutes of soaking in his words you decided to finally go home. .

.

. Managing to slip onto the fifth floor unseen for the hundredth time you feel your body go tense. If only you could relax at home like you used to, with the people you loved. You stole one of your aunts shirts from her room. A room that hadn't been used in a while. When you entered the kitchen you noticed something by the door, it was a note that was slide under. Odd. .

.

. EVICTION NOTICE

[pleasantly-painful-fiction]

I spent many years studying Hitler, the Holocaust, and the events leading up to one of the worst parts of human history, all in a desperate attempt to understand the HOW and WHY. How could a country - how could the world let something like that happen? Why was this allowed to happen? And the worst part about finally understanding was realizing how easily it could happen again, and how often it did happen again. Eventually you realize that Hitler wasn't all that special. Same with everyone else. You also realize that, had you been in the same situation as many German citizens, there's a good chance you would have done the same things. Of course, if you don't already know this, you probably won't believe it, and there's not enough time to explain it all.

But perhaps even more terrifying is how difficult it is to prevent a repeat. Unlike a frog, society doesn't jump out of the pot if you slowly heat the water. The holocaust didn't start in 1939 with WWII. It didn't start when Hitler came into power in 1933 either. The stove was turned on more than a decade earlier, and the water was slowly heating up, but most people wouldn't realize what was happening until the water was boiling.

And what's more terrifying than all of that? Watching it happen all over again. Those that were especially knowledgable about WWII/Hitler/the Holocaust, saw the signs in 2016 before Trump took office. They noticed the similarities in policy, environment, language, behavior, etc, and they tried to warn people, but the water was fine. No one wanted to believe it would ever boil. Those that weren't as familiar with that part of history couldn't see the connection. That is until a few years ago. Finally! Some people were noticing. It was being talked about. And yet... people still weren't convinced the water would ever boil. And they still aren't today.

The most terrifying thing is knowing that we are walking down a very dangerous path. It's knowing that Trump and the republican party have already started setting up the perfect environment for a genocide in this country. It's feeling the water get warmer and warmer, begging everyone around you to get out before it's too late, and watching so many of them refuse.

The republican party is spewing hate towards American citizens. It's spewing hate towards people who aren't white, who aren't republican, who aren't male, who aren't straight, who aren't heterosexual, who aren't Christian, who aren't on their side; and they aren't even trying to hide it. The republican party has failed to condemn the Proud Boys, the KKK, the insurrectionists, and so on. The republican party is more worried about a book turning a kid gay than a person with a gun ending that kid's life. The republican party repeatedly refuses to work with anyone not on their side. They continue to repeat harmful lies and rumors about minority groups. They continuously blame the blacks, the immigrants, the disabled, the gay, the trans, the non-Christians, the women, the democrats, and whoever else they can come up with for every little problem in this country. They are actively supporting hate IN THIS COUNTRY.

They are doing the same thing Hitler and his party did. The. Same. Thing. They've even made attempts to register the Muslims.... you know.... like Germany registered the Jews.

So yeah, excuse me if I don't want a SECOND genocide in this decade. Excuse me if I don't want to repeat history. And excuse me if I definitely don't want to repeat history and have a second genocide in the 2020's in my own backyard.

If you don't like genocide, sit down, shut up, and open your eyes. There's no good option here, so pick. You can have one genocide or two genocides. You can protect your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc, or you can doom this country, Palestine, and many other parts of the world. You can help destroy this country, or you can try to save it.

The water is starting to simmer. Are you going to continue sitting in it until you're boiled alive, or are you going to try to climb out?

“undecided voters” as a concept is so hilarious like I can’t imagine making it to this point in the election cycle and being like “I still just don’t know….”

[glade-constellation]

Okay, finally about to get all my thoughts down after yesterday’s episode. I’m going to start with Moon since he’s being the one most talked about.

This is going to be a long post, so I’ll put a cut here <3

Moon

A lot of people are hating on how Moon reacted to Sun’s current trauma. I agree that he is not handling the situation well. As much as I understand where he’s coming from, running from Sun is not going to help at all. Sun desperately needs his family with him right now. No one else may have considered Nexus daily anymore, but it was still clear that Sun cared. He basically had to kill his own brother. Not only that, he was made to feel as if he chose to kill his own brother. (There was no choice in the matter, it was physiological torture set up specifically to make Sun feel guilty for his actions. Sun may have threw the “fireball” but Dark was the one who forced him to.)

Anyways, back to Moon. I think what a lot of people are forgetting is that Moon also just lived through a trauma. He was kidnapped and tortured, almost killed before Ruin saved him. The only reason Ruin saved him, as Ruin explained himself, was because Ruin hated Dark and Nexus. It was not because he wanted to save Moon, it was because he wanted to thwart Dark and Nexus’ plans. When he’s finally on his way to getting out, he finds two of his brothers being tortured, and almost watched one of them die before he got there. (I think that’s why he started screaming when he did. He was buying time for Solar by directing Nexus’ attention at him.) He then watched Nexus die. He was not close to Nexus in any way, but watching anyone die in front of you is not great for your mental health.

After all this, Moon is then told he has to not only process his own trauma, but take on Sun’s trauma as well. Moon does want to help, but he is too overly burdened by his own problems and knows he wouldn’t be of any help. To make up of his guilt, he is coving up his own trauma response by saying he’s doing it for Sun. He very likely knows this isn’t going to help Sun emotionally, but he feels he can stop any farther trauma to Sun by stopping whatever’s causing it. It’s both genuinely feeling this is the only way he can help Sun, and feeling guilt over not being able to help him in the way that is currently needed.

Is that the best response? No. But is it a very Moon response? Yes. This is actually exactly how he used to fix problems. Moon should not have abused Sun in the way he did, and he still needs to apologize for that, but Moon genuinely thought in some of these instances that he was helping Sun. He is not an emotionally available person, so he cannot handle his own emotions on top of others. So he does the next best thing he can think of and tries to stop what’s causing the trauma. Moon has just as much trauma as Sun does, people just don’t tend to feel that way because he took out his emotions on Sun to process them. At least this time he’s not taking it out on Sun. At least he is trying to actually stop the problem.

All in all, Moon isn’t as in the wrong as everyone keeps saying. Yes, he definitely should go talk to Sun. Hell, even just sitting in the same room as Solar does all the talking would be a big help. Just showing that he is there for Sun. But then Moon would feel more guilty, because he wouldn’t see how he’s helping and would still want to go after Dark and Ruin. He may seem apathetic, but he genuinely is trying to fix the situation.

(Edit : I also think people are forgetting that Moon had absolutely no insight as to what the real situation was. Sun did not tell them he was forced to make a choice, he simply saw Nexus explode. He probably thinks Sun intentionally killed Nexus. He does not realize the true gravity of the situation like we do.)

Sun

Obviously, Sun is the most emotionally distressed over the situation. The entire time he was talking with Nexus, a few episodes before his death, Sun tried to say he didn’t care about Nexus. Nexus saw through the lies, he knew Sun for an entire year by this point. They used to be brothers, Nexus wasn’t going to believe Sun didn’t care because Sun never stopped caring. As much as Sun was hurt by Nexus, that was still his brother. It’s kind of similar to his feelings of Moon at the beginning of the show. Moon did some genuinely terrible things to him, but Sun still cared. The only reason this situation is any different is because Moon would sometimes try and show regret over his actions, and Nexus blatantly didn’t care.

Sun found out his brother was kidnapped, had to bargain with the enemy to try and get past another enemy, almost got caught in the crossfire of a deadly fight, and was then tortured by someone he used to call a brother. He was almost forced to watch Solar die purely as a revenge tactic to get back at him, and Sun would have felt it was his fault Solar died. The was only stopped by Moon rushing in to start fighting. Right when it looked like Nexus was about to kill everyone, Dark forced Sun into a rigged choice between killing his brothers. (Edit: It was Ruin’s device that killed Nexus. Sun had no part in physically killing him.)

Once again, really want people to understand that Sun did not kill Nexus. He was simply made to feel like he did. It’s psychological torture, make someone feel as if they are choosing a certain outcome when you are actually in control so that the person will be traumatized by “their own” actions. Dark was very in control of the situation. He very much knew who Sun was going to choose, but forced him into doing so in a way that would make Sun feel like it was his fault. Sun is in no way at fault for Nexus’ death. That is completely on Dark.

In the end, Sun is forced to watch his former brother, someone he still cares very deeply about, die a very violent and painful death. He is forced to think he is the one to cause it. He was already in high distress before hand from Moon’s kidnapping and attempted rescue. Now he is dealing with what is quite possibly his worst trauma yet. This forces him to shut down and dissociate from the problem.

Notice how Sun forces himself not to breakdown until he gets back to the house, and even then he goes to his own room and very quietly starts to cry. Even while he was in extreme emotional pain, he was trying to be considerate of the people around him. He didn’t want to force them to handle him while he was suffering, so he made his suffering as silent and unseen as he could. Because Sun never stops caring.

To say the least, Sun is in an unbearable amount of pain right now. It will be a very long road to recovery for him, if he ever recovers from this.

Solar

Solar seems to be the most level headed in the situation, which isn’t an odd thing. He will usually take on that role in these types of situations. He was also one of the first to say killing Nexus was their best option. He was probably the most prepared for this kind of outcome.

The thing is, as much as Solar might not like it, he is still an Eclipse. He still deals with his problems like most Eclipses do, though arguably better than others. He finds work to do, and he drowns himself in it to avoid his own feelings. Eclipses are kings of repression. Solar doesn’t want to acknowledge his own feelings, so he’s going to forget he even has them.

His current choice of work? Helping Sun. To him, Sun is obviously more hurt than he is, so his own emotions don’t matter. He feels Sun needs more help than him, so he’s not going to show any distress so that the others will focus on Sun and not him. If they focus on him, he will have to feel his feelings, and he doesn’t want that. He wants Sun better, because to him Sun obviously is the one more in need.

I think that’s one of the reasons he got so upset with Moon over the whole “go talk to Sun” situation. No one is helping Sun, and he’s confused on why no one is helping. Sun obviously needs it, why is everyone just leaving him alone? They need to go check on Sun, he’s obviously not okay right now. Why is no one helping Sun?

I thinks there’s a lot of factors at play here, besides just repression. I think is also somewhat projection and reliving trauma too. He basically lived the beginning of his life without help when he was in emotional distress. His Moon never cared about him, blamed him for Sun’s death, and constantly verbally and physically abused him. He was never allowed to grieve. Seeing Sun hurting like this and not getting help is reminding him of his own feelings in past situations where he never got help. He may not realize it, but it’s a possibility. Also, he still has the attachment to his own Sun. I don’t think he likes seeing any Sun (besides Dark) in any sort of pain.

Then there’s the last thing.

Solar had to kill his Moon.

This situation is striking way too close to home.

Solar is probably the only one who genuinely can feel empathy for Sun’s current situation. He’s the only one who knows what it feels like to “pull the trigger”. Nexus was also acting very similar to how Solar’s Moon used to act. And Solar never got any help when it happened. He didn’t even tell anyone, he covered it up and tried to forget. I think Lunar is the only one who knows about it, and Lunar never did anything about it. Solar was forced to go through nearly this exact situation, and he does not want to see Sun go through what he had to go through.

(On top of all this, Solar was very close to Nexus before his death. He’s not showing it, but he is very much hurt by what is happening. The only reason he is probably not in more distress is because he prepared for this being a possible outcome.)

Earth

To be completely honest, I have been way more focused on the others in this situation. Earth is also one of the easiest characters to read, as she verbally voices her feeling to everyone and has never really felt the need to hide them. We already know she’s upset by the situation, and is probably going to have some sort of mildly poor coping mechanism, but she is going to be the most emotionally okay out of everyone. Not because she is feeling okay, but because she’s the most in tune with her own feelings, and with how to properly handle those feelings.

I’m not saying she’s going to be perfectly okay over this. She is obviously still very hurt and troubled. I am also not trying to downplay her emotions. She is definitely going to need the others to help her. This portion isn’t short because I don’t like her, it’s just short because she is genuinely the best off in this situation. She knows how to find help when she needs it and, even better, she will ask for it.

Monty & Lunar

I’m sticking them together because I feel very similar ways about them.

I do not understand their reactions to the current situation.

Monty is more understandable. He was always closer to Moon than he was to Nexus. That much was very obvious. The moment Moon came back they got drunk and partied, and then feel right back into their old friendship. Monty was seemingly completely unaffected by Nexus’ change of heart. He very much only cares about themself and Earth.

The way he’s acting currently is not helping the situation. At all. It’s even worse than Moon’s reaction, in my opinion. Moon at least feels he is helping Sun. Monty is doing nothing. “Nexus is dead? Cool. Let’s hide this from Earth because it will hurt her and I can’t stand seeing that.” That is going to hurt Earth a lot worse in the long run if she was never told. She doesn’t like lies, even by omission. You already are hurting others by being apathetic, do not hurt Earth because seeing her hurt will hurt you. That’s fucked up.

Then there’s Lunar. I’ve already talked about my feelings on him, but I still cannot figure him out. He’s always been a very apathetic character when he’s not interested or running from emotional pain. But this? This feels almost malicious. He doesn’t seem to care. Usually when he is running, he’ll verbally tell everyone he knows what he’s doing. He knows it’s bad. But right now he is not saying anything. His is either dissociating from the problem to the point he is numb, or he is so genuinely unbothered that there isn’t any sort of care in his heart.

This doesn’t feel like Lunar. This has never been his reaction to anything before. We haven never seen this from him at this scale. It feels so violently out of character for someone who is very emotional and loud about it.

At this point, I am starting to wonder if the Star power is having a bigger effect on him than we think. We all know that the Astrals deal with apathy to most things. Even Castor and Pollux has said they don’t react to things like most people expect them to. They do not have the ability to care in a way the feels human. Since Lunar has been training to become an Astral, I’m starting to wonder if this will begin to mentally change him as well.

I am not saying that apathy is a bad thing to have. I am not saying Lunar is wrong to feel this way. I am simply saying it feels violently out of character, and is not helpful in the situation at all.

These two are currently being the least helpful in this situation. They do not care, and do not feel the need to soften their apathy and help the others. Lunar is actually the most unsympathetic out of the group, which is actually a stark contrast to how he usually is portrayed.

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

Do I ship your Bill/Javier/Micah? No? Do I like rarepairs and think they are awesome? Yes, so QUESTIONS FOR YOU BECAUSE I KNOW THE RAREPAIR TRENCHES ARE HARD TO LIVE IN:

What is your fav part about their story? How do you think they realised they all liked one another? Do you think they go on dates?

Thank you!! Yes, the life of a rarepair shipper is rough but it isn’t the trenches. It’s more like a very boring white box. There are no haters here (I haven’t experienced any), but neither is there enough fans to make content. And so it is just me wagging the flag for F of a Feather.

I think I have already answered questions like these in detail before so I’ll make these briefer. I’m still answering them just in-case my ideas have changed since I last spoke.

Fave part about their story?:

They don’t have a lot of story since I mostly drew this ship from thin air and loosely pieces together interpretations of scenes. Scenes that inspired the ship are:

- Javier pinning Bill with a knife to his neck (camp interaction)

- Micah and Javier drunk and laughing (Camp)

- Micah, Bill, and Javier during the entirety of Guarma: I especially like Bill helping Javier get around. Also Micah abandoning Javier is so angsty oh man…

- Javier getting Arthur to help save Bill from bounty hunters (random event).

- Micah making fun of Javier being effeminate + Javier punching Micah (campfire)

- Javier and Micah whispering to each other, then laughing and shaking hands during Chapter 6 (camp).

- MICAH FUCKING HITTING ON BILL??? (Missable dialogue in the over world before the mission ‘a short walk in a pretty town.’)

- The preamble cutscene at the start of ‘The Delights of Van Horn’ with Micah and Bill.

- Bill and Micah’s bickering dynamic in the optional ‘Rob A Stagecoach’ mission with Micah in Chapter 4.

- and more I am sure…

I like how none of the three of them were on the same page by chapter 6, hence them all splitting. Bill and Javier ran away together from Dutch and Micah by the end of chapter 6. I haven’t played rdr1 so I can’t say much in detail, but I hear Javier and Bill still seem to be amicable by that time which is another reason I feel they could have had some connection pre rdr1.

How did they realize they all like each other?:

I think they were all cheaters and realized they cheated on each other with the same people /j

The more serious response is that Bill and Micah were the first to become a situationship because both are closeted gay/bi men and wanted their dicks wet.

Javier and Micah had an odd amicability that only existed when both were drunk. Drunk micah is far more tolerable and more willing to divulge personal details or talk about his feelings. (Drunk bill and micah are also a hoot.) while drunk, Javier and micah have some gay stares and touches.

Bill and Javier is harder to box into a dynamic label. Javier tolerates Bill’s asshole behavior and sometimes doesn’t have the energy for him, but they bond over their loyalty to Dutch and both being hard workers. Bill appreciates Javier to the point of being a drunken fan girl at times. Javier can see there is a good man within Bill, he’s just frustrated with all the flaws that cloud that from coming out.

Uh and then they all individually got drunk and emotional and wanted to show their appreciation for each other because they’re all friends (I guess) and they don’t know how else to show that than making out hot and wet.

Meek’s headcanons ⭐️: Javier is asexual /aromantic spectrum and doesn’t have interest in being anything official with anyone. Micah is sexual but aromantic-spectrum and non-monogamous; he hates the idea of being an exclusive partner to anyone (he sees it just as repeated actions, not that those repeated actions mean anything). And Bill is a conflicted Monogomous gay man who wants to have the closest thing to a sexual gay relationship.

So… none of them are very compatible in the long run. They just have periodic moments of being what could be considered “on and off situationship bros.”

Do they go on dates?:

No, not really.

- Javier isn’t that interested in sex (at most he used it to shut Micah or Bill up, but Javier doesn’t get a whole lot out of it). Javier’s love language is quality time and showing his interests in the form of music and fishing (among other activities and topics). Micah has no interest in these things. Bill may listen to Javier’s music but can provide no deep conversations (at least, not deep enough to be stimulating for Javier).

- micah is so vindictive on relationships that it’s hard to tell if he is going to be agony to be around or if he’s going to be an okay person. He has near no interest in anyone else’s lives so a date with him would be the most impersonal and dismissive conversations.

- bill is not a dumb ass, he is the one person who might actually want to go on dates. Issue is he can’t execute complex date ideas without messing up and immediately calling it quits (because he anticipates everyone to laugh at him and hold it over his head for being a fuck up). His go to attempt is to: “Hey! Come over here and have some drinks with me.” Those brief moments of skin grazing and tipsy smiles means a lot to Bill. Javier and Bill could maybe go on a date, but it might be emotionally exhausting for Javier to spend the entire time trying to coax Bill to relax and open his shell.

- as a triad, they don’t go on dates. Closest thing is when they somehow roll the dice and they all get assigned a mission together. It’s rarely just the three of them because their dynamics clash so heavily.

Ughhhh idk how special any of this is. This really is just me repeating my previous posts. I love the ship because they are so dysfunctional. They are the polycule that ruins the polyamory party

[alltimefail]

@philosophershroomie Dead Boy Detectives reached 12.6 million viewers in 2 months; it is well past that by now. It also sat in the Netflix internal top 10 for three straight weeks and landed on the Nielsen scale (a metric that judges the viewership of shows across ALL platforms against each other) twice after its release, even being in the top three one of those times.

For context: the finale of Supernatural had 1.4 million viewers and Variety called this "Delivering a big audience" (as they should; 1.4 million people is A LOT). The highest viewership I could find was for the episode "Route 666" which came out at the height of the show's popularity and amassed 5.82 million people. Supernatural lasted for 15 seasons and is still heralded as a cult classic.

So yeah, @netflix and @warnerbrosentertainment canceling Dead Boy Detectives, a fantasy genre show that pulled in 12.6 million viewers in 2 months, and telling the audience it's because of money or viewership, is a comical, nonsensical, bald-faced lie. It's either woefully ignorant on their end, revealing the metrics that they use to judge shows are not well-informed (at best) or it's straight-up condescending to their customers and borderline abusive to their creatives (at worst)

That's why we need to keep fighting. Dead Boy Detectives did exceptionally well in its context and is beloved by many. It did find an audience...and a big one at that! It executed what it set out to do efficiently; so if a show like Dead Boy Detectives can get canceled after one season, that doesn't bode well for any fantasy shows on Netflix, especially not fantasy shows with intentional and well-done POC and LGBTQ+ representation.

We can and we will save Dead Boy Detectives, and all of our voices matter because it's not just about our show, but representation in general. The more of us "Screaming and Streaming," the better. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell people in other fandoms about this show we love because viewership makes all the difference in this fight. We yell and make a fuss to help move things along behind the scenes. Queer shows are canceled at 2x the rate of programs that do not include LGBTQ+ characters and stories. This is not a coincidence, it's a trend. Not just that, but the cast and crew worked their asses off and delivered a fantastic story that means so much to so many people, and they deserve to know that it made a difference and that the work they did matters.

So if anyone needs a reason to fight, there you go! This show never should have been canceled; don't let anyone tell you differently.

@netflix and @warnerbrosentertainment: The Dead Boy Detectives fandom is not going anywhere. There's demand for this show and you both know it. Get together and do right by your customers by saving this story from an unjust fate. We're a loyal fandom and a profitable investment, so please listen to us!

Hey @netflix, remember this tweet?

Well I'm here to inform you that Dead Boy Detectives is very much an unfinished story. Our fanbase is growing daily and audiences LOVE this show.

Season 2 is written, the cast & crew want to contiue the story, and the fans want to see more, so all you need to do is greenlight it! Despite your abysmal marketing, Dead Boy Detectives still managed to pull fantastic numbers that only continue to improve, even post-cancellation. It has made, and continues to make, "Best of" lists on a weekly basis and has drawn the attention of multiple publications, YouTubers, and critics.

You're squandering an incredible show, an opportunity to make money (in the form of streams AND merchandise), and destroying your reputation in the process! Please save Dead Boy Detectives; you have everything to gain in doing so! Do right by the cast, crew, and your paying customers! We're not going anywhere! THIS STORY MATTERS!

If you don't care about good representation, the stories on your platform, doing right by the people you employ, and doing right by your customers, at least realize that you're destroying your business and losing out on an opportunity to profit. If you don't want Dead Boy Detectives, let the showrunners take it to a platform that will do right by it and right by the fans - that's the least you can do!

[howi99]

The savior who couldn't save anyone

(Part of a bigger story related to the "A saint in Beacon" Au's. Which is, for everyone who forgot, a Fate x RWBY fanfic.)

Her mask fell, letting him see who protected the monster he needed to kill.

"I'm... Sorry... Jaune. I should have listened... To you-" She fell on the ground, her heart having been pierced by his dagger.

Nora laid dead before him.

His hands, covered in the blood of his friend was screaming at him. He killed her. He took the life of his last remaining friend.

"No..." He knelt beside her, trying to use his aura to heal her to no avail. "No no NO!" Taking in his arms, shaking her "WHY!? WHY WERE YOU HERE!? I PROMISED REN AND LIA TO PROTECT YOU, SO WHY WERE YOU HERE!?!" She couldn't answer, but he knew the answer. He knew the answer far too well.

Jaune was sweating, his breath uneven. Her blood was now covering his clothes, the clothes she bought for him. "Nora... Please..." He hugged her, crying as he felt her warmth leaving her. "I just wanted to protect you! Please, stay with me... don't go..."

"She only wanted to help you, you know? Seeing you suffer day after day, trying to save everyone by yourself..." A feminine voice said, almost as if whispering in his ears "She came to me for help and you killed her. As did all my disciples."

Jaune slowly stood up, looking at the nun who promised people their every desires. "You knew..." Tighten his fist "You knew she was vulnerable and took advantage of her. OF EVERYONE!"

"Fufu~ as i said, she came to me of her own volition. So did everyone else." She began walking the distance separating them, smiling a kind smile. "It was you who brought everyone pain and death, while i was saving them! Giving them love!"

Jaune, furious "YOU DIDN'T SAVE THEM!" Unsheathing his daggers "YOU USED THEM! TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THEM UNTIL ONLY A HUSK REMAINED!"

"Did i? I remember them clearly giving me everything they had of their own accord." Tilting her head, looking at him with a wry smile "YOU decided to brand me as an enemy. We could have worked together, bring salvation to this world!" She shook her head "A shame..." Her smile turned sadistic "I would have loved taking pleasure with both you and your friend! She had such a tender soul~"

"I'm sorry..." He took a last glance at Nora, her face now peaceful in death "Nora..." He shook his head "Rest, you deserve it..." He took his fighting stance, looking at Kiara with eyes of steel. "I'll never let you hurt anyone else."

___________________________________________

Nora was looking at the ceiling of her room, tears flowing from her eyes

"Master? Is everything alright?" Avenger looked at her, worried.

Nora, quickly drying her tears with her arms, looked at her servant. She didn't know his name, but she always felt safe with him near her.

"It's nothing" She said, shaking her head. "I just had a bad dream, that's all." She sat up, stretching her arms as the first ray of sunlight crept their way inside the dorm she shared with her adoptive sister Lia and her two other teammates, Jeanne and Pyrrha. "Nothing that can't be fixed with pancakes, right?" She smiled, trying to calm her servant down.

Avenger could tell she was lying. He also knew she wouldn't tell him, in fear of making him worry for her. "*Sigh* ..." He placed his hand on her head, scruffing her hair with a gentle smile.

Nora, trying not to laugh "Stop it!~ You are giving me an even worse bed head!"

"I'll go prepare breakfast, wake the others in the meantime, ok?" He said

Nora, nodding "Yeah yeah, i'll wake them up... After i changed myself. I want to be first at eating your stuff!"

[dfwbwfbbwfbwf]

I refuse to believe the Valar wouldn't have fought Morgoth without the Silmaril.

(There's a TLDR at the end.)

.... Not really Valar friendly, but not anti Valar either. Valar critical, but still more on their side than not.

I have many, MANY issues with how the Valar handled a lot of things - Finwë's remarriage, stepping over Finwë's authority as king, basically letting Morgoth go after his false repentance was revealed, basically letting Morgoth go because he crossed the Helcaraxë, the Silmarils, refusing to go after Morgoth when Fëanáro made it clear he would never give them his Silmarils, etc. - but I don't think they're malicious enough to hold back their help by the time Eärendil arrived.

When the Darkening happened, the Valar were ... naive is probably the best word I can use to describe it. And petty - they are absolutely petty, especially Yavanna and Tulkas. "Oh, the Noldor don't want anything to do with us? Well, we WON'T help! How about that? And don't call back because we won't even answer the phone!" Then Manwë sat by the metaphorical phone wondering sadly why they wouldn't call. :(

.... I have honestly no idea why they didn't go fight Morgoth to begin with - they could've evacuated everyone out of the area like they did in the War of the Powers - but I digress. I still don't think it was malicious or because they wanted anyone to die. (Well, maybe Yavanna - I've never really gotten vibes from her that she likes ANY of Eru's children because they use her precious plants to survive, though maybe she'd like the Hobbits.) I think it was more of a childish thought on the Valar's part. "Fëanáro will see one day, and he'll be sorry!" That sort of thing.

And I think the Valar didn't really see anything wrong with what they did until the Dagor Bragollach. They made the Sun and Moon, and Men came to be, so clearly everything was going fine. See, Fëanáro, the Valar didn't need to do anything so drastic like return to Endórë.

Of course, then everything else happened......

.... I find it very difficult to believe that the Valar wouldn't know about this. Námo and Vairë would, 100%. Varda, too - she sees everything. And Manwë hears everything, and he's clearly been listening to the goings-on in Endórë before. Ulmo also actively participates in what goes on in Beleriand. These five at least would know how bad it's gotten in Middle Earth.

It was around this time Turgon sent sailors to beg help from the Valar, mind you. All drowned to Ossë, save Voronwë, and Ulmo did nothing. And it can easily be argued that the only reason Ulmo didn't let Voronwë die was so that someone could take his pet Man to his pet Elf's city. Which I guess is better than nothing, at least.

I justify this with the Valar being petty but not malicious. I genuinely think that Manwë thought the Noldor would pray if they needed help. (Yes, he said to never call him again, and the Noldor probably DID pray in the beginning - especially Turgon's people - but Manwë ... doesn't exactly logic very well.)

Anyway, Eärendil would eventually show up, and let's say he didn't have the Silmaril?

At this point in time, the Valar would have no excuse. They would know exactly how bad it is in Middle Earth. And the fact that Eärendil is pleading for mercy for everyone - including the SoF - should have an impact. If they still refused to go against Morgoth because he didn't have a Silmaril, the Valar would not be good and moral. Maybe not quite as bad as Morgoth, but they wouldn't be far off.

.....

I wonder if Eärendil is one of those scenarios where you are so focused on an outcome - either to make it happen or to avoid it entirely - that it comes to pass through your own actions.

The Valar - or at least Námo, because we know at least he can see the future - saw Eärendil as the only way to save everything from Morgoth, and became so fixated on him that they inevitably created that future. "We have to bend the rules Ilúvatar made about marriage, or Eärendil won't come." "We can't get involved, or Eärendil won't come." "We need the Sons of Fëanáro to do these horrible things, or Eärendil won't come."

(I absolutely DESPISE this logic, but it's better than the "all is well in Valinórë; yea, Valinórë prospereth - all is well" logic the Valar show. At least it would mean one of the Valar was taking steps to fix things rather than ignore the problem in the hope of it going away.)

-----

There's also the fact that Melian herself told Thingollo to give up the Silmaril. She can see the future, and she'd know the hearts of the Valar. If she had even an inkling that they would reject Eärendil without the Silmaril, I don't think she'd suggest returning it to the SoF.

-----

I guess you can say "the Valar needed to see the Noldor had gotten over their prideful ways", but I still don't see how EÄRENDIL giving them a SILMARIL would do that. It wasn't his to give. It wasn't ELWING'S to give. Or Dior's. Or Thingollo's. Or Lúthien's. Or Beren's.

-----

TLDR

I think the argument that Beren, Lúthien, Thingollo, Dior, and Elwing needed to keep the Silmaril away from the SoF to save the world is complete and utter bs, and I'm not afraid to say it. There's no way the Valar are so cruel and heartless as to let all of Endórë die to Morgoth because they didn't get a Silmaril - that goes against everything that Tolkien believed of them. They're flawed, but they aren't (supposed to be) selfish enough to watch the world burn to prove their point.

I think the compassion Eärendil showed had more of an effect in changing the hearts of the Valar than the Silmaril.

[hishighnesstheprincess]

Had some thoughts over on twitter and wanted to post them here as well because I know how apeshit the tumblr side of this fandom goes over Shadow and Maria and the Robotnik family in general. Basically, I think this narrative has something to say about grief (shocker), moving on (another shocker) and tunnel vision (slightly more surprising). Massive fucking Sonic x Shadow Generations Spoilers btw

Sa2 and Gerald's Journal from this game make it clear that Gerald devoted himself to Maria. To the extent that, after she died, he said that he had nothing and decided to destroy the world at all costs, despite having still-living family members including Maria's younger sister.

He died with those beliefs. And what he did after Maria's death would have led to the destruction of several people Maria cared for deeply and the planet she loved. His tunnel vision was not just self-destructive. It was selfish, disregarding Maria's wishes entirely.

On the other hand, we have Shadow. In his intro game, Shadow is basically the opposite of Gerald. They have the same goal, but only because Shadow believes Maria wanted the world to be destroyed. When he remembers Maria's true wish, he changes his plans immediately, no hesitation.

In sa2, Shadow is entirely selfless, devoted only to what he thinks Maria wants, which Gerald manipulates for himself. By the time of Shadow 05, he's in a state of partial amnesia and trying to figure out both the mysteries of his past and what he wants to do with his own life. The true ending of Shadow 05 has Shadow rejecting Black Doom's intentions for him, as well as, to some extent, what Maria and Gerald intended for him. Shadow intended for this to be the last time he would have to think about his past, or let his past influence his future.

But, importantly, neither doing things 100% for Maria or trying to forget about her were good for Shadow. Tunnel vision either laser focused on something or directed away from it is not a good way to deal with complicated things like trauma, grief, etc. So in Dark Beginnings, we see that Shadow very much hasn't moved on. The dream in the beginning could be because of Black Doom, but when he's on the spacecraft he catches himself thinking about a life with Maria, and forcibly redirects himself to focusing on the mission.

He cannot stop thinking about his past. He is trying to move on, but he thinks moving on involves completely putting his past behind him. Even though he is very clearly affected, considering that Black Doom lured him to the ARK with a dream of Maria. He still has tunnel vision. And then we get to the main events of SXSG. The first time he sees her, Shadow refuses to believe Maria is even there. When he is directly confronted with evidence of this Maria being alive, he doesn't take it well. As soon as he sees Maria and Gerald, he vows to save them.

Also of note is this visual effect whenever Black Doom pops up. The edges of the cutscene get all hazy, with black and red creeping in at the edges. Almost like he's giving Shadow tunnel vision, making him think that he has to give in to his anger to accomplish his goals.

At Shadow's darkest moment in this game, he almost gives in to that darkness, quite literally- the visual effect is back, the light on screen is flickering, etc.

ut, unlike in Shadow 05, he doesn't have to face the darkness of his past alone. Maria is the literal light, drawing him out of that darkness. When she died, Gerald didn't have her anymore, so he was lost in it, but Shadow has the strength of will, and the help, to escape it.

So even when Black Doom has "perfected" Shadow, at what should be his most angry, there are rays of light coming through the darkness. Shadow may never have the same light Maria does, and may have his own anger from what's been done to him, but he won't lose himself to it anymore. He has the light with him now

He has Maria in his heart now, lighting his way.

Btw if y'all are confused about the subtitles in some of these images, that's because they're translations of the Japanese version of all these games, done by Windii who I don't believe has a tumblr account that I can link to. The JP -> ENG translations in this franchise have almost always been a little fucky (with the sole exception of this game, Dark Beginnings, and Black Knight of all games), and while I'm pretty sure most of the info here is present in the official ENG version, I just went back to the source to make sure. And even though Windii doesn't have a tumblr account that I'm aware of, I can link to her youtube and website, where I got all this info

That's all for now folks. Make sure to check Windii out, she makes some great content for all the true nerds in this fandom (aka me and like 17 other people)

[discordiansamba]

more scattered thoughts about the jazz era atla AU:

I think Yue should get to learn how to make bombs. as a treat. yes she is working together with two forces of destruction (zuko and toph) but never underestimate the power of a good bomb.

zuko and toph did not ask this of her. she just learned it all on her own.

lee from the tea shop of course, is sporting the classic Tea Shop Era Zuko haircut. he keeps it super short because he's a lot less recognizable this way.

in spite of actively trying not to be recognizable, zuko actually does not fully grasp how unrecognizable he is to people who knew him prior to his life as lee. azula looks at the wanted posters of 'lee' and only gets the faintest feeling of recognition.

ozai and azula know that zuko was injured in the attempted coup, but they don't know how specifically he was injured.

speaking of injures- iroh has burn scars on his back.

zuko's spent a lot of the past four years ignoring he own needs and wants. the attempt on his life by his own family really fucked him up, but he also has a deep sense of survivor's guilt since lu ten died protecting him. before he met toph, he basically never even made time for himself- he was always either helping his uncle or doing blue spirit stuff.

(iroh senses this. he saves up and buys his nephew a radio, because he knows how much he enjoys radio dramas.)

meeting toph changed that a little. toph coaxed him into making the blue spirit much more theatrical- the showier he is, she says, the more eyes will actually be on the fire nation and the more questions might end up raised. really she just thinks he's in desperate need of a way to blow off some steam. and what better way than violence?

(the tattoos are the first thing zuko really did for himself after the coup. he's not stupid. he knows how risky they are. but getting them with toph was actually fun.)

to team avatar, toph is a refined young lady who only occasionally has a bit of a potty mouth. they know she's an earthbender, but she hides just how good she is from them.

sokka actually starts to suspect something is amiss with the fire nation even before they learn the truth from zuko. it just feels like there's a few things that aren't adding up, but he doesn't have enough clues to actually start to piece things together.

despite the blue spirit's reputation as notorious terrorists, zuko tries to actually keep any casualties to a minimum... which does not mean he and toph never kill anyone. they're 100% killing people. they just try and keep it targeted.

this is something they'll never be able to see eye to eye with aang on- although he does understand why they feel they have to go that far- especially in zuko's case.

team avatar can't exactly openly work with zuko after the truth comes out- he's a wanted man. but they do start to quietly coordinate with him. aang wants to just expose ozai right away, but it is unfortunately not that simple. there's no real proof other than zuko's word. even if they expose one of the factories, ozai can simply claim that it's the fault of a rouge general- much like zhao's actions at the north pole.

if iroh got his memories back, though...

(they are starting to suspect that zuko doesn't want iroh to get his memories back. he's so afraid that lu ten's death will destroy him. lu ten, who again- died protecting zuko.)

ozai will eventually quietly hire combustion man to kill the blue spirits- and if he can take out the avatar at the same time, well. that's just a bonus. :)

[unknown-cold]

It's funny to see people calling Vi evil again and saying she's helping Piltover to exterminate her price or to violently maintain the power of the ruling class or whatever.

Like this is really ridiculous I mean, are the show writers really that stupid to do something like this? And if Vi really wants to kill her own people, the Zaun (which of course won't happen) why is Ekko teaming up with her and he also saves enforcers from Nouxes as we saw in the trailers?

Vi wants to stop the war that her sister caused. Vi and Caitlyn want to stop the people who were working with Silco and rule Zaun and control the Shimmer and will lead the Zaun people into a failed war that will kill innocent people there, Vi wants to stop this just like Vander did when he teamed up with Grayson. Vi will definitely not join the enforcers to kill her people, she is not evil after all. And as I said we can see she is teaming up with Ekko in the trailers.

So I don't know how these people think, like did we watch the same show!? They want tell us that Vi is evil and a villain and doesn't care about Zaun people and blah blah blah...

She's not like that she cares about her people a lot!!

[scrapingby]

There's one character trait from Rhun that we have seen more than any other and it just breaks my heart.

Like sure, they are abrasive (Wer? Wer gefragt hat?!) and they are/used to be snarky (that scene when they were kids about the monster under the bed). And there is a whole lot to be said about Dark and White and Grey respectively.

But mostly they are just so very soft.

Roughly by point of order:

They worry about the kids that are being affected by the sweets that Klaus and Fips are giving to them. They also appear to feel strongly about people being influenced for the worse and being taken advantage of. (Weil ihr sie eh nur benutzt. Ihr Unwissenden habt schon genug Seelen beschmutzt!)

They make sure Ray knows that his efforts are known and appreciated (even though they immediately follow this up by telling him about the mean things that are being said about him, but even that is said to declare that those people are wrong).

While searching for Dark they take the time to make sure LurkyGirl is okay.

They make sure not to hurt the streamer (Papaplatte I think?) that Dark is using to hold Rhun off.

Yeah, they go along with Oskars plan to capture Dark. They were desperate (and I would guess not for themselves but for what it would mean for the world if they couldn't continue to due their job) getting weaker by the minute and all other attempts had failed. And the moment they realized that the chains were hurting Dark they stopped. Stopped and freed Dark and the telling Dark that they wanted it to be on both of their terms to merge again.

They worry about Oskar, some guy they have only known for a short time. When confronted with his betrayal and real plan, they don't react with hate or declarations of revenge but with concern about what their actions will cause.

When Pete, Joon and Ju find them, their first reaction is neither happiness nor relief. Instead they see Fips and all they can wonder sadly what happened to him.

They don't even rush Joon at first, even though they are currently living through the worst pain possible because they are still chained. Only when Joon is finished with his tale do they (Rhun and Dark) tell him to finally free him. And the best part? They listened. Because when they tried to send them home, they opened a door to North Korea. Because Joon told them that this is where he was born.

They make sure to save both Rainer and Joon, because they can actually do something for them.

Once they are at the hotel their first action is to return all their workers to normal and send them to safety.

They try to do the same with Joon and Rainer and then they loose their cool (and who wouldn't? They have guarded Eos face for hundreds of years. They were only just betrayed and had to spend the past whoever-knows-how-many days in unimaginable pain. And then such an obvious lie? -> side note: I hc that Rhun tries to be cautious but they are still very naive and always end up believing in the good of the people. This often ends badly for them and is one of the reasons they hate when others are being taken advantage of. It's too close to home). But then they let Joon and Rainer stay (Joon did say that they came in the hope of being safe at the hotel) and even take them to their most closely guarded secret.

Also, when Eos takes over and that energy blast sent Rhun flying? I think the only reason Joon wasn't also hurt was because Rhun was somehow protecting him with their magic.

I also need to mention that that scene where Eos is about to kill Rhun and Rhun doesn't say anything? Just bares their teeth and braces for it? That scene hurts on a different level.

And finally: Rhun not only saving Julia but also taking the time to (bluntly) explain that she has to be more careful. They even try to comfort her and help her deal with her fear! And then they make sure that Julia will never get lost again by giving her the Zahnseide (which going by the old Zahnfee song is probably not the first time this has happened. They did sing that the Zahnseide was being used in very unvonential ways).

Just.

I love Rhun so much.

[atangledfate]

Lanolin was furious, and she let that anger get the better of her. That frustration taking hold and it was a difficult thing for her to shake. The same anger she felt when she found out Sonic was the Phantom rider, and it blinded her to reason. Yet at this point she'd rather be anywhere then talking to these fools! Besides she could actually get what troops she had mobilized and she prayed the princess was a better diplomat then she was.

Lanolin took a breath to try and calm down and nodded to Blaze leaving her to deal with this canine stand in. Honestly she wanted to just find the bastard and rip his ears off! Yet the Doberman didn't budge an inch despite the princesses words and mild threats to try and get him to budge. After a moment he seemed to relent slightly as he glanced to one side.

" I'll transfer you to the Commander, Though i wouldn't get my hopes up to high..."

The screen flickered as the image changed. This time to an elderly wolf with greying fur. His eye covered with a patch though the patch looked like it was made of high tech material. Likely it did more then just cover the empty socket. His GUN uniform denoted him as a high ranking officer and his stern gaze likely didn't instill hope into the princess, as it was the face of a man who wouldn't blink when pulling the trigger.

" We meet at last princess... Commander Lupus of GUN High Command. I apologize for cutting our last conversation short. Though a giant Wisp was something of a pressing issue for us to discern its threat level..."

He placed his hands behind and gave her a long stare

" Just to cut to the chase, We have orders from high command to seal the area off to prevent the damage from getting out of hand. No one is to go in or out... that doesn't come from us, but the President of the United Federation himself. We are to lock down the area until all threats have been neutralized. "

He explained his position in a short concise way but he seemed to also understand her own position as well.

" However we aren't heartless... if you have injured or civilians wishing to leave the hotzone. You can bring them to any check point and we'll make it happen. If need be we can even arrange an Evac zone... but until i get word from the president... i'm sorry i can't budge on this... i can arrange a conference call with him but i cant say how long that would take. "

================================================

Gold Climbed into the chair nodding her head but glanced over at Belle. She wasn't sure what to watch for and many of the cameras across the base looked to be down. But she'd watch over things here as she gave a sigh feeling as if this conflict was close to a resolution. She gave Belle a thumbs up and wished her luck as she moved out.

===============================================

Lanolin had spent this time issuing orders to the various security forces across the base. gathering up the forces at the command center, and any non-essential personal to deal with the fires breaking out! She knew this left the prison somewhat unguarded but she couldn't help it! if those two skunks got away she'd deal with it later right now she wanted to save lives! She made her way down stairs to meet up with her commanders and usher them into formation.

She took note of Belle moving in and turned to meet her with a worried look as she stared up at the bot but didn't linger long before issuing her commands.

" LISTEN UP! We are all we have left on base right now! we are spread thin, and alot that needs done! Alpha unit! you are our most experienced unit! i want you to head to the air strip! there are 2 shuttles there, one is civilians and the other are clean sweep security. You are to disable and take in any of clean sweeps people! if they resist use non-lethal methods of taking them down. Take them to the prison if they arent hurt if they are take them to the infirmary. "

She turned to the beta team

" Beta team you need to get the civilians from the shuttle and get them to the command center or the infirmary if they are hurt. The rest of us are going to split up and head to the two GUN check points in the east and west... we aren't going to fight just to make our presence known! GUN thinks they came come here and intimidate us... they are wrong! They weren't anywhere to be seen during the war! or after it... never a damn one of them showed to help during the outbreak! so we need to remind them! that restoration doesn't need them! keep your head on and don't fire this is just a show of force... nothing else. NOW MOVE OUT! "

She turned to grab a Wispeon from a case one of the soldiers brought her. Since she lost hers earlier, and with Maggie resting on her head she was ready to fight if she had to. Her eyes went to Belle as she adjusted the Wispeon settings and took deep breath.

" I know what you are going to say... i don't want to fight GUN either-- but if blaze cant talk them own... i don't see any other choice. You should probably lay low... if things go south you should find a way out, maybe head to Tails Lab or, Angel Island... no way i'm letting them lay a hand on you. "

"Then I shall make an attempt to convince them to stand down while you attempt to get everyone in order as best you can. I am rather used to dealing with a stubborn military general." Blaze was speaking of the commander of the Sol Empire, though they were more friendly with on another and simply had their small disagreements. At the end of the day she had good intentions.

Blaze scowls at the doberman, taking a step closer to the monitor to make her intentions of speaking up clear. "Then I suggest you inform your commander that this can easily be considered a hostile act and now that I am working with The Restoration that makes them allies to the Sol Empire. Not to mention I'm sure you don't wish myself, Sonic, and Surge to use force his hand in letting the rest of our people in to help."

"I hope I needn't mention that face we also have civilians, and it wouldn't be a very good look on GUN or your commander if you prevent standard civilians from leaving and they got injured. Worse one of GUN soldiers hurting a civilian using excessive force." What better way to force someone's hand then to mention any damage to their reputation.

"If need be I will speak with this commander so put him on. Though let it be known I have no intention to play games. If I suspect his is stalling then I shall take that as refusal to cooperate." Blaze may not know much about Abe, though for what little she's heard he's most likely a man who respects authority. And no disrespect to Lanolin she was still pretty green.

===========================================================

"Okay, then I'm going to change things up. Belle Bot, run system six three two dash beta," Belle said, followed by taking off the visor, turning off the nano mat, and turning her attention to Gold. "I'm going to attempt to get all our active combat members together and ready for Lanolin's orders. I want you to take it easy and just keep an eye on the cameras." The tinkerer wanted the tenrec to take it easy, though also knew she wanted to help so figured this would be the best way.

===========================================================

The Belle Bot would scan the Chief and Amy. "Biometric data scanned, please say names to establish as authority figures to give commands." Seemed Belle was going to let the bot run off basic functions until the Chief or Amy gave them specific orders to do something.

[ancha-aus]

Sansnautica sneak peak - Cuddlefish and the... selkie?

:3 so... i went ham... and look at that...

A drabble :3 Just for you guys :3 sneak peak of Cross and Sans meeting.

POV Cross :D

-----------

Cross looks around nervously.

This seem calm…

But then again there had been an intruder ship again.

Sure it had fallen and crashed but it was also poisoning their world with radiation.

Farm had explained to them what radiation could do. He had been a landdweller back before the floods after all, long before the Precursors even came to this planet. Before Nightmare and Dream gifted him his mer form to be safe in the water.

Cross didn’t like being away from the others. But he was the only one immune to this poison that infected their planet.

And so the only safe option to scout the area to see how bad it had gotten.

His shiver hadn’t wanted him to go but Cross offered. He wanted to do this. He wanted to do this for the very people who saved him from the isolation he had been in. The prison of hibernation he hadn’t been able to escape himself.

The Precursors… XGaster had put him in a hibernation and on ice. Something about his immune system and stuff being helpful.

Cross didn’t care. All he remembers from that time was invasive hands. Of being stuck on cold metal tables. Of knives cutting into him and pain.

When he woke up from another forced sleep he had been met with Dream. Dream looking at him full of worry before Dream brought him out of the partly flooded base.

Cross had been ready to pass out with fear when he saw the gigantic black form of Nightmare. Only for Nightmare to easily take both him and Dream and keep them both safe as he left the area with lava and that disgusting building that had held him prisoner for so so so long.

The world had completely changed since he had been last outside.

At least the shiver was nice. They helped him. The taught him about the world and helped him rediscover old forgotten instincts. Helped him relearn the language of the mers that still sounded like singing to him.

He owned them so much.

The least he can do is swim into this radiation to make sure that it wasn’t getting closer to them or getting worse.

Cross takes a deep breath as he nears the shallows. Time to go to where the ship crashed and reaper territory.

Cross nears the area and waits.

Huh… No poison?

Cross frowns as he speeds of. Easily dodging any of the sand sharks that pop out. Cross makes grins at the sight of them. They remind him of Horror and Horror is such a sweet mate. It makes Cross not worry about the sand sharks at all. He just remembers the way that Horror would lay partly buried in sand as he basks in the sun and warm sand.

Cross grins as he twirls in the sea. Nearing the sight of the disaster and ruined reaper territory.

He manages to get all the way to the ship and frowns. Where is the pressure of the poison? The way it will feel like a sludge over his being? It isn’t here at all?

Cross frowns and makes sure to remain near for a while. Maybe it is one of those slow acting ones?

But nothing happens. No pressure. No weird side effects. No slightly hazy sight.

It is gone.

But how is it gone?

Cross backs up and frowns.

They had already checked the metal shells that had shot off the ship. All of them holding creatures from the ship but none of the surviving for longer than a day or two.

Cross did feel bad about that. Same for the rest of his shiver. They hadn’t wanted to interfere or risk themselves but coming back from checking something else only to find a broken open shell and ruined items? Yeah. Cross doesn’t feel good about it.

Still he frowns as he hears the first reaper. Best to get back to the others now and report that the radiation is gone.

It is good. It means they can all start really searching and investigating the area to make sure nothing is trying to settle or nothing dangerous entered the planet again.

Nightmare said nature was already in a fragile balance after the Precursors infected them with this illness.

Cros is very happy that his shiver seemed immune to it but he had seen the green spots appearing on others and seen them die quickly. The shiver had told him stories about this little group that had crashed here ages ago. How the three had kept moving before one killed a reaper and caused another one to attack their little nest area.

Cross grieved for those in private.

He swims by the shallows when he suddenly freezes.

That…

That is one of those creatures!

Those shell creatures!

Cross knows because he can see the like second skin and the obvious brands on that skin of the symbol of the crashed ones.

The other catches a peeper and turns and stops.

Their face is just a blank sheet and Cross feels very nervous.

They continue the stare at him before slowly starting to move closer and Cross feels himself tense. The other stops and tilts their head slightly. They slowly raise the hand not holding the peeper and Cross gets ready to rush away. But then the other grabs the underside of their own face and just pulls it back and-

It reminds him of when Geno or Blue undoes part of their seal skin to show their landdweller form.

And suddenly there is a skeleton skull staring back at him. Large sockets and soft little pure white eye lights.

Cross swims a little closer as his mind races. There had been mers on that ship? Why? Why would- the brand. The branding on the skin… does… was… are they? Where they like him? Trapped? And the crash knocked something lose?

Is that why Cross only sees them now? Is this the first time this selkie managed to get ot and explore?

Maybe they had their skin hidden away. And they managed to reclaim it before escaping the ship…

Cross’s mind is spinning when the selkie looks at the fish they are holding. They seem to be having trouble with staying afloat. Having to use this tool on their back to propeller upwards before having to keep moving the little flippers to try and stay at least on the same level.

The little selkie offers him the peeper.

Cross feels his soul start to melt. The little guy is trying to share. Poor selkie was probably locked away and it desperately looking for food only to be willing to share… maybe they thing Cross was also a captive?

Cross inches closer. Trying very hard to not seem dangerous to the other.

Cross decides not to go too close and uses his tentacle to take the peeper. The selkie just stares at the limb. So very curious and Cross can see the other’s hand inch towards him before being pulled back.

Cross quickly backs away. He doesn’t want to scare them. This is fragile. They are vulnerable and have no idea what they can eat… Oh! Maybe if Cross shows it is completely fine to eat they will feel more reassured? The selkie tilts their skull at them and Cross quickly looks to the fish and eats it quickly.

Some movement and Cross glances up to see a tiny tiny grin on their face. As soon as they notice him looking they make sure their face is normal again. Cross quickly focusses on the fish. Why aren’t they emoting? Weren’t they allowed to do that? Cross knows that XGaster hated him emoting… maybe this also happened to the other?

Cross finishes the fish and sees that the selkie is still watching him curiously. Cross decides to be a bit bold and swims a few circles around the selkie, going down a bit with him as the other continues to sink slowly.

Cross can see that the other starts to look at his form more curiously and Cross takes the time to study the other. The brands seem fully intergraded into the other’s skin… That can’t be good. He isn’t even sure if Dream would be able to heal this… poor guy… Cross reaches for the brand on one side of him. Were the leg, or well leg-fins? Seem to start. He tries to be gentle as he touches it.

The selkie immediately twists around and backs up a bit. Okay! Oh no! That hurt apparently! Oh Cross feels terrible! He can’t stop the whine as he gives the other more room. He didn’t mean to hurt him… but that this imply that this is a new brand? Or that they were just rebranded?

The selkie looks annoyed and guarded as they cross their arms and frowns at them. Cross feels even worse. He didn’t mean to hurt Little Flippers! He just wanted to make sure it wasn’t hurting him!

The selkie relaxes a bit and frowns a little before relaxing. A small grin appears on their face and Cross feels a bit better.

Then they take out a tool and hold it up hopefully. Euh.. what is that?

They make a show of using it on themselves before showing him the other side of the thing. It seems to be text of some type, not that Cross can read this one. And there seems to be a picture of a skeleton on it.

Oh! Maybe it is to show the form under the skin of a selkie? Maybe he is curious about it Cross is like them! Cross holds out an arm and waits with held breath.

Cross feels his anxiety leaves when they look so excited after using the tool on him. Staring at the screen eagerly before tilting their skull slightly confused. Cross follows after him and takes a glance himself. It doesn’t make sense to him but it seems to have worked.

The selkie stares at him and Cross tilts his skull at them. Trying to get them to interact with him again.

Cross sees no real reaction aside from some confusion on their face so he backs of. Oh wait! Maybe doing little tricks helps? A bit of playing? Cross makes a backwards flip before looking at Little Flippers again.

Little Flippers just look confused. Don’t… don’t they know about playing?

They sink a bit and use their items to geta bit higher in the water again.

Why can’t Little Flippers swim okay? Did those other creatures hurt them? Is that why they can’t swim anymore? They don’t look bothered by it as they give a shrug but Cross does not agree. It is dangerous if he can’t swim fully. What if something gets him?!

Wait! Why hasn’t he even tried to!?

Cross focusses on the other “Hey… I am Cross. Who are you? Do you need help?”

Little Flipper shakes their skull before swimming up?! Why?!

Cross watches as they break the surface before coming down again and they make a few sounds as small bubble of air leave their mouth. It sounds deeper with sharper tunes than what Cross is used to but not bad per se.

Though there is no way this sound or language will travel far through the water.

Cross feels another sense of loss. Did those creatures force him to adapt? Were they trying to force a poor selkie to adapt out of the water? Is that why he is branded? And can’t swim? And seems to need air to communicate even when he looks fine without air in the water?

Little Flippers makes a few more sounds and seems happy to at least try and talk to Cross.

A roar breaks their little moment and Cross turns to see stalkers attacking. Cross doesn’t think as he rushes them as Little Flippers barely manages to dodge one attacking them!

No! Don’t touch them!

More stalkers appear and Cross makes it obvious they are not welcome. Cross growls and scares them off easily enough.

But by the time he turns back Little Flippers is gone.

Cross spends more time searching the shallows for Little Flippers. They wouldn’t have gone too deep right? With them not being a strong swimmer? But he finds nothing.

Cross can only hope they are holed up somewhere safe. Made a little nest for themselves to remain safely in.

Cross knows he needs to inform the others quickly and rushes off to get to them.

[nightwolf14292]

I understand this view point!

Personally I've always thought of Tim in that way because with Dick, Bruce tried to shield him from his work but he asked to be Robin (and up until he Two-Face incident he truly enjoyed it) when he found out that Bruce was Batman, same with Jason (who also enjoyed it despite being more violent, what with the whole 'Robin gives me magic' thing) , and Damian fought for the role (though I do agree he's the most similar to Tim in the lack of choice aspect, he does seem to enjoy being Robin though from what I've read).

Tim definitely was excited about the prospect of being Robin, since Batman was one of his heroes, but I did always get the feeling that that childish wonder had worn off pretty quickly when he was faced with a Bruce that was double traumatized from Jason's death. Yeah Tim first went into it thinking "Wow, this is one of my heroes! I can help him out and save Gotham just like him!" But I think over time it became more of a codependent relationship, with Bruce projecting Jason's (and Dick's since they weren't on good terms at the time) image onto Tim to cope, and Tim loving Bruce because he was neglected by his parents and got Bruce's attention by being Robin.

I always visualized him becoming Robin as like a half-choice thing. Because on one hand yes, he did technically have the choice to become Robin, but he felt like he had to because he was stalking Bruce, and therefore he was the only one seeing that Bruce was starting to go off the deep end. He had it fully in his mind that Bruce needed a Robin, and since Dick wouldn't become Robin again, he was the only one who fill the Robin role without threatening Batman's identity. So he felt like he had some sort of responsibility.

And that's also why I don't think he had as much of a choice to get out either, because even after that initial excitement had worn off he could completely see how much Bruce needed a Robin to balance him out, and it probably would've affected him even more negatively had he left. But I do think the fact that after his parent's death he made up a fake uncle purely to keep from getting adopted by Bruce sort of showed how he didn't necessarily want to stick around at the time (Though I suppose you could also chalk that up to him just not wanting another father figure at that moment)

Really I do compare it to the situation with Dick, mainly because they were similar.

Bruce fired Dick as Robin after he kept getting hurt, and Dick went out soul searching and, with Superman as a guide, decided that he loved helping people and chose to take up a new title.

Dick fired Tim as Robin after he decided Damian would make a better sidekick (because he thought of Tim as more of an equal), and Tim basically had a mental breakdown, started going on more secretive, dangerous missions out to random places, and dedicated nearly all of his time to trying to prove Bruce wasn't dead while everyone around him thought he was nuts for it.

I always got the impression that out of all of them, Tim was kinda the one that being a vigilante had the biggest consistently negative effect on. Consistently being the key word, since being a vigilante wasn't good for any of them lol

I think he enjoys what he does now, but I think it's really bad for him. And I think he goes through highs and lows, highs where he enjoys saving people and working as a vigilante, and lows where he doesn't enjoy it as much and does it out of obligation that he feels.

But hey, I haven't actually read many comics myself and most of my knowledge is what I read on the wiki + fandom stuff, so maybe that's not very canon 🤷

Your take is totally valid too :D

As much as I love TimKon, I prefer TimBern and it's mainly because of this:

“Bernard says I sacrifice myself like it's a bad thing.”

“But it's all I've ever known.”

“All that my family has ever been taught.”

Tim, out of all of the BatFamily members is the one that never really had a choice.

Bruce had a choice to become Batman. He almost retired, until things went badly again and he realized how much more awful Gotham would be if he did.

Dick had a choice to become Robin. When Bruce fired him he could've finished college and lived a normal life, but he chose to continue on as Nightwing.

Jason had a choice to become Robin. And while his mind had been messed with after being dunked in the Lazarus Pit, he had a choice to become Red Hood, too.

Damian had a choice to become Robin. He fought hard for the role, and seems to genuinely enjoy doing it.

Tim didn't have a choice to become Robin. Yes, no one actually forced him into the role, but he saw what had happened to Bruce after Jason's death (such as how he became more violent), and knew that Bruce needed a Robin to keep himself sane. He tried going to Dick, but Dick said the best he could do was help as Nightwing as he wasn't willing to be Robin again. So Tim felt like he had to take up the role, because Batman, his greatest hero, would lose it if he didn't.

Tim also didn't have a choice to give up being a vigilante, unlike the others. When he got replaced as Robin, Bruce was trapped in time and everyone but him thought he was dead. He didn't have Dick's experience of going out soul searching and deciding that being a hero was what he wanted in life, he had to almost immediately take up a new secret identity and start going on missions so he could find out what happened to Bruce.

I love TimBern so much, because Bernard is Tim's connection to civilian life. If you're a hero dating a hero, even when you're being civilians and doing civilian things, there's always going to be the knowledge of who you both are really, and the missions you've been on together (Such as Tim looking at Kon and remembering things like when he tried to clone him because he was ‘dead’). I feel like with Bernard, Tim can be a full on civilian and forget about the hero life for a while, and that makes it special.

Also I just think Bernard is neat :3