#I need to stop comparing fandoms to dating lol

[crowtrobotx]

Keep scrolling unless you want a wall of emotional word vomit of me waxing poetic about my favorite fic being deleted

Disclaimer first off: the most important thing is that the author is okay. Obviously a piece of fanfiction is nothing compared to their life, and as a writer myself I know that audiences do not own the work nor do authors owe them anything. It is and was always her right to do whatever she wanted with her writing whenever she desired, and she may have had very valid reasons for going scorched earth. I just see a lot of people immediately dismiss readers' sorrow when a fic is lost as "entitlement" or some kind of emotional manipulation and... well, this is a "two things can be true at the same time" situation, yeah? Anyway. I have questioned myself the last few days and my reaction to discovering akumaalert deleted her tumblr along with her AO3 account and all her works. Fortunately, I had a very weird anxiety feeling in January of this year and downloaded the two most important to me (HML and the anon fic that I always suspected was also her) and saved them before this happened so... silver lining, I suppose. Still, I am... devastated. Especially considering her last update was so hopeful sounding and really seemed to imply her life was taking a positive turn and that she really wanted/needed to come back to HML. There are a million reasons why people destroy their own work - I myself very nearly nuked Chrysalis after a few chapters until a friend stopped me - or at least take it out of the public eye. But I'm... fearful that the reason might not be any of the more benign ones. I have wondered why I had such a strong emotional reaction. Yes, it was my favorite fic, yes, the author seemed like a cool person in our extremely brief Tumblr interactions, but my ass cried all weekend, y'all. I do not cry. And yet there I was, literally mourning something that on the surface seems completely ridiculous. But "favorite fic" doesn't really do it justice, I guess. Let me explain. In 2021, exactly a year to the date that my dad died, RE8 came out. I had at that point reconnected with my less palatable (read: artistic and fandom-oriented) side that I'd tried to bury for the prior ten years in order to deal with the fear of imminent mortality that his passing instilled in me. I wish I could tell you what it was about this dumb game and this dumb hobo Magneto that made me so insane, but. Well. If you're reading this you probably all saw what happened and continues to happen lol. I got back into fic because of it - only as a reader until around 2023 - and of course HML was one of the most popular fics in the fandom in the early days. And with good reason - it was incredibly well written, funny, authentic, touching, grounded. I know people have a lot of preconceived notions of what fic can be and let's be frank.... yes, most of it is amateur. And to some people that might mean bad, but in spite of that there are some genuine gems out there and this was one of them imho. Plus, and of course this wasn't intentional on the author's part, it really just hit me in the right places at the right time, y'know? I won't bore you with details but suffice it to say that in addition to trying to be more ~myself~ I was also coming to terms with a lot of things regarding my sexuality, my preferences, things that had happened in my past. And maybe it sounds dramatic - and once again this is not me guilt tripping I am just extremely sad - but like... this fucking piece of goddamned Resident Evil fan fiction really helped me. It was comforting, it was affirming. I was too shy to leave chapter by chapter comments at the time but I did end up finally leaving one overall 'this fic changed my life I promise I'm not insane' comment I think in 2023 after I'd started my own work so... at least I didn't just say nothing, I guess. And it was my adoration for what she was able to do with these characters and this frankly goofy ass canon that made me think, finally, "yeah, I wanna do that too."

And like, let me be clear: I have made a lot of friends in this fandom (I've also lost a few but that's a rant for another day.) All of their work has truly inspired me and I cherish all of it with my whole heart. Chrysalis doesn't exist without HML but it also doesn't exist without Sound of Snow and Microcosm and others that I am too lazy to type out rn because I'm in a mood. I think it's just that my Karl - the way I write him in Chrysalis, in Check Engine, in all the private little things I've made and only shared in Discord - is so very heavily inspired by HML's Karl and it's impossible not to think of it every time I write. Chrysalis is going to end relatively soon and it's really, really painful to think there's just... a void in the place of a thing that really sparked it to life in the first place. I dunno. I'm glad for the weirdly premonitory anxiety that made me save a copy that I've been able to share with a few folks who are similarly heartbroken. I'm scared for her as a person, given what little she shared. I know fics get deleted all the time - there's a reason that "save your faves" is a mantra in most discussions - and I'm not like suffering anything unique here. I also know that "just be happy all of it existed and was shared even temporarily" is probably the correct train of thought but it's juuuuust fuckin' hard. And sad. Because I always knew this was a possibility, ever since the initial hiatus, but I guess I always assumed/hoped that it would just become like all the other thousands of unfinished but still present fics on AO3 and other sites. I really didn't think it would all just... vanish. And right after we were all so excited for her and maybe even for an update after years. First I mourned an ending I felt we'd never get, but I was okay with that because it meant we could all kinda make up our own. And now I'm mourning someone I didn't know, and what they might be going through, and I'm mourning the loss of some truly wonderful and inspiring pieces of art (and I don't use that word lightly.) Perhaps this is presumptuous but I always thought to myself that I had to finish Chrysalis even when I was feeling really bad about it for HML/akuma, for the work that inspired it that seemingly through uncontrollable forces couldn't be finished. Now I kinda feel like I'm doing it in memory of it, and all the people who shared that love for it and commented on it and her other work, and for myself. Idk. It's not like she's going to read this. I'm sure I sound like a parasocial lunatic. I just genuinely hope above all else that she's okay, and if I could say something I'd tell her that I'm always rooting for her and that I'm thankful she shared some time with us, however brief. I hope more people understand that what they make really does matter; you never know who you've touched.

[br1ghtestlight]

because today is @seemoreseymoursbay minor and one-off character day i thought that i would share some of my thoughts and analysis on lily's younger brother ernest lombard. since he is a one-off character from season three and i have thought about him more than ANYBODY else in this fandom and that's a promise lol

he's five years younger than lily and alice got pregnant w/ him after billy returned from the war and they were kinda having a honeymoon 2.0 phase since she was so happy her husband was alive and safe. he was born in 1946

lily was VERY protective of her baby brother. he got picked on a lot by the neighborhood kids bcuz he was nerdy and kinda weak/feminine but because lily was older and not afraid of ANYTHING she would stand up for him against everybody at school and in their neighborhood. very louise and gene vibes in that sense (except lily actually is older than ernest lmao)

only alice and lily (and later bob when was born) called him ernie/uncle ernie. he did NOT like being compared to the sesame street character especially when he was a teenager. HE IS NOT A MUPPET >:(

he was more nerdy and shy/sensitive and kept to himself. not many friends outside of his sister and he mostly spent his childhood reading comic books and playing by himself in his bedroom. his parents were very understanding and supportive of him since they were both pretty progressive for their time in terms of gender roles

he LOVED superhero comics when he was a kid. still a secret passion of his as an adult and he collected them

he was devastated when his older sister moved away from home especially because he was going through his angsty high school years and he really needed her. they still phoned each other and wrote letters everyday and lily would visit when she was able <3

he was gay and it was really tough for him growing up in the 1950s and 60s with homosexuality not even being legalized. his family was as supportive as could possibly be expected for the time period (they didnt disown or abuse him) and lily didn't think any different of him when he told her (but she told him to kinda keep it on the down low for his safety) fortunately he lived in new york city so there was a bit of a community for him

he had a long term boyfriend throughout the 70s and 80s but unfortunately he died from aids/hiv during the crisis :( ernest never got into another relationship after that and that's why he died single with no kids. he also lost a lot of friendships it was really hard. poor guy!!!

never got along w/ big bob as he always felt that he was too cold/unloving/didnt talk enough and that he was stealing ernest's older sister from him (they started dating when ernest was like..... 14 so that teenage angst was expected) big bob would never be good enough for lily in his mind

he moved to new jersey with his bf when they were in their late 20s to be closer to lily & bob which is where he stayed until he died

he LOVED being an uncle and thought bob was so cute and funny and reminded him so much of himself at bob's age. absolutely adored the kid. unfortunately he stopped coming around as much when lily got sick so bob doesn't have too many memories of him :(

lily's death was really hard for him and he basically stopped talking to bob and big bob entirely after she died bcuz the reminder was too painful. bob tried to stay in contact but he was also a teenager so they just kinda..... fell out of touch. they hadn't talked in years when ernest died

he was always very empathetic and understanding towards people seen as different/unwanted by society due to being gay himself so he had a lot of sympathy and always tried to support homeless people drug addicts and the mentally ill etc. our differences do not define us type guy. he volunteered a lot at the homeless shelters after he retired and that's part of why he let chet stay in his storage unit for all those years (although chet actually WAS a seasonal employee at his department store) he felt real deep love and empathy for him </3 also protested the vietnam war with his big sis. very anti-racism compared to what was expected of white people at the time

always very quiet and socially awkward. it is true that bob got a lot of his personality from big bob but he got an equal amount from ernest tbh he just never knew him well enough to realize that about himself

tina also shares a lot of traits w/ ernest and had they known each other when he was alive i think they would have gotten along really well. he would have loved her erotic friend fiction and he actually wrote his own superhero comic fanfiction before that was an actual thing that ppl had a word for

always loved drawing but never very good at it. you could find doodles ALL over his tax stubs and receipts from work

he had a brief dream of becoming a comic book artist and he read all the new peanuts and archie comics when they released. billy would always bring them home from work for him to read

when he died he left pretty much everything he owned (which was.... not very much. he definitely wasn't very financially well-off after they bought out his department store to build the mall) to bob bcuz he was basically the only family that he had that was still alive. he never knew bob had kids but he did know about linda

he died of a heart attack in his 60s and nobody even found his body for a few days. his later years were very lonely

[alitgblog]

volume ix thoughts wooooo we're out of casa

first off, return of a legend: the beach hut

i was fully expecting the compatibility test to be more like the season 1 compatibility test with the zodiacs because that's fun but i guess that's less of a pot stirrer than a fun game to have. though the narrator poking fun at it i guess is making fun of the fandom for thinking it was gonna be horoscopes 🤣

so very obvious ass test though especially with the two answers only about the two guys you're pursuing, which I think is a missed opportunity to throw more lore about the guys in there. or at least make it not as obvious? really goes to show how surface level the characters are compared to, say, the Mr. and Mrs. Challenge towards the end of S2

I'm going for Jin and Max rn so I thought it was funny their personalities were boiled down to "funny" vs "extroverted" and my MC had to pick between the two as if they were mutually exclusive

anyway just nearly got Jin lmao

I'd like them to stop with the Claudia/Theo storyline because it feels like they've already decided they're done with each other and are ready to move on? However, Claudia being compatible with Theo on paper but like not really feeling it is an interesting idea. Like she feels she's got no other option to stay safe except for him and they like each other enough. Meanwhile Bea's settling for Liam because he's shown any interest in her at all. (Let them date each other if MC can't! They deserve better!!)

also I know that I joked about Theo being just some mildly attractive white guy to fawn over and settle for but the way that Claudia is just settling for him? actually upsetting like I'm so sorry, Theo 😟 I didn't mean it I thought he was fine after the first dates 😖

Hari mention! I was pretty sure the game forgot about him lmao

anyway the compatibility thing still doesn't make the most sense because like,,, why did all the guys get the Villa girls and none of the casa girls? I just think we should stir up some shit. I know it's annoying but it is the perfect opportunity to try to make Emel angry at Oakley again by saying he's most compatible with some casa girl. And she can show growth by not getting upset this time.

idk why but Kyle's poem to Emel is giving wannabe rap crew vibes (i.e. I'm missing S1 I'll take what I can get). Also, Claudia said he's giving game player vibes?? I'm actually so upset with how the LI's are all interchangeable because simply this cannot be the same Kyle y'all are fawning over (it's not 😭)

I'm kind of curious what it's like replaying on a straight route bc personally my heart hurts every time they show Claudia's little sad face but like I have to talk to Max it just makes more sense because MC can't couple with Claudia in stick or twist

Close your eyes and pick at random is actually hilarious as an option for stick or twist and I almost did it

i've already said my piece about Sienna, I love her design. I will admit though, her open mouth smile is a little stilted but people get botox so... not out of the ordinary lol. The bigger problem is how her hand on her hip is a little fucked up (color in between the lines, fusebox!)

as someone not on a Theo route, I really don't understand why he's sticking with Claudia unless he's got some personal turmoil he's working through and trying to actually reform his player ways. And I wish MC could talk to him as a friend and we'd see that. like in the way S2, you get to know Rocco's insecurity about never finishing university and Gary's anxiety even if you aren't on their routes

Anyway I'm still upset at the forcing MC to couple because she's single thing. They could've still had her coupled with Jin (or even with Hari it would work) and then she can either walk in single or with a casa boy. And then she's the main character: just say that the single islanders don't get dumped post casa (like it's SUPPOSED to be) because in that situation, she's the only one! Or if you need the numbers to be right, literally Emel is right there. She can come back to Oakley later if anything

still not the best stick or twist could've gone in terms of drama (or maybe that's just bc I've been looking at spoilers), but compared to S5-6, not too bad (I assume also s7 but tbh I did stop right at stick or twist for that season)

So fyi when I played Casa, I had my MC go for Shawn most of it, and then last minute switched to Max because I remembered she's a musician and I thought that would be cute. That being said, I wish it was like in the too hot to handle game where you unlock certain dialogue if you happen to have something in common with a character. Because why is Max explaining music stuff to my musician MC?

is Hari not an LI? Because they made him seem like one and then just all of a sudden we're not talking about him, it's only about Jin and Casa Boy. And I'm fine with not all the boys being LIs, but it is odd the way he's just shoved to the side in the story

Okay so I'm writing this as I'm playing and it seems like maybe he is. They just forget to mention him most of the time.

Hari and Hazel are a hot couple though. like I don't love Hari's design but like if he was drawn better?? I see it.

the swimming game is a fun idea but imagining everyone splashing around to get to MC is so funny. like I can hear it in my head and it's not the best game, but for the fictional game in the app it's fine.

although why tf is Theo suddenly interested in MC? I haven't been romancing him at all but for the chat at the pool I couldn't decide between any of the characters I'm actually kind of interested in so I had MC go talk to Theo and then he was also flirting? then the pool game he also thinks MC has the best chat?? sir I barely know you

omg not emel deflecting the drama to Claudia (and it's about her hookup with MC???) oof this is the drama I crave I think we're gonna need a movie night soon

so not too bad yet I just hope these storylines can come through!!

[alarrytale]

I know you repeat yourself lots on here but thank you for all your explanations, they help so much! I feel like I have so much knowledge about the industry from you because you back up what you say and it makes sense. I love Larry but I'm German and follow German artists too. One German artist I love would queer signal a lot and then he suddenly stopped and it made me sad for a long time as I feared he was going deeper into the closet. But I read what you said about Louis that if he wanted to signal more he would need a beard to balance out the straight and gay because he is closeted, and it makes me think because my fave artist was signaling a lot when he was in a pr relationship and he stopped signaling when he left it. It makes a lot more sense to me now. A guy couldn't be queer signaling a lot if he doesn't appear with a woman as he would get too much speculation about his sexuality. I would rather not much queer signaling from Louis then he get a beard. It makes me wonder if this is why we get to see Harry be so flamboyant on stage, as he is always in a big pr relationship. Now that he's in a low key beard relationship he is acting more straight. I hate the pr relationships so will take less signaling for that although I wish we'd get some signaling now and again.

Guten tag, anon!

I do repeat myself a lot don't i lol. I think it's complicated topics we're discussing and we're trying to make sense of what we're seeing together. So sometimes things need to be repeated or looked at from different angles. Sometimes people are just new to my blog and sometimes they haven't been following the discussion on certain topics. It's just how things are.

It is all in the balance! Navigating the closet is finding out how much queer signaling or coding you can get away with without the queer speculation becoming too loud and you'll have to resort to closeting measures. If you do resort to closeting measures, like getting a beard, doing a denial or have tabloid articles linking you to women like a womaniser, you can afford to be a bit more yourself and show it to the world.

I would rather have less queer signalling and less larriebaiting from Louis than him having to get a beard or drag F around amusement parks more frequently. I think H got to do MP because he agreed to the whole DWD stunt mess. I think he gets to be queer on stage because he's linked to women or dating a woman regularly. Right now he is in a fake low key relationship and acting more straight, how gay is that next album of his going to be?

I'd love to get a signal or two once in a while too, but i do think we get some and we need to appreciate them for what they are. Louis singing 7 and singing i love him i hate it, without having a beard and us only having to endure F once a year? I feel spoiled compared to how these last few years have been. Harry, who never talks about 1D, wearing that umbro shirt? That was huge.

I think if we come to expect the back and forth, that is them trying to keep the balance, this fandom would be a lot less anxious and demanding.

[magxit]

“You rly think the next guy she dates they’re not gonna look for …” yes because that never happened with Calvin, besides the media being dickheads implying he was getting happy endings. That never happened with Harry. That never happened with Tom Hiddleston either (besides Gaylors trying to proclaim Tom is gay) like the homophobes they are. The timing with Matty was just shit because the podcast, etc. before Taylor came along Matty was already having to apologize to the media that’s why his band has the joke shtick when he says something and they play. To clarify I’m not blaming Matty lol I’m just saying the guy for the short end of the stick compared to any of her exes for misguided reason based on what was already out there (bad timing) = misinformation which spread like wild fire

When Taylor started dating Calvin, he just got trolled by her fans. And we all know that. Because he would block people. But he was known as a straight shooter. He would clap back at the fans. And he also supported her publicly. This was what we thought was her peak! Everyone was waiting for the shoe to drop so she could be hated! the summer of 2016 the headline was Taylor was a lying slut. Broke Calvin’s heart and ran off with Tom. Don’t forget her psycho fan, Ashley writing that letter saying that Taylor needed to apologize about Calvin. Taylor’s reputation was destroyed by Kim and Kanye there were dozens of articles written about Taylor daily for months.  harry was an 18 year old child when Taylor dated him and that was like in 2012. Yet again a totally different time and Harry’s fandom was insane and went after Taylor calling her horrible names. She is the one that got her life torn to shreds. And the sad thing is Matty has still not gotten even a fraction of what Taylor has gone through with the Harry fandom and the summer of 2016. when she dated Harry and they broke up people were telling jokes about her to her face at award shows. I really think you’re delusional. If the next guy Taylor walks out with and he’s not Mr. Ken Barbie he’s not gonna have his life torn to shreds. There are people that hang out with Taylor and then fans start investigating them and find out that they liked a shady tweet about Taylor six years ago and then the fan start spamming these people and calling them fake and that Taylor needs to stop hanging out with him. These people are insane.

[notafunkiller]

I agree, it's a terrible story. But for me personally, Pamela now appears almost like an angel, there is now a vegetable garden. She was just pushed here by younger and more beautiful people, and all her time was wasted. Otherwise, I would still be undressing and ordering boobs and more.It seems to me that at that moment it was not such a tragedy. It became a tragedy after the series aired, because she changed. And then she had attics and pubs, busty implants and lips, sex and drugs.I just want to say that if I were her, I wouldn't be offended by the series. Because the series really showed her from a better side, perhaps, than she really is.Therefore, all these howls that poor Pamela was offended and Seb should not even mention this series... This is some kind of nonsense. Because the series really showed them both at their best. Pamela is even a little better than Tommy.So stop trying to stymie the owl with your non-existent theories. You are so pathetic that it is impossible to be happy for Sebastian, as they do in other fandoms.The same Adrian Brody is dating Weinstein's ex-wife, but no, you're attacking Sebastian

Your comment is not only veryyy disrespecful, but it also reflects a very dismissive view of Pamela’s perspective and personal experiences. Angel or not. The reality is, regardless of how the series portrayed her, Pamela has expressed that it was made without her real xonsent and that it reopened old wounds (real trauma, being sexualized like that, having her intimate moments exposed)

Dismissing her feelings as nonsense = 0 empathy. Whether or not you think she was portrayed positively, the key issue is that her story was exposed despite her not wanting that, which is deeply unfair, and then Sebastian brings it up again and makes a reall insensitive comment.

Funny how you and many other people in this fandom reduce Pamela to her physical appearance or choices about her body while complaining others do the same about Annabelle. It is not only disrespectful but completely misses the point of the conversation. Whether she got implants, changed her appearance, or struggled with personal issues has nothing to do with the ethics of the series being made without her blessing. And no, no one says she is an angel. But it doesn't make this less problematic.

This kind of commentary perpetuates harmful narratives about women in general, focusing on their looks or personal struggles instead of their humanity and their perspective.

Resorting to personal insults aka calling me pathetic only undermines your argument. I’m engaging in this conversation because I believe it’s important to think critically about how public figures are treated, especially when their stories are told when they do not want that.

You’re free to disagree with me, but dismissing my perspective with insults only shows a lack of respect for constructive dialogue/constructive criticism...

And I refuse to engage in petty attacks.

Also, bringing up other actors, like Adrien Brody and his personal life = you trying to distract from the actual conversation, lol. This whataboutism... or better said false equivalence will definitely not work with me.

It isn’t about comparing fandoms or other celebrities... people simply said how insensitive that comment Sebastian made was. He could have simply said: I am happy for her, she deserves it/she is amazing.

People are allowed to have concerns about the ethics of certain projects/people. Criticism isn’t howling, either. It’s a valid part of holding industries and public people accountable when it’s needed. We do it for the people in our life as well. Stop treating him as this kid who is never do wrong... even he said he is tired of people do this.

We should aim for a fandom that values respect and empathy over blind defense of anyone involved, just saying🤷‍♀️

[ayeliiss]

No problems, all good lol!

To be honest, the joke wasn't supposed to be taken seriously at all or to be based on a reasoning, so I don't know what you expect from me and how you can think it was unclear, since... well, it's just a jest 😅 But I can still answer the points you brought up if that can help (if it's too long, I'm sorry, you're free to ignore of course!).

The main problem I have, personally, is that those chapters where Izuku used to be open about Katsuki's importance to him date back to... more than 100 chaps ago, more or less? I must admit I don't know the chapters by heart, I'm sorry ^^' but for a while, we've been missing how important he still is for Izuku. It almost looks like, since the apology, Izuku has decided to take a step away from Katsuki, which is understandable considering what happened to Katsuki 'because' of him (according to Izuku's thoughts). Yes, they have a special bond it's for sure! But as soon as Izuku shut himself down, he gave the impression that he 'broke' that bond (I'm so sorry if it doesn't make sense, English isn't my first language ghjklm-). And of course, Izuku is allowed to have more than one relationship lol I've never said the opposite? The hospital 'talk' wasn't a proper conclusion at all though (for me). It was, once again, only Katsuki leading a sort of monologue. Sure, Izuku responded, but only to say weird things, such as "stop, this isn't like you!" in the face of Katsuki crying, something that should have elicited a bigger, and better reaction according to me. Plus All Might was here, thrid-wheeling like lol please, old man, give them some intimacy!! xD

Anyway, I think Katsuki deserves more than that after everything he did for Izuku, and I'm not saying this as 'Izuku owes him everything holy shit', that's not what I mean, but damn Katsuki sacrificed himself for him, and wants to make up for all his mistakes, while Izuku seems to... want to keep a distance. Again, understandable because he must be traumatized. But, personally again, I think we need a more proper conclusion for them, and I think (hope) the last chapter will be dedicated to them. We still didn't get anything about 'control your heart', we've been deprived of Izuku's pov for so long--hell, we didn't get a proper interaction between the two of them for so long whereas they're the heart of the story. Another reason why they need more chapters just for them! Ofc, our opinions can differ and if you're satisfied with the hospital scene, I'm not going to tell you you're wrong or anything, to each their own! But yeah, I am waiting (craving) for more! And again, I'm pissed at that line because it just feels like Izuku is acknowledging Ochaco before acknowledging Katsuki, which feels so wrong to me, the two just can't compare. I am a shipper though, so yeah, I am biased and I can't do anything about it xD Yet again, I do know IzuOcha interaction wasn't meant to be romantic, and yes, he is allowed to have another kind of relationship with her! Hope it's clear enough? My brain's a mess lol. But as I said, joking is my way of coping and even if it wasn't... well, I'm sorry but I feel like making jokes in this fandom is totally forbidden ;_; you're immediately jumped on as if MHA was a sacred relic excused from any kind of criticism... MHA is amazing, but it has flaws and isn't perfect, I feel like it's valid to sometimes discuss the problems it has, whether in the form of jokes or serious talks. No hard feelings though, as I said, to each their own and I don't want to seem rude or anything! Sorry if I gave this impression!!

#mha429

Izuku to Ochaco in this chap: "you're my hero!"

Izuku to Katsuki +200 chaps prior: "All Might was my hero but you were the one actually in my life!"

I don't want to see anyone complaining about "OOC" stuff anymore in takes/fics/arts when Horikoshi himself is mischaracterizing his own characters!!!! (/half-joke tho)

[sysig]

Wow I love that one musical based on Vargas

(Scriabin & Vargas © @zarla-s)

[seishirology]

SHIDOU RYUSEI + BOYFRIEND HEADCANONS

So i have lied, perhaps it may take more than a week to finish requests I apologize for the wait also kinda dry sorry bout that includes : shidou ryusei WARNINGS : toxic ways of handling arguments A/N : my opinions only!! might be a little shorter than rin's but that's because favouritism :P anyways shawties get the party rollin' masterlist

SHIDOU RYUSEI

like and subscribe for more!! Dating this man would be a wild ride, and honestly I feel like the people of the fandom need to give him more depth than just a horny sae fan even though he is. Idk he's just special y'all but he's more than that. he's your boyfriend (for right now at least)

First and foremost, he does not put soccer above you. Sure he might've found soccer before he found you, but he can always find soccer again, but he'll never find another you. Unless you were toxic and you sucked (not referring to dick )

I honestly feel like with this boy you're your own person. he will never compare you to his ex, even if something you do reminds him of them. For example, if you knew how to score a goal the way Isagi does he wouldn't tell you that you kicked like isagi. because y'know why do you need to know that?

I do feel that he tells you to not 'get you panties in a knot' unironically. Like if he catches you going through the most minor of conveniences he'll say it straight up. unless you want him to stop because then he will.

I absolutely headcanon that his man is probably a former or still a gifted kid. Like absolutely just looking at him gives me burnout kid vibes. However if you ever need help on your homework then he will help you. Except for geometry because that's just weird.

movie dates would be the most common for you guys. First off because I think this man is an absolute sucker for children's movies such as coco or boss baby. however at the same time he loves thriller or horror movies.

If you're bad with horror that's alright. He'll make sure you don't get nightmares by covering your eyes or covering your ears and screaming over the movie. Anything for you bby <3

I think he's a mama's boy. like just look at him and his purple hair. he's literally a mama's boy. So when you take him to meet your maternal guardian he's gonna win their hearts over eventually. Because let's all be honest, on a scale of one to ten does he look like a little lad? no? I thought so.

he's gonna show up teetering between casual and a three-piece suit lmao. it's gonna be like a hoodie underneath a blazer with dress pants and sneakers. lmao good luck trying to explain to your faimly why he's dressed like that.

it's completely different when you meet his mother though. literally he's her carbon copy. although she's much less violent due to the fact that you're there. he's helping out in the kitchen, sweeping floors, whatever his mother says he's doing lol

fights between y'all- lmao. they're either going to be amusing little discussions for him or they'll end up in a full-blown fist-fight. Like look at him and the panels he's ended up in. or or or he'll be mature and talk through it somewhat seriously. he's gonna try it if he really loves you

in such events if you throw the first punch he's gonna throw it back so hard lmao you're about to get punted across the room. however if he throws the first punch you're never gonna make it out alive. leave him fast !!

if it's the other scenario where he thinks it's just a little discussion he's gonna gaslight you so bad. I don't want to laugh about it but unfortunately this man is not exactly a respect-people-juice drinker. I'm so sorry about that.

when he tries to talk things out with you it's gonna be difficult. mainly because he doesn't really grasp the seriousness of the situation, and because he just can't. he can't. if you did something wrong he's not gonna think too much of it, however if you make a big deal of something he did that you didn't like he's gonna get offended. but then he's gonna think that you're just joking. it's kinda scary how quickly his personality changes

he's not going to change his habits for you. if he likes to arrange his manga by colour rather than volume and you don't like that, unfortunately for you he doesn't care if it gets on your nerves. they're his books, not yours.

simultaneously he won't say anything if your books are arranged by size rather than them being arranged by author. even if it bothers him he won't say anything about it.

horror movie marathons every month so you can sleep sometimes. if you can't handle it that's alright. you'll just have to watch the generic ones.

will follow you to the bathroom and stand outside if you're too afraid to go alone. but if you're really really really bad with horror movies there will be an immediate end to the marathons.

cafe dates. literally is going to drag you away to any cute cafe he finds. somehow always finds ones that fit your taste, even if they're far away he'll make an effort to either go there himself to get you the food or take you. as long as you're happy <3

makes deez nuts jokes please laugh at them.

overall a nice dude. 6/10 only because he's not afraid to fist-fight you at all. I don't wanna get punted by this kid

[gunsatthaphan]

"Like do you really think they all magically get into a fight once their respective shows are over ? smh" This!! I blame companies. i enjoy fanservice as much as any other fan but they keep trying to make fans believe that the couple of the hour is actually dating since it makes the hype last longer and ups the money. but what happens when the contract is over and we need to move on to the next pairing?? imo it makes it more painful to the fans and makes the couple look bad. (+)

(+) They spend a year making the public think that these two men are super close to the point where there are even rumors of dating and then suddenly they no longer have to pretend and just act normal or even fall off, how does that make them look to the public? going from bffs to nothing? i hate that way of promotion. just let them be and if they're close, great, if they're just workmates, fantastic. just don't create a fantasy just for the sake of it when it'll all fall down with the next show.

--------------------------------------

hi anon!

sorry you sent this yesterday after my previous ask about people comparing ZeeNunew to MewGulf but I haven’t had the time so sorry if this seems out of context now lol. 

I couldn’t agree more with everything you said. It’s the absolute worst. I’m gonna try and not turn this into a rant again because I’ve done that multiple times in the past lol but yeah I despise it.

Fanservice is normal and it’s nice and fun here and there and every now and then. If it feels like these people are actually friends then it’s nice to see them be close as it feeds into their chemistry on-screen as well. So no, I’m not a hypocrite when I post stuff about actors lol. 

But them actually acting like they’re a couple and then “break up” after the show is done is so dumb I can’t even put it into words jdkkdfg and it crosses so many lines for me. It’s a way of making the fans look stupid and above all it’s unnecessary as hell. Do they really think that if mewgulf or zeesaint were still talking today, that people would sabotage cutie pie or any of MG’s new projects? Like how dense and one-track minded do they think we are? It’s hard not to be offended by this tbh. 

I get it that if someone is new to the fandom they might fall for this but if you actually think that these actors are together in real life,,,,,,,,, are you ok djkghdf like I’m just rolling my eyes at this point. 

I don’t remember who it was (it might’ve been Zee) but he said in an interview that they purposefully wanna provide to the fan’s imagination that they’re together in real life etc. and I remember seeing it and being like,,,, we been knew but why would you say that so blatantly lmao? I don’t know. I guess I just don’t get concept and the appeal of this at all. 

What is so hard about letting these actors act normally and naturally around each other, regardless of when and how and regardless of whether their show is still on air or not and regardless of whether it’s successful or not?? Just let these people be ffs. If you want to promote your show then do meet-ups, events, interviews, etc.... There are so many other ways. Which is also why I’m so triggered by Gagaoolala using the actors’ names for their weird thirst tweets like jfc just stop?? These companies should take into consideration that these actors are not their characters and that maybe fans will NOT immediately stop watching the show if their mains aren’t all over each other at all times. sigh. 

gosh. I didn’t wanna rant again and now I did lmao. oh well. Before this gets more heated I’m gonna end it here jkdghd, but as I said, I agree with what you said but I don’t expect any of this to change anytime soon so we’ll just have to deal with it I guess. 

xxx

[nicolacoughlanbigheartfanpage]

I try not to have any expectations myself because everytime I do, I'm disappointed 🤣 Just 🤞 for Lily. I think either way, she would have grown with that experience. We can say whatever we want but compare to many her age, she doesn't have much experience, especially in Hollywood. And french acting is quite different style...

💯 💯

Absolutely, every time I have just expectation in something I am let down, sometimes I am compensated as well, but learnt with time to be okay, and just wait for it to come.

There is always positive side and negativity trying to let down before even giving a chance, especially big shows that already has fans like The last of Us, house of dragon and so on, everyone was losing their minds on respective fandoms, without giving a chance (cause of many reasons we knows lol) but now is here and everyone has their opinions, so let’s just stop arguing before even giving a chance .

No more questions about it ;) no need to be negative before even having a date release lol.

[rinisbowen]

Thoughts on what Jason said in the team Ricky vs team Ej video?

Also, thoughts on what Meg says here (https://twitter.com/artcxdes11/status/1548326106603724801?s=21) in regards to Val?

hi anon, thanks for the ask. that interview was such a fun surprise like- press already starting to come out !!! we're getting so close.

i'm surprised but also not surprised someone wants me to talk about that particular comment that was made bc... people have strong feelings about it in both directions... but also i don't feel like a very strong voice in this fandom either lol so it surprises me still when people want my take on things haha.

--

it will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that i like ricky a lot. i think he's a great character. do i think right now ricky’s a better partner for gina than ej? not necessarily. but i don't think jason's being entirely fair in what he's said about ricky either ngl.

that's the thing is- i'm not a rina. (not a portwell either but that's neither here nor there)... but i still think that wasn't necessarily a fair commentary on ricky himself when compared to ej.

here’s everything jason says in the video, for full context:

“i am so team ej team gina. i just- i just love them- i just love them so much. i think ej is the best version of himself when he is in a good place with gina. ricky just like- he goes from girl to girl, man he like- it’s like he can’t be alone. you know what i mean he just seems to- he needs to figure some stuff out.” 

the problem isn’t him preferring ej and gina together- to specifically address his reasoning though... i don’t think that’s the problem here, particularly when you consider that if either of these guys is a serial romantic / serial dater in the show’s canon it’s ej, not ricky. 

ricky has had one girlfriend his whole life. nini is canonically even his first crush. he has a friendship verging on a flirtationship with gina in season 1 when he and nini are seemingly over for good from what ricky sees on his end, and he gives lily a phone call after she confesses her feelings for him (around two months after he and nini break up). he “hung out with a few girls” during his break with nini- but he said that he talked about nini the whole time so i don’t exactly think anything was going on with him and the summer girls. 

ej has had a girlfriend every valentines day- he’s canonically dated a lot of people, or at least has pretty much always been in a relationship (until he and nini break up anyway). has ej stopped being a serial dater? from what we’ve seen- yes. but i’m just saying- if the claim is that ricky’s a serial romantic and that’s why ej’s better for gina... i think that’s a hard argument to make in earnest. 

does ricky need to figure some stuff out? yes, obviously. 100%. he has a lot going on in his life. his parents divorce has taken a toll on him. ending the relationship with his first love- (for a second time, this time with more finality) also took a toll on him... and i think ricky does on a certain level think that love is the key to happiness. “you make him happy... what else is there?” is one of the lines he says to miss jenn when he gives her his blessing to date his father again. (and with how messed up mike is after the divorce, i get why ricky might think that way). but i don’t think he jumps from girl to girl and that that’s his problem. he’s fairly reluctant to get to know both gina and lily at first, particularly the latter obviously, and he turns down lily twice in one day (girl’s got guts you have to give her that) before he calls her, if he was just seeking relationships at any cost he would’ve agreed to get pizza with her in that hallway. 

i’d more easily accept other arguments that are more directly related to the fact that ej’s his best self with gina as jason notes... this one is a broad correlation that doesn’t even really have to do with gina herself. i think there’s an argument to be made that ej’s more prepared to be in a relationship right now than ricky who’s likely still on some level working to get over / past nini... but also the passage of time is a thing in between seasons, and who knows how long it’ll have been. i just think there are better arguments to be made than saying ricky jumps from girl to girl and that’s why he’s not right for gina. 

--

on to meg's little clip though- i am sorta curious which zombies 3 interview that's from lowkey, but i'm too tired to go look rn haha. to transcribe the clip quickly for those who aren't going to the tweet:

"and then my character kinda stirs some drama up which was really fun to kinda be a part of-"

to start- we kinda could've called that she'd be stirring the pot, this fandom's been sorta expecting as much since the whole college student thing was announced. meg's also said before that val "adds a lot of drama and dynamics to everybody", i have a post that talks about that little section of her interview she did with milo around when the zombies trailer released.

so that all being said- val's going to cause some issues for the group, but i mean that's to be expected, we have to have some drama to keep the plot going, and a guest character like hers who's recurring is a great way to do so. her being a college student and a counselor with ej makes it easy for her to spend a lot of time with him and talking to him about college and such... plus since they've known each other so long. jealousy is possible on gina's end there, whether it's unfounded or not. plus, her being the choreographer could cause some things otherwise too. we'll see how it all goes down.

--

[swiftlymoniquesblog]

Only You: Dean x Reader (Requested)

Requested by: @littlemissmoxley: I was hoping for a Dean x Reader please? I’m fairly new to the fandom so I’ve only seen 3 seasons so far lol. I was hoping for a story where the reader feels like she is constantly compared to Cassie in Dean’s eyes even though she is a hunter too and she confides in Sam but Dean overhears the conversation and tries to convince the reader that he appreciates her for who she is and is sorry if he made her feel differently

A/N: Welcome to the family! We hope you enjoy your stay! I like comparing this fandom to the song Hotel California because like they say “you can check out any time you like but you can never leave!” lol don’t worry, that’s meant as a joke. It’s a very fun and very loving family so I hope you enjoy it!

Had to jump all the way back in season 1 for this and Dean gave me MAJOR feels throughout but totally worth it!

Also I don’t think this is my best work but I did my best

Warnings: Angst, swearing, angry!Dean (that’s a sexy warning) fluff, slight mention of sex but very light

Word Count: 2,752

Taglist requests are open! 

Supernatural Masterlist| Masterlist of all Masterlists

You had been living and working with the Winchester Brothers for the past year after they called on you for a little help with a case. You knew their Dad sort of well at one point in time after he saved you from a rather sticky situation with a vengeful spirit. At the time, you were working late and had gotten off of work when the attack happened but it ended up working out where John came to your rescue and made sure you were okay until he moved on to his next case. However, before he left you, he called his sons and had them come and stay with you longer because you were injured. John Winchester was not a man who would stay behind for an extended period of time to help some civilian but what he failed to learn but Sam and Dean stuck around to learn, was you weren’t a civilian; you were a hunter too. When they got to your apartment that night, you threw them for a loop.

“So what did our Dad say attacked you?” Sam, the youngest brother you found out, asked you.

“He said some kind of mental subject high on meth or something? Some total bullshit if you ask me. I know I was attacked by a vengeful spirit,” you say nonchalantly. 

Both brothers just gave you a bizarre look, like they were freaking out over how you knew what was going on. No one needed to lie to you because you were aware of what was happening and that was unusual to the brothers. 

“Wait, our  Dad told us you were a civilian?” The eldest brother, Dean, asked.

“Yes that’s what he told you but see boys, your Dad didn’t stick around me long enough to know the truth; I’m a hunter too. I guess it was pure luck your Dad was close by when I was attacked because I knew I was getting myself into some shady shit when I had to dig out some corpse to stop a track of killings in Tucson but I wasn’t expecting more than one spirit to be involved here,” you explain, smirking as the tension was drawn away from the brothers. 

A big part of every hunter's existence was to keep the job a secret from civilians; no one usually believes you anyways. So always having to come with an excuse for what happened when civilians almost died is exhausting. Lucky for the Winchesters, they didn’t have to worry about lying with you. After staying with you for a few days to make sure nothing was still trying to come after you, it was Dean who decided to have you live with them. He insisted on it due to how severe your injuries were but it didn’t bother you; you liked his company. Not that he really took care of you, he was just concerned. It was Sam who really took the time to care for you and that was how you and he had gotten so close. In fact, you confided in Sam about everything that was going on in your life so when you started doubting your relationship a year later, you went to him.

“Hey Sam, I need your advice on something,” you asked, going to see him in the War Room. He was currently sitting at the Map table behind his laptop, looking intently at the screen in front of him.

“Hey (y/n) sure, what’s going on?” He asked, eyes leaving the screen and landing on you.

“Well it’s about my relationship,” you say and Sam grows more concerned. 

“Dean’s not hurting you, is he?” He asks, jumping to one of the most extreme scenarios. You had started going out with Dean a few months after you 

“No, no, of course not. He’s been nothing but a gentleman but something seems a bit off.” 

You and Dean started dating a little while after you agreed to go with them on their hunts. It was actually really great and you liked him a lot, but lately, you began to question everything about your relationship.

“Off? Like how?” Sam asks, motioning for you to sit down across from him. 

“Well, he uh, did something odd,” you say, a bit hesitant on sharing what happened. 

“What did he do?” Sam pressed you.

“Well, uh, we were making out the other day and he said another girl's name,” you say, cheeks turning bright red but you knew you could trust Sam. He’s not the kind of guy to make fun of you or tease you that often; he was sweeter than that. Unlike his brother of course, who thrives off teasing you.

“Who’s name did he say?” Sam questioned.

“Cassie? I-I don’t know who she is or where that came from but it was weird. And when I confronted him about it, he blew me off and wouldn’t say anything about it. Not to mention, he won’t even come near me,” You explain everything that happened. 

“Oh….shit,” Sam said, knowing exactly what was going on. 

“Sam? Who-who’s Cassie?” You ask. 

“Cassie was Dean’s, first love. He was crazy about her and we ran into her again about a year ago. She called him because her Dad was killed by some racist truck that was driven by another vengeful spirit,” Sam explained his brother’s odd behavior. 

“Oh, well that explains a lot. He-he probably has been comparing me to her this whole time! And I think I’m failing,” you say, an expression of realization on your face. 

“No (Y/N) that’s not…” Sam tried to call after you but you left the room and went out to the motel lobby.

“How can I help you?” The young girl behind the front desk asked you. 

“Yes, I need to get a room. I’m not sure for how long yet but I can pay for one and I need one as far away from room 113 as possible,” You say, sliding the fake credit card over to the lady.

She quickly took down all your information and put it all through her computer, verifying you wanted a room farther away from Sam and Dean’s room, before she finalized a few things, sliding your card back to you and a room key, bidding you a ‘pleasant stay.’ You walked back to get your belongings from your shared room with the boys and before walking in the door, you scoped the surrounding area to ensure you wouldn’t run into either brother and when you were sure the coast was clear, you frantically start packing your bag, making sure to get in and get out as fast as possible. Zipping the bag, you scribble down a note to Dean, and set it on the table by the front door, and head out. Making your way to the opposite side of the property, you find your room, unlock it and let yourself into your new home for as long as you and the boys would be in town investigating. 

Dean’s POV

“Hey (Y/N/N), Sam, where are you guys?” I called out for the others living in the room with me to see if someone could help me with these groceries and take out what I bought. 

“Hey Dean, let me grab some of that for you,” Sam says, grabbing some of the bags out of my hands and placing them on one of the counters. 

“Where’s (y/n)? She said she was getting hungry earlier and I got her favorite food,” I say, excited to surprise my girl.

“Um, she’s not here,” Sam says, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“Well, where is she?” I ask.

“She left,” Sam kept his response short.

“Sam, I need a much better explanation than just that.”

“There’s a note for you on the table by the door,” he says, unloading the bags of groceries. 

I walk back to the door and there is, in fact, a note with my name on the top.

Dean,

I think it’s best if we part ways for a while since...well you know what happened; the incident. I talked to Sam about it and he told me who she was. I get it, Cassie was your first love and after just seeing her recently and hooking up with her again, I’d probably say her name too. 

I’m not mad, in fact, I understand. I just think it’s best we aren’t in a romantic relationship since you’re not over her. Makes me wonder if you’ve been comparing me to her this entire time and I believe I fell short. I did a search on her and she is stunning in every way and I simply am not. 

I’ll stay to help you and Sam with the remainder of this case but afterward, I’ll head back home. I know this may seem surprising to you but ultimately, it'll be ideal for all involved. 

-(Y/N) 

“Son of a bitch!” I said, crumpling up the note and throwing it at the floor. 

“What’s wrong, what did the note say?” Sam asked.

“She left me, Sam. We were making out the other day and I said Cassie instead of (y/n) and now she thinks I’m still hooked up on her and that I’ve been comparing her to Cassie this entire time!” I yell, throw punching the wall. 

“Well, she couldn’t have gone too far, she hates being by herself,” he says, trying to add some comfort to the situation. 

“I can’t believe she thinks I still give two shits about Cassie! I haven’t even thought about her in the last year except for that one time,” I say, feeling shitty about this whole thing. I should’ve been more careful and paid better attention to (y/n). She probably thinks I don’t even care about her at all since we’ve been so busy lately with this case. 

“I gotta find her Sammy,” I say, feeling helpless about everything but I at least needed to get started finding her and explaining to her where I’m coming from.

“Let’s go up to the front desk and see if she left anywhere,”  Sam suggests,  making me remember why I’m lucky to have him. I wouldn’t have thought of that on my own.

We head up to the desk and are met with a girl who looks like she’s just fallen in love. Guessing she finds us attractive by the way her eyes travel up and down both of us. 

“How can I help you, boys?” She asks, smirking at Sam. 

“We’re looking for a girl, about yay high, (y/e/c), (y/h/c) she goes by the name (y/n/n)? Have you seen her anywhere?” 

“Oh, she checked into another room,” the girl says and I sigh in relief; she’s still here.

“Great, what room is she in?” I ask.

“I can’t tell you that, Sir,” she says to me, rolling her eyes and popping a bubble with her gum. 

“I’m Agent Ackles, this is my partner Agent Padalecki, (y/n/n) is our partner and we need to know her whereabouts as soon as possible. We believe she might be in danger,” I say, flashing my FBI badge, Sam following my lead, and the girl quickly jumps to the computer and pulls up your information.

“She checked into room 2 earlier this afternoon,” the girl says.

“Where is room 2?” Sam asks, knowing all the rooms we’ve seen have been in the hundreds. 

“On the opposite side of the property; those are the single-digit rooms.” 

“Thank you,” I say, folding the badge and putting it away.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Sam asks.

“Nah, I got this. I’m hoping to work this out with her and if we do well,” I say and smirk, Sam immediately knowing what I was implying.

“Right, well thanks for that. I’m going to head back to the room then and you just call if something doesn’t go as planned,” he says and heads back to our room. 

I follow the directions the receptionist girl gave me and after a surprisingly long walk, I find room 2. That girl wasn’t kidding; it really was on the opposite side of the property. I go over to the door and raise my fist to knock, pausing just a moment to gather my thoughts before finally making contact with the door. 

“Just a minute!” She calls from the other side of the door and then she goes quiet for a while. “What do you want, Dean?”

“Look (y/n) I got your note, can we talk about this please?” I say, almost pleading for her to open up. 

“I don’t have anything more to say to you,” she says.

“But I have plenty! Come one (y/n/n) please, let me explain.” She opens the door and looks pissed off. 

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because you love me,” I test, knowing we haven’t said that to each other yet.

“And how do you know that?” I can tell she was affected by the comment but she kept fighting me.

“Because I know you and if you didn’t care anymore, you would’ve left.” 

“Fine,” she says and steps aside, allowing me into the room.

“Look, (y/n) I’m sorry okay? I don’t know what happened that day. Maybe I was thinking about her subconsciously but I promise you, I am crazy about you and only you.” 

“But you told her about our work; she obviously means a lot to you,” 

“Meant a lot to me, yes, but YOU are the one who means more to me than, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but more than Baby.” 

Her head snapped over to look at me, she wasn’t expecting that one and neither was I.

“I mean more to you than your prized Baby?” She asks, cocking an eyebrow to see if there were any signs of deceit but I was sincere.

“Yes, sweetheart. You are my girl and I’m crazy about you. You’re the first person I want to see when I wake up in the morning and the last one I want to see before I fall asleep at night. I want to be there when you’re not feeling well so I can cuddle you and tickle you until you feel better again. I want to cook you meals and I want to be able to binge-watch Scooby-Doo with you. I want to play with your hair and see you fall asleep with your head in my lap because you’re so incredibly beautiful and I cannot believe you are mine. I am so sorry you thought you weren’t good enough for me or that I’ve been comparing you to Cassie this whole time because I haven’t been. I’ve been pinching myself every single day I see you and get to kiss you because I’m still thinking I’m going to wake up from a dream and it’ll all be gone. I hope that isn’t true and that this is all real. After all, I can’t imagine my life without you in it because I love you. That’s right, I love you (y/n) and I don’t care who knows it! I am so in love with you that I was going to go insane if I hadn’t told you,” I fully express all my feelings, in a non-Dean way. 

She keeps quiet and just when I think the worst happens, she makes her way over to me and grabs my head, bringing my lips to hers in a kiss. Instinctively, I grab her hips, holding her tight, and push her against the nearest wall. She’s completely trapped as my lips make the kiss more passionate by traveling down to her neck and over the tops of her breasts that were kind of spilling over by her pajama tank top. Just before anything gets too heated, I pull away to make sure we were on the same page, that she was okay with whatever plans I had conjured in my head and when she didn’t seem to hesitate and she lifted her shirt over her head and threw it on the floor beside her, I knew she was all in. I’ll admit, I forgot what I was doing for a minute as I pictured her lying under me as I do some rather fun things to her, but she snaps me out of it and I go out to put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door, slamming it and locking it behind me. Yep, she was my girl again. 

Taglist: @calaofnoldor @thinkinghardhardlythinking @tloveswriting @akshi8278 @baby1967impala @deansmyapplepie @marvelfansworld @spnjediavenger

[potscenarios]

Omg! So excited! May I please request how Sanada, Shiraishi, Atobe, Niou, and Kite would confess to their long time crush? Thank you and best of luck with the blog! ♥️ Love PoT so much, I miss the fandom :(

My very first request yay! I knew there are still people around!! Thank you so much for sending in something, sweetie! I hope to see you around ♥️

(Also I'm so sorry this turned out so long lol)

Sanada

Let’s face it, Yukimura and Yanagi are probably the ones who first noticed how different Sanada is whenever he’s around you, his crush. And since they judged that their friend’s crush has been going on long enough, they’re probably the ones who tries to get the ball rolling and hints at Sanada to just confess already.

Confessing is a big thing for this man, because he will only do so when he’s 99.99% sure that he wants to have a serious relationship with the other person.

Knowing his family background and his personality, of course he would get all traditional about the whole process (i.e. if you have an older brother, he would probably have tried to get his permission to 'court' you first before he actually does he's so precious omg)

He starts by inviting you out along with your friends and some of the tennis club members, so you won't feel awkward with him alone. It's also a good chance for him to get to know your friends more, which he will need to do when he becomes your boyfriend anyway. Sanada also knows he's not too good at talking so he wants you to get more comfortable around him in general. When your response is positive, then he starts to invite you out on real dates - just the two of you.

Throughout this whole process, only when he has verbally heard from you directly that you do enjoy having him around, he finally finds his courage and is convinced to take the next step. On the actual d-day itself, he's oddly out of it and you're probably going to misunderstand his silence as boredom or something like that, but when he finally, finally finds the opportunity to confess, it'll blow you away because of how unusually soft and sincere he looks.

"We have known each other for quite some time. This might sound unexpected to you, but I have found myself thinking of our future together on several occasions. I realize that all these time, I have been longing to stand by your side, not just as a friend, but as a partner. If you will... would you honor me with the title of your boyfriend?"

Shiraishi

Literally plans out everything for over a week down to a t. And by everything I mean everything.

Researches the best date spots (How far are they from your house? How busy will they be at the d-day? If it rains, are there any other alternative spots nearby?), the best restaurants to dine in (Are the food healthy? Will they adhere to your preferences? How many stars does the restaurant have? What's the best time to eat there?), the best possible place to confess (How atmospheric is it? Are there any risks of being interrupted? Is there any way he can reserve the place or something along the line?), the weather on that day (Sunny? Windy? Rain? Snow? Humid?), etc. Everything has to be perfect.

Shiraishi takes you to your most favorite places, opens the door for you and makes sure you're seated on your chair before going to sit on his own, politely rejects girls who swoons over him (which seems to always happen when you go out - one time you tell him he needs to stop looking like he just came out from a fashion magazine and he just laughs), and escorts you like the perfect textbook definition of a gentleman for the whole day.

Despite his research though, things can't always be a hundred percent perfect, so there are actually some parts / events of the date where Shiraishi isn't completely satisfied with, but you honestly don't notice because he had been so kind and accommodating, so of course a few mishaps here and there are tolerable (and they're probably mostly not his fault anyway)

He's composed when he finally confesses, but inwardly he's frantically freaking out and he's constantly trying to gauge your reactions because he will pull back as soon as you look uncomfortable - at the very least, if he’s rejected, he doesn't want to destroy your friendship.

"Hey, [Last_Name]. Do you think I'll make a good boyfriend? .... I'm glad that you think I would. Then... Do you think we'll make a good couple? I personally think we would. And honestly, I want to make that reality... What do you think?"

Atobe

He has the confidence and the means to make the most extravagant confession on Earth, so why should he hold back, right?

Due to being around him for quite long, though, you're most likely already used to his eccentrics, so you wouldn't think too much about it when he actually asks you to go somewhere with him, thinking that he just doing his usual 'this-ore-sama-will-show-you-his-prowess' antics.

He takes you to a newly built indoor 'garden', where a wide variety of plants are grown and cared for. Actually, ‘garden’ is an understatement. There are several 'greenhouses' that hosts different kinds of plants, apparently imported in from all over the world. Strange trees and flowers grows everywhere, the air is cooling and fresh because of all the plantations, and as you walk down the path surrounded by lush greens, you're very much awed and fascinated by everything.

But that's all nothing compared to the man-made waterfall he takes you to as your last destination. You can only stare in wonder as you watch the rushing water, not realizing that it's especially cold in this 'greenhouse' until Atobe gentlemanly drapes a shawl he prepared beforehand around you. He then takes you around the small forest around the waterfall and you both walk up the stairs to find that there's a modern looking restaurant that looks more like a villa, situated just at the right height and distance to have the perfect view of the waterfall and its surrounding area.

You'll find yourself sitting at the comfiest dining chair in your life, sipping the freshest orange juice, row upon row of your favorite foods coming out one after another. And just when you're finishing your dessert, all smiles and relaxed, and you thank him for the fun outing, that's when he confidently drops the question.

"Let me make this clear. Ore-sama doesn't just treat anyone this way. You're special. You're the only one who is good enough to stand equally beside me. Don't you agree? Of course, I'm only accepting nothing but 'Yes' as an answer."

It's only way later into your relationship when you realize that the place he took you to is owned and constructed by Atobe himself. When you ask your boyfriend about this fact, he finally admits (with a very proud smirk) that he built the whole thing just to confess to you lol

Niou

I personally think his confession wouldn't exactly be 'planned', in a sense.

He just has to tease you, his adorable crush, every chance he has. Just because he likes to see focus your attention to him and he thinks the angry / troubled look on your face is the cutest. But after a while it comes to the point that his pranks and teasing remarks are getting more and more frequent, and it’s getting too much to your liking. He doesn’t exactly take your verbal protest seriously, so you end up giving him the silent treatment, just to let him know that enough is enough.

Niou, who is already used to have you around and has taken your presence for granted, is suddenly left to his own thoughts because you're either running away from him upon seeing him, or isn't showing any reaction when he manages to catch up to you. Honestly you probably just want him to lessen his teasing, but the impact of your action is bigger than you think.

In the end, after a long lecture from Yagyuu (the lecture itself was boring but he was forced to sit seiza for a whole hour and his legs hurt like hell) and Yukimura's simple but straight-to-the-point comment ("Hm? Is [Last_Name] avoiding you lately, Niou? It's because you've been borderline mean to them, you know?"), he realizes that he has to make things right.

He's surprisingly gentle and serious when he asks you to have lunch with him one day, and you feel a little bad for making him feel so guilty, so you accept. It's already shocking that he hasn't done or said anything that's remotely playful all the while you're walking to the place you're supposed to have lunch in, but he's treating you so gentlemanly you almost suspect he switched places with Yagyuu.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you hate me, and I didn't think I would annoy you that much. I've reflected. I should have treated the person I love more preciously. I promise I'll be better! So don't hate me, yeah?"

“.... Niou? Did you just say..... ‘the person I love'?”

"Huh? .... Puri. I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh? ... That's right. I really like you. I find your teary face really adorable, but I still like it best when you smile. So will you go out with me? I promise I'll never let you cry from sadness."

Kite 

This scheming and calculating man!! Kite will only confess if he has already studied up your behavior and has determined that you do harbour interest in him as a love interest. From there, it’s a strategic battle for him to bring you two even closer.

He would subconsciously condition you to be more dependent or just overall be closer to him. I can actually see him create certain situations where you would have no choice but to accept his help, or for you to offer your help, being the kind soul that you are.

Like the time where he invites you to watch the tennis club practice, and it just so conveniently rains, and it just so happens that you lost your umbrella, and so when he offers you to walk you home, what can you do except comply? And if on your way he purposefully timed your walking pace so that the car on the street drives by a rather big puddle, resulting in him 'shielding' you and getting his uniform all wet, how could you not invite him into your abode so he can dry off first? If he doesn’t have the opportunity to be alone with you, trust me, he will create one.

It's not that he's doing all those things with ill intent in mind though, and he's definitely not trying to hurt you. His goal is to make you feel like you need him. It's just his way of getting you to fall in love with him lol

Surprisingly though, I think his actual confession would be pretty 'normal'. Okinawa generally has nice beaches, so he would take you to a nice and relaxing beach walk, finishing off with dinner on an outdoorsy type restaurant overlooking the sea, where you both can watch the sun set against the horizon with soft live music in the background. Overall, when the atmosphere is nice and solemn just shortly after the sun finally sets, that's when he finally speaks.

"[Last_Name]-san. You are a wonderful and intriguing person. To be honest, I didn't think you would still be sticking around after all this time, but as with many other times, you continue to surprise me. At first, I was merely curious about you, but soon enough you flawlessly turned my curiosity into attraction. This is troubling. I will have you take responsibility by going out with me."

[nerdybookworm25]

Rambling about Katara and Zutara

Ok so I’m going to kind of just put my two cents out there on this stuff. I joined the ATLA fandom this past summer and just started watching TLOK (my brother and I just finished Book 2 yesterday). This is a hot debate and I just want to ramble on about my opinions on this stuff. A lot of this will focus on Katara’s perspective because I can understand her better than Zuko or Aang due to personal experience. Im just... gonna... get into it now...

I’ll give you some background on me so you guys can understand where I’m coming from. I’m a 15 year old girl with abandonment issues caused by multiple deaths of close friends and family at a young age (my uncle when I was 4, a grandmother like figure when I was 7, my dad’s mum when I was 9 or 10, my great grandma when I was 11, a close friend of my dad’s when I was 13 and many others). I also am the Mum Friend (my friends literally call me “Mum”). I’m the caregiver of the group- the glue, the harmonizer, the therapist, the teacher, the good advice giver etc. (This stuff actually hot me in trouble as a kid and it kind of messed me up). My friends who have seen Avatar have compared me to Katara on multiple occasions and say I’ve got the temperament of a waterbender. You can kind of see where I’d relate, you know?

I do ship Zutara. My brother turned to me during the Book 1: Water- Episode 9~ The Waterbending Scroll and asked, “What if Zuko becomes a good guy and ends up with Katara?” From then on I was on the Zutara hill and I’ll probably die there. It limited ships that I loved from childhood and I thought it would hav been really cool- it would have fit the themes of the show, it would have been a cool thing to see grow and blossom, etc. It had nothing to do with Katara and Zuko being attractive at all- not in the slightest. It also wasn’t me projecting onto Katara. I didn’t really care to notice any major similarities between us until Book Three: Fire- Episode 7~ The Runaway. It was this exchange that changed Katara from my favorite character to someone I could heavily relate to.

Toph: [Sarcasically.] Oh really, Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?

Katara: I wish I could!

Toph: well you can’t! Because you’re not my mom, and you’re not their mom! [Extends her arm at Aang and Sokka, who are sitting on a ledge.]

Katara: I never said I was!

Toph: No, but you act like it! You think it’s your job to boss everyone around, but it’s not! You’re just a regular kid like the rest of us! Stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!

I remember bursting out laughing when I heard this. My brother asked me what was up and I paused it and explained that that was a lecture I revived so regularly when I was younger. It really really ended up messing me up. It’s not like I tried to mother anyone- it just happened. I wasn’t controlling it. I didn’t notice I was doing it and I got in trouble. Now things are different and I’ve embraced the fact that I am the designated Mum Freind. Still working on getting over being told off about it in therapy though. Anyway, I think you now can understand where I’m coming from with this “analysis.” Now I’m going to get into it (for real this time lol).

I think I’m going to start with the caregiver stuff. Katara’s mother died when she was very young. It was a very traumatic death. We can infer that Katara blamed herself for this death because the Southern Raiders were looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe- her. That’s a lot for an 8 year old to try to process. Here’s the kicker: I don’t think she ever fully processed it until after Book 3: Fire- Episode 16~ The Southern Raiders. She almost immediately helped her grandmother take up the roll as the woman of the house. She probably didn’t feel like she had anyone to talk to about what she was feeling however true or false that’s what she most likely perceived this to be. When Hakoda leaves for war with all of the men of the tribe, Kanna might be the matriarch and help raise Sokka and Katara but even Sokka admits that Katara became a pseudo-mother for him. Taking care of others doesn’t leave a lot of time to deal with your own issues. Sometimes it feels easier to help others face their demons than face your own.

We continue to see Katara become the glue of the Gaang as the series progresses. She keeps them together in the Si Wong desert after Aang leaves her, Sokka, Toph, and Momo. She’s always the one cooking, cleaning, and mending not because she wants to, but because she knows no one else will do it and it needs to be done. We see her try to coax Toph into helping out around camp when she firsts joins the Gaang. It doesn’t work and this conflict continues for most of Book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. All of this time, she’s making it a point to take care of everyone. When the adults show up after the Boiling Rock, she’s still the one making the dinner and probably does a lot of the other chores as well (except for tea making- this will come into play later).

There’s a running joke about Katara being “Momtara” within the ATLA fandom (more the Zutaraians in the fandom than anything else but it’s a pretty well known concept). We continue to see this when the Gaang is on Ember Island. She brings them all drink during training sessions, watches said training sessions in case someone gets hurt and they need her, wrangles Sokka to the best of her ability, and just generally looks out for everyone regardless of age gap. It’s her natural instinct to be motherly. She retains this quality even after she finds Yon Rha. (Getting closure on her mother’s death doesn’t mean losing what had become a major personality trait).

Let’s unpack that now, shall we? Kya dies and Katara thinks it’s her fault. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about it. A few years later, Hakoda leaves to fight in the war. The Southern Water Tribe recives no letters or news about what happened to their warriors at all. Katara felt like she lost another parent. She nearly says as much during Book 3: Fire- Episode 1~ The Awakening.

Hakoda: You’re taking about me too, aren’t you?

Katara: How could you leave us, Dad? [She attempts to wipe away the tears.] I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you.

Hakoda moves to comfort her as she turns away.

Hakoda: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I’m so sad and angry and hurt!

The thing that sets off this exchange is Aang running away for the third time since Katara has known him (the fourth time in Aang’s lifetime). The other times he ran were when confronted by the rude fisherman in Book 1: Water- Episode 12~ The Storm, then again during Book 2: Earth- Episode 11~ The Desert. Aang has a, for lack of a better word, chronic running away problem. I’m not mad at him for it. It makes him an interesting character and shows that he too has flaws (even if they aren’t always addressed but that’s an issue with Bryke). When Aang flys away after waking up during 3.1, Katara is distraught.

Katara: He left.

Hakoda: What?

Katara: Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that it’s all his responsibility.

Hakoda: Maybe that’s his way of being brave.

Katara: Its not brave, it’s selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesn’t he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?

Katara feels abandoned by Aang. This is completely understandable. She has every right to be angry at him and feel sad that he flew away. He comes back every time but I feel like if I were in her position, as much as I’d hope my friend would come back and I’d tell everyone that I knew he would, I’d still be afraid that there was an off chance that he doesn’t. This is a natural human reaction to this situation. People were seemingly constantly fading in and out of Katara’s life and that just wasn’t good for her mental health. It couldn’t have been. This also raises the question of if someone has a very serious fear of abandonment, would it be healthy to be in a romantic relationship with someone who consistently leaves? Personally I don’t think so. Be friends? Sure. Date? I don’t know. It doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Katara probably feels abandoned by Zuko too. During the Book 2 Finale: Crossroads of Destiny, Katara and Zuko bond in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They relate over their shared fear of being abandoned by those they love (yes I think Zuko has abandonment issues too- among other issues/fears). When he turns his back on her, she doesn’t live him (obviously). She has cared about him enough up to that point to offer to use what is arguably her most powerful possession to heal his scar. She cares. Because she cares about him then, she is downright livid when he betrays her. (Of course the difference between Zuko and Aang with this is Zuko leaves once and comes back and he doesn’t leave again. Aang leaves and comes back over and over and over again).

Katara: I thought you had changed!

Zuko: I have changed!

Katara carries the weight of his betrayal on her mind until she and Zuko go on their life changing field trip to confront the man who killed Katara’s mother. This was her time to finally get closure. She had probably had these feelings bottled up for 6 years and didn’t act on them. When she finally had the chance, her best friend and brother tried to stop her. She lashed out.

Katara: We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.

Sokka pauses and stands up, surprised.

Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldn’t understand. [Begins to walk away.]

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don’t think so. I think this is about getting revenge.

Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe it’s what he deserves!

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

Katara: Its not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he’s a monster.

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn’t love her the way I did!

Sokka: [Hurt.] Katara!

Katara gets a lot of flack for this interaction. She says Sokka didn’t love their mother like she did and Sokka I’d understandably hurt. It doesn’t excuse what she said, but people do lash out when they are feeling a lot of emotions and they get defensive when they feel like they’re being ganged up on or attacked (I myself am guilty of this sort of thing). What Katara said was wrong but I have no doubt in my mind that she didn’t apologize to Sokka when he and the rest of the Gaang arrive on Ember Island later in the episode. She is seen walking over to him after she hugs Zuko.

Zuko and Katara go after Yon Rha anyway. For once in her life, Katara is feeling emotions and no one is trying to get her to stop or to push them aside. She doesn’t have to be constantly taking care of someone so she can focus on herself. Katara trusts Zuko more than I think she realizes. I mean she trusts him with a lot and he follows through on a lot of unspoken/subconscious agreements and promises.

Zuko is looking out for her. Zuko has her back. Zuko is allowing her to feel all of these emotions and work them out of her own accord. Zuko isn’t telling her to feel one way or another. Zuko isn’t going to judge her for whatever she decides to do when they find Yon Rha or what she does in order for them to get to that point. Zuko ensures she gets the closure she feels she needs.

When he sees her bloodbend, he’s surprised, but he isn’t appalled. When he thinks she’s going to run Yon Rha through with a giant shard of ice, he doesn’t try to stop her. He lets her be her. He sees a dark side of her in a way that no one else in the Gaang has seen. It’s strangely intimate. Clearly it has enough of an impact to make her forgive him. She knows he isn’t going to abandon betray her and her friend again.

Once they become friends, and even before that, Zuko starts to help out with small things here and there. We see him making tea for all of the kids at dinner. He tells jokes to make them laugh. He teaches Aang firebending. He goes with Sokka to the Boiling Rock to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed or in a prison cell for the rest of his life. With all of this, “Dadko” is born.

If you strip away Zuko’s anger, he just becomes the awkward-turtleduck-first-time-father that we all know and love. There’s more balance in the Gaang with him there to help and become an “authority” figure with Katara. They become the parents of the other members of the Gaang. It’s an interesting shift in their relationship- enemies to unsteady acquaintances to enemies to frenemies to friends. They’re close enough that they show small signs of physical intimacy and they tease each other.

Also if you look close enough when the Gaang walks into the “seedy Earth Kingdom tavern,” Zuko and Katara appear to be holding hands and are near each other from then until the finale episodes. They are clearly just great friends by the end of the show. I mean Zuko also takes a bolt of lightning to the chest for her...

Zuko doesn’t leave when his life gets difficult- not after he joins the Gaang. He made that mistake once and he won’t make it again. Aang was always part of the Gaang but continued to leave (again, I’m not mad at him for it but he never seems to realize the effect it has on the people around him- especially Katara). Zuko also doesn’t all but forget Katara and continue to run around the world. When Zuko fully decides to stick around, you best believe he is sticking around.

This works really well for Zutara. They’re both each other’s rock. They support each other and help each other in times of trouble. Do they argue? Yes. Is that a normal part of a healthy relationship- romantic or otherwise? Yes. Do they take care of and look out for each other while also not smothering or suffocating each other? Yes. I don’t know about you but this sounds stable and healthy to me. They balance each other out so well (I’m not going to get too into that because if you’re reading this you probably already know with the whole Tui and La, Yin and Yang, Oma and Shu thing).

Now, this is a big deal for me and it makes me furious, but Katara is forgotten by history. She has no statue. She is reduced to a housewife and healer- things our wonderful water feminist was afraid of becoming as an adult. I mean this girl

This girl

THIS GIRL

She becomes nothing but a housewife stuck in a healing hut who gets forgotten by the world and left behind by her family just... let’s all of that happen? Yeah that’s pretty unrealistic. I think about this frequently and with starting TLOK I have formed even more opinions and have a little thingy (I don’t know what to call it) for what happened to her.

Kya II is everything Teenage Katara wanted to do and be before settling down. Old Katara is everything Teenage Katara was so afraid of become reduced to/becoming.

It’s an interesting way to think about it and I thought I’d share. Now if Katara was Fire Lady, she wouldn’t end up like that. She’d have the power to change the world and continue to fight for what she believed in. She could have helped with the trail with Yakone. Katara has so much potential to not be forgotten or brushed aside and somehow it happened. It makes me so sad. The potential Zutara had to make sure Katara had a genuine legacy was right there at their finger tips and they didn’t use it. What a shame. What a shame.

With all of the things I’ve talked about, I just feel like Zutara would have been better for Katara than Kataang was. I think that’s more Bryke not developing the relationship well enough and instead choosing to be sloppy and selfish in the way they structured the relationship. Yeah this is my rambling on about the issue. Hope it was mildly entertaining! If you want me to write something about how Zuko would have benefited from Zutara, let me know!

[whetstonefires]

Do you think the DC fandom maybe, Infantilizes Tim a little too much? Like for a rich kid character who's main trauma for a long time was a getting left home alone too much there's an oddly amount of meta abt how much how much his parents hurt him~ compared to, y'know the two poor characters who grew up with physically abusive dad's+druggie mom's, or the two that were raised assassin cult's, etc

…well, yeah, I do kind of think that? His whole schtick for so long was being too old for his age in ways that didn’t sacrifice his jokey, relatable teenager energies. It’s weird how little of that we see anymore, sometimes.

And then DC broke him and discarded him and he’s sort of awkwardly hanging around getting reimagined as more woobie with every fan generation. It is weird!

But tbh I do get it. And I think the reason his parents’ failure of him and his vulnerability get played up so much, and Jason and Steph’s sufferings (while used a lot for things like motivation and context) not dwelt on quite so much in the same lugubrious style, are kind of the same reason.

Which is that canon didn’t commit to it. Jason and Steph’s experiences with bad parenting were foregrounded and retconned more dramatically awful several times. (There’s some definite classism in how that was approached imo, and I’m never budging on being mad about DC retconning out Catherine being sick and then ignoring her forever in all Jason characterization because a drug death invalidates a person ig, great message during the opioid crisis guys.)

They engaged and coped with it–Steph (and Cass, our #1 canon batfam parental abuse victim) pretty directly, Jason a little less so because of the dubious and fluctuating canon status of most of the content more specific than ‘poverty, homelessness, theft, parental drugs and crime in there somewhere,’ so most of his parent issues have been focused on Bruce. He sure has dug into them tho. 😂 Rarely well or productively, thanks DC, but it’s explicitly part of his character, is my point.

Whereas upper-middle-class Tim was always treated by the narrative as fortunate and unharmed by his experiences with his parents. Even though they were clearly behaving badly in several ways, and Tim showed signs of being harmed by it.

Tim outside of immediate moments of frustration always was of the opinion he was Fine, and Very Fortunate Actually.

Therefore a huge chunk of the numerous everyone who’s got parent-related mental and emotional harm, but has struggled to have that validated and hasn’t responded with a lot of anger toward the parent, identifies with Tim. The only one who’s never really lashed out at his parents for fucking up with him. The one who still needs it explored, because canon ultimately didn’t.

[editing post to put in a readmore because lol it’s long, post otherwise unchanged]

(Dick obviously didn’t ever have any Issues with the Graysons, but he Angry Teenagered at Bruce so hard it changed Bruce’s characterization permanently, rip.)

The things Jason, Steph, and Cass have been through are dramatic, obvious, and fit stereotypes because that’s what they’re based on.

That’s important content to have, but because it’s right out there in your face even people who identify with it quite a lot are less likely to feel the need to work all the way through it again in fanworks. That part’s there. It’s text.

(Well actually Jason having been physically abused kind of wasn’t? I think? It was mostly assumed on the basis of stereotyping and Jason’s not caring about the man much even as he felt possessive of information about his death, which is valid. I don’t actually know what’s up with Willis now, Lobdell did some weird shit that lacked emotional resonance or staying power because he’s Lobdell and has no soul.

Cass’ wandering years are also ludicrously underdeveloped. But very very few comics fans or writers can personally relate to being amazing child warriors with no grasp of language living feral under bridges. That part of her life is consistently represented in terms of absences, in terms of its deviation from the norm and the deficits of normality it left her with, which is typical but unfortunate.) 

-

The interesting things to do with these characters are often informed by the bad stuff in their childhoods, but there’s relatively rarely that much more to say about the fact that those things were bad. They know they’re bad. They’ve had a lot of on-panel rage about it, as discussed above. Steph and Cass both beat the shit out of their dads.

Jason is, in fandom especially, a sort of Platonic ideal of a kid who’s mad about his bad childhood and really bad at figuring out where to point that rage.

(Damian is a whole other kettle of fish, because he’s been lumbered by so many detailed retcons coming so fast no two people can seem to construct compatible models of what his early childhood was like, and even more because he’s still ‘a child’ enough that he’s necessarily in a different stage of processing than someone who’s officially only a few years older than him at this point, but still functionally 8 and also 20 years older, and whose parents are no longer in the picture to continue screwing up.

Also there’s no question that if he brings up an abusive thing the League did, he will be validated by his current environment about his realization that it was in fact bad. There’s a lot of fic on that theme! But it doesn’t have the same tone precisely because it is usually understood that that support will be there if he wants it. Realizing that his previous context contained things that were wrong keeps being made the focus of his arc.)

The badness of Tim’s childhood, on the other hand, was mainly in subtext. Even when we were clearly meant to understand Jack was fucking up, like when he canceled plans with Tim at the last minute to go on a date with Tim’s stepmother, or that infamous time he came to apologize for not being a great parent and got mad Tim was distracted by a crisis on TV so he flew into a rage and took the TV and smashed it and was like ‘that’ll teach you,’ it wasn’t leaned into.

The story didn’t treat Jack as a minor villain to be overcome but like a sort of environmental hazard of childhood, like homework, to be endured and coped with. Tim said things like ‘it’s fine’ and ‘at least he left the computer.’

(And like. It’s not about having a TV and computer in his room. It’s about not letting a child have boundaries, pointedly not respecting a child’s possessions, creating an emotionally insecure environment, punishing minor infractions in proportion to their momentary impact on your own ego, physically lashing out at a proxy for the child…)

Rather like Tom King later didn’t understand about the punching from Bruce, whoever did that story (probably Dixon? I don’t care enough to check) did not understand how serious a case of bad parenting that scene was. That is most definitely textbook abusive behavior. (It’s a hell of a lot more common abusive behavior than being a lame supervillain or shooting you when you screw up, and a lot more specific than ‘was a thug, might have hit me, dead now.’)

And Tim was never allowed to be mad at his parents about it. It was fine. He needed to be ignored so he had the freedom to be Robin. He deserved his dad being mad at him because he was keeping secrets. He complained too much, although objectively he did not.

The universe punished him for ‘complaining,’ more than once. We cut straight from him shunting aside his disappointment that his postcard from his parents was just to say they weren’t coming home yet after all with ‘if it will stop all the fights they’ve been having lately it’s more than fine’ to them getting kidnapped.

He agreed not to come on the rescue mission. His mom never made it home, and his dad was in a coma for a while. And then ultimately Jack died as a result of Tim’s decision to be Robin, immediately after finally deciding to accept it.

So Tim walks around feeling a huge burden of responsibility for his parents’ deaths, and completely unable to process any hurt they did him as real or valid, especially in comparison with the far more blatant awfulness other people have been through, and canon is clearly never going to address it. Or even acknowledge it properly.

Let me repeat that because it’s kind of my main point:

People are fixated on getting Tim’s emotional abuse validated because that’s an incredibly important step in recovering from emotional abuse, and it’s one canon consistently denied him.

How ‘bad’ things are ‘in comparison to’ problems other people have is a bad and unhealthy way to engage with trauma. Okay? That’s just a really harmful framework to apply to pain.

It’s also a way that both Tim and people with experiences similar to Tim’s are encouraged to engage with their own experiences, compounding the existing problems.

So. Not a form of relatable DC was ever actually aiming for when they tried so hard (and pretty effectively) to make him a relatable character as Robin, but an enduring one for a lot of fans.

-

So Tim’s childhood is a natural target for fanworks in a different way than the traumas that have been made explicit and taken seriously by the text. And then a lot of that got compounded by the way the introduction of Damian as Robin was handled, and the lack of resolution that got. And his current status as not quite having a place in the family anymore.

So between the level of projection encouraged by that context and how relatively difficult to access Tim’s Robin run has become ten years after the fact, this has led to a lot of fanworks on these themes that are based mostly on other fanworks, and stray further and further from the original content.

So at this point there’s an entire wing of Tim’s fandom wherein this side of him has expanded enormously, and he primarily exists to suffer, frequently in ways that 1) escalate to a point that is inarguably ‘valid’ and hard to dismiss and 2) set him up to rebound from it in whatever way the writer finds emotionally satisfying or useful–being ultimately cared for and reassured by people who value him (the most infantilizing option but like, popular for obvious reasons), or unveiling his brilliant scheme that was causing him to pretend to be passive in the face of mistreatment, or turning around and using his genius ninja skills to wrest power back from his abusers, or just laying down some sick burns about being treated fairly.

But not that many of the last one, because that’s mostly done with other batfam members.

Tim’s become a vehicle for a lot of vicarious coping that Steph and Jason just aren’t appropriate for, because they get angry and they get even. And those are stories that exist already, so there’s less scope for telling your own.

And because Jason’s reaction pattern is ultimately so masculine (i’ll make them all sorry! with my guns! blam blam!) while Tim’s is pretty gender-neutral, the demographics of fanfic mean that the bulk of the people using Tim vicariously in this manner are female-aligned, which has over time feminized this archetype of him a lot. Sometimes in ways I find really uncomfortable, like there’s a lot of forced pregnancy stuff which activates my panic buttons. x.x

But, ultimately, it’s fandom. People are going to do what they’re going to do, DC in their perpetual fail has hung Tim out to dry in narrative terms, and I’d rather the people who are using Tim for victimization narratives over the people who can’t dismiss or discredit him fast enough now that his position has been filled. 🤷‍♀️ What we gonna do? Fave’s in an awkward spot. DC hates us. This is the life in this comic book pit. XD

-

Also if you’re the same anon who left me a callout about op of that weird Steph post in my inbox, or if you aren’t @ that person, 1) I refuse to get involved so I’m not answering that ask 2) those aren’t even particularly dramatic fandom crimes? That’s pretty normal? That’s just…Caring Too Much About Ships And Disagreeing With Me.

Do I also feel those opinions are kinda bad? Yeah. But I disagree with everyone about something. Chill.