#It would have be funny with any other character but not this one

[andromeda-collective]

i have multiple and im going to mention all of them but im starting with THIS FUCKER HERE (blade from honkai star rail) AND I HAVE A VERY STUPID REASON FOR IT

there was an minigame thing with a character named march 7th (dont ask) and there were little events you could encounter throughout it and one of them was that you had to choose between a red and blue pill (or the third option of giving a nonanswer) and since my choice didnt matter at all i went with the red pill because i know that the matrix is a transfem allegory and i also hc march as transfem but then another character made a little comment that blade would ALSO pick the red pill which completely makes sense for his character but since i was still on the transfem allegory mindset i had the thought of "wait does this make blade transfem??" so shes transfem to me now 👍

estrogen would NOT save her. not even REMOTELY. he's a suicidal immortal who physically cannot die because of a ritual his old friend-with-romantic-implications tried who he now wants dead more than anything else. hes basically possessed by evil plants that revive him every time he dies and he goes fucking feral. hes a mass murderer with a bounty of over 8 billion. nothing can save him. but transitioning might make her miserable life slightly more manageable? plus i mean.. throwing your old name away and being a new person? obviously a metaphor for being trans /j

boothill! this is slightly for shipping reasons (turning a het ship wlw for funzies) but mostly projecting my gender-nonconforming transness onto the only southern disabled character i know of. are we different kinds of southern? yes. are we different kinds of disabled? also yes. do i care? absolutely not. (also because butch southern women make the world go round)

also sampo because the idea that this fuck is a cisgender ANYTHING is laughable. this is a nonbinary transfem boymoding for shits and giggles who randomly switches to the girl voice when talking to someone JUST to fuck with them because nobody else would believe them and the person would think theyre losing it. typical masked fool stuff. gaslight gatekeep girlboss.

and then from genshin impact: zhongli. who has CANONICALLY used shapeshifting to become a woman. and has likely done so on more than one occasion. this guy is CANONICALLY GENDERFLUID WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE IT OR NOT. and you can obviously be genderfluid and transfem at the same time so why the hell not :D

most other characters i hc as transfem i dont have much of a reason for, but im gonna list them anyways cause hell yeah

argenti (hsr) - she can have a little estrogen as a treat

dr. ratio (hsr) - no reason i just think it could work

sunday (hsr) - something something religious-trauma-and-giving-into-what-you-once-believed-to-be-sinful

diluc (genshin) - fanfiction on ao3 changed my brain chemistry

kazuha (genshin) - also no reason i just think it fits

sebastian solace (a game on roblox called pressure) - im gonna be honest with you op, i just like putting this fucker in situations. and i would love to see the struggle of medically transitioning when you've been forcibly had your body and dna altered to the point of no longer being human. even ignoring for a few seconds the thought that maybe hrt wouldnt have the same effect (or any effect at all) due to the experiments, how could you will yourself to alter yourself medically in any way after the horrific trauma you've experienced? its between fucking with your already fucked up body or having the dysphoria kill you from the inside out. i am rotating her in my mind even harder now.

p.ai.nter (from same game) on the other hand? a lot simpler. make the ai with guns a girl. also just a funny idea: you know that "put eyelashes on it to make it obvious that its a girl" thing? yeah. painter doing that.

^ TELL ME SHE WOULDNT.

i would apologize for the essay but you did say i was legally required to share so this is your fault /lh

anyways i hope you enjoyed the women

If you see this post you’re legally required to tell me at least one trans woman headcanons you have for a canonically male character, I never get to see transfem headcanons like that, give me them, and for equality of my own please know estrogen could have saved Insector Haga and Dinosaur Ryuzaki I will not elaborate, also Yuya.

[yawping-poets-society]

we don't talk enough about cameron's first real scene, where he talks to neil outside his dorm before todd arrives. in case anyone doesn't know what i'm referring to, here's the dialogue from the scene:

Cameron: Hey, Neil, study group tonight?

Neil: Yeah, sure.

Cameron: Business as usual, huh? [turns to leave, then] Hey, I heard you got the new kid. Looks like a stiff. [laughs at his own joke] [Todd enters] Oops. [Cameron leaves]

so let's talk about it!!

cameron opens with the study group question. this is pretty straightforward to me-he knows he's none of the poets' favorite, and certainly not charlie's. neil is his foremost supporter, pretty much the only one who sticks up for him, so this makes sense. he's checking with neil, his 'in' to the group, to make sure he can hang with these guys. he wants to be part of their circle so badly, and that's pretty clear from the get-go.

and then he hits us with this whole "stiff" business. this is a major thing i've seen people use to justify their hate of cameron and i really struggle with that.

because, well...this is SO undeniably awkward. neil tells todd just a moment later not to mind cameron because he was "born with his foot in his mouth." so off the bat, that's not something you say about someone who's consistently rude or who you don't like. that's neil sticking up for cameron. he's saying, sorry todd, he means well, or at least, he doesn't have any ill intentions. cameron's just not got the best grasp of social cues, that's how he is. this is a pretty valid explanation in and of itself, but if you'll walk with me a little further, i've got a deeper theory about why cameron makes this comment.

more than just it being awkward, this casual friendliness, haha, new kid, a mild insult said with much bravado...this isn't really cameron as we see him for the rest of the movie. though he does remain relatively awkward, it doesn't really match his character of being cautious and trying to not stand out, to fit into the group (as we see in his first line). so how to explain this action (because i don't believe the explanation is just: cameron is being an asshole/being awkward)?

to me? this is what cameron thought charlie would say. isn't that almost exactly how charlie always talks about cameron, after all? for a great example, see later in the same scene:

Charlie, about Cameron: What's his specialty, bootlicking?

so maybe cameron believes that this is how friends treat each other. or at least, how they talk about other people to entertain their friends. charlie, while not a stellar student and clearly not liked by the administration, is the class clown, which makes him popular with students at welton. thus, cameron is probably jealous of charlie. he probably wishes he was more like charlie-confident, funny, well-liked, etc. and again, he clearly wants to be friends with neil, and part of their larger group, very, very badly. all of this to say:

i don't think cameron meant what he said about todd.

he's trying to get a laugh out of neil. so what does he do? he does what he thinks charlie-neil's funny best friend-would do. it's not a nice thing to say, but to me, it really just reads as someone who is trying to guess what the appropriate, funny thing to say in a situation is, but doesn't actually know. cameron might not have even really thought the 'stiff' joke was funny. but he thought neil would find it funny, which is really the whole point. cameron is, at the most fundamental level, an unpopular kid who wishes he was well-liked, and is fumbling around blindly trying to find his way there.

[meirimerens]

do you happen to have any headcanons about pascal curious and nervous subject? or any other sims 2 character for that matter :p

you get answered with anon from like yesterday #oops i had stuff on my plate teehee but Yes.

the nervous subject:

as far as nervous' #deal is i like to go with the Sims 2 For PSP lore that he willingly (or "willingly" - in quotes to express the murkiness of willingness when you're broke as shit) went in with the Beakers because he needed coin. in my head, like many kids who age out of the foster care system, he found himself age 18 not really having anywhere to go (no contact with the family during his stay in foster care), not really having had the best environment to learn any skill, he tells himself well fml 🤷‍♂️ might as well.

related to his 10 active point i think he's strong as shit. does not look like it (macdonalds_napkin_flying_out_of_window.txt). also very endurant - not necessarily fast, but his ass would smoke everyone in a long-distance run because he can just keep going. this is Not A Great Thing in his current #predicament because that just means he recuperates pretty fast from the experiments and so they just keep happening with little downtime.

bruises easily. and a lot because his prioperception is kind of fried so he's got always a blue spot somewhere.

i've #made #him in my ts4 game with a crooked nose and nose scar (which i draw, the crookedness of the nose translates a bit less since i'm always drawing his ass three-quartered) and those i think he got in foster care. even if he exists with 0 nice point i think that's an Experiment thing, he is not truly a Dipshit, but he's very early become quite rowdy. got into a tussle. got his nose broken. "you should see the other guy". this is also very funny to me because one of my OC has that same broken nose+scar deal

on the topic of My OC Has This in my mind's eye he's got tha Y-shaped autopsy scar. hector I Would Like To Award You the Highest Honor I Can Bestow [scars like the weird lesbians of my mind] did not really die, still has it. he understands that's probably a Scary thing for people to see + his ass doesn nawwwt want to deal with the question so when his best fwiend and his two Unsuspecting brothers try to get him to join for a relaxing heatwave afternoon in the strangetown pool he's like "i don't want to take my shirt off [THINKS FAST] because i'm insecure about being bony" and they're like "that's fine man no pressure 👍" [clueless]

le pascal curieux:

on one hand the phrase "gayscal bicurious" i had in the tags of my art once makes me hysterical and i genuinely leep fucking repeating it out loud to myself so often. devilish echolalic sound. on the other it is genuinely funny to me to imagine him realizing years later "why the fuck do i have beef with this guy over his gf i don't even like women 😐😐😐😐🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️". he keeps the beef though makes him feel alive #hatermindset #scorpio

after nervous told him "i have some... weird... living arrangement... and my roommates don't like to hear me play music out loud" pascal started putting songs he thinks nervous would like on an mp3 player. nervous gives it back to him every once in a while and update him on his taste so pascal can add more songs next time they see each other.

now not to get too deep into the politics of the sims franchise's mpreg. a pregnancy narrative hates to see me coming. but in my head... while he's a loving father and is protective and kind and genuinely obsessed with his kid once they're born & tutti quanti towards his little scrunkly... i think he lived the pregnancy pretty Lukewarmly. he knew that it Could happen, but well. the household description does mention "[getting] more than they were "expecting."". i think until halfway there he was like 😬 and then the Weird Scientist Brain kicked in and he was like "this is an Experience". pascal curious I Would Like To Award You the Highest Honor I Can Bestow. Post-Partum Depression (jesting. unless?)

not new of a headcanon because i've drawn it so it's probably obvious I think he's the shortest of the brothers and a Reliable Resident of Stockytown #shawty

bringing together Buddy Erwin Lore and "In his free time, he practices home psychoanalysis" i know the inhabitants of strangerville hate to see him hang out by erwin's Listening Station and psychoanalyzing every word that comes out of the mouth of the people he's bugged #nosy

erwin detour because i have this to say:

he drives a two-toned (orange and white) 1980 chevy k30 crew cab. a beat-up thing that he loves so muchhhh. looks like this (but imagine Oinge and not tan/camel)

speaking of cars i have something for Lazlo:

drives a 1986-1988 buick riviera. a purble one. exactly. i see it for him for the little screen inside #vintage #slay

stoner. with peace and love and zero derogatory tone. he feels it makes him think. it does. tbh i see the three dabbling. you're telling me vidcund has this beautiful greenhouse and they don't grow cannabis in there? you know that post that's like. my homie was making edibles and discovered passion for baking now he's a baker. this did not happen to lazlo he knew how to cook and bake completely independantly. but it helps. they let nervous smoke with them and they see him blink normally for the first time.

Ophelia Nigmos my shayla....

she has a Motorola RAZR V3 for phone. it is DECKED to the heavens with stickers and stick-on gems and phone charms

2004 is prime and i mean primeeee pop-punk/emo era (hence why she looks #likethat tbh) and she's deeeep in that. like Simple Plan's "I'm Just A Kid" came out 2002 and i knowwww she's having that shit on LOOP on her mp3 player. due to the fact that She's Just A Kid And Her Life Is A Nightmare

the bloggerrrr i know she is blogging. idk what strangetown could have as a mirror to the 2000s-2010s french "Skyblog" [les vrais connaissent tmtc] but girl... is.... BLOGGING!!!! either a Livejournal or a Blogger.

i just realized how long this poast was #oops but Basically Yes.

[everwalldigan]

Hey I am having a scene in a fic where a very high strung moment Damian begins to curse in Arabic. What would be the correct way to phrase that?

Thank you

Ooh great question! There are a LOT of very colourful Arabic curse words varying in severity but in Damian’s case he was like raised to very strict and high manners, so even in high strung situations he probably wouldn’t use the colloquial “lower class” swear words. I’m going to list some of the “less vulgar” swear words I know (keep in mind I’m Iraqi and these are the swear words I know in my dialect and ones in high Arabic, there are soo so so many more.)

The most generic swear words insult the parents so you’d say “yabn ___”

Yabn Al kalb (son of a dog) or you could skip the parent and call them a dog (kalb) (tho idk how insulting Damian would find that cause he loves and respects dogs)

Yabn Al lai’in (son of the cursed) (this one’s so clean I’ve heard it in kids cartoons before) you could also just say “Al la’ana” which means “the curse” could be used as “shit”

Honestly Damian would probably use High Arabic swear words and sound like an Arabic dub character ASHSJSJDJ absolutely hilarious to any other Arab person in the vicinity.

Al’ama (Lebanese/yemeni region dialect) or as we like to say “a’amaaaaaaa” meaning the blindness, could be substituted for “damn!”

You could also make him say “ya a’ama” (you blind person) (keep in mind those are the tamest I can think of, the other ones are MUCH more offensive)

You could always go the route of Damian saying… angry sounding words in Arabic that aren’t REALLY swear words just to let out his frustration without everyone in the close vicinity understanding him. You can just make him rant about the situation in Arabic, maybe with some choice words like “ahlbal” (naive) or “ghabi” (stupid)

If you want to know ones in a specific dialect I can help with that too, I know Egyptians have some really funny ones (ya nhar iswid! - oh black day) and idk how much you wanna tie him to Islam but we also like to literally curse people (eg: Allah ya’amik - may god blind you or Allah yagbirak: may god put you in the grave)

If it’s from another persons POV who doesn’t know Arabic they wouldn’t be able to distinguish anything from an angry ranting boy, if it’s from Damian’s POV you can say “he says some choice words his mother would smack him for” or something like that cause again he was raised in a VERY high class setting, as a prince basically and cursing would be “beneath him”

[worthlessnepenthes]

So I reblogged this because it’s funny but then I thought about YQY for a second, and reblogged again so I could talk.

This isn’t going to be any new, profound thoughts for the fandom I’m sure but they’re new to me and I wanna talk for a minute.

I, personally, do not like YQY. I don’t HATE him, but I don’t like him. But I do feel sorriest for him, out of all the SVSSS and PIDW characters. I often forget that when he left SJ, he too was a literal child. Yes, he probably could have done better—told his master he needed help to save his brother, heck, told a fellow shidi or shixiong once he got to the peak. He was probably popular. I can’t imagine no one would have been willing to help him. But he was also a child, so I forgive him. He suffered and hurt himself, grievously, permanently causing himself a chronic condition in his attempts to get back to DJ. I don’t know that I think he did everything he COULD, but I do believe he did everything he THOUGHT he could.

And then Shen Jiu shows up, much like a feral cat, and constantly lashes out and hurts YQY. Their strained relationship is absolutely caused on both ends. It’s hard to say, ‘Well, YQY should have just KNOWN that SJ wasn’t going to the brothels to sleep with whores/didn’t kill LQG/wasn’t abusing Ning Ning/whatever other terrible things he was accused of,’ when SJ was, in fact, very verbally abusive and physically abusive to at least one disciple (lbh. Do we even get a canon reason WHY he hates him so much?), and verbally abusive to YQY, and to most likely many other characters.

However, maybe if YQY had actually stood up for SJ and said ‘No, this is a misunderstanding, this is not what happened,’ instead of just assuming that SJ had done whatever terrible thing and then covering for him in a sense of guilt, maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad. Or if YQY said, ‘take out your anger on me, it’s all my fault, but leave the others alone’. (It wasn’t, and SJ is wrong for acting this way.)

Honestly if they had ever fucking COMMUNICATED instead of just assuming the actual fucking worst of each other, while still deeply loving the other (in whatever romantic or platonic way they had, they loved the other) no matter whether they ever said it or not, a lot could have been avoided. Like PIDW YQY’s death.

Or hell, if Airplane had ever written about Xianxia mental health care instead of probably curing depression with papapa!

But the relationship between SJ and YQY is almost worse and more horrifying after SY comes through. YQY KNOWS it isn’t SJ, but every test they do show he isn’t possessed. So maybe it really is SJ, and all SJ needed to become happy was simply…to forget almost everything, but especially any time SJ and YQY spent together before they became Peak Lords.

So YQY is still trying to make it up to a person that he both thinks is there and thinks is not there, never knowing for sure. Every emotion he has towards this ‘new’ SJ feeling like a betrayal, ‘if only SJ could have acted like this before!’

Yeah. It’s really horrifying. He never gets the comfort of knowing for certain that SJ is gone, never gets to properly grieve and burn incense for him. But he also always feels just slightly off kilter with SY, and then feels guilt, because this is SJ! And even if it isn’t…what can YQY do about it?

YQY has many sleepless nights, wondering, after SY shows up.

I don’t like YQY, but I feel sorry for him. He is the most pitiful character in the book to me.

Shen Qingqiu, pissed off during a peak lord meeting: when I die I want Shang-shidi to lower me into the earth, just so he can let me down one last time

Shang Qinghua: bro c'mon

Yue Qingyuan, abruptly overcome by jealousy so intense that he's on the verge of a qi deviation: but I thought I was the one who let Xiao Jiu down the most...?

[embraceyourdestiny]

The best part and biggest benefit to all of the bad girls living together in mordred manner is that at any point if there’s a player doing a scene, either of the other two can jump it and add to it, because it’s entirely plausible their character would be be there and no questions are asked because they all live there. And I love that, it lets more dimension happen to these conversations because multiple people can ask questions and chime in, especially if the bad kids are hunting information and someone forgot something.

It’s also funny to imagine how many times fig or adaine have been having a conversation with Sandralynn, or, jawbone, or Lydia, or even zayn, and Kristen just Appears and chimes in out of nowhere cuz no one noticed her walk up.

I imagine Aelwyn and ragh got used to it pretty quick, just like fig and adaine did, and they just loop her into the conversation like she was always there. And that’s awesome, I love that. I love this weird family that live in this haunted house. It’s awesome.

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

One thing I find funny about arguments that people who are unsatisfied with how Campaign 3 ended because it feels like it lacks consequences just want characters to die is that, aside from the obvious fact that narrative consequences just means actions have clear follow through and results, is that at least for me, it's like, yeah, I DO like it when characters die in stories.

One my favourite moments in C3 is FCG's final sacrifice and how in the moment of their death they became truly alive because of the connections of love and friendship he had made with the other characters. The first meta I ever wrote for CR (and I stand by the idea of it if not how I conveyed it) was about Laudna and how it actually made an interesting and resonant ending to her narrative for her to have been permanently killed by Otohan in Bassaras. My favourite meta I've ever written for anything is a 6 paragraph rundown of all the character deaths in Midst and how well they're integrated into the overall narrative. One my favourite anime I've ever watched is one which is (in)famous for systematically killing off most of its main cast (Bokurano for the curious). I, personally, love death in narratives and love analyzing how it can be used as a narrative device to add tension, capstone a character's personal arc, influence and redirect the arcs of other characters, and work to create and enhance themes of grief, loss, and trauma. My personal favourite theme that can come out of death in narratives isn't even about the dead character, it's about those left behind and how living can feel not like a blessing but a condemnation after a deep loss but you have to keep going, because you have been condemned to live.

I would have loved to see a version of Campaign 3 where Laudna did permanently die and Imogen had to deal with that. Perhaps the resurrection ritual they attempted with Pike could have failed, and she and the rest of the Hells had to deal with the fact that they couldn't bring her back, but they did free her from Delilah so she'll have peace in her death and they have to be okay with that. Perhaps Imogen could even realize posthumously that she loved her. I would have loved to see the aftermath of FCG's sacrifice more fully explored, with the Hells sitting in their grief even as the world continues to fall apart (though I understand the real world circumstances of Sam's absence are likely what made the cast reticent to do that). I would have loved to see a version of the endgame where Ludinus was successful in fully siphoning Liliana and Imogen has to grapple with her inability to fully trust her mother ultimately killing her (though at least she has a Ludinus-shaped outlet to take things out on).

All that being said though, my issue with how Campaign 3 ended isn't the lack of deaths, it's that everything ended in a way that was nice and pleasant and neat without any real weight, with a few things that DID have weight when they initially happened being completely de-fanged so that they could be nice and pleasant and neat. I can deal with and even greatly enjoy no deaths or even negative deaths if it's handled with narrative weight and care, and I don't feel that C3's ending was.

[oopsiedaisydeer]

𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘪 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰?

ɪɴ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ… 20ᴛʜᴄᴇɴᴛᴜʀʏɢɪʀʟ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴄᴏɴᴅᴜᴄᴛꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴜʀᴠᴇʏ… ʙᴜᴛ ᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴜᴘ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

It was a Sunday afternoon, and she stood in the phonebooth out the front of her house, staring at the number written in messy handwriting. She’d managed to get Matt’s home phone number after a bit of sneaky detective work, hoping to gather more information for Iris. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous…this wasn’t her first time doing something a little… much. But there was something about this whole situation that felt different. What if she was making things weird? What if she was crossing a line? 

For Iris, she reminded herself.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed the number, holding the receiver to her ear as it rang. The phone line buzzed a few times before the voice on the other end picked up.

“Hello?”

Her stomach fluttered as she forced herself to stay calm.

“Hello, may I speak with Matthew Sturniolo?” she asked, trying her best to sound professional, like a real survey caller. 

The voice on the other end was quiet for a moment, then responded, “Who?”

She didn’t miss a beat. “May I speak with Matthew Sturniolo? I’m calling from…The Survey Squad Institute, to conduct… a quick survey. It won’t take long.”

Another pause. Then, confusion. “Uh, I think you have the wrong number.”

“No, no,” she insisted smoothly. “I’m just calling for a quick survey, just a couple of questions.”

There was hesitation in the voice. “Okay… What’s this about?”

She straightened up, adjusting the phone like she’d done this a million times before. “Thank you for your time! We’re conducting a survey about people's favorite songs. And we’d like to know: if you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

The voice responded, a little uncertain at first but warming up. “Uh... probably Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

Y/n wrote it down, nodding to herself. So that was Matt’s usual go-to track. She was on the right path. 

“So, moving on,” she said, pushing her nerves down. “If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be?”

The voice on the other end became a little more relaxed. “A forest, somewhere quiet. Just to get away from everything.”

She scribbled that down too. This was going well. Maybe she’d get this whole thing done without any hiccups. She felt a rush of pride. 

“Okay, last question!” she said a little too brightly, forcing herself to stay in character. “If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, which one would it be?”

There was a brief pause, followed by a soft chuckle. “The Big Lebowski. It’s funny, in a way that doesn’t really try too hard, you know? The way it’s all, like, a series of strange events, but it still feels kinda real in a weird way. It’s kinda... timeless, I guess? I dunno. It’s one of those movies you either get, or you don’t. But if you do, it sticks with you.”

Y/n froze, the pen hovering over her notepad as her heart skipped. Wait a second… Her brain short-circuited for a moment. No way. This isn’t Matt. This is… Chris?

She pulled the receiver away from her ear, staring at it in disbelief before holding it back up, almost as if she could ask the phone itself what just happened. Why am I doing this?

“Wait a second,” she said again, voice a little too loud in the quiet booth, her face turning red. “Is this… Chris?”

She could hear Chris’s smile through the phone, his chuckle a soft echo. Her stomach flipped, and she quickly dropped her gaze to her shoes, wishing she could disappear into the pavement beneath her. Of course. Of course it’s him.

“Well, well, well,” Chris said, clearly amused. “Hello, Echo.”

“Echo?” she repeated, confused. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“Yeah, Echo,” Chris said with a grin in his voice. “You sounded like a robot repeating yourself Y/n, all stiff and professional, like you're reading off a script. Saying the same things over and over, like ‘May I speak with Matthew Sturniolo?’” He laughed again, clearly enjoying himself. “You’ve got this robotic vibe going. I’m calling you Echo from now on.”

Chris let out a low whistle. “Echo, huh? Yeah, you really nailed the whole survey lady thing. You even sounded like you were reading off a script. 'May I speak with Matthew Sturniolo?' You should’ve gone all in and asked me about my opinions on toothpaste or something. I would've believed you.”

He smirked, clearly enjoying the moment. “And hey, now that I know your ‘survey’ skills, I’m just gonna assume you’re gonna call back every few days. What’s next—favorite type of pencil? Or how do you take your coffee?”

“No-” she cut herself off, but Chris was already laughing.

“Yeah, Echo, you’re a pro. I’m gonna expect more surveys in my future. You can’t just give me a performance like that and not continue to live up to it.”

She could feel her face heat up with embarrassment. “I- I wasn’t trying to sound like a robot! I was just-”

Chris cut her off with another laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Echo. I gotta admit, you’re pretty committed to this whole ‘survey lady’ thing. But I’m not Matt, so good luck getting that pager number from me.”

“I’m not-” she groaned. “I was just trying to get Matt’s pager number for- !” She cuts herself off.

“For?” Chris said, the teasing in his voice softening just slightly. “Who?”

She grumbled, avoiding the question, embarrassed but not totally upset.

“Anyway, I think ‘Echo’ is perfect,” Chris teased, clearly enjoying the nickname. “You’re gonna have to try a little harder if you want Matt’s number. I’m not giving it up that easily.”

She sighed. “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe- ”

Chris interrupted, his voice taking on a more playful tone. “Yeah, well, Echo, you gotta live with it now.”

“Whatever,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “Just don’t tell Matt, please.”

“No promises. But hey, just call him as yourself next time,” Chris said mockingly. “No need to pretend to be a survey lady.”

She shook her head, laughing despite herself. “You’re being annoying, you know that?”

“I know.” Chris replied with a grin she could practically hear. 

She just shook her head, hanging up the phone and slamming it down with a little more force than necessary. “Echo,” she muttered, the ridiculousness of the whole thing sinking in. Her chest tightens as she leans against the machine.

The whole thing had been pointless and weird, but… something about it lingered. Maybe she was getting somewhere. Maybe.

thank u rose for the dividers ! @bernardsbendystraws

a/n: for the 4% of u that wanted this! reader finally gets a nickname

taglist: @snoopychris @chrissweetheart @sturnsrecord @sturns-mermaid @slxt4chriss @blushsturns comment to be added/removed from this au's taglist!

[polgarawolf1]

Honestly? He's also kind of a lazy writer. I mean, just off the top of my head, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, aside from completely misisng out on adding any richness or depth (or possible foreshadowing about what Skeevy Sheev might be up to) to the story by working in Sith alchemy, experimental cloning, Nightsister Dark Magicks, or anything at all truly interesting, he just . . . basically goes, "Somehow, Darth Maul survived." And we're supposed to just take that and believe he lives on rage alone, even though he's literally missing the majority of his digestive system (not to mention basically his body's ENTIRE waste management system), having been completely bisected by lightsaber at or slightly above the waist. He makes Ahsoka be assigned to Anakin as a Padawan instead of . . . oh, planning ahead so that someone else always has a claim on her and he's always going to end up losing her because her first Master is still alive, just recovering from something like, say, nearly being killed at Geonosis. That could have opened up SO MANY MORE storylines about the Jedi and how the Jedi Order functions (not to mention how the war might be changing things) - what Jedi do when Masters are too damaged to keep teaching their apprentices; what Jedi do about orphaned and virtually orphaned Padawans; and even, on the flip side, how Jedi generally treat Jedi who lose their Padawans (does the High Council automatically assign such a Jedi another apprentice? No? Why not? Or if not immediately, then when?) - and could've avoided the entire godsawful horrendous stereotypical "let's turn one of the widely seen as being Muslim-coded character into a terrorist" storyline with Barriss Offee, since, again, Anakin would always have to given Ahsoka back up to her original Master, once said original Master's considered fieldworthy again.

He's also lazy in that, instead of doing to work to show character motivations and to give them more/different motivations, he mostly just kills off female characters in order to force people to be sad and then to act out because of their grief and anger or else to add more "pathos" to the story (like it actually NEEDS more!). He fridges Mina Bonteri, Steela Gerrera, Jedi Initiate Kalifa, Jedi Master Adi Gallia, Jedi Master Tiplar, Teckla Minnau, and Satine Kryze (Duchess of Mandalore) in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (and he does kind of the same thing to Rush Clovis, too, arguably, though that's more to drive Padmé - who's basically informally on a break/separated from Anakin because of his behaviour towards Rush Clovis - back into Anakin's arms).

I can't speak much to other shows - I'm perpetually behind on seeing things because we couldn't get streaming even if we could afford it or wanted it. Plus, I just hate the animation design for Rebels - from what I'm given to understand from what I've seen online, though, his laziness as a writer is an ongoing issue. He has a bad habit of coming up with great characters but failing to follow through in any truly meaningful way on their backstories in regards to their cultures. There is SO MUCH we don't know about Mandalore, given how often Mandalore/Mandalorians come up in his shows, that it's not even funny.

Also, I want to sic George Lucas on him every single time the lying LIAR lies about the Jedi in general.

Hi Lumi. This year I’ve watched The Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, and Tales of the Jedi and I’m watching Ahsoka as episodes are released. But I feel like I’m missing some context as to why people are wary of Filoni. What things should I know so I’m caught up, so to speak, in the fandom discussions?

Hi! That's a lot of Star Wars to watch in a year, I hope you're having fun with it all! And I will gently remind everyone that Filoni is not the be-all-end-all of Star Wars creators--Henry Gilroy was there for TCW and Rebels, too. George Lucas was holding writers' meetings years after the show started (at least into 2010!). The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are far more Jon Favreau's shows. The Bad Batch is Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett. Resistance was developed by him, but was run by other producers. It's just that Filoni tends to get the most camera time and has become the face of Star Wars creators. That said, the issue with Filoni is kind of two-pronged, though, they overlap. 1. He's done a lot of interviews where he's said a lot of anti-Jedi things that have drifted from reasonable critiques in the beginning to eventually "Qui-Gon Jinn was the only true Jedi. [blatantly wrong citations]" This has put a lot of people off him as a creator, because we love the Jedi Order that Lucas talks about and established, which Filoni has actively contradicted over the years, despite being promoted as someone who follows Lucas' themes. And it's hard not to be aware of his interviews when watching his shows and it's hard to enjoy shows that do your faves dirty, you know? 2. His writing has become weaker over the years for a lot of us--Rebels is a show most of us love and found to be incredible. Many of us really love The Clone Wars, which he was heavily involved in/was probably the central voice after Lucas started phasing out. But his biggest story told over the course of those series--basically, the story of Mandalore's history and fall to the Empire--has been extremely thin for a lot of us. And a lot of us get frustrated at his inability to be objective when it comes to Ahsoka's character, that we love her as a character very much, but it hasn't felt like Filoni really knows what to do with her character arc and yet almost everything he writes is centered around her. His final season of The Clone Wars? Gave her the walkabout arc and the Siege of Mandalore arc, both of which often did not hold up well under scrutiny. His episode of The Book of Boba Fett? I actually really loved it, but it absolutely just stopped the pacing of that show to focus a lot on her. More on Luke, but he couldn't resist putting her in there, either. Tales of the Jedi was half devoted to Ahsoka and so much of it wasn't even about her time as a Jedi! We're frustrated because he doesn't set things up well anymore--Morgan Elsbeth is a Nightsister?? Why wasn't that established in The Mandalorian instead of pulling out randomly in Ahsoka? Why does Sabine Wren suddenly so badly want Jedi training, when they barely even had a conversation in Rebels?? There's a lot of good that Filoni has given to Star Wars, I think he genuinely cares about the Force and what it means--he's very consistent on how it's not easy and how it takes discipline and control, that he has been consistent on how anger and fear are paths to the dark side, even his episode of TBOBF had Ahsoka saying, yeah, attachment is a path to the dark side, because the Jedi mean "attachment" in a more Buddhist-aligned way. A lot of his writing for the character of Ahsoka is actually pretty good, like I've been enjoying her being a prickly, traumatized hot mess in the show! It's just that I kind of hate all the interviews he gives and I think he's a lot less objective than a lot of fans and media coverage that would hold him up as a perfect writer/interviewee about all things Star Wars, and it all comes together to make him kind of a hot-button topic.

So, a lot of people LOVE Filoni's work, a lot of people are frustrated by it, a lot of people are casually fine about it, a lot of people HATE Filoni's work and it can be a fun mix of any of the above or even other issues that come up. (And that's all fine! I have my views on Filoni's work, but it's fine if others hate it more than I do or love it more than I do, there's room for us all, all of it is valid.)

But I think if you want to understand some of the roots of this corner of fandom's frustration, two (admittedly long as heck) homework assignment reads would be:

- My own rebuttal to Dave's behind the scenes Mandalorian Gallery talk (this is jokingly referred to as "Davegate" because I refused to take it too seriously) - @david-talks-sw's collection of comparisons between Lucas' commentary on the Jedi and Filoni's commentary on the Jedi

This response itself is more focused on laying out the problems a lot of people have with Filoni's writing, but also honestly I still have my giant collection of Jedi source material citations that quotes his commentary, I still bring up Filoni's quotes in current meta a lot, I still talk positively about the things I enjoy from his shows, so overall there's equal amounts of both praise and criticism here. So, as short as I can make it (which isn't very, shut up, I know! XD), that's basically what people mean when they say they're wary of Filoni.

[socra-time]

Socra’s Naruto Liveblog, Ep. 111-120:

Also known as “Socra grows progressively distressed as everyone gets the shit beaten out of them”

Ep 111:

-noooo Sasuke don’t take the unknown drugs these cult-y strangers are offering you-

-I liked that Orochimaru’s theme came in when Sasuke took the pill

-so like if the squad didn’t happen to include Kiba and Akamaru, how would they have tracked Sasuke? I guess Neji can track to a certain extent, but his tracking is more limited by range… in conclusion Akamaru is the squad MVP

-Shikamaru hanging onto Choji’s scarf for balance when he stopped Naruto from triggering the tripwire was funny

-I can’t believe Orochimaru’s goons are just lugging Sasuke around in a barrel

-I don’t believe Shikamaru would let himself get thwarted so easily so I feel like getting caught was part of his plan somehow?

Ep 112:

-so I get that Kiba’s attack doesn’t break the dome’s wall and shows that the dome regenerates, but couldn’t Naruto just try smacking it with a rasengan (aka the single strongest jutsu any of them have)? I feel like that could do some insane damage at least

-this is so random but istg if anything happens to Akamaru on this mission I’m gonna riot

-oh now Naruto doesn’t have enough energy for the rasengan. Almost like he should’ve tried it earlier…

-honestly these last couple episodes have made me like Choji a lot more. He’s chill, even though I think his human boulder attack looks stupid

-also I like Shikamaru and Choji’s relationship a lot

-Shikamaru and Neji are really holding all the braincells in this group lol

Ep 113:

-Naruto and Kiba highkey share a braincell (aka they’re both dumbasses)

-a lot of this fight animation is really wonky so far. I’m guessing they’re saving the better quality stuff for the more important fights

-oh shit Choji’s getting serious

-I actually quite like Choji’s dub voice when he’s speaking more softly

-Choji really pulled a Popeye by taking a spinach pill and getting stronger

-I’m sorry Choji I was unfamiliar with your game

-lmao I spotted an animation error where Kiba’s face markings disappeared for one scene

-as much as Choji has grown on me recently I will never think his ball attack looks good

-aw Shikamaru is a good friend

Ep 114:

-bruh why does this episode title make it seem like Choji’s gonna die

-Jirobo is so mean for no reason. Like yeah I know you’re gonna kill the kid but you don’t have to be such an ASSHOLE about it

-man between Choji, Sakura, and Naruto’s backstories, why do Konoha kids suck so much

-awwwwwww poor Choji he just wanted to be included :((((

-the scene of little Choji helping a butterfly caught in a web was such a good little character moment

-given how intertwined their clans are, I wouldn’t think that Shikamaru and Choji only met when they were like 5 (they don’t necessarily have to be close just because their dads and clans are, but you’d think they’d at least KNOW OF each other). I’d personally headcanon they were introduced basically as babies

-aw little Choji and Shikamaru are so cute, my hearttttt 😭

-skinny Choji is kinda uncanny-looking

-I love how defensive Choji is over Shikamaru and how seriously he takes someone insulting Shikamaru

-GOOD JOB CHOJI but also omg pls rest

-(also, assuming that Jirobo is dead, I’m pretty sure this makes Choji the first of the Konoha kids to kill someone onscreen)

-the voice acting of Choji’s pained gasping as he tries to follow the others and then as he starts crying and reads the messages the others left for him was so good, I literally almost cried

-god this arc has done wonders for Choji’s character and we stan

-NOOOO CHOJI (I know he doesn’t die obviously but still, goddamn)

-god the whole last part of that episode was really good. Honestly this episode in general is one of my favorites so far

Ep 115:

-whyyyy does spider guy (Spiderman, if you will) have six arms????? Like I still need to know what his and two-headed guy’s deal is

-the sticky spiderweb sounds are kinda uncomfy, it’s like gross ASMR

-ayyyy Neji to the rescue!

-Neji acknowledging Naruto and saying “sometimes your eyes are even better than mine” was nice and a good subtle nod to how their fight in the chunin exams helped Neji

-anyways I still don’t know spider dude’s name so I’m just gonna refer to him as Spiderman

Ep 116:

-GET HIS ASS NEJI

-damn Spiderman copied Gaara’s sand shield defense

-idk why but it’s interesting to me that one of Neji’s biggest moves is a defensive one

-“what kind of a freak is this guy?” says the dude with six arms and metal-emitting sweat glands

-EW OMG THERE’S SO MANY SPIDERS

-yeah no if I were Neji I would have run away from this fight screaming

-I like how shook Spiderman is by Neji’s abilities. Compared to Choji’s fight, this fight holds far less emotional weight, but it does a good job of showing off Neji’s strength as a prodigy

-this is so stupid but the pose Neji fell over in reminded me of the Family Guy death pose 💀

-damn Neji’s hair slays

-oh Spiderman’s name is Kidomaru. I’m still gonna call him Spiderman tho.

-okay Spiderman’s second stage form is pretty cool

Ep 117:

-jesus Neji is going through it

-I wonder if the squad’s headbands getting knocked off is gonna be a recurring thing in these battles

-damn I gotta give it to Spiderman, he does have incredible aim

-oh my godddddd Neji got fucking impaled. Istg these fights are doing horrible things to my poor heart

-welp rip Spiderman

-it’s heartbreaking seeing Naruto and Kiba still think Choji is coming while Shikamaru knows he’s probably dead

-POP OFF NEJI

-hm this fight was nice and all but it definitely didn’t hit the same emotional beats Choji’s fight did

-literally every fight Neji’s in makes me sad tho because of what I know happens to him. Ahhhhhhhhh I hate it here.

-also I just thought about how Neji took a BEATING from Spiderman but somehow got taken out by one punch from Naruto in the chunin exams lmao

-this is a much less convincing fake-out death than Choji’s but also awww poor Neji I wanna give him a hug (actually I think I wanna give all of the squad a hug after this tbh)

-I bet people were losing their shit over these fights back when the show was airing on TV and the squad’s fates were left unresolved

Ep 118:

-I like the way Akamaru’s ears flap when Kiba runs

-I hate Tayuya’s weird headpiece thing

-jesus Orochimaru is going through it

-also I don’t think I’ve said this before but Orochimaru’s dub voice is great

-every time I see Kabuto I instinctively start feeling annoyed, even when he hasn’t even started talking. So yeah fuck Kabuto all my homies hate Kabuto

-hearing Kimimaro refer to Kabuto as “Kabuto-Sensei” was so weird

-wow Kimimaro has only had like a minute of screentime and he’s already contemplating his purpose in life

-OOH Orochimaru’s theme abruptly starting when he revealed his face to his new vessel was so good, it jumpscared me a little tbh

-I’m getting the feeling that Kabuto WANTS Orochimaru to use him as a vessel and I’m not sure why he’d want that. Idk maybe I’m reading into things too much

-Kiba doing his drill attack straight through Naruto’s shadow clone was cool. Hooray for teamwork lol

-also Shikamaru using shadow possession to make Tayuya get in Sakon’s way was clever, I hadn’t thought about that kind of application of his powers before

-my horrible confession is that half the time when I hear “Sakon” I immediately think “Sakon deez nuts”. I hate this for myself :/

Ep 119:

- Akamaru setting off bombs was unintentionally kinda hilarious (he looked so smug about it too)

-NOOOO DON’T YOU DARE HURT AKAMARU

-welp Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakon are dead I guess (I know they aren’t but how the fuck do they survive that giant fall)

-I know it was supposed to be badass but Kimimaro dropping down behind Naruto and Shikamaru was kinda funny to me

-I like Kimimaro’s hair beads and makeup. He’s creepy tho

-I kinda hate her design but I do have to give Tayuya props for being more of a loud/brash character. This show could use more rowdy girls

-oh shit Naruto’s looking pretty feral

-I love how Tayuya summons a bunch of giant demonic-looking dudes and Shikamaru is just nonchalantly like “oh well that’s not good.”

Ep 120:

-since Orochimaru’s goons are from the SOUND village, I wish more of them had sound motifs and powers. The only people with sound-based fighting styles are Tayuya and that girl from the chunin exams

-okay Sakon’s powers are really fucking disturbing

-aw Akamaru jumped in front of Kiba to protect him despite being tiny, he’s such a good boy<3

-ah hell yeah dog piss jutsu

-BIG DOGGO

-wow okay so Kiba and Akamaru just RIPPED A DUDE IN HALF

-dog piss jutsu strikes again. Ngl if a dog peed directly in my eyes I’d be pretty upset about it too

-STOP HURTING AKAMARU HE’S JUST A LIL GUY

-okay so I said that the twins’ powers were disturbing before but OH MY GOD THEY FUCKING TAKE OVER PEOPLE’S BODIES WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKKKKKKKKKK (it reminds me of that one fungus that slowly takes over the bodies of insects, which I’ve always found super disturbing and scary)

-so yeah I know Kiba isn’t going to die, but if he did, that would be an absolutely horrifying way to go out

-Neji and Choji’s “deaths” both had flashback sequences, but they actually made sense and were (mostly) short enough to not distract from the moment. On the other hand, the flashback sequence of Kiba and Akamaru was sooooooooooooooooooo unnecessarily long and annoying. Like we really didn’t need to see the whole fucking Kiba vs Naruto fight again

-congrats to Kiba for somehow having the most hardcore moment in this whole arc so far. Like bro STABBED himself in the stomach and was like “time for you to die” while fucking GRINNING? Kind of iconic I fear

[the-stove-is-divorced]

Glad we both enjoy hating omg.

AND YES! Istg the second that video dropped I watched it eagerly, I am such a Batman fan, ugh, if you're ever interested in him specifically, I'd heavily recommend Batman Animated Series, yearnful sigh. I miss when he's written well. And thank you! I appreciate this, I'm bound for a rewatch of this video, hehehe.

NO FR? Istg one of my BIGGEST pet peeves for lazy ass shipping is when OTHER characters have to comment on the relationship, as if it is in any way, shape, or form been properly conveyed as obvious to the audience. IT'S SO LAZY RAHHHHHH. Like you might as while have everyone calling them a couple and them blushing and saying NUH UH, and then never proceed to actually write them interested in each other, outside of predictable, boring commentary, WHICH IS OUT OF LEFT FIELD.

Rex and Eve are legit sm more interesting since they're supposed to be friends for years, then got together, and went through the same shit together. I'd legit rather than them than this. Why did Rex cheat? Why not explore any of these dynamics? Did Kate feel sidelined so she believed Eve and Rex were on a break? How shaky was their relationship?

Get this man in ethics, philosophy, therapy, and pysche classes istg. He truly needs college istg, bro needs education and awarenes. I do not believe he thought he actually thought of Eve, out of anything but guilt, if at ALL. This show feels like it's ACTIVELY trying to lie to me and it's not even doing it WELL? HELLO?

The villain opening was so dumb to me istg. Cecil's stuff I get why, but when it went back to why and justified why Cecil did what he did I wanted to roll my eyes. Like. I can assume why. I don't really need to see why. they're useful, and there's an unspoken GoG absence, yes? I get why Mark is opposed, sure, whatever. Can we use this time for anything else? If this show had more episodes and took things s l o w e r for once, it'd be more fitting to me. Otherwise? I don't care. Speaking of Oliver, they way he's better at fighting than Mark, like this is embarrassing. Mark lock in. Mark do better. Mark why is a child showing you up. WHY ARE EXPLICITLY SHOWN MARK IMPROVING AND THEN HE ACTS JUST AS SUCCESSFUL AS S1? HELLO?

I thought the fight against the underground monsters would be a great opportunity for him to be particularly lethal, like Omni-Man and actually show off some proper skills, and introduce Darkwing + Robots helping heros escape while he's distracted. Still can have Mark freak out, but people get reminded whose son he is. Casually shake off blood. Which we get later on (I wish it was cooler so bad, it's still my fav but with a hint of begrudging admittance), but I say why can't we have more feral Mark scenes? Why stop at one battle parallel with Nolan? Have him particularly lethal with monsters since he'll freak out over people, thinking of Angstrom! Let him mimic Nolan's efficiency and like casually dive through a monster's brain. Him freaking out when someone he cares about gets hurt is so dull to me, also? Did the venom work from the centipede????

GoG's breakup was truly so funny because none of these mfs have been meaningfully explored enough to make me shaken up that they're breaking up, or what that even means because their hero ecosystem isn't explored either! What's the stakes here? I don't get to see more dynamics I never got to see? I'm truly heart broken. Oh no. Also Immortal stay annoying me because bro truly invited himself, told everybody to stfu and get out to a team he decided he'd join back up again, and you're so correct he'd make a mf grovel to get back? Immortal don't be insufferable challenge.

Nolan being endeared to her because she's not afraid makes too much sense, omg. He's so baffled he's enraptured, and Debbie truly thinks he is not special for being capable of killing him, people could die randomly, asshole, get in line. I'd love to see how they got together if the show had time, and the potential dynamics from a "take no shit" Debbie and still learning about humanity, and flirting, Nolan.

REAL ASF THO. Like Invincible could be SO far if it was good. Shows where I'm already invested after it outright refuses to live up to it's potential are like catnip to me, I cannot shut up about it. I'm infuriated and enraptured and endeared. Begging everyone to watch this show, no I don't think it's incredible, watch it all anyway.

Please write the mentor Cecil fic of my dreams, if I can get some oneshots done I'd love to write it myself if I can think of some scenes. There's something so interesting about Cecil becoming an incidental (perhaps Mark opens up and Cecil Realizes: Oh, I can Use This) and then intentional mentor figure, (or again Mark insisting he needs to earn Immortal's approval to prove he's not his Dad fr). Like? Thefun extra wound of betrayal if Cecil still uses the whole scream thing! Maybe Robot/Rudy does a scan of him and finds it, and Mark has to conceptualize what it's for, or it's outright used to against him. I believe in Mark being put through the emotional ringer. Dad issues AND Dad-like mentor issues. Stack 'em.

GDA not have any contingencies or hidden plans is so baffling, like aren't you a paranoid department dealing with something as unstable and dangerous as supes? LIKE NO MEDICAL CHECK UP IS INSANE. Purposeful ignorance is so funny omg, they're actively make it difficult for them to pursue education lmao. But the way I would think they'd make Mark + Oliver binge every morality debate, philosophy, even skeezy therapy where the therapist is just snitching to what their mental states actually are. Enforcing Mark to understand how to fight mentally, and not following the same colonizer BS mindset. GIVE ME PARANOID GDA THINGS. Like if Mark went to college, does GDA have agent pretend to be a student to follow him?

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

[duncanor]

Would it be okay if I told off someone for making a joke I find out of line on my own post? probably because they were misinformed on the context of said joke...?

[backpackingspace]

Odysseus: demanding Athena take off whatever enchantment she put on him the second the situation ends.

Odysseus: who constantly reminds Athena that he has great plans to grow old and die with his wife so don't even think about getting any ideas.

Odysseus: side eye diomedes who has started fucking glowing he has so many enchantments on him: bro you should talk to Athena about getting those removed. You're going to end up immortal or some shit

Diomedes: who has been a solider since he was 5 who has intersting thoughts about his own personhood who has a much more traditional relationship with Athena and would rather literally stab his own eye out with a rusted sword than speak out of turn: I don't know what you're talking about

[jackoshadows]

Sansa is a fucking weirdo anyway for mocking a little girl even if she was ugly. And honestly, in most other fandoms bullying would be rightly criticized but in some fandoms bullies are 'good', bullying is normal and older sisters bully their younger siblings all the time!

I do think we have to be very careful when throwing around certain words in this entire discussion surrounding Arya.

Being non-conforming is normal. Being ugly is normal. Our imperfections are normal. People have crooked teeth or a long face and all that is normal. Getting teeth fixed to look perfect is what is abnormal. Getting plastic surgery, botox, fillers etc is what is abnormal.

All this 'beautiful' and 'ugly' are just subjective labels anyways applied to what we find attractive in another person.

We get examples of this in the books!

At a lord's court the girl would never have been considered anything but common, he knew. She had a round peasant face, a pug nose, and slightly crooked teeth, and her eyes were too far apart. Jon had noticed all that the first time he'd seen her, when his dirk had been at her throat. Lately, though, he was noticing some other things. When she grinned, the crooked teeth didn't seem to matter. And maybe her eyes were too far apart, but they were a pretty blue-grey color, and lively as any eyes he knew.

Sansa would have bullied Ygritte as ugly and Jon points out that someone who looked like Ygritte would be treated as 'common' at a Lord's court.

Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon's mother had been common, or so people whispered.

In Westeros - as in the real world - there's a lot of classism mixed with beauty standards.

What is wrong with Ygritte? She is perfectly fine! I think as described she is pretty. For Jon her smile is beautiful, her eyes lively. Who cares what the mean girls like Sansa think. Especially when we see the result of this mockery on characters like Arya, Brienne and Tyrion.

Calling someone ugly says more about Sansa then it does about Arya. It tells me nothing about Arya. I don't learn anything about Arya from what a bully mocks her for. But I do learn what type of character Sansa is for doing that.

That's what's funny about all this. There is no analysis on Sansa's vanity, on how Sansa giving importance to perfection in looks and beauty and how that defines her character arc in AGoT leads to her betraying her own family for love of Joffrey.

Where she sees evil right in front of her and ignores it because 'Joffrey was too beautiful to hate'. When Tyriongirl talks about equating beauty to good looks her favorite character Sansa is right there! Where is all this analysis for Sansa from Tyriongirl?

Instead Sansa stans are more bothered that Arya fans actually consider the book canon that Arya is pretty.

I think that's the worst part of Sansa stans making posts of how Arya has to be 'ugly' and trying to equate it to good and evil and internalized misogyny and the patriarchy and all that. They should look in the mirror because this pretty much exactly what they do.

Given how much they stan for Sansa and justify mean spirited bullying in the name of 'It's just sisters being sisters!' and 'I am a feminist and love all female characters THE SAME!' and 'Stark Sisters foreva!' they don't care one bit about real people who have been mocked and bullied for their appearance and have low self-esteem issues because of all this. They don't care one bit about ugly representation. Honestly that whole post which set this thing off is mind boggling in it's lack of self awareness, hypocrisy and irony.

For me personally the 'Ugly' discourse around Arya revolves mainly around two factors:

The entrenched fandom racism where Arya is drawn a certain way - often to contrast with Sansa - because she is perceived to be not as good looking as Sansa and in effect using ethnicity to highlight attractiveness despite both characters being written as white Caucasians.

Arya is canonically called pretty by characters in the books.

And this is what I always call out in any discourse around this topic.

Sansa stans insist that Arya is ugly because they think that if Arya truly is disgusting-looking, then Sansa’s bullying was justified. If Arya is just a normal and/or pretty girl (like she is in canon), then it’s exposes that Sansa was a fucking weirdo for mocking her for years. They are living their Regina George fantasy through this character

[teplejtrouba]

a detective who has a partner🔍 and a partner💕 who are friends so the three of them end up doing a lof things together and the detective refers to them as "my partners" and doesn't realise this makes everyone think they're polyamorous (they do end up polyamorous by the end of the story)

[ryllen]

"I decided it's my break day today, Oh coincidentally, I'm gonna sit here, and watch you work." also it's too cute how Nemo just came run at me whenever i sat on a bench