#TIMES THAT ARE NOT SUPPORTED OR LIKELY EVEN READ PASSIVELY BECAUSE NO ONE WAS RESCUED FROM THEM

[technologywrite]

ANALYSIS OR RECORDING AVOIDED TO REDUCE USE OF TAPE MEMORY SYSTEMS THAT CANNOT BE UPGRADED OR HAVE THEIR MEDIA REPLACED

[kiragecko]

Passing the Mantle

A guide to how various Bat-characters took on codenames, and what the reaction was.

Batman

Clark: wears the costume when Bruce needs a duplicate, fill-in, or alibi. Everyone is fine with this, except MAYBE Selina? I think she's been annoyed, occasionally.

Jean-Paul: given the job while Bruce was recovering from having his back broken. Excited and intimidated. Bruce, Alfred, Tim, and Babs were supportive. Dick was offended that he hadn't been the first choice. (Bruce was TRYING to respect his son's independence!) Selina WAS NOT IMPRESSED.

Dick: given the job after Jean-Paul got stripped of the title for being too violent. Relieved, proud, and insecure. Bruce was apologetic. Tim was SO RELIEVED and spent all his time telling Dick how great he was.

Took the job a second time after Bruce's 'death'. Tried VERY hard not to. Jason fought him for the title. Alfred was quite passive-aggressive while trying to guilt him into taking it. Tim risked his own life trying to convince him it was necessary, and then was IMMEDIATELY crushed when he found out it wasn't going to be 'Batman and Robin, Brothers Extraordinaire' again. Damian was dismissive.

Helena: took the job during No Man's Land. Bruce had been out of Gotham for a long time, trying to lobby the government to reverse their decision of abandoning Gotham. Helena realized that Gotham needed Batman. So she put on the costume and started spray-painting batlogos everywhere, reminding people that there's hope. This was effective! The rest of the bats picked up her tactics! But they had NO grace for her. They kept calling her Batgirl, even though she corrected them. (She was going by 'The Bat', and was NOT modelling herself after Batgirl.) Babs was really mean about Helena 'stealing her costume'. Bruce accepted her at first, but fired her the first time she got too violent. Everyone else was ... ugh. She leaves hurt and angry. I don't blame her.

Jason: took the job after Bruce 'died'. No one liked this. Tim put on a Batsuit to fight him (as part of his complicated 'get Dick back in the costume' plan). Dick fought him (as part of his 'save Tim's life' plan.) Damian mocked him. (But Damian mocked everyone.)

Tim: put on the costume after Bruce 'died', but just to annoy Jason and convict Dick. Jason was appropriately annoyed, Dick was appropriately convicted. Damian mocked him, though I'm not sure if it was about the costume.

Damian: wore a trenchcoat version of the Batman costume to patrol with Titus once when Bruce wasn't around. Everyone who saw agreed that it was adorable. HE thought he looked very grown up and intimidating.

We're not doing possible futures, but Tim has a LOT of opinions about his possible future version being Batman! He would rather die than have that happen! Most of the others have also seen themselves as future Batmen, and have complicated feelings about how that went.

Robin

Jason: pre-Crisis briefly mentioned becoming Robin, got shut down HARD by Bruce, since it wasn't his name. Spent several issues trying to find a new codename, and then was overjoyed and honoured when Dick offered him Robin. Bruce was proud.

Post-Crisis he was given Robin by Bruce. Precise events change for every retelling. Dick didn't know, was briefly hurt, but usually ended the story by symbolically giving him the name again. Bruce and Alfred could be ... hard to read in several versions.

Tim: tried to convince Dick to become Robin again, because Bruce was not thinking or fighting well. When that failed, he hoped desperately that Nightwing's help would be enough, and was oblivious to Alfred's pointed comments about people becoming Robin, or his extended dusting of the Robin case. Eventually, figured out Two-Face's plan, realized that Batman and Nightwing were walking into a trap, and Alfred stopped trying to by subtle. Dick was approving after Tim rescued him and Bruce. Bruce was VERY disapproving, and it took Alfred, Dick, AND Tim ganging up on him for him to grudgingly accept Tim's application.

Both Jason and Damian would later have issues with Tim being Robin. Jason's are way less than fandom suggest, though. He thinks that teen vigilantes are a bad idea, but doesn't really blame THEM for that. (Even if his attempts to win them over are usually violent and ... poorly concieved.) He wants to make sure his successor is good enough, and after their fight at Titans Tower, is convinced and fine with Tim. Damian just thinks that there can only be one heir, and he's desperate for it to be him.

Steph: took the job after Tim was forced by his dad to retire. Bruce was amused, and seemed to enjoy her company, but never really took her seriously. He was at least partially using her to get back at Tim. Alfred was disapproving. Tim was hurt, especially about her not taking his calls. Babs had reservations, but accepted her and tried to be supportive. Cass tried even HARDER to be supportive, but her standards are even higher than Bruce's, and she thought Steph wasn't good enough to be a vigilante.

Damian: given the job in a desperate attempt by Dick to find SOME type of authority that Damian would respect. It worked. Dick was frustrated at first, but quickly fell in love with the kid and becomes SO SO proud of him. Tim was hurt, but more than that, he was desperate. The house of cards his mental health was resting on REQUIRED Tim getting to be Dick's Robin. He was holding on by a thread! Jason ... Jason had opinions! But they were Grant Morrison Jason opinions, so I don't understand them. Steph was fine with him being Robin. Alfred ... approved of Dick's choice, as far as I can tell? He doesn't seem to approve of DAMIAN for a while, but he approved of Dick's decision to make him Robin!

Bruce, when he returns, disapproved. He accepted the decision, but seemingly grudgingly.

Batgirl

Helena: see above. She WAS NOT Batgirl!

Cass: given the job by Babs after helping the older woman as a messenger, and saving Babs' dad. You guys, Babs gave her HELENA'S costume! Not her own, Helena's. So, Helena was hurt, not that we see much of her reaction. Jean-Paul was really accepting and great. Steph and Tim were intimidated and a bit scared of her, but got slowly won over. Dick was surprised that Babs was letting someone stay with her, and sharing the legacy she's so protective of. Babs does not open up easily or well. It made him a bit cautious about the situation. Bruce was ... projecting a LOT onto Cass, and wilfully ignorant, and very approving because of it? Alfred was mostly focused on enabling Bruce, with Cass' happiness coming in second.

Steph: given the costume by Cass, after Bruce's 'death'. Cass was JUST adopted before Bruce died (the issues actually come out after his death) and was recovering from being brainwashed by her birth father. She needed to leave the city. Steph was trying to figure out how to reinvent herself into someone she could live with. (She had just got Tim blown up after Bruce asked her to help him make Tim more paranoid. Well, 'train him' was the euphemism used. And she'd only been back in the city after her faked death for a few months.) Tim was very hesitant about the idea, and kinda patronizing. Babs disapproved, but tried to do better at supporting other women than she had in the past. Damian mocked her ... but was also willing to work with her? Which is pretty high praise from Damian! Dick was awful, at first.

Nightwing

Dick: copied the name from a Kryptonian legend Clark had told him. 'Uncle' Clark supported him through his post-Robin confusion in at least one version of this period. (Doylist explanation: DC probably wanted to keep the copyright on the name without writing more Superman-in-Kandor stories.)

Jason: moved to New York and started being Nightwing shortly after Dick and Tim got off their year-long cruise 'with Bruce'. (Bruce abandoned them to go sit in a cave.) I BELIEVE Jason knew Dick was there and was trying to annoy him, but it's possible Jason just wanted to see if he could do it? Dick disapproved strongly, and there was fighting. And then Jason turned into a tentacle monster and I will never shut up about this.

Red Robin

Jason: given it by alternate reality Bruce, who had designed the costume for HIS son before that Jason died. Jason wore it for 2 issues, and then threw it in a dumpster, unable to deal with the emotions. That Bruce was proud and sad. Nobody else knew, until:

Tim: wore the costume to protect his neck after Ulysses Armstrong and Steph got him blown up. Tim had a bunch of burns that he needed to keep covered. (Ulysses had found it in the dumpster. Jason was slightly angry, but mostly distressed, when he saw Ulysses wearing the suit. Tim notably does NOT give it back to Jason after he retrieves it from the about-to-explode warehouse.) Slightly later, took on the codename after Dick's attempt to ask Tim to hand Robin down to Damian was interrupted by Damian being an obnoxious brat. Dick was worried and desperate to keep Tim from leaving. Steph was worried. Cassie was worried. Damian seemed relieved, to me, under the mocking. Cass was happy for him (he's in a better place by the time she sees him.) We don't see Jason's reaction, but I doubt it was good.

(Doylist explanation for both: Dick had the name and costume in Kingdom Come, an influential alternate future story, and the art in that series was REALLY pretty. Everyone wants to reference it. So they found an excuse.)

Drake

Tim: copied it from an evil alternate reality version of himself. Why? I am uncertain, even after hearing his reasoning. Bart and Kon switched from approving and thinking it was cool, to mocking him, once DC saw fans' reactions.

Redbird

Damian: he isn't actually referencing Tim's Robin-mobile. It isn't a legacy name. But I find it really funny to imagine he is, so I'm including it anyways!

[doomerpatrol]

Comic Log: Daredevil by Ed Brubaker

Unfortunately, I think Brubaker's usual strengths of character-driven intrigue and grimy street conspiracies don't really show up in this book, which has a few problems. The first is that it is structurally obnoxious, hitting the exact same ideas over and over without actual escalation or innovation. The second is that those beats themselves are frequently contrived, sexist, and unflattering to the main character in a way that is devoid of meaning.

Brubaker's run follows from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's work on the title which saw Daredevil put on the ropes primarily by the exposure of his secret identity in public newspapers, culminating in his arrest and incarceration for vigilantism. The first two arcs of Brubaker and Lark's run, The Devil in Cell Block D and The Devil Takes a Ride, are the strongest. The first sees Matt Murdock pushed to a breaking point of moral compromise, before erupting in a very clever escape from jail. I really like the involvement of the Punisher and Kingpin here. This wraps up the cliffhanger conclusion of Bendis's arc where Matt is sent to prison.

I think the latter arc, where Matt swashbuckles through Europe, is slightly weaker because Matt plays a very passive role - he mainly reacts to the machinations of others rather than advancing his own interests or goals, and at the end he makes a genuinely hard and impressive moral decision which ends up having zero consequence in either direction. But there's still a real resolution to the emotional conflicts he'd been dealing with since Bendis's run, making it a pretty necessary button on that era.

The following arcs (To the Devil His Due and Without Fear) are really where I think things go wrong. The central problem is a lack of interesting character choices. That passivity I identified above continues throughout much of the middle chunk of the run. Somehow Daredevil had more agency while he was in prison.

Back to the point: the series just recovered some level of normalcy, set up a new status quo, and then immediately devolves back into the exact same spiral Bendis already portrayed. But now instead of Matt being an actor in that spiral - trying to resist it, sometimes making it worse, sometimes throwing an unexpected or valiant wrench in it - he is just the recipient of misery, his endurance slowly worn down, never making better choices or even trying to do so, constantly taken by surprise by duplicity and factional maneuvering that he should have anticipated. His internal monologue becomes an unending torrent of "woe-is-me, would that I were not a superhero, all my loved ones keep getting shot because of me, I am the most put upon." It is extremely exhausting to read. There is a brief arc where he takes some initiative and helps prevent an innocent man from getting executed, which is fine, but it's also just a less poignant version of David Hine and Michael Gaydos' genuinely excellent Daredevil: Redemption miniseries.

Brubaker also has a tendency here to treat female characters as incidental objects in the lives of male leads rather than substantive characters. Daredevil's wife Milla Donovan (already not my favorite) is reduced to a pawn bounced around between Daredevil and his enemies rather than an agent, and then gets shunted into an asylum in a totally deflating, pointless storyline. (Which just kicks off an even more pointless storyline of a custody battle between the woman's parents and Matt that I think is extremely tasteless.) Dakota North is a big old nothingburger that seems to be here because Jessica Jones was unavailable, going from an adequate supporting player that moves plots along, to another damsel for Matt to rescue with over-the-top violence. Lily, a superfluous character from the second arc, gets brought back...and then just completely falls out of the narrative after getting crazy amounts of page-time hinting at some sort of meaningful emotional arc for her.

Additionally, the antagonists in this middle section are not well-used. I'm sort of unclear about Vanessa Fisk's motivations, but I can accept them as the bitter drama of a dying woman. Then we have Melvin Potter, the Gladiator, in what is essentially a five-issue red herring that I found irritating. A pattern of "well, that was kind of pointless" is starting to form at this point.

Gladiator is followed by Mr. Fear, who is quite possibly one of the least interesting antagonists I've ever read in a cape comic. His motivations are completely unelaborated upon other than like "Bugs Bunny fucking with the opera singer," his plan is stupid, his abilities are handwaved, and the resolution of his place in the story is extremely gross (and, again, misogynist). Totally vapid. Finally, while I think Lady Bullseye's whole "look" and vibe is superficially cool, in practice she is just a lesser version of a preexisting character whose motivations and decision-making are hazily defined.

The overarching problem of the majority of this run is that Brubaker keeps hammering on the exact same themes that the series had already explored in more complex ways under Miller and Bendis, that being "the costs of Matt Murdock's crusade". It all just becomes cyclical and repetitive, and not in a way that gives that cycle any greater meaning. It is particularly egregious because we see Matt engaged in some of his worst behavior - including torture - and, compared to the devastation and complete uprooting of his life as in Frank Miller's "Born Again" or Bendis's run, there's very little motivation behind his outbursts. Okay, so his wife/girlfriend/best friend is in danger - they've all been in danger like eighty times in the last year. At a certain point you have to start making different decisions. This character is not supposed to be stupid - his tactical intelligence is a central trait.

The series recovers its footing somewhat in the final stretch because, while the shit keeps hammering down on Matt, he at least starts taking action again - apparently he needs Kingpin around in order to be motivated. So, yeah, unfortunately this was a huge disappointment! I like Brubaker, and the Bendis run is an all-timer, so I thought this would have the juice.

[pandp-author]

As someone who likes Rhea, it feels as though I have to work with scraps and what the writers *tried* to do, rather than what they accomplished, which is not much.

One such example is her told but not shown relationship with Cyril--you could apply this to anyone she's close to but let's focus here. Rhea rescued Cyril from slavery from the Goneril's and gave him a home in Garreg Mach, showing Rhea's compassion and kindness for others, something she will do again for the survivors of Remire. To show his gratitude, Cyril decides to do odd jobs at Garreg Mach, something Rhea not only doesn't oppose, but enables, as she gives him tasks herself. We are meant to see this as Rhea humoring him, as whenever Cyril is tired because he's doing too much it's because he's giving himself more tasks to do. We can analyze *why* Cyril feels this way, but the issue here is that Rhea doesn't stop him.

We can explain away why, such as the fact that Rhea and Cyril don't have a support together that may explain their dynamic (its ups and downs) but the fact is that they don't even get monastery dialogue, or a cutscene or anything! Explaining that it's because of time constraints/budget or whatever doesn't take away the fact that Rhea looks as though she doesn't pay Cyril that much mind because she's never shown to reach out to him. Rhea's inaction says just as much as her actions. It's all told from Cyril's perspective and it's abundantly clear he's viewing her through rose tinted glasses.

On top of looking like Rhea doesn't mind that Cyril is overworking himself (which I'm certain it's not what the writers wanted to convey) She doesn't know he can't read. It doesn't matter that Cyril explains that he's been actively keeping it a secret to everyone (except Mercedes for some reason) It does not look good on Rhea (or Shamir or Byleth, for that matter) that he's gone long enough not knowing how to write and read and that Lysithea had to practically ambush him to get him to learn.

Cyril has potential, and he's not going to reach him because he's limiting himself, because of his attachment to Rhea. She should've told him that he can have a future, a life, outside of her and that "leaving" her behind wouldn't have made her mad or hurt in the slightest, she would've been happy for him. Instead, it's Seteth who has to step in and tell him as much, which doesn't help the image of the relationship between Rhea and Cyril.

And Rhea's problems with Cyril can be extrapolated to other aspects of her character. Rhea doesn't... seem to do much of anything. Which maybe was part of the point, I've said before that Rhea's real problem is her passivity, but that still can hurt her image as a sympathetic character, and she's meant to be one, Silver Snow saying as much.

It's like the second time I've said it but still it's funny how i regularly defend characters i have a negative opinion for. Namely Dimitri and Rhea.

I'll say this if the grievances i had with them didn't exist they actually would've been one of my favorite 3h characters.

[lupinusalbus]

What did you think of Kit’s Freudian comment at the con? I’ve seen people dismiss it as a thoughtless statement and others say it means he thinks Jon’s previous romantic relationships are abusive. How did you take it?

It’s a very complex question. One of the things that immediately struck me about Kit Harington’s comments was that he was speaking about the characters of Ygritte and Dany in a different context than what I often see written about them on Tumblr. What I mean to say is that Kit accepts both of these women as having been in "love" relationships with Jon Snow, in the sense that Kit thinks that Jon really loved them. During a different question from the one where the reference to Freud came up, Kit said that Jon loved Dany “fiercely”, but then she “turns a corner”, necessitating that Jon kill her. So Kit seems to accept that Jon loved both of them.

As Kit also said during the Q&A sessions, Jon is not a modern man. Because of the cultural context of Westeros, I don’t think Jon ultimately viewed Ygritte as a sexual abuser, as we might very well see their relationship by today’s standards, or in "meta" readings of their relationship. Yet, because of Jon’s youth and personality, and also his status as a kind of spy among the Wildlings, he is definitely the less assertive partner. Kit seems to be saying that there is something about Jon that causes him to be attracted to a “dominant” woman like Ygritte. The reference to Freud means that he is somehow tracing Jon’s propensity back to Catelyn’s treatment of him.

I don’t know though. I feel like a lot of their dynamic has more to do with Jon’s temperament than it does with his “mommy issues.” Think of other characters in the TV version, such as Theon before he was castrated, or other male characters who we might think of as being sexually bold, or at times even coercive or abusive to women (as is so often the status quo in Westeros). They would have had fewer qualms and tortured feelings about sleeping with Ygritte than Jon did, because …Jon is Jon. He seems sexually conservative (and a better person) by nature.  He experiences guilt over breaking his vows, is tortured by the thought of fathering a bastard, and so on. It takes someone like Ygritte, who is assertive sexually (like in the cave scene in the TV series) for him to break his vows. (Note: I know the circumstances are somewhat different and more controversial in the books). I’m not sure how much of this has something to do with Catelyn Stark.

I suppose the story would go something like this: Jon’s self esteem or self-confidence around women was so wounded or messed up by his interactions with Catelyn, that he is now attracted to women who are the controllers or the seducers rather than the other way around. But it could also be due to the natural reticence around women that he seems to possess by temperament.

As for Dany: in order to analyze Kit’s remarks its necessary to take him at his word that Jon loved Dany. We only have the show version of Jon and Dany, but there are definitely some parallels with Ygritte. In their first interaction, Dany attempts to dominate Jon by insisting that he bend the knee, hinting that he will become her prisoner, and so on. As the scripts progress, It seems like she is the one who becomes infatuated by Jon first, and then she flies north of the wall to try and rescue him. He may be attracted to her, but he is also kind of the passive one who eventually capitulates. Is this why Kit thinks Jon is attracted to Dany, because of her assertive qualities, where he also seems to be overlooking the aggressive tendencies? Also, the circumstance of Jon suddenly bending the knee when he didn’t have to do it in order to gain Dany’s support seems to add more fuel to this fire.  I can only assume that this dynamic, as written for the show, is what Kit is talking about. 

In neither of these two relationships was Jon the pursuer. Maybe Kit wants Jon to have a more balanced relationship in the sequel :)

[omegasamwilson]

Sam Wilson Headcanons That Have Nothing To Do with Bucky Because I’m Mad About the MTV Awards

-Sam Wilson has his Master’s in Social Work. He originally wanted to work with youth in a school setting but then his PTSD got worse and he went to a support group and found his calling

-He completed his BSW+MSW in four years using the GI Bill + other scholarships

-He played baseball and did pole vault in high school. He also ran the 3200x4 for track but definitely preferred pole vaulting

-He was a Momma’s boy, thru and thru

-He got into exactly one fight in high school and it was because someone talked mess about Sarah so he rocked their shit. His dad took him out for ice cream when he got suspended

-Speaking of which, Sam was terrified of coming out to his dad, a Baptist preacher, and it caused him to try to distance himself from being close to his dad. When he finally did come out, at 15, his dad told him that he knew, that he loved Sam, and that God had created him exactly as he was.

-One of his most prized possession is a beautifully letter his father wrote him that includes the words “queer people are holy.” He sobbed when he first read it and every single time since

-when Sarah’s husband died, (in the midst of Sam looking for Bucky) Sam moved down to NOLA for a few weeks to help Sarah with her newborn and toddler

-the “Uncle Sam” thing has been a running joke ever since Sarah’s oldest was born.

-Sam attended “Donuts with Dads” so that Cass wouldn’t feel left out

-The first time his nephew gave him Father’s Day cards, he cried and his youngest nephew crawled in his lap and said, “it’s okay, Uncle Sam.” And his older nephew was like, “it means we love you.”

-Sam has provided medical care at Black Lives Matter protests since 2012, and he and some friends went to Ferguson in 2014 to provide healthcare

-he loves food trucks. He also definitely has the Okra app so whenever he travels he knows which Black opened restaurants to travel

-he played ultimate frisbee in college and got involved in it when he met another vet in college that really enjoyed the sport

-he has a soft spot for dogs and he definitely considering getting one to train as a therapy dog before he started working for Cap

-although he doesn’t do group at the VA anymore, he volunteers whenever he can

-he’s done a marathon to raise awareness for Veteran mental health

-running helped him cope with his PTSD and gave him time to reflect and think

-he does not really like drinking water, as evidence by the fact he gets back from a run and reaches for a refreshing glass of ORANGE JUICE

-he tells people his favorite Star Wars trilogy is the sequels because it pisses people off

-he was a HUGE Blerd as a kid

-he played the trumpet in high school and was actually pretty good about it

-his favorite subject in school was English

-he actually enjoyed physics and other math classes and liked it even moreso after doing para-rescue because that’s what flying is

-he and Sarah are sure to schedule monthly phone calls to check in. He kept those up even while on the run

-he loves Marvin Gaye but also Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Gates, Taylor Swift, Boys II Men, and Fall Out Boy. He’ll also listen to anything at least once

-he never “like” reacts on Facebook unless he’s feeling petty and passive aggressive

-he’s marched in several pride parades and has helped facilitate events for Black LGBT youth

-he definitely accidentally comes out to a Captain America fan because he can’t resist making a pun about being gay. It’s a young 19 year old queer kid from a homophobic home and their eyes go wide and they promise they would never out Sam but that they’re so glad they know at least one hero that is like them

-Sam gets the kid’s name and finds out they’re a student at MIT who has been disowned by their parents and forwards their info to Pepper to make sure their college, housing, and other necessities are paid for

-he totally bought Sarah a copy of “Go the Fuck to Sleep” when her kid was born. And definitely followed it up with a copy of “You Have to Fucking Eat.”

-his favorite book is “The Snowy Day” because he fell in love with it as a kid but if anyone asks his default is either “Lord of the Rings” or “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” both books he loved but not his favorite

-his nephews are his favorite people on this planet and he would literally move heaven and earth for their safety

[bookofmirth]

Az, Gwyn, and power

Something I’ve seen going around a lot lately, in the past couple of months, is that if Azriel and Gwyn were to enter into a relationship, it would be unequal or imbalanced, basically that Azriel has more power than Gwyn and so it would make for a potentially... bad (? definition tbd) relationship.

I’ve already explained why the theory about Elain not knowing how the bond works makes her look like either stupid, or ignorant, or supremely passive. I’m assuming that is not the intention of the stans.

Now lemme explain why this interpretation, of a gwynriel relationship being inherently imbalanced and problematic for being so, would make Azriel look like an asshole.

I keep seeing people saying “because this person has power and this person doesn’t, this thing is bad”. No. That’s not how it works. Power is much more complex and nuanced than that, and it depends on how the individual decides to wield it. There are multiple ways that someone can gain, retain, and use power. Some have more access than others, for different reasons. However, it is not inevitable that those with more power will exploit those with less.

In the post about power I mentioned Rhys, and he is a great example of why having power isn’t necessarily a bad thing for everyone around him. The only thing that keeps Rhys from literally every sort of privilege is that he is half Illyrian. Other than that, he has everything going for him. However, he rarely, if ever, takes advantage of his power to the detriment of others. We could probably argue about why this is or isn’t true and to what extent, but the point is that we have other examples of similar fae - Beron - who wield the same types of power and do not gaf about anyone else. Rhys intentionally allows the IC to have a voice in what happens in the NC, he listens to them, he takes their advice, and sometimes he does a shitty job but he tries to avoid ruling with an iron fist.

Back to gwynriel.

So the idea that Gwyn and Azriel cannot be equals in a relationship initially came from the idea that Gwyn is, somehow, at 28 years old, mentally and emotionally a child. We know that this is NOT true. It has been confirmed by the writer, who did hear explanation of the different rates at which fae age. So her denial that Gwyn is a child was not out of context. She knew what people were thinking.

However, there are still issues that people bring up regarding Gwyn being a priestess and Azriel being the spymaster. But let’s be clear about who Gwyn and Azriel are:

Gwyn is a priestesses. She is not a nun. She spends her time learning and aiding others in that pursuit.

She protected children when her temple was under attack.

Gwyn is Carynthian. One of the only two women in history to earn that distinction. That accomplishment took intelligence, cunning, cooperation, and strength.

Gwyn is mostly High Fae.

Gwyn is a SA survivor.

Azriel rescued her.

Azriel is a spymaster.

Azriel is also Carynthian.

He is part Illyrian.

Azriel’s role in the library is not “supervisor”. He is not their camp counselor. He is not their authority figure. He brings women to the library who have been victimized, and then he leaves. 

The two people who are actually in charge of the library and its citizens safety are Morrigan and Rhysand.

Combining all those facts with Gwyn’s age, Gwyn is not Azriel’s inferior in any way. No matter which way you look at it, there is nothing about Azriel that inherently puts him in a position to abuse his power.

She is also not his inferior in terms of maturity (while I can see that being an argument, it would need to be equally applied to nessian, feysand, elucien, e*riel, etc.... and it’s not. Unless an sjm anti is reading this, then yeah, I can see them making that argument.)

So let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that Azriel does hold a position of authority over Gwyn. He doesn’t, but let’s just pretend that these arguments are actually valid.  If - if - Gwyn and Azriel were problematic as a relationship because of some power imbalance, then it stands to reason that that ship is problematic because Azriel is the type of person to exploit that imbalance.

Is that what y’all were going for when you try to say that gwynriel makes you feel uncomfortable??? Doubt it.

One last point about my list above - if y’all think that the fact that Azriel rescued Gwyn means that he can only see her that way, that he can only see her as an SA survivor and can never see beyond that, fails to recognize her growth and strength, even though he helped her to complete the Blood Rite Qualifier... again, that doesn’t say great things about Azriel (and maybe doesn’t say great things about people who would make that argument, since people are not defined by their trauma!)

I have seen (maybe? maybe I imagined this) a comparison between Azriel and Gwyn that he’s like... a teacher, and she’s the student, to explain why they are not an appropriate ship. The big problem with a teacher/student relationship is that the student in the scenario feels like they cannot say no. Your teacher is an authority, they are more mature, more knowledgeable, they have influence over whether you pass a class and get a good grade, they can tell your parents if you have been behaved or completing your work, etc. There are a lot of ways that a teacher can punish a student for not doing what they want. This is why those relationships are always frowned upon - it’s big dubcon territory, if not straight up noncon. 

However, again, Gwyn is participating in the Valkyrie training voluntarily. She lives at the library voluntarily. She is a priestess voluntarily. There is nothing that Azriel can do to Gwyn that would force her to comply with what he wants. Gwyn can tell Azriel to fuck off, to go choke, to eat dust, to go jerk off, and... nothing would happen. He would probably stop hanging around as much, but that’s... it. He has no actual power over her in the sense of being an authority figure or being in control of her life in any way.

Something that I almost put in that original post but didn’t because it was besides the point at the time, was that there are always power differences. People will always have differing levels of access to privilege and power. That does NOT mean that people can and must only ever be in relationships with people of similar levels or power/privilege. In that post I mentioned how feylin didn’t work out because Tamlin had so much access and Feyre had none - to compound this problem, he allowed her access to none. He did nothing to try to even the playing field, to educate or empower her. That’s what made it a problem. 

So do y’all think that Azriel would be like Beron? Someone willing to take the privilege he has and wield it over someone else like a cudgel? Or is he more like Rhys? Aware of his position and working to support - not manipulate - others? Because even if we were to accept the premise that there is a problematic power imbalance between Azriel and Gwyn, the only reason we should be uncomfortable with that is if we think that Azriel is the type of person who would exploit that imbalance. 

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

A Lost Tomb Meta Argument for the Bond Between Liu Sang and Wu Xie

Listen. Liu Sang may get all clever and snarky at Wu Xie with passive aggressive one-liners at first (Lucille Bluth voice: good for him), but here I want to talk about how the progress of LTR and their own personalities point to them developing a really sweet friendship over the series.

Note: I haven’t read the books, just seen snippets, so I know there are things here that won’t hold up to the source text; I’m doing this meta based on the show alone, apologies for any confusion or big anachronisms to the book.

1.) They are both defensive, snarky, and wary people whose life experiences have made them this way. Wu Xie hides it far better behind his charm and smiles, plus he does usually have his iron triangle and family support to fall back on. But I like that when Liu Sang confronts Wu Xie over the whole “you’re dying and in a dangertomb dude wtf” thing, you get to see the look on his face right after Wu Xie responds being all “bitch try me I will deny everything”— Liu Sang actually looks pleasantly surprised by it, and keeps his mouth shut until the situation becomes too obvious. That face in that moment isn’t confusion or fear, that’s some straight-up recognition. Like, oh shit, he’s still annoying but it’s weird now because I totally get him and appreciate that he has a spine after all. Liu Sang is a stranger here, he just met Wu Xie like 12 hours ago, but somehow he understands him perfectly in that moment and I appreciate that acknowledgment of kinship.

2.) Beneath all the prickliness, they are both soft at heart. Wu Xie had ten years of hell to transform into a excellent liar and actor, Liu Sang’s backstory is trauma after betrayal after trauma. But we see how they are both capable of extraordinary goodness—the first time we meet Liu Sang, he awkwardly tries to help a small child he believes is in danger, and later becomes a member of the squad despite his half-hearted efforts not to like them. Liu Sang’s loyalty, once earned, is powerful and unconditional. Wu Xie’s best (and most double edged) qualities are, as I’ve discussed before, his compassion, love and loyalty, and these qualities overwhelm his guardedness over and over again in the series. Despite that coldly pragmatic Wu mindset he sometimes develops, what ultimately drives Wu Xie and what makes the show is his passion for adventure and love for his people.

3.) Xiao Ge. The Venn diagram betwixt our two foxes. There’s a reason the Wu Xie/Xiao Ge/Liu Sang tag is alive and well. Honestly though, they both gravitate towards Xiao Ge at first due to their fascination with him, but Wu Xie has had the benefit of getting to know Xiao Ge much sooner and in a different capacity and is already his boyfriend one of the very few people who’s truly close to Xiao Ge. He is himself possessive over Xiao Ge to a degree—I’ve seen some hilarious jealous-Wu Xie posts—but I think a lot of it stems from a place of long familiarity that has been hard-won. Liu Sang starts from a place of what he admits is idolization, but I think a turning point happens early on in the tombs, when he admits to Xiao Ge that he played a trick on Pangzi and Wu Xie that indirectly got them into trouble. Liu Sang’s expression shows that he knows how foolish this joke makes him look now that something bad has happened, even though they both know he didn’t mean any real harm. BUT. He owns up anyway to do the right thing. Like Wu Xie, Liu Sang is a person whose pride can get the best of him, but who is capable of casting it aside once he realizes it’s a problem. He then shifts gears and uses his ability not to impress Xiao Ge but to help save Wu Xie and Pangzi. He then chooses to follow the group at a distance from then on rather than trying to still stick to Xiao Ge’s side. I don’t think it’s really just fear of Pangzi, as is claimed by that character in the show—I think it’s more awkwardness and even some guilt. Once things change and the friendship grows, Liu Sang is no longer trailing behind. I appreciate that they so clearly come to occupy different places in Xiao Ge’s life—his soulmate and his protege—but they also come to be friends.

4. The realness of their interactions. Liu Sang is the only person in this series who meets Wu Xie for the first time as his present dying heir self, not sweet bebe Wu Xie, not sheltered Tianzhen, and he sees him as he truly is and treats him like a regular person (no disrespect to the marvelous Xiao Bai, but she does put Wu Xie on a pedestal for so much of the series until she knows better). It’s clear that Wu Xie also sees Liu Sang as he is, not just a clever tomb raiding tool or pretty-boy but instead this lonely kid who is human and vulnerable. (I have to wonder to what degree his regret over everything that happened with Li Cu influences how easy he goes on Liu Sang in the show?) He doesn’t react to Liu Sang’s initial sass on the beach, doesn’t really get mad for the trick Liu Sang played in the tomb, and (hilariously) won’t ever let Liu Sang thank him for the instinctive rescue as they are escaping the tombs—they’ve already silently jumped to “it’s cool, I gotcha” status in like three episodes.

Most importantly: I truly believe that once they meet, Li Cu and Liu Sang will form a “how did my life get turned upside down and admittedly way better in the long run due to this insane cardigan-rocking disaster and his equally insane friends” club and that they will have commiseration meetings during parties whenever Li Cu’s Adopted Dad and Liu Sang’s Idol are getting…cozy.

I also have a headcanon that during a random visit to deliver something, Liu Sang learns he now has a room that’s entirely his at Wushanju, fully soundproofed to protect his ears and located by a private door out to the courtyard so he can come and go as he wishes.

[masterthespianduchovny]

You're Wrong About Steve (Part 1): Stucky

When I first realized that people shipped Steve and Bucky, I was surprised but went with it. Due to how passionate people were about Stucky, I thought I missed something. Initially, I didn't brush off or dismiss Stucky.

However, after I re-watched the movies, paying close attention to any Steve and Bucky scenes, and listening to various arguments as to why they're canon, I'm sorry, but Stucky is purely a Fanon ship.

And that's fine.

I went from passively supporting the ship to outright hating it. It has nothing to do with people shipping it, but rather the rabidness of the fanbase and their insistence that Stucky is canon. So much so that they harass others about it, accuse others of being homophobic, swing between casual and blatant misogyny, and sum Steve up as only being who he is due to Bucky. Let's not get started on them using random terms to sound deep and meaningful without making an actual point.

In TFA, shippers claim that Steve became the man he is solely because he wanted to save Bucky. Everyone else he saved was a happy coincidence. Their argument implies that Steve wouldn't have saved the others if Bucky wasn't there or was confirmed to be dead. And some how this is supposed to be romantic and endearing?

Let's get one thing clear: the man Steve "became" already existed. Steve was now taller, stronger, and didn't have every illness known to man hindering him. The serum heightened what was already there. Although Steve was at a low point, Peggy's talk helped get his head back on track. Steve has always had a strong sense of justice. Always.

Even if Bucky had been confirmed dead dead, Steve was going to save those men. Steve didn't risk it all for Bucky, he risked it all for the men who were POWs. It's why he saved them first and asked about Bucky later: although he wanted to save Bucky, he wanted to save EVERYONE. He defied orders for EVERY POW.

This also overlooks the fact that Steve would feel a sense of duty, honor, and obligation to save Bucky. People point out how much Steve got his ass kicked and that Bucky saved him, so why wouldn't Steve want to save someone who protected him as much as he could?

For some reason, people want to diminish a friendship for a romance that isn't there. We talk about how men should show feelings more and care for their friends without it being anything more, and then when this happens, "Oh no, this has to be romantic. There is no way any man can care for his friend that much and not be in love with him."

What kind of shit is that?

And, again, Steve risked his life and freedom for his friend because what happened to his friend was fucked up and unjust. Way to imply that your life only has value if someone wants to fuck you.

Steve literally does not mention Bucky nor do we get any indication that he's thinking about Bucky from the moment he gets chosen for the serum until he finds out that Bucky might be dead. We don't even get a glimpse of him reading a letter or some shit. Hell, or sending one off to Bucky.

But it's canon, right?

Steve is so in love.

Okay, how about after Steve rescues Bucky?

All that's shown is two people who care about each other and have each other's back. Even in the first movie, neither Steve or Bucky are shown joined at the hip. After the rescue, they don't behave any differently. These are two people who have a long history and who care about each other, but the subtext people claim is there is really projection.

For example, Steve goes to his friend in relief after the howling commandoes agree to follow him into battle again, and then Steve proceeds to eye fuck Peggy as Bucky, independently, tries to flirt with her. I've heard this scene interpreted differently and, of course, when you want to prove something you'll distort the source material. There is no subtext here to support either man has romantic feelings for each other.

If people ship based on chemistry, I understand that. However, Steve and Bucky don't have enough meaningful interaction to argue via friendship that they've fallen in love.

People also cite how upset Steve was after Bucky "died" as proof this ship is canon. And it's like, "How dare a man deeply grieve his friend without it being romantic???" I've said it before and I'll say it a million times more: Carol/Maria is PRIME non het shipping material, yet I believe this ship barely exists in the fandom. Two women presumably living together and raising a child together? Maria's reaction to Carol and her grief when explaining how she felt about Carol's disappearance gives grieving life partner vibes.

Nah, let's create a backstory for two attractive white men with chemistry and claim anyone who doesn't see it for the ship and the MCU for not making it canon is homophobic.

Y'all wanna know why Steve was that upset? Both of his parents are dead. He literally had no one in his life that knew him from before he was the serum candidate. No one from his childhood. Bucky was his family. And the way in which Bucky "died"...yeah, Steve's going to be hurt and angry.

How are normal reactions taken as proof of a ship?

[ashintheairlikesnow]

I’m sure he means well enough, but uh, Jake rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it’s the savior complex. He doesn’t really have a life outside of the Safehouse. We saw the fight with his mom, about him not having a “real” career. Like he literally devotes all his time, energy and resources into this. Why? What does he get out of it other than personal satisfaction? I think he loves the idea that people need him.

It could be the hypocrisy of “not” sleeping with pets. After being so adamant about it this whole time and then to go for the sluttiest pet that shows up? Kinda sus, tbh! Like not even just Kauri, like one would be an exception, I guess, but also I know he wasn’t like “sleeping” sleeping with Chris but I think the bed sharing is kinda just.... no. Would deffffff be against HR regulations lol.

Maybe it’s just because we are supposed to like him, I dunno man. Don’t take it personally! I love your the rest of your characters and all of your stories and I think you are a fantastic writer! But Jake makes me want to pull my hair out.

Hey, Anon! I appreciate this comment, and I hope you weren’t worried that I would be mad or anything. While every writer kind of has the “oh no but that’s my son” response, I actually really enjoy seeing how people see my OCs and their actions over the course of a story. 

Heads-up, I ramble a lot and this got long

Jake definitely does have a savior complex, and it’s rooted in his childhood abuse by his father and his sense that the people who could have helped (family, friends, community) chose not to, and instead simply stood by while he and his mother fought alone to find a way out. As a young adult getting into pet lib, he found a place to channel his innate need to NOT be the person who sits by and does nothing, and he definitely throws himself headlong into it.

It’s less about the rescues needing him, and more about him needing to feel like he’s building something out of the wreckage of his own early life, something better. That he’s MAKING something better for other people than what he himself had, providing the support that he didn’t receive, giving the care that he struggled to even admit he needed.

Jake’s not perfect, but he’s not enjoying the dependence on him - far from it. He is, though, trying to sort of change the timeline for other people so it won’t look as much like his own.

As far as not having a life outside of his work, that’s very true! Not only is he working full-time and living in the safehouse, he is also going to school with the specific intention of gaining skills and knowledge to run a safehouse himself (which he eventually does) and provide even more advocacy for the rescues, who often aren’t safe to speak up for themselves. In the Speak Out arc, which I’m kind of easing into now, you’ll see Jake struggle with the push and pull of knowing that, long-term, keeping these secrets isn’t as much help as the rescues deserve, and knowing that speaking out could have even more ruinous results.

t could be the hypocrisy of “not” sleeping with pets. After being so adamant about it this whole time and then to go for the sluttiest pet that shows up? Kinda sus, tbh! Like not even just Kauri, like one would be an exception, I guess, but also I know he wasn’t like “sleeping” sleeping with Chris but I think the bed sharing is kinda just.... no. Would deffffff be against HR regulations lol.

When Jake and Kauri meet, they are 23-24ish and 21-22 respectively (more or less- I change my mind on the exact numbers now and then, just go with it). When their long-running friendship and pining eventually becomes a relationship, Jake is nearly 30, and Kauri not far behind. The interim seven years or so involved a lot of change for them both, and Kauri himself changed a lot. I don’t write this chronologically and I really haven’t done enough to develop Jake’s changes, too! I can see why it’s weird to read it, thinking through the lens of early, vulnerable Kauri. But as @whumpiary I think said at one point, at some point a person is not defined by their tragedy or trauma and can define themself. Kauri defines himself, with time, and it’s strength for him to reach out and take Jake’s hand.

(For the record, I kind of hissed through my teeth at describing Kauri as slutty in a way that’s pretty judgy, only to have Kauri’s response be, “So what if I am? I’m having fun” because... well, Kauri gonna Kauri and he is ~unbothered~)

I do bristle a little at the platonic bed sharing with Chris. Chris comes out of things deeply dehumanized and degraded, and seeking out the comfort of someone when he is scared at night is actually pretty important to him. Jake isn’t pushing him on that at all. Chris also pursues similar behavior with Antoni - and also Nat! - when Jake isn’t around for some time, and it becomes less and less common and eventually stops entirely as Chris becomes more solid, steady, and stable with therapy and rebuilding his life.

Also, I love the idea of the most harried Linda in the world working at safehouse HR.

THAT SAID

I totally see the validity in not liking him! People have had similar feelings about Nate Vandrum in Danny’s story because of his initial passivity and not doing anything to help (Danny actually hates Nate for a while, too, during early captivity, and ooooh I should write out some of that). 

Please don’t take my rambling as trying to make you like him, I’m totally not, I just love the excuse to ramble about character motivations and internal thought processes and whatnot.

I found this ask really interesting (I woke up to it and I’ve been thinking it over ever since) and appreciate you sending your honest thoughts!

[ourotakuparadise]

Fluff Alphabet! Erza

Our sweet Titania!

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s / o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Amazingly, Erza likes to relax with her s / o at home and spend some time hugging and exchanging affection, it doesn't seem like it, but she is sometimes starved for affection (imagine an Erza almost purring happily). Other activities may be cooking or reading while snuggling and perhaps a drink like lemonade in the heat or hot chocolate on cold days.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s / o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Erza appreciates the dedication of her s / o in relation to their loved ones, such a trait in a person's personality is something she admires since the guild is her family.

C omfort - How would they help their s / o when they feel down / have a panic attack etc.?

At first she would be awkward, but then she would pull them into a hug (if she is wearing her armor,  RIP for you) and say something encouraging or praise some of her s / o's qualities, but sometimes she remains in silence because her presence is warm enough to comfort your s / o.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s / o?

Erza becomes a flushed mess imagining a future like living with her s / o and when it comes to starting a family she stops working. It is so happy that her brain can barely assimilate, but she sometimes has a sweet, dreamy smile imagining that future.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Erza would sometimes be the most dominant one leading the relationship, but it would be fair when she and her s / o need to make decisions together.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s / o? How are they fighting?

I believe it would depend on what caused a fight ... Like some small nonsense she would easily forgive. However, if it is something that put the life of her s / o or a loved one in it, it is very difficult for Erza to forgive. Don't misunderstand, her s / o is a light in her life and losing that light is worse than death for her. However if it is a betrayal I believe that she would never forgive even more that it affected her Fairy Tail family.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s / o is doing for them?

Erza honestly shows her gratitude even in small gestures, her s / o chose her for who she is! With all the qualities and defects, becoming her light and she would pay double trying to be a support for her s / o.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s / o? Or do they share everything?

Erza wants to be as honest as possible, but there will be times when her s / o needs to be attentive and patient in sensitive matters like her past. She will also be compassionate in the delicate matters of her s / o's life and will not force anything if it is uncomfortable for her s / o.

I nspiration - Did their s / o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

I believe that on both sides the way of valuing loved ones has multiplied infinitely, Erza already values ​​the guild a lot and now she feels that her world is even brighter than before with her s / o. I think Erza also becomes more comfortable and relaxed about his defects and insecurities.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

I don't see Erza being jealous, she fully relies on her s / o, but the subject changes if someone is making her s/o uncomfortable or hurting them in any way. Be prepared for an enraged Titania to the rescue.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Strong, intense, dominant and passionate are the kisses with Erza, but when it comes to the first kiss she is a stuttering and flushed mess without being able to form coherent thoughts.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s / o?

Insert the meme "Erza.exe has stopped working" and "RIP Erza" because she has almost no experience in romantic feelings, of course she knows a thing or other ... But if she confesses it is too much for her heart to take and assimilate her mind. A ruddy mess, she stutters and she acts like a rusty robot trying to calm down.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

When her mind keeps working she thinks about how she would like to marry and raise a family (she even thought about the dog / cat and the name of the children and how many she wants). If she takes the position to propose to you, it is very likely that she will invite you to a simple but significant date as in the place where she or you confessed or had your first date. You would take advantage of the date before she eagerly made the proposal (note: she is stuttering and moving hard with nervousness).

About the wedding I imagine that she must have some hidden wedding magazines with markings on decoration, types of cake with strawberries and dresses that she liked, at some point she would ask for help from the girls of the guild with whom she is closest (I believe she almost thought wearing armor at the ceremony). The ceremony would be something simple, but still rich in details and meaning for both and with only the guild, close friends and other loved ones as guests.

N icknames - What do they call their s / o?

Amazingly, she would call her s / o “Strawberry Shortcake” as she thinks how sweet and adorable sounds.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

It depends ... If her s / o shows affection randomly Erza simply "breaks", doesn't know how to react and turns red and stutters. But honestly, her way of showing affection is between humor and humility. Comical when she wants to praise her s / o and ends up pulling against her with your head banging against her banging her head against her armor. Humble because her gestures are very welcoming and warm that often do not need words and her s / he feels safe with her.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s / o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Showing affection publicly with Erza at the beginning of the relationship would break her. Insert the meme "Erza.exe has stopped working" while she almost passes out. Even after some time if her s / o shows affection at random her brain paralyzes and is a cute scene to see.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

The sense of leadership, but at the same time Erza's egalitarian sense would be an asset to the relationship. She will know how to lead, but is always open to her / his opinion.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s / o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

I believe that although Erza is a little confused in showing romanticism she would be a simple and slightly cliché way. Candlelight dinners, snuggling in front of the fireplace reading or just in a caring section. S upport - Are they helping their s / o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them? Totally yes, she supports and believes in her s / o. Erza encourages anything her s / o likes and if they want to make it a goal or a dream she will always be in favor. She will be there to support you affectionately and defend those who criticize or ridicule your s / o.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Erza is not against trying new things if her s / o is comfortable with what is suggested and vice versa. But it would be difficult to say no to an Erza when she’s excited as a child and her eyes shining with joy when she discovered something new, good luck on the roller coaster of emotions in that relationship.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Erza tries to get to know her s / o as much as possible, it would be empathic if at some point in her s / o life it had a resemblance to someone's past in the guild or hers. It would also show that you will be with them when they are going through a turbulent time in life.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it worth in comparison to other things in their life?

At the same level that she values ​​each person in the guild, her s / o is part of her precious family and occupies a special space in her warrior heart. She will give her all the love and longs to be able to live together every day.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Sometimes she likes some random and surprise date, for example when her s / o invites her to a surprise date. Even a relaxing moment in some secluded countryside from all the chaos of the guild or a romantic home-cooked dinner by candlelight. She is thrilled when they remember moments together, like when they met, the day they confessed and even the first meeting. (Bonus: Imagine a beautiful picnic in the moonlight in a flowery meadow while you enjoy each other's company and watch the stars, even inventing a game to create new constellations).

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

As mentioned in “activities”, she is sometimes hungry for affection, almost as much as a puppy and her smile as a cat receiving affection and purring. All kind of affection is well received by her.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Erza is quite mature and sensible in dealing with this, but those who know her well can see the little spark of longing in her eyes when she is looking at some landscape in order to try to distract herself from that feeling or when her mind wanders to images of her with her s / o next to it.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Erza is 1000% dedicated to the relationship, having gone through the armor that hid her heart is a great achievement so she values her s / o in a special way. I would try to learn everything about her s / o and we all know that she would give her life for the sake of her s / o.

[sepublic]

Luz’s Self-Punishment?

           I actually think that like Lilith, Luz has a tendency to overtly punish herself for mistakes, she’s just… WAY more productive and efficient about actually fixing the situation, even at the cost of herself- Maybe even especially because of it!

           I say this because Luz makes the understandable mistake of crashing Owlbert, who was fully willing to indulge in Luz’s antics during Escape of the Palisman by taking her to the Glandus game. And obviously Owlbert is also justifiably hurt and maybe reluctant to reconnect with Luz… But it’s also worth observing that Luz is clearly beating herself up mentally over her mistake, she doesn’t hesitate to throw herself into the Bat Queen’s trials and even risk her life to rescue Owlbert!

           And, obviously- Luz is a very impulsive kind of person in general, incredibly brave, and would do anything for her friends. But I am concerned about Luz possibly beginning to see herself as like, a burden, or even someone who keeps hurting people even when she tries to help them… Especially when they tell her not to. Take for example, Luz turning Willow’s memory photo back up because she still wants her and Amity to reconnect… and it leads to Willow’s mind almost being destroyed. Luz’s efforts DO pay off in the end; However, Wing it like Witches has Luz recklessly challenge Boscha to a Grudgby game, over Willow’s honor.

           That’s fine as it is… But the problem is that Luz says that Willow is challenging Boscha. And I think this is a scenario where Luz legit thought she was doing what was best for Willow, that this was of course what Willow wanted… And while she was justifiably mad, I think Luz may have projected some of her own anger onto Willow by assuming she felt the same way, while also seeing an opportunity to play out her Azura fantasies through a Grudgby match; Hence why moments before Boscha drops trash on Willow, Luz looks VERY intrigued by Amity pointing out that Boscha only listens to Grudgby… Amity wasn’t at all suggesting Luz challenge her to a game, but Luz is remembering that Azura movie she brought up earlier, and getting ideas.

           So when Luz does recognize she made a mistake… I think she’s just a tad too eager to both take on ALL of the responsibility and repercussions, but also doesn’t do too much to vouch for herself when Boscha starts attacking. Now, you could argue that this is just Luz being kind of impulsive and thoughtless, not thinking of herself in a genuinely forgetful way, while also not anticipating Boscha to be THAT intense; But I have to wonder if Luz will sometimes shoulder the blame and burden of her mistakes too much. Just as Amity did when she cut herself off from Grudgby after accidentally injuring Boscha and Amelia that one time… And it’s interesting that Luz is inspired to take all of the blame after Amity recounts this story; And it’s Amity who realizes what’s up and thus goes out to get Willow’s help.

           Or, take Witches before Wizards! Luz enrolls in Adegast’s Quest, wanting to play out her fantasies, and does so on her own, on her own terms… Ideally only Luz should be in danger, if any comes around; And yet Eda and King still get involved to rescue Luz, and Luz finds out that her getting into this quest was what endangered them in the first place, because she was meant to be a hostage! Then we have Agony of a Witch; Eda tells Luz to just mind her own business and be happy, and not concern herself. But not only is Luz legit scared for Eda… She also expresses a desire to ‘pay her back’, as if Luz thinks the happiness she provides isn’t enough. As if Luz feels she’s inadequate, perhaps a burden…

           Which, matches with Luz being the child of Camila, who’s single and occupied with the VERY time-intensive job of being a nurse, and is already stressful as-is. I think Luz quietly taught herself to not try to be a burdern on Camila… Or at least thought that was what she became, when her mother agreed to send her to Reality Camp. This is her mom, who objectively loves her and is supposed to, and likely was the only one supporting and indulging in Luz’s interests for her entire life. So when Luz DOES meet Eda and King, Willow and Gus, or Amity… While she’s still very much herself in a lot of ways, an utter weirdo and a cryptid;

           I AM concerned that Luz is going to be too conscious of the impact she has on others, a bit too much. She went ahead with trying to help Eda’s curse despite Eda telling her not to… And it led to a disastrous heist at Belos’ castle that led to Eda being captured and losing all of her magic, permanently. Luz let Willow and Gus help her in the heist, and they got in trouble as well… And I’m afraid that maybe Luz is beginning to think that any time she tries to help others, she just makes things worse. And/or, Luz feels like she should do things on her own so her loved ones don’t get involved… But even when she tries to in Witches before Wizards, her actions directly lead to Eda and King being captured.

           Am I saying Luz is a bad or thoughtless person? Absolutely not- She can be a bonehead sometimes, but all of her mistakes are completely understandable. Luz needs to remember that a lot of her friends chose to get involved for Luz’s sake, they mutually care for her and vice-versa, she is by no means a burden and her own presence lights up their world. Eda reassures Luz that she chose to sacrifice herself for the girl, and hopefully the advice will stick there… But even so, Luz is a fourteen-year-old who was ostracized for a LONG time.

          She’s no doubt been conditioned to think of herself as a screw-up who hurts people… Hurts her mother by lying to her, Luz should’ve been honest when she had the chance; Hurting Amity by accidentally reading her diary when she just wanted to be friends… Making a statement that Viney and the others justifiably take out-of-context, but Luz interprets this not just as Viney and the others being valid in their initial fears; She thinks it means she HAS done wrong and hurt people, and so she accepts Viney’s rejection without a second thought and really lets it get to her.

           I’ve seen others speculate that Luz has Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and I really think this could be the case? Luz normally is herself, but lately, when things suggest otherwise… Luz starts to doubt her world-views, at least in application to herself- For others she’ll always vouch for them! But it takes a lot to love oneself… Take for example, Luz clearly berating herself for being too forward with Amity when she tries to initially approach her in Lost in Language, perhaps acting on some confirmation bias; That if Luz fails, then clearly this means she shouldn’t have tried in the first place, and of course nobody is interested in her.

           Luz knows to unapologetically be herself and encourage others to, and then fully support them… But does she expect a lot of support herself? Is Luz resigned to the idea of being rejected either way, so she just goes ahead with who she is… And just waits to see what people DO respond to her, without getting her hopes up? Luz gives it a try, see what happens- And if they don’t respond, alas. If they DO respond… New friend, and Luz can get a bit carried away. Like her plan for Willow to sneak into Hexside and get a better grade… Luz was also legitimately altruistic, but I certainly hope that Luz doesn’t blame herself for getting Willow into trouble, especially since Willow ended up in the Plant Track because of her. Like Eda, Luz has accepted being herself unapologetically and not needing the approval of others- But Eda was also clearly lonely for a while too, having to wait for fellow weirdoes to resonate with her and reciprocate. For Luz, I imagine it’s a very different scenario with just passively waiting for someone to respond to your open invitations about who you are…

           …VS actively WANTING someone, wanting them to accept you, etc., hence Luz’s apprehension about confessing to Camila. And maybe this could lead to some dynamic between her and Amity, where Luz doesn’t know how to handle actively desiring a connection with a specific person that may or may not fully reciprocate her… Luz loves intensely and affectionately and she focuses on making others happy so they don’t suffer like her; Is there the fear, the resignation that they won’t return the same? And that’s okay because they’re already doing so much for Luz just by tolerating a screw-up like her and her mistakes…? Coupled with how stressed Amity is and the abuse she has, and Luz might be afraid that Amity won’t ever feel the same way- So Luz should just be content with what she has, and then not move forward. Don’t get her hopes up.

           Believe me, I don’t find this at all contradictory with my past takes of Luz as being someone who constantly asks why can’t she have it all, both for herself and others… I think she’s rightfully defiant and demanding in that self-respecting way, thanks to Eda especially. But when it comes to emotional love and whatnot, that kind of intimate connection, unconditional kindness and favors… I’m not sure if Luz ever expects that from others, nor does she ask it of them? It’s of course because she’s so kind and selfless towards people, her own demands and challenges towards the system are also into consideration of others just like her.

           But maybe it’s because Luz is partially demanding because she sees it as helping others in a roundabout way… Or she’s only ever like this with strangers, with people she expects to already not think much of her, to not accept her, so Luz doesn’t have too much qualms with trying to be all perfect and subdued for them… But for people who DO accept Luz, it suddenly feels like a lot of pressure and responsibility, because she’s not used to this. She doesn’t want to screw it up, making friends who like her, because this is so rare, and it requires a lot more mutual reciprocation from others, VS an attempt to change the system or fight against the law, cause a prison break, etc.

           Luz seems like the person who can handle learning a lost form of magic, fighting monstrous demons, all that jazz incredibly well; But when it comes to navigating actual emotional relationships, Luz has a lot more difficult navigating. Sometimes she copes with her fear by just going for it, sometimes she forgets about it entirely in her eager excitement, getting her hopes up… But in general, I don’t want Luz to think that she actively causes trouble for people, and that she hasn’t done enough to deserve the people who actively choose to be around her; Much less Luz’s potential apprehension about not being enough for someone she ‘forces’ interaction with because she wants to be with them, like Amity. I think Luz’s growing mistakes and incidents could contribute towards a growing sense of being a screw-up in her own way… And when you’re an insecure teen, you tend to forget about and disregard your good actions in hindsight, even as you’re performing them.

           While Luz’s efforts do sometimes pay off, it’s usually after something goes wrong and everyone grapples with the situation. Sometimes Luz has to wonder if it could’ve been done in a much better way, and if her friends had to do too much heavy-lifting to make things right, to pick up after Luz’s mess- Like maybe her friends could’ve just fixed this on their own, it was only Luz getting into a mess that made them get involved sooner rather than later. The thing about Luz’s mistakes is that a lot of them are understandable, or while bad, nevertheless escalate past a point she could’ve feasibly expected, so maybe she’s being too hard on herself for the consequences.

           I think Lilith is someone who also has an issue with this, as does King- And both have learned to confront that they cause messes that they didn’t intend, but still contributed towards. Of course, King is way more adjusted than Lily… And I can see Lilith and Luz potentially bonding over that feeling of being ‘cursed’, like any attempt to make things better for others just causes problems… And they’re already so much of a liability and a burden as-is. Even when they do things alone and for themselves, issues for their loved ones can develop as a direct result… So maybe they should just cut ties? To protect the ones they care for… Besides, their loved ones probably don’t need them THAT much anyway, their friends are too cool for losers like them.

           I kind of feel like Luz and Lilith could have a potential issue of really undervaluing themselves and their achievements… That when they do bring them up, they don’t really mean it and it’s just a shallow attempt at making themselves feel good- But deep inside they know it means nothing. Lilith knows that being Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven means nothing, not without Eda’s approval, and especially because she got it as a hand-me-down from Eda… But she still boasts of it anyway to invite other witches, and to lie to herself. If Eda contrasts with Lilith and can teach her sister to engage in some self-love… Then consider that Eda does the same to Luz; And what this could say about Luz and Lilith as two people on the receiving end of Eda’s support, who have a lot to learn and benefit from Eda and already have.

           Maybe Luz expects herself to do a lot, because she recognizes that she IS a lot… So she tries to take advantage of this, and tries to compensate for past failures, by doing something good with it. This isn’t to say that Luz never acts in her self-interest, ever, because she’s still a fourteen-year-old kid with a loving and supportive family, who’s allowed to have fun and has still had genuinely positive lessons and growth in the Boiling Isles… Any issues she suffers in the Boiling Isles, if Luz gets them, would’ve been less worse than that of the Reality Camp, minus the physical harm bit of course. But that doesn’t seem to register to Luz that much because that’s not what really matters to her in the end.

           Regardless, I’m afraid that Luz is going to pick up on the idea that each time she innocently tries to go forward and do something for herself and/or others, without their permission… It just makes things worse, forcing others to not only fix the problem, but also make things better so Luz doesn’t mess up again. In other words, Luz probably thinks her friends are doing all of the actual work in making things better, which could play into how Luz thinks the world of her loved ones and is incredibly supportive of them. Perhaps she thinks they’re way cooler than her, too cool for Luz… It’s not too much of a prevalent issue NOW, I think, but it could be in the future. Luz could begin to wean herself off from doing what she enjoys, just for herself, because she thinks she’s a screw-up…

          And then her friends have to reassure her otherwise about everything, that even if Luz seems to be a disaster-magnet, it’s part of the charm and not her fault, she shouldn’t hold herself back! If anything, Luz should keep weaponizing her chaotic energy, making the most of what she has as always! Considering the school system that Luz grew up in, and how she’s ND-coded… I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of schools really punished her and forced Luz to dwell a lot on her mistakes, without much room for productively fixing things; It’s a common neurodivergent experience to be unproductively yelled at for messing up, and then to internalize that. And it could contribute to Luz focusing on what she’s done wrong over what she’s done right. If Amity is learning to love herself, then… I sincerely hope Luz isn’t contrasting, by learning to doubt herself. Especially since the Boiling Isles has been almost objectively superior to the Reality Camp; Because there, she would’ve REALLY internalized even worse lessons, and not gained any of the good ones.

           Now, maybe I’m looking too deep into it; But hey, what if I’m right? At the very least this provides food for thought… You may as well take a chance, because what do you have to lose if you’re wrong- Nothing! But if you don’t try, you could lose the opportunity to really think and enjoy and anticipate something… And be right, or wrong- Either way you had fun!

[poptimus-prime]

Here is what the kids call my highly disorganized, half-baked list of stuff that could have been done with Jack to make him a better character.

@yeetmetothehell I am sorry if you are disappointed by my ideas.

“Optimus was more like...Jack.” OK…so show us that.

In my opinion...Jack seems like he was intended to be written to be almost a parallel to Orion’s journey to becoming Optimus Prime, at least how he is used in the plot. Jack is described as “smart and responsible”, which can also be read as “hardworking and responsible” and really this can be achieved in narratively using a few points, IMO:

Long hours in his room/the library studying outside of work and school. 

Filling out the background of the garage more with sketches/print outs of motorcycle blueprints (to keep the idea that Jack really wants a motorcycle and show hints of extreme dedication, but they’re kept in the garage rather than his room to metaphorically show that distance he’s put between himself and what he wants)

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too fast” (This will be discussed more later but TL;DR “I’ll handle the electric bill this month, Mom”)

Somewhat fragile work/school/life balance that Jack somehow perfectly maintained before meeting the team

Orion was very physically passive. Jack seems to be intended to be written as passive but it comes off as an apathetic reluctance that Orion doesn’t possess (Orion may not believe in violence but he clearly wasn’t unwilling to communicate his thoughts; it’s how he got the title of Prime in the first place.) However, Orion had to learn to become more outspoken over time probably, so we can keep him as being aloof/reluctant at the start of the series.

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too Fast”

It’s no secret Jack came from a nonconventional home; June is very explicitly portrayed as a single mother with a dad nowhere in the picture. However the situation surrounding Mr. Darby is unknown. The way June talks about it makes me personally feel like Jack’s dad either ran out or divorced June and doesn’t bother with his kid. Dysfunction in the family really just goddamn changes you TBH. (can confirm bc hi, I come from a dysfunctional home) Sometimes you just grow up super fast. Jack probably spent his childhood missing his mom as she worked shifts at the hospital and seeing how lonely and hurt she was. He maybe went out and got a job the first day he could and helps with smaller bills (“I’ll handle the electric bill this month.”), or maybe other expenses like groceries and his own phone bill. June probably makes enough to comfortably support her and her son, especially given her job and the cost of living in rural ass desert Nevada. But Jack still does this anyways--it’s how he copes with his issues after what happened with his dad. Doubling down and trying to be what he thinks is the bigger man because his dad couldn’t be fucked. 

This would make the disruption him letting the bots into his life creates more staggering; June doesn’t expect her son to pay bills, but the sudden change in behavior (skipping out on work) would be a cause for concern because sudden shifts like that are Usually Signs that Something is Very Wrong. Especially because Jack is usually responsible and open with his mom; he would have told her if he was gonna cut hours at work, theoretically.

Jack feels like he has to constantly put his own wants aside to contribute to his household. Even if June doesn’t force this expectation upon him, it’s a feeling that he will have, especially if he watched his dad just abandon him and June. Maybe he has resentment towards his dad for this and that is causing some anger he’s keeping tightly under wraps? And maybe the bots give him an excuse to do something he actually wants to do for once or some excitement in his life and that’s why he goes along with it? Lots of options, people!

Clothing Choices: The Hoodie™

You are going to have to deal with me being a whore for costuming choices and what they can mean. The show has a problem with the humans wearing the same shit every time they’re on screen and I’d love to rant about all of them (yeah yeah I get it saving money) but I’m focusing on Jack right now. Give Jack a hoodie 2020. A grey one or some other dull and drab color. And make him actually always wear the hood (except like in scenes where he is working bc workplace dress codes obviously) As time progresses, the drab hoodie is changed to a more vibrant color, but he still always has the hood over his head. And then, at a pivotal moment, the boy takes the hood off. (You could even throw in Miko cracking a joke about Jack actually having hair if you really wanted TBH.) Why this? The narrative is that Jack is constantly holding himself under wraps because of his self-imposed responsibilities. As he starts to become more into his own, he decides to express himself more with brighter colors, but still has some reservations. When he takes the hoodie off, that’s when he’s fully realized himself in this process and thus completes the parallel.

Actually make him interact with Optimus in a meaningful manner.

Arcee can still be his guardian in the field and I think working on strengthening their relationship is vital. But also, if you’re gonna make Jack the confidante holding the key to Vector Sigma, there actually has to be...meaningful interaction. Optimus asking Jack what he’s so engrossed in reading and Jack explaining the book he’s got with passion before shutting himself up and saying “it’s kinda dumb though” or something. And Optimus just responds “I don’t think it’s dumb, tell me more.” Coaxing him towards more self-discovery and expression. Optimus maybe sees more of his old self in Jack and starts attempting to be a quasi-paternal figure without really thinking about it because he is, after all, Dadimus. Jack maybe lashes out about how he doesn’t need Optimus to be his dad and that makes the space between them tense for a while. Eventually Jack comes to apologize and maybe there’s an important Talk.. Just a few ideas I will expand on later. I feel like forgiveness and lack thereof is a good theme--I know I was held back for a long time because of how convoluted the concept of forgiveness is with family.

The Character Arc

 So, what would Jack’s character development throughout the events of season 1 be? My basic idea for a Jack arc that mirrors Orion’s self-realization and coming into Prime-hood without being a carbon copy is essentially: 

Jack is portrayed as a responsible, hardworking, studious teenager who constantly turns down chances for fun and excitement to handle his responsibilities. Has clear dreams for after high school and for his own personal life; but he’s constantly contemplating and changing his mind about whether he will or not because he’s extremely dedicated to helping his mom and all that. However, he still gets super curious about Arcee and gets swept up by her in the Vehicon chase, and he still has whispers of courage and protects Raf during the altercation. He first tries to ditch Team Prime because he’s concerned about his responsibilities, but eventually returns because he’s drawn to the opportunity to finally go buck wild for once in his life (even if he spends his time being hesitant about everything.) His hesitancy and dedication to severe self-imposed responsibility is a result of his inability to move on from what his dad did to him and his mom; he’s under the impression that he 1) Has to forgive someone to move on, and thus 2) He cannot move on because his dad isn’t there to bother to say sorry and take on his position as Dad. In essence, he becomes less the character telling Miko to stop and more the character being pushed by Miko to be more adventurous. In lulls in action, Optimus starts to take interest in him when he notices his constant hesitance to express himself and is just being dragged along rather than going willingly. Has a conversation with him about a book Jack’s reading, which Jack attempts to shut down because it’s “dumb and childish,” but Optimus urges him to continue. The idea that June knows about Arcee as a bike and Jack explaining that he bought a motorcycle as a fixer-upper for dirt cheap can stay. (He probably still is saving up for his motorcycle.)

The longest portion, after Optimus starts interacting with Jack on a level of bonding and gently coaxing him to be himself— Jack becomes more outspoken and he’s shown as curious, analytical, quick witted, and has a deep sense of justice. Being young and craving a childhood lost to his trauma and self-imposed obligations to help his mom with running the household, he suddenly starts spending more time at the base pursuing hobbies and going on missions rather than studying and work, which concerns June. She tries to press Jack, and is met with what can be described as typical teenage headbutting that gets progressively worse. She grounds Jack after the fight, MECH takes her, the rescue happens. (That makes sense to stay in this narrative IMO.) Around this time, Optimus has effectively started becoming Jack’s own Alpha Trion—teaching him things that he’s picked up that he may feel apply to Jack. Jack interprets one of these lessons as Optimus trying to be “dad” and he’s not having it. Makes it VERY clear that he does not need a dad (“didn’t need one before and sure as fuck don’t need one now”) and definitely snaps at Optimus, which then pushes his progress in the arc closer to the end. He eventually comes back to apologize, and Optimus forgives him. He and Optimus have a heart-to-heart about one of the hardest lessons Optimus has had to learn—how to let go of the past without forgiving those who have hurt you and refuse to make amends, so that you may determine your own future. It’s very clear he’s talking about Megatron, even though he never says his name. Jack takes this lesson to heart.

His final bit of development before the hood removal thing probably happens during the events of “Rock Bottom” and reinforces that hard lesson, right when he’s faced with the option to off Megatron. Maybe there’s some taunting about how Optimus preaches softness and forgiveness too much when Jack refuses to kill him. Jack gets angry, and he’s about to fucking do it. But then he stops, takes a breath, and says “Optimus doesn’t preach forgiveness, he preaches moving on from those who refuse to move on themselves. He will never forgive you, but he’s learned to live on despite what you’ve done.” Soon after this, when Megatron comes to the base, Jack takes off his hood, stares Megatron right in the face, and says “This is not forgiveness, Megatron. Don’t you forget that.” Later, when Optimus gives him the key, he tells him something along the lines of “you have grown since we’ve met, Jack, and even though there is still a long way for you to go...” he hands Jack the key. “...Remember that even I am a work in progress.”

Anyways this is again, half-baked. And needs lots of polishing. But it’s something.

[astyle-alex]

🦈SHARK WEEK 2021!!! 🦈

As you may have noticed from last year (and wow, it's hard to believe that it's already been nearly a year)... I like Sharks. And Discovery Shark Week is one of my very favorite weeks out of the year. It's certainly the most important TV event of my year. Shark Week has officially been running for 34 years now, and I've been watching for at least 20 of them. 

Even with the Olympics gearing up (with I will address in another post shortly), Shark Week still takes the absolute cake for me.

Because the athletes of the Olympics are fine. People like them. They are obscenely well paid. And they get multiple chances to do their super elite sports-ing thing.

Meanwhile, Sharks are pretty well universally feared and culled by their millions, murdered out of raw fear and cruelly butchered for psychotic levels of capitalist profit. (between the horrors of ineffectual 'protection' measures like drum lines and the vile brutality of shark fin soup, we kill WELL over 100 million sharks per year (Smithsonian).

Conversely, you are actually NOT very likely to even encounter a shark within a 100 sqft area of ocean, let alone be injured by one.

SERIOUSLY. Sharks aren't honestly all that dangerous:

For every single person in the world who gets bitten by a shark, 25 get bitten by New Yorkers. Yes. You read that correctly. You are 25 times more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark. You're about 100 times more likely to go to the hospital due to something related to paint than because of a shark attack, and you're 1,000 times more likely to go because of an attempt to install a toilet-- and you're 10,000 times more likely to require emergency medical attention due to nails, bolts, and tacks (I wish I were kidding, but no, these are real stats taken from the Museum run by the University of Florida).

500% more people DIED from bicycle accidents in Florida, alone, last year, than went to the hospital for shark encounters world wide between 1990 and 2009.

More dramatically, the current 'shark prevention' measures most beaches use, like 'Drum Lines' kill everything that wanders into them including people. More people and 'nice' animals like whales, dolphins, and sea turtles were killed in Queensland, Australia, alone by drum lines last year than humans on the whole planet encountered a shark. Annually there are ~63 billion pounds of by-catch, much of it from passive 'shark prevention' measure (Oceana).

Dying on a drum line is an awful death. Animals are stressed and struggling as they drown or starve over the course of several hours, sometimes even serval  days to weeks. And if a diver finds a trapped animal, they cannot rescue them without potentially facing a fine of $200k (or higher).

Also, this by-catch is basically a dinner bell for sharks. They're an easy meal of newly-dead animal, drawing sharks closer to the beach than they would've come otherwise. Beaches with drum lines generally have MORE negative-outcome shark encounters than beaches without.

It's just all around awful.

There ARE legitimately safe shark deterrent tools, that are way less expensive (and astronomically less dangerous to humans and by-catch animal), but politicians will keep supporting shark culling plan because their constituents are misinformed and pre-emptive vengeance driven...

Two of my very favorite scholars working to change that are Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, over at the University of Miami and Save Our Seas, and Dr. Craig O'Connell at the O'Seas Conservation Foundation in Montauk, NY.

  READ MORE.

[penwieldingdreamer]

The Devil’s Daughter

Finally a new part for you guys. Thanks so much for the amazing feedback, glad you like it. For those new to the story or just wanting to get tagged, either use the link in my bio and put your blogname in or put it down in the comments, an ask or a message. As always have fun and happy reading

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Warning: mention of blood, angst

Words: 2174

The water running over your cool skin was like heaven. It washed away the blood from your wounds and the dirt of hell, mixing together to a dark stain and running down the drain. Your arms moved around your body, not knowing if you were trying to hold yourself together or if you were waiting to burst into little pieces.

Tears ran down your face, mingling with the water from above as you replayed the last moments in the life you had known for millennia. “Father.” you sobbed, leaning against the tiled wall for support, hoping he would somehow answer you.

But the world around you stayed silent, besides the rushing water and the harsh words of the exorcist and his apprentice, trying to be quiet. Mammon had sent you to earth, cutting away your wings for the betrayal against your father, for trying to help John Constantine. He who always went against the devil’s rules was your greatest enemy and critic. And now you were bound to a mortal life, able to die from a mere cold.

When Constantine had found you, you had been chilled to the bone, not able to form a coherent thought. So he brought you back to his home, telling you to step under the hot shower and a hot meal waiting for you. It wasn’t often that the occult detective had a woman over, why he gave you an old shirt and sweatpants of his. Shutting off the water you grabbed the towel, putting it around your bare body. Carefully you made your way to the sink, wiping away the fog that had gathered on the mirror from the heat. Slightly turning around you looked at the wounds on your back, usually they would have healed by now, then you remembered you were human now. Your powers wouldn’t work, yet still you tried conjuring a flame that normally flickered in your hand.

But nothing happened, not even a spark. 

Another sob tore from your throat as you felt the last connection to your home the Underworld and to your father, the King of Hell leave you. You could never return, at least not alive and then who knows what Mammon already told him, how he already tarnished your name to get back in the Devil’s good graces. 

Sniffing loudly, you raised up again, brushing the tears from your cheeks and taking a deep breath. There was nothing you could do to change your fate now, you’d have to live among humans again, as one of them. Letting the towel drop to the floor, you dressed in the clothes John had given you, remembering the slight blush on his pale cheeks as he saw you in the light of the bathroom, bare as the day humans are born. He shook his head, probably trying to get rid of the image in his head. 

Were you so disgusting that he couldn’t even look upon you? 

Humans were funny creatures. 

Not even William had been that way. You remembered his caresses, letting his fingers glide along the hollow of your throat, your naked breasts on display for him to feast upon it with his hazel eyes before you engulfed him in your heated channel. The poet had often called you his muse, his angel, sometimes even a witch for you stole his heart with only one look and yet your fate as the Devil’s Daughter had followed you, pulling you away from love. 

“How bad can she really be?“ 

You knew that voice too well by now, Chas, John’s apprentice had been the first to convince John to at least let you shower before he again sent you on your way after answering his questions. Even though he had rescued you from dying out in the cold rain, Constantine was still wary. 

"You’re too confident.” John argued as you leaned against the doorway, trying to listen in on the conversation between the two men through the closed door. “She could tear apart mountains with her bear hands you know." 

The younger man scoffed. "Don’t be ridiculous, John.” As silent as you could you opened the door to the bathroom, only a little bit to look out at the companions. 

“It’s true though,” he pointed out, holding up a book. You didn’t recognize it and made a mental note to get back to that once you had the chance, maybe it could help you return. After all the exorcist owned it, so there must be something in there. “I read her story, Chas. Y/N isn’t as sweet as she seemed. She could burn down entire cities with a single glare, hell, the girl could topple entire nations without breaking a sweat!" 

The warlock stood up, moving over to his apprentice and put his hands on the younger man’s neck, making him look at John.  "Believe me when I say” he leaned down to growl at Chas. “She can kill you in a second, with elegance and beauty and grace and” You felt yourself lean harder against the door, trying to hear what John was whispering to his friend, when the wood gave way and moved to the side. 

He stopped abruptly. The room fell silent as all eyes looked to the door. There you were, dressed in the top large sweatpants, dragging across the floor and hiding your delicate feet and the shirt that was hanging down to mid thigh. 

You stumbled clumsily as you were only just able to catch yourself before you could crash to the floor. As you did so, a pinkish blush tinted your cheeks, embarrassed at your entrance. 

Chas raised a brow. “Grace, John?” Sarcasm dripped from every word as he looked at his boss and friend. The young man walked over to you, offering his hand so you would either not embarrass yourself further or so he could help you walk the last steps to the kitchen table. Sitting down you waited, the exorcist wanted to question you and you were eager to get it over with. 

Crossing his arms over his chest, the dark haired warlock turned his eyes on you, probably mulling over why you would send Chas back to the land of the living. 

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he finally questioned, putting his hands on the table and leaning closer. “Why are you here?" 

Licking your lips you pushed your body back against the chair, trying to act confident after the little mishap. No reason to give them more ammunition against you. “Oh John, I thought you already know why I’m here?” you murmured, a smirk curving your lips upward. Chas stood next to you and out of the corner of your eye you saw him glancing at the occult detective, not sure what to do. The dark haired man across from him wasn’t to be trifled with and he didn’t like those that played games with him. 

His fist hit the top of the table, making you jump on the inside, while your body remained passive. Pupils dilated, you stared at the hand as if it were going to swing around and come near you. 

This guy really had some issues.

“I don’t like playing games, Y/N.” he growled, turning to his apprentice with a cocked head and a mirroring smirk on his face. “Isn’t that right Chas?”

“You - ugh.” you saw him swallow the lump in his throat, trying to speak around it. The poor guy looked like he might pass out, probably never seen John so angry before. “I don’t think you do.” he finally answered. “The last guy that played games was Balthazar.”

Of course you had forgotten about him. The demon had died by Constantine’s Holy Gun. For all you cared he could stay just the way he was, no need in crying for someone you hated since the beginning of time.

“Yes, Balthazar.” John began, scratching his chin, probably thinking back to the time he set the guy up in flames, watching his ashes falling to the ground. “Charming fellow, but such an asshole.”

Snorting, you crossed your arms over your chest, looking at the man in front of you. “He was everything but charming. On the asshole I agree with you.”

“Great, now that we’re on the same page, you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked, taking the chair opposite from you and sitting down, tired of always being the one to do everything. “I just sent Mammon back to Hell, so why are you here now? You trying to rule Earth, too?”

Shaking your head, you waited, taking a deep breath before you finally opened your mouth again, trying to be as serious as possible. “No, and even if I did, why would I want to rule a world with you humans in it?” You shrugged, seeing a dark look cross John’s face, anger radiating more prominently from his body. “You have a knack for choosing the things that are worst for you, where's the fun in that?”

The exorcist in training raised his eyebrows at your words, feeling slightly relieved that he wouldn’t have to sent you back, too, at least at the moment. When you had sent him back he had gazed upon a soul that wasn’t entirely evil, there was light, too, and he wanted to discover it. “How did you get those wounds, was it” he paused, not sure what he wanted to ask. Could a father really be that cruel to his child?

Your hand reached over your shoulder, feeling the open wound through John’s borrowed shirt, knowing there would be blood again and in the near future someone should close them, for you weren’t sure that they would heal as fast as you needed them to. “It was Mammon.” Constantine looked at you, knowing only half the story of your hatred for your brother. “We have been rivals since the beginning of our existence.” you explained, a somber look on your face, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I was Father’s favorite because I followed his rules, did all that he wanted while my brother was the rebel, never listening and going against everything that he had told us. And now the time came and Mammon didn’t succeed in his plan to rule Earth.” Your eyes locked on the deep brown pools across from you, trying to see into his soul. “He was angry, like he always was, but when I returned Chas to the living, my brother knew that it was my time to rebel against the Devil, no longer abiding Hell’s law.”

There was a moment of silence when both men stared at you, not sure what to say. You could hear the rain still pouring outside and knew it wouldn’t let up anytime soon.

Chas had moved over to his friend and teacher, standing on his right side like the good student he was. “So - ugh - you said something about needing my help.”

Nodding your head you smiled at the younger man. “I did, yes, before I sent you back.”

“Yeah, all right,” John interrupted, holding his hand up. “We established that already, but what is it you need to do?”

Pulling your hand away from your shoulder you saw the blood on your skin, so red you couldn’t believe it really belonged to you. Blinking once, twice you tried to rearrange your thoughts, hearing the exorcist calling your name, the one he must have learned when he read the book - your Father’s book. “Huh?”

“I want to know what you need to do?” he asked again, his dark eyes turning stormy with every passing second. “I’ve been asking the same question over and over again, now be as kind as a demon can be and answer me.”

“Ah, yeah.” Giggling like a small child you held up your hand, showing the evidence of your still open wound to the two men. “I’ve never seen my blood, it’s so red.”

A loud clap sounded in the apartment, aided by the booming thunder that rolled over Los Angeles. “One more time, Y/N, I only give you one more chance to tell me or I’ll send your ass back to hell, not as a demon but as a human so you can suffer”

“The Nine Circles, I know.” You rolled your eyes at John like a petulant child. “I know how it works, I’m the one doing the torture there, remember?”

Chas snorted behind his hand, a lopsided smile on his face. “Well not right now, that’s for sure.”

A toothy grin on your on lips was his answer, before you turned to John, watching him intently. His body was rigid with anger, his musk radiating from every pore and you saw his fists clench in irritation. Finally relenting you gave him the answer he craved so much.

“I’m saving your soul.” you simply stated. “The Devil, my father, wants it and I’m going to help you so he won’t get his hands on it.”

Part 6

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@wolfsrainrules @north-peach IT’S HERE!!

This is very long????????????

(also writing this really drove home another one of those moments where i'm just like “what the FLIP I have FAMILY as young as this hero WHAT ARE THE GROWNUPS DOING”)

Ichigo is immediately like “a person who Knows Things! Who's willing to Tell Me Those Things!” and sits down and lays out everything he's been mentally and not-so-mentally screaming about since he got STABBED with a SWORD and got up with MAGIC POWERS. Byakuya eventually meanders them to his estate and orders tea and half of soul society feels Judged even though they're not sure where it's coming from. Byakuya is massively unimpressed with Everything.

Whether this is right after the first invasion or later would change some things, but in any era what the fallout mostly boils down to is the Gotei freaking out because suddenly! The super-powerful kid they've had running around is asking questions! And doing things!! Legally!!!

Ichigo puts Byakuya on speed dial on his soul phone and calls him up every time he thinks of a problem or someone tries harassing him or Isshin says something that just. Doesn't add up.

And eventually he just starts calling Byakuya to yell about shinigami nonsense around town (his bedroom is no longer marked as a safe house, has the esteemed Gotei 13 fallen so low–), about theories and experiments he's doing to adapt kido to his reiatsu levels, about history and science and reishi architecture and whatever else catches his interests, and Byakuya pretty much always picks up, even if it's just to tell him that he's in a meeting and setting a time for them to talk, and when he visits soul society he has friends who are eager to see him but he always spends some time at Byakuya's.

(more under the cut!)

Byakuya is quick to invite him into the Kuchiki library, and they spend many afternoons and evenings just sitting quietly, Ichigo tearing through scrolls and records, Byakuya doing paperwork or reading, and sometimes Ichigo will ask a question or Byakuya will point out that this author over here expounds on that point in the book you're reading, and they'll have intellectual debates over hasty bites out of their dinner and the staff is Scandalized by the young lord taking books to the table but after the first three times they got up in the middle of eating bc byakuya was trying to enforce Decorum ichigo just brought his books with him and then byakuya had to get up to reference something and it was just too much trouble. The head servant whatever is just like fine! fine, at least they're not eating in the library, who knows what might happen with a Shiba in the works, at least the young lord still has a grip on his temper.

And it is funny to anyone who sees them together -- it took a little while because Ichigo isn't actually in SS all that often, he usually trains in the bunker and Kisuke is about all the mad scientist he can handle, but he comes to hang with Renji & other friends on some weekends -- but they actually do get along like a house on fire after byakuya flipped the "mentor" switch and let his guard down enough to keep getting sucked into heated debates. Ichigo's not a rebel, necessarily, in that he's not out there constantly looking for reasons to pick fights with anyone, he just doesn't let anyone pick fights with him or his friends and also goes "well that's stupid" with... pretty much any kind of unjust authority and law. It drives Byakuya a bit bonkers but he channels it into "educate the unfortunately misinformed future clan head" instead of immediate senbonzakura-ing. Trouble is that Ichigo is entirely ready for friendly debate throw-downs and yeah, maybe he doesn't have a law degree, but execution without a trial for trying to protect people, byakuya, really?

And this is where a little of the cultural confusion comes through, because Byakuya is intellectually aware that Ichigo is human but it doesn't really affect much beyond Ichigo being from somewhere else and being unfamiliar with soul society. And he's like, mostly adult-shaped, right? He's bigger than Toshiro, and most souls that look like Ichigo are already out doing things, even if they're still pretty closely connected with home, and he acts young sometimes but most of the time he's at Byakuya's level, just less experienced, which is to be expected given shinigami aging. So Byakuya answers any questions he has and applies pressure in ichigo's favor when needs be in the background, and otherwise lets Ichigo come to him and generally be independent.

And this works for Ichigo! He's been independent for years, wrongfully so, but he still has more life experience than most kids his age and is fiercely independent on top of that, so having someone to lean on is both novel and avoids being suffocating or condescending. A lot of the time he wants help – he already has more independence than he really wanted, and he's mostly adjusted to it, but it doesn't stop him from wanting some of that support that he's been lacking for so long, and that Byakuya is freely offering.

And eventually he figures out that he's started telling Byakuya things he hasn't told anyone else – questions about hollows eventually led to offhand mention of his hollowfication, and oh right, he'd actually kind of attacked Byakuya with his hollow mask, he'd probably want an explanation for that and even as chill as he's been so far the soul society anti-hollow rhetoric has gotta come into play somewhere with a noble –

Except Byakuya doesn't push. He never pushes. Even with that first offer, he was just laying out an option that Ichigo could take if he needed it, and he followed through when Ichigo took him up on it.

So he has a bit of a crisis and is a little more scowly than usual, but his sisters and friends know what it looks like when he's thinking really hard about something and leave him be, and he takes some long walks with Chad, just turning over what's been happening in his head and considering.

(Byakuya's been one of his people since he got his head screwed on straight, but Ichigo knows he has a tendency to latch on in ways that most people don't reciprocate, and it's okay. His friends have gone to war with him for someone they barely knew, they trust him, and he can lean on Chad most times, and it's good, it's good to have friends and precious people to protect.

But Byakuya isn't looking for his protection, or for someone to follow, or to spar with or experiment on or manipulate.

He's just – there.)

His thinking doesn't change much. He's already confided more in Byakuya than he has with anyone, because before hollows and Soul Society his friend group was all human teenagers doing teenager things, and Chad was sorely needed relief from a chaotic home life but he was still Ichigo's age, didn't have answers to a lot of the questions Ichigo's been shoving deep ever since his mom died. Byakuya doesn't press, doesn't judge, thinks deeply before speaking, but Ichigo always knows he's listening.

It's. It's good. It's really good.

And I guess I have a timeframe after all because Ichigo's really been there and back by the time of the Winter War. Byakuya sent his sister and his lieutenant to support Ichigo before he'd even been denied help to rescue Orihime, and came to Hueco Mundo himself, and listened again when Ichigo came to him, glaring and stiff, and slowly, quietly told him about dying and coming back less than human, fear in the faces of his friends and enemies, about seeing a soul – a person – crumble at his own hands.

Byakuya gets a hint, then, that Ichigo isn't quite the same as a soul. Souls might go entire lives only in soul society, from birth to death, but even souls who grow naturally rather than coming from the Living World are in some ways static, slightly less flexible in some fundamental way than those in the Living World. He does a little asking around, and Ichigo is so young even by human standards – Soul Society has been leaning on him like he's as old as his power levels suggest, in a place where passive reiatsu output is often more accurate than physical appearance, and all this time he's not even fully developed as a person, is still soft and learning how to exist in the world.

Byakuya has his own crisis right about then, and I'm playing fast and loose with timelines because I don't even remember most of the show, so in this au we're in a waiting period after clashing with the Espada just enough to get Orihime back – all the shinigami are alive, Grimmjow is licking his wounds-presumed-dead, tragic batman is dead, harribel and the tres bestias are not wearing battle bikinis cool, uuuuuuuum I think???? the vizard already happened before the grand desert slaycation??? Byakuya has a few belated heart attacks when he hears about training and the dangers thereof even though he's been privy to & helping with Ichigo's solo experiments with the hollow mask, and after Orihime is back and the shinigami do whatever sneaky sneak they've been planning or however it was they figured out about the time limit or whyever they wait for the Karakura pillars fiasco instead of, idunno, trying to prevent the megalomaniac from keeping hold of the magic rock….

ANYWAY there's a quiet period and Byakuya has his oh crap i'm a dad crisis and eventually is just like this is a literal child but he's proved himself time and time again that he's capable and wouldn't appreciate anyone butting in on his business uninvited, so instead he's sneaky about it. Most of his sneaking reveals that things are about like Ichigo's described, he has school and friends and training (urahara probably notices his snooping but he's certainly not the one filling in for Isshin's catastrophic failures in parenting, and maybe he sees the need or maybe he just isn't bothered enough to do something about being spied on, and he never interferes or tells kurosaki). Okay, this is fine, if everyone else is a complete and utter failure of a parent then he'll have to fill in whatever Ichigo hasn't covered himself. He gets an actually competent shinigami to cover Karakura, gets a copy of his school schedule and keeps people from harassing him near tests, is even more stringent with fronting central 46's stupidity and Very Firmly, At Risk of Murder cuts off all possible contact between Kurotsushi and Ichigo's people (and may start quietly grooming nemu to take over the 12th but nobody can prove it).

Things are bopping along, and then we have whatever permutation of the winter war that happens in this AU. Byakuya's been busy with the Grand Karakura Relocation or whatever the plan is and reinforcing his division, whipping them into shape after centuries of nothing but low-level hollows, and he knows that Ichigo's doing the same and he isn't concerned when they have less time to communicate.

Then Aizen.

I never actually watched the interim between the hundreds of episodes of vs arrancar fights and the butterfly beatdown but i'm assuming that everybody's tied up elsewhere or else they wouldn't have let a SINGLE 15YO fight aizen on his own, right? RIGHT???

Anyway in THIS fic that's the way it works, and while urahara and some of the other captains/ whoever's fighting fit, free, and not gonna die just from standing near the powerhouses lends a hand, so Byakuya is busy but not really worried bc Ichigo is a proven warrior and he has backup and for all his unexpected fondness, byakuya is still a military man and he Compartmentalizes.

Except then Ichigo's power rises and rises and rises again, and then all at once disappears.

Byakuya promptly flips his lid and Aizen goes into the box a bit more shredded than he did in the og timeline.

Everybody else gets the idea pretty quickly and flings Ichigo at Byakuya, who figures out what happened very fast and immediately decides Isshin has lost all rights to anything, ever. Ichigo is kept abreast of all developments in the efforts to get his powers back and NOBODY leaves him to his own devices for two years because Byakuya is persistently present and Isshin is on his shit list big time so he takes great joy in thwarting him at every turn.

I haven't watched or read the Ginjo arc at all but from what I gather they sneak in while Ichigo's isolated so there's a solid chance all that mess gets cut off at the knees.

Byakuya may or may not have an apartment and double life as a reclusive rich businessman in the Living World so that Ichigo has a place to stay when Isshin is Too Much, maybe the welcome eventually gets expanded to Chad and Orihime and the twins, but whatever goes on after Aizen, Byakuya is there and backing Ichigo up.