#The Path She Picked

[manaohu]

I. THE MAGICIAN

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I really like is that April’s constant stream of odd jobs she goes through is somewhat reflected in the boys as well. Like, you have April working at random pizza places or getting a crane license or being fully willing to apply for a job at a place clearly made out of cardboard. Then you have the boys as well who do anything from working as a basketball mascot, building a massive dog park, being waiters, getting a whole band gig at a theme park, etc, etc-

Main difference is that April actively applies for these jobs (and is hopefully paid for the short time she’s in them) whereas for the bros the jobs usually find them (and they practically never get paid.) It doesn’t even stop at jobs either, they just seem to casually amass skills in general.

I don’t know, I like how both April and the turtles are just so ready and willing to do things. Sure, they’re not always good at these things, but they do them readily! In a way, being heroes is just another job (well, more like volunteer work/vigilantism/another fun activity) that they initially took on because of their general sense of “why not?”

They’re very willing and open to trying out new things despite their tendency to revert back to what they enjoy (and how commonly trying new things ends up going wrong), and I think that adaptational interest of theirs really helps them be well rounded in multiple regards.

[bvckbiter]

listen, lukelli could be so funny. all post ttc luke wants is to finally die, so when he sees a hot man-eater (literal) making moves on him his manwhore ass is like “you know what. might as well go out with a bang.” meanwhile kelli does very much want to eat this man (after getting to know him ofc. shes not a savage, she prefers to wine and dine her food). but unfortunately hecate and the titans have given explicit orders that luke castellan be kept alive, and if their little fling helps keep his mind away from offing himself, then she better keep wining and dining him. the entire time they’re together, luke is in agony because he wants to die and kelli is in agony because she cant kill him. but consequently they’re also matching each other’s freaks and having the most irresponsible cruise fling ever. when kelli kills that random demigod in seattle, notwithstanding luke’s upset at a wasted demigod life, his depressed brain is going “THAT SHOULDVE BEEN MEEEEEE,” which then leads into a whole thing of “ofc this was all about keeping me alive for the titans” in which he finally realizes hes truly got no one on his side. and by the time botl rolls around, kelli is just bummed that she’s lost her favorite boytoy bloodbag. she cant be caught kissing the geezer lord of the titans smh

[supercritters]

uhm, this is a more general question but how does one get into superhero comics? idk where to start ;-;

Well, that's a very broad question! The thing about superhero comics is that there are so, so many of them in so many different genres and styles that there is literally no 'right' answer to this question. So instead this is what I'll tell you:

Start with a character. I assume that because you expressed an interest in reading comics you already have a few characters in mind that made you want to do that. Maybe you really like the Winter Soldier from the movies, or maybe you watched the CW Flash TV show and you think Reverse Flash is interesting. Don't start with a team run like Justice League or The Avengers, or an author like Frank Miller's body of work. Pick one specific character to focus on and go from there. I would advise choosing one of the more mid-level characters - you can start with a Batman or a Spider-Man if you really want, but those big names have such an enormous volume of content that it'll probably be overwhelming. Go with someone like Moon Knight, or Hawkgirl, in that realm.

Once you've done that, I would also suggest deciding whether you prefer modern comics or older comics. You'll likely be missing lore if you start with a more modern run, but some older comics can be dense and harder to get through. Do your own research - it's as easy as Googling "[character name] + iconic run" or "best comics" and go from there. There's about a billion easy resources to find particular issues and runs that a character appears in. As you read through a character, you will inevitably find other characters that interest you, and you fan out from there. It's like an interlocking web of intrigue that bounces you from one place to another, and eventually you get a better idea of what kind of stories attract you and how all the characters relate to each other. In terms of reading the literal comics themselves, I have nothing against piracy - I wouldn’t have been able read nearly as much as I have without it. There’s plenty of virus-free online scan websites if you look around, including the one I use now. Just make sure you’re actually buying some of the physical comics, and especially supporting ongoing runs you like. Plus then you get to have them forever and read them whenever you want!

That's how you get into superhero comics!

[leonardcohenofficial]

had a really good meeting with my rabbi and got to catch up with her which was lovely and we figured out a timeline for finalizing all my writing and then we'll be scheduling the beit din for the summer and when i'm back on the west coast

[slayerdurge]

the brainrot is telling me to do an evil karlach origin play through

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Both my parents actually suffer from HORRID emotional dysregulation and are prone to snapping and going into rages. My sister is the same way tbh. I am now realizing this is why they are constantly baffled by the question of whether or not I am mad at them.

I don't have external meltdowns.

I could. I don't let it happen.

I keep my rage on the inside and stay pretty quiet about it. It's just as strong as theirs [physically shaking nose bleed from high blood pressure kind of bad], but like as a kid I saw how terrifying it was to be around [dad breaking dishes, mom putting our lawn chairs into walls] and I just internalized that I wasn't going to wear that anger on the outside.

So my mother genuinely cannot tell if I am just being quiet or if I am silently hearing the dial-up noises of pure rage. This has lead her to both making strong and confident statements like "You are a pacifist who would never hurt a fly U.U" but also acting like I am secretly dangerous maybe... It's because she has never seen me snap.

She knows what her temper is like [throwing chairs through walls], she knows what my father's temper is like [pick up child and toss out door], and she can tell I am being tested, but she doesn't know what happens when I snap or where that breaking point is.

Her -perhaps unhinged- solution to this, my whole life, has been to do things that should obviously enrage me or shut me down completely, like ignoring important boundaries, repeatedly, punishing me for expressing emotions or needs at all, etc... And then to constantly ask me if I am angry with her when I get too quiet [right after near directly telling me to shut up].

It has occurred to me now, they have never once seen me lose my temper, so they literally just can't tell if I am angry at them. My sister is easy, my mother fights and screams with my sister constantly, my mother understands this. My mother doesn't have any grasp of feelings or boundaries that are not screamed at her [apparently, and I fear my sister is the same way]. Her and my sister are close despite constant fucking fighting because they understand each other.

They are trying to get me to engage the same way and it is not working. I realize now that this has been hard for them.

I was so successfully taught to suppress my emotions, by being punished for any outburst, that rage quiet looks the same as any other kind of quiet from the outside. To them anyway.

I did tell her. For the record. I used my words. I did tell her very calmly that my response to rage, in order to avoid doing the things that terrified me as a child, was to simply leave [the autistic urge to GTFO]. When a situation or person causes too much of the dial-up rage noise, I simply extract myself from that situation, up to and including never speaking to a person again. I explained this calmly. I explained it calmly 100 times and I explained that I explain myself calmly as my rage response 1-5 [also pretty much every other negative emotion tbh], and I told her that what came next was me simply opting out and fucking off. I told her this. I couldn't understand why she never took me seriously, or why she never fucking understood.

I couldn't understand what made her like this.

But it's the same problem I have with everyone else multiplied by a factor of 10.

If I am explaining myself calmly, they can't understand that it's actually serious or that I am actually upset. ESPECIALLY because they read me as "female" and women "aren't that rational" so if I am not screaming and crying about something, which I never do, people assume I can't be upset and it isn't serious.

And then after having my boundaries ignored too many times despite having calmly explained how and why it's a problem [shaking inside or not]... I leave. I leave and everyone gets upset like this is unexpected behaviour, even though I told them 50 times that is how I would respond if they kept doing *the thing.*

And for neurotypical people especially, they are expecting there to be a disconnect between what someone says they need or feel and what their actually boundaries and feelings are, and they expect the latter to be demonstrated with emotions. Telling them bluntly you do not function that way somehow never helps?

My mother isn't just looking for normal yelling or a few tears to know I am serious, whether or not I do those either [I don't], she's looking for an explosion to know there's a problem at all.

Fucked if I know how she proceeds through life this way in general or if this is just her expectation of her own kids???

And I couldn't get why my mother couldn't read my emotions and didn't seem to think I have any. It's because she's testing for the rage limit to see where my 'actual' limit is instead of taking my word for it. Never the fuck mind that she could simply *not* test at my boundaries instead of letting me have them. Separate issue.

I couldn't figure out what made her *like this*

She's expecting me to throw a giant meltdown violent tantrum at people when I have 'actually' had enough. Maybe she got away with those being like 5'4" in another time, but I am the size of the average man, I do not get to have giant screaming rages, whether or not people perceive me consciously as a woman, and least of all because a lot of people -at least unconsciously- read me as 'masculine' or at least always "they guy" of the situation compared to all other women and some men [bigger stronger and more rational, more able to just absorb the damage and let it go so the less rational screaming/crying one doesn't have to be dealt with]. Even if it was in me to be willing to terrify people [usually never], there are such limited instances where it wouldn't just blow back on me. Potentially very dangerously.

I am going to be the quiet calm one. You are going to have to let me use my words, bitch.

So she kept ignoring my boundaries until I had to cut her out of my life, and she probably doesn't understand and probably thinks it feels sudden -after 36 long years of bullshit- abrupt and unfair.

But I told her hundreds of times.

I probably should have just screamed at her.

[lovvedaggers]

Eddie Diaz has the worst case of comphet to ever be put in a tv show I need this man to be free from the shackles of heterosexuality

[nellasbookplanet]

That one post which I can no longer find about how Laudna and Imogen simultaneously embody "I can fix her" and "I can make her worse" truly hit the nail on the head about them. They are each other’s tethers, keep each other grounded and help the other remember there’s a reason to go on, they taught each other that they don’t have to be lonely and isolated and feared, that they can be loved unconditionally not despite that which makes them dangerous and different but in part because of it, as an inherent part of themselves. They will fight for each other’s happiness tooth and nail.

But they are also the 'together either way' couple. Laudna would follow in Delilah's footsteps and burn the world and herself for Imogen. If she thinks Ruidus and Predathos are Imogen's destiny, what would make her whole and happy, she would encourage her to embrace it, Exandria be damned. Imogen exalted because of her love for Laudna. She was prepared to do just about anything to get Laudna back from the dead and is equally prepared to do anything now to stop it from happening again. She offered to let Laudna eat her soul. She's so so tempted by Ruidus and knows, even in her struggle, that the person she loves most would never hold it against her even a little bit if she gave in.

[thedeafprophet]

mmmm its late and i dont have the full words for it but i will get back to this at some point, on April being a deaf character and the treatment of deaf people historically and now, and the way shes often treated as just A Tool by the npcs....

[mylove-thresher]

I LOVE MY FRIENDS ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[destinywillowleaf]

so apparently I've headcanoned these two as brothers since at least 2018 and I'm not stopping any time soon >:) debeste-fulbright sibling rights now and forever

also I think Sebastian would be a detective/investigator and not just a prosecutor, I can and will elaborate

[emmriches]

emmrich’s personal choice quest holds a weight to it that i really feel like the others didn’t or tried and couldn’t

[bacchuschucklefuck]

holding onto nsbu with both hands you are my saviour my everything. why is izzy doing the Most

[ohnothisisathing]

If you missed it, Tina said she wanted to do a 100 day birthday for Empanada which is a Korean tradition, and it’ll falls on the 29th of February because it’s a leap year! How cool!

[ncfan-1]

Osha’s “I will find you!” and Anakin’s “I won’t let this dream come to pass”: same principle. (Resolving to go down a dark path to find the strength to save the person they love most from peril.)

Same result? (Eternal separation via death and/or pushing their loved one further and further away with every action they take trying to keep them close and keep them safe, until their loved one doesn't recognize and can’t stand what they’ve become.)