#also i think it's important to say: no lizards were harmed for this

[gray-warden]

Does anyone here know something about lizard skeletal anatomy?

I have an (incomplete) lizard skeleton and am trying to figure out which bones are which. So if anyone here knows something about the topic and/or has some good resources to send my way, please let me know, I'd really appreciate it.

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 20: How to Train Your Dragon

Date: January 20, 2025

Day: 20

Content Watched: How to Train Your Dragon

Year: 2005

Rating: PG

Run Time: 1 hr. 38 mins.

I know we're almost done with ATLA, but we're taking a break for... thematic reasons (we gotta let that re-cap episode shine, okay?!)

As far as movement goes, this movie kind of explodes out of the gate. The opening scene is a village full of people and dragons, and it has the same chaos a live action film would, which is not surprising, as the creators have said this is what they wanted it to look like. There are other specific scenes that show this as well, like when Stoick says of Toothless, "throw it with the others," but we cut to Hiccup being thrown into his house, or when Hiccup is asking Gobber if there are additional pamphlets on the night fury, only to have the camera pan out to reveal he's in the middle of dragon training, and a nadder could be attacking him at any minute.

This movie is also filled with great details. Hiccup is incredibly facially expressive, beat out possibly only by Toothless himself. And as the film goes on, you get great interactions between them that show how strong their friendship is, like when Astrid punches Hiccup the first time. There's this silent exchnage between the two of them that's basically: girls...

Astrid is also facially expressive. I particularly like the scene when Hiccup is showing the other teens that dragons aren't harmful, and you can tell that she is excited and interested and believes in him while the others are terrified. The end credits are fun because they are on firelit parchment (we don't see the fire, but they do flicker) and I also love Gobber's interchangable hands. That must have been a fun character design to develop, even if it would have been more difficult to have him constantly appearing with something else on the end of his arm.

But the real reason I think this animation is sophisticated? These are some of the most interesting dragons I have ever seen in literature. I love that creators decided to break away from the standard "giant lizard" and created creatures that exhibit mammalian behaviors. (To be fair, I expect that reptiles also exhibit some of these behaviors, but only people who keep lizards or snakes are going to recognize that--please comment if you can speak to this!) But Toothless constantly reminds me of every cat I have ever owned (though he also hangs upside down like a bat) and the gronkle pants and scratches like a dog.

I have this movie on DVD, and in the behind-the-scenes feature, the animators talk about how they wanted each dragon to be unique, and feel like they had unique evolutions--like real animals. This results in the cat like night fury and terrible terrors, the dog-like gronkle, the birdlike deadly nadder, and the more traditionally dragonlike nightmare. As part of the dragons' unique evolutions, they also talk about how they tried to develop a different form of fire for each dragon, which is why the gronkle has a more typical dragony fireball, the zippleback head looks like a lighter, and Toothless has a single bolt of blue flame--each a different effect. The animators also discuss how they were free to do this because the film was animated. In a live-action film, with practical fire effects, the need for safety can limit the types of fire effects available to you (this is not a bad thing--saftey is important!) But when the set is in the computer, you can do anything you want with fire, including turn the image of fire crawling up a ceiling upside down in order to create the effect of the monstrous nightmare setting itself on fire. It's clear just how much thought went into every inch of this film.

I would argue that the same level of thought and care went into the storytelling itself. I feel like each theme was thought through and multiple story elements were created to support them. The movie teaches us that being the biggest and strongest of a group isn't as important as compassion and openness to experience. Hiccup's compassion for Toothless and his openness to learning about and helping the dragon, despite what he's been taught all his life leads to a literally ride-or-die friendship. I love stories like this because they teach us the importance of letting our guard down and trying to see from someone else's perspective. Like I said when I started this project, we have enough echo-chambers in this world right now.

Hiccup's and Astrid's opennness to experience also leads to them better understanding one another and developing their romance. At the beginning, Astrid seems like a typical viking girl, who is all about killing dragons, but as we see when she yells at Hiccup in the ring, she is actually a fifteen year old who is all too aware of the conflict her village is facing. She's not in this for the glory, like some of the other teens. She is inheriting a duty to keep her people safe, and she is dedicated to that. Therefore, it's natural that she would be annoyed at Hiccup, who doesn't seem to be taking this seriously. But when she discovers that Hiccup has actually befriended a dragon--and a night fury no less--she realizes pretty quickly that fighting dragons is not the only way to keep the peace. She also quickly accepts Toothless as one of her people, and is willing to protect him when Hiccup asks.

This theme of not needing to be the biggest and beefiest even comes into play with the dragons, as Toothless is smaller than the nightmare and probably the zippleback as well. But as we see in the battle with the queen, speed and agility can be just as useful as pure size, as well as working in tandem with Hiccup and the other dragon riders. As a woman, I haven't had a lot of experience with message about needing to be a big strong manly type, so I'd be curious to hear a male perspective on how HTTYD handles this.

I also think this movie is a lesson in exposition. There is so much worldbuilding here, and since we're dropped in the middle of it, that requires a lot of exposition. Obviously, some of the exposition comes via the opening voice-over. Voice-overs don't work in all movies, but I do think it works in this one, probably because the voice-over is only at the beginning and the end, and they mirror one another. In fact, I'm rather a fan of the voiceovers because the line "This. Is Berk." feels kind of iconic of the film now. I hear it, and I know exactly what's about to happen.

But exposition is also delivered in the training sequences and other conversations, like when Gobber is telling Snotlout that when you go after a dragon, you should attack the wings and tail first. Then we have the scene in which Hiccup is flipping through the dragon manual, and Fishlegs constantly giving us information about dragon stats. There's also a lot of information which is delivered visually, like in the training montage. I don't know if that technically counts as exposition, but it's another example of how this movie delievers a lot of information. And it's put in so effortlessly that you never even think about it. There's no "as you knows," or awkward dialogue. It feels perfectly natural and gives us everything we need to understand the story.

The movie also has great character building. Specifically, many of the characters have quirks that make them unique. Gobber has his interchangable hands. Snotlout is always flirting and boasting, Ruffnut and Tuffnut are constantly bickering, and Fishlegs spouts dragon facts. Even the village elder has something that makes her unique--she never speaks. Astrid plays with her heair and she is the only character in blue, which makes her stand out visually. And Hiccup carries a notebook around everywhere and draws things. This shows that his character is both curious and observant, as well as helps to forward the plot when he drops his pencil, forcing him into an encounter with Toothless and becomes part of his ability to befriend the dragon when they bond through drawing.

Quite frankly, the worldbuilding in general is great. As already mentioned, we have a lot of unique dragons that have evolved in different ways. And the visuals about Berk reveal a lot about viking culture. The people jostle and yell because they're a rough and tumble society, and Astrid has a great moment of swearing. But my favorite part of the worldbuilding is how they treat amputees. It seems to me that the loss of a limb, in this society, is considered a problem only in so far as it hinders mobility. Gobber, for example, has lost both an arm and a leg, and he has prosthetics for both, but he is no less respected due to the loss of limb. When Stoick leaves him behind, he doesn't say, "I don't want you to get hurt," he says, "I need you to train new recruits." Nor does Stoick try to stop him when he volunteers to help distract the queen in the final battle.

Quite frankly, it makes sense that the village would find Gobber's prosthetics more or less unremarkable. It's logical that amputees would be common in a village of dragon fighters, and that they would not want to spare someone just because they lost a single limb. In fact, there should probably be more amputees walking around Berk (likewise, there should probably me more people with burn scars walking around the fire nation.) But this attitude is likely why Hiccup reacts the way he does to Toothless's tail injury--he recognizes that Toothless's lack of mobility decreases his chance of survival and creates a prosthetic to increase that chance. It's another example of how he treats Toothless the way he would treat a human.

One more element of good storytelling is the use of the rule of three, which happens twice: Hiccup saying, "you just gestured to all of me," and Gobber yelling, "night fury! get down!" In both cases, these are negative statements the first two times, and positive the third. It's a nice shorthand to show us how the society has changed, and, like the intro and outro, I like patterns.

Finally, I absolutely love the sound design on this film. The dragon noises are great (even if they weren't voiced by an actual person) and as I said before, this is one of my all time favorite movie soundtracks. My favorite track is "Test Drive," but you can't go wrong with any of them.

[karistiltskin]

what if i said "but I would die for you in secret" but imagine merlin and arthur.

peace lyric analysis as merthur:

"Our coming-of-age has come and gone

Suddenly the summer, it's clear

I never had the courage of my convictions

As long as danger is near

And it's just around the corner, darling

'Cause it lives in me

No, I could never give you peace"

OUR COMING-OF-AGE?? okay, listen. as we know, arthur's coming-of-age moment is linked to his coronation. He literally has an episode called "The Coming of Arthur" parts one and two (S03 E12-E13). it's arthur becoming king and merlin starting to finally feel like he's getting somewhere with their destiny because of arthur's crowning. this is our setting. we're now in the after.

"I never had the courage of my convictions as long as danger is near" SHUT UPPPP SHUT UPPPP like actually oh my god. as long as danger is near is so so sick and speaks so loud. merlin absolutely does have the courage of his convictions and just to clarify, collins dictionary [colin morgan ;) ] states it as the confidence to do what you believe is right, even though other people may not agree or approve. BUT when arthur is in danger he does not do the "right" thing. he listens to the giant lizard instead or gaius (still love him) and does anything, anything, to make sure arthur doesn't get harmed no matter what.

rip morgana and getting poisoned.

rip mordred's entire existence.

although arthur attracts danger, merlin attracts just as much. and merlin is magic. (ugh, I'm getting sad and the only reason i won't cry is cause i'm in the middle of a lecture. a nighttime lecture). merlin can never give arthur peace because he is everything arthur was conditioned to hate. arthur can never give merlin peace because he's a king with expectations from Camelot and neighboring kingdoms. aka they can never be peacefully together without the threat of danger from them both and towards their relationship.

"But I'm a fire, and I'll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade ocean wave blues comes

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?"

merlin lights arthur fires. that's it. that's the tweet.

merlin is also arthur's closest friend and confidant. he definitely gets arthur to see other perspectives on a situation and makes sure he remains compassionate and fair. for example, that look arthur gave merlin in S05 E11 during kara's trial?? my god. or the episode where arthur killed that one king's son under the influence of his uncle, the sleaze.

THEY WOULD DIE FOR EACH OTHER IN SECRET. NO ARGUMENTS. they've proved episode after episode again that they would no questions asked. people who don't know them just go "he's just a servant" or "you would choose him over your kind?" (ouch) not knowing the depth of their relationship. but yes. yes they would. and they would not have a single regret. they would deny the hell out of it but the proof is in their actions.

but you got a friend in me yes ma'am they do.

and it would be enough. it would. do they need a reminder that they were both born in mind of each other? that it was written since the beginning of time? that both of them have their own personal demons that instead of running away they'd take care of each other instead? that they're the most important person for each other and nothing can split them apart because they've grown to trust each other so much that their souls have intertwined? two sides of the same coin? other half of my soul, as the poets say???

"Your integrity makes me seem small

You paint dreamscapes on the wall

I talk shit with my friends

It's like I'm wasting your honor"

from arthur's pov he knows merlin is better than him. the way he interacts with people, his morals and values, his humbleness, just everything really. he pretends to be mad and upset about it but there's such deep admiration in it that he's actually self-aware.

dreamscape (google) definition: a landscape or scene with the strangeness or mystery characteristic of dreams

arthur finds merlin so strange!! so strange and mysterious.

the walls: i read this one fanfic on ao3 called "The Tragedy of Godhood" by Lilmia_Casand (read it!! it's so good. short, but beautiful) and the summary states:

"Merlin had gotten better at controlling his magic over the years, but it still spilled over, as if he were the source instead of someone calling upon it. It seeped into the castle walls, into the stone floors..."

This was the first thing I thought of (this quote stuck with me, it got bookmarked) and i couldn't have said it better. here's a play by play: arthur lives in a castle. the castle has walls. a lot of walls. he sees these walls everyday. the walls are familiar. the walls stay. the walls are forever. he can't imagine the castle without his walls.

walls = life/the future

magic is part of merlin's mystery because he's essentially hiding HIMSELF.

(does this make sense? no, prob not but bear with me)

there's an air about merlin where when you think about him, you realize you actually don't know much about him. he's a mystery. you know his jokes, you know where he's gonna be at whatever time of day (not the tavern, contrary to what arthur thinks), you know his favourite food. you don't know about his parents, you don't know why he saved arthur at his first feast, you don't know why he stays around.

arthur reflects on this and realizes it one day when merlin starts to become unavoidable in his mind. then he thinks, 'i really know nothing about this boy.' over time, merlin stays by his side, always, and arthur is so dependent on him that he starts worrying if he'll ever leave and if not him, camelot (he has abandonment issues 100%).

also see: S01 E10

hence, "you paint dreamscapes on the wall" is arthur saying, "you're the biggest mystery i've ever met and you make me wonder what every day will be like with you. will you be here tomorrow? and the day after that? until I'm married and have children who will favour you over me? will you be here to see them? to see me? i can't see it through the haze. i can't see you through the haze."

moving on—fuck that was so much longer than it needed to be—arthur and merlin talk shit about each other ALL THE TIME it's hilarious. and they know the one "bad" thing they talk about doesn't define their entire character because they hold each other in such high regard but... well...

(they definitely have regrets after)

"And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences

Sit with you in the trenches

Give you my wild, give you a child

Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough?"

they both go all out for each other but with a focus on merlin, he goes ALL. OUT. it's war with him. nothing is half-assed. he fights, and fights, and never takes it less than seriously. but he also is there at arthurs lowest moments. when they're losing and when arthur is feeling too much or has too much on his shoulders. he's there. through it all.

merlin will give arthur anything he asks. he's already given him the purpose of his life and has hidden his magic until arthur's dying day because he thought that's what arthur needed and thought he would never accept him as he is so he gave it up.

but he's also given arthur the best thing he has. a friend. understanding. communication without words. souls recognizing souls, so much that the silence may be quiet but words are being exchanged through that same silence.

also, speechless eye conversations that range near the line of sexual tens—

then in the last line, merlin is saying: your people are my people. your burdens are my burdens.

"But there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west

I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best

But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me"

this goes both ways!! the only difference is that arthur's is visible and merlin's is hidden. explanation: arthur no doubt has enemies, it's not a secret. being a king and a target from the magic community, that man is almost getting killed everyday. it is not a peaceful life. he knows that. but nonetheless, he has shown merlin his best before—merlin is literally the reason he reaches the best person he can be, like the growth omg—so he knows he can give it but he knows there's a lot of baggage (external and internal) that comes with being with him.

as for merlin, his enemies are a secret. and they're dangerous. arthur faces some of those same enemies but from the product of what they've created, not them personally. no, merlin goes head-to-head with the people who curse/try to kill arthur. and he gives arthur a version of his best (he still has to keep many many secrets) but even if it's limited it's still genuine. although his secrets, his late nights, and his pure exhaustion are a part of him as well. and you can't have sunshine without rain.

okay ,WOW, i'm wrung out. it feels incomplete so i might add additional things later on but for now, enjoy.

once again, thank you if you read this, thank you bbc merlin, and thank you taylor swift.

(notice how i didn't use the word love once)

[justcallmecj]

Nicknames!

Hello again! I really want to start using names for Y/N during the following chapters, so I decided to write this so I have them written down if I ever forget them. I will have a set of names for platonic scenarios and names for romantic scenarios that each character uses. Also, these are gender neutral so they can be used no matter the prompt but you may interpret them as what suits you. Let's go!!

Heartslabyul

Riddle

Platonic-

L/N: Used for formal matters. For a sense of importance or sternness.

Y/N: The most common. Day to day basis and when in casual conversation.

The Dragon: When he's reprimanding/scolding you(and Ace and Deuce). He means nothing hurtful but it gets you to listen.

Romantic-

My Heart: I mean, The Queen Of Hearts-My Heart- it makes sense!

Rose: You just remind him of how he sees the roses, gentle and beautiful, but prick at a single tough when picked.

Dear: He's a bit of a sucker for the classic pet names, Dear just comes to mind when he thinks of you.

Trey

Platonic-

Y/N: Most of the time, it's this. He's not a stern person so not often does he call you by your last name.

(S/N: Shortened version of Y/N): If you tell him to call you it.

Young One: He called you this when you were being a tad bit whiny and dramatic. To tease you he called you 'Young One' to tell you you were being childish. Ever since, it's been an inside joke between you two that nobody else understands.

Romantic-

Luck: He never seems to have a bad time when he's with you. Almost like luck is on his side.

My Baker: You and him bake all the time and he is so proud when you learn a new recipe. You're his Baker.

Love: He just hits me as a man to call you Love, idk why honestly.

Sweetie: Sometimes you are just as sweet as the pastries he makes everyday.

Cater

Platonic-

Y/N: He always sounds teasing when he says your name. Just how he is sometimes.

S/N: He just started calling you this out of the blue, but you had no problem with it.

Bestie: You are his Bestie. He has a lot of friends, but you are #1!

BFF: Same reason as Bestie basically.

Partner: Meant in a 'partner in crime' sort of sense here.

Romantic-

Partner: This time, in a 'this is my partner' sense.

Y/N~: He is clearly flirting with you now.

Honey: Honey just fits him for some reason.

Ace

Platonic-

Y/N: Default basically.

S/N: It's just quicker to say then your actual name.

Idiot: He means no harm, but you can be kinda dumb sometimes.

Dumbass: He calls a lot of people this and you are no exception.

Romantic-

Dummy: But make it endearing.

Babe: He's definitely the 'high school boyfriend' nick name guy. Things like 'Babe' are the most common from him.

Deuce

Platonic-

Y/N: I think you get it by now, they all call you Y/N. I mean, it's your name.

S/N: Unless you prefer this name, he calls you Y/N. Only sometimes does it slip out and he always checks for your reaction when he realizes, sighing a breath of relief when he sees no negative reaction.

Romantic-

Babe: Another Babe man. Honestly, he struggles with calling you nicknames because of how nervous he gets.

My Life: This is when he gets really into the moment. It's genuine, you are his life now. Someone he can't imagine being without, not having around to ground him, steer him in the right direction.

  Savanaclaw

Leona

Platonic-

Y/N: He doesn't call people by their names, mainly just insults, but he calls you by your actual name at times.

Herbivore: He knows you eat meat. It actually takes up most of your plate during lunch, but honestly, he doesn't care.

Lizard: Usually this is reserved for Malleus but when he met you, he naturally took to using it on you too.

Romantic-

Sweetheart: Something about Leona saying Sweetheart just hits me in a certain way, so I wanted to share that as well.

Cutie: It's an off handed name, something he says from across the room when he forgets that you have incredible hearing. He only realizes when he sees you snickering at him.

Alarm Clock: This sparks from you waking him up on time for school in the mornings. It started as a favor for Ruggie, but then became a habit. Now, you're his alarm clock.

Ruggie

Platonic-

Y/N~: He always has a playfulness in his voice. It's just in his nature, I guess.

S/N: He didn't really ask for permission to call you this, but he really doesn't care. He likes the ring of it and thinks it suites you, so he's gonna keep doing it.

Romantic-

Thief: This works in a few scenarios. You have stolen a few things from him. Food, items he leaves in your room by accident and most importantly, his heart. You will always be his Thief.

My Other Half: Ruggie's not used to being so close with someone other than his family. When you got together with him, he realized how much you meant to him and how you completed him. You never saw him as below you; you saw him as an equal.

Jack

Platonic-

Y/N: More default~

Romantic-

Baby: A man who enjoys the simplistic names.

Cuddler: You and Jack? The best cuddle duo. It started during the hot seasons, when he'd invite you over for the night to steal some of your cold body temperature, then became a habit that you both absolutely love.

Octavinelle

Azul

Platonic-

Ms/Mr/(?) Y/N: Azul is the king of honorifics. He uses these terms to make himself seem more dignified and liked by others, and it works.

Y/N: This was when he got more comfortable with you and instead of seeing you as a potential business partner, he saw you as a friend. 

Romantic-

Treasure: It's rare that Azul finds someone that he feels so calm and at peace with. He thinks so highly of you, for your personality and your treatment towards him. You are his Treasure, and he'll forever treat you like it.

Angel Fish: Having a sea creature nickname was actually suggested to Azul by Floyd. He wouldn't stop pestering Azul about it until he gave in. Then Azul spent a solid 3 hours trying to come up with one. It hit him when he saw you staring at one of the Angel fish in the Octavinelle aquariums.

Jade

Platonic-

Y/N: You always get the feeling there's hidden intentions when he talks to you, but he hasn't done anything bad, so you ignore it.

"Umitsubame-kun": Actually, this is only when he and Floyd are trying to mess with you and Jade decides to use his brothers nickname as a way of also messing with Floyd. But Floyd never seems to hear this as teasing, just Jade agreeing with him.

Romantic-

Mushroom: It was strange at first, until you saw how Jade treats mushrooms. You saw how sweetly and gently he cared for the mushrooms in his terrariums. After that you came to appreciate the name and find the love behind it.

Darling: He is a Darling man, and you can't tell me otherwise. I will die on this hill.

Floyd

Platonic-

Umitsubame-kun: I've explained this one in a previous chapter, but it means 'Sea Swallow' which is a sea creature.

Silly: If you say something that he finds a little stupid, he'll call you Silly and then explain to you (if he doesn't decide to tease you a bit more before that).

Romantic-

Umitsubame-kun: He still calls you this but with a more evident loving (and teasing) tone in his voice.

Mine: If anyone ever tried to hit on you while he's near, he'll dangle on your shoulder and glare at them while calling you 'Mine'. The person always backs off and Floyd is in a bad mood for the rest of the day. (Pls help him, or Azul will be frustrated later)

Scarabia

Kalim

Platonic-

Y/N: Same as everyone else but with him it's always filled with joy in his infliction of your name.

S/N: Sometimes 'Y/N' just doesn't have the same feeling behind it that he wants. That endearing nature of him seeing you as such a close friend. But 'S/N' does!

Romantic-

Jewel: He loves you so much, and he truly thinks you're as beautiful as a jewel. Your scales also sparkle sometimes, like jewels!

Lovely: He wholeheartedly believes you to be the loveliest person in his life, so he thought the name would fit you.

Honeybun: He saw you completely golfing down a honeybun in one gulp a while back and he just said it out loud. More like blurted it then anything, but he saw you blush at the name and now uses it whenever he feels like seeing you blush a little.

Jamil

Platonic-

Y/N: Default

Annoyance: You can be annoying if you want to be, especially when you and Kalim decide to hang out and cause just a little bit of trouble around Scarabia.

L/N: This is when you know you've pushed him a little too far. This is your cue to run and wait for him to calm down.

Romantic-

Babe: He decided to go for the classic 'Babe'.

Starlight: Once, in the dark of his room, you casted a small light spell and used your scales to create star patterns on the ceiling and walls. He found himself falling asleep easier that night than he ever had. Ever since, you've been his Starlight.

Pomefiore

Vil

Platonic-

Y/N: When y'all first met and for quite some time after this is what he called you.

Y/N L/N: He has used your full name when scolding you. While he does take quite an interest in you, he won't hesitate to reprimand.

Potato: C'mon, he calls everybody Potato, you are no exception.

Romantic-

Beautiful: He knows how beautiful you are and calls you this so that you never forget.

Love: When he feels at his low, be there to comfort him. Bring him close to you, and he whispers this name under his breath. It's barely enough for you to here, but you never miss it.

Snowflake: Despite your rough and threatening looks that others seem too not be able to see past, he sees just how delicate you can be. How your wings flow and flutter as your walk. How your tail hovers above the ground just enough not to get dirty. It reminds him of the delicacy of a snowflake.

Rook

Platonic-

Dragon de Glace: He calls you this because it translates to Ice Dragon when going from French to English.

Beautiful Little Prey~: He has 'hunted' you before, and he's very fond of how you play the game along with him.

Romantic-

Mon amour le plus cher: It means "My dearest love". Rook is such a flirt. His words full of honey and emotion, but they're nothing but genuine. Any words that leave his lips about you are real and he can back every one of them up with multiple reasons.

Heartstopper: When the two of you got together, he confessed to how you had always made his heart skip beats, and even sometimes feel like it stopped. That is when this nickname was born.

Epel

Platonic-

Y/N: I can't think if what to put here (my brain is dying).

Partner: An extremely playful nickname, but hearing it reassures you he's still the same boy you met on the first day of school and Vil hasn't completely changed him.

Romantic-

Apple: He thinks you are so beautiful. In some ways, you remind him of the apples he carves. You can be a thousand things, while still being the same person. You make him feel safe and at home, like when he gets a shipping of apples from his family's farm.

Sweetheart: The way he says this is what hits it home. His southern accent comes through and makes the simple name sound so sweet and endearing. The country twang in 'heart' hits in all the right places.

Biscuit: Don't question please. I have a redneck family myself and have heard family call people Biscuit (I have myself) and really wanted to project a bit into my favorite country boy.

Ignihyde

Idia

Platonic-

Y/N: He stutters all the time when calling your name.

Gaming Buddy: He is so freaking happy to have a friend to game with that he actually feels comfortable being in the same room as.

Romantic-

Little Flame: You've become a light in his life. A flame in the dark. You're the only one who can convince him to leave his room, even Ortho struggles with that at times. You may be a dragon of ice, but you are the one that ignited a flame in his heart.

Candy: Idia's favorite food is candy, so he one day got bold and tried calling you the name. You instantly fell in love with it and reassured him that he could call you that all he pleased.

Ortho

Platonic(Only)-

Y/N L/N: He literally calls everyone by their full names. Until he got closer to you, it was like that, then he went to just Y/N.

Big Sibling: Ever since he met you, you've become another sibling in his life.

Draco Glacies: (Closest thing I could find for a scientific name for an ice dragon) He's called you this when doing internet searches for your species. It's strange, I know, but take it easy on him, he's still an android.

Diasomnia

Malleus

Platonic-

Child of Dragons: (He calls you Child of Man in the game so I thought this may fit him.) While both of you are dragons, you're the only dragon he's met, except for his own family.

Y/N: He doesn't actually call you by your name as much as the others, more so when trying to get your attention.

Romantic-

My Everything: You are the first the person to actually talk to him in his life without any fear. It makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Wholeheartedly, you really are his everything, and he hopes you can e for the rest of your lives.

Dear: He's an oldy. Names like and similar to Dear are what feel most natural to him.

Ice Cream: He compared you to ice cream once when trying to prove how much you meant to him. Your response was "Well I guess that I'm your Ice Cream, huh?". You didn't think he'd actually take it seriously but oh well. It's cute.

Lilia

Platonic-

Y/N: Default, calls you this all the time basically.

Dear: He got big dad vibes, and he definitely calls you this when trying to tease you.

Deary: I can just see Lilia being someone to call you loving pet names even when not in a relationship, just a habit of his.

Little One: You may be a fae, but you were still in your young years. He's the shorter one of you two, but he has lots of experience under his belt, and he can't help but want to help you experience the world like how he wants to do with Silver and has already done with Malleus.

Romantic-

Little Bat: He's a bat, and you're his Little Bat. You can even fly (you may be a dragon but both species fly all the same).

Darling: This man is so freaking old, he knows every pet name there is, and throughout his life Darling has been a go to for him.

My Love: You are his Love, the first one he's had in a while at that. He cherishes you as his Love and nothing can change that.

Silver

Platonic-

Y/N: Most common from him. There's always a tiredness to his force when he speaks but also a tone of respect. 

Mr/Ms/(?) L/N: He's not one for all formalities. This happened because he was already in formal mode when you came to speak to him. With you, it still sits weird on his tongue.

Romantic-

Dreamy: It's more of a way to describe you, but since he says it most of the time while mumbling things as he wakes up from a nap, it's become a name more than an adjective.

Twinkle: There are times when he's about to fall asleep when you're together but doesn't want to sleep because he wants to be with you. So, one day you grabbed a nearby stick and dragged it across some of the scales on your tail, knowing what would happen. It made a sound, a twinkling sound. He fell asleep instantly and the new name was born. 

Sebek

Platonic-

Y/N!: It is typically yelling. Sebek honestly just doesn't realize how loud he can get. He truthfully can't hear it when his volume gets louder.

Sir/Ma'am/Whatever honorific you choose: As I mentioned in a previous chapter, he has some form of respect for you due to you being a fae. Because of this, he will use respectful titles for you whenever in front of Lilia or Malleus, less so when it's just you two or the other first years.

Romantic-

Icicle: It started as a tease for whenever you two would argue, but once you got together, it became more enduring. And eventually, it was a full-on nickname.

Pretty: As your lover, he will not have you think of yourself as anything but beautiful. He'd actually call you beautiful if he wasn't too embarrassed to. He doesn't compliment well from getting shy, so this is his compensation.

Lover: More used when talking about you instead of to you but it still counts in my book.

[thepoliticalvulcan]

Imagine the history of the world since 10/7 except Trump won in 2020. I don’t find it hard to picture a second Nakba happening months ago.

The Biden people absolutely could have tried to be harder on Israel, to condition US aid on a lower intensity, more cautious approach to trying to take on Hamas. To undertake a longer term strategy to undermine Hamas’ hard power and moral authority in the eyes of Gazans.

The US could lean on regional powers in a position to do more on their end to de incentivize targeting civilians and children by militants in order to interrupt the cycle of attack, reprisal, reprisal for the reprisal etc. Because there’s absolutely nothing that justifies 10/7. If the Nakba wasn’t justified by the Holocaust or the actions of Jordan et al in ‘47/48, the Nakba doesn’t justify 10/7.

However! Missed opportunities aside, consider a Trump administration. One with ZERO need to court progressives with anti-colonialist sympathies, one that is virulent in its hatred of Muslims, has no small amount of religious conservatives with esoteric beliefs about Israel, and is indifferent, maybe even in favor of a collapse in trade through the Red Sea as a consequence of a wider war because it

1. Doesn’t really affect the US economically in direct fashion

2. serves American conservative interests just fine because it presses Europe to decouple from China and gooses European far right anti-migrant parties due to the immense refugee wave that would result in a larger, nastier regional war.

3. Opens the door to rationales to strike Iran directly if desired.

Israel hasn’t done a Nakba 2 not because it can’t, it hasn’t because (for now) the factions within the Israeli governing coalition who do not want to test the limits of the US special relationship are getting their way. There are worse actors than Netanyahu waiting in the wings.

All of this horror so far is Israel holding back. Holding back is a spectrum, not a binary. Israel could do A LOT more to respect civilian life and pursue the safety of its people in a way that has a sustainable peace on the other side.

It could also do MUCH worse.

If you think the US is only aiding and abetting, you’re not paying attention. It is aiding and abetting, but it has also repeatedly called Israel out in public. So I may be naive, and I do fully accept I may be, but as much horror is the responsibility of Biden and the Democrats, it is just wrong to think that the Palestinians will benefit from a Trump presidency.

Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Israel just up and “finishes the job” after Trump were to be inaugurated because, like the original Nakba, as long as Israel can dig in and hold on against any repercussions, eventually it will be history and we will (correctly in my book) be having debates about whether people who were children or even not born at the time should be punished for the crimes of their elders.

The Israeli far right absolutely understands this. Which is why it’s important to halt or mitigate atrocities as they’re underway or before they happen preferably.

So here’s a caveat, I do say this as someone who is considering a strategic or protest vote IF it looks like it’s going to be a blowout in my state: 10 points or worse. If you’re in a state that almost certainly can’t flip, I don’t condemn you if Blue no matter who sounds like a false dichotomy.

But I do urge you to consider harm reduction and local voting. Those yes/no votes on ballot initiatives often do not follow partisan lines. I also do have the (perhaps) unpopular belief that it is sometimes principled to vote for a GOP candidate for local office that doesn’t present as insane and pernicious as a straight up lizard people “kill the gays” conspiracy theorist if those are the only two on the ballot.

Harm reduction isn’t inspiring but when it works, and it doesn’t always, but when it works it matters to the people whose lives wind up not being as terrible if only by degrees.

And no, obviously electoralism isn’t magic. Do what you can however you can to make the world suck less the other 364 days of the year.

Palestine and the US election

I’m done with Twitter soundbite takes that voting blue = supporting genocide. I see a lot of people making an argument that goes like this: "Biden has sent arms to Israel, helping its government commit genocide against Palestine. Therefore, voting for him in the 2024 US election, if he is the Democratic nominee, is supporting genocide, and NOT voting for him helps Palestine." There's a lot wrong with this view, so let's break it down.

It's true that Biden has sent a lot of arms to Israel and bypassed Congress multiple times to do it, and it's indefensible. I'm ashamed that any US politician would help Israel wage its brutal, genocidal war against the Palestinian people. As one of Israel's closest partners, the US could actually be using its leverage right now to put pressure on Israel’s government—I’m thinking about how apartheid in South Africa fell, in part, because of international pressure. That's what should be happening, but instead the US government is literally just helping Israel kill Palestinians.

I wish there were a strong pro-Palestine candidate in the upcoming election. The best bet in that regard would probably be Bernie Sanders, since he's prominent enough, well-liked enough, and has good ideas, not just on this issue but on many things (and yeah, he's way too old, but so are the current frontrunners). But he's already ruled out another run. Unless an amazing candidate materializes and wins the Democratic nomination (please vote in the primaries where you live), it will probably be Biden running against Trump. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s likely.

Here's what people need to understand: the election will not be "genocide Joe" vs. "pro-Palestine candidate." It will most likely be a choice between these two candidates:

On the one hand, Biden, who has armed Israel, but can be pressured to change his policies because he can be pushed left; who is not a wannabe dictator; who will not destroy what's left of the country's democratic norms; who will not encourage coups, political assassinations, or jail his political opponents; who will not utterly stifle dissent.

Or on the other hand, Trump, who is beholden to a fanatical evangelical base that backs Israel no matter what, that actually wants more conflict because they are part of a death cult. Trump, who is not susceptible in any way to pressure from the left, but is susceptible to pressure from the right and the far right. Trump, who has been clear all along about his desire to be a dictator; who will destroy what's left of democratic norms; who has already encouraged a coup to overthrow a democratic election, encouraged the assassination of his own vice president, and is openly planning to jail his political opponents if he returns to the White House.

(This isn't even touching on Trump's positions on trans rights, gay rights, women's rights, the environment, policing, immigration, or his racism against every group he could be racist against, or his liability for sexual assault, or a whole bunch of other issues).

There's a very convincing argument that Netanyahu actually wants Biden to lose the US election and Trump to win. That's because Netanyahu knows that Biden has in the past responded to pressure from his own party and the public. If there are a lot of people criticizing his policies, it gives him pause. Trump doesn't operate like that. If millions of Americans criticize his policies as inhumane he just lashes out at them. In short, Biden views criticism from the left as a liability that he has to act on. Trump views criticism from the left as an incentive to be even worse.

Biden is not the candidate I want. But you need to understand that if Trump wins the election, he won't just arm Israel like Biden is doing now: he will do that and more. Not only will he help Israel escalate its war, your very freedom of speech to support Palestine will be under attack. Trump might even decide that financial support for Palestinians or charities that help Palestine = financially supporting terrorism, and use that as a pretext to arrest and jail people. You think he and his far right goons wouldn't go that far? If Trump wins this election, you shouldn't be surprised if this kind of thing happens, and much worse.

Do you want the US to accept Palestinian refugees? Because it won't accept them under a Trump presidency. A key Republican talking point in this election is "the US shouldn't take Palestinian refugees because they're probably all terrorists." This isn't just a Trump thing, it's something other Republicans are saying, but obviously you can imagine where Trump would fall on this issue given his infamous Muslim ban and conflating refugees with terrorists. These are just a few examples of how Trump would actually be even worse for Palestine than Biden—which is saying something.

In this upcoming election there is no neutral option. There is no morally pure option. There just isn't, I'm sorry. Refusing to vote will not help Palestine. Refusing to vote will only help Trump win, and will give every single person in the United States who is fighting for a better world a significantly harder battle to fight.

It goes without saying that there are things everyone should do to help Palestine besides voting in an election. But I'm writing this post that is about voting because I'm genuinely worried by how many so-called leftists want to give up their right to vote—a right that older generations had to fight tooth and nail for—because they think it won't achieve anything. If voting didn't achieve anything, Republicans wouldn't be trying so hard to suppress your vote.

I'll conclude by saying that nuance is not this site's specialty, but please try to understand what I'm actually saying here before attacking me in the notes. Finally, people being antisemitic or islamophobic on this post will be blocked. People denying that Israel is committing genocide against Palestine will be blocked. Trump supporters, tankies, and people who say that Biden and Trump are the same will be blocked. So will people who say "voting is pointless" or "but Biden did this bad thing—" Biden fucking sucks, I know that very well, so if you're going to try to make that argument to me then stop right now and read the post again.

[norcalbruja]

Odd but generally good development

So I've been busy job-hunting for the past week, but around that time, I had a really odd development with Haik Number Four and then one more development with the Water-Spirit.

Behind the cut for spiritual sex/birth, but it actually wasn't that painful or traumatizing when it was happening.

Not sure if I've made things coherent enough, but I tried to figure out where I started losing focus/rambling and I snipped those bits out. Recent developments SEEM to be a much better sign than the problem with "the Not-Children demons constantly shit-talk me and disrupt my meditations with pain/depression," so… yay, I guess?

--

So you know how I've mentioned that my dead-end of a life tends to overwhelm me, so I sometimes lose my shit in the Spirit-World and start screaming for someone to help? And sometimes that involves asking to have sex with them because of the various reasons stemming from "I'm broke," the two main reasons are that 1) I can't risk making a physical altar in my Catholic mom's apartment, and 2) I already give the gods some food from my normal meals, so… more lunch/dinner just doesn't seem like enough?

Anyway, so I was having a bad time and I just asked both the Water-Spirit and Haik Number Four if they could help me or at least get me to stop focusing on my shitty life again, and about halfway through the desperation-sex, a weird sort of jelly-ish mass came out of me and turned into a fucking FULL GROWN Tyrannosaurus rex.

So the T. rex just nudged me and went "hello, mother."

And I was like "um… hello?!" because that is literally all that happened. No pain, no screaming, out she comes fully-grown???

The Irish gods were fucking ecstatic to see her and collectively went, "YAAAAAAAAY, YOU BIRTHED A LIVING CREATURE THIS TIME!!! HELLO, REXY!!!"

Lola Buwaya just sighed and went "Well, this IS a good sign, but remember the Irish gods are too loud. Try not to do that again, anak."

And I was like "…I don't know how this happened to avoid it, though??? I'm not even sure who the father is, because I don't know if spiritual beings gestate or not. Is this Haik Number Four's dinosaur kid, or the Water-Spirit's???"

Technically Spirit-Me has "given birth" to a living/known creature before. This one time, I gave birth to a beluga (also full-grown after about five minutes), but that was so long ago that I think it happened back when I still thought the Water-Spirit was Haik.

The Water-Spirit's main response was "oops, that was my fault. Let's not do that again."

I never mentioned the beluga before because birth from a different species aside, it's just a normal whale. Like, it's wild, and like many nature-spirits, it doesn't tend to talk a lot. The beluga just swims around the spiritual Arctic, occasionally it pops into my meditations and says hi because I'm its Blood Relative, and that's all. I don't even know what sex/gender it would be, because it doesn't consider that kind of stuff important.

Which seriously contrasts with the T. rex, who came out with a sentient mind and calls herself female, so I just call her "Tyrann" for lack of another name.

Tyrann considers the Water-Spirit her father because he's my MAIN husband (explanations in the next post, because I'm pretty sure I've also mentioned Dionysus my least formal "husband" ever), so that's good enough for her.

The Green Man heard the news, laughed his ass off, and went "Aquaman can't have sired this big lunk! Who she calls father is one thing, but she's a creature of the earth, same as you! I wouldn't be surprised if she had no father at all. Remember, love--sex in the Otherworld isn't literally sex. You don't need two people's DNA for spirit-birthing."

And I was like "Can someone tell me how spiritual births DO work, though???"

So the Green Man said to me, "The closest way you can understand it is when your ideas grow up. The beluga came out of nowhere, like your man did, and it doesn't help nor harm anything. Miss Lizard is old and earthbound, and she has been a long time coming."

And I asked him, "Well… what kind of idea IS Tyrann?"

He answered, "I'm guessing she's just your career goals and whatnot. She's not complicated, just big. And she has nothing to do with the spirits, or decolonizing, or any of the Tagalog men hanging around."

---

A couple days after that, I accidentally birthed/laid a fucking giant bird-like egg, and while I was wondering who's the spiritual "father" again (I do not know any wind- or bird-spirits!), and why I'm constantly birthing things that are my size or larger, Hera stepped in and just… chiseled a hole in it.

She told me gently that while it is a good sign that my spiritual uterus is getting better from the Not-Children constantly invading it, I'll probably need to "abort" some of these in the future. Like, I'm already dealing with way too much spiritual issues like "where are the anito?" and the Not-Children to handle more "actual children" running around, and I barely have a clue about how this even happened to start with.

And I'm like, "Well, that makes sense. Thank you for the advice, Hera."

She also cautioned me that just because I'm getting better doesn't mean I'm EMOTIONALLY ready to deal with more spiritual "children," and the fact that I'm healing up pretty quickly is actually a double-edged sword. Which gave me even more vibes of "just because you're healthy enough to pop a kid out doesn't mean your SITUATION is right for being a parent."

Especially in my case, where I'm looking for day-jobs that I detest just so I can scrape up the cash to get the fuck out of my Catholic mom's apartment.

Regarding how Tyrann is "big but uncomplicated," she is pretty fucking eloquent for a dinosaur. She saw one of my spiritual meltdowns a couple days ago and remarked that "you ask for so little, Mother. A house and an art career. I don't know why anyone hasn't helped you yet."

And I told her, "Art in general is hard to get off the ground. Nobody tells you how to DO ANYTHING. People hate paying for art or supporting their artist friends."

Tyrann said, "No. I don't know why the ANITO haven't helped you with it. So much of your work deals with THEM. You are one of their people, and you beg them for love through your work. You ask for anyone to help with your mouth, but you keep writing about the anito, how to get away from Catholicism, of the terrible creatures in the islands. This is not a prayer that an Irish or a Greek god can really step in for, even out of love for you."

I was like, "That is EXTREMELY grown-up talk for someone who was born last week. And no, Tyrann, nobody knows why the anito aren't here. I got a reading that said the anito abandoned me because my work and my blog are both blasphemous, and they left me to my own devices because I'm begging them for help too much. The problem is, almost all of the Tagalog spirits reacted like that would be the ultimate dick move if they're right, so… clearly, SOMETHING is wrong with me, but people don't know what it is."

And Tyrann just grumbled and went, "I don't like it." So she went off somewhere, annnnnnnd I don't know what a T. rex is capable of in the Otherworld, but I hope she doesn't try to bite anyone???

[paperstorm]

Unpopular opinion: I don't like 3x13. I tried to force my way through it but I just couldn't. Imo there're so many better ways to create drama other than all that cooper and carlos feeling jealous and insecure and that he's not enough for tk drama and tbh I didn't like tk in that episode at all, yes he never cheated on carlos but he got a cheater behavior. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to hate on tk or carlos but I was so excited for that episode but i ended up being so disappointed. I hope I'm not bothering you i just like your tarlos meta and opinions!<3333

You're not bothering me! I'm sorry you were disappointed by it, that really sucks :( I do get what you're saying, and I think I read an interview a some point where Rafa said he felt that way too at first.

I don't necessarily agree that TK was behaving like a cheater, he was definitely a little bit flirty but being a flirt is a well-established part of his personality so I don't feel like that's what Carlos was reacting to because he's never reacted to TK flirting with anyone else. I fully believe that Carlos didn't actually think TK was cheating on him. In my view it was a realistic way for Carlos to react, based on the character they have established for him. He is a little bit controlling, he is a little bit anxious, and he is definitely a caretaker who derrives an unhealthy amount of his own self-worth in whether he can take care of people - specifically TK. He's always blaming himself for things that aren't his fault (the fire, the almost plane crash, serving champagne when he had no idea TK was an addict, etc) because TK was harmed in some way and Carlos wasn't able to magically prevent it from happening, so it tracked for me that he would have a really difficult time with TK needing something that wasn't him.

Carlos's whole sense of himself at this point is kinda wrapped up in his ability to be everything TK needs. To feed him and protect him and give him a home and pay for things that he can't afford and look after a lizard he hates because TK likes it and make him laugh and care for his heart. So when suddenly TK needs something - and needs it really really badly and it's a really big, important thing - and for the first time Carlos can't provide it for him, it makes sense to me that Carlos would spiral. It made sense to me that it would make him feel helpless and jealous and not-good-enough, especially because we also know Carlos already has a not-good-enough complex because of his relationship with his father and TK turning to someone else when he needed help would have just exacerbated that. Idk, you don't have to like it of course, everyone is allowed their opinion! But it felt very realistic to me.

[unwhitewashthebadbatch]

Disney Email Draft 2

(going under a cut because it's much longer. Here is the Google Doc link for anyone who would like to comment directly)

Reminder that we are encouraging critiques and comments regarding this email!

To Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Jennifer Corbett, and the creative team of Star Wars: The Bad Batch:

We hope this email finds you all well. We are fans of color, disabled fans, neurodivergent fans, and Jewish fans writing out of concern for the portrayal of our communities in the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. For several months now, we have been campaigning on social media to spread awareness about these concerns through #UnwhitewashTBB, a movement we began to raise awareness about the ways in which the series has poorly represented several minoritized groups of people.

Just like the creators of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, all of the creators of #UnwhitewashTBB grew up with Star Wars as the backbones of their childhoods, and for many of us, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was crucial to our development as artists, writers, creators, and lifelong Star Wars fans. We are all firm believers in the phrase “Star Wars is for everyone”, and we would like to see Disney support that message by hearing our plea.

As fans of color, as disabled fans, as neurodivergent fans, and as Jewish fans, we’ve seen ourselves on screen in both good and bad ways, but recently it has been more the latter than the former. One such reason is Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a show whose premise piqued many fans’ interest, but whose main cast has left an increasingly sour taste in the mouths of those who watched.

The series follows an elite squad of clone troopers who have named themselves The Bad Batch, due in part to their series of mutations that gives them an edge over regular clones on the battlefield. These mutations drastically altered the appearance of each of the members to a generally lighter, more Caucasian appearance--one that is inconsistent with how the original Jango Fett actor Temuera Morisson looks. Fans take issue with the implications in the writing and design of The Bad Batch: that in order to be elite, special, and better than one’s contemporaries--in order to have a story worth telling--one must also be white or as close as possible.

Merriam-Webster defines whitewashing as “to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character” The #UnwhitewashTBB movement comes with two carrds explaining the grievances of the fans. A summary for each character is given below:

Sergeant Hunter, the leader, closely resembles Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo character, despite being a clone of a man of color. The importance of his character, the fatherliness he has with Omega, and his centrality to both their Season 7 appearance in The Clone Wars and the series itself sends the message that important people look

Wrecker is the demolitions expert, and he’s the only member of The Bad Batch with features similar to that of a Maori man’s, like Temuera Morrison/Jango Fett. He’s large with broad features, brown skin, and is a stereotype of men of color. His personality as first introduced to the audience was that of a loud, aggressive, impatient, slow man who called frequently for violence/destruction. He falls into the “Loveable Brute” trope, an observation that is supported by statements from supervising director Brad Rau and voice actor Dee Bradely Baker that Wrecker is like a little boy and has a heart of gold.

Crosshair is the sniper on the team, and he’s the most derisive of the “regs”--the regular clone troopers. Taken in conjunction with his appearance (inspired by Clint Eastwood), the various messages being sent by the writing and appearance of the other team members, and his comment about the regular troopers--the he and the Batch are superior and thus should join the Empire--his character pushes forth a message that there is superiority inherent in whitened or fully white features.

Tech, the technology specialist, has incredibly light skin and hair compared to the regular clones. His mutation made him a genius, with an IQ that outpaces that of any other clone in the Republic. Fans of color are upset that Tech’s genius mutation apparently also affected his skin color, as now this creates a direct link between intelligence and appearance/race. Contrast Tech with Wrecker, who is the exact opposite in every way, and this harm becomes only more apparent. In addition to this, many Autistic fans of The Bad Batch have noted that Tech, being “on the spectrum” (according to Dee Bradley Baker) is a popular stereotype of Autistic people: a nerdy-looking white man with a formal way of speaking who’s a genius but dismissive of others’ feelings. Baker also plays Tech with a British accent, further cementing the harmful message that intelligence is in some way connected to ethnicity.

Omega is the newest member of The Bad Batch. Despite being a pure Jango clone, she’s come out looking nothing like Boba Fett--she has lighter skin than he does, as well as blonde hair. Fans are concerned about the connection between genetic purity and light skin/blonde hair, as this is directly harmful to the people of color who don’t sport those features.

Echo is the ARC Trooper of the team, but many fans--disabled fans especially--fear that his series of disabilities have reduced him to the “droid sidekick”. Echo does not have a prosthetic, instead sporting a scomp-arm attachment that allows him to plug into computers but would otherwise hinder him greatly in daily tasks. He rarely is the focus of an episode, and the series has not given him as much attention as it has given characters like Hunter and Omega. Disabled fans worry about the lack of attention given to his medical trauma, and fans of color note that his skin color goes beyond what a brown man who’s been without sunlight for a few months would look like.

The issues do not stop here. Asian fans noticed and were harmed by a Tiananmen Square parallel in 1x10, “Common Ground”--a recreation that was led by an Eastern Asian-coded woman. Jewish fans are hurt by the antisemitic stereotype in Cid the broker, a greedy lizard woman who speaks with an accent commonly associated with New York Jews--and who is played by Jewish actress Rhea Perlman. Black fans were harmed by the whitewashing in Saw Gererra and the one other Black character in The Bad Batch being a Black woman who works for the Empire and burns civilians alive.

The full analyses can be found in the official #UnwhitewashTBB carrd: unwhitewashthebadbatch.carrd.co. We respectfully ask that you read this carrd and give a public statement in response to these criticisms.

Our movement has only gained traction since its inception on March 30th, 2021. A few months later, we wrote and released an open letter on Change.org to be signed by supporters of #UnwhitewashTBB, and every day it gains new signatures and draws nearer to the next milestone. A survey we released over a month ago has received over 1,100 responses and also continues to climb. The latter displays a range of opinions regarding The Bad Batch, but one sentiment stands out: Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Omega, and Echo are written in stereotypical and actively harmful ways. Respondents were shocked at outdated portrayals of Autism, sickened by antisemitic stereotypes, and confused at how, in this current social and political climate, a family-friendly corporation like Disney could greenlight a series that sends a message that is the complete opposite of “Star Wars is for Everyone”. Some sample responses are below:

“I would just like to elaborate on the ableism aspect. As a amputee myself, I don’t like how Echo’s trauma has been ignored. The whole reason he is with the BB is because of what he went through. Losing one limb, never mind multiple, it’s extremely difficult. They made it seem like just because his prosthetic can be of use on missions, that means he isn’t grieving the loss of his actual hand. There is no healing or evolution. It also feels wrong to only address the fact that echo uses prosthetics for the sake of hacking into machinery. Prosthetics are so personal and become a real part of who you are as a person.” - Respondent 130

“...I can't believe Star Wars is still doing this, and that an entire team of animators with a huge budget can't get skin tone right. I didn't even know the clones were supposed to have a NZ Māori accent until a friend told me. That's a big deal, since I live in NZ and hear it every day…” - Respondent 209

“As someone who is neurodivergent myself, Tech and Wrecker just. sting, you know? in a “is that really what you think of us” kind of way. I grew up in an environment where intersectional equality was heavily discussed, and I can still miss things. Having Jewish friends does not mean that Cid’s antisemitic implications can’t go right over my head until someone points them out (thank you).” - Respondent 87

“As a fan of color, its irritating and painful to watch and be brushed off as "lighting issues" and see justifications made by white fans and producers...It also feels very bad to me that TCW spent 7 seasons with several arcs emphasizing that the clones were all as individual as a 'normal' person, but then undo all that with TBB, which centers a group of "special" clones (who are suspiciously white) and have them treat the "regs" as a homogeneous group who are lesser than them, and then expect us to find it within ourselves to put that aside to enjoy the MCs. The way the treat "regs" is very offputting and it made me dislike them since their introduction...Star Wars is no stranger to racist and antisemitic media, but I must say, the blantancy of Sid, a greedy lizard who essentially financially enslaves the protaganists, being Jewish-coded and being protrayed by a Jewish voice actress is really next-level even for Star Wars. As a Jewish fan, it really grates on me.” - Respondent 40

“I’m disabled and autistic, and the ableism is appalling to watch. Watching Echo be treated as subhuman for needing machinery to survive makes me feel like having implants to keep my spine from breaking itself would have me be the pitied member of any group. I am disgusted by the blatant antisemitism, as a fair number of my friends are Jewish and it hurts me to think that people can so easily hate others based on internalized stereotypes. Me and my friends have also critically analyzed the fact that, despite being clones of a character portrayed by Temuera Morrison, for some reason the bad batch look nothing like him in any way. No resemblance in any way: just a bunch of someone’s badly worked characters fraught with disgusting writing decisions and design choices that make no sense. It makes me angry to think that the writers for this show, and to an extent any modern writer, would believe that using harmful tropes to make a story is acceptable and someone brings in profit. I tried to watch it out of fact that my family likes Star Wars and we all grew up watching it, but all of these unhealthy assumptions and terrible choices in terms of writing and design leave a bitter and nauseating feeling.” - Respondent 605

In the survey, various questions were asked about fans’ feelings about The Bad Batch. Before reading the carrd, 34.7% of fans answered that writing was their least favorite aspect of the series, with the next being the main characters. Elaborations in the following free write made clear that the whitewashing and stereotypical writing were huge factors of these opinions. One a 1 to 5 satisfaction scale, 68.1% of respondents rated their satisfaction at a 3 or lower--again, due to the whitewashing and other issues respondents perceived in The Bad Batch. When asked to analyze pre-post carrd-reading feelings regarding the above issues, every category saw a marked increase in awareness of the issue at hand. The perceived prominence of the whitewashing went from 81.3% to 91.4% in respondents. The awareness of ableism jumped almost 30%, from 52.6% to 84.4%. The majority of respondents (59%) were not aware of the antisemitism in the series, but after reading the carrd, that statistic flipped to 80.5%, a near 60% increase from the original 26.7%. Regarding the other racist issues, the respondents went from 63.1% to 83.7%.

Fans of color, neurodivergent fans, disabled fans, and Jewish fans have been waiting for the day where we can see ourselves on screen a level of attention and care that makes us feel even more at home in the Star Wars community . If Disney’s message is truly family-friendly, if Star Wars is for everyone, then Disney needs to support these views with not just words, but with actions. Resolve the racism in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, take out the antisemitism, and treat your nonwhite, disabled, and neurodivergent characters--and fans--with the respect and dignity they deserve.

This will not be a benefit solely to the fans who are asking to be represented properly. In today’s time, popular media is facing a reckoning; media that is inclusive of and respectful towards minoritized groups ends up with leagues more popularity, high ratings, and good reviews than those that don’t. A recent and prominent example is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a movie for which the inclusion of Asian-Americans at nearly all levels of production boosted its image and aided in its successful box office release. Black Panther is another prominent example--a movie spearheaded by Black people that completed its box office run at more than five times its initial budget in total revenue. The proper representation of people of color is a two-fold benefit.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch already has beautiful animation that reminds many longtime Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans of their childhood.

It is our hope that you will take our concerns as well as the concerns of others into account, and address the issues that we have outlined in order to better reflect the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to inclusive, diverse entertainment for audiences of all ages. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Respectfully,

Fans of The Bad Batch

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Slithering Chains PT (1/3)

Yandere naga present mic x reader

quirkless/aged up au. Warnings: Only swearing for now

“C’mon Y/N! It will be fun! Rumor has it there are friendly nagas on the island!” Gushed Mina. That makes me cross my arms. She’s seriously out of her mind if she thinks it’s a good idea to go to an island for something that’s a supposed rumor. 

“I highly doubt they’d be friendly. Especially since we’d technically be invading their territory.” I reply. She rolls her eyes and huffs. 

“Besides, why should we go looking for a damn overgrown lizard?” Katsuki cuts in with a scowl and his arms crossed. Hanta shrugs. “I’m with Mina on this. It would be really cool to see one,” he turns to Eijiro. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping we could go camping instead somewhere. Katsuki still has to show me those incredibly manly skills he learned back in boy scouts he hasn’t shown me yet.” Katsuki’s face went to full-on pride. 

Mina suddenly jumps up and down. “I have the PERFECT idea! We should go camping at the island!!! That way we could do both!” 

“Ooh! That’s a great idea! Count me in!” Exclaimed Denki. 

Katsuki’s face falls into a deep frown. “That actually sounds like a good idea!” Eijiro cheerfully replies. Mina fist-bumps the air and tackles Eijiro into a tight hug. “You can definitely count me in!.” Hanta pipes up.  

I can already tell we’re not going to win this argument. Wait, didn’t Hanta go to boy scouts as well? “Weren’t you in boy scouts too? Can’t you do the same things?” I question. He sheepishly smiles at me. “Eh, I didn’t last very long in it for a few different reasons.” 

“Not showing up half the damn time and hanging out with dunce face really didn’t help.” Katsuki informs. They both flinch at his words. “Uh… let’s not talk about that…” 

They all suddenly turn to me expectantly, even Katsuki, probably hoping I deny. You know what? There’s nothing too bad that could possibly happen, and they most likely won’t stop begging until we do. “... fine,” I turn to Katsuki. “You better have some mad skills.” 

He glares at me annoyed. “Of fucking course  they’re good!” 

I smirk. Sometimes he’s so fun to piss off. “Well, pack up guys. We’re going camping.” 

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

It took a little longer than we thought to find a boat that would take us. No one wanted to go to the island. We eventually found a place around the ocean that would bring us for a rather large fee. None of us were happy about that but it was the best shot we had. Also if something happens to us on the island we’re on our own since they won’t come back for four days to pick us up. Good thing we packed extra food. We also only brought three tents since they’d be a hassle to carry otherwise and we can take turns carrying them if needed. 

We get right up to the island and get dropped off on a sandy beach. The boat immediately pulls away from the island. A nagging feeling was rising in the back of my mind. “You wonder why none of them wanted to come to this island?” I suddenly question. 

“It does seem a little odd. Even the one we came on left pretty quickly. I’m sure it’s nothing important though!” Eijiro replies. 

I refuse to let it fly by. Something about that seems more wrong the more I think about it. Looking at Katsuki, he seems to be thinking the same way I am. The other four take off towards the tall trees not too far from the beach. With the sun being at its highest peak, the trees are casting a large shady area half over the beach. I’m a little jealous of how he’s carrying two of the tents and his backpack so effortlessly. 

Luckily they waited up ahead for us. “Seriously, if you and I weren’t around, I swear they’d have died of their crazy antics years ago.” He grunts in confirmation. Denki sees something and takes off in another direction. 

“Denki! Get your ass back here! We need to stick together for now!” I yell at him.

“Come here then! This place has weird blueberries!” 

Oh no. “Denki! Don’t eat them/Don’t even touch the fucking bush!” Katsukii and I yell simultaneously. We quickly get up to him with the other three trailing behind us. Katsuki goes right up to him and slaps the small black berry in his hand out of it. “You fucking dumbass, that’s nightshade!” 

Looking at the bush, it wasn’t just any nightshade. I facepalm. “We haven’t been here for even ten minutes and you already almost ate deadly nightshade.”

From the fear that grew on Denki’s face, he understood well the name of the plant and stepped away. “Whew, well, uh… Good thing I didn’t eat one yet, huh?” 

The only reply was Katsuki smacking Denki on his forehead. 

“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!” He shrieks. 

Boisterous laughter comes from above. We look around, and my eyes catch onto a long tail draping across a few of the branches higher up. It was light green with darker green lines across and a pale yellow underside. “Good thing ya caught your friend! I was just about to stop him myself!” The large serpent body trickles to the floor like molasses until the too human-like torso comes down as well. His hair is incredibly long. It’s past where his torso ends and the snake part begins. He’s. Fucking. Massive. I look at Mina. “You didn’t tell me they were this big!” 

“How was I supposed to know!? The news never said anything about their size!” She yells at me. Katsuki goes into a fighting stance like he could actually do harm to the giant thing. Judging from the chest and face, it’s a male. His green eyes match the light green on his tail, and his hair matches his underside. 

The naga replies with another laugh, leans down, and pokes my nose. “Well, I am! And you guys must be curious humans, huh? There haven’t been any here in quite a while!” 

My brain is still trying to process how large he is. He’s longer than four of me together. An intrusive wanting of touching his tail pops up in my mind. Seriously!? I JUST saw him and want to touch him? What the everloving FUCK mind!?

He looks at our backpacks. “Ooh! Ya guys stayin’ for a few days? That’s great! You guys can tell me more about your place!” Mina wasn’t kidding about them seeming to be friendly. “Those bags seem heavy, would you like me to help?” 

I shake my head. “Nah, we got it. Do you know a place we could set up a camp though?” I ask him. He nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! There’s a pretty good open area by my cave!” He takes a sharp left turn with his body a little ways ahead of us. 

We all look at each other and shrug. He seems friendly enough. Well, Katsuki is the only one still not on board with being around the naga. The naga could be faking, but he seems pretty genuine. My bet is it just hurts Katsuki’s pride he wouldn’t be able to take the naga down himself if a fight breaks out. He’d still try though knowing him. 

The naga kept stopping and looking behind to make sure we were following. Most of us were falling a bit behind since he was still rather fast despite his constant stopping. It must have been about twenty minutes until we got into a clearing with a giant cave next to it. Denki is breathing rather heavily. He throws off his backpack and faceplants into the soft dirt. We all laugh at him, even the naga. Throwing my backpack off, I roll my already stiff shoulders. Man, how do hikers keep those giant backpacks on for so long? 

I look over at Katsuki. Once again, the all-powerful man doesn’t even need to do that. “Dude, I seriously envy you sometimes.” He rolls his eyes. “You’re just weak, dumbass. You’re also not used to it.”

“Hey, hey, hey! No need to be talkin’ like that! We’re all friends!”

Katsuki’s face goes into a snarl. “You can’t tell me what to do, you fucking overgrown lizard.” The naga has an astonished facial reaction for a second. “Sorry about him, he’s always like this.” Eijiro sheepishly informs. 

He shakes his head, and grows a smirk. “Well, good thing you’re all used to it! I gotta say, haven’t been called an overgrown lizard before! Also, shouldn’t it be ‘an overgrown reptile’?” He goes up to Katsuki and starts poking his forehead. “What other so-clever names ya got hidden up in there?” Katsuki tries to bite his finger, making him quickly pull his hand away. “Feisty!~” 

“We all kinda have a nickname he gives us. Mine’s shitty hair, but uh, please just call me Eijiro! What’s yours by the way?” He questions. 

His eyes widened. “Right! Name’s Hizashi! Ya probably heard of me at some point!” We all look confused at each other. “Nope, sorry, that name doesn’t ring any bells.” He grew sad for a moment about that, and mumbled something. 

I decided to try bringing him out of… whatever he’s getting into. “Mine is Y/N. The crabby one is Katsuki, the other blond is Denki, the pink-haired is Mina, and the black-haired one is Hanta. We may not have heard of you, but maybe you could tell us about yourself after we set up camp? As long as you’re truly okay with that.” I say, a little concerned we might still be intruding on his territory. 

“I’d love to! And of course you guys can stay around here for a while! It’s probably better since some nagas don’t like humans too much.” Katsuki crosses his arms. “Well, I dare them to take me on.” Hizashi pinches his cheek for a second, only to be nearly bitten again. “Aw, like ya could do much harm to us! Your enthusiasm is great though! They’d easily crush you.” 

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m not going down without a fight.” I roll my eyes at him. The others snicker at my reaction. “Anyways, we’re burning daylight. Let’s set up camp, and maybe our new friend could show us around a bit.” 

He mock bows. “Gladly, your highness!” Mina snickers and whispers “I ship it” jokingly. I give her a “really bitch?” look, making her almost keel over in silent laughter. It doesn’t take long for us all to take out our things and start setting up the tents. I pull out my rolled up sleeping bag to place next to the tent. “Yellow, huh?” Questions Hizashi. He gets a far-off look in his eyes for a second. I look down at the giant obnoxious yellow sleeping bag in my hands. 

“Not my choice of color, but it was on sale for a really good price, so I thought I might as well. Is there something wrong with it?” I ask. 

He shakes his head. “No, not at all! It just reminds me of another human that came here a while ago!” There was a look in his face that almost seemed obsessed. None of the others noticed the possibly red flag. Mina was too busy goofing off with Hanta and Denki, which were having trouble setting up their tent. Eijiro was trying to help Katsuki, but he kept messing Katsuki up, making him get multiple smacks on his head. 

“Is it okay to ask what happened to him?” His face turns into a harsh glare. It was easy to tell it wasn’t directed at me. “His “friends” took him from me when he left my cave one night. I waited years for him to return, but he never did. They must not be letting him return!” His tone went from angry, to sad, back to angry. 

Something doesn’t seem to add up with that. If he really wanted to return, he would have visited a while ago. Then again, it was pretty hard finding a boat to bring us here, and life can get hectic quite easily. I decided to put it in the back of my mind and focus on the now. 

The sound of tazing brought my attention to Denki, Mina, and Hanta. Mina has an electronic flyswatter in her hand, and smacked Denki with it. “Mina! That’s not what that’s for!” I yell at her.

She laughs. “Come on, it’s not hurting him too badly!” 

“Easy for you to say! How about I zap you now!?” He swipes it from her and smacks her forearm with it, making her shriek.  

I facepalm. “Which one of you idiots brought the flyswatter?” Hanta and Mina point at Denki. I glare at Mina. “What were you doing digging in his backpack when you could have been helping me put up the damn tent?” She replies with an embarrassed smile. 

I’m struggling to keep the tent up and push the tent pegs into the ground without a hammer. “I can help ya! What should I do?” Hizashi asks. “Could you help me push these in?” He nods and I move out of the way to hold the tent tight. He slams the tip of his tail on the peg, pushing it all the way down in one go. It honestly startles me. “Jeez dude! A little warning would be nice!” 

He rubs his neck sheepishly. “Sorry!” As we do the other three pegs, I can’t stop looking at his tail. He seems to notice, and wags the tip of it. “Like what ya see?” He teases. I look away in embarrassment. “Don’t worry about it! I was kinda the same way the first time I saw one of your kind!” He puts his tail in front of me. “I can tell you wanna touch it. Go ahead!” 

I’m unsure about it, but place my hand gently on the top of his tail. It was the back of it closer to his human torso. Nothing but raw muscle, and the heat it radiated was phenomenal. I quickly take my hand away. 

“You two are getting along well quick! And to think you didn’t want to come Y/N!” Mina comes up and teases. Hizashi seems surprised by hearing that news. “Aw, good thing ya did though! It’s already fun having you guys around!”

“Yeah, yeah. Enough of that stupid cheesy talk or whatever. Show us around.” Katsuki says half-heartedly like he really doesn’t want to be here. Hizashi ignores his lack of enthusiasm and nods with a smile. He then starts to move his body to the right of us. 

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

A few hours after, we arrive back to our camp exhausted. The sun was close to setting. Even Katsuki’s breathing was slightly ragged. We’ve learned a lot about this place.  Mostly not many nagas are too open to humans, and there aren’t that many due to most being quite territorial as well as females being rather rare. The four of them were horrified learning we could have met a bad end. Katsuki and I called it that they wouldn’t be too friendly. 

There is also the giant pile of wood he’s been collecting in case any humans visit. That’s so nice of him. He told us it gets pretty boring since not many talk to him, even the others on the other side of the giant island. That makes me feel rather bad for him. Of course, Mina being Mina, hugged him then. He returned the hug with no objections. He also told us the lifespan of nagas can be an average of 800 years. He himself is only about 300 years old. We all almost fainted from the shock of that. 

He helps haul a ton of rather large pieces of wood and sticks next to his cave. The pile was a bit farther out so it wasn’t in his way of his cave. Katsuki starts setting up the fire with a bunch of giant rocks that Hizashi still has around. It takes him no time at all to start a good fire. 

“Way to go dude! Knew you had the skills!” I tease. He glares at me in a way that shows he’s dangerously close to smacking me. I only give him a smirk in return. “Of fucking course, dumbass. Why would I not?” I shrug in reply.

“Hey, you guys want marshmallows? I brought a few bags.” Hanta says, grabbing a bag of marshmallows out of his backpack, along with two short roasters that can extend. 

“Sure dude, pass me the bag. I’d rather eat them not roasted.” Denki informs. Hanta passes him the bag while he extends the roasters and passes one to Eijiro. After Denki opens the bag, Hizashi reels away a little bit, catching my attention.

“You alright?” I ask him. “Heh, yeah! Those things just smell a little too sweet for me, ya know?” I nod in understanding. 

“Oh yeah, I guess it would be pretty weird, huh?” Mina wonders aloud. 

“Would you like us to put them away?” I ask. Denki hugs the bag of marshmallows to his chest. Hizashi shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. Thanks for being so considerate though!” 

After a bit, we decided to tell scary stories. The cheesy usual thing to do. Hizashi seems rather invested in every story told, no matter how bad it is. Right now, Mina is saying hers, and it’s actually pretty good. It’s about a male serial killer that fell obsessed with a male victim of his. The male refused to be with the killer for the obvious reason of them being a killer, and that they’re not interested in men. They were able to escape the chains the killer put them in, and picked up a large piece of a broken mirror that was near him. He decided to give the killer the element of surprise by pretending to still be chained.

“And so, while the killer’s back was turned, the male plunges the glass through the killer’s back!” she brings her hands up for some sort of dramatic emphasis. “They ran towards the still-chained other person and helped them pull the chains free while keeping an eye on the killer who fell to the ground. The man knew the killer was still alive, there was no way they died that quick. He helps the victim pass the killer and tries to pass himself, only to be grabbed by the ankle by the killer! He was still weak though, so it was easy enough for the man to break free and run outside. Luckily for them, they were in a neighborhood with a house not far away.”

We’re all honestly at the end of our seats listening intently. Well, minus Denki who seems rather terrified. Hizashi has an unreadable expression. 

“The neighbors were terrified, but called the police for help. The only problem?... There was no body on the floor when the police investigated. There was only blood. To make things scarier, the blood belonged to someone not in the system.” She grows quiet. 

“Is that it?” Denki questions. 

She shakes her head. “The man knew the killer would come for him again. He moved to the other side of the country. Everything seemed fine for him years later, starting his own family and moving on. At least, until he came home from work one night to a rather quiet home. He enters the home to the copper smell of blood overpowering him, bringing back memories he’s tried so hard to forget. He turns on the light to see his wife in her own blood, his blood freezing in fear. The familiar voice of the killer whispers behind him “You want a family? Well, now we can be.” and the last thing he saw was his children with nothing but fear tied up on the couch in the living room.” 

I was in shock that she said a story so dark. “Damn Mina, that was a wicked story! Where did you learn such a story?” I ask. 

“It was actually from a book a friend told me about!”

“They sure have a shitty taste in books.” Katsuki quips. 

“Like yours is probably much better, little boy scout.” I sarcastically reply. His fists clench. 

“Uh, hey! Maybe we should all go to bed! We have another big day tomorrow of exploring.” Eijiro pipes up, trying to prevent Katsuki from doing anything drastic. Katsuki growls and stomps off to his and Eijiro’s tent. 

Mina lets out a big yawn herself, stretches, and goes towards our tent. Denki and Hanta go to their tent as well. Hizashi puts a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, uh… Would ya mind hanging out with me for a while yet?” 

I shrug. “Sure, just let me get my sleeping bag.” I go and get it, Mina giving me a teasing smirk. “Don’t you get those thoughts in your head.” 

I drag the sleeping bag over close to the still burning fire. It grows quiet between us for a bit, the only sound being the crackling of the fire and the chirping of the crickets. His tail wraps around the bottom of my sleeping bag, trapping me from moving if I decided to by being around my feet. I reach down and pat his tail. 

“So, is there anything you want to talk about now?” I ask, lowering my voice to a near whisper so the others could sleep. “Well, how long are you guys planning on staying?” 

“After this, three days. We couldn’t get them to change the amount of days. It was so odd and hard getting here.” Hizashi perks up at that information. “Anyways, what are we doing tomorrow?” I ask. 

“Ooh! There’s a waterfall not too far from here I think you and your friends will like! It’s kinda hidden, and we’ll have to be careful since it will be close to two of my kinds territories, but as long as we don’t do anything it shouldn’t be a problem. One of them is the other most friendly naga I know! He may even come say hi!” 

“I bet Mina will be happy about that.” I felt more of his tail stealthily trying to go farther on my legs. 

“You’re really not being stealthy you know,” His tail stops. “Sorry. I just can’t help but wanting to touch someone as cute as you!~” 

Heat rushed to my face. “Well, you can hug me if you want. You just had to ask.”

He didn’t have to be told twice before his tail wrapped more around my sleeping and his bare torso went against my back. This isn’t exactly what I had in my head, but I did say hug. He’s still rather warm to the point of it slightly going through my sleeping bag. “How are you still so warm?” 

“This place usually doesn’t get that cold. My body’s most likely used to that.” 

“Makes sense I guess.”

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

I wake up to feeling something tight around me, and whispering. I can’t move my arms either. It’s obviously Hizashi. “Katsuki bro, you don’t have to do anything! He’s not hurting them.”

“I don’t fucking care. There’s something about that damn thing that isn’t sitting right!” 

“Aw, you truly care about-” Denki starts. He suddenly stops. 

“You’re probably just overreacting. We’ve only been here not even a full day. He’s still pretty friendly.” Eijiro sounds almost desperate. 

“That’s the thing you fucking dumbasses! Did you not hear him last night with Y/N? It’s not fucking-” 

“Well, mornin to you guys too!” Hizashi suddenly pipes up, silencing all of them. Ugh, it’s too early. I groan and nuzzle closer into his tail in front of me. I don’t feel like opening my eyes to look at them.

Hizashi laughs. “Morning to you as well!” 

I felt someone get close to me besides Hizashi. “Mina, I swear if you touch me with that fly swatter…” She steps away, confirming my prediction. “How did you know?”

“You dumbasses are known for doing such stupid things. Not really a surprise.” Katsuki replies. “Aw, Katsuki, you don’t have to be so mean about it!” Denki jokes. 

“Shut up guys. It’s too early.” I grumble. 

“Early? The sun is already half way to its highest point!” Hizashi replies with a teasing tone. I only reply with a groan again. 

Hanta clears his throat. “So, uh… What are we doing today?” 

“I already told Y/N last night, but we’re going to a waterfall today!”

“A waterfall? How did we not hear it on our walk yesterday?” Eijiro asks. “Simple! It’s the other direction over a cliff!” he states like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “C-cliff? Isn’t that dangerous?” Denki asks. 

“We will be fine! I’ve done it many times before!” 

“If you say so…” Eijiro replied, sounding quite unsure. 

Hizashi unwraps around me almost reluctantly. He rubs the top of my head, waking me up a bit. “C’mon, ya gotta get up so we can go Y/N!” I ignore them and try to sleep again, using my arms as a pillow since Hizashi is no longer by my head. 

“Tzzt” Something touched my arm and sent a sharp pain through my arm. I instantly knew what it was, and I am NOT happy. I get up instantly. “Minaaaa!”

“Oh shit!” She drops the electric fly swatter and takes off running behind Hizashi. 

Denki and Hanta start laughing. “Get her Y/N!!!” Hizashi blocks me with his hands and holds Mina by his tail while chuckling. It wasn’t light like usual though. This sounded slightly darker if that makes sense. All I know is it sent a chill up my spine. I glare hard at Mina. 

“Now, I know whatever that thing was woke ya up, but let’s not focus on that, and let’s get going to the waterfall, yeah? If you want, I could carry you for a bit more sleep!” I back away in embarrassment. “That’s okay. Let’s just get going then.” 

He laughs normally again and lets go of Mina. 

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

It didn’t take too long to start climbing the cliff  to the waterfall. The crashing waves of it is able to be heard in the distance. Hizashi is leading the way with us rather close. It’s getting rather narrow and crumbling with a really high view in front of us. It’s beautiful with the trees, but terrifying how one step can make you fall off the edge. More ground crumbles under my shoe. My foot is basically off the edge at this point. I look up at Hizashi. I’m right beside him while the others are a bit back. “This seems like a bad idea. I think this is more-” My foot slips and I start to fall. My heart feels like it stopped. “Shit!”  

“Y/N!” they all yell. Faster than someone can even blink, Hizashi’s tail wrapped around my torso before I got too far down the cliff. I look down to see a very deep drop that would obviously kill me, but what was even more concerning was the naga looking up at me. It has to be twice the size of Hizashi. 

Hizashi kept a very tight grip on my torso as my legs shakily kept trying to give out as he had me stand up. We all stopped for a moment. “That’s it, fuck the waterfall. This isn’t worth going for.” Katsuki says, even more angry than usual. 

I can feel Hizashi shaking as well. “Heh, that was not a part of the plan. We’ll be going down towards the waterfall soon. I’ll see if Toshinori would let me bring you guys through his territory on the way back.” 

“Well, why didn’t we do that in the first place!? Y/N could have died!” Eijiro exclaims. “I’ll admit, I thought the fear would be funny. Definitely not now!” 

He kept me closer to him as we went down the cliff. It felt better the closer the even ground came to be. The giant naga I saw earlier comes fast into our view. He has a bright golden tail that matches his hair. The most obvious part of him is a giant scar on his side. His eyes show great concern. “Are you all okay!? I saw what  happened a bit ago,” His eyes squinted at Hizashi. “And I TOLD you to stop taking that way with visitors!” 

Hizashi replies with a teasing roll of his eyes, but it’s showing that he understands and does regret taking that route. “Very shaken up, but fine I think.” I reply. It wasn’t until now I noticed how the waterfall is much louder. He nods. “That’s a relief. I take it you’re going to the waterfall?” 

We nodded. Mina quickly goes up to him. ‘Hey, what’s your name by the way? Mine’s Mina!” 

He grows a kind and friendly smile on his face. “Toshinori. Nice to meet all of you. We haven’t had any humans visit in quite a while.” In quite a while? So people DID used to come here. That’s making the unnerving feeling rise up again. Something must have happened to make them stop coming. But what could it possibly be? These two are friendly. Is it because they might be the only ones that are friendly? Maybe he’d know. I could ask Hizashi, but something feels like that’s a bad idea. 

Mina suddenly pulls out a camera. “You brought a camera?” I asked. “Well, duh! I forgot earlier if I could take pictures of them, but seeing the one even bigger than Hizashi reminded me!” she looks up at Toshinori. “Could we take some pictures to show my other friends?” he perks up at that. “Why, of course! Why not wait until we get to the waterfall? We could do a group one!” 

Mina fist-bumps the air. “Yes! In front of the waterfall would be a GREAT view! Let’s go!” 

The rest of us told our names to him, well, Eijiro did for Katsuki again, on our way to the waterfall. Hizashi still hasn’t let go of me. Toshinori’s brows seem to crease in worry about that. I pat his tail twice. “Uh… Hizashi? Could you let me go now?” He does reluctantly. Mina giggles again. I decide to ignore it. The waterfall was finally in view, making the others grow more excited. Toshinori was farther ahead with the others. 

Now would probably be a good time to ask Toshinori a few things. “Why don’t you go ahead with my friends for a bit? I want to ask Toshinori a few things I’d like him to answer personally if he can.” He almost seems to go on guard after hearing that, but makes himself relax. “What about? Ya gonna talk about me?” He teases. 

“No! Of course not! I want to hear the story about that crazy scar on his side.” I lie. The scar might be interesting, but there are more important things at the moment. He seems unsure of my answer, but nods and heads up to lead the way. 

“I need to ask you a few things.” He looks down at me. “Is it about my scar?” I shake my head. “No, I want to know if you know why no humans want to come here lately.” He looks at Hizashi, who I can swear started moving more slowly, then back to me. He nods. 

“Do you know why humans no longer want to come to the island?” His smile disappears. “To prevent you from being afraid, all I will say is it’s safer for you to leave the island sooner than later.”  

My face scrunches up in frustration and confusion. “That doesn’t make sense! Why though? What could be here you guys couldn’t help us from?” 

“At least a little more information, dumbass.” Katsuki pipes up from behind me. Toshinori shakes his head and goes back to the others. I look beside me to see Katsuki crossing his arms. “I still don’t trust these overgrown lizards. Especially now.” 

“You and I both. Well, I trust they aren’t going to kill us, but I don’t trust they’re not telling us what they should.”

“It’s good we’re staying here two less days.” I look at him confused. “What do you mean?” 

“I told them to make it two less days, or when we get back I’d make their lives hell. I wanted to be here the least amount possible.” 

“Are you sure they’ll listen? They might leave us here if you threatened them.” He grew a sadistic smirk. “Kyoka is making sure.” I shake my head while smiling at him. “Always the ever-clever one, huh?” 

“Someone has to be since you dumbasses sure won’t.” I roll my eyes at him again. “Can’t argue with that. 

.

.

. 

Nerd.” I take off running to catch up without looking back, afraid of being smacked if caught. “Y/N!!!” He angrily screams, and it’s easy to tell he’s running after me. “Hahahaha!” I ran past Hizashi. His tail slams down between Katsuki and I. “Let’s save rough play for later, yeah?” 

I pout. “Aw, Hizashi, you’re no fun!” 

He pouts back. “No fun? I’m PLENTY of fun! C’mere!” He wiggles his fingers, signifying what he’s going to do. I shriek and jump away, but with no success since he's faster and uses his tail to get me stuck in place. 

“That’s enough Hizashi.” Toshinori harshly says, and takes me out of Hizashi’s grip, keeping his body closer to mine so Hizashi can’t. 

The others seem confused by Toshinori’s reaction, but shake it off. Katsuki glares harder at the two nagas. I decide to ignore everything and look at the waterfall. It’s really high up and beautiful. I stop. “Hey, wouldn’t this be a good area for the picture? We could get a large portion of the waterfall in it!” 

Mina quickly takes out her camera again from her pocket. “Yes! Let’s do it!” We get situated. Toshinori is on my right with Eijiro and Mina. Katsuki stays close on my left with Hizashi next to him, with Hanta and Denki unnecessarily crouching in front of him and doing the peace sign. Toshinori grabs the camera with his tail and is able to hold it out to hopefully show all of us in it. No doubt Katsuki isn’t going to smile in it. 

He took a few, and they all turned out great. We then wander close to the bottom of the waterfall where there’s a rather slow stream that goes half way up my calves. I know since we all took our shoes off and entered the shallow stream with the nagas not too far away just in case. While the others are messing around and throwing water at each other, I saw a really cool looking rock a bit farther in the water. It’s in a bit deeper water though… I could possibly ask someone to help. Nah. I look over to see Hizashi being busy talking with Toshinori. It doesn’t seem too friendly whatever they’re talking about judging by their movements. Katsuki is fairly close to them without them realizing, and he doesn’t seem happy with whatever he’s hearing. His face is crunched even more than usual. 

I look down towards the rock again and reach for it. The water goes up past my shoulder, getting my shirt wet. The current in that part is much stronger, almost making me lose my balance. My hand touches it, and I try to bring it up. It’s rather stuck in the ground. I firmly grip it and yank it. It comes free, kicking up a lot of dirt with it. Rinsing it in the water a bit more, it came out clean and was a rather large agate. It’s the size of my palm. A really cool one with multiple lines in it too. I dry it a bit on the bottom of my shorts and put it in my pocket. 

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

The day went by rather quickly until we returned to our camp. Toshinori didn’t come with us, much to Mina’s dismay. We definitely got some kind of sunburn today. Denki looks like he’s gotten the worst of it. Katsuki nearly slapped him until I prevented it. I’d rather not hear how loud he can scream in pain. 

We didn’t feel like doing stories tonight. “Ugh, after this, I don’t think I’m ever going outside again.” Denki complains. “You will, even if I have to drag you.” Katsuki threatens. “Aw, big old buff boy truly does have a heart for us!” I tease. He harshly slaps my shoulder. “Point taken.” I say in a bit of pain. “You shouldn’t hurt your friends like that.” Hizashi pipes up being next to me on my right. Katsuki ignores him. “Forgot to mention, the boat will be here tomorrow to pick us up.” Hizashi tenses up. 

“How do you know that?” Hanta asks. “It’s Katsuki, how else?” I reply. “But we’re having so much fun here! And Hizashi has helped tell me so much about nagas!” Mina whines. “True. well, it was fun while we were here though!” I look at Hizashi. “Thanks for that!” He nods. “Of course!” Something didn’t feel too genuine or enthusiastic with his answer. I heard Hanta snoring. He must have passed out not too long ago. 

Eijiro yawns. “Man, today sure was fun though! Hopefully we can come back some day!” Katsuki and I share a look. “Yeah! It’s hard to find a boat to take us though, so it might be a while.” I inform, trying my hardest to not give away that we won’t be coming back. 

“Hey, Katsuki, could you bring Hanta to our tent? I can’t carry him.” 

“No. The dumbass fell asleep out here, he can stay out here.” Eijiro rolls his eyes at him. “I’ll do it.” He gets up and bridal carries Hanta to the tent with Denki following. Mina goes to ours. Katsuki pulls me close. “Don’t trust that fucking naga. Stay away from him.” He hisses, gets up, and goes to his tent. What was that about? He hasn’t been wrong before though, so it might be best to listen. It stayed silent for a while after Eijiro went to his tent and most likely everyone was asleep. 

I put my hands in my pockets and felt the rock. “I want to give you something to remember us by when we leave,” I take out the rock and give it to him. Something glinted in his eyes and he took it and cupped it with both hands like it was the most fragile thing in the world. A feeling is telling me I just made a big mistake. Why though? It’s just a rock? “It’s not much, but maybe you’ll like its memories?” 

“I’ll definitely treasure it!” his voice becomes more quiet. “Just like I’ll always treasure you.” He means like everything we’ve done the past two or so days, right? 

“Well, goodnight Hizashi!” I say, and go towards Mina and I’s tent. “Could we please do the same thing as last night? As a parting gift or something? It will get so lonely again.” His tone became rather saddened. I almost gave in on pity for him. I remember Katsuki’s words though, and try to think of an excuse. Right! Sunburn! “Sorry Hizashi. I really don’t want to be touched tonight, especially with this sunburn. That will hurt.” 

“Maybe the cold of my cave could help with that! Why don’t we try that?” He sounds desperate. Him being desperate sends off another red flag in my head.

“Sorry. I’d rather be alone tonight.” I say and enter my tent, zipping it up. 

He must have given up since he goes quiet after that. It doesn’t take long after that for sleep to start to overtake me. 

.

.

.

.

.

. 

...Did the zipper just open? I was too tired to check. It’s most likely nothing.

[nothorses]

Imma be real with you, I don't watch Contrapoints and when I asked a friend about her I was told that she'd done the whole antisemitic lizard people joke and apparently didn't apologise for it and now I'm like. Should I watch her anyway? Is she a bad person? Bc I don't wanna support an antisemite but at the same time idk the whole story

The situation in question is that she used a “lizard people” icon for a video in (I think?) 2017, which included a very direct and extended explanation that the people she was criticizing in the video were not “the jews”, and a deconstruction of the antisemitic trope + why it’s harmful.

The other gripe people have is that she sold a shirt with “lizard people” on it and the text “David Icke was right”. Her responses to criticism have essentially been along the lines of “well I sufficiently addressed antisemitism in the video, so the shirt’s fine”. Which really isn’t how that works.

She also changed the text of the shirt to “goddamn reptiles”, and whether you think that’s antisemitic depends on whether you think all “lizard people” jokes are antisemitic, which like... I do, but I don’t think everyone who makes them is. I am also a gentile, and you shouldn’t take my opinion as definitive.

The thing is, imo, that Contra has some legitimately good ideas and some legitimately good ways of saying them. A lot of her videos are great for their intended purpose: deconstructing common ideas in order to explain why they’re wrong. The vast majority of them are made specifically to make people more ignorant than her less ignorant, and they’re generally very good at doing that, which is why a lot of her fans are people who used to be bigots. 

Contra gets criticism for things that genuinely do not deserve criticism, and things have been dragged out of context to a literal “I think Coolsville sucks” degree. A lot of that “criticism” has caused her legitimate trauma. She’s also made a lot of harmful mistakes, responded to criticism in genuinely shitty ways, and hurt actual people.

Given what I know of her, I don’t think she’s bigoted or hateful. I think she’s often impulsive, thoughtless, and defensive, and that has caused harm. And I think she’s legitimately grown over time, even if she’s not publicly performing regret in a satisfactory way.

She’s not a symbol, and she doesn’t represent anything. She’s a human. She does good, and she makes shitty mistakes, and I think both of those things are important. She’s complicated, and how you feel about her is entirely up to you.

[ceoofanticatradora]

We need more anti C//A who are Adora stans (like you seem to be) so that people can understand that C///A is bad for Adora. Heck C//A is bad for Catra too, but the shippers don't seem to realize it. If Catra had been able to let Adora go maybe she could have healed instead of her festering and the abuse may have ended instead of escalated.

Hello Dear, welcome on my Blog and a big thank you for your message! Firstly I wanna apologize that this response is reaching you more than three full days, almost four later. Just real life getting into the way of my online presence (at least I got my A-Levels admission!) but I assure you that replying to you was on my To Do List the entire time. And while I could've typed something quick, I thought you deserved a full length response just as much as the person before you received. That goes for anyone really to ask/write me anything in the future.

Adora is a character that has flaws, her own interests, things she struggles with/is insecure about etc. but she also still works on being better (up to Season 5). This makes her relatable, fleshed out and overall three dimensional. Overall for me that makes Adora very likeable. Which is funny because when I first watched the show I thought of her as too goofy and felt like she as a character was overall just flat. Her character design did not speak to me either, the ponytail with the weird hair poof and these pointy shoulders of her jacket just really were not my taste. Isn't it amazing how perceptions can change?

As you can guess from that description I did not always stan Adora and she's probably still not my favorite character but over the almost two years I've been in this fandom I've grown rather fond of her. Other important characters to me are Kyle (a very relatable comfort character of mine, he learned to stand up for himself and others and I support that, f*ck Season 5 for barely acknowledging his existence), Lonnie (apart from treating Kyle badly (which I really do NOT support or excuse) I really love her, man, some women just do me like that, I mean she really stood up to Catra like that), Entrapta (I'm autistic too! It's great to have some representation, seeing the ableism/treatment she experiences in the show is not so much though), Seahawk (I don't even know why, I have some issues with his behavior towards Mermista at times but overall I love this dork), Scorpia (she reminds me of myself so much and I really wanna give her hugs, I'm so glad she chose to no longer let Catra treat her like that even though I will be forever salty she just immediately forgave her), Peekablue (I can explain this even less than Seahawk, especially since it was not even really him in the end but his existence somehow helped me cope with Season 5, without him I probably would've left this fandom ... and also my favorite color is blue) and Double Trouble (now there's enough people already critcizing how they're not exactly great Non-binary representation but this dramatic lizard will forever be in my heart, that reality check they gave Catra, basically slapping her in the face with facts was satisfying as h*ck, also I like lizards overall).

Now there's plenty of characters I like, dislike (or even hate) or am simply indifferent about but after all this is not a tier list but me talking about Adora, Catra and Catradora. Adora started off as this girl that was so sure what she was doing is right but once she was taught differently she was willing to leave everything she knew (except Catra, because she valued her despite everything) behind. And not only that, she broke out of the abuse cycle that Catra tried so hard to keep upright. And that is exactly what makes Adora such a good role model. She teaches children (or people) that:

Your past doesn't define what/who you are or what/who you can become

-> Adora used to be a Horde soldier and did not know where she came from, but nonetheless she found herself a family and became a hero that saved thousands of people

You can always change your mind and start a new life if you feel disappointed in what you are doing/who you are as a person

-> Basically the exact same point, Adora started a new life as she saw what the Horde really was and changed her mind about who to fight for

You deserve love too, be it platonic or romantic (or se*ual???) (If you're aro and/or ace just ignore the part that does not work for you)

-> While Adora for various reasons thought her only use was to please others and meet their needs and expectations (mostly due to Shadow Weaver and Catra) she learned to accept that she too deserves love and validation (if the love aspect would not have been focused on it being romantic love so she could smooch Catra in the finale this would've been a billion times better because she got love from her friends that showed her her real value)

You can walk away from something/someone, that does not make you egoistic/selfish

-> Adora walked away from the Horde, after Catra stubbornly refused to come with her despite many offers (basically Catra broke the promise, not Adora) from her too and that did not make her a "traitor" or "selfish", h*ck, Adora in the end did this for a bigger purpose too, even if part of it was her not wanting to live with such wrong morals

Your opinions, feelings etc. about a person/something can change and that is perfectly fine and valid, being able to change is part of what makes someone human

-> Adora's views on many things changed throughout the show: The Horde and the Rebellion, the First Ones, Catra, being She-Ra, herself, her priorities and so on ... she actually makes use of her brain, which is why Catra saying "Don't you ge it?" or calling her an idiot and dumb never sat right with me, she's a realistic character for shifting with her thoughts, feelings etc. and sometimes just does not fully think things through

You don't have to let other people treat you like sh*t (just because they have some issues they never worked through does not give them any right to let it out on you)

-> This point is obviously centered mostly around Catra and her abusing Adora almost every chance she gets, which is why Adora standing up for herself and not letting Catra blame her for her own decisions and mistakes is so important, "You made your choice, now live with it" is one of the most powerful lines throughout all the five Seasons

Now I'm sure there is still more to Adora's character than what I just listed and unfortunately almost all the points basically got pushed aside, well, Adora as a character got pushed aside in Season 5. All her growth, the things that made me love her, see her as great role model for so many people robbed of their value for the sake of making everything revolve around Catra. That brings me to her and how you are absolutely right that Catradora is harmful to both characters. Of course Adora is affected most by it in the end but Catra too is obviously suffering under the fandoms obsession and just the overall idea of them being romantically involved.

Just like with Adora the stans make almost everything about Catra over her relationship with Adora. She too can barely exist outside of it and if she wasn't the fan favorite she'd most likely would too be mostly in Fanarts that include Adora and not just her (if you google "Catra Fanart" most content is still Catra and Catra only but here and there Catradora still peaks through). But for whatever reason the fandom still views her more as her own person as the other ones? Catrouble and Scorptra Shippers might actually still get less hate than Glimmadora Shippers (I'm not denying they don't get any, they most certaintly do) which is just plain hypocricy and favorism. Kinda like the: A woman needs to be loyal to her husband and her husband only but if the husband wants to be active with other women that is perfectly fine because "that is just how men are" or how i like to call it ... sexism. Now in this case they are both women so it's not sexism but yo do get my point.

But much more importantly, Catra has an unhealthy obsession with Adora. Signs of that are for example:

Constantly talking about Adora, even when said person is not around (to Shadow Weaver, Scorpia etc.)

Obsessing over having control over Adora like in that one Episode "Are you kidding? I finally got control over Adora, I'm not giving that up!"

Building her entire character and her actions around Adora "We need to take Adora down", "Adora left me", "I'd rather see the whole world end than see you win!", also shown in Season 5 where she states she does save Glimmer only for Adora and not for Glimmer or to do the right thing

Getting aggressive or very emotional over Adora like clawing the wall, having nightmares etc. (destructive behavior towards herself and others)

Having no or barely any characteristics outside of her relationship with Adora like, we don't know her interests or likes and dislikes outside of being evil, obsessed with Adora, being abused by Shadow Weaver ...

Trying to force Adora to meet her needs and expectations regardless of Adora's owns

Sacrificing her oppurtunity to be happy in the Crimson Waste for the sake of her Adora obsession and being better than her at all costs

So yes, you were very right with saying that not putting Catra in a relationship with Adora would've benefited both characters. Catra could've learned to exist on her own, develop interests and a life outside of Adora. Learn to accept herself and eventually come to terms with her childhood abuse. She could've been free and not "the abusive cat girl that ended up with the person she unhealthily obsessed over to the point of no return" she kinda is now. Even if we ignore the whole "dating your long term abuser" part from Adora's side and "being rewarded" for horrible behavior, Catra alone is not giving a good example to people watching. As much as I dislike Catra, disdain her even, an ending where she is dependent on Adora, unable to stand on her own two legs after she led armies in war is not what I would wish for her, even with a decent redemption arc (that she did not get).

[aros001]

First time reading through the light novels. Vol. 1 random thoughts.

A while back I'd seen the first episode of the anime and...didn't take it well because of that one specific scene. I was interested in where Goblin Slayer and Priestess would go from there but I was worried about my ability to handle the rest of the series. So months later I asked this Reddit if you guys would recommend I continue and you were very supportive and encouraging. I watched the rest and really enjoyed it. I just recently wrapped up another light novel series (at least the books that were available in english) and figured why not give Goblin Slayer's LNs a try?

These are just some random thoughts I had while reading the first volume. I did the same with Rising of the Shield Hero and it was fun to do, with other fans pointing out things I might have missed and starting discussions about what happened each book.

Right off the bat, I think Goblin Slayer is one of the few series I've ever read that brings up weapons getting dulled and damaged by blood and fat (or even bringing up fat from a slain foe at all). Shield Hero had a little bit that early on but most stories just have weapons that are so high quality that the quality never dips.

Also, back in the anime I'd found it interesting that goblins could make poison when everything else about them seemed so crude. But in a general view "poison" is basically a harmful substance that you don't want in your body. That the goblins can make poison out of their own shit and some herbs actually makes sense and works with the idea that they have the mental capacity of cruel children.

The first kill we see Goblin Slayer make seems to say a lot about him. Pinning a goblin to the wall with his shield before stabbing a burning torch into its face. Efficient yet feeling almost vindictive.He kills it in the most painful way he possibly can at that moment.

The Priestess blocked the one goblin with her staff on instinct and kept it from getting away long enough for Goblin Slayer to throw his sword into the back of its head. I'm curious if that's why he let her accompany him through the rest of the cave or if he would have done the same regardless? If he didn't see her potential would he have ordered her to leave instead of asking what she was going to do?

Are the gods of Truth and Illusion meant to be literal gods or just figurative? Either way, I'm looking forward to hearing more about them and the Earth Mother, Dark Gods, and Supreme God. I like mythology and that includes the party's talk about where goblins come from. I like that they, and we the audience, don't yet have a for-fact answer. All the possible origins they share are from legends, folktales, and stories you tell children (with some racial bias thrown in between the elves and dwarves). It really helps the world feel more real and lived in.

Out of curiosity, do Slimes exist in the GS universe? They mention giant rats and goblins as the monsters a lot of beginners take on and slimes are a famous kind of newbie monster in other fantasy stories, so I'm curious if they have those as well (or if it's a Konosuba kind of case where slimes are NOT a monster beginners should be fighting).

Oh jeez, the anime really wasn't exaggerating with Cow Girl flopping over the windowsill. Why is that so funny to me?

“Yes. A group of rookies are in the southern woods. That one is a request from a village near the forest.”

“Beginners,” he murmured. “Who was in their party?”

“Let’s see...,” Guild Girl said. She licked her thumb and began paging through a sheaf of papers. “One warrior, one wizard, and one paladin. All Porcelain rank.”

...

The day after that, showing no hint of fatigue, he joined Priestess in venturing to the southern woods. Cow Girl heard later that the rookies never returned from the forest.

I might be misremembering or thinking of a different group but the rookies came back alive in the anime, didn't they?

A big thing that helped me get through the anime was the introduction of High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest. They brought a lot of life both to the series and to Goblin Slayer himself. He's a man who really needs friends and something other than goblins in his life. What he does is important but spending too long in nothing but that darkness would eventually break anyone. In fact, nearly all the characters help bring some enjoyment to the story. I was afraid Spearman was just going to be another Motoyasu but he quickly proved himself to be, overall, a pretty good guy.

I also like that this novel gives more insight into the extra characters. Not just the humans like Guild Girl, Heavy Warrior, and the Hero (which was a very welcome surprise. I want to know more about her), but also some of the goblins as well, like that one guard of the old elf ruins. Even if they can't talk in a way humans can typically understand, it's cool (and a bit uncomfortable) having a direct show of how an individual goblin thinks.

While it's not as much as Priestess, I do really seem to have a soft spot for Guild Girl. Why she seems to like goblin Slayer is just really appealing for me. She likes him because he's different but not in the traditionally tropey way of "Oh, he's so different from the other guys". He takes the jobs that no one else wants to do, not to brag about it or hit on her, but simply because they need to be done, which means a lot less newbie adventurers have died or worse at the hands of goblins, something she's indirectly seen happen way too many times, even if it's a reality she has to live with. Completely unintentionally, he takes a lot of burden off her heart and mind. I can easily see how her respect and appreciation for him would eventually lead into feelings of affection.

Goblin Slayer = Beard-Cutter? I can understand to an extent Orcbolg and that both names come from a goblin killing sword, but do Dwarves refer to goblins as Beards? And if so, why? Or am I missing something here? This confused me in the anime too.

“I owe it all to you, sir!” Her gaze, her beautiful eyes, bored into him. He caught his breath. What should he say? There was a long pause.

“Not at all,” he finally squeaked out. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You did so much!” she responded with a grin. “You saved me when we first met.”

“But I couldn’t save your companions.”

“True, but...” Her face stiffened for a moment. She couldn’t quite finish her sentence—understandably.

Even he still remembered the awful scene all too clearly. Warrior, Wizard, Fighter, who had all lost everything. Her party had been trodden into the dust.

I really like this. It's be really easy to just make Goblin Slayer a complete hardass who's oblivious to everything and cold to the world (and to an extent he is). But he does still have emotions other than anger. He's at a loss by Priestess' gratitude and doesn't know what to say. He has regret that he couldn't save her old party. He's used to the sight of what happened but still finds it awful. He appreciates the elf, dwarf, and lizardman's help and isn't against partying with them again, even if he won't go out of his way to join them again. He feels truly helpless when he tells Cow Girl he can't defeat the Goblin Lord's army. As the story goes on I imagine it'll be explored how much he's doing what he does to keep the past from happening again vs. him just wanting revenge on all goblins. Which side rules him more?

But all things must end—often too soon.

The end to his idyll appeared in the form of repulsive black blotches on the dew-drenched morning pastures. Trailing mud and excrement across the fields, they were unmistakable: small footprints.

This is the one part I think the anime did a little better, if for no other reason than that we had a lot more times of Goblin Slayer checking for signs of goblins every morning. It was a great Chekhov's gun. It was something the audience knew had to come back into play later...but that you really, really did not want to because you knew what it'd mean. Every time he checked and didn't find anything was a relief but it left worry about the next time, building up that dread and anticipation, until finally we get that morning where he sees all the tracks.

At a table deep in the room, High Elf Archer made to stand, her face a furious red, but Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest stopped her. Witch sat on a bench, a slippery smile floating on her face. He glanced at the front desk to see Guild Girl vanishing into a back room in a panic. It occurred to him that he was looking for Priestess.

Awwwwwwwwwww! He does like having her around!

I think the main reason the story works, at least for me, is because it isn't just one of those "Life sucks. The world is dark. F**k you." types of "adult" literature. Yes, the world of GS does get very dark and messed up, but what gets you through it are these very likable and sunny characters who do care a lot about each other. At least with the content of this volume and what was covered by the anime, the draw isn't supposed to be how "edgy" the story can get but rather these characters trying to fight back against the darkness that exists in their world.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoblinSlayer/comments/fq3z9a/first_time_reading_through_the_light_novels_vol_1/

[commentaryvorg]

Digimon Data Squad Dub Comparison Episode 2 - Marcus’ Inner Strength!

This is a companion to my commentary on the original Japanese Digimon Savers! Reading my commentary on the original version of this episode (which you can find here) is recommended before reading this dub comparison.

Original name ~ Dubbed name

Masaru Daimon ~ Marcus Damon

Yoshino Fujieda ~ Yoshino “Yoshi” Fujieda

Tohma H. Norstein ~ Thomas H. Norstein

Sayuri Daimon ~ Sarah Damon

Chika Daimon ~ Kristy Damon

Captain Rentarou Satsuma ~ Commander Richard Sampson

[Since several characters share the same name between the original and the dub, quotes from the dub will always be in italics, while quotes from the original will not, in order to distinguish them.]

Kudamon:  “Satsuma, what must be done with Raptor-1?”

~~~~~

Kudamon:  “Tell them what will happen to Raptor-1, Commander Sampson.”

Originally, Kudamon was asking, making it somewhat more sensible to think that Satsuma is not actually planning on sending Agumon back, despite the way he awkwardly implies as such by going on to demonstrate it with the Cockatrimon egg. In the dub, it sounds a lot more like Sampson and Kudamon have already firmly decided that Agumon is going to be sent back, which should not actually be the case.

(Granted, I found this whole aspect rather awkward in the original, but the dub is not helping.)

Satsuma:  “Digimon who cause problems in the human world…”

~~~~~

Sampson: “Any Digimon who break the real-world law…”

While I didn’t appreciate the original calling it a “crime” for a Digimon to be in the human world, at least this line got to the actual point – that a Digimon being in the human world is simply a problem that they need to clean up. The dub leans even more into this “crime” idea by claiming that there’s some sort of explicit law about this, even though Digimon from the Digital World should have no way of knowing about such a law.

Also, do you notice another key difference here? The original calls it the “human world”. The dub calls it the “real world”. The latter is a term that Savers never uses to refer to the human world, which I appreciate a lot. Calling the human world the “real” world implies that the Digital World is somehow less real and less important than the human world, and by extension so are Digimon. That is extremely the wrong attitude to have about it, especially for this series in particular, and I appreciate that the people in DATS, and the writers of Savers, understand this. To be fair, the dub almost always gets this right, too! But apparently someone was sleeping on the job this time.

Satsuma:  “We simply sent it back to the Digital World, where Digimon live.”

~~~~~

Sampson: “What you’ve just seen was the Digimon you defeated being sent back to the Digital World.”

The dub’s version of this line sounds a lot more unnecessarily expositiony, as if they think viewers couldn’t have picked up which Digimon this was from the flashback to the egg appearing after the fight.

Agumon: “Boss, please do something, I don’t wanna go back!”

What does he mean, go “back”? Agumon doesn’t remember ever being in the Digital World in the first place.

Sampson: “It’s a Digivice.”

Kudamon: “Marcus dropped it when he fled.”

The dub fills a silence to establish another obvious fact that definitely nobody could ever have picked up through implication.

Satsuma:  “I see. That man must’ve…”

~~~~~

Sampson: “That kid. Full of surprises.”

Since the actual word Satsuma used in Japanese was “person” and not “man”, apparently it completely went over the dubbers’ heads that Satsuma was meant to be referring to the old man who gave Masaru his Digivice, not Masaru himself. Way to miss the point there and lose out on the implication that he knows the guy.

Agumon: “Good idea, Boss. No-one will think there’s aaanything suspicious about a walking cardboard box!”

Pfft. The thing is, I don’t think Agumon’s being sarcastic. That’s kind of a trait that dub-Agumon has that’s a not quite there in the original – a tendency to unironically say dumb things that most people would only mean as snark. I kinda like it; it’s cute and amusing and fitting for his character.

Agumon:  “If this is junk food, then I’m happy to be a garbage dump!”

And here’s that other dub-added trait of Agumon’s that I don’t appreciate as much: somehow knowing about human concepts he really should not know about yet. Though calling this one a “trait” is debatable when it’s more like the dubbers not thinking things through.

Sayuri:  “Really, where were you last night? I thought you got in trouble with the police again! I was so worried!”

~~~~~

Sarah: “Well… you’re busted, that’s what’s going on. Fess up! While you were out getting into trouble, I was up all night worried sick! Now where were you?”

Sarah’s line here has a bit of a difference from Sayuri’s, which you can also hear in her voice – she was still worried, but she’s focusing this a lot more on being stern and angry at her son for misbehaving. I liked that Sayuri wasn’t really that angry at Masaru despite having plenty of reason to be, and I’m a little sad to lose that.

Sarah also doesn’t imply any prior trouble with the police, but the dub of episode 1 did add in a few little things that already implied that, so I don’t mind.

Marcus: “Hahaha! What trouble? I don’t even know the meaning of the word! You really oughta buy me a dictionary!”

I enjoy this line. It is appropriately dorky and ridiculous and obviously-trying-to-distract-from-the-truth.

[Agumon tumbles out of the closet he was hiding in]

Agumon: “Why d’ya keep shoving me into small places?”

Aww, of course Agumon wouldn’t like being kept in small places after his time being held at DATS! The original implied something like this with the animal cage, but it didn’t bring it up for the closet (and implicitly also the box), too.

Sayuri:  “Masaru, remember our promise?”

~~~~~

Sarah:  “I hope you’re not forgetting the promise we made.”

Sarah, again, sounds sterner than Sayuri here. It’s like she thinks Marcus would potentially just forget all about the promise because he never really cared about it that much. Like she had to nag him into even agreeing to keep it in the first place. That’s absolutely not the point of their promise to tell each other everything until his dad comes back, not in the original; it’s a way to help keep the family together in his absence that Masaru would have been 1000% on board with wanting to keep, in principle.

Kristy: “You don’t mistake a thing like seeing a giant lizard, *Mom*!”

Kristy has a lot more attitude here than Chika did.

The Japanese kushikatsu that Yoshino compliments Sayuri on gets called a corn dog in the dub, which is fair enough localisation; they do look similar.

Yoshino:  “So that’s why I’ll be freeloading off you here for a while.”

~~~~~

Yoshi:  “So I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, since I now have to keep an eye on you two guys.”

Sadly, Yoshi does not make a point of the free food she’ll be getting out of this.

Marcus:  “No way! You’re not taggin’ along with me, toots!”

Can we not? I thought this stopped after the first episode; I guess I was wrong. Sigh. It does still stop soon, I’m pretty sure.

Marcus: “Just great. He even eats in his sleep.”

This makes it seem a lot more like Marcus is only disgruntled because of Agumon’s loud sleep-eating, and not because Yoshi is sleeping in his bed and he gets the floor.

Agumon: “And what is school again?”

Marcus:  “…A place where there are tons of people to fight.”

It’s basically the same line as the original, but Marcus’s tone sounds a lot more bitter, less like he’s actually trying to make Agumon think this, and more like he’s just grumpily thinking “I wish it were but actually it sucks”.

Yoshi: “And safety rule number one says: Keep your Digimon stored!”

I doubt this is an actual written rule anywhere at DATS. And if it is, surely it should be a secrecy rule, not safety? It’s not like a well-behaved Digimon, like all partners of DATS members should be, is inherently unsafe just by being out and about.

Marcus’s squawks as he rushes out the door because he’s going to be late, again, sound a lot more bitter and grumpy, like he just hates going to school. There was none of this impression given with Masaru! Sure, I don’t think school is particularly Masaru’s favourite thing either, but it doesn’t come across like he’s upset about having to go there. Apparently the dubbers have just decided that, because Marcus is A Jock™, he’s obviously meant to be the kind of teenager who hates school, right.

Marcus:  “If you’re gonna follow me, you could at least give me a lift in your car!”

You know, he has a point here. Masaru didn’t think to ask that.

This car conversation is the first point at which Yoshino starts calling him Agumon, but meanwhile Yoshi is still calling him Raptor-1. I guess sharing a meal with him as if he’s actually a person or something didn’t do anything for her.

Yoshino:  “I won’t have to look after you guys either… but I guess that’ll never happen.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “And, the best part of all is that I wouldn’t have to babysit you guys any more.”

Despite having the same snarky look on her face for this line, Yoshi is not actually snarking at them here. I am disappoint.

Kristy: “When he came in to feed the chickens and rabbits this morning, they were all gone. Nobody knows where they went.”

So the dub is going for the insistence that the animals definitely just disappeared mysteriously. No Animals Were Harmed, guys. I guess the Kunemon just… kidnapped them?

Which… is fairly understandable. It does mean we lose out on that cute line where Masaru commented that it was terrible.

Agumon:  “I couldn’t get used to being inside that cramped Digivice!”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Please, Boss! All these cramped places are making me claustrophobic.”

The dub makes more of a point of connecting together all of Agumon’s experiences in being put in cramped spaces, which is some extra nuance that I appreciate!

Yoshi: “You know, Agumon, there should be a rule about leaving your Digivice without permission.”

…I thought there literally was? Safety rule number one, wasn’t it? This should count as part of that. Yeah, I figured that dub “addition” wasn’t going to be an actual thing that mattered.

Lalamon: “Frankly I don’t know how you slept with all his snoring, but…”

Lalamon has some added sass here, wow.

Marcus & Agumon: “The ultimate team! It’s fightin’ time again!”

“The ultimate team” is a cute thing for these two to start calling themselves, but I find it a little bit of a stretch that they’re doing so this soon.

Marcus: “Kristy! Don’t! Worry! We’ll! Get! Whoever! Did! This!”

Marcus somehow manages to be even more embarrassingly dorky than Masaru was here. Maybe it’s the lip-flap’s fault that he’s yelling it so awkwardly like this?

Agumon: “What is it with you and these cramped spaces, Boss?”

This is as Agumon is locked inside the animal cage. I still appreciate how they’re connecting all these together.

…Though at this point, since Agumon has expressed his dislike for these so many times, it becomes more of a dick move deliberately ignoring Agumon’s wishes for Marcus to still be doing this anyway.

Agumon:  “I hate being cooped up. Locked up like a criminal.”

Connecting it even more to Agumon’s experiences at DATS! Without actually explicitly saying that this is why!

You know how I brought up in my commentary of the original episode that Agumon not liking this is probably to do with that? It’s actually only because the dub made more of a point of this that I picked up on it. Though I still believe that was probably meant to be the point in the original, it was perhaps a little bit too subtle about it. The dub being actually good at subtlety in ways that weren’t there in the original is very decidedly not going to be a common theme here, so let’s appreciate it while we have it.

Masaru:  “What are you doing out here so late? Did you come to check on the cages?” [The kid doesn’t respond.] “Hey, say something!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “You come to check on the cages or somethin’? Well, thanks, but you shouldn’t be here. Now go home.” [The kid doesn’t respond.] “Hey, did you hear me? Get outta here!”

Marcus is a little harsher to this kid than Masaru was; it’s there in his tone of voice, too. It does make sense to tell him to go home, because Digimon secrecy etc, but I do like how Masaru didn’t actually care about that and was just curious as to what was up with this kid. Masaru is good with kids. It comes across like Marcus is significantly less so.

Takashi:  “I wished they would just disappear! And then, this guy…”

~~~~~

Takashi:  “I wished they’d all just disappear, and then they did! Thanks to him…”

(Takashi’s name is not actually mentioned in the dub, so whatever, let’s assume he’s still called Takashi.)

Something about the way dub-Takashi expresses this reads a little differently to me. It feels slightly less like he’s conscious of the fact that the Kunemon came and got rid of the animals because of his wishes, and more like it was just a happy coincidence. The fact that he actually admits that the animals disappeared and says it’s “thanks” to the Kunemon also suggests more like he’s actually happy about that happening.

…Though, him admitting “and then they did [disappear]” might be part of the dub scrambling to reassure viewers that No Animals Were Harmed. And since that is apparently literally what happened and they really weren’t killed, I guess Takashi would be less traumatised and more just satisfied that he got his wish.

If he is less traumatised, there’s less explanation for why he passes out, but, eh.

Yoshi: “Stay back.”

Marcus:  “Do *what*?!”

I love the incredulity in Marcus’s response. What do you mean, don’t fight a thing?!

Masaru:  “Don’t be stupid! There’s no way I’ll turn my back on the enemy and run like a coward! No matter how difficult it gets, I’ll stand firm without taking a step back! That’s… how a man should live!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “No, I’ll never run away! An ultimate fighter never shows cowardice! No matter how difficult the fight might be, I stand my ground. That’s what a winner does! Fightin’ time agaaain!”

I’m going to be doing a lot of complaining about the dub messing up most of Masaru’s manly speeches that I adore. This one, though, is okay – it’s pretty simply don’t-give-up stuff that there isn’t much to mess up about.

However, what is very different, you might notice, is the lack of this being about what a man does. I pointed out a couple of bits in episode 1 where the dub basically kept the mentions of manliness or even added one in where it wasn’t there before, but I also mentioned that this is very rare for them. Because this here is usually what they do – remove the references to manliness altogether.

They probably mean well with this? They probably think Masaru’s manliness thing is some kind of toxic masculinity that they don’t want their kids’ show protagonist to be espousing. But here’s the thing: it isn’t toxic masculinity. If the dubbers assume that’s what it is just because they heard the word “man” being used a lot, without even bothering to, you know, listen to what Masaru is actually saying when he talks about this, I am very disappointed in them.

Masaru’s concept of manliness is one of the most interesting and distinctive things about his character, and I’m sad to see the dub water it down. Even while removing the references to manliness, some of the general principle of it can still be kept (though the dub will often be losing even that, as we’ll see), but without one central word that he always connects these ideas to, the whole thing seems a lot less pointed and cohesive, and it’s a lot harder to realise that it’s A Thing about him in the first place.

(And we also lose the delightful connection that it has to the thing with his dad, which I could already pick up on the implication of at this point on my very first watch. Without the specific mention of manliness here, I wouldn’t have figured out what makes Masaru tick nearly so soon, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed my first viewing of this series quite as much.)

Marcus: “Ready to fight, Agumon?”

Agumon: “Yeah!”

Marcus: “All right, then!”

Marcus’s tone of voice with the “all right, then!” sounds weirdly sinister and not at all like an excited dork ready to go win a fight alongside his new best friend. What on earth were the voice directors doing here.

(I’m tentatively not going to blame this on Marcus’s voice actor, because he’s generally really good at his job.)

Old man:  “This human world must be too small for you to swing around these fiery fists of yours. How about it? In the Digimon’s world, you’ll find plenty of formidable opponents to fight to your heart’s content.”

~~~~~

Old man:  “If you want to become the ultimate fighter who fights the ultimate battles, then you’re not going to find it in this world. But in the Digital World, there’s an unlimited number of opponents who will test your fighting skills, and make you the best fighter on *two* worlds!”

Um. He was not originally supposed to be literally talking about the Digital World here. This is supposed to be, at least on an in-universe level, just the old guy saying something that’ll help Masaru realise he wants to join DATS. The Digital World has nothing to do with that, because DATS isn’t supposed to involve him necessarily ever going there.

Marcus: “Then I’ll be… the ultimate…!”

Credit to the dub, they are actually remembering that change they made in episode 1 where Marcus just wants to be an ultimate fighter and doesn’t feel like he is one yet. This is still consistent… for now.

Masaru:  “Please! Let us join DATS!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Well… Guess what. We’re gonna do you a favour and join DATS.”

I liked how sincere Masaru was about really wanting to join, knowing that they have every reason to refuse him. But Marcus? Is just being an arrogant prick about it. Apparently he doesn’t know how to swallow his pride. And this is despite him having the same humble, pleading body language as in the original, which this attitude does not remotely match with.

Satsuma:  “Daimon Masaru, I figured you would come to us one day.”

~~~~~

Sampson:  “I knew it would happen. Frankly, I’m surprised that it took you this long to ask, Marcus.”

With Sampson’s phrasing about Marcus asking, this is specifically just about him expecting Marcus to want to join since he met Agumon. The implication the original had that he’d already been expecting to Masaru to end up here before Agumon even showed up is completely missing. Another implication that apparently went right over the dubbers’ heads.

Masaru:  “Now we can fight against as many strong guys as we want!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “And just think of all the bad guys we’re gonna get to beat up!”

Marcus specifies that their opponents will be bad guys, which is not the point in the original. Masaru isn’t particularly doing this to feel like a hero; he’s just doing this because he wants to challenge himself.

I imagine the dub made this change because they want to emphasise that, hey, our kids’ show protagonist who fights people a lot is definitely not a bad person, really, see, because it’s only bad guys he fights!!! But that isn’t necessary. Masaru’s fighting thing is already perfectly honourable, because he only fights people who want to fight him.

Tohma:  “It’s been a while since I’ve last seen it… Mom’s homeland, Japan.”

~~~~~

Thomas: “After so long… I’m coming home… at last.”

Tohma’s words implied that he didn’t quite think of Japan as his own home, but apparently Thomas is completely fine in seeing it that way.

We also lose the mention of his mom being from Japan, which is a little nugget of information that I think we otherwise wouldn’t have for quite a few more episodes. Though I suppose simply the fact that he thinks of Japan as home implies that part of his family must be local despite his more prominent Austrian heritage that we’re going to learn about soon enough.

Overall differences

This episode isn’t that significantly different overall; most of the differences are just the usual lost nuance or less sense-making or Marcus being less interesting, and also people generally being a bit sassier.

I genuinely like the added focus on Agumon not liking cramped spaces, implicitly because they remind him of his time imprisoned at DATS. An actually good addition, and decent subtlety!

Marcus is vaguely more of a jerk in some bits, and also I guess he hates school because he’s A Jock™ or whatever.

The mention of being a man is removed from his speech. I’m specifically noting it here because this is the first time we’re seeing it happen, but this is also going to be a regular thing that I’ll probably stop mentioning in these summaries before long.

I suppose technically the biggest change in what actually happens is that No Animals Were Harmed. Which is something I understand them doing, but it also does mean Takashi loses a bit of interesting nuance because he’s not accidentally a murderer.

[themarkofoxin]

People literally supplied you with screencaps of contra being racist and shit, are you intentionally ignoring it to scream at anons cuz you know you can't disprove it or what

i actually wasn’t going to respond because when that reblog happened i was crying in the bathroom at work so like. just straight up did not have time.

but for realsies, i literally cannot see how any of the screenshots in that reblog prove that she is Undeniably Antisemitic, Racist, and Transphobic. i think they’re insensitive and brash, but i don’t think natalie is A Racist because she pointed out that it’s weird an old racist statement was trending.

in none of my posts am i saying that this ^ stuff isn’t uncomfortable or insensitive. i take issue with so many people’s need to permanently vilify someone for stuff that she probably thought about for maybe 30 seconds before tweeting two years ago. also, she’s not being racist here? a native person responded to her tweet, but nowhere in natalie’s original tweet does she say (or even imply) anything about race. at all?

next:

if you were to actually watch her videos and listen to what she has to say now, not in june of 2018 when this tweet was sent, she acknowledges that she held this perspective at one point and she regrets it. she talks about this in two of the videos in my original reblog AND in her one titled “beauty.” yes, she thought like this at one point. she recognizes it was harmful now, and has apologized. even if she hadn’t apologized in “canceling,” if she had just shown her change in perspective through her actions, would i hate her to the extent that so many people on the internet do?

no. because it’s just not that deep.

when i first realized i might be nonbinary, i was fucking terrified. i had a million different tmed arguments swirling around in my head, and i spent months arguing with myself about it because of it. i’m absolutely positive some of my fears came through in my conversations with people, and i definitely said damaging, tmed-adjacent things because i was scared to be One of Those Nonbinary People. the only difference is my conversations were verbal and impermanent, and a year later no one was combing through all my social media posts to find evidence to damn me for it.

okay, lastly. the lizard people thing.

1) she’s stopped using the lizard people characters since the growth in power of far right movements in the US

2) originally, she used them as kind of a joke about capitalism, and later learned their antisemitic origin and aftet that clarified every time she used those characters that she does not condone antisemitism and that she knows about the dogwhistle and is not, and would never, use it to that end.

3) i know tons of people irl who have no idea the “lizard people control the world” conspiracy is linked to antisemitism, so it’s not that hard for me to believe natalie didn’t when she started youtube either. the important part is that she has acknowledged their implications and, believe it or not, she was actually the first person who taught me that conspiracy was antisemitic.

conclusion -

in “cringe,” natalie made a lot of really interesting points that had me thinking for months. specifically, she analyzed trans man kalvin garrah’s visible hatred of “transtrenders” and compared it to her own difficulty accepting catgirl trans women. note that here she was admitting to a bias she’s aware of within herself and outwardly working to improve it.

she basically talked about how the feeling of intense “cringe” that leads to the kind of content garrah makes comes from a fear that the people you’re cringing at are similar to you. have you ever not told someone you have a tumblr, or loudly lambasted cringey tumblr blogs because you don’t want them to think you’re one of those tumblr users? it’s kind of the same deal, but on a more damaging scale. garrah sees gnc trans men as making him look bad because he’s a Real Man; natalie cringes at catgirl trans women because she feels like they infantilize themselves. she acknowledges in the video that this is unfounded and wrong, but she was using self-analysis to create discussion. 

i bring this up for two reasons - one, to point out that natalie is a self-reflective person who admits to her own faults and grows; and two, because i think the cringey thing is part of the reason the hate for natalie is so intense, and why i see it mostly coming from trans women, rather than nonbinary people, jewish people, or poc. 

TL;DR

do i think the screenshots above mean she’s antisemitic, racist, and transphobic? no. it’s not that deep. there are so many better things you could be putting your energy towards, so many more worthy people you could hate, than sending anonymous messages to a dan and phil blog about an educational leftist youtuber.

[raleighcarrera]

circles

platinum | shane parker x mc (cadence dorian)

shane and cadence have been best friends their entire lives. so why do things feel so different when she comes to visit him at college? set pre-book. (for @platinumweekend ❤️)

tags: @choicesarehard ; @empressazura; @zigtheeortega ; @pixeljazzy ; @withbeautyandrage 

~3.1k words | T

“it’s not like that.” it feels like at least the fourth or fifth time he’s said as much since he first casually mentioned that cadence would be coming to visit this weekend, much to the delight of his friends. “we’ve been best friends our whole lives. that’s it.”

“sure,” angelica grins, looking just about as far from angelic as any one person can get. “if you say so.”

devon takes a less patronizing approach. she shrugs, not looking up from where she’s filing her nails. “i don’t buy it. you don’t go through puberty with someone without having at least a little sexual tension with them.”

“oh my god,” shane groans, “will you guys stop? we’ve never -- i don’t -- we’re just friends.”

evan, his roommate, hums. “just let me know if you need me to clear out tonight, okay? casey said i could bunk with him.”

“if you guys don’t shut up, i swear to god --”

there’s a chorus of protests from around the table, several whispered exhalations of touchy, i see and hands being raised placatingly. he rolls his eyes, picking up his empty plate. it’s time to go pick cadence up from the bus stop, like -- now. “just please be normal when she gets here, okay?”

“we will if you will!” angelica calls out after him. laughter follows him as he exits the dining hall, and he only exhales once he’s halfway to his car, shaking his head. 

his college friends are far from the first group of people to assume that there’s something more than just friendship between he and cadence. his own parents have implied a number of times that it wouldn’t be the worst thing if they got together, and that’s about a girl that’s slept over at his house more times than he can count, a girl who he went through his power rangers phase with, a girl who saw him through middle school and high school and still somehow liked him enough to call him her best friend.

he’s gotten very good at ignoring comments from people who don’t understand their relationship or even think it’s weird how close they are, so being teased by his friends doesn’t bother him as much as it makes him roll his eyes.

shane’s used to the judgments others cast on what’s always been nothing more than a mutually supportive and wholly enjoyable friendship. still, for some reason, it’s a little tougher to shake off this time than in the past, and he finds that some of their comments have poked at certain sore spots he didn’t even know he had.

he’s uneasy, as he ducks his head and jogs across campus.

it’s probably going to be a very long and very strange weekend.

*

true to form, cadence is beaming when she hops off the bus, the last person to exit the doors that swing open at the campus stop. she’s looking around at everything wide-eyed, like she’s never seen a college campus before, which is hilarious, given that she’s just come from one.

but the tiny performing arts school she attends a few states away is surely at least a little bit different than their hometown state college, a giant university with nearly one-hundred thousand students in attendance.

she rushes over with her duffel and he feels himself grinning back at her as soon as she’s close enough for him to see how bright her eyes are, behind her glasses.

she really is very pretty.

shaking his head, he folds her into the biggest hug he has, making a little oof sound when cadence squeezes him so tightly it leaves him short of breath.

“oh my god, hi,” she squeals into his ear, bouncing up and down on her tip-toes. “i missed you so much. it’s been forever!”

it’s been just about three months, since they said goodbye at her grandma’s house in august the night before they both had to leave to go move in. and while in some ways it feels like they were just together, especially given how they’re constantly in contact, he knows exactly what she means. it definitely also feels like it’s been way too long since he last held her exactly like this.

“i’m so glad you’re here,” he murmurs in return, pulling away to reach for her bag for her. “there’s so much i want to show you.”

“i know!” cadence exclaims, back to smiling at everything again. “i can’t wait to meet all your friends. but -- come on, i’m freezing. first let me see your dorm.”

right. his room. where she’ll be sleeping... with him.

it wasn’t like that’d never happened before. of course it had. you didn’t get to be lifelong best friends without squeezing into a few strange sleeping arrangements. he and cadence had shared a bed, a couch and the same stretch of floor before without even an ounce of weirdness affecting their relationship.

so he can only assume that the reason why it feels suddenly strange, this time, is because of the way his friends had just been teasing him and how uncomfortably close to home some of their comments had landed. 

devon’s voice in particular flashes through his mind again as he does his best not to stare at cadence and her leggings and the sweater that’s slipping off her shoulder: you don’t go through puberty with someone without having at least a little sexual tension with them.

shaking his head to dispel the unwelcome flipping of his stomach, shane jerks his thumbs at the far side of campus with a grin. “right this way.”

*

like always, he finds himself waiting around for her to finish getting ready.

they’re not due at the pregame for another hour, so he’s free to catch up with her (alone, thank god -- evan is meeting them out) while she gets her makeup on, his eyes lingering on the precise movement of her dainty hands applying eyeshadow while she talks a mile a minute about her bus trip earlier that day.

“-- and there was this little girl making bracelets at the terminal, she was so cute. i gave her five dollars and she made me this keychain for my bag on the bus. isn’t it so good?” she sets down her concealer to reach for the beaded lizard hanging off the edge of her duffel. “so cute, right?”

“have you ever gone anywhere without making friends with someone?” shane asks instead of answering, smiling fondly at her. “i swear you could hold a conversation with a brick wall.”

cadence laughs, turning back to the tiny compact mirror balanced on her knees. despite the less-than-ideal environment of his very bare and very poorly lit dorm room, she still looks flawless, brushing highlighter on her cheek until it’s glittering. 

he realizes he’s staring again and averts his eyes guiltily. why does he feel guilty? it’s just cadence. have a few simple months apart made him completely forget how to act around her?

“well, the drive would’ve been boring without anyone to talk to,” she answers finally, “and you were in class.”

“i’m surprised you didn’t bring something to read,” he muses. there’ve been plenty of times he’s had to rip a book out of her hands so she’d pay attention to him and the movie he was trying to show her, after all. 

“god, i just wanted a break from anything academic,” cadence groans, “midterms ruined my life. do you feel like college is a thousand times harder than high school, or is it just me? most of the time i thought everyone had to be exaggerating, but -- i don’t know.” she fidgets on the rug, flicking her eyes up to his. “it’s not like how i thought it’d be.”

shane holds her gaze quietly. college isn’t like how he thought it’d be, either -- it’s actually a little bit better. but it’d be impossible to say so now that she’s admitted she’s struggling.

one thing is exactly like he’d imagined it, though: he misses her just as much as he’d expected to. it’s not easy at all to be so far away from his best friend.

“yeah, i know what you mean,” he says finally, keeping his eyes locked on her even when cadence turns back to her makeup to gloss her lips. “it is hard. and it’s definitely important to take those breaks. don’t worry, we’ll get your mind off of school this weekend.”

cadence laughs, snapping her compact shut and stuffing her makeup back into her bag. “i hope i can keep up with you guys. my school is definitely not a party school.”

“we’ll catch you up,” he promises, grinning at the thought of the evening ahead of them. he’s going to show cadence a good time if it’s the last thing he does. and she has no idea what she’s in for. “don’t worry.”

*

surprisingly, everyone is perfectly nice and normal when they arrive at the pregame. his friends treat cadence like an instant member of the group, like she’s someone they’ve known for years. they welcome her with open arms and start pouring shots down her throat like they’ve done to him so many times before completely effortlessly.

it’s what happens when they get to the party that’s troublesome. 

he’s admittedly a few drinks deep when cadence drags him onto the dance floor. he should’ve known that’d be the first place she’d want to go; all of cadence’s shy little wallflower moments fly straight out the window whenever she’s had so much as a sip of alcohol. 

it’s not his fault he doesn’t manage to stop her. shane’s own head is swimming from the shots he’s had and he figures there’s not much harm in indulging her, but it’s only when they all crowd onto the dance floor and he sees the way his friends are looking at him that he realizes the position they’re in.

“this is awesome!” cadence chirps, angling her head to be near his ear. her arms loop around his neck as she swings her hips to the music. “i’ve never been to a party like this before.”

true, in high school, there were parties like this, but the two of them were never invited to them. they’d gone to prom alone together, and stayed up all night afterwards sneaking sips of alcohol at cadence’s grandma’s while she pointedly went to bed early.

“i’m glad you’re having fun,” he calls back, shuffling awkwardly on his feet in front of her. “do you need a water?”

“no!” cadence’s eyes are bright in the low light of the random living room they’re in, bopping along to the beat. she bounces up and down on her feet, dragging him closer. “you need another drink.”

to say the least. he could probably stand to put some distance between them, too -- get himself a moment of air. shane nods, ducking out from the circle of her arms. “yeah, i’ll be right back.”

he groans as he steps into the kitchen, almost turning around and heading back the way he came; casey and devon are standing in front of the counter. they both give him a pointed look as he slows to a stop in front of them.

“don’t,” he mutters, suddenly feeling very warm from the drinks he’s had and absolutely nothing else. 

“dude,” casey sighs, shaking his head at him, “you guys should probably just hook up and get it over with.”

“okay, that is not helpful,” shane answers, leaning around him to reach for a beer, cracking the tab on the can and taking a big swig in the hopes that it’ll calm him down. unfortunately, his head just spins harder as soon as he swallows. “it’s not a big deal. we’re just excited to see each other.”

there’s a beat before devon answers, eyebrows arched from behind the plastic cup in her hands. “sure.”

admittedly -- the rest of the party is kind of a blur. there’s more drinks and more dancing, and his friends drag he and cadence up on the roof to play some drinking game he doesn’t understand. the thing is... it’s fun, in a way he hasn’t experienced since the summer. sure, he’s been to plenty of parties since the semester started and gone out and gotten drunk and stayed up all night, but...

time with cadence was a different kind of fun. 

having her around, with him at school, filled a void he hadn’t realized he was lacking until she arrived, like he’d simply grown accustomed to a new full-body ache and had only noticed it once it was suddenly removed.

it’d be impossible to pretend not to be endeared by the way she stumbles out of the party and how she hums to herself in the street on the walk home, so he doesn’t bother, slinging his arm around her shoulders to lead her back to the dorm.

while everyone else is arguing about what type of pizza to order, they slip away, and then they’re alone in his room again.

cadence toes out of her shoes and twirls around barefoot across the rug between his and evan’s beds on her way back to her bag. “okay, that was so fun,” she sighs, dropping down onto the floor. “i wish i went to school here.”

“me too,” shane murmurs, watching her pull out her makeup wipes and tie back her hair. his eyes drift over to the twin bed sitting inconspicuously on his side of the room. when he’d invited her up here, he’d assumed they’d both just cram into it like they had so many other times before, in his twin bed at home. now...

now cadence is getting changed into her pajamas with her back to him, and he coughs and does the same, averting his eyes in the dark where he’d never flicked the light on when they got back to the room.

he’s saved from having to think of something to say by the way she crawls straight into his bed and leaves the blanket flipped open for him to join her.

maybe it’s the beer’s fault, that he gets in -- or maybe he has the beer to thank for giving him the courage to get into bed with her, but either way, he does, and within moments he’s nose-to-nose with cadence in the smallest space they’ve ever been in together, and she smiles at him in a way that’s almost unfairly beautiful, for someone who knows him as well as she does.

that’s the thing that’s so unlawful about this: she’s his best friend. she’s been by his side for every single up and down of his life, every moment he was happy or sad or angry. cadence picked him up when he doubted himself, comforted him when he needed it, made him laugh when the world felt ugly and hopeless. 

if he did something wrong now, all of that would go away.

it doesn’t stop her from staring at him, though. cadence keeps her eyes locked on his, and smiles at him through the dark, and evidently he’s the world’s biggest idiot, so he stares back. of course he smiles, too.

“thank you,” she murmurs after a moment, breaking the still silence between them. “i’m glad we did this. i needed this.”

shane swallows, resisting the urge to reach out for her. “you should’ve told me you were struggling. i would’ve had you out sooner. or -- came home, or something.”

she shakes her head. “nah,” cadence whispers, “i could tell you were having too much fun.”

he sighs, giving in and tucking his arm around her back. cadence wiggles closer under the sheets until their knees are touching. “it doesn’t matter how much fun i’m having,” he reminds her, voice as serious as he’s ever heard it before, “because you’re the most important thing in my life. always. and there’s nothing i wouldn’t do for you.”

cadence blinks at him. her face splits into a beautiful, dazzling smile and then, quickly enough to make his head spin, she leans in and kisses him, closing the last inch of space between their faces.

his palm spreads out over her back and he tilts her in closer, kissing back slowly. part of him knows it’s a mistake, but a larger part of him has thought about this before -- too much, probably, for someone who calls himself her best friend. part of him has imagined it a million times, in a million ways, though none of them compare to this -- the real thing.

in none of his fantasies did he ever think it would feel like it does, comforting and familiar but new and exciting all at once. he’d never assumed kissing cadence would feel as natural as breathing -- but it does.

it feels like something they’ve done a thousand times before, and there’s no denying it’s something he’d like to do at least a thousand times more. his exhale is shaky when they break apart, his eyes sweeping her expression for a sign of regret on her beautiful face.

cadence’s eyes blink open slowly, her smile reappearing as soon as they do. “shane...” she murmurs, and something in his chest twists and then cracks wide open, a swarm of butterflies invading his stomach.

“yeah.” this is insane. what are they doing? they shouldn’t be -- he shouldn’t, really, because cadence is his best friend and he needs her and she is...

she is asleep, suddenly, breathing even and deep with her eyes closed again. the lips he’d just been kissing are parted with a little hitch in her exhales.

he relaxes, slumping back against the mattress.

fuck.

is she even going to remember this in the morning?

studying his best friend, curled in towards his chest and fast asleep without a care in the world, like the entire planet hasn’t somehow just shifted on its axis, he can only hope that she will -- because he knows that tonight, and its many revelations, is going to be impossible for him to ever forget.

not that he’d ever try to. a palm scrubs across his face, and he lays down, resting carefully on the other half of the pillow cadence’s hair is taking up the majority of.

well -- at least they’re together on this one, shane muses, as he stares up at the ceiling and tries to calm down enough to go to sleep. 

no matter what madness tomorrow brings, at least he’ll still be sorting through it with his best friend.

[damienthepious]

You asked for snippets from "heart beats best" and it's been CONSUMING me, so how about this bit which knocked me OUT when I first read it?

"No," Damien keens, quick and desperate, and only Arum's hands on his sides prevent him from sitting up in distracted distress. "No, it isn't- you haven't done-"

"We can stop," Arum says quietly. "If you would like. I think... I think I've upset you, and if we are not both enjoying ourselves, then we have quite strayed from the point of our arrangement."

Damien feels his eyes go hot, his body flushing with shame and an inexplicable tightness clutching his chest, and Arum makes a small noise before he crawls closer, laying himself carefully along Damien's uninjured side.

I'd also just like to say that I hope you've had a great day, and this fic is utterly BRILLIANT!!!!

[Pick a short passage from any fanfic I’ve written (OR SPECIFICALLY HBB) and send it to me, and I’ll give you the equivalent of a DVD commentary on that snippet!]

oooooooTHANK YOUUU chapter three. I’ll start a few lines earlier. this is likely to get Lengthy, because i cannot shut up. 🥰

["I- no, I didn't mean-" Damien tries a laugh, weak and unconvincing, and then he brushes his thumb across Arum's face in a way that he hopes is placating.]  god i forget how ridiculous Damien is sometimes. Okay so Damien's slip of the tongue a few lines earlier, saying that he doesn't care if Arum hurts him, is a classic Damien fuckup in the context of- Damien’s self-directed dismissal accidentally implying something bad about someone else. And i think i’ve said this before, but Damien did not mean it. Obviously Damien would care if Arum hurt him- but the thing is, Damien knows that Arum won’t hurt him. He does. Not purposefully, or knowingly. A long time ago, maybe, Damien could have made himself believe that Some Monster wouldn’t care about incidentally hurting Damien while fucking him, but Arum isn’t just some monster. The issue is, Damien just wants things to be as normal between them, and his injury is in the way of that. He’s trying to ignore it. Arum is not capable of doing the same.

["I only... I only wish to be... for this to be for both of us. That's all. I know you wouldn't- I didn't mean to imply... or to- to ruin-"] Damien is overly concerned with the reciprocation, because Damien takes a lot of comfort in the scaffolding of their “arrangement.” He clings to what the both of them have agreed to as true about this Thing between them, because doing that means he does not need to THINK about it. Also, poor thing, he’s terrified that he’s “ruined” their tryst, tonight. Which is the LEAST of Arum’s worries.

[Arum's frill relaxes, the distress in his expression easing closer to exasperation as he draws a pair of palms soothingly up and down Damien's thighs.] Arum knows Damien. He knows how worried Damien gets, and that’s a lot more familiar than Damien trying to talk Arum into having sex with him regardless of any physical toll. He’s still worried, but at least Damien getting in his own head is familiar turf.

["I told you," the monster hisses. "I told you to be still, and let me take care of you.] arum voice don’t you believe what i say? arum voice don’t you trust me? arum voice all i want is to make you feel good.

[Have I ever left you wanting, honeysuckle? Have I ever given you reason to think that I would resent you for needing to take your physical limits into consideration?"] Theoretically these questions are rhetorical. However, Arum is also asking them on the wild chance that he may have, somehow, fucked up in the past and given Damien some indication that he would be That Specific Sort Of Asshole. Or, possibly, to ferret out if someone ELSE has treated Damien that badly in the past, in which case Arum may need to start a hit list.

["No," Damien keens, quick and desperate, and only Arum's hands on his sides prevent him from sitting up in distracted distress. "No, it isn't- you haven't done-"] Obviously not. Even when they were just starting, their situation was so fragile and precarious that they were both VERY careful with each other. And Damien responds with so much distress because, again, his own motivations were so internal. It was about disregarding himself, not about judging Arum’s treatment of him. Oopsie Daisy. “you haven’t done anything wrong” was the end of that sentence.

["We can stop," Arum says quietly. "If you would like.] This is one of the lines that I can hear so distinctly in my head. Oh, Arum. He cares so, so fucking much.

[I think... I think I've upset you, and if we are not both enjoying ourselves, then we have quite strayed from the point of our arrangement."] Arum puts the onus on himself for the situation. “I think I’ve upset you” rather than “you’re in a bad place right now.” And also, he frames his reasoning in a way that he knows will read to Damien, because it’s the same framework that Damien himself is obsessed with using. If Damien is upset, they aren’t doing their whole thing correctly. Which is both honest and also telling, in that BOTH of them are more worried about how the OTHER is feeling, rather than themself.

[Damien feels his eyes go hot, his body flushing with shame and an inexplicable tightness clutching his chest, and Arum makes a small noise before he crawls closer, laying himself carefully along Damien's uninjured side.] Damien’s response is a Me response, tbqh. Being ‘turned down’ for sex is extremely charged, even if it’s ABSOLUTELY the right thing to do, and it compounds the way that Damien feels already, which is to say, like he’s failing at something. Also, Arum’s more acute, very attuned senses are my favorite thing to play with. Arum can tell instantly that Damien is about to cry, which is NOT what he wanted. He immediately tries to comfort him, all physical contact and affection and then, humor.

["We can stop," he says again, more firmly.] Damien nearly cried. No way in fucking HELL is Arum going to just. keep trying to have sex. That’s unthinkable. ["You are injured, and tired, and I do not want for you to drive yourself to distress or harm for something as trivial as my orgasm."] Make a joke out of it, make it feel less important, make your voice breezy and unbothered. Arum is... so fucking gone. He just wants to make Damien smile again. literally, that’s all. That’s all he cares about, just now. make sure that damien is not unhappy. And he does make Damien laugh, so he counts that strategy as a win. poor, poor lizard. He’s Doing His Best.

anyway THANK YOU for letting me ramble so goddamn much slkdjflsjdlfk 💖💖💖