#also since we’re here

[ash-and-starlight]

The world needs more Yue and Zuko friendship, I squeal just thinking abt the parallels. They deserve a life changing field trip together and if u have abt ideas I’m all ears 👀

Hiii anon this ask fermented in my inbox and in my brain for so long,, so take this??? Post canon yue lives/no war au arts?? Anyway aside from the Parallels and their political position & their duty before hoes grindset I think they could learn a lot from each other. With zuko learning the gift of patience & diplomacy from yue & Yue learning that allowing yourself to feel anger and speaking up can actually be Good.

anyway hypothetical life changing trip outcome: zuko takes an intro gender studies class and yue says fuck

(oh and also must not forget the crush on sokka)

[whimsyprinx]

i do wish that people wouldn’t reach out only because I’m upset and they felt obligated to do so, similarly I wish people wouldn’t ignore or avoid me because “you seemed like you were in a bad place and I thought you needed space” especially without saying so, you’re not obligated to speak to me (see first point) but like being avoided makes me feel worse especially when I’m not even told about it, what I want is to feel genuinely wanted and not to be spoken to out of pity or ignored for similar reason.

[meteortrails]

luffy had to meet zoro and nami first. they’re the fundamental foundation he needed to build a crew - once he has them, the rest must follow. zoro comes first, bc whatever souls are made of his and luffy’s are the same, and luffy needed someone to watch his back. someone who understood him, someone unwaveringly devoted who he doesn’t need to worry about protecting. and of course nami comes next, to cover their blind spots and turn their goals into tangible reality and keep them on course. she’s the pragmatism and the compass they needed to really get going, the other side of luffy’s coin. do you see it yet?? everyone on the crew is just as vitally important to luffy’s success, but zoro and nami were always going to be first. I’m shaking you by the shoulders they Had To Be First

[deadpoolsmom]

it's obviously for exposition reasons but CP9 showing up in Water 7 and IMMEDIATELY unveiling themselves and fully explaining who they are and how their organization works is so funny

Lucci spent 5 years pretending he could only communicate through pigeon ventriloquism, and as soon as he stops he doesn’t shut up. Just immediately yapping about being secret government agents, the structure of their covert organization (that's not supposed to exist), and world government's secret plans for mass destruction. Starting to think Hattori was actually a safeguard so they could make it that long undercover

[becauseth3internet]

If I posted some of my poetry stuff on this blog would any of y’all actually read it??? 🫣🫣🫣

[aheathen-conceivably]

I was talking about polls with a dear darling recently, so indulge me…

[the-bi-space-ace]

There’s been some discussion recently about the subplot of bullying in The Bad Batch and I had some thoughts so I decided to write them out to discuss them.

I wanted to bring up some things that maybe can put together this disconnect we seem to see between the show The Bad Batch and the show The Clone Wars and maybe explains a bit about this whole bullied versus bully concept.

To me The Clone Wars paints a very different picture than The Bad Batch in a way that only serves to make the lines blurry and make the viewer think (perhaps not their intention but I think maybe they fell into this more on accident). The Clone Wars batch rolls in with a reputation that’s already not too great. Jesse even says it: it’s not that they win. It’s how they win. The batch is known for dangerous stunts that put other people at risk. They don’t always think through their decisions outside of themselves. Then we get this scene of them walking off of the ship and they are very arrogant. They show off, they talk big, they don’t exactly give off ‘approachable’.

We get into the mission and Jesse, in particular, is not a fan but it isn’t very aggressive yet. Crosshair is being confrontational - staring Jesse down, making snippy comments, and being an overall ass (I love Crosshair, don’t get me wrong, I’m just talking about what I observe in this introduction). I think it’s because he senses Jesse’s dislike of them and wants to poke at it.

We’re not off to a good start.

Where I think the batch fails in this episode is letting Crosshair insult Rex and further goad Jesse. Crosshair shouldn’t have said half the stuff he did and Jesse (and later, Rex) are justified in hitting back at him.

They’re soldiers. They’re going to get in each other’s faces if someone starts talking shit.

When Jesse scolds Crosshair - I think Kix is somewhere standing in the background but not directly involved- Wrecker steps in and turns things violent.

It’s not a moment I’m most proud of them. It’s actually one of the moments I’m least proud of them. Crosshair and Kix get into it when Crosshair shoves him for trying to help Jesse and Rex is attempting to get Wrecker to let Jesse go. This escalated quickly and I’m not sure I can say that this was justified. It seems like a big jump to me (but maybe someone disagrees, feel free to, I’d like to know someone else’s thoughts).

In this episode we’re really led down one path that says the batch and other clones don’t get along and from this limited perspective in this episode it seems like the batch are instigators. They roll in, avoid consequences for themselves, and roll out without giving anyone else a second thought.

The Bad Batch tv show paints an entirely different picture and it is definitely to make them more likable and relatable to a young audience. Every kids show has the character that’s an underdog, it’s who we want to root for. It makes the people in The Bad Batch’s age range connect with them more and I can’t exactly blame them for writing it this way - although after seeing the batch in the clone wars it does make me sigh a bit, I won’t lie.

I was bullied as a child. Quite severely, actually, so I find myself justifying the disconnect with a few things. Perhaps the batch puts up a front so they push other clones away before it can happen to them. I’ve done this. I put on a really abrasive attitude to keep people away when I was in high school and I regret it. However, I got over myself as I got older and worked through my own issues rather than blaming other people. Because you have to. It’s not alright to continue to hurt other people because you were hurt and I remind myself of that every single day. It’s the only way to move forward. I never have to forgive people who have hurt me but I can’t start using it as an excuse.

I mention this only to say that maybe their behavior in The Clone Wars was a mask built from past hurt and that could make sense to me. You build up walls when you’ve been hurt and you create behaviors based on experience. However, I still don’t think their behavior should be excused. I still think they escalated that situation far before anyone else did. In the same way I think Jesse made a lot of snap judgements about the batch and just kept finding ways to reinforce that judgement based on what he’d heard about them prior. And this snap judgment isn’t the best way to go about working with new people. It’s not an excuse, just an explanation.

I even think the batch’s behavior in episode 1 of their own show kind of contradicts some of their behavior in TCW. Particularly Crosshair. Crosshair doesn’t engage in the cafeteria until he absolutely has to while in TCW he is the primary instigator. We can try to explain this by saying it’s because his chip activated and his personality shifted. I just think it’s something worth pointing out.

I’d also like to add that of course the batch are the primary instigators in The Clone Wars because the clones we knew and loved in that show are technically the heroes of the episode. Of course they’re portrayed in a better light. It’s the same as the batch in episode one of their own show. Of course they’re portrayed as the ‘good guys’. It’s their show. To me it’s less of a character moment and more of a way to get the viewers of the show to root for somebody, whoever they want us to root for in the moment. The Bad Batch is told from their perspective so they are going to be the underdogs while The Clone Wars brings the batch in as outsiders to the group and gives them a more aggressive interaction to further our already beloved character’s narratives.

This was a very long way to say, I’ve always been kinda meh about the whole ‘the batch is bullied’ subplot and I tend to avoid writing it in my own fics because I think there is inconsistency with the writing between the clone wars and the bad batch and this can possibly be boiled down to a few things like different writers on the creative teams, an uncertain future, and wanting to paint certain characters in certain lights because of the show they are on. Rather than actually being a truly defining character arc it is a tool, as most writing is, it’s just not a tool I particularly care for in this story. And while I do think there are inconsistencies I can piece together some things to explain it if I really want to. I don’t think one side is right and one side is wrong. I think there are a million explanations for hurt on both sides and we decide it for ourselves because neither show truly made it clear enough for me to draw any lines in the sand. (And if you’ve been reading my stories at all you know I love a good grey area so I probably wouldn’t draw lines at all.)

I always try to be fair to everyone when I write stuff like this so I hope I’ve covered all of my points well enough. There are plenty of things to say about this topic and it has been talked about a few times recently in other posts that you can read. Tagging 1 by @laughhardrunfastbekindsblog and 2 by @gars-technician because these two posts inspired me to write this.

I’d definitely encourage open discussion here if anyone wants to chime in 😊 while I know we might all have different opinions I’m certainly willing to hear them as long as everyone is respectful.

[synonymroll648]

rip fitz you would’ve loved it if i actually colored your hair pink like intended (i’ll probably do a colored version of this later. zoom for details)

[jeanmoreaue]

I agree!! *an incoherent rant incoming* Jean imo def moved on from Kevin (in a romantic way; i think he’s not moved on from the whole ‘Kevin left me’ thing ofc but I think he obviously knows and accepts that he and Kevin won’t ever happen lol). And that scene with Renee was obviously a closure/farewell and they’ve moved on to being friends now (also imo while i like their dynamic i feel like they’d never work bc of the whole victim saviour complex, that’d be really uncomfortable and hard to overcome). Jeremy seems like he’s able to handle Jean’s crazy baggage without placating him too much or pushing him too hard. He definitely needs to work on his own shit first (i feel like the way he went all in on helping Jean is kind of giving ‘I am avoiding my problems by getting too involved in others’ problems’) but I think Jean will be the perfect person to help him with that! As you said he’s super perceptive and honestly very empathetic even if he doesn’t show it in the most obvious way. Jeremy would probably really appreciate Jean’s brutally honest approach lol. They’re lowkey perfect for each other ☹️ TSC2 can’t come soon enough

hardcore agree on every single point you made!! i feel exactly the same about Jean and Renee, as much as their dynamic is sweet, i think it would be really difficult to overcome Jean feeling indebted to her (whereas Jean and Jeremy are both growing together) + ya i think Jean has very complicated feelings toward Kevin but i don’t think he’s actively yearning over Kevin anymore

and exactlyy i definitely imagine Jean quietly picking up on whatever Jeremy’s going through and expressing concern only for Jeremy to try and pull a “my problems aren’t that bad and therefore don’t matter” which i don’t see Jean accepting. especially since Jean has an ‘older brother who cares more about other people’s well-being more than his own well-being’ vibe (underneath his slightly prickly attitude lol) i think Jeremy and Jean are really good for each other, Kevin subconsciously knew what he was doing by having Jean transfer to USC 🤨

[mumblesplash]

the fact that doctors can just Recommend Weight Loss with no instructions beyond ‘eat healthier/less’ is actually insane to me, i lost weight on purpose ONCE and it took me like 6 years to recover a semi-normal relationship with food and hunger

[wasabi-gumdrop]

Is this the same "saabi" on AO3 who dropped that god-gorgeous fic of Laios being painted and then the painter laid his eyes on Kabru and was like HOLY SHIT THIS MY MUSE! And then Laios was like... no wait, I need Kabru. He can't run off into the sunset with that painter. I'll have to double his pay. And then Laios compared him to a Couatl egg? Because that shit is LIT! Like. Your writing is amazing and you captured the sweetness of everything that is THEM and there is an aura of intrigue in the plot to boot that's so captivating and I love you.

... If this is not the same "saabi" I'm so sorry for this message. But also I highly recommend this story "empyrean, from the summit" which can be read here at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56087968

yes it’s me 🥹

omg thank you this is so sweet 😭 i’m glad you liked the fic. and hopefully i can update soon, most of chp 2 is already written

a little preview 😚

[kyoshialone]

tyyy beloved @ash-and-starlight for the tag here r some books im excited to read next year !!!

tagging (v optionally) @wakingstone @jumping-jackalope @legofbicuriosity @lesbianboyfriend 👉🏻👈🏻👀

[leclercsbf]

Here I am! Anyway I’ll have to rewatch the hug from another angle as well, but from that angle it kinda looks like Carlos is going for Charles’ waist at first and then his hands settle elsewhere. Afterwards the way he’s looking down with his head slightly tilted while he’s approaching Charles and then the moment he looks up at him, the look in his eyes… It makes me want to lie down and never get up again because those are the eyes of someone who is IN LOVE and this is a hill I’m willing to die on……. And then the prolonged handshake and the way he completely leans and rests his head on Charles’ shoulder like he never wants to let him go so yeah YEAH,,,,, I need someone to come sedate me because they make me go insane

i’ve watched it from this angle, from this angle, and from this angle that i ripped directly off of my own subscription:

so i can confirm that carlos did, in fact, go for charles’ waist first. he even touched it just the slightest bit. charles, on the other hand, put his hand on carlos’ shoulder—and then there’s this awkward sort of pause where they look at each other and probably remember that “hey, we’re not the only ones here, and it’s not like we can kiss with our helmets on” so they go for the classic supposedly-no-homo-but-it’s-charlos-so-it-still-ended-up-homo handshake and brief hug combination. isn’t it so interesting how men seem to think that a no homo handshake would somehow lead to a less homo hug? either way, we learned something very vital here: carlos prefers to pull charles in by the waist and charles prefers to pull carlos in by the shoulders. if you need to be sedated, anon, so do i.

[todayisafridaynight]

This is a terrible gag gift youd give mine in a dating sim thatd make him hate you but wouldn’t let you know until the end of the game when you fail his route

[sinnbaddie]

Fugaku wasn’t the best father, but no one will ever convince me that Minato of all people is a better father than him

[andrwgarfields]

fyi fans literally didn’t have the link when the clips initially posted, admin of djl mentioned they were only sent clips related to him. i’ve followed the update account for a long while and trust me when i say they always put links on the clips they posted and had no reason to gatekeep cause we would love to have watched the entire thing because we actually love the show

but you know who was being rude by demanding for said zoom video, from a joe locke account mind you, shitting on said admin when mentioned they don’t have it, being accused of gatekeeping and then shitting on joe? agathario fans :)