#also tom plays his characters SO fricking well

[the-countdown-seconds-tick-by]

[aannonn]

the new episode aired today and, once again, i just lost the premiere. sgishwsh honestly my morning has been horrible so far so watching this episode really brightened up my morning, to be honest. <3

I made SO many gifs HELPP- MY POOR PC /lh

:0

Green has really come far with his musical skills... proud of him... really really proud of him....

(arhshhgshws they are growing so much i love them smm <3333)

look at my baby doing his performance she's doing so well aren't they i love note sm omygosh

and Orange is there too?? aaaawwawa yayaaywyayayaヾ(•ω•`)o

(he's finally joining them in their bands!! <333 the development this show gives to its' characters its crazy... /vpos)

they look so adorable with these ties awn

If younger me had seen this part, it would freak out so bad.... (I had a terrible fear of this mob back then. XD)

I feel bad for Green ngl- I know this episode is probably just meant to be comical and not taken all that seriously, but still; It was supposed to be his show, his performance.. I would be mad too. lol (Or maybe i'm just projecting since Green is one of my kinnies'^')

why stand up to help your friend when you can always take advantage of the situation and form a band✨ /hj /lh honestly idk whether they took advantage of the situation to form a band, tried to help their friend by attracting the silverfishes with that banger song, or both- XD (probably both actually - they are silly like that /pos /aff)

i squealed so hard at this part--- sigshwsh THE BANDD LETS GOOO OHMYGOD-

THE BAND IS BACKKK

GUITAR PLAYER ORANGE IS ALSO BACK LETS GOOO ><

(nice lil' detail; Red tried to call the silverfishes to them! :>)

They are playing rush e.

THEY ARE PLAYING RUSH E-

i had the urge to scream when i heard the familiar note of Rush E AAWAAHEWAREAWWSW

forget Build Battle; MUSICAL BATTLE LETS GOOO!1!

The others are being the moral support guys dont worry💪👌

I love this battle sm ohgosh I will definitely come back later to watch this scene with such attention and precision ngl- (the movements and sounds are all so satisfying somehow- sigshwsh)

It's nothing.. I just wanted to turn these scenes into gifs because oh woah ohmygod keep going i love this sm awn HOLYMOLY

squeals kicks feet giggles smiles happily

Purple and Mango cameo!! >'<

That's awesome...👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

the whole time i kept feeling bad for Green- sigshwsh bro just wanted to do his show in peace(っ °Д °;)っ

IS THAT A FRICKING Tom and Jerry REFERENCE???!? EXPLODES

I have mixed feelings about this

In a way, i love this episode, the songs, the Tom and Jerry reference, Purple and Mango cameo, and literally everything else (especially the band and the battles scenes<333 teheeshwshws)

In another way, I genuinely feel bad for Green... It is his performance, his show, his moment to shine. And now it's all... ruined. Technically speaking.

Well, it wasn't exactly ruined; The show was great and the audience loved it, but it wasn't exactly because of him, you know? He didn't shine when he should have shined, and that must hurt a lot.

I'm probably just overanalyzing this, but still. As someone who is also a perfectionist and has had moments when I should have shined but didn't, this hits hard. :>

(It's not selfish to want to shine, as long as it's not at the expense of others.)

i feel like this whole episode was just a Tom and Jerry reference and, as someone who has spent their (almost) entire childhood by just watching Tom and Jerry, I love this.

New fav episode acquired!! ><

[peppersonironi]

DUKE THOMAS ISN’T THE SANE ONE! A guide by Pepper

So, I have seen so many people writing Duke incorrectly, and I wanted to do something about it. In fanon, he is described as the sane bat, who would rather stay home and safe, and absolutely never join in shenanigans. Now, I know there are a lot of things wrong with canon, but Duke is one of the better parts! He is an interesting character who is actually just as chaotic as the rest of the gotham vigilantes. And so it it is quite unfair to his character to say he is the 'Arnold from the Magic Schoolbus' of the group. He's really not.

So I decided to make a list of ten instances in the comics where he disobeys Bruce, acts reckless, or is just a bat! (also for a Batfam Group Chat I’m a part of, someone asked for these) I hope this helps people understand his character better, and maybe even inspire them to write more about him? Seriously, Tag me if you do. I'm starved for good Duke content!

Feel free to add more in the comments, these are just what I could think of off the top of my head! (Hence the kinda weird order, sry)

1. He's a vigilante

Okay, so this is a bit obvious, but I still think it needs saying. You think that a guy who dresses in bright yellow and patrols the most crime-ridden city in the world during the day is 100% sane?

2. We Are Robin

Also obvious, but still. This guy joins a group of untrained teenage robins who just want to make a difference. And they do! It's still pretty reckless, though. 

3. He tried to take on the Riddler

In case you didn't know, in the beginning of New 52 (Zero year, specifically) the Riddler essentially held Gotham Hostage. He had some spiel about someone giving him a riddle he couldn't solve, and letting the city go. You know who decided he would be that person? Duke Thomas! He trained in brain-teasers, and puzzles, tirelessly worked. He became quite the adept riddler (not the villain). The kick? He was a child! (Look at the above panels, isn't he cute?) Duke was young, yet determined. And if that's not a bat quality, I don't know what is.

4. He escaped the cops by jumping off a bridge.

Oh no! Duke is in a police car! Oh no! He's on a bridge! What's he going to do?! Why, jump out and off the bridge while proclaiming "I am Robin" of course! Seriously, look at that panel and try to argue that he is the responsible goody-two-shoes of the family.

5. He talked down an enraged Damian

Basically, Damian was manipulated into joining the court of owls. Duke, who refused to believe that Robin genuinely joined them, fought him and talked him down. Now, this is Damian we're talking about. Sure, the kid is absolutely adorable and can be incredibly caring (Fight me on this, I dare you. Also, frick you DC), but when he's on a rampage, there is little that can stop him. So of course Duke decides to take care of it!

6. He actively tries to have a relationship with Damian.

Okay, so this one is a little weak, but I wanted an excuse to share those panels. Aren't those two great?! But seriously, Duke ignores that this tiny child could kill him in more ways than he could count, and even invites him to a movie! He also isn't afraid to tease the kid, unlike other members of the family. Knowing Damian can honestly be hard sometimes.

7. Comes back to the city when Bruce told him to get out.

During the I Am Bane arc of Tom King's Batman (I'm shuddering. So sorry for invoking his name!) Bruce tells the batboys to get out of Gotham and STAY out. the others are like 'we're not gonna listen, right?' and Duke is all 'you can't ignore BATMAN!' and walks off saying he's gonna listen to Bruce. This seems like pretty damning evidence, right? He's actually sane? The others got attacked by Bane and hung, but Duke didn't. Well, then you look at the next panel! (it takes place later in the volume) There he is, disobeying Bruce, and hanging out in Gotham. Not just that, he's out in costume! No, Duke couldn't just hunker down in an apartment, he had to go out and take down crooks, and warn Jim Gordon. I think that's pretty self-explanatory

8. Goes out while Injured

Those two panels are back-to-back in The Cursed Wheel (originally printed in All-Star Batman, later put into Batman and the Signal). As you can see, Bruce tells Duke to get rest. Duke was just attacked by Zsasz, and suffered multiple injuries. He wakes up, and the thing that would make the most sense would be for him to go to sleep, right? Well, he instead gets suited up and goes out to work on a case. Pretty much every bat has done this at some point. Not quite the smartest move, right? A touch reckless, wouldn’t you say?

9. That whole thing with Green Lantern

(sry for the weird sizing, I don’t have the comic to take screenshots) 

So there are two parts to this. First of, you have Green Lantern flying into the batcave, looking around, and there’s no Batman present. So what does Duke Do? Well, he certainly doesn’t stay back and contact Bruce! Nope, instead he attacks a member of the Justice League, a member of the Green Lantern Corp. Later on, you know what he says? He thought he would be fine because his suit is bright yellow. That’s it. A bit crazy, right?

Secondly, he gets roped into exploring the cave with Hal (I thinks it’s Hal, been a bit since I read this though). The Lantern has some thing going on about stuff in the cave, but that’s not important. What’s important is that Duke went along with it. He was curious enough to ignore what Bruce would say (Call him, yet anything remotely green out of the cave), and joins in! He does’t say “this is a bad idea” or “we shouldn’t be doing this” nope!

9. When he ran off with Cass to test his powers

Oh no, Duke got shadow powers! What’s he gonna go? Why, go off and have fun experiment of course! Duke and Cass head out to test and work on Duke’s newly presented abilities, and specifically don’t tell Bruce! This is information he would like to know, of course. It’s important to know if your newest protege gets more powers. But no, they go out of their way to sneakily test the extent of his powers. They get caught, of course, and then get chewed out (They get caught in costume, but the next panel they’re in civvies. I find that outrageously funny!). And here’s the kicker: they don’t really apologize! Sure, Duke gives a half-heart apology, but he doesn’t really mean it. Not even under the full extent of the Batglare™.

10. Rescuing Bruce with practically no training

I’ll skip all the plotty stuff, so just know that Bruce was out alone and in some deep doo-doo. Duke was back at the cave, working stuff out with Alfred. He realizes that what Bruce is doing is a trap. Now, just so you know, this is back when Duke was JUST taken in by Bruce. He doesn’t even have a codename yet! Barely any training. So you know what he does? He heads out anyway, and rescues Bruce. Now, check out that music he’s playing. Later on, it’s revealed to be Duke’s fave band. You know the name of that band? “Batman’s @^$&@” I’m not even joking. (I’m not sure what bleeped out, though later on it’s referred to as “Batman’s #$%” So I assume it’s ass?). So on top of being reckless, he plays a heavy metal band with a name that’s … special to say the least. He has guts, you gotta admit (Oh, and he seemed so gleeful when he told Bruce the name of the band!).

And there you have it! This list is far from complete, but I think it’s a good start. Feel free to reblog with your own, or any questions/comments! I absolutely love to talk about Duke, so don’’t be afraid to message me! Also, correct me if I wrote anything incorrect here. It’s been a while since I’ve read some of these, so I may have gotten some stuff wrong.

[metellastella]

ATLA Meta: Power Differences

So, there’s a TV Trope that at first I thought might fit with ATLA. ‘Conservation of Ninjitsu.’ It is where, no matter how many guys a person is fighting, they always come out on top. In any world, realistic or fantasy, with no superpowers, this is obviously unrealistic. Samurai and martial artists of the past could excel, sure, but if they were going up against another army, they had to have the numbers. This trope is called ‘Old as Dirt’ because even in Roman mythology it’s mentioned that one warrior ceasing to fight within a battle turned the whole tide. In media this narrative device tends to play out as the ‘hero’ or hero’s team being able to keep up with multiple nameless mooks, no matter how well trained in martial arts they are.

Think, Ninja Turtles versus hordes of Foot Clan.

ATLA is an interesting twist to this, because you’d expect benders to at the very least knock out lots of nonbenders. Those with powers should overwhelm those without, right? And yet, we see the second highest ranking person in the Fire Nation choose nonbenders as her primary fellow combatants! I’ve given a plausible explanation for this with Ty Lee.

In my fic, she has unique senses that allow her to excel past even most benders in hand-to-hand combat. She can track the movement of their gathering chi, and therefore predict what their resultant move will be. And she can also sense chi pathways, so she strikes with a sure hand. For Mai, I haven’t come up with anything specific. But, I encourage you to note, against benders, the necessity of taking up a ranged weapon like throwing stars and knives, as opposed to a close to the body sword or anything like that. Whether Suki was unusually skilled, or over-confident, or thought she had the numbers, or merely desperate in challenging Azula with a katana, that is up to the viewer’s opinion.

In my fic, I also explain how a nonbender might fight or defeat or disable (or kill) a bender, and extrapolate on how firebenders in particular MUST use non-bender techniques if they are to be truly effective in combat.

Did Suki ally herself with benders in other situations? Was Kyoshi wiped of benders like the South Pole? But their leader said that they stayed out of the war. Surely the original KW were benders? Why are there no adult Kyoshi Warriors?

Anyway, I’ve always liked ATLA because the ‘superpowers’ were subtle, and not truly ‘superhuman.’ It not only made the characters somehow more relatable, it blended with the world better and the stakes felt higher when they couldn’t just keep taking hit after hit like your typical superhero. Katara got knocked out in the North Pole, for instance.

So, this all still begs the question, given the scene where Zuko rescued Iroh from earthbenders, are there vast power differences between benders? Are the ‘heroes’ merely good at fighting because of that narrative device I mentioned earlier, or is their ability to fight off many foes at once canonically based? We have some clues to this, as Aang got his master tattoos earlier than any other airbender. It’s even explained by the fact that he’s the Avatar. So it’s not just typical Mary Sue OP, it at the very least has an in-world basis.

Azula and Zuko are powerful because Ozai deliberately sought out the Avatar’s bloodline, according to the comics. Which makes total sense for him to do. I don’t give a lot of credence to the comics because of the way it clashes with what the creators originally planned for the Ursa-Ozai relationship, but the reversal of royalty looking to “marry into” a family because of bloodline is interesting and really points up the sheer importance and power of this world’s Avatar.

Toph is OP because she is blind, and that has given her a unique connection to the earth. Katara is the only one without an explanation or justification.

If you don’t count Iroh, which I don’t. He is just OP. No explanation needed. Ok, so, I could spin a yarn about how the current dynasty of the Fire Nation retained their rulership because they are the strongest firebenders in existence. But that would only have tenuous basis in canon.

Just remember that the dude, practically in the nude, put a beat down on earthbenders that had shields for firebending (a very inventive use for those hard coolie-style hats). And that was when he wasn’t in shape like in the finale, or in this fic.

He also, in canon, as has been covered with Sokka in my fic, bested Azula’s hand picked team of men early in Season 2.

(These chapters I discuss here have not been posted to my fic yet, but they have been written. It's just getting the in-between scenes written that still needs doing.)

The idea with powerful benders accruing wealth or power might partially explain Toph. We don’t know if her parents are benders or not- maybe in current cultural mores they genuinely think bending and fighting are low class. But the idea that’s where her strength comes from back in family history would not be as fun as canonical blindness powering her up.

So, just how powerful is Toph?

She resisted Wan Shi Tong’s entire fricking several story stone library sinking.

When being pursued in The Chase, she made a wall that appeared to extend possibly a hundred feet in each direction. So thick, Azula had to resort to lightning just to break through it. I’m pretty surprised that, with only two nonbenders at her side, Azula even decided to keep pursuing THE AVATAR in that tank, going up against him AND power like that.

Speaking of Azula’s motivations. I’m going to freely admit here that this is an interpretation that is probably far away from what the writers were going for in canon, for Azula’s actions. But, I am attempting to look at it in a realistic lens, which is what I’ve aimed to do for everything possible in that fic.

For example, Azula’s refusing the hostage trade between Mai’s kid brother Tom Tom and King Bumi, I’m sure, was SUPPOSED to come off as conniving, cruel, and heartless, by the writers.

The implication was probably supposed to be here, that she would ‘rescue’ her friend’s ‘baby brother’ IF she were a ‘good person.’

However.

Bumi is an incredibly skilled martial artist who has most likely violently defended Omashu from the Fire Nation for an entire one hundred years. He therefore by default, by view of any even casual outside observer, is either powerful, or smart, or both. Azula would know this in detail, studying the war growing up.

He would be one of these OP benders. Like, REALLY OP.

The idea that a leader of her country should free such a dangerous enemy man posing a threat to her people in exchange for a toddler, is utterly ludicrous.

Now, maybe the writers intended the viewer to logic that out. But I doubt it.

Therefore, drawing kidnappers out of hiding to have a shot at rescuing him would be using her smarts in service to Mai and her family.

[britishchick09]

the best and worst books i read in school!

ever since 5th grade, i’ve been reading novels in school. with the end of high school looming (and today being the last day of classes), i’ve decided to list the ultimate show stoppers and the bird droppers. let’s begin! :D

the best of 5th grade- maniac magee! i don’t remember much about it besides the twinkie things (which actually exist at walmart!) and shipping maniac and the girl character. my 5th grade teacher reading it made it so much better :D we also read ‘chains’, which is about a slave girl names isabel going to freedom. it’s a very powerful book and the sequel, ‘forge’, which is about a freed soldier boy named curzon, is just as amazing! ‘esperanza rising’, the story of a girl named esperanza who moves from mexico to california during the great depression, is pretty great too from what i remember!

the worst of 5th grade- idk what else we read in 5th grade besides those three (technically four) books. it could’ve been an iconic book year! (it was already an iconic school year)

the best of 6th grade- drums, girls and dangerous pies! it’s an interesting story of a high schooler named steve dealing with a crush and his little brother’s cancer, yet there’s actually a happy ending! the end is really iconic since steve says ‘i-’ to his brother jeff and it’s clearly ‘i love you’ but it cuts off! bonus points to ‘the cay’, a story of a boy named phillip who ends up on a raft with a man named timothy and a cat named stew cat. it’s a neat adventure and timothy saying ‘malar!’ is an earworm of a phrase

the worst of 6th grade- HOLY FRICK ‘THE HATCHET’ IS THE MOST BORING BOOK EVER WRITTEN!!! it’s about this kid who gets stranded in the forest and there’s this skunk pal, so you’d think it would be like ‘the cay’ BUT IT’S NOT IT’S SO FREAKING DULL OMG!!!! bonus points to ‘the gadget’ which starts out cool BUT THEN THE MAIN CHARACTER(also called steve!)’S FRIEND ALEXI TURNS OUT TO BE A SPY AND TRIES STABBING HIM LIKE WOAH THESE KIDS ARE ELEVEN YEARS OLD STOP DOING THAT WTF!!!! if you thought the double digit chapter was bad... oh boy! also ‘boy in the striped pajamas’ was good but very depressing! :(

the best of 7th grade- tom sawyer! this is about a boy and his southern adventures. it was a great story, but the movie is one of my fave live action movies ever!! they say the book is better than the movie but the movie is miles better and it’s so cute!!! bonus points to ‘the giver’, which is about a boy named jonas who meets an old man who shows him life in a better world (and there’s a baby). jonas and the giver were very sweet together and i love how jonas and the baby escape their dystopian society at the end!

the worst of 7th grade- call of the wild! it’s about a sled dog named buck who goes on a wild adventure in the arctic. it’s not a bad book, but the movie was so cheesy and it focused on the humans WHY THO???

the best of 8th grade- the outsiders! it’s about a greaser named ponyboy who runs away with his friend johnny after johnnycake kills a soc named bob. pb and the other greasers were such great characters and the story was so interesting! i also liked how the story is set in tulsa, where my grandpa lived. the outsiders fandom is a lot of fun and i’m so glad the story became one of my faves! :D bonus points go to ‘the diary of anne frank’, which we only read the play, so i sought out the whole book and wow anne’s story is so tragic and inspiring! more bonus points to ‘the good earth’, which is about a man in china and has an awesome movie to it (despite having white actors) and ‘twelfth night’, which is a funny shakespeare play about a girl named viola who disguses herself as a man named cesario. it’s full of romance, laughter and a hot feste singing voice (in the 1987 audiobook at least). and olivia is definitely bi ;)

the worst of 8th grade- animal farm! it’s about an orwell dystopian society (hmm...) but in a barn with animals. it’s not bad, but many of the animals were jerks except old major and the 1999 movie we watched was so cringy! (and the beasts of england song was changed which wasn’t cool)

the best of 9th grade-  the odyssey! it’s the ancient greek story of odysseus, a soldier who goes on an epic adventure to get home. the book was alright, but the movie was awesome and the movie ‘o brother where art thou’ (which is based on the story) is really great too! harrison burgeron, a dystopian society with a bad boi, was awesome too because i remember seeing the short film of it in 7th grade. ‘to kill a mockingbird’, which is about a girl named scout living in the segregated south, is really great as well! i loved how it was set in the 30s and scout was so much fun! (i’m a bit bummed at how we didn’t get to see the movie tho). ‘romeo and juliet’ is shakespeare’s most iconic work, being a tale of two star crossed lovers in fair verona. i really enjoyed the story(not the d jokes tho) and it inspired me to write a story set in 1596 (when the play was made)! i take back what i said about 5th grade being iconic 9TH GRADE WAS SO ICONIC YAS!!!!!

the worst of 9th grade- the scarlet ibis! it’s about a boy who takes care of his sick brother named doobie and tries to make him ‘normal’. it’s sweet how the iris symbolizes the brother, but how they die at the end is so sad! ‘the sniper’ wasn’t that good but the plot twist of the sniper guy shooting his brother was neat (also the ‘romeo + juliet’ movie wasn’t that good besides mercutio)

the best of 10th grade- a thousand splendid suns! the most recent book i’ve read, it’s about two women named mariam and laila who live in the afghanistan as the taliban take over. their story is so inspiring and i love how laila was able to be happy after all the horrifying things she went through with rasheed. mariam sacrificing herself for laila by killing rasheed was very powerful and i wish the stage version had her in it. bonus points go to ‘lord of the flies’! a group of boys are stranded on an island and there’s much boy chaos involved. it’s a great story and the fandom was too!

the worst of 10th grade- where are you going where have you been! this is about a girl named colleen who meets a guy named arnold friend. he’s very creepy and it’s an uncomfortable story to read (even more than rasheed!). equal bonus points to ‘the red bow’, a confusing story of a dead girl, a dog and red bows that i still don’t understand!

the best of 11th grade- the crucible! it’s about a girl named abigail who gets swept up in the salam witch trials. it’s a fascinating story with real life elements (rip giles) and the movie was pretty good. ‘the great gatsby’ was also a great story about how the roaring 20s wasn’t as fun as it seemed through the story of gatsby, all told through the eyes of nick

the worst of 11th grade- into the wild! this is a study sync thing, but we did a lot of those compared to novels. it’s about chris mccandles, a guy who tried surviving in a van in alaska and died, making a terribly tragic tale. ‘an incident at owl creek’ was ok but the best part was the plot twist of the guy running to his wife and being hung right before he can touch her (we saw the twilight zone ep instead of reading it and the twist was *chef’s kiss*)

the best of 12th grade- 1984!!! it’s the story of a dreamer named winston, who lives in the dystopian world of oceania. he meets a girl named julia and the two have a secret love affair, but they soon find out that no one is safe under the eye of bb. it’s terrifying tale that’s a bit depressing, but there are so many little moments that make me smile and the movie is even better. winston is relatable in some ways, julia is awesome and julston is a pretty great ship! it’s a big improvement over animal farm and it’s definitely my favorite adult story. bonus points go to ‘rime of the ancient mariner’, which is about an old sailor recounting his unfortunate journey at sea. the mariner telling his story to a random wedding guest was funny and it was an adventure like the odyssey! another round of bonus points to ‘beowulf’, an ancient norse tale of a warrior who fights a monster named grendel. the parts of the 2007 movie we saw sucked, but the story was really cool! wiglaf gets a shout out because he’s the best warrior :) another half bonus point to ‘hunger games’, which we saw the movie of. it’s about a girl named katniss who competes in a competition called the hunger games, which makes for a thrilling adventure!

the worst of 12th grade- hamlet! all of what we read this year was really good, but someone had to be last. this shakespearean tale is of hamlet, a prince who seeks revenge >:) it’s an ok story and i like the ghost dad!

now for my all time favorites! (and least faves)

the worst of the worst- the hatchet, the red bow, where are you going where have you been and the gadget

the best of the best!- 1984, the outsiders, a thousand splendid suns,  the diary of anne frank, the odyssey, romeo and juliet, to kill a mockingbird, twelfth night, harrison burgeron, rime of the ancient mariner and the good earth (along with the tom sawyer/1984 movies and hunger games)

good or bad, the books i read throughout school were amazing and i can’t wait to see what college brings! :D

[yelena-bellova]

Spoiler-free Far From Home review...

I’m going to stay spoiler free till Monday but here’s my first review...

HOLY COW. It was INCREDIBLE. I am now 100% sold on Tom Holland as Peter Parker. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him before, but he still wasn’t one of my favorites. Then I saw Homecoming and started loving him more, but after this movie, he’s one of my favorites. Since Tony’s gone (still not ready to accept it) this is kind of the first movie that Tom Holland has had to carry all on his own and he did a phenomenal job. His acting skills really showed and he deserves way more credit than he gets. Also, major crush developing on Peter 🥰

Fury, Maria and Happy were highlights for me. You got to see a lot of them and we were well fed with every bit of content we got. The three of them have been here since the beginning of the MCU so for me it was comforting to have some familiarity in the movie. Fury, as always, was one of my favorite parts of the movie. It was also great see Happy’s relationship with Peter and their interactions after Tony’s passing.

Zendaya, MY GIRL. MJ is one of my favorites, but she really was incredible in this one. You got to see much more of her in this one than in Homecoming and they really opened her character up. Her and Peter’s interactions were precious and pure and just straight up fluff 🥰 UGH, I just love her.

JAKE FREAKIN’ GYLLENHALL. I had my doubts about him before seeing it, not the biggest fan of his acting, but HOLY FRICK. He blew me away!! His character proved to be way more complex than I thought it’d be and I really can’t wait to post my spoiler filled review because I need to dive into what I thought of Quentin. But holy crap, he was so good...

THE POST CREDIT SCENES. MY GOSH. I can’t even explain how much they rocked me, I had a few guesses as to what would happen in them and I could not have been more wrong. I have so many questions and thoughts and feelings...AHHHH.

All in all, it’s 10/10 and a great follow up to Endgame. Definitely worth seeing more than once because I already know there’s a bunch of stuff I didn’t catch. I cannot wait to see how all of this plays out and I’m already freaking out because it’s going to be a while till we get another Spider Man....Or a Marvel movie period....HELP.

[gingercullenboy]

Movie Commentary Monday: Episode 1

Hello everyone and welcome to the very first episode of Movie Commentary Monday (or as i call MCM, which sounds ridiculous by the way) where I express my thoughts on a movie while desperately trying to be funny (and usually fail).

There will be dozens of side comments in brackets because I talk too much, sorry in advance.

This week’s movie is:

Isn’t It Romantic (2019)

Directed by: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Writing Credits: Erin Cardillo (screenplay&story), Dana Fox (screenplay) & Katie Silberman (screenplay)

Stars: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones

Summary: A young woman disenchanted with love mysteriously finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy.

(thanks IMDb)

Now, buckle up folks, it’s gonna be a loooooong ride. Let’s get down to business!

(this isn’t a Mulan reference)

Why is the Mom so bitter about happy endings? I bet she has seen things...

They don’t make movies for girls like us. 

THIS!!! LINE!!! IS!!! SO!!! IMPORTANT!!! 

That single sentence just basically summarized the entire history of Hollywood and you can’t argue with me on this. The evidence is there (sorry i’m bitter like mom) (i’m full of rage like younger john mulaney)

Natalie’s (Rebel Wilson) apartment is a mess and is so tiny, it’s like screaming YOUR FUTURE HOUSE at me, it’s unbelievable

Fucking finally, a realistic view of New York; smelly, crowded, and filth everywhere (not that i could ever know, i don’t live there but i’ve seen metropolitans before)

“STOP THE CART WITH YOUR BODY” WTFFF I’M CRYING THAT’S SO RUDE

Ok, Natalie’s a nobody at the workplace, even though she’s a fricking architect. UNREALISTIC TO ME

That co-worker and office manager can choke, that’s all I’m gonna say

Ohmygod, Whitney (Betty Gilpin) is so cute, I’ve seen her 10 secs in and I already love her (lovey dovey characters are always my faves)

JOSH (Adam Devine) IS AMAZING, ADORABLE DORK, PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS

LIAM HEMSWORTH’S AMERICAN ACCENT GOT ME SH00K!!! He just said “Goddamn it” and I am already hooked

Who puts whipped cream in a coffee? ME, BITCH

I PUT WHIPPED CREAM IN MY COFFEE BECAUSE BLACK COFFEE TASTES LIKE SHIT, SORRY THAT I’M NOT TOUGH AS YOU

Natalie says nice guy with a nice life and it... kinda bothers me. It’s a reaaaally generic expression and a bit insulting if you think about it bc if you don’t fit that person’s standards of being nice with having a nice life, it discourages you (in this case, you=man). So when Josh said “I’m a nice guy with a nice life” I thought ‘Of course you are’ bc he is in my standards. What I’m trying to say is that rom-coms have stereotypes on not only women but also men. Yes, it is sad.

Awwww Josh has a crush on Natalie *wipes happy tears* but she thinks he’s looking at the model billboard LMAO SAME, NAT

I’m so done (but it’s also so relatable, bc i’m like Nat but with less cynicism)

WHITNEY’S DESKTOP OMG

PAWSITIVE VIBES???? I WANNA MARRY HER SO WE CAN WATCH ROM-COMS WITH CATS ON OUR LAPS ALL DAY TOGETHER

Natalie was on the subway and a stranger waved at her. Then he tried to mug her. Then she knocked herself over. My mom always says don’t talk to strangers and I see why. I’m 22, if you’re wondering *clears throat* Moving on...

OH MY GOD SHE WOKE UP WITH THE MAKE-UP ON AND A NICELY DONE HAIR WITH FLOWERS AND STRAWBERRY DRINK ON THE SIDE, I CAN’T-

Oh, hello Mr. Morningstar... *wiggles eyebrows* (quick note, i don’t actually watch Lucifer but i really like Tom Ellis)

She just ripped her IV and blood didn’t spill everywhere, yeah this is a rom-com alright 

She’s dressed from lost and found and she looks like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman-

NO WAIT, THE ENTIRE SETTING HAS CHANGED

HOLY SHIT ‘A THOUSAND MILES’ BY VANESSA CARLTON IS STARTED TO BE PLAYED BY A RANDOM GUY ON A BIKE AND HE PLAYS IT FROM THE STEREO ON HIS BIKE I’M CACKLING

ENTER LIAM, HE LOOKS SO GOOD I CAN’T EVEN DESCRIBE (i’m a thirsty hoe, your suspicions are correct)

What the fuck does beguiling mean? *checks dictionary* oh, okay *is weirded out now*

HE’S AUSSIE NOW, THEY’VE DONE IT, HE’S KEEPING THE ACCENT, AND I’M HAPPY AGAIN

...Birds form a heart while flying... Uhhh... Strawberries and champagne in the limo... Rich as fuck, my poor ass can’t relate

NATALIE’S STREET HAS CHANGED, TOO

He’s giving her flowers already? Ok- NO WAIT

HE JUST WROTE HIS NUMBER ON MULTIPLE FLOWER PETALS AND HANDED TO HER, IS HE FOR REAL LMAO

“But there’s only one of you, so...” Well, this doesn’t change the fact that there are millions of ways to order the numbers, you dumbass (why is he like this)

Her apartment... Every Millenials’ dream

And... A gay neighbor/best friend who acts like an over-feminine gay (which is also a stereotype)

So, I’ll count every rom-com trope I’ve seen in 22 mins *counts her fingers* So far, I have seven tropes

The Big Presentation (eight)

Unconventional workplace which looks like a Google office (nine)

Nat is the star architect now (ten)

Rival bitchy colleague (eleven) (WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE WHITNEY, THOUGH) (SHE’S MY SENSITIVE WIFE) (oh, she looks hot)

They gave like, four other tropes in two mins and it doesn’t feel like rushed at all *salutes respectively*

The setting change is so... Like, you cannot miss it, it’s sweet and makes you feel all giddy inside, it’s so lovely, so rom-com like (does that make sense to you?)

OH PRIYANKA, SHE JUST TURNED AND I’M LIKE “Oh I’m fucked”

“Josssssssh”

Natalie keeps falling (twelve)

“MY LIFE IS A ... ... ROMANTIC COMEDY!” “AND IT’S ... PG-13!″ EVERYONE STARTED DANCING BEHIND HER I’M HOLLERING 

The subway map behind her is shaped in a heart, lovey dovey couples everywhere... And shE’S GONNA JUMP ONTO A TRAIN??? THIS GOT DARK ALL OF A SUDDEN

Officer Hansom *facepalms*

She threw the flower petals and guess what? THE NUMBERS FELL DOWN IN THE CORRECT ORDER, WHO COULD HAVE KNOWN HAHAHA (thirteen)

Y’ello

Y’ELLO

Y’E LL O

IS THIS HOW AUSSIES ANSWER THE PHONE, AUSSIE MUTUALS PLEASE RESPOND

BLAKE (Liam Hemsworth) IS SO ADORABLE I’M ROOTING FOR EVERYONE IN THIS MOVIE 

Dress up montage... Yeah- Oh wait, they cut it out what the hell fvygbuhnj I WANT MY DRESS UP MONTAGE, GIVE IT TO MEEE

This is some fancy first date though... Also leaving 100 bucks tip doesn’t justify breaking in to a store I guess??? Seems like the law has no function in rom-coms lmao (fourteen)

BUTTER PECAN??? HOW OLD ARE YOU, 200 OR SOMETHING??? WHAT THE FUCK, MAN

The rain... You know what’s coming after- Ah, and they kissed *giggles uncontrollably* YES!!! (fifteen)

THEY CAN’T HAVE SEX BC IT’S PG-13 (liam’s abs, though) *bi scream*

Her apartment makes me cry, it’s so beautiful (ok i’ll stop counting from now on bc i cannot keep up anymore)

Also the romantic tension between Natalie and Josh................ I have no words

Isabella (Priyanka Chopra) calls Josh ‘Mush’ and it’s so f-king cringey, I swear to God sxrdctfvygu

STOP OVERSELLING NEW YORK, WE KNOW IT’S NOT THAT GOOD

I can talk about Blake for five hours, he’s so fucking funny lmao

Donny (Brandon Scott Jones) is such a gay sidekick, he comes out of nowhere and talks weirdly but he makes me laugh so I’ll give him a pass

NOW WE’RE GETTING SOMEWHERE, NATALIE’S GONNA STOP ISABELLA&JOSH’S WEDDING

That musical scene is everything, and Natalie hits that high note H AR D

GET IT, GIRL

Blake............ no-

I ROOTED FOR YOU, WE ALL ROOTED FOR YOU, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT-

Oh my, he’s a certified douchebag, I should’ve guessed, I’m so disappointed in myself 

Unexpected wisdom coming from Donny who had no function to the story other than appearing beside Natalie at random times (again, rom-com trope) 

BUT at least he made her realised who matters to her the most

Slow motion running!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Her boobs are like sxrdctfvyg SHAKING AS SHE’S RUNNING ESXRDCTFVYB (as someone who has big breasts, i relate to that so hard) 

“Yoga Ambassador. Yoga. Ambassador.” “Ambassadors are for countries, not for streching.” Dang, Nat!!!

She finally realised she loves herself! Awww, that’s so sweet and empowering and I can’t get enough of this!!!! Yes, to love someone else first you should love yourself!

Oh she crashed the car and went back to reality

Another hot doctor???? Wait, I’m confused- No, false alarm, she’s back and her real doctor is tired, is also swimming through lawsuits LMFAO

She pulled her IV and blood SPILLED EVERYWHERE AS IT SHOULD BE, THANK GOD

I’m glad that she’s happy with what she’s got and she didn’t decide to keep what she’s been doing but instead, tried to take care of herself, it’s such a good message to young girls and I cannot praise this enough

PLOT TWIST, DONNY IS ACTUALLY REALLY GAY AND HAS A BOYFRIEND AND IS ALSO A WEED DEALER OH MY FUCKING GOD I LOVE THE TWIST SO MUCH 

Natalie!!! Is!!! Confident!!! Now!!! I’m literally living for this *throws hearts to the screen*

OH MY WIFE IS BACK, HI WHITNEY I LOVE YOU MY SWEET SUMMER WIFE I MISSED YOU

Nat stormed into that meeting and she’s. on. fireeee

Real Blake is as jerk as ever, no surprise

Using parking lots as metaphors would never cross my mind but ok I guess???

Fuck, he said “What does beguiling mean?” I’M LOST FOR WORDS, THIS MOVIE SXDCTFVYGU

JOSH HAS BEEN LOOKING AT NATALIE FOR THE WHOLE TIME, NOT THE SWIMSUIT MODEL, WHO COULD HAVE THOUGHT???

ps. me and probably everyone else except Nat lol

EVERYONE SINGS

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I REPEAT, EVERYONE SINGS AND IT’S SO GOOD

LIAM PLAYS THE SAX HOLY SHIT HE’S SO HOT I’M GONNA FAINT

Priyanka with that rose.......... Consider me dead, thank you

“It’s hot as fuck” tcfyvgubh probably true

Overall, I would give this movie 7/10 because of the message. Plot is nicely done and I got see basically every single rom-com tropes. At total, I counted 23 tropes I guess? If I could look every minor detail, I would count more but I won’t get into it that much for now. (i’m running late to a meeting with friends so i have to cut short)

I loved the production design, setting felt like I’m in a classic rom-com movie and characters were written accordingly. Every actor in the movie has fit perfect to me. I especially loved Priyanka and Liam because 1) I’ve never seen any of her movies and 2) It’s been a long time since I watched a Liam Hemsworth movie (i only watched hunger games, so you think about it lmao)

I guess that’s about it! I have a list for the next weeks’ movies but if you have a request then tell me so, I will watch your recommendations first! I appreciate comments; if you have something to add, please do. I will read every single one of them.

See you next week!

[astudyinsarcasm9]

I think I’ve figured out why Steven Universe has such pacing and writing problems.

Ok, first off, I’m not a su critical blog but I do like critical thinking and constructive criticism and so I’m doing just that for a show I love.

I really want to see Steven Universe do good but, sadly, it just lost itself halfway through. 

I don’t like saying I am a writer too often. I mean, I published a book and whatnot but I know I still have plenty to learn. 

But, while writing my book I learnt how to built a story but also how easy it can be to digress and lose your plot. 

So what’s the problem with SU?

Well, the writers of the show don’t exactly know how to WRITE. And no, it does not mean they’re stupid. I’m sure they mean well, it’s just, writing a compelling story takes more than just putting your thoughts on paper and calling it a day. Especially since, writing for tv is a bit harder, at times.

It’s knowing how to keep a plot going, how to flesh out characters, how to incorporate plot twists and all that. 

SU was a good show back in season 1 but then the writers didn’t exactly know what to do because, as they said themselves, they thought they’d end the show after Ocean Gem and Mirror Gem. 

Naturally, they had to improvise when they were given more seasons to do. 

But, even if Ocean Gem would have been the last episode it still wouldn’t have made sense because of the way they did their world building, but I digress. 

Ok, so now we are currently in SU’s 5th season and the show has lost a lot along the way because of said improvisation. The writers simply did not know what to do, and because they already introduced this magical world to the audience they had to expand on it. SO the slice of life episodes were mixed in with plot heavy episodes full with lore. The problem with this is the writers of SU are clearly not in their comfort zone when writing a heavy lore episode. And it shows. It shows in the things we lost along the way, which are: 

- The corrupted gems - they were a big plot point but suddenly no one cares about them. The CGs no longer discuss how to heal them and Steven has forgot altogether. One corrupted gem showed up in the last bomb but it was treated as an afterthought, at best. 

- The Cluster - this one was also super important but after Peridot and Steven took care of it the show forgot that thing is still in the ground, albeit bubbled.  The problem was not resolved but merely postponed for a while. HELL! We didn’t even get a full explanation of how Steven could communicate with the cluster. We know it’s because of Roses’s powers or Rose’s gem and the fact that he can go into people and gem’s minds but a little more explanation would have helped. 

- Jasper - while I am no fan of the character I don’t like the fact that she was bubbled and just forgotten. Sure, she is part of the corrupted gem plot but SU’s way of dealing with plot points is to lock them aside never to mention them again.

- Bismuth - though here I suspect it is because of two things: the plot no longer concerning itself with her, as with Jasper, and because her VA is expensive and they can’t have her reprise her role. 

So these are the things the show forgot. But why it has forgotten them? Well, because the SU writers don’t know which story they want to tell. They can’t make up their minds. 

Is it the slice of life part? About the Beach City residents? Nope.

Is it about how the Diamonds corrupted the gems remaining on Earth after the war, and the horrible experiments they conducted on gems after that, and how Steven will heal them? 

No.

Oh, ok. Then, maybe it’s about the cluster and how the hell that thing was made and how the Diamonds want it back after they discover it did not destroy Earth?

Nope.

Maybe it’s about a boy having magic adventures while also doing mundane stuff in his little town. 

No? Let’s see...

Ok. ok, maybe it’s about how someone shattered Pink Diamond and how we need to find out who. It may be Rose, but it may not. 

No, don’t know really. 

See the problem?

If we were to ask someone to explain what Steven Universe is about in a single sentence they wouldn’t be able to unless they boil it down to its premise: A teenage boy who lives with three magic lady aliens goes on magic adventures. - this alone shows us the show did not aspire to be this space epic. 

The sad part is, because of this bad writing people will slowly turn their back on SU. 

Writing for a show is similar to writing a book. If you do not make it compelling, if you do not keep me at the edge of my seat and invested I will not care. A book has twists and turns and when it picks up its plot IT PICKS UP ITS PLOT

Let me give you an example. Let’s take, for instance, a famous book, say To kill a Mockingbird.

How would the readers have felt if the author told us Atticus was having that important trial to defend Tom Robinson but kept delaying it until we got sick of it and threw the damn book away. I mean, that whole trial was the highlight of the book. 

Or, another book, if you will: Of Mice and Men.

How would the readers have felt if, at the end of the book, when we know Lennie is in trouble and he has to flee, the author instead cut to some random thing that had nothing to do with anything, took her sweet time with that, and THEN show us what happened to Lennie. 

It would be frustrating. 

This is what is happening to SU. The writing and the pace of this show it’s killing it. 

SU doesn’t know how to keep suspense long enough so we care.

Instead, it continues to keep us in the dark even after 5 seasons, only throwing information at us when it remembers too, mocks us for waiting said information and when it finally addresses its plot nobody cares any more because we would have spent at least 4 episodes in Beach City doing god knows what. 

So yeah, the problem, as far as I see it, is that the SU writers are incapable on deciding which story they want to tell and don’t know how to write a tv show in a way to keep us interested and to keep the action going while also keeping its softer parts. 

They just keep distracting themselves over and over again. As it happened in the last bomb. We were all wondering what the frick was Lars doing in space while Steven was a) forming a band, b) moping over Connie longer than he should have. He is 14, at 14 you don’t exactly mope. sure, fights seem bigger then but you’re also a teenager who is emotionally weird. Anyway, c) helping Mayor Dewey, of all people. 

For my last example: 

Think of SU this way: If SU was a Sherlock Holmes story. 

You have all the clues you need to solve the case, you have this huuuge plot point just waiting to be released but then THEN the author takes a break to show us Sherlock and Watson just going shopping and playing chess. 

Ponder on that. 

Thank you!

[witkoa61]

Have You Ever - Chapter One

TITLE OF STORY: Have You Ever

CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter 1

AUTHOR: Witkoa61

WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor Tom

STORY GENRE: Drama, Action, Romance

STORY SUMMARY: Tom sees a woman fall from an overlook while hiking in a northern Wisconsin nature reserve. He goes to help her only to learn that her fall was no accident and the man that pushed her is not happy she survived the fall. The race is on to get out of the woods.

STORY RATING: Mature. Some strong language.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Still getting the hang of writing. Having a lot of fun learning!

CHAPTER WARNINGS/TRIGGERS: Some violence. If you’re reading, please do let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

 Agony was what Cadence first noticed when she came to. Her left leg felt as though it were engulfed in flames. The pain was a combination of burning and stabbing sensations blended into one loud chorus of agony.  The next thing that Cadence noticed was the swaying motion. She felt a bit like she had a few times when aboard a ship during rough seas. Bile was beginning to rise up from her stomach.  She knew she wasn’t at sea because she could see the ground below her. “What the hell?” she thought to herself as she tried to make sense of what was happening. It took her a moment to breathe through the incredible pain that was throbbing up her left leg. Once she had tempered the pain for the moment, she was able to observe her surroundings.

The most obvious thing, aside from the agony emanating from her lower extremity, was that she was currently upside down. The next thing that drew her attention, even through her pain, was an incredibly taut, tight ass that she was currently getting an eyeful of. It was a glorious view but it only added to her confusion. She also caught the scent of some type of citrus which, combined with the natural woodsy scents around her, took her back to childhood memories of running through the orange grooves while vacationing in Florida.

Cadence’s pain and confusion quickly brought her back to the present. Presently, she needed to make some sense of what was happening to her. She began to hit as hard as she could, given her current position, against the back of the person that currently had a hold of her.

“Ooomph! Calm down! Give me a moment to find a place to set you!” Cadence heard from an obviously male voice as she continued to wail upon her captor.

“Put me down! Right! Now!,” Cadence continued to shout. “I know how to hurt you!” She knew that was an empty threat but she couldn’t think of any better threats in the moment.

Her captor’s pace had slowed and it did seem that he was looking for a place to stop. Soon she felt him turn around with her and begin to slowly bend down, lowering her onto a flat stone. Once he had set her down, he walked a few feet away and turned around to face her.

Her view of his backside had been impressive but it was nothing compared to how gorgeous the view from the front was. He was tall, but she had already surmised that since he had been able to carry her. Cadence was near 6 feet tall herself. The man standing in front of her had to be at least another couple of inches taller than her. He had very curly hair, it was quite long and a bit wild looking. The color of it caught her attention when he stepped into the light. Dirty blonde had been her first impression, but in the light it definitely had some red in it. He also had a full beard that was also fairly untamed in appearance. Strangely, he seemed familiar to her. Cadence was sure she had never met him before.

They both spoke at once, but Cadence stopped to allow him to speak first.

“Are you ok?” he inquired. Cadence could tell that he had, what seemed to be, an English accent. He definitely wasn’t from anywhere near here. It was strange, as even his voice seemed familiar to her.

“I’m not sure,” she replied.

“My leg hurts like hell. My head hurts and I feel like I’m going to throw up.

Also who are you?

Where are we?

What happened?”

Cadence had a hundred more questions but decided to start with these.

“Hmmm. I’m not really sure where to start and we don’t have a lot of time,” the stranger began.

“My name is Tom. We’re in a woods, somewhere near the Wisconsin/Michigan border.

I saw you get pushed off a ledge by a man as I was hiking. You must have hit your head during the fall and it appears your lower left leg may be broken. I thought it had been an accident and I ran over to help you. I was on a lower trail and was able to reach you first. You were unconscious when I got to you. Your companion came down as well. I thought he was coming to help but learned that had not been his intention. He and I fought a bit. He ran off and I grabbed you and took off in the opposite direction. Now here we are.”

“I don’t remember any of that.” Cadence replied. Suddenly a wave of incredible pain rushed over her. The pain was overwhelming and Cadence began to throw up over to the side. Tom rushed over to hold her hair as she finished retching.

“Oh, wow! I thought I was in pain when I woke up. It’s definitely beginning to hurt even more,” she whimpered. Cadence did not like to show any of her weaknesses to friends, much less strangers in the woods. She had worked hard throughout her life to get what she wanted by her own merits. It was a source of personal pride to her not to ever need to ask for help.

“You’re probably going into shock. We’re going to need to get you help. I’m not sure how much farther I can carry you.” Tom replied. Cadence could tell that he looked concerned. He was still standing next to her with his right hand continuing to hold her shoulder length dark hued hair in a ponytail.

“I may play a super villain on screen but unfortunately I don’t have his abilities in real life. I’m not sure how I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Oh my gosh! Is your last name Hiddleston? I thought I recognized you. If it weren’t for the excruciating pain, I would swear I was still asleep in bed. Maybe I am still asleep? Sorry dream Hiddleston, but I’d rather be awake without you then dreaming and in this pain. Maybe if I stand up and realize I’m not hurt, I will wake up?”

“Don’t do i…..” she heard Tom warn as she attempted to stand up. This wasn’t so bad she thought as she put her right foot down onto the ground. She then put her left foot down and collapsed in pain. Thankfully, she felt strong arms grab her around her abdomen and lift her up off of her feet. She was then set back down onto the stone she had previously been sitting on.

“Trust me, you’re not dreaming love!”  Cadence could tell that he was annoyed with her. “I’m not the stuff of dreams. I’m just a bloke who was taking a hike during some time off of work in order to clear my head. Where I’m from, we don’t have woods like this. I enjoy exploring.

I’m having a difficult time believing what has happened today as well. It did happen and now we, as a team, need to work a way out of this. I like to think of myself as a gentleman, and as such, I’m not leaving you out here alone. We’re going to find a way out together.

Since we’re going to be spending some time together, what should I call you?”

You know my name but I have yet to learn yours.”

“Oh! Sorry! My name is Cadence Mahlke. My friends call me Cady.

I’m sorry Tom. Thank you for helping me. What do we do now?” Cadence began to dig in her pockets.

“Where is it? I always have it on me!” she muttered under her breath.

“What are you looking for darling?” Tom inquired as he watched her continue to rummage through her pockets.

“My cell phone. I always have it. Now when I need it, I can’t fricking find it!” she replied sullenly.  “Do you have a cell phone on you that we could use to call for help?” she asked Tom hopefully.

 “Unfortunately, I must have lost my mobile while I was wrestling with your mate back there. Even if we wanted to go back and look for it, I’m not sure I could find my way there. I hate to admit it but I’m a bit lost.

I wasn’t watching for the trail as I was trying to get you away from your crazy mate. I just picked you up and left as quickly as I could.”

 Learning they were lost in the woods, Cady was beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation that she now found herself in. She had a pounding headache and was terrified to try to stand up again. She may as well be a 150 pound rock that Tom was burdened with for the amount of good she would be in getting out of this situation.

Chapter 2

[hetalian-imaginations]

The allies and axis reactions to their shy daughter coming alive on stage when singing and getting a standing ovation from the whole audience who came to watch the high schools performance. Their daughter was the star of the show!

(I live for the hetalia characters being the best parents ever)

America/Alfred F. Jones: America was the definition of embarrassing dad. Even before the performance, he had been promoting his daughter to literally anyone and everyone. He came with banners and a ‘I LOVE MY DAUGHTER” t-shirt as if he was a hardcore fan watching their idol’s last live performance ever. When his daughter went on stage, the emcee couldn’t even announce her properly because America’s cheering was way too loud. So when his daughter absolutely slayed up on stage, America was so proud his clapping and cheering constituted around 50% of all the noise in the auditorium. He practically barrelled over a few other parents to get on stage and sweep his daughter up into a bear hug.

“YOU DID SO WELL I’M SO PROUD OF YOU MY BABY!”

“Thanks, Dad, but um could you put me down? Also, I’ll have to apologise to Tom and Jessica later for you almost trampling their parents.”

“Whoops.”

England/Arthur Kirkland: England did not have much trouble speaking in front of a crowd. After all, it was all a part of his job. But he did remember when he was younger, he hated speaking to even the leaders of his country, let alone the people. So he did know how his daughter felt. Before the performance, he would do his best to calm her, by playing gentle music and stroking her head, amongst other things. Once he was kicked out from backstage and forced to find his seat in the audience, England considered casting a spell of sorts to assist his daughter but decided against it. This was something she had to face and overcome on her own merit. As he saw her nervously grasping the microphone, England felt his own nerves start to act up. But when she made eye contact with him, fear evident in her big eyes, he gave her his brightest smile and mimicked taking a deep breath. His daughter took his advice and proceeded to give one of the most beautiful performances England had ever heard. He joined the rest of the audience in applauding. Although in the auditorium he merely gave her a proud smile, once they were out he wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“You did it, you did it!”

“I did it, I did it!”

“Yes, you did!”

France/Francis Bonnefoy: France adored his daughter, and he knew that she had the voice of an angel. She had, after all, grown up listening to him sing. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to believe that her singing really was good. When she came to him in tears, terrified at the prospect of singing in front of a large crowd, France was determined to help her overcome her fear. It was slightly childish, but in the end forcing her to imagine stuffed animals as an audience really did seem to help her. Now it was time for the ultimate test. France watched with bated breath as his daughter walked up on stage. Her eyes sought his out, and when they met, he did his best to send confident vibes to her. Somehow. He saw her close her eyes. The music had started to play! With her eyes still closed, the first few lines of the song she had selected with him were heard. It was her voice! Her sweet, gentle voice! Her eyes flew open and at that moment, France knew. His daughter was amazing. He could barely hold himself back from crying. Even while applauding with the rest of the audience at the end of the performance, he had tears in his eyes.

“That was the most perfect performance I have ever seen!”

“Really? Did the audience like it? All I saw were teddy bears…”

“Of course, ma cherie! Of course!”

Russia/Ivan Braginsky: Russia knew all too well the fear of speaking up in front of a group of people. Back when he was younger, he was exactly the same as his daughter. So when he saw his daughter pacing back and forth around the house the morning of the performance, he did what his elder sister had done for him all those years ago. He took off his scarf and wrapped it around his daughter’s neck. Although it was pretty huge on her, his daughter still accepted it, but she didn’t understand the meaning behind his actions. Russia didn’t explain himself either. It was only later on when his daughter was standing up on stage did she finally realise why her father had given her the scarf. As the intro music of the song played, she took a deep breath, breathing in the comforting scent of Russia’s scarf. Through the scarf, she could feel his love for her. She couldn’t let him down. With that thought in mind, Russia’s daughter began to sing, and an angel descended upon the auditorium, at least in Russia’s eyes.

“Did my gift work?”

“Yes, I love you so, so much.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

China/Wang Yao: China had never been shy in front of a crowd. I mean, he was fricking China. But he had raised all his quieter siblings so he could understand why his daughter felt the way she did. So China just did what he always did to cheer her up. It was Mulan time. Although China thought that the real story was much more badass, his daughter had taken a liking to the Disney version after America showed it to her. China pulled out costumes he had made a couple years ago and started to sing. Sure, it was embarrassing, but his daughter’s confident smile was worth it. Thanks to China’s encouragement, his daughter could strut onto the stage like the empress she was and belt out a performance that left even China himself, who had heard all her practising, speechless. 

“You. Were. Amazing!”

“I was, wasn’t I?”

“You brought honour to us all!”

Italy/Feliciano Vargas: Although Italy was by no means shy, but he could relate to the pure fear his daughter was feeling. Unfortunately, he only noticed it the morning of the performance. Italy had to think of something, quick. After breaking every speeding law known to man to get his daughter to the school, Italy put his plan into motion. Before she knew it, it was Italy’s daughter time to perform. She heard the emcee call her name and her throat immediately went dry. She couldn’t do this. Right at that moment, she heard the cheers of countless people. She could make out her father, and… was that uncle Romano and Spain? That voice belonged to uncle Prussia… Incredulous, she peeked her head through the curtains and saw, firstly, her father riding on the shoulders of a very embarrassed Germany, frantically calling her name and waving a white flag with her name on it. Next to them, Romano, Spain, Prussia, France, Japan… Did her father drag all of his friends over to support her? Yes, yes he did. Italy’s daughter had to make her father proud. And when she took the microphone and started to sing, she certainly succeeded.

“My dear, that was beautiful!”

“Thank you so much, Papa, but, um, was all of this… necessary?”

“Of course it was! Everyone had to watch you, you’re my daughter!”

Germany/Ludwig Beilschmidt: Germany was not particularly well-versed in the art of calming someone’s nerves. With Italy, usually a plate of pasta worked well enough, but Germany doubted his daughter would be as easily placated as Italy. In fact, his daughter was a lot like him. This gave Germany an idea. Whenever he was stressed out about something, he found going for a jog with his dogs a good way of clearing his mind. So, Germany dragged his daughter, who had been practising her song to the point of absurdity, forced her into workout clothes and leashed the dogs. His daughter loved their dogs as much as he did, so she couldn’t resist her father’s offer of the jog. After an hour outside, father and daughter arrived home, both smiling and refreshed. Germany’s daughter washed up, prepared herself for the performance and waited for her father to bring her to the school. Later, at the performance, Germany saw the confident smile on his daughter’s face right before she started to sing, and he knew that his plan had worked. When they made eye contact, Germany and his daughter shared a beautiful, pure smile. 

“You know, I think Axel and Felix are my lucky stars.”

“… I see.”

“Just kidding, my lucky star is you!”

Japan/Honda Kiku: Japan was well aware of the anxiety his daughter felt, but decided to put his trust in her ability to pull through and overcome this obstacle in her life. Instead, he tried his best to not put any extra pressure on her before the performance. Unfortunately, some of his friends *cough*Italy*cough* found out that his daughter was going to sing, and decided to bring the whole gang to support her. Which is why banners decorated with his daughter’s name and face were now strewn across the back of the auditorium. Italy and America were screaming chants, Romano and Prussia were literally forcing the other members of the audience to cheer and Germany, like Japan, seemed like he wanted to disappear into the wall. Japan could tell by the look on his daughter’s face that she was not expecting this. Granted, he had not been expecting this either. But it must have helped, because when his daughter sang Japan very nearly pulled out his phone and demanded she be the voice provider for the latest voice synthesizer.

“You did very well, but I am so sorry for the disturbances the others caused.”

“I was shocked, but I must say it did help me feel more confident!”

“That’s good. I would like to introduce you to someone I know from Crypt- MR. AMERICA PLEASE PUT MY DAUGHTER DOWN.”

[plush-anon]

Just saw Thor 3...

I... this movie PISSED ME THE FRICK FRACKIN FUCK OFF in SO MANY WAYS.

Non-spoiler things I liked before I rant under the cut (under the cut = spoilers):

Thor and Hulk’s relationship/scenes (the fight scene was probably the best one)

The Grandmaster (who was MAGNIFICENT)

Valkyrie (except for her “surprise” turnaround at the end - kinda poorly handled)

Valkyrie and Hulk’s interactions (not often, but surprisingly fun)

Hulk himself - I actually REALLY LIKED how they handled him. I was very pleasantly surprised by this

Heimdall - not on-screen long, but one of the few of the central Thor cast who was actually in character (and probably the ONLY one, really)

Hela... to an extent. She was okay, but she could have been GREAT.

Odin, a little bit (and isn’t THAT shocking - spoiler reasons explained under the cut).

Now you may notice two primary characters missing from the list -- that being Thor and Loki. 

Well, they’re the reason why this movie pissed me off.

Good gods Taika, what did you DO?!? (spoilers below)

First off, Thor - Thor is just SO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from ANYTHING we’ve really gotten to see. He’s always been one of the more serious Avengers, but still has a sense of humor to him at times (I actually really liked his characterization in Avengers 2 - it felt balanced, a bit of humor with an awareness of what was at stake, coupled with his own recklessness and sense of superiority to these Midgardians mucking about).

Here??!? Here he’s just... he’s like a douchbag dudebro more than half the time (see his whole “That’s what heroes do” I mean REALLY THOR?!?! What the hell, you are NOT Snow from FF15 here). His dialogue patterns are all over the fucking place. I’ve really liked that in the past MCU films Thor was in, he maintained his Asgardian dialect and pattern of speaking, with a few places where he shifts and starts to adopt some Midgardian terms. Here? I was actively surprised to hear him sound like he came from the Shakespearean-esque world of Asgard the few times he did. It was just such a shift in character - not to mention the humor attempts. The physical humor moments worked well - any time he actually tries to joke feels painful and forced, with maybe one or two exceptions. This wouldn’t be an issue, except THESE MOMENTS ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE GODSDAMNED FILM. He FEELS like a douchebag, he ACTS like an absolute asshole, and just... urugrurbrjhjrhjh.

And LOKI - oh, poor Loki, he REALLY got the short end of the stick here. Loki is seen as this incompetent, slimy weasel with no sense of loyalty. Any and all character development from Thor 2 - gone. Just vanished, like it never existed. He feels like a parody of his Avengers portrayal, with little to no nuance. Tom was trying, I could see it, but it did nothing to save it overall. (Also, what the hell was up with the play scene at the beginning?!?! That was just... skin-crawlingly unpleasant, and uncomfortable, and humiliating. Secondhand embarrassment was SKY HIGH folks)

There were maybe two scenes that felt like the two brothers were supposed to act. The first one was the scene just after Thor meets the Grandmaster, and is imprisoned in the eternal circle hallway. Loki sends an illusion to Thor to try to talk to him about what to do next. He talks about how he’s in the Grandmaster’s favor now, and between the two of them, they could work together up the ladder of favor, until they’re high up. Then, they could take down the Grandmaster together and make a life for themselves. Thor is angry, and silent, refusing to talk to Loki and pointedly throwing objects through his illusion (and making Loki increasingly upset, until he demands to know why Thor isn’t saying anything). When Thor finally speaks up, he basically goes over what’s happened the past few days - Loki actually was alive, Odin died after being banished (oh yeah, Odin’s dead now - he spoke to his sons about finding peace on Midgard, and how Frigga would be proud of Loki’s magic, and how he was sorry for how he wronged them over the years, dropped the bomb that ‘his time had come’ and that once he did, Thor’s imprisoned sister Hela would break free and take over, before Odin pulled an Oogway and dissolved into magical sparkly golden soul dust over the cliffs of Norway), Hela broke Thor’s hammer, and both of them went spiraling over into the causeways of space and onto Sakaar - and asks Loki how he can be expected to talk to Loki based off of the past few days alone, after all that that’s happened between them. Loki then dissolves his illusion and leaves.

There’s a nice parallel scene at the end of the movie (last 5 minutes actually) after they’ve escaped Hela and Asgard’s been destroyed. They talk briefly, Thor mentions that maybe there’s some good in him after all, before throwing a bottle top at him as he mentions his illusions and how he would hug him if he were actually in the room with him - only for Loki to catch it, proving he’s actually there. They cut away before anything else happens (cowards LET THEM HUG DAMMIT), but it parallels beautifully to the earlier scene. Had they actually developed Loki’s character beyond this point in the movie, and ALLOWED him to have a heroic partial redemption (from his neutral stance at the end of Thor 2), this would have been FANTASTIC. But it was only confusing, as every other scene with the two was a mess - except for one.

When Thor first meets the Grandmaster, he catches sight of Loki off to the side and grabs his attention, where they have a quick hushed conversation, before leading into the whole ‘I don’t know this man’ ‘He’s my brother!’ ‘I’m adopted’ scene we see in one of the released movie clips. I really do like this scene. I just.. do.

I WOULD list the elevator sequence (where Thor tells Loki it’s better for us to part ways and for Loki to stay on Sakaar, ‘Get Help’,etc.) if not for what happens immediately afterwards, where Loki tries to turn Thor in for the reward money AFTER THOR TELLS HIM TO ESTABLISH HIMSELF ON SAKAAR WHICH HE CAN’T DO AS HE’S BEEN MARKED AS A TRAITOR UNLESS HE DOES THIS (but I digress, I can actually recognize this is somewhat hazy). Thor attaches his personal tracker zap device - a device attached to his neck SO POWERFUL that it ROUTINELY knocks Thor unconscious and is very painful - to Loki, powers it up to the highest setting, throws the controller very far away, and leaves him. Still strapped to the equivalent of a high-intensity tazer that can TAKE DOWN THE GOD OF THUNDER ON A ROUTINE BASIS. He’s LEFT LIKE THAT for potentially a few HOURS.

THAT PISSED ME OFF.

EXCEPT FOR THOSE SCENES I MENTIONED, EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE TWO PISSED ME OFF WHENEVER THEY INTERACTED.

THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN MOVIE.

NOT. A. GOOD. SIGN. AT ALL.

I don’t know, I just - this whole movie pissed me off, mainly because I could SEE the potential for what it could have been, what they could have done RIGHT FREAKING THERE. WITHIN GRASP. AND IT WASN’T. TAKEN. AT ALL. The Hulk/Thor scenes were probably the only time I actually LIKED Thor in this movie, and that took up like - 10 minutes? 15, tops? And it - uggghhghgghghhghhg. The mood whiplash was SEVERE here, going from jokey jokey scenes to serious to dark to jokey to dark and it just frustrates me. The mood with Hela should have been the consistent mood throughout the movie, with the exception of Sakaar (Jeff Goldblum, Hulk, and Valkyrie got it RIGHT there, absolutely perfect, and that mood should have stayed consistent on Sakaar). Skurge the Executioner was USELESS. The Warriors Three died as soon as they appeared. The revelation of Hela’s role in Odin’s bloodbath army as he forcefully conquered the Nine Realms was in line with Odin’s characterization as we’ve seen it (even if the daughter thing was... weirdly handled and introduced). Also, Thor’s missing an eye now.

(also what the hell was that dr. strange scene about it added absolutely nothing of worth to the film)

(and what was up with plot device surtur he was useless)

This movie felt a LOT like Suicide Squad in that regard - the mood shifts, the poor editing and storytelling, the awkward characters. Only difference here? Suicide Squad, I actually came to like some of the characters in spite of the movie, and I had no previous connection to them beyond that film at all. Here? Here I have a LONG history of adoring these characters, their history, their interactions, their development - and had to watch, for nearly TWO GODSDAMNED HOURS, as pretty much ALL of it was just THROWN THE FUCK AWAY or disregarded completely.

Ultimately, Thor 3 was a disappointment of epic proportions, which felt like a conglomeration of 3 different movies with radically different themes and moods and humor. The only way I’d buy this movie when it comes out is if they do what they did with DC’s BvS - reveal what it was MEANT to be, instead of this ugly, shallow MESS.

I haven’t been disappointed by a movie like this in a LONG long time. I actually  forgot how much it hurts. 

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

asks (40)

Anonymous said: Holy frick that is so encouraging and I needed that so much bc I literally visited my college to measure my dorm room and drove home in tears bc I panicked myself into a frenzy about whether or not everything leading me to this point has been a mistake and what if I fail and ruin my life before it even starts (I have since calmed down a little) so your encouragement was much needed & is much appreciated

I’m glad I could help <3 <3 <3 Good luck at school! I’m sure you’ll kick its ass

areverieofchaosdreams said: It's Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day. So thank you for all your amazing stories!!!

Oh goodness I’m all a blushin :’)

Anonymous said: *HAPPY WRITER APPRECIATION DAY* Send this to someone whose talent has blown you away, who you'd like to encourage to keep on writing always, and who you'd like to thank for working their butt off to provide fandom members with breathtaking stories to consume! THANK YOU :D

Aw thank you!

Anonymous said: Hi! I Hope you're well! Do you still take fic requests? Because I really miss Colin Wilkes and I'd love to a story of him with your writing!

Unfortunately I don’t often take requests these days, but I’ll definitely keep Colin in mind!

dirtycherrypie said: hey! applying for WE for the R&D department (may or may not be aware of producing bat gadgets)

dirtycherrypie said: SHit forgot my name - Bea, at your service!

[Bruce Wayne voice] hired

tigers-and-weeds said: Literally just fell down the rabbit hole on your tumblr for the last 12-24 hours. I am in love with with you headcannons and fics! The angst feeds my soul... So I figured I would request: anything angsty with Dick and Damian please please please

Okay again I don’t usually take fic requests BUT I like me some angst so the odds that this will eventually happen.... are extremely high. I’ll try to remember to dedicate the next one to you :) And thank you!

math--ew said: I went on a little birthday vacation to california and I've never been to the beach before. I was bending down to grab a pretty shell and this huge wave knocked me face first into the sand. Like, five people saw and laghed but I got the shell so I guess it's a win win.

Duuuude back at Lake Michigan last month the same thing happened to me. I was taking care of my little sister and her five year old friend, so I was so busy making sure they were okay that the wave plowed me halfway across the beach

babybatbrat said: when i was in ap physics i once spent an entire study period in my physics teacher's room working on one problem. as far as i could tell i was doing all of the work correctly and had all the initial values right so i was racking my brain trying to figure out why i wasn't getting the right answer. the third time i went up to my teacher and asked for help he told me to start at the beginning and walk him through my process bc he couldn't tell why i was getting it wrong either (1)

babybatbrat said: (2) so i start the problem and explain how i got through all the values - "okay so the rod is 5 inches long and half of 5 is 3 and a half -" and i stopped there bc it occurred to me that 3.5 is not half of 5. "it's what?" My teacher asks. i put my head in my hands and stood there for a minute before picking up my work and walking to the back of the classroom while he laughed, bc i had just spent 45 minutes convinced that half of 5 was 3.5 and not, in fact, 2.5, and that was the only thing wrong

Honestly??? Relatable

babybatbrat said: One time i woke up at six in the morning to hear the neighbor's dog barking and instantly realized that meant my dog had jumped the fence, so i went racing outside and sprinted down the street to catch her. when i did i picked her up and turned around to go home and then saw my neighbor standing on their front porch, realized i was in only an oversized spiderman tshirt and snowman pajama shorts, holding a twenty pound labrador and thats how i met my new neighbors

Incredible...... 10/10.....

thrakaboom said: Not a funny story,but two days ago at comic con I met Tom King and he showed me a picture of his kids while he was signing my books

Well hey that’s pretty cool

Anonymous said: I adore your Tumblr. It was a wonderful way to get into the Batfamily fanbase; prior, I thought that there was only one Batman and a single Robin, dearie me was I wrong. And those stories you write, just great. The Headcanons are just as enjoyable. As for Batman, that has come to be a sibling enjoyment. Thank you for your contributions and existence!

!!!!!! Welcome to the crew!

frnkensteingrrrlz said: hey!!! i just went through ur reasons to be happy tag and!! i'm so so happy bc of it (esp the damian hcs, they're spot on imo and he's my favourite) so i hope u have a good day!!!

Thanks! I am having a good day today! Although I’m sure it’s been a long time since you sent this :////

Anonymous said: HELLO I have just discovered and binge-read all of your fics with my homeboy Damian in them, and just wanted to pop by and say that I love you & you are my hero & you write my boy so well so thank u and I hope your life is blessed & you achieve your wildest hopes & dreams

My day is made :D

badfaith00 said: Best batman storyline you've ever read ?

Ooooooh hm I’m mighty attached to n52 Batman and Robin? Particularly the first storyline, but the second is also fantastic

Anonymous said: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHAMELESSLY REBLOGGING YOUR OWN WORK BC I HADNT SEEN IT BEFORE AND ITS HONESTLY SO PHENOMENAL ITS GOING ON MY LIST OF ALL TIME FAVORITES THANK U AND BLESS U

THANK YOU!!! THAT ONE IS MY FAVORITE AND I AM VERY PROUD OF IT

onwardmotley said: In today's Detective Comics someone finally told Bruce and co that Tim's alive. They didn't explain where he is, or how to get him back, but hey. It might've had more impact if anyone was seen actually mourning Tim and it wasn't just played as him being in cosmic time out, but at least it should end soon idk. Hopefully.

Tim Drake? It’s been years since I heard that name.....

Finally. Thank goodness.

Anonymous said: Idk if I prefer your soul crushing angst or your heartwarming fluff... actually I like to suffer so I'll stay with angst lol

Y’all seeing this? Anon gave me permission. Can’t yell at me next time because it won't be my fault (thanks babe :))

Anonymous said: for music, idk what kind of music u like so here is variety: St. Vincent - Paris is Burning, Sea Wolf - Dear Fellow Traveler (tbh everything by Sea Wolf is great), Dirt Poor Robins - Eleanor Rigby, Between Wind and Water- HAEL, Ellem - Kings and Queens and Vagabonds, The Rigs - Rise & Fall, Tally Hall - Light and Night, and Streetlight Manifesto - The Hands that Thieve.

Thank you! I’m excited to listen to these! I’ll start right now!

Anonymous said: 1) What are the good comics to read for Batfamily stuff (from any point in time) and 2) what are the best Jason Todd comics? Thanks!

Okay for Jason I would definitely start with the big ones, which are A Death In the Family and Under the Red Hood. After that you could try Red Hood: the Lost Days and Countdown to Final Crisis. I would avoid the n52 series until you have a good enough grasp of the character to recognize bad writing when you see it. 

For the generalized batfam.... that’s pretty broad. My personal favorites are Red Robin, Batgirl (2009), and both B&R series. If you have more specific questions, you should IM me! I promise I’m better about answering those than asks

yellowwallsbluesky said: Have you heard Swooner by The Zolas? I've really been jamming to it lately

Listening to it right now! Sounds like a bop so far :)

Anonymous said: Hidden citizens paint it black 💜

Much obliged!

Anonymous said: Harry styles "sign of the times".

[adds to list] thank you!

neo669 said: I MISS CASA OLE!! Sorry just read that you lived in Bryan/College Station and I used to live there as well. It's kinda hard to find people that even know that it exists. But I'm sure you can kick law schools butt. You got this!

Yooooooo I miss cstat too :((((

palliddark said: Adalgiza, and I'll be a translator (English to Brazilian Portuguese)

[Bruce Wayne voice] also hired

maeofthedead said: I love your headcannons and now I sort of want to cry thank

Excellent that is the exact target response 

Anonymous said: Love your rant in the tags about the pizza making I'm laughing so hard

Listen..... I have strong feelings

Anonymous said: Did you hear they're making an omnibus of Tomasi's entire run on Batman & Robin?? I just heard and now I kinda want to get this massive book in honor of my favorite batkid and the series that made me love him so much

Man I already have all the individual volumes but if I didn’t......

sonicboom00724601 said: Hi. :) Nice headcanon. :)

I’m not sure which one you’re talking about, but thank you! You're real sweet

Anonymous said: can you maybe write an interaction between Wonder Woman and Captain America? I absolutely adore your style and would love to see your take on it.

Hmmmm I don’t really have a good enough grasp of Captain America’s characterization to try that one :////

Anonymous said: i tried to kill on mosquito that was on my ceiling by slamming it with a book but mosquito was on the move so i bounced swiftly and jammed both my wrist and thumb and now my existence is Pain. also my thumbs swelling and looks purple, so that's nice

Oh shit anon you good???

daziy said: Do we know who Barbara's mother usually is?

Yeah! In her original version, Babs had a birth mom and an adopted mom. She was originally Jim’s niece, so her birth mom’s name was Thelma Gordon. After the adoption, her parents were Jim and Barbara Gordon, with her adopted mother being her namesake. So two Barbara Gordons.

I think for awhile the canon was that her mother died in a car crash, but the current version has her still alive. She left Jim when Babs was young, taking her son (Babs’s brother) with her. James Gordon (the son) turned out to be a serial killer. 

Barbara Gordon Sr. and James Gordon Jr. both appeared in the n52 Batgirl series during the Death of the Family arc. There’s also a very good story about James from the Dickbats period. That one’s called The Black Mirror, if I’m not mistaken?

Anonymous said: Hi! What do you think of the upcoming metal event? Dick and Damian seem to have a big role in it ( I hope Jason is involved too but there's still no sign of it)

Hmmmm I don’t know that I have an opinion just yet, but as always, I hope to be pleasantly surprised 

Anonymous said: bless you are your wonderful tagging system. know that i may have avoided death because of how easy it was to f ind the thing I wanted in your tags. bless

Oh goodness anon I hope you’re not serious about almost dying.... but thanks?

Anonymous said: hi amy! would u say that damians narrative is written as a child abuse one? like there are definitely many allusions to it but its also not as explicit as say, cassandra or rose. like how much of it would u chalk up to comic world dynamics and how much to actual abuse? also would u consider jason to also be a case of this?

Oh I have very strong opinions about the role of abuse in Damian’s narrative. It’s absolutely there, and the effects are staggeringly large. There is no doubt in my mind that the league was an abusive environment, and I can’t justify some of the things Bruce did either.

I think I would say the same thing for Jason, if not quite as strongly. I definitely think that some of the things that happened to Jason as a child shaped his story later on, but less of those were abuse than outside circumstances. The n52 takes a different track on that one, I think, but I don’t put much stock in that characterization. 

Anonymous said: has jason forgiven bruce for not killing joker? if so, what made him?

Unlikely. They get along better these days, but I would argue that comes from poor characterization of Bruce, not an actual resolution process. 

mellenabrave said: My mom accidentlly threw my Damian doll away (╥_╥)

Tossed in the garbage by yet another parent--

Anonymous said: Whoa where'd you get that bat and oracle shirt you're wearing in your necklace pic? It's so cool! (The necklace is also gorgeous!)

Shoot I think it was from Redbubble? But I can’t find it now

Anonymous said: Omg that necklace was so cool!!! Kudos to the maker of it!! Also I really like your top!!

Thank you <3