#because I know they're going to be the ultimate professionals about it.

[bukuoshin]

Talking to tik-tokkers and desperately trying to explain that it is not inherently bad to have a childlike personality or interests, that many neurodivergent people act like the people they're saying are weird, that saying "but they're neurotypical so it's not okay" is a discriminatory statement, so on.

[icarusbeneaththesea]

Future Spouse Wants to Let You Know - PAC

1→2↙3→4

Decks used: Romantic Tarot clarified by Learner's Deck

Pile #1 - Ponytail

(Cards: Devil, World, Queen of Wands, Hierophant, cl.: Death)

The 1st thing I'm noticing is a hat in every single one of your cards P1, so keep an eye out for hats. They may be shackled by their responsibilities and like they're doing a lot of heavy lifting in their sphere of work, but they work hard and party harder. They can command a room and they don't worry too much since they have a spiritual belief they use to support themselves. They could be religious because this particular Hierophant card is very Catholic. Either way their spirituality is playing an incredibly important part in their life right now as the death card clarifies. I'm inclined to believe they've been through some deep moments and that's influenced them becoming this way over time.

Relevance: Scorpio, #13, Hats, Flowers, blue, and red.

Pile #2 - Bread Slice

(Cards: Fool, King Cups, 4 Wands, Cl.: Justice Rev.)

Perhaps this person drinks alcohol, they may also have facial hair. It seems they're in the middle of setting themselves up for failure with the fool and justice rev. I'm getting that their family may have a heavy influence on their personal and professional choices at this moment. They aren't being honest with themselves or others and ultimately they're going to have to learn their lessons the hard way. I did pull more clarifiers (Devil & 2 Cups) for this group to understand why they're making these choices and it seems like they may be confusing lust for love.

Relevance: Brunette, Masks, Lots of Obstacles in their path, 3rd party, Brother, Libra, Leo.

Pile #3 - Crying Cat

(Cards: Magician, Moon, Emperor, Cl.: King Swords Rev.)

They're trying to pull the wool over your eyes about something, they don't want you to judge them for it. This may have something to do with an older male figure, perhaps their father. I feel like they're worried you won't like the way they act around their dad or perhaps their father may drive away the people they love. They aren't sure how to deal with any of this.

Relevance: Libra, Father, Puppies, White, Rams

Pile #4 - Tea Time

(Cards: Ace Swords, Ace Pentacles, Hierophant, Cl.: 3 Pentacles)

They're starting a spiritual journey. It seems like the beginning of a lot of learning. They're investing in their beliefs and starting to tackle this from a practical standpoint. They seem to be a very practical person who focuses on what they can do versus focusing on the negative sides. They're a very committed person. Side note: the ace of pentacles here has Love Conquers All in Latin inscribed. They may be a romantic who wants to build their world along their loved one.

Relevance: Capricorn, Grapes, Gold, Skulls, Glass

Those were all very heavy readings but I do hope they reach the people who needed to hear them the most and you all got something useful from this information. Thanks for sticking around and spending some time with me 🙏🏼

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

hi, i have a miguel request! love your writing and thank you so much for taking on all these requests ♥️

miguel knows reader has a crush on them because he can hear their heart picking up everytime they're close and he likes them to. they're cordial and friendly with each other because the reader wants ro respect miguel's boundaries and miguel's not sure reader would want to be with someone that has his baggage. however he can't help but be a little touchy with them somtimes (little things - like moving them out of his way with a gentle hand on the waist, webbing their chair and pulling them closer to show them something, standing a little too close when they talk or picking something from a higher shelf from RIGHT behind them) he feels guilty and like an ass too because he knows the effect he has on reader but isn't (planning on) acting on it. (reader is also quite professional, except for the occasional blush there's no other indication that they like miguel, no one would really know if it wasn't for their superpowers) they are also not a spiderperson so miguel is extra hesitant to get involved with a regular human.

this is until reader and him are in a compromising situation where they're hiding or sneaking around for some mission and miguel puts his hand over reader's mouth on instinct in the middle of them talking when he senses someone nearby and hisses something vaguely authorative (maybe like quiet down now or shut up works too) and they're already pressed together agains a wall (miguel's protecting reader in case things go south) he not only hears their heart pick up but senses that they're aroused too and he can't really stay professional anymore :))

I'm so sorry this is so long!! please forgive me 😭

love you and hope you're taking care of yourself in the midst of being so damn talented and dedicated to all this writing!

hii!! this so effing cute!?? and the ideas you gave- just mwah. you’re so incredibly sweet, thank you and love you!! thanks for requesting, hope you like it💌

will they, won’t they

miguel o’hara x fem!reader

wc || 688

・₊✧ masterlist + taglist

There was an unspoken thing between you and Miguel, a feeling of uncertainty as if there's something often left unsaid. You and Miguel had a professional yet, flirtatious dynamic— a connection filled with friction, tension and longing.

You liked Miguel, you liked him a lot, but you were proficient. You knew better than to give into a silly little work crush, especially one that is unlikely to be reciprocated. You hid your desire for him well, concealed every reaction when he'd enter a room, every giggle when he'd ask you about your day. It wasn't always easy to disguise your feelings, sometimes your body would betray you, and you'd blush or smile when he looked your way. 

Miguel was often an enigma to you. He could be so distant and cold, yet so tender and sweet. He would show little gestures and remarks that were tricky not to overthink. He would frequently lay a gentle hand on your lower back to get past you or web your chair to bring you to him. Moments when Miguel stood so close behind you, his torso would be flush to your back as he'd help you reach from a high shelf, or times when his gaze would flicker to your lips in the midst of conversation. He'd do seemingly little and harmless things that often confounded you. It felt like he was battling his feelings and instincts, which ultimately made it confusing for you. 

You were unsure where you stood with him. Some days he'd be touchy and flirty and on others, bitter and uninterested. You knew Miguel had a troublesome past, so you were patient. You were aware of the struggles he had gone through, and you understood why he was so hesitant when initiating something new. 

So today, when you two were assigned to go on a mission to another dimension, you were naturally wary about the situation. You and Miguel have never been on a task together, so you were uncertain how he would act when it was just the pair of you, what version of himself he would be. 

Unfortunately for you, he was back to his cold self. Frankly, you were sick of being left astray and you wanted to express it.

"What is your problem?" you ask, emphasising your frustration. "You won't even say two words to me— Miguel?" you frown, chasing after his long strides. "What's your issue with me?" you ask, eyes squinting.

He avoids your questioning, continuing his quickened pace down the dark streets of Brooklynn. "I haven't got one," he mumbles, looking over his shoulder to you before resuming his visual assessment of the area.

"Miguel," you repeat, speaking louder and more agitated, tugging on his arm, trying to halt him. "There clearly is,"

"Can you not talk for a second," he murmurs, keeping his eyes glued ahead. 

"Don't tell me to shut up,"

"I didn't. I told you to stop talking," Miguel's features pull together in annoyance, stalking towards you, gripping your arm. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Shut up," he repeats, his eyes firm as he pulls you into the nearby alley, immediately caging you against the wall. "Just— quiet, please," he says softly. He covers your mouth, holding his palm over your chin, muffling your words as he stares down at you. His eyes are vigilant and gallant, almost like he's trying to protect you. "Just shush one second," he whispers, leaning to your ear. 

At that moment, you knew your gag was up. Your heart was wildly thumping in your chest, and you knew Miguel was aware of the effect he had on you. He didn't need to say anything— his cocky expression told you all you had to know.

"They gone?" you muffle in his palm, looking up at him eagerly.

He nods once, keeping his hand over your mouth, gazing down at you with lustful eyes. "They're gone," he whispers, slowly sliding his hand to your jaw, cupping your face upwards. "They're gone, querida." (darling) Miguel says quietly, his voice hoarse as he leans in, hesitantly brushing your lips with his like he was debating with himself.

— — — — — — — — — — ☆ — — — — — — — — — —

@sunshiines-stuff @queerponcho @selfryed @idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser

[candlelightreader]

I was just listening to the DVD commentary on the Snakes episode and I know Grissom and Sara's scene (the only scene they're present in this Nick-centric ep) is big--obviously shipper nirvana--but the commentary by George Eads and the rest (I think one of the writers and either a director or producer) added so much weight that I'd never considered before!

So, Eads remarks on how Sara is the only one who ever talks to Grissom that way. This is, as she really dials up the husky, soft voice she adopts with Grissom. Eads also observes that Grissom is always himself with her, i.e. more of a nerd and rather stripped bare in a way he never is with anyone else. They all make comments on how emotional the scene is and how revealing it is of their relationship because, as always, Sara is 'putting it [her attraction and ongoing interest] out there'. She is never shy about wanting him. (I really need to transcribe the commentaries.)

But Eads keeps coming back to the idea that Grissom is more Grissom or is more himself with her than with any of the others. I'd add that it is not only the fact of their professional position that makes him freeze with her--I think Grissom is talking about himself when he asserts that some men are intimidated by beauty.

You know what magic, Grissom!

Anyways, something I hadn't thought of is that Grissom almost says something back, such as "Let’s go to dinner." But, of course, Sara overtalks and halts his momentum such as it were. But even more, it made me realize how pivotal this scene is, even compared to the Nesting Dolls reveal of her childhood trauma, because this is the moment when Grissom knows 100% that he isn't too late. The flirting takes on a different dimension after this. The looks become more meaningful.

This is especially significant when you consider that ealier in the season, the writers and producers are talking about the explicit intro of Sofia as a romantic interest for Grissom. She was there to create tension and her chemistry with Grissom was very much not subtext. So the decision to make 'this thing' with Sara more solid in the presence of this new love interest adds to the dynamic more than ever. Because the chemistry with Sofia is too easy and too simple. He's too smooth with her. He knows what to say to her at a given moment, because he has no interest in Sofia romantically and doesn't feel threatened by her. She really is just a colleague he doesn't hate. Ultimately, Sofia doesn't leave him speechless the way Sara does. He is not 'himself' when he is with her. Sara, on the other hand, always renders him vulnerable, which of course is why he distanced himself from her in season three, as he realized in four.

And we can see how Sara's effect on him is unique when looking at his other love interests: he does have speechless moments with Terri but by the end, no so much--perhaps there is a sense that while he is attracted intellectually, and somewhat sexually, there is no sentiment after all. With Heather, he never is at a loss for words, which leaves me to lean towards the notion that he was indeed never involved with her romantically--but, perhaps, it is her who makes him discover that sex without love makes him sad whether through conversation or more... In other words, grissom is typically putting on an air with other people. He's fully insulated against them and can act out the persona of an assured, curated Grissom, the bossman, the tin man, the nerd, the professor, the mentor, the father figure, etc.

But with Sara, he is exposed.

[ladyazurith]

You mentioned in one post that you think one problem with the game is that it twists itself into pretzels to fit the various different narratives, even when it doesn't make sense for the characters. Can you talk more about that? (Because I totally agree.)

Very much so! It's really bothersome. The first thing is in the individual chapters they tend to act like the students don't know each other well outside their own dorms, almost like they're practical strangers who have never interacted before. When everything else points to the opposite. Take Chapter 5 for example. They try to act like Ace and Deuce have no idea who Epel is, yet in Ace's CR story, he clearly meets Epel during their sorting. Never mind how they behave during events. And in chapter 2 when Cater is with Yuu and the others scoping out possible targets, it's presented like he doesn't know most of them well, when he clearly knows *everyone*.

Then from there, it's how the characters act in their individual chapters. Chapter 1 is mostly okay in this regard. Events with Riddle happen quickly enough that him having a major change of heart and acting "normal" in material from then on isn't too jarring.

But moving on from there it's a trainwreck. The chapter's overblot victims/ antagonists can get a little bit of a pass, but even then it stretches things.

Like Ruggie for instance, he is very shrewd and isn't above taking advantage of a situation. But he's not evil, he very clearly cares a lot about his home, his grandmother, and the other kids who live in the area with him. The idea that the character we see in every other situation would cause serious harm to someone else over a game is kind of ludicrous. He could have very easily risked expulsion if things had gone too far, and then he wouldn't be in a position to help *anyone*. Leona is even kind of iffy to me. While Leona tends to go out of his way to appear uncaring/unmotivated/lazy, he's actually an incredibly good dorm leader who cares about his students. Most of his real issues are internal, and harming innocent people who aren't even part of his beef with Malleus just seems out of character to me. Never mind what he does to Ruggie. Some of it can be explained by the build up of blot but not all of it.

And then Chapter 3, Azul, Jade, and Floyd. For the most part, I can see the tweels going along with everything because they both thrive on chaos. But Azul's plan is just...stupid coming from someone who's a professional businessman. First off he has no shortage of workers for the lounge. Ruggie frequently takes shifts there, and Cater while not a waiter also does a lot of work with them. But the whole sea anemone thing was just gross. And apparently, there was nothing in the contract about not disparaging their employer. It might have caused a spike in business at first just because people want to see what's going on for themselves, but overall, he'd ultimately hurt his business and drive customers *away*. Never mind the whole bullying backstory comes out of NOWHERE. Like I do have sympathy for Azul and what he went through and he is one of my favorite characters, but Ch 3 suffered from poor writing in my opinion. Narratively the whole thing was a mess.

Chapter 4 is handled better in my opinion. For the most part, I have the least amount of complaints about what goes on here. My biggest one though is what I mentioned before, Characters tend to exist in a bubble during their chapter events. You can not tell me that Cater nor Lilia wouldn't have tried to figure out what the hell was going on with Kalim. Or Silver for that matter. Never mind how Kalim had the authority to keep his entire dorm at school over a holiday when it's shut down?!!? I get his family is rich and powerful but, that still seems like a stretch idk.

Jamil I think was a least handled well otherwise, his actions and motivations seemed consistent with his character. In the end, he didn't really want to harm anyone, he just wanted his freedom and was desperate. The only real question is what did he think was going to happen next? Even if Kalim got kicked out of NRC then he would have only had about a year and a half of 'freedom' it wouldn't have solved any of his problems. And if Kalim had turned up dead, there would have still been severe repercussions for him and his family. IDK for someone who is supposed to be good at planning and scheming there definitely were parts that weren't well thought-out.

Chapter 5 and Rook is where this conversation started I think but I'll touch on it again. His actions at the end of chapter 5 are COMPLETELY out of character for what we know about him otherwise. Hiding his obsession with Neige from Vil, and then revealing it IN FRONT OF him while he's still licking his wounds from his overblot is just...if this was the only context we had for Rook, no one would be calling them friends. He had no real reason to reveal he was the one that cost them the competition.

The reception to this was so bad that's why we have the start of chapter 6 where Vil gives his speech about professionalism and why he's okay with Rook and what he did. I don't believe the narrative that Vil wasn't hurt at all, not with how he's shown to be so insecure especially where Neige is concerned. Sure I might buy the part about Rook voting for NRC not hurting him, but not the rest of it.

Never mind otherwise Rook isn't cruel. Especially not to Vil, and his actions were just that.

This is also biased, but the fact that Cater was cut from the team, and the reasons why rub me the wrong way. I know that they just wanted Jamil and Kalim because they were the previous chapter's focal point and Ace and Deuce because they're tied to pretty much everything because of Yuu and the story. But Vil keeps talking about being a professional, admitted straight up that Cater's audition was *perfect* but brushed him off and passed him over anyway. (Also Ironic because Cater's VA actually is a musician/singer/ensemble group member and not a traditional VA) but that's off course of the question lol

Also, I will never not be salty that RSA won with their song/performance. All for the narrative. And THEN they gave us a shot at seeing some kind of revenge or at least a win over them after the VDC with Epel's hometown event and yet again WE STILL LOST. I don't understand that one either. It's just frustrating for the players to be put in that situation again needlessly. There was no real narrative/story reason we had to lose.

Chapter 6 we finally get away from the narrative that the characters can't know who each other are in the main story at least -_-;. overall I don't have too many issues with Chapter 6. (other than the mini games -_-) Idia's character is kept consistent. We get some fun moments from the cast, and for the most part its in line with what we know of them and their characters. Azul and Riddle are gold, Jamil needed to hear what Leona told them. (tho it was a little pot kettle but then again that meant that Leona knew what he was talking about). And over all things don't seem AS forced. Had hoped things were gonna get better.

Then Chapter 7 rolled around and they murdered Lilia's character. The character we knew would NEVER treat his family like that. He even gives Malleus a speech in Cater's Halloween SSR about how he'll always be there when he needs him. He's consistently been shown to value his family and connections. It was just such a drastic change I am still baffled. I understand why he would be leaving, but to not really talk to those around him or explain what's going on and make an effort to keep in touch and stay in their lives? It's absurd. Of course Silver and Malleus broke down, if in high school my dad basically told me he was dying and that he was going far away and I'd never see him again, I'd have lost it too, and I'm not nearly as close to my dad as they were to Lilia.

I know they needed something to trigger Malleus's overblot but again this just seems like poor writing to me. The idea of Lilia loosing his powers and possibly dying I think would have been enough if they'd framed it right to push Malleus over the edge. That's difficult /emotional enough and they wouldn't have had to completely destroy Lilia's characterization to make it work. They could have even had the scene with Silver and Malleus when SIlver breaks down crying in front of him after trying to stay strong in front of Lilia so as not to worry him.

I'm trying to reserve too much judgment until we see the entirety of chapter 7 but unless there is some unknown reason for Lilia to have chosen this method of leaving, I don't know how to really justify it.

I get sometimes characters have to make difficult choices it is what helps make a story interesting, but if those choices arise from conflict that's not framed well or meaningful, it loses its potency. It comes across like us as the players and the characters themselves being cheated.

[goodluckclove]

I've been meaning to say something. (100 follower hot take)

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've had a nice day. Why don't you rest with me for a while? I made some chocolate chip cookies - with shortening instead of butter, so they're very soft and very chocolatey. I made way too many and they aren't my wife's favorite, so I could use some help in eating them.

You're probably a writer, right? Or maybe you think about how you could be. Browse the tags here, or on other social media platforms. Maybe you used to write stories as a kid. I bet those were fun. Teachers might've thought they were impressive, or they dissected them line by line until the words didn't make sense in your head anymore. Either way, if you're here you're probably here for a reason.

(rant alert)

I dipped a toe in online writing communities on and off. My last attempt was forty-five minutes scrolling through the writing hashtag on Youtube Shorts (so TikTok, I guess? I don't know). I didn't like it. I really didn't. The thing that sticks out the strongest in my mind is one particular video where a woman claims that every story needs a second act plot twist.

Huh? Every story? All of them? Why? Since when? Who are you? What qualifications do you have to make a statement like that?

That's the common thread that makes a lot of writing spaces very uncomfortable for me. Successful writers are really only successful in their genre and for the given moment, so they don't have that much objective authority in the craft. And yet I see a lot of people deciding the things that you can't do in writing. Or the things you have to do, and how you have to do them. It was so much of Writeblr at first glance that I almost dipped out once again. I didn't, though, and I'm glad I didn't because now I get to watch some of the next great storytellers from across the world grow and examine and forge their way forward.

No one can teach you how to write. No, that's not true. Teachers teach literacy. Handwriting. Typing maybe - do schools still teach typing? Let me try saying it in a different way - no one, not one single person on this goddamned planet, has the right to tell you how to make a story.

I was supposed to get my MFA in creative writing before my first breakdown. My uncle stayed in the program I was meant to be in, and a few years after I dropped out he graduated. Recently I had the thought to look up his thesis novella, and as I searched I found myself regretting my decision to leave school. If I stayed and got to develop my writing in an actual class, with other writers and a knowledgeable professor, how much further along would I be than where I am right now?

It was bad. His novella was terrible. It was so bad I had a small existential crisis for, like, three days. He spent so much money on years and years of professional education and came out with a truly soulless story that read as if you prompted an AI to write the next Great American Novel. So if you think you need a writing degree to be a legitimate author, it could help connections-wise, but it ultimately won't be the thing that does the work for you.

Not all advice I see online on writing is bad. I find the people who are able to capture the "I" statements of therapy and phrase advice as things that have worked for them, or things that they personally enjoy, to be fine. Some writing advice can spark inspiration.

But if someone is the type of person to boil every story down to troupes and cliches, and then immediately say that every story that uses the trait they don't like is automatically bad for everyone? I'm dropping the kindness for a second - that's trash. That's a trash take and I see far too many writers use it as a reason to stop before they begin.

I don't like whump. I say my reasons in previous posts if you go back through my blog. But you will never hear me say that any story with whump in it is bad, because I don't know that. You might prove me wrong. I am an adult human being and I have the humility to admit that I can like something I didn't expect to. I genuinely enjoy the direction of The Human Centipede (only the first one) and if you cringed just now that probably means you haven't seen it.

There are so many types of books and movies and plays and comics out there. To enjoy a specific genre is fine, to ignore the existence of everything else is a really, really, really odd thing to do. Maybe someone will hate your story because they think everything should be Neil Gaiman, and therefore have no way to understand your epistolary high-Western. You are not the wrong end of that situation just for existing.

And at there is a definite threshold on how many writing tips you can gather before they stop being useful. If you find them interesting, that's one thing. That's fine. But if the culture of creativity online has made you feel like you need to educate yourself on every possible angle before you can write a story, you are actively harming yourself.

Imagine taking the level of structure you put on yourself in that way and putting it on children playing pretend in the backyard. Oh, Susie, don't you know that it's overdone for your Kitsune have dead parents? Xyler, shouldn't you ask someone else before you decide how Spiderman would react to this? It would make no sense and they do not need it. Kids will make a whole world out of nothing and it's the most fucked thing in my heart that at some point they get access to Reddit and dipshits start insisting that's wrong.

They aren't wrong and you aren't either. Your favorite creative influencer can't tell you your story, strangers on the internet can't tell you your story, your teachers and loved ones can't tell you your story. They can influence it, but they can't write it honestly the way you can.

You do that. That's the thing you do.

Man that makes me upset. I can't tell you how to make a story, either. If anyone sends me asks for writing advice the most I'll do is say what I've done before hopping into your DMs and starting a direct conversation. it's so personal to each individual artist, and I'd like to think that the people selling these classes and software and promoting these platforms haven't thought about that before. Otherwise it does feel manipulative. If you have a willingness to practice and imagine and really experiment with the possibilities, you are ready to write your story.

And if it doesn't work? Try again. That's what you do.

Stephen King has written roughly a thousand books and maybe five of them have decent endings. He is unimaginably successful.

I'm rambling now. I think I got that out of my system. I was really worried to say this out of fear of being too weird or somehow reverse-gatekeeping so hard that it circles back into also being a bad thing. I've just spoken to a lot of people who I still think of throughout my day, and I truly ache for them to get past the fear of creation. Because it's worth it. It's worth it and it's fun, even when it's messy and you're tired.

Let it Be just came on. Beatles. I haven't listened to The Beatles in a long time. Feels a little apropos.

I love you, reader. Reader, Writer, Colleague. Take care of yourself. Especially the little you, still sitting there in the backyard of your soul, bathing in the sun with their bare feet in the damp earth.

Consider joining them, maybe.

[cosmicaces]

i've never been good at writing intros to posts and that isn't gonna change today, esp since only a handful of people are probably gonna read this. i am making this post for me, because this is something i noticed and i wanna talk about it. leave it to me to make a detailed post about a character from a movie from three years ago.

rody has pstd! let's talk about it

[ID: A screenshot from MHA: World Heroes' Mission. Rody is pointing at Deku, winking. Deku looks annoyed. End ID.]

to preface this:

i am not a professional 👍 i have ptsd 👍

analyzing characters is fun for me! this is how i am interpreting rody with what i know about him from the little media he's been in + some additional speculation. feel free to incorporate this into your belief system. or not! all that i ask is that you bear with me.

now, before i get into it (preface...2!):

everyone knows about fight or flight, right? well, did you know that there are actually 5 trauma responses? fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop. (there may be more, but these are the ones that have the most information on them.)

fight and flight are the body's primary responses to a bad situation. freeze, fawn, and flop are more complex responses that happen when the first two aren't available. little self-explanatory, but for the sake of infodumping:

freeze: the body is in a state of hyperarousal. the muscles are tight and ready for action but is ultimately paralyzed. think of a deer in headlights.

fawn/befriend/submit: this response involves complying/befriending the aggressor; people-pleasing in an effort to remain safe. this is more common in cases of abuse.

flop/shutdown/collapse: the body is in a state of hypoarousal, aka its shutting down; muscles go slack, brain stops receiving sensory info. this can often result in fainting. you know how some people faint when they see blood? or when they're on a rollercoaster? yeah, it's this.

it's important to have this context. as a matter of fact, you probably already know where i'm going with this:

rody faints when deku is climbing up the bridge. of course, right? he had reached such a heightened level of fear that, when his brain realized it couldn't trigger one of the other four responses, he just... flopped. why bring this up? well, and i think this is easy to miss, but rody didn't pass out once. he actually passed out twice.

when they first reached the train, it appears that, in their brief moment of safety, rody had collapsed.

[ID: Deku picks up Rody to shield him from Beros's oncoming arrow attack. End ID.]

[ID: Deku is carrying Rody, swinging under the bridge in an effort to evade Beros's attacks. At the end, Rody appears as though he is coming to. End ID.]

up until this point, rody had been freaking out during their escape from the police. for him to have no initial response to being physically moved by deku... hell, he looks like he's just coming to. if we're going based off of the dub, he even yells "what's happening?!" simply put: he shut down and, more specifically, he shut down in what had been perceived as a moment of respite.

the reason i point this out is because, while we don't choose our trauma responses, there are events that can impact what they can be.

so... what is the purpose of the flop response?

quoting from an article here, but it's thought to help people in three different ways: to reduce the mental impact of the circumstances, to cause a physical disconnect (thus experiencing the trauma less directly), and to prevent additional assault.

the point i'm trying to make here is, well...

[ID: A flashback showing Rody protecting his siblings. A villain strikes him with a pipe. End ID.]

rody's been assaulted! and this is only one instance that we know of. we don't fully know what he's had to go through when providing for his siblings, but there is no doubt that there have been negative repercussions on his mentality.

did you notice how he startles easily?

[ID: Rody puts his hand on Deku's shoulder, scaring him. His response startles Rody, causing him to flinch backwards. End ID.]

[ID: Bakugou suddenly appears behind Rody, causing him to jump. He flinches back, turning to face him. Pino is also startled, flying to sit over on his other shoulder. End ID.]

with ptsd, some people can develop an exaggerated startle response. this happens when your nervous system gets stuck in survival mode. your brain is hypervigilant; any sudden sound or movement that you don't expect can make you feel like you're in danger and your body has to be ready to react in a given moment.

look at the difference between how deku and rody flinch. deku has a standard flinch, but rody violently flinches, almost as though he's been struck. do you see how he moves his head? his arms? how, after both instances, he's starting to sweat? yeah 👍

continuing along this line of thinking, let's talk about rody's attempted betrayal.

[ID: Rody being approached by the oni villain. He braces himself for the attack, clutching at his head. End ID.]

i feel like most people, when cornered and under the imminent threat of being attacked, try to block it or defend from it in some way. rody... didn't do that. as a matter of fact, it looks like he's trying to hide.

[ID: Deku runs towards Rody, shielding him from an arrow. Rody panics and turns away. End ID.]

additionally, in this scene, rody is apologizing. in this moment, he sincerely believed that deku was going to hurt him for his betrayal. instead of trying to run, he just... froze. braced himself again. i know he was very scared, but, despite deku having just saved him, seeing his fear at being approached... psychologically, there's something else going on here.

i think rody had been re-traumatized.

again, we only have that one flashback regarding a violent encounter with villains, but i genuinely have reason to believe that it wasn't a one-off scenario. the only reason rody tried to fight was to defend his siblings. they are his reason for continuing forward. but... what if there were times when they weren't there? and he had to face the villains by himself?

... yeah. i think that's why he responded the specific way that he did. his life was actively in danger, yes, but how many times had he been in that position? pleading, trying to garner sympathy about his siblings, wanting to be let go? i think the severity of his psychological distress in that instant is what caused him to try and hide rather than attempt to minimize any incoming damage.

as for feeling threatened by deku, that can be easily explained, too. rody talked quite a bit about betrayal, it seemed like a very natural thing to talk about. he's probably had to betray some villains and gotten hurt for it. honestly, you could probably argue that this contributed to his confusion regarding deku protecting him instead.

similarly with starting posts, i am also very bad at ending them 👍

tldr; rody soul has ptsd as a result of his encounters with villains after his father's disappearance. this has given him an exaggerated startle response as well as both a freeze/collapse response in times where his life is threatened. who knows what other symptoms he may have! what we can say for sure is that this kid needs therapy.

if you read all this, thanks! i hope you enjoyed me dissecting him like a bug.

[antianakin]

@theneutralmime

I assume you mean the Coruscant Guard and not the GAR as a whole. We do see Fox during the Fives arc responding directly to an order from Palpatine, but he's also IN PALPATINE'S OFFICE already because they're playing bodyguard in the moment. The GAR would be subordinate to Palpatine obviously, because he is the Chancellor of the Republic. Everybody is subordinate to Palpatine, that's kind-of how it works, it's just that most of the other clones seem to sort-of report more directly to a Jedi General or a civilian officer of some kind before they report to Palpatine.

So whether the CG reports directly to Palpatine or not is sort-of up to speculation as far as I can tell. It's possible that a reference book might have something more to say about it, but what we're shown in TCW isn't conclusive. There's never any indication that the CG have a Jedi General of any kind, so they presumably have to report to SOMEONE and most people just assume that this is Palpatine. It's just as possible though that there IS someone else they report more directly to normally, like Mas Amedda maybe or someone like Tarkin perhaps. The CG just aren't explored enough to really give any sort-of definitive answer as to who they report to directly. Palpatine is the ultimate authority so his orders would supersede anybody else's no matter who they came from.

As for Fox's personality, I have basically the same answer. He really isn't explored enough as a character to really say he has a "murderous" personality. He's in all of a few minor scenes across the entire show and he's always working and he never even has his helmet off, so figuring out his personality is a little difficult. Most of what people know his personality to be comes out of fanon, not canon. The closest I can think of to something he says that might give a hint as to his personality is when he tells Ahsoka that he understands why she'd kill Letta Turmond but that he still has to arrest her for doing it. It's not murderous by my interpretation, but it does show that he has empathy and is willing to treat Ahsoka with kindness despite what his duty requires him to do. He does help chase her down after she escapes from her cell and a bunch of his men seem to have died at her hand, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly personal or vindictive about it, it just means he doesn't have the time or motivation to offer her the same empathy he did earlier.

So sure, he seems focused on work and pretty professional, but we also only ever get shown him WHILE WORKING, we never see him in any kind of downtime. And the one line that seems to showcase a little extra personality is actually intentionally empathetic towards someone he should see as a criminal. He doesn't have to extend that empathy to Ahsoka in the moment, but he does, and that seems to go forgotten quite a lot.

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: FINAL ROUND

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Isis Ishtar

gorgeous, very caring sister, strong duelist, and the only woman to ever make Seto Kaiba squirm

anyways. not only as mentioned above is she the first woman to make kaiba squirm, but she was by all means going to beat him if not for the millennium rod's millennium interference. yami marik admits that she's a strong duelist with a strategy that's been working for literal years-- and given that she's not like, a professional duelist, thats pretty impressive

she also recently got some really cool meta bumps and let me point out that an "ishizu deck" now includes obelisk the tormentor-- which we knew she had prior to giving it to kaiba, but i think it only solidifies my opinion that she very much could wield an Egyptian God Card, an exclusive little club for top tier duelists

as a character she presents herself with an amazing amount of poise and grace, shes compassionate and kind and stays with mai and serenity even though she only just met them. shes struggling through living the past 5 years of her life drowning in guilt for her family's tragedy just because she wanted to make her little brother happy and shadi is a fucking liar. shes foretold her own death and marches towards it grimly but with so much love in her heart. and even then shes 20 years old and holds an important position in the egyptian government that typically requires a doctorate degree AND has been dealing with mariks off-and-on bullshit entirely by her lonesome. she also likes to flex her fortunetelling a little which is awesome i think she should do that more that scene where she tells the guy exactly how the stele is being transported was so everything

speaking of shes got such an attitude. "is it your destiny to waste my time?" iconic. never seen before will never be seen again. watch the duel between her va and joeys its so fucking funny

shes excult. shes doesnt flinch in the face of god nor death. seto kaiba and yami marik respect her. shes so sad and so sweet and battle city couldnt have happened without her.

also her parallels with kaiba are what motivate kaiba to give yugi the card he needed to beat marik.

kaiba, in duelist kingdom, was ready to jump off a ledge if yugi didnt let him through to face pegasus while trying to save mokuba out of sheer desperation to save his little brother. he KNOWS what that dedication feels like and the iron kind of will you need to have to make that kind of gamble. isis is being so fucking legit with what shes saying and he respects that and her judgement enough to change his mind and not only watch the duel, but give yugi a card that eventually helps him win, even if he has no real confidence in the odds. but theres a CHANCE, which is the same thing he taught her when he beat her in a duel. the layers its her faith that moves him to act. which is so crazy

anyway vote isis shes my best friend forever and a real rep for all the 20 year olds who honest to god did not sign up for this bullshit

Yuzu Hiragi

The entire show would not work if the cast wasn't obsessed with her, and they're all right to stan her, literally gets Sora and Serena to defect from Academia with her sheer charisma, beat Masumi at their gay little rivalry, Yugo spends a few days with her and is ready to die for her, Yuya is simply just the loudest about adoring her And why not? She is so clever and determined, doing the most work out of anyone to figure out the myth plot. Actively trains to keep up with the rest of cast. Even when the universe is conspiring against her and trying to keep her down, she fucking headbutts Roger and tells him off or manifests to help save the world in the ultimate girlboss team-up that was the Arc V finale. Truly any dimension without her is worth upending.

The mysterious magical bracelet that isekai's her to different worlds, the Can-Do attitude, the cool poses (fusion summoning), the ADORABLE character design, AND she was 1/4 of a world-saving hero in the past?? If it weren't for the meddling writers, she would have been the main character

yuzu is everything. literally the plot of arc v hinges on the fact everyone who meets her become just as obsessed with her. and they are totally right to do so

[collegetennisoriginstory]

Rayyan to me is a Double Lion. They have a Lion Primary- they listen to their intuition, have a clear sense of right and wrong and their Cause is becoming a professional tennis player. They’re the type of Lion Primary who is adamant about their Cause and as a fellow Lion Primary that’s kind of sexy of them to me. They’re also a Lion Secondary-they are themself and hate to lie, they charge and take things head on.

Tobin on the other hand screams Badger Primary- they care about the community of Cargill and it’s also shown through how they handle Felix. Badger Primaries have a fascinating thing known as “dehumanising” they simply do not view that person as a person anymore (usually when a Badger’s close one hurts them they deal with that by cutting them off, while a Snake Primary wouldn’t struggle with that unless they’re part of their inner circle. Think of it like cutting off a limb and cauterising it to stop the bleeding.) Tobin cares about everyone not just their close ones and that’s shown through their actions. They are a Snake Secondary- adaptive and fluid, improvising when they need to. Their playing style was described as “fluid” and that solidified it for me. 

G seems to be an immature Snake Primary- hedonistic, live in the moment, still trying to find their people, while also being burnt- somehow they are hurt and have burned as a result (they take of themself first and foremost) they however are a Bird Secondary- drawing upon prior knowledge and using their tools in situations.

Sam is a Snake Primary whose Important Person is MC and that melts my heart. They care about MC & Robin and their family. They take to Cargill- not because they’re community but because they’re MC’speople- and have a Badger Secondary of hard work and drawing upon the community for help. Amusingly enough Snake Badger’s are known as the Love Interest sorting which explains why so many people love them.

I hope you liked my theories and sorry for rambling haha😅

OK I don't know if you guys know but I LOVE personality theory in all shapes and forms, so literally when I got this ask I showed it to my gf and she immediately snorted and said I met my soulmate. So, thank you for that.

Long post below.

For folks who are wondering what the hell we're on about, here's a link to the sortinghatchats Tumblr page. Just so we get things out of the way: I absolutely detest J.K. Rowling and her TERF bullshit. Don't Stan for that, and that explains the use of lion/badger/snake/bird.

Anyway, agreed with Rayyan being lion primary—I was struggling with figuring out whether or not they seemed more snake primary or lion primary (because I also do see them protecting their crew to the ends of the earth e.g. their family, their cat, MC if they eventually make their way there...) but I do think that it ultimately makes more sense that they're people who wouldn't sacrifice their ideals/what they think is right.

As for Rayyan being lion secondary, that part is irrefutable. Like what you said:

they charge and take things head on

I think your Tobin typing is spot on, so I won't go into too much there except this:

Tobin cares about everyone not just their close ones and that’s shown through their actions.

and

adaptive and fluid, improvising when they need to. Their playing style was described as “fluid”

are absolutely right. I think Badger-snake combinations really explain Tobin's ability to mov through life with the ease and looseness/ quiet confidence and warmth/kindheartedness that Tobin embodies.

For G, I actually read them more as bird primary than bird secondary, mostly because I think ultimately, G's more concerned with coming up with a framework/system through which they understand the world / life / make decisions, but they're constantly adjusting / adding to that system or framework. Contradictions make them want to tinker and probe, and they're most at ease when things make sense.

I could see bird primary with either snake secondary for G (they wear many different skins) or bird secondary.

For Sam, I think you hit the nail on the head with

Sam is a Snake Primary whose Important Person is MC

and

Badger Secondary of hard work and drawing upon the community for help.

Absolutely adorable. I think that combination might be so popular for love-interests because it's probably the most endearing ride-or-die bestie combination to exist.

[icycoldninja]

What if raiden was the readers bodyguard but then they gained feelings for each other? Forbidden/secret love type trope maybe :?

Here ya go--I chose to do headcannons, if that's OK with you. Enjoy! 💜

Raiden x Reader bodyguard headcannons

-At first, everything was strictly business; Raiden's job was to guard you, and so he would do just that. Nothing more.

-He performed his duties diligently and seriously, until someone tried to attack you. The moment he saw the perpetrator, something snapped inside him. He cut that sorry sop down in an instant, leaving a mass of flesh in his wake.

-He was bombarding you with questions in a manner that was highly uncharacteristic of him; most of these questions were about your health, and if you were emotionally and physically okay.

-Afterwards, Raiden found himself growing more and more protective of you, and not just because it was his job to guard you.

-Eventually, he realized that his feelings for you weren't professional anymore--he was in love. With you. His client. Jesus, what would he do now?

-He tries to ignore it and keep up his stoic front, hoping that this is all just a phase and that it'll die down soon. When it doesn't, he's faced with a choice. Either walk away and try forget about you, or flip off society with his girlboss fingers and confess.

-He chose to flip off society with his girlboss fingers.

-After a very long brooding session, he decided to confess to you on the way back from one of your outings. The two of you were in his car, with you looking out the window while he concentrated on the road. Once you guys pulled up to a red light, he decided to confess.

-"Y/N? I want to tell you something, even if it is sorta unprofessional...I...love ya. I love ya. Yeah. I...said it."

-Needless to say, he was very nervous. Even cyborgs can get butterflies in their stomachs. Once you heard this confession, y I u were shocked--not because of his unprofessionalism, like he feared, but because you loved him too!

-After that, you and Raiden agreed to keep this whole thing between the two of you, as keeping the public in the dark was in both of your best interests.

-Despite your efforts to keep your romance hidden, some aspects of your new relationship managed to slip through into your daily lives. All of a sudden, you're taking Raiden with you to more locations than usual, you start taking him by the hand and calling him Jack--it's noticeable, but people don't really question it. As far as they're concerned, you've just developed a strong friendship.

-Now, activities that take place behind closed doors are a completely different story. He will pin you to the nearest wall/hard surface and begin assaulting you with kisses to the lips, collarbone, cheeks, whatever he can reach.

-He will hold you so, so tightly whenever he can, sometimes squeezing you so hard your oxygen gets cut off for a second.

-But he doesn't want to hurt you, he can't help his strength. All Raiden really wants is to keep you safe and make sur3 you know you're loved at all times.

-He's more than just a bodyguard now, he's your ultimate protector. Cherish him; he's more devoted than a German Shephard.

[lakesbian]

thinking meanderingly about early worm undersider sitchuations to procrastinate actually collecting the lisa meangirl moments i told myself i would collect before continuing to reread worm. it's so sad how taylor (for obvious insecure reasons) is like Ah....Confident collected teenagers who hang out and are cool...upon witnessing the undersiders but they're all very much experiencing their own forms of slowly building lonely misery. rachel having been homeless & victimized by the legal system for years on end, brian trying 2 prop up his Special Professional Masculine Boy Man Who Can Handle Everything lifestyle by regularly putting himself in life-threatening danger, lisa going on a year and a half of forced service and lying to her teammates face that everything is normal every day, and alec having just escaped from a ridiculously abusive cult, still unable to start processing, healing, or forming any close social connections. lisa particularly is so . Augh. here. because she knows all of this, she can't not know it, and she is still so desperate 2 save taylor that she tries to sell her the complete lie of the undersiders lives just being happy fun times where they make easy money and then go out for burgers together. so so shortsighted in a way that reads to me as an immature & desperate reminder that she is Very Fifteen. she is fifteen and having a bad time :(. & the shift in group dynamics post-leviathan isn't just a result of leviathan forcibly stripping away the city's/narrative's ostensible pretenses wrt capedom--the pretenses lisa wants taylor to believe--it's a result of taylor really starting to probe into what's actually going on w/ the undersiders + connect w/ them in a way that will ultimately b life-altering for them. (except for alec, who remains a Silly Background Guy for so much longer because taylor is not paying attention to him, and is juuust as lonely as always right up until he finds aisha to latch onto)

[kimi-co]

interesting aronelli recap and evaluation of the sources of media pressure, +an f2 driver popularity ranking based on ig follows lol

this is honestly the biggest 'problem' with paul imo. he didnt want to demonstrate that loyalty and he was not as docile as kimi but ykw leaving proved ultimately good for him (no more yapping abt them)

+ interview with gwen and toto on what they look for in the junior drivers. basically, they want kids who are fast, but more importantly, humble and loyal, who are willing to listen to them on anything. they want them with good parents who instill these values BUT also, just willing to listen to the team. like families that don't interfere with merc's decisions and preferably with less money/power/knowledge s.t. no decisions get made if merc didn't sponsor them. but merc invests a lot into their juniors and brands themselves as creating lifelong projects: they make sure to help them find success even if they move on to other series. now i'd say paul seems to lack some of the humility and maturity they're after, and he&his brother had way too many ideas—valid ones, but not what merc would have liked.

but i guess kimi is exactly what they’re talking about? his dad’s a touring car driver who later become team manager, but he never envisioned anything beyond f4 for kimi for financial reasons. so his son would mostly likely become a professional outside of single-seater like how george was offered a DTM seat before merc retained him by offering sponsorship and completely altered his career trajectory. for kimi merc decided to step in way earlier (maybe bc of verstappen) and cover all of his expenses when he was still in karting. his dad always told him to be critical of himself before blaming others, and there’s this whole ‘don’t ever complain when you just start working’ doctrine that got his teammate pretty concerned . he’s listened to merc the whole time so he’s been surprised twice in his 3 years of single-seater racing by the series he was told to join: the only like he had on twitter was the f3 calendar and he did a lot of iracing at the f3 tracks before he was asked to do freca instead. and then the jump to f2 this year. merc also picked prema instead of VAR (ollie’s f4 titles winning team + max’s old team) for him, or else him&ollie could’ve been teammates already in 2021

anyway back to the article:

like i totally feel this remember his quali interview at aus he was so nervous blinking and licking his lip like crazy (spun the next day too)

also reminds me of ^

but taking the time to train kimi into a pr robot is probably for his own good and im sure the 'no interviews unless enforced by the series for half a year' is all part of that

english is not my first language but punchy means that when people hear what toto said they sometimes really want to punch him in the nose right

nothing more to say here. i’m a ferrari hater 90% of the time, so i don’t really know what the italian press cooked up or what the whole deal with calling charles il predestinato just to crucify him later was—hence the fear of a repetition. but i do find the comment "there is no worse anti-Italian than a hateful Italian" from that original article about kimi getting announced at monza interesting. and i agree with the observation on the difference in the degree of destructive defeatism vs. unconditional support within the argentine vs. italian reception. like, some will support their drivers even if they’re bad because it’s about representation, while others seem to turn on their own when things don’t go as expected

unfair is the word i think for kimi all the hype and news coverage really don't benefit him when he doesnt need sponsors and he's only judged by his own team. compared to some other drivers who might need exposure, media, and f1 team attention. but press wants headlines and his age makes that easy. and then all the pressure comes.

kimi’s second on the list, but even ollie has to admit that kimi might be facing more pressure than he is

[soleminisanction]

I think it’s so fundamentally telling of what sort of person Stephanie is when her reaction to Greta potentially being killed via 10,000 megawatts of electricity isn’t to be sad or devastated or beat herself up about it/ be disappointed in herself (like I think maybe Tim or Batman would be) it’s purely fear of punishment via Robin being angry at her. She did not care whether greta lived or died. She’s never been overly concerned with whether someone died or not and this has been a consistent characteristic of hers, but that’s usually only in reference to criminal characters who you could justify ‘had it coming’ and whatnot. This was just like. Greta read her diary? And Steph then tried to kill her for it? And did not feel any regret upon trying to do so? Tf??

You're not wrong, anon (aside from comedically exaggerating the voltage of a suburban powerline). I considered calling that out in the post and decided it was a tangent that would've distracted from the actual point, which wasn't so much "Yikes, Steph is an asshole" so much as it was, "And this is why you shouldn't always take characters at their word; with good writers, there's often a lot more going on when you pay attention."

Although looking back over the post now, I really have to wonder if the whole issue wasn't Peter David's way of, in part, criticizing how Chuck Dixon was handling the whole Steph-hunts-Tim's-secret-identity storyline.

Peter David is not shy or subtle about working his opinions into his comics, YJ especially, and he definitely knew where the story was going -- the last page of the issue, the one I didn't include on the post, includes a direct reference to the way the arc would soon end, with an editorial note pointing readers to Robin to find out more.

Throughout the fight Secret specifically calls Steph out on invading Robin's privacy multiple times; it lines up with the way David had, for example, negatively portrayed pair of sports hunters in issue #7, or how he wrote Cissie's "It was the guns you idiot" rant from issue #15. Whereas Steph's responses are mostly comments on the immediate situation and personal barbs that deepen Greta's arc, ie, the bit questioning whether she's even human.

And even though YJ was working with the exact same themes and narrative elements, there's never a comparative incident where a member of the team tries to learn Robin's identity behind his back. Again, despite the fact that Secret could do so easily, and despite all the tension the identity issue ultimately ends up causing on the team. Because even if they don't like that he's keeping secrets, they respect that they're his secrets to keep, and Stephanie doesn't. Or rather, Chuck Dixon doesn't, at least not when it comes to his precious pet character.

Heck, there's also the fact that the "lecture" Tim gives at the end, the one hinting towards the storyline's conclusion, hinges on how Batman and Robin is a relationship built on a bond of implicit trust... and how the relationship doesn't work if that trust is broken... and it's hinting at the end of a storyline in which that implicit trust is broken in a way that arguably took Bruce out of character and turns him into the bad guy while not only excusing Stephanie's behavior but rewarding her for it with her first round of actual Bat-training...

Of course, I have zero way of knowing what Peter David was thinking so this is 100% just my analysis but... I could see it. It's a way to professionally express his displeasure without publicly criticizing a colleague or sabotaging their plans. David's a good writer, I wouldn't put it past him.

[joanofexys]

now that youre done with school, im setting up camp here (your inbox), hope you dont mind.

soooo

i need you to yap about merrrick and jude's relationship

okay okay so,

firstly i'm so sorry i took so long to get to this i had to vist with like a million people and people kept dropping by the house for some reason to give me money

you are also so so welcome to set up camp in my inbox, you can even build a little house here if you want

anywayyyyyy Jude and Merrick

So Jude's a golden child and Merrick becomes a media darling partly because oh my god a fox went pro and they're not a complete disaster and also partly cause he's an attention whore and he ate it up once he went pro

So yeah they meet officially when Merr's 25 and Jude's 26. Jude makes court and they're eyeing Merr but ultimately decide to pass on him. He's a good player and he's good in front of a camera but any of his coaches past or present would tell them they don't think he's a good fit cause of the shit he's carrying and the pressure being court would put on his shoulders.

They had of course met in the past for college exy events but really had no reason to interact and didn't pay much attention to each other at the time

So yeah they meet when team USA is sort of eyeing Merr/scouting his still unnamed pro team and somehow ended up striking up a conversation (Jude saw Merr's tattoos and decided to compliment them and start rambling about/showing off his own). Jude asks for his number for completely professional reasons, obviously, and it largely starts with Jude texting him random shit at the weirdest times and Merrick either not responding or giving odd as shit answers because he doesn't know how to text. So Merr gets passed up on being court and Jude teTchnically has zero reason to keep in touch with him because they're actually not going to be teammates but now he's going a little bonkers. He's watching games, he's watching interviews, he's watching that one thirst trap edit that has a clip of Merr pouring water over himself after a game. He pulls back on the random texting a bit but still tells him good game and checks in regularly and well when they end up in the same area for an event it only makes sense to ask him to get coffee.

At the end of the night they end up in Jude's hotel room just sitting on the bed. Merr asks about Jude's scars, at the end of the day he's a fox, he's used to it but still curious, and Jude answers honestly. Merrick thanks him and offers nothing in return. And it's okay. A Fox and Trojan is an odd combination and for the moment they're content with what they have. Merr's glad to have finally made a friend after the foxes and well he doesn't know what Jude gets out of it but he's glad that it seems to be enough.

They go their separate ways, keep in touch sporadically, and keep a close eye on each other's careers. Team USA takes gold that year and Merr's team does well enough to keep him going and stop him from falling back into bad habits. They both tell each other good job, Jude's hand hovers over the call button, and Merr types a million sentences unsure of what he wants to say.

After that Jude has to sign with another pro team and he signs with Merr's. They're not the best team or the biggest but they're consist players, solid, and slowly working their way up the ranks. Jude has his pick of the litter and no one really knows why he chose that team when all his court teammates went on to one's with much better chances of winning but he seems happy with his choice so they don't push it.

Seeing Merrick on the court this way and how he interacts with his team is completely different from the Merrick he's seen in their brief moments of existing together. Merr's aggressive on the court, he hits hard, and in practices he doesn't tend to care much for the fact that he's often pissing off his own teammates. Off the court, in locker rooms and at team meetings he's not outright rude but he's not making any active effort to make friends and it's obvious his teammates aren't either and they've likely never tried. So Jude pushes. It starts with press duty together and they develop a good banter, a strong back and forth, and if the press adored them separately then they love them together.

It's furthered by Jude joining him for his workouts and for drills. They start running together in the morning. Jude never asks him what's wrong enough with him to have made him a fox. Merrick never brings up his scars again. They talk about movies and music and local places that Merrick has never visited and Jude is excited to see. Jude stops bringing up local bars and the club the team loves to frequent after the third time Merr goes oddly silent in the middle of a conversation.

Then Jude starts complaining about how his dog is across the country staying with his family cause the only apartment he could find at the time doesn't allow pets. Merr mentions his place does. Jude doesn't push. A few weeks later Merrick comes up to him in the locker room after practice and tells him if he wants his dog out here and can find a way out of his lease that Merr has a spare room.

So they become roommates. And they have to set ground rules. Merrick's rule number one is no substances in the house. Merr doesn't even keep over the counter pain killers, he'll call a team nurse if he needs them. Jude tells him he takes prescription medication for his adhd and depression. Merrick asks him to keep them in his room and expects that to be the end of it. This time Jude pushes. He figures he's given and Merr owes him nothing but he might as well ask if he can take a little in return. Merrick doesn't give him everything, doesn't give him much at all, but he admits he's struggled with addiction in the past. That he's been in rehab, he's clean, but he prefers not to take the risk of having anything around. That even if he's not tempted he doesn't like the reminders. Especially since he was living alone.

They fall into a routine and Jude asks for a little bit more over time. They have the same nights off so now they have movie nights. Stevie (Jude's dog) starts to join them on morning runs. She learns she likes Merrick's bed more and Merr learns that too when he's woken up by her nudging his arm one night waiting to be pet. He walks her back to Jude's room every night for a few weeks before he gives up. They switch off cooking and eventually start to cook together. Merrick will ask Jude questions. How has therapy worked for him? What does he do to cope? Has talking about things really helped? Jude answers and asks questions in return. Do you have someone to talk to? Do you need me to listen? Tell me something about you?

They become friends long before they're lovers. They like to exist together before they choose to be together. And something odd about them just works. I can't really articulate it well myself.

I don't know when they cross that line quite yet. I only have bits and pieces of what Jude learns about Merrick and when. But it all comes together, slowly but surely. Merr introduces Jude to Wymack instead of introducing him to his dad. Introduces him to Bee instead of his mom. Jude brings him home to California, they roadtrip so they can take Stevie with them and have a great time. Their team makes it to semifinals and they end up kissing on camera and falling down on the court holding each other, kissing each other over and over again. They hold hands in public and let the paparazzi take photos, they answer all the questions after games, and they make their own posts addressing it all. And it's truly time to wrap this shit up though there's much I could delve into I think and if there's any specific questions I will happily answer them but they end up as two very content dog dads to one very spoiled Stevie

[mitskijamie]

Do you think Ted was a good coach?

Oof. Controversy!

This is a loaded question, because if you look at his end results, you can't deny that he's a "good coach" in the sense that he was able to completely turn the team around and take them to the top of the league. He was definitely doing something right!!

However I feel like I can't really call him a "good coach" with my whole chest because he doesn't know ANYTHING about the sport he's coaching, nor does he really seem to make any effort to learn (like, he doesn't understand the offside rule until 3 years after starting the job. Why?) He's certainly good as part of a coaching team, because he's excellent at building relationships and connecting with his players, but he would be nowhere without Beard, Nate, and Roy, because at the end of the day a team just can't be successful if their coaches don't know anything about the strategy/technique of the game.

Also, Ted's expertise is in coaching kids, not adult professionals, and that really shows in how he handles Richmond sometimes. His whole "winning isn't what's important, it's all about teamwork and having fun and being the best version of yourself :)" is a fantastic mindset for, say, the coach of a little league team, but (as Beard points out) not as wonderful for coaching professionals whose whole job is winning. They're not there to have fun and learn the value of teamwork, they're there to win. I get that the return to football as a fun childhood hobby is a theme on the show, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I feel like Ted doesn't always fully understand the gravity of the sport for people who are truly invested, and he doesn't always do a great job of balancing "having fun and growing as individuals" with like. Doing what these men are paid millions of dollars to do.

As a preschool teacher, I think the way Ted handles conflict is also very reminiscent of how adults handle conflict between young children, which is another thing that would make him a fantastic coach for a kids' team but works against him in a professional setting. In s2, for example, rather than just going to Roy as a superior speaking to an employee and telling him to get over himself and coach Jamie because he's a grownup and that's his job, he tries to get Roy and Jamie to talk it out and come to a resolution like they're two kindergarteners fighting over a toy. He was doing Social Emotional Learning on them, and even though it ultimately benefitted them as individuals, it was not the best or quickest way to deal with a workplace conflict like that between two adults. Can you imagine going to your boss like "hey, the person who's supposed to be training me won't talk to me at all or answer any of my questions and I'm kind of lost" and they were like "lol and what do you expect me to do about that? That's on you, I'm not gonna tell him what to do" insanity

TL;DR I think Ted is fantastic with people and that's a huge asset to him in coaching, but I don't think he knows anywhere near enough about soccer to be a bona fide "good coach" of a professional team. I also think the way he handles his players and their conflicts would be an asset to him if he were a kids' coach or a teacher, but sometimes is frustrating and infantilizing when applied to professionals