#but yeah i just see a lot of similarities and it makes me kind of depressed actually lol. I'm like woof I'm rlly not good aren't i bc

[infimace-blog]

Keep coming back to this and thinking about the asker's perception of the Weatherlight Saga, because it's definitely not free of 'identity first' storytelling.

Tahngarth's entire plotline revolves around his identity as a minotaur, a racial characteristic in Dominaria. He's forced to question whether he's still himself, still a minotaur after Phyrexia captures and disfigures him, and the payoff for that is that a minotaur tribe starts decorating themselves after his new, distorted form when he helps rescue them from Phyrexia later on. So, you know, having identity issues during a apocalypse, like having a gender crisis during a Bolas invasion.

Mirri was discriminated against for having heterochromia, forcing her to leave her birth family. The desire to belong weighs on her so much that one of her big choices is whether to abandon her best friend and secret love for another tribe of catpeople who do respect her. It's less of a factor in her story than her doomed love for Gerrard, but, frankly, her willingness to get herself killed over a nice white boy for whom she was third-place (after Hanna and Rofellos) makes a lot more sense if if you take abandonment and isolation issues into account.

Maybe the asker didn't notice because these identity issues were put on the non-human side characters. But, you know, they were still there. They're some of my favorite parts of the Weatherlight Saga to talk about, besides the competition to become evincar and Urza's bizarre behavior. And while this happened with funny animal people, the structure is analogous to things the anti-woke crowd would hate. Tahngarth's identity issues are reminiscent of those of black people living in largely white societies. And there's a lot of people under the 'DEI' banner who've had to deal with getting kicked out of their home for being born wrong, often queer or disabled or neuroatypical people.

This is how you give characters good storylines, especially with Magic's limited ability to get the story in front of people who just play the cards. You find an aspect of themselves that they care deeply about, something fairly obvious and easy to communicate, and see how the external world impacts that. And we're still seeing that now. Chandra's putting herself through death-defying adventure in Aetherdrift because it might help her lover, and her love for her is a major part of her identity. Tone's certainly different than the lovelorn motivations of Mirri or Gerrard or Ertai over the course of the Weatherlight Saga, but it's the same building blocks.

I think more of that kind of characterization would have been beneficial for Sisay, honestly. I can't speak for Mark or Michael, but I've never really been interested in her because most of her story is about what she does rather than who she is. Gerrard bores me for similar reasons; I find it difficult to get a read on his personality besides 'heroic' and 'white savior'. It strikes me that the two greatest heroes of that era were raised and, in one case, born from Jamuraa, Dominaria's stand-in for Africa, but that never really comes up in the saga. Gerrard's background exists to give him an evil black stepbrother and the most important part of Sisay's is growing up owning the Weatherlight - I generally forget that she even fought in the Mirage Wars.

So yeah, I think anyone on the same page as the guy who asked this is not interested in getting good stories out of Magic. I'm regularly unimpressed by Magic's story output over the past decade, but I can't tolerate anybody who thinks the answer to that is 'make the characters less interesting. Shave their identities down'.

I want to speak out against the whole push towards DEI. I feel that ever since you made the push to make identity the forefront of a character it has hurt the stories you tell. Captain Sisay's race was never the focus of her character and she was a complete badass! And I fear if you did it over again Gerrard would be trans, black and disabled just because. It also cheapens the stories of world devastation when characters worry more about their gender than Bolas destroying everything.

The reason I started this blog is so we can have frank conversations about things, so please let’s talk about this.

Imagine if every time you turned on the TV or watched a movie, no one looked like you. For some of us, that’s never happened. We see ourselves constantly, so it’s hard to truly understand what not seeing yourself represented in media is like.

I do have a personal window to this experience. While I am white and male, there’s an area where I am the minority - my religion. Jews are just under two and a half percent of the US population. I have had many experiences where I’ve been in situations where everything is geared towards a group I do not belong to, and zero consideration is given that not everyone at that event is part of the majority.

You just feel invisible and like an outsider. It’s not a great feeling. And I just experience it a tiny portion of time, only things that are geared specifically towards something religious. Most minorities have this feeling all the time, whenever they’re outside their personal community.

Now imagine, after years of not seeing yourself ever, you finally see someone that looks like you, but nothing about the character rings remotely true. They don’t sound like you, they don’t act like you, the facts about their day-to-day life are just wrong. It’s clear whoever wrote the character didn’t truly understand the lived experience of the character, so the character feels fake.

You bring up Sisay. Michael Ryan and I didn’t technically create Sisay (she played a small role in the Mirage story), but we did do a lot to flesh out her character as the creators of the Weatherlight Saga. We turned her from a minor character into a major one.

And while I’m proud, in general, of our work on the Weatherlight Saga, I don’t think we did justice to Sisay as a character. Neither Michael nor I have any knowledge of what it’s like to be a black woman. Nor did we ever talk to someone who did.

And if you’re someone like us that has no knowledge of that experience, you probably didn’t notice. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.

Imagine if we made a movie about your life, and we just made everything up. We invented people you never knew, we gave you a job you never had, and we had you say things you’d never say. The movie might even be a good movie, but your response would be, but that’s not my life - that’s not me.

Now imagine we put the movie out, and people that never met you assumed that was what you were like. When people met you for the first time, they assumed things, because, you know, they’d seen the movie.

That’s what misrepresenting people does. It not only makes them feel not seen, it falsely represents them, spreading lies, often stereotypes, making people believe things about them that aren’t true.

Our move towards diversity is just us trying to better reflect the world and the people in it. We’re trying to do to everyone else what a certain portion of people get every day without ever having to think about it.

But why are we “making it the forefront of their character”? We’re not. We’re making it a part of their character. But in a world where you’re not used to ever seeing it, it feels louder than it is. Things that are a natural part of the world that you’re used to feel like the background of the story because you understand the context to it.

If a man kisses his wife before going off to a battle, that’s not a big deal. It’s just a thing a husband might do to his wife when he leaves. It’s not the forefront of his character. It’s just part of his life. But you’ve seen it hundreds of times, so it feels normal.

When someone does something that isn’t your lived experience it pulls focus. It seems like a big deal, but only because it’s new to you. It’s just as mundane a thing to that character as the man kissing his wife is to him.

Even the turn “pushing” implies that it’s unnaturally here, that we’re forcing something that naturally shouldn’t be. But why? That thing exists naturally in the real world, and it doesn’t make the real world any less. Maybe you’re less aware of it, but is making you aware of how others live their life “pushing” something on you?

How you live your life is represented constantly, everywhere. Why isn’t over-representing your experience at the expense of everyone else’s “pushing” it? Why is media only being the experience of those in power the “proper way”?

Having more depth and variety doesn’t lessen stories. It makes them deeper, more rich, more nuanced. In short, it makes them better stories. In my former life, I was a professional writer. I took a lot of writing classes. One of the truism of writing is “speaking truth leads to better stories”.

There’s another famous quote: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” You’re used to being over-represented, so being a little less over-represented feels like something has been taken from you. But really it hasn’t. Having a better sense of the rest of the world comes with a lot of benefits.

I’ll use food as an example. Let’s say all you were ever exposed to was the food of your heritage. Yeah, that food is really good, but sometimes isn’t it nice to eat foods of other nationalities? Isn’t your life better that you have a choice? Isn’t your exposure and access to the food of other nationalities a positive in your life?

Exposure to variety is a positive. It allows you to learn about things you didn’t know, experience things things you’ve never experienced, and get a better sense of understanding of your friends and neighbors.

Our actions are not to harm anyone, and if you think that’s what we’re doing, please take a minute to actually absorb what I’m saying. You’ve spent your whole life metaphorically eating one type of food, and we’re just trying to show you how much you’ve missed out on.

And while this might not impact you directly, we’re making a whole bunch of people felt seen. We’re bringing joy. Think of it this way. We make a lot of cards. Not every card is for you. But if it makes someone else happy, if they get to include it in a deck, and it makes Magic better for them, how is it harming you that we include it? You have so many cards that you can play.

To this poster or people that share their viewpoint, the narrative that a gain for someone else is an attack on you is just not true. As I just pointed out above, you play a game all about personal choice, about players getting to choose how they play and enjoy the game. Why should life be any different than Magic?

Thanks for reading.

[drewswife]

summary: Rafe Cameron takes y/n golfing for the first time

warnings: fluff, s3 Rafe, y/n is lowkey ditzy in this

"Okay, okay, I think I've got this," you say, adjusting the tiny pink visor Rafe insisted you wear. You grip the golf club like it's a foreign object, which, honestly, it kind of is.

Rafe stands behind you, his hands gently covering yours. "Relax, sweetheart. It's just a swing. Don't think too much."

"Easy for you to say," you mutter, eyeing the golf ball with suspicion. "You've been doing this since you were in diapers."

"Alright, alright," he chuckles, stepping away slightly. "Just remember what I told you. Feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees a little, and keep your eye on the ball."

You try to mimic his stance, but end up wobbling precariously. "Are you sure this is how humans are supposed to stand?"

Rafe laughs, his arm snaking around your waist to steady you. "You're adorable," he whispers, his breath tickling your ear. "Now, focus."

Taking a deep breath, you try to remember his instructions. You swing the club back, but lose your balance and end up flailing wildly. Instead of a satisfying thwack, there's a pathetic thud as the club connects with the ground.

"Oops," you say sheepishly, offering Rafe an apologetic smile.

He bursts out laughing, but there's fondness in his eyes. "Don't worry, you'll get it eventually."

"I don't know," you sigh, feeling a bit discouraged. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for golfing."

"Nonsense," Rafe says, taking the club from you. "Here, let me show you something."

He demonstrates a perfect swing, the club connecting with the ball in a resounding crack. The ball soars through the air, landing impressively close to the hole.

"Wow," you breathe, genuinely impressed. "That was amazing."

"See?" Rafe says, grinning at you. "It's not that hard."

"Yeah, but you're a pro," you point out. "I'm just a beginner."

"Then let me teach you," he says, stepping closer. He places his hands on your waist, gently guiding you into the correct position. His touch sends shivers down your spine. "Just relax and feel the swing."

With his help, you manage to make contact with the ball, sending it flying a few yards down the fairway. It's not the most impressive shot, but it's a start.

"See? You're a natural," Rafe says, beaming at you.

"Maybe with a lot more practice," you admit, grinning back.

The rest of the afternoon is spent in a similar fashion. You shank a few shots, whiff completely a couple of times, but with Rafe's patient guidance, you start to improve. More importantly, you're having fun.

As the sun begins to set, you and Rafe walk hand-in-hand back to the clubhouse.

"Thanks for taking me golfing," you say, leaning your head on his shoulder. "I had a really great time."

"Anytime, baby," he says, kissing the top of your head. "Maybe we can make this a regular thing."

"I'd like that," you reply, smiling to yourself. Maybe golf wasn't so bad after all

a/n: for @chrissweetheart' and if there are spelling mistakes lmk!

taglist: @chrislilcumslvt @chrepsi

dividers by @bernardsbendystraws

[qoldenskies]

been into those raph&leo against donnie&mikey pre-movie fics lately. and like. thoughts on don being the more outspoken at how destructive and idiotic the other two are, while mike is more sensitive and overwhelmed by everything? not that im hating on these characterizations! i enjoy the angst they bring, but overanalyzing is fun.

sure, mikey is the youngest and it makes sense to an extent. however, dr delicate touch and dr feelings are very loud and blunt. and yeah the situation is more extreme, but i think about donnie taking a similar position to what he did in hot soup: the game, staying out of the raph&mikey debate until directly addressed.

personally, i see mikey taking the lead on trying to get through to raph+mikey with donnie there to mediate and give his input when needed. and behind closed doors they definitely take turns comforting each other for sure. they’re both shown to be distraught over familial situations (turtle-dega nights and hidden city’s most wanted), so it makes sense to me for them to take shelter in each other as opposed to one of them being a total shield for the other.

oh, i dont like it. i actually find it unfaithful and flanderizing when it comes to their characters, especially since mikey is a lot more outspoken and direct while donnie is passive-- and this manifests in their behavior as a duo, too.

if not directly emotionally affected by it, i could see it slowly shifting donnie's behavior. he starts to close himself off more, works harder, becomes quieter and more standoffish, not really understanding why he feels so bad because the tension is slowly getting to him. being neurodivergent also makes arguing uhhh hard to witness especially if it were to get intense, loud noise and all that. not to mention raph and leo do almost get into a fistfight at the beginning of the movie so there is a VERY good chance that's happened before, especially with how quick donnie and mikey are to try and pull them apart.

i think comfort would be mutual though, yeah. mikey being distresed and fearful doesn't feel like it aligns with the way he normally acts in conflict? like disinterested and annoyed and then determined and frustrated feels like it aligns with him better. he's not a helpless crying child but i could see him getting more and more upset the longer it goes on, especially because he loves both of his bigger brothers and he feels like they're acting so stupid lmao.

mikey's also not really a savant when it comes to mediating because that's ALWAYS been more raph's job, maybe leo sometimes. he's more likely to go "guys stop fighting!" instead of actually breaking it up and that does very little, it'd probably just come off like moral high-grounding. even in the doctor feelings seminar he did with donnie in the show he was not exactly taking a very empathetic approach he was just being condescending LMAO

generally with donnie i feel like it would manifest in more avoidant behavior (and maybe this is a bit of a hot take but i feel like he would be more likely to have an "is it me?" reaction to something like this, especially because so much of this is about team synergy and he plays such an essential role in support), while mikey would be desperate to "fix" it (more than he is to actually resolve it) once he realizes it's becoming a persistent problem, but because he's unable to properly get to the root of it, it'd just make him increasingly more frustrated. and ofc i do think this would also seriously strengthen donnie and mikey's bonds with each other because i could see both of them having a breaking point about it eventually.

i DO actually have a fic in the works about this exact scenario, it's a sequel to coming undone that mostly addresses the kind of pain and frustration of donnie being unable to properly harness his ninpo as seamlessly as the others can, having some gifted kid issues because it's really hard to try new things when he's been so effortless with science for so long, all while there's so much tension in the family because of the leadership switch,,, it's about donnie and mikey bonding and confiding in each other mostly but ive put it on the backseat for canary continuity, maybe one day i'll pick it up again!!

[trashisstillhere]

Woooo! After a few days on working, I finally got these two finish for the NN AU!

No, they’re not new characters! These two are actually one of the original canon characters you all already know of! The two main boys and mcs themselves!

Randy and Howard!!! ✨✨✨✨✨👏👏👏👏

Aw yeaa!!! Surprise!!!

I have finally got to their looks in 12th grade in the NN AU! It wasn’t easy but it’s done now!! Let’s gooo!

And yes, Randy has other outfits. They were first concepts for what his outfit should be but I kinda liked all them a lot so I Just made them two different outfits- he also has a little ponytail!! Cuz why not? It fits him! Plus it matches with First Ninja in a way :3 like father like son

But yeah!! Let’s get to a bit of their info, shall we? It isn’t that much and crazy….or anything!…. Teehee~

—————

The two main bros themselves! Now in 12th grade at Norrisville high and NN’s first friends ever since they first started going to their school! With Randy being the kids current ninja mentor! (Besides the Nomicon-)

How the hell did these two even get to 12th grade after everything they have done back in 9th grade? Beats me, lol-

——

Howard info: Howard Weinerman himself, in 12th grade, so far is still the same old laidback and cool short chubby guy we all know him as. Even after growing up a bit, he still hasn’t changed a bit…..well…okay, maybe he HAS changed at least a LITTLE..

Especially his hair…

While he hasn’t been possessed by the Tengu for so long now, it still is somehow linked with him in a way, giving his hair a slight new look…even his eye color seemed to have changed a little bit too! This makes things a bit…worrying….but hey, he’s okay! It’s not like he’s feeling any pain from it or anything! He’ll be fine! He can handle it!..

Besides, he hasn’t had to deal with that damn demon bird in a few years!..

Until one day, the Kitsune was freed by a certain Jock (by accident) during a field trip…

Alerting the said demon bird…

Oh yeah, Tengu Howard makes his return!.. all thanks to the Kitsunes own return!

However, this isn’t the only bird kind of form he’ll be having…

One day, both Howard and Randy ended up in an argument. Just a typical bff argument, ya know?.. however, this one didn’t end as nicely as the last ones they had… instead, it ended up with a familiar pink stank following up to Howard…

Leading him to becoming Stanked for the first time ever in his life….by none other than the sorceress herself.

Stanked form!! Yeah that’s right, he getting Stanked in this AU!

A rooster. A wild one, that is. With extra sharp teeth and a slight interesting color palette… wait… now that I think about it, it is a little similar to the Tengu!

Damn, even when stanked, Howard STILL can’t get away from his Tengu possessed form.

Anyway, this guys mad MAD. Like a normal rooster, he will immediately go attack if he sees anyone as threatening in any way, which in this stanked monster state, he ALWAYS will.

Of course, it is up to NN and Randy (who not only feels bad for this since his argument with him is the reason why this happened in the first place but also cuz of his fear of chickens and roosters-) to go stop and destank him!

———-

Randy info: ah yes, the one and only, Randy Cunningham! You all know him! He was the ninja of norrisville! All through 9th grade up until he got to 12th! The role is now NN’s but even so, since the kid has a whole new different mask and not exactly the one he has, he still gets to be a ninja himself! Just not the main one anymore… but hey! He’s the new ninjas mentor now! And friend! :)

Actually, he wasn’t supposed to be their mentor to begin with. Once NN got the role, he was supposed to have his mind wiped in the ultimate lesson just like every other ninja (expect Mac Antfee…but now he has!) and let his ninja journey finally end…. That is exactly what The Nomicon told him was gonna happen once NN would start their own ninja journey.

But after seeing how much the new ninja was struggling with both their new ‘job’ and personal problems and struggles of their own, he absolutely REFUSED to have his mind wiped and started protesting against the Nomicon, telling it that he wanted to go help NN as he could tell they wouldn’t be able to handle it all by themselves even with the books help. NN needed another person to help them, someone who was a ninja with lots of experience. He thought he would be best for the job. After some more arguing, the Nomicon finally agreed to let the boy be their mentor for now on. BUT! Once NN finally is fully independent on themselves and brave enough to continue on their own, he HAS to go mind wipe himself. for good. With a slight hesitation yet relief, the boy nodded and agreed.

As NN’s mentor, Randy is, or at least always tries to be, sweet and patient to them as he helps them with their new ninja duty. At first it was just him trying to be a teacher to his ‘student’ and nothing more but as he went on with it, he ended up being more attached to the kid then he thought he would. It went so far that he started calling them tons of little nicknames here and there, ‘kid’ being the most common. He also got very overprotective over them, it mostly happens whenever either the Nomicon makes NN do something that could be too dangerous or any of his former enemies tries badly hurting them in any way. (Ya already know the rest, I mean, I had written a bit about this before lol)

As for when being just himself? Like Howard, he hasn’t changed one bit! He’s still his usual lovable dork self! And so far with this ninja mentor role of his, he’s doing pretty good! Yeah….good… he’s alright, he can handle it! He has many times before!…

Oh yeah, yup….he’s…alright…

Oh who am I kidding, he isn’t doing alright!

The truth is, Randy doesn’t like all the new changes he has seen ever since this all has happened. Nothing against NN and them, it’s just…too much!

At first, he was just slightly afraid of the change that he noticed was going on but now, he HATES it. He isn’t a fan of any of the changes at all! Not only that, but he has problems of his own that he hasn’t thought so much about until now.. such as his parents literally being divorced, for a good reason too: his now distant father.

But instead of telling anyone about this, he just kept it all to himself. Every single problem, every part of it, all kept inside of him. It’s unhealthy but the last thing he wanted was to involve anyone in his problems, no matter what. Even if it was his best friend, the kid, his own mother or any teacher at school, not even the psychologist teacher who is usually good with this sort of thing….. he doesn’t HAVE to tell anyone, he will be fine dealing with it on his own…

He was able to keep it all to himself just fine until one day, he finally lost it.

It happened at spirit week, yes. Spirit week. Randy started arguing at NN about how he didn’t like any of the changes that were happening, he was so stuck on it that not him or the kid noticed what was about to happen next….

Before they knew it, he was suddenly covered in both sap and feathers. Right in front of everybody.

It was caused by the new bully ‘Maria’ with her own friends who planned on doing a prank that was supposed to happen to NN but instead it got to him since he was in the way, she found it funny anyway and started laughing at him. Expect for her friends….and everyone else who was around to see it.

Howard got mad at her and so did Martin, they both yelled at the bully who only yelled back while NN was trying to check up on Randy who just stood silent through it all…

The bully said such hurtful words that was meant towards Randy this time….

And that. Was the last straw.

Soon, Randy was no longer just an ordinary guy…or even a ninja..

But a new first time ever stanked victim of the sorceress!

Stanked form! Oh Yea! The main boy is getting Stanked too!! (Man was he hard to draw like holy shit-)

A Komodo dragon. A big one. No, a HUGE one. Literally fucking like Godzilla.

Unlike the other stanked victims so far, this one is the most biggest threat EVER. Not just because of his humongous size but he is pretty much even harder to destank! This guy has lotta problems after all!

But even so, NN isn’t going to give up! They, along with Howard and Martin too, will try their best to go after him and help him then get to finally destank once and for all!…if only it was so easy.

Out of all the stanked monsters, this is the biggest challenge NN has ever had to face..

(The whole idea of this ‘afraid of change and such’ part of Randy’s own part of the story along with the whole stank form ideas and what lead to them with both him and Howard, and the bit of the field trip part where the Kitsune was ‘freed’, was all thought out by @artistic-harlom-world once again!!)

———-

Woooo! All done! Now I would have done some size comparisons and all but due to tumblrs rule about only having like 10 images per post on the ‘mobile version’ or whatever (no I don’t use mobile to be here, only iPad), I’ll just have to show yall a pic of the boys with NN and Martin all together instead! (Tried doing their right sizes and everything! Yes, Martin is slowly taller than Randy. Well he’s supposed to be, he’s kinda a pretty tall jock)

The main gangs all here!

Me after finally doing and finishing the boys who are the other two main mcs along side NN and Martin in the AU after so many days and months of not doing so until now:

Did I really had to make this meme just for this? Yes.

Was it worth it? Also yes.

Welp that’s it, hope y’all like how they look! I did my best as always!

[midnightshindig]

pssst thinking about rex splode x reader with powers similar to poison ivy... imagine them being the sweetest person alive and making him sweet flowery gifts 🙏 or gifting him any other plants since rex is into home decorating and "oh but this orchid would fit so well!"

Rex Splode x Poison Ivy! Reader

Gn reader!

(Also omg sorry if this is a little ooc, we hardly see Rex being soft and like… romantic… so I’m doing my best lol)

You’d been his most frequent visitor at the hospital, right up there next to Mark and Eve, often spending the day watching the two come and go about their business as you sat and chatted with them

Youve taken to leaving potted plants in his hospital room, making him whatever flowers or plant you think would liven up the dull, sterile space.

One time you take it a bit too far and Cecil chews you out for the full blackberry bush in a hospital

“but he waned blackberries, Cecil! The man doesn’t have a hand, can’t he at least have some blackberries?” gotta hit him with the puppy dog eyes

it works.

when Eve started bringing in home decor magazines, you were surprised by how quickly Rex took to them

like one minute he was all “these potted ferns are gay” and the next he’s describing his dream kitchen in AGONIZING detail

so it’s not surprise that when he gets out and gets home to Guardian hq, he’s all over fixing the vibes of that bitch

Your in the kitchen making some coffee and he comes up behind you, arms around your waist from behind and head on your shoulder like:

”Yknow I think some hanging ivy would look great as a trim in this room, don’t you think?”

Hes almost a little relentless

You’re out in public and he’s dragged you to a home goods and he’s looking at fake plants, googling what they are and asking you very politely(?) to make replicas

The immortal actually gets onto him a little about this

”Rex, we are superheroes among superheroes-Defenders of justice and the innocent, protectors of-“

He’ll be damned if he’s risking his life every day and the dining room table doesn’t have a vase of flowers god damnit

and there is no amount of menace that’s gonna change his mind

”Look me in the eyes and tell me my beautiful wife-“

oh yeah he thinks it’s hilarious to call you his wife as a bit, regardless of your gender

“- doesn’t make the whole place brighter with their plants! This is the first time this place has been decorated with anything other than blood, so can it!”

Everyone in Guardian HQ just like :0

he doesn’t care he loves you and your plants

He takes you on garden dates, like the fancy ones with butterflies and arches and shit

He takes you to home goods. A lot.

ik I mentioned it earlier but it really is a lot

Like you have to tell him to please stop picking home goods for his turn to plan a date

Rex please I can’t do this anymore omg

you go to ikea instead

this is kind of out there but he gets really into scrapbooking, too

like scrapbooking potential interior designs

by cutting up old magazines

He loves to show you his latest I’ll-perspective Frankenstein-esque room

at least he has a hobby that isn’t misogyny or murder or beer

You can’t really find it in you to be anything other than endeared

Being with Rex is a lot like being with your high schools star quarterback, in that he’s abrasive and cocky to a fault

but he never uses this against you, instead you become another thing for him to brag about

”Rexxxxx, whatre you doing?”

he’s taking selfies with you on your date and IMMEDIATELY posting it to his finsta

“Whaaat! I just want everyone to see how hot my partner is, we gotta bless their lives with our hotness, our combined hotness, Y/n, think of the combined hotness!”

you laugh and tuck a freshly-formed daisy behind his ear

Oh that’s another thing: he loves when you braid flowers into his hair

this goes with the hair braiding thing from last time, this man is having a Tangled moment and nobody is going to stop him

All the women on the team think you’re a good influence on Rex, as well as Mark and Eve

The Two of you had only started dating during season two, and everyone was lowkey thrilled it made Rex be slightly less of an asshole

I mean come on, how could he ever be mean in front of you? With your big eyes and soft smile

he just didn’t have the strength

UNLESS he was fighting

there have been a few times where you’ve been pinned in a fight, and Rex’s life flashes before his eyes

full on s2 lobotomy bullshit like villains WISH this man would die

but he can’t die because his like… one true love or wtv is in danger five feet away

he just can’t resist being your knight in shining armor

Unrelated but since meeting you he likes formal wear more

Because you make him custom, special uh. Fuck. Whatever the guy corsages are called. Those.

you make him those.

He never got to go to high school or prom or any real fancy event

so when the GPA has a charity ball he EATS UP the opportunity to have you make him a fancy flower thing

Your outfit is gorgeous and he tells you this, spinning you around and stuff

he may not have super strength but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t throw you around

mr “I don’t work out to save the world, I work out to princess carry my partner”

and he does

Bro Probably Princess carries you to the ball, and in day to day life as well

people are like “Rex wtf” and he threatens to fight them right then and there

luckily almost everyone else thinks you two are cute

and how can Cecil disapprove of someone making Rex so happy and focused on being a better hero

BONUS

his favorite flower is the Firework Gomphrena

due to its resemblance to a pink firework

You surprised him with these one day after a firework display for you and he lost it/pos

God he’s down bad for you

[asfdhgsdkjhgb]

god is swuarshing me beneath his thumb like i am an aphid or perhaps a clover mite. yeah. its slow and painful and im small. and also meek

[sskk-manifesto]

(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

[fragmentedblade]

I think I've become an official HI3 player. I check the HSR leaks hoping for iterations of HI3 characters now

[neige-leblanche]

idk i do need to think more abt how ppls personal experiences interact w their Fandom Behaviors esp now that im less caught up in a specific fandom that was rlly bad about that lol

[phagodyke]

dating an art student was so crazy I'm just thinking abt that one birthday I had where my ex got me stickers from the etsy of the person they were cheating on me with....

[waywardsalt]

was going through my blog trying to track down an old post i made talking abt my feelings on jolene and it was. much longer than i remembered it being. and haha yeah i still agree with it. i need to fucking. sort out my feelings on that character and that subplot

[lesbiansanemi]

*through gritted teeth* ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you people can—

[qoldenskies]

Thinking about Rise Splinter hate… it always makes me kinda sad. Like YEAH, it wasn’t right the way he treated the boys. But like, Rise is really good at expressing subtle familial dynamics, and one of the big ones for me is the fact that like… there’s always an undercurrent of “It’s complicated” to their interaction with Splinter. IRL, it always pisses me off to see people casting judgments on people’s relationships with their family, because you don’t know!! Yeah, they hurt you, but not everything’s black and white. It’s complicated. Because you love them, and sometimes you get to understand a little bit better why things happened as you get older.

In a matter of smaller importance, hate for him loses so many opportunities in his character… even things that might just be kinda off-handedly mentioned.

He fought for SEVEN years—give me Splinter with chronic pain. Splinter relating to his boys with their neurodivergence—it’s HIS fault they have it!!!

That was seven years of imprisonment, or even simpler, an abusive relationship. What did he learn from that? How did he change? What things are skewed in his worldview?

His childhood! We saw his relationship with his grandfather a bit, but how did Splinter grow into his dream of being a movies star? HIM BEING A MOVIE STAR. He was both a rebellious team and a literal celebrity, this guy probably took empyrean at some point without knowing it, just like. Recreationally or something LMAO.

I maybe just need more of his old man knowledge. Him being so loser-core was a great move by the Rise team, and I could SEE where his story was going—ROBBED. We were ROBBED.

splinter hate is CRAAAAZY when he's such an INTERESTING character who does actually have a lot of obvious depth. like he's goofy and he's objectively flawed as a parent but he does go out of his way to improve himself and LEARN throughout the show, and he does listen and apologize when he knows he's messed up. his issues are so similar to leo's actually, leo's a kid so he's got more leeway to be shitty but idk when people act like its endearing on him and not on splinter. splinter's hilarious free my man

on the other side of the coin i dont really like when people make him a perfect loving parent either,,, i think people going for all kinds of interpretations in order to serve whatever story they need is fine but i do prefer kind of messy parent splinter, i think its kind of sad to see him reduced down to bad or good. he LOVES his boys so dearly and he would NEVER intentionally want to hurt them, but he's quick to cast judgement when he's angered/feels disrespected (evil league of mutants comes to mind, but also in turtle dega nights when donnie first stops the tank) and he's really a lot more inattentive than he should be. but there are REASONS behind this, coming out of an abusive relationship, fighting in bloodsports against his consent for years, you could probably count the whole draxum thing as traumatic (its presented as kind of silly in the show, but considering what it lead to,, its a pivotal moment in the backstory. its one of those things that i reasonably feel can be recontextualized because its so essential) and then dealing with crippling body dysmorphia and being forced into the sewers with no company other than his children,, it really adds up

idk like ,,,, you can still be extremely traumatized and be a horrible parent. in fact trauma can be a direct CAUSE of being a bad parent because that kind of thing influences every facet of your life and if youre unprepared emotionally, yeah. but splinter isn't the kind of person to double down and become more overtly nasty when he feels cornered. if he gets the feeling that his kids are actually upset with him, he backtracks. this is actually kind of a key trait of his, that he does try very hard to correct himself when he messes up. he's communicative and apologetic, and he tries very hard to be that way.

and also this is maybe something that i just have a wider problem with when it comes to the way people interpret things in cartoons at times but splinter's actions in eps like lair games (especially in lair games) and flushed but never forgotten are meant to be like. jokes. its absurdist comedy that's meant to catch you off guard. there are more serious emotional beats in rise you can use but i think when youre adapting this world and characters into a more serious tone you have to keep that kind of thing in mind because some things are meant to be surprising and absurd for the sake of making you laugh. i think the best comparison i can think of is how in musical movies they're not actually singing (in most cases, sometimes the fact that they actually are is played for laughs it depends. but yk what i mean). the joke is that this is kind of a shitty thing he's doing but taking the actions themselves seriously in a vacuum in order to cast shame on a character has always been odd to me. that'd be like calling raph abusive for rolling up the window on mikey's neck in late fee. or calling the teetz murderers because they caused a robot mass suicide that one time. it just doesnt make any sense

[raeofgayshine]

I wish I could go back and tell younger me that I would in fact find that place one day full of people that I adore deeply and who I know love me in return. Who make me feel wanted and cared for and appreciated in a way I never thought would be possible. And none of it required hiding, or forcing myself to be a person I’m not. And I still have that space even though I’m aroace.

For the first time ever, I see a future where I’m not alone. And I wish I could go back and tell my younger self it would happen. It’s possible to not be constantly lonely.

[arolesbianism]

Guys why is rain world so good (<- rewatched some scenes and teared up on all of them)

[hyperfixation-or-death]

A series of headcanons:

Victor Deslandes was a Gifted Child™ in elementary school, and hit burnout in middle school.

Sam Deslandes was a Gifted Child™ in middle school, and hit burnout in high school.

Bilal Belkebirs was canonically highly academically and professionally successful before time traveling back to save his friends. However, in the post-canon timeline, he experiences burnout in university due to feeling somewhat directionless.

Romane Berthauds, in the timeline she and Victor traveled back from, had no friends and decided to focus most of her time and effort into academic success. The Romane from Bilal's timeline also put a lot of effort into schoolwork, but after her mom died, her studying habits became really unhealthy and excessive as she tried to cope with the loss. Post-canon Romane does not experience academic burnout (she has sooo many other problems, though). However, the Romane from Bilal's timeline (who the show unfortunately doesn't acknowledge again) will have a midlife crisis at some point.