#i forgot he like has an implied canonical age when i first saw this and thought they just kinda like. headcanoned him as 70 or some shit | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

roboreviewer · 6 months ago

Text

"You call being chased by a lunatic snowman scary? You twit."

Name: The Computer

(Mental) Age: Adult (implied)

Pronouns: He/Him It/It's

Appearance(s): Courage The Cowardly Dog, The Fog of Courage, Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog

Fandom Activity: dead at the moment. More on this later

Fanon accuracy: Man.. it's too complicated to say here

------In Canon------

Computer (yes that's its name) is the computer owned by the Bagge's located I'm their attic. Courage uses him to search for how to defeat the monster of the day, research specific items, with occasional off screen NORMAL computer activities

Computer appears in every season if the show: 9 times in season 1 (one being a cameo), 5 times in season two, 3 times in season 3, and four times in season four. He makes two quick appearances in The Fog Of Courage and Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog movies.

The Computer will usually say a snippy one liner before and or after actually giving the information Courage wants.

Courage (searching for a cure): "What should I do?"

Computer: "if I were you, I'd get a big mallet and-" (smash them presumably)

Courage: "No no NO! A cure! A cure!"

Computer: "Oh....... That's easy, get a little hair from the mole that bit you."

(Courage gets ready to leave)

Computer: "just don't get bitten!~" (teasing tone meant to shake courage up)

The Computer has a masculine British voice DRIPPING with sarcasm, having a new voice actor in every new appearance: Simon Prebble, Paul Schoeffler, and Jeff Bergman respectfully

------Analysis------

- The computer is most likely based off of a Amiga 3000

You can see the resemblance yes? Cube monitor that sits on top the rectangle (I forgot the name sue me) with the clunky keyboard (ho mama) honestly perfect for a cartoon. Although he is still simplified, without a mouse and numpad (fair enough)

- In season 2 episode 14 he gains an off switch meant only as a gag. The Computer makes fun of Courage for.. being a cowardly dog and Courage flips the switch turning it off. It then disappears for the rest of the season until season 3, where it now has the words "OFF" under it.

- In season 3 episode seven, Muriel presses a random key on the Computers keyboard. Which then plays [SENSUAL TRUMPET NOISE] and presumably shows something in his screen, it isn't shown to the audience and Courage covers it up embarrassed. The Computer then says "Hey, push that button again!" in a..flirtatious??? Tone, To which Courage responds by ripping out the key and tossing it.. did Courage have a P@%# Hot key?? Was it giving The Computer physical satisfaction?? Gross.

- Anyway in this episode The computer has three keys near both sides of the space bar (unlike the images shown above before this episode, which has two keys on each side)

Courage rips out the one in the bottom right of the keyboard. Here's an image of the Amiga 3000 keyboard

As you can see it doesn't HAVE a third key at the bottom. The quality is s$!÷ but the closest one is the right ALT key. Meaning the 'button' is either the ALT key in earlier episodes or (going off of other keyboards) the right CTRL key in this episode

- the Computer regularly says suggestive S#!÷ in a suggestive tone. In Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog: he outright flirts with Velmas iPad and asks if later she would want to do some "Downloading and updating"

Yeah I don't even know man

- The computer is a lot nicer in the Scooby-Doo movie. When I say a lot nicer I mean he only insults someone like once

-----This part------

Okay so when I first looked up the computer, I just did a quick search on Tumblr and saw only a few posts. So like a sane person I just assumed he wasn't very popular and moved on.

BUT NO! F#@%!×$ NO!!

For S#!+$ and giggles I did one lazy search and found All things End: A Computer x Courage slow burn

If you use your eyes you can see 3 things: one, this has 144 chapters, 2 this has 415,955 words, so those aren't SHORT chapters, and three-

THIS IS PART F@#$%!÷ ONE!!!

This series has 3 parts, the final STILL BEING WRITTEN. it started in 2010-07-31. As of writing this that's 13.86 YEARS! This series would be getting ready for high-school!

The plot is about courage falling Ill with a rare fatal disease that will soon kill him. So he and the computer go on a quest to get the cure. The Computer gets a dog body, and the creator has drawn posters for each volume (although only volume one's showed up for me)

The first volume has 415,955 words

The second volume has 474,148 words

The final volume as of writing has 110,744 words

The total word count of the series 1,000,847 words. Giving it 217,770 more words than the kings James version of the Bible which- may I repeat the final is STILL GOING. I hope to one day finish reading this masterpiece. Godspeed Couragefan09 o7

------My Opinion------

10/10 this all started with a video on my YouTube recommended, which I use for most of the pictures. I came out of this having a new fanfic to read for the summer.. and probably fall too. With that being said his character actually made me laugh out loud and I'm SO F#@%!$# PISSED NO ONE TALKS ABOUT HIM! WATCH IT, WATCH IT NOW

#ctcd computer #courage the cowardly dog #ctcd #computer #robo review #godspeed Couragefan09

35 notes · View notes

robintherobiner · 10 months ago

Text

Types of fics i need more of:

de-age fics. Baby Bruce? Teen Bruce? Baby Dick? Teen Dick? Baby Jason? Teen Jason. The list goes on and on. deage them all. is it sad? is it funny? is it cute? is it traumatic? i dont care, make them all little.

ghost fics. i want Jason to haunt the shit out of his family. he sees them all grieving, comes back to life, and instead of killing people he just leaves ominous notes like "i saw you trip on your cape." or "leave fifty bucks at *address* or i'll tell everyone about your superman body pillow."

Tim being an utter loser. I love him, but he should be incredibly put together in public and then he gets home and just... is a mess. never felt the touch of anyone, woman or man. can do complex mathematical equations but needs a calculator to solve 4 x 3. think Sherlock Holmes, who can tell everything about you from one look but doesnt know the earth revolves around the sun.

Alfred being called out for being an enabler! fuck that old man, i hate him. however if he made me a cup of tea, i would die for him. Im a very complex person.

Dick being Damians dad. so cute, i love it. Damian deserves to have his own taste of found family. fuck blood of the womb, lets go with blood of the covenent or whatever the quote says.

Jason being childish!!! i think his mental age should younger than his physical one cuz, trauma, being dead, being catatonic in some cases, also just being pretty young anywas? gimme a fic where he comes home covered in blood cuz he just killed four guys and then goes to have a shower so he can play with his rubber duckies.

kiddie crushes!!! gimme more Jason loving Wonder Woman and being an utter fanboy when he encounters her. "Oh em gee you're here to apprehend me? Wonder Woman, this is such an honor, can i have your autograph-" Young Dick meeting Superman for the first time and hiding under Bruce's cap because "He's so pretty Bruce, he's gonna hear my heart go fast!" Tim meeting Constantine and, to everyones despair, somehow adoring him. "So you do magic? Thats like, so cool! Tell me all about it. My parents were archeologists, we probably have loads of of magical objects, do you wanna check them? Do you like coffee? Did you really sell your soul to multiple people? Thats so hot- I MEAN COOL SHIT FUCK-"

Literally anything about Dicks time in the circus. I think i've only read like two fics about it? Compared to the hundreds going indepth on Tim and Jason's childhoods?

Similar to the last one, but gosh the culture shocks they all probably had! Dick was used to constantly moving from city to city. Jason going from being on the street to a mansion. Tim going from boarding school, a place full of kids his own age, to being alone in his house so that he could be Robin. Damian was used to being respected and honored, he was a prince after all, only to suddenly be told that everything he knew was wrong.

Babs and Tim. I think they would get along, i wanna see them bonding!

Joker Junior. i know its not canon and it was only in like one cartoon but oh my GOD i love it.

Trauma reveals!! i love them. Dick's time in spyral, his apprenticeship with Deathstroke, the multiple fucked up relationships he's been in. Everything Tim did during 'Brucequest', Jasons time with the LOA, literally anything from Damians childhood.

Jon being aged up and his relationship with Damian! i dont even need to add anything, you get the point.

Dana, Jack, and Janet. I want it so bad!!! Dana is implied but never confirmed to be dead so bring her back and let her and Tim mourn!! let Tim find out his parents both slept with Bruce and have Bruce be like "oops i forgot about that, soz sweetie-" let tim hate christmas eve because thats when his mother was buried!

if anyone has recs for any of these sort of fics, PLEASE GIVE THEM TO ME. i've probably read most of them already, but i have a terrible memory so i love re-reading fics. just, gimme gimme gimme

#i love my babygirls #dc comics #dc universe #batman comics #batfamily #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #fic rec #fanfiction #batman fanfiction #batfam

40 notes · View notes

angiefsutton · 2 months ago

Text

Quantum Leap (1989) Re-watch - S1, E8

As previously mentioned, I'm doing a re-watch of Quantum Leap (1989) now that I've fallen back into writing slash for it. And as I watched, decided to write up my off-the-cuff/stream of consciousness thoughts as I watch them. (I'm also doing this on my Dreamwidth.)

Season 1, Episode 8: "Kamikaze Kid" Date of Leap: June 6, 1961 Written by: Paul L. Brown

If I recall correctly, this is where we learn that Katie was an abuse victim. {After watching: Yep, I was right.}

"Oh, my God: I'm a dork!" My dude: you have an IQ of 267, speak 7 languages, learned to read at the age of 2, do advanced calculus in his head at the age of 5, and beat a computer at chess at the age of 10. You also graduated from high school and went to MIT at the age of 16. You are ALREADY a dork/geek/nerd. ;-)

Yay - an 'Oh, boy!' leap-in.

Oh God: I forgot Jason Priestly was in this!

Sam is already the fighter of the bully. Yay!

"He's not wearing any underwear!" The first of many, I think. Also, blocked beautifully so you don't actually SEE anything.

Woo-hoo: shirtless Scott. Starting to wonder if him being shirtless and/or in jeans was part of his contract. :-)

That silver jacket and those shades for Al - so laughably futuristic!

(And is it just me, or is Al looking in at the 'naked' Sam when he gives him the 'rating' of the dive?)

We get that Al has Russian blood on his mother's side.

"You remind me of a stripper I know in Vegas: she starts out with empty TV shipping carton and then she ends up with a little teeny weenie Kleenex box right over her …." I love it. Something tells me Al would've loved the burlesque routine I saw at the Kansas City Fringe a number of years ago where the performer did a 'reverse' strip (started out mostly naked and put her clothes ON. One of the audience members jokingly yelled out at one point, "Put it on!").

Ah, TV in the 80s - when they had to reiterate basic ideas (like Al being a hologram) every episode for the newbies.

Sam's hilarious fall back into the garbage dump: it's so well done! Such a great 'pratfall'.

"Ah, young love: there's nothing like it." / "How would YOU know?" God these two are great together.

The waitress offers dessert. Al says, "Just put a cherry on top of your head!" and just bounces in anticipation.

"Did you ever notice that girls never cuddle up to guys unless they're driving a fancy car?" And thus the canon of Al having a 'fancy car' is born. ;-)

The way Dean watches and follows Scott when Sam 'remembers' about Katie's past - dear lord, he was a talented actor.

But Al's response of "I'm sorry, Sam" implies that this is the first time he's heard this. Huh.

Also - still no mention of Tom. Very obvious he doesn't 'exist' yet in canon, as there'd be some sort of comment about why Tom didn't help either.

Sam getting punched in the arm by 'his' dad - Sam's reaction is PRICELESS.

And then, "I hurt this arm" only for the dad to haul off and hit the other arm. I lol'd.

The pause Scott/Sam does when mom calls out "Cameron!" Total 'oh, fuck - what did I do wrong?' of a teenager.

Oh god - I forgot that the mom pulls out a Playboy!

"You gonna bring her to the wedding?" / "I don't know - she's awfully young." My dude. My man. You're a TEENAGER here. Remember? (Glad Al wasn't there, otherwise who KNOWS what he would've said.)

"Strange: now that I'll finally be doing what I always dreamed of …" / "It's a little scary." / "How did you know?" / "Oh, I've had the feeling." Daw - Scott's look! Bashful!Beckett once again!

"For one: he drinks too much." <-- obviously before Al was a recovering alcoholic.

The fixing of the car: Sam is apparently GREAT at improv by now!

"Tina'd look great without that on." Al Calavicci, I love you. (Also - if I ever DO get around to that 'Sam dresses in lingerie for Al', I may have to use a variation of that for his reaction.)

Also - GOD BLESS SUSPENDERS.

"Check out this black number in the Fredericks of Hollywood box." The EYE WIGGLE! Be still my heart!

"What are you going to publish: a lingerie catalog?" / "That's a good idea, Sam. I could do some 'inside research', if you get my drift." Don't ever change, Al.

"I thought lingerie was enough." Oh, yeah. DEFINITELY referring to this episode if I write that story. (And Sam's … fondness for Al in reaction: so sweet!)

And we get the bruises on her neck. Handled well, especially for the Afternoon Special feel of the plot.

Sam's stopping of Bob as he walks up is SO. GOOD. Kudos to Scott Bakula.

Sam being protectively violent. Oh dear LORD that's hot.

The rehearsal is at the TAIL O' THE COCK??? (Sounds like Al's kind of place .)

OH MY GOD! JASON PRIESTLY IS SO YOUNG.

I forgot about the running joke of Sam getting punched in the arm.

I ALSO forgot he has to sit at the kid's table. (And gets smacked - in the arm - by one of the kids.)

And outfit #3 for Al. (Dear lord: how much did they spend on COSTUMES?)

Oh, god - the Michael Jackson 'kiss with history. Totally unneeded. Although watching Scott/Sam dance IS fun.

"You know: normally, I'm against spreading men's room gossip. But in THIS case…" Seeing Al … not angry, but almost OFFENDED, is great here.

"Ka-za-zoom!" God I love Al's … slang? Is it slang?

Sam: "Al!" {beat} "I love ya!" CANON. (And the two of them in that car is SUCH GOOD CHEMISTRY)

"Wasn't that a kick in the butt?" Is this the first time we get that phrase? I didn't note it in my other write ups. If so, huzzah! And that SMILE of Al's. They ARE in love!

Scott/Sam's 'jump' out of the way of Bob's car is SO. BADLY. FILMED.

And a right hook from Sam. YAY!

Really? Bob's gang just … decides it wasn't cool? REALLY? (I guess for an hour-long drama in 1989, it works.)

And the very slashy scene of Sam and Al singing "Let it Be Me" together.

And outfit #4 for Al - LOVE that blue shirt!

Yay! A canon 'Sammy' as well as an 'Al-y boy'!

"Look what I picked up this morning." / "The girl or the car?" / "Both. Met her at the car auction. She offered to 'wax my hood'." SO MUCH TO SAY about this. First: being right on the heels of that very slashy moment, it almost comes across as a 'Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?' moment. Second: this was one of the ones that made me use "Susan: she's a gardener, and she lets me trim her bush at the front of the house." in my "OSHA Safety Guidelines Regarding the Quantum Accelerator … and YOU!" story. Headcanon that Al specifically comes up with these double entendres just for the fun of it.

Oh, the damn 'glow up' of Jill. I hate it almost as much as I hate the one on Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club.

Of COURSE Al is encouraging Sam to kiss the pre-teen. Because of course he is.

… did Sam just look at Al for PERMISSION/APPROVAL????

That is such a sweet kiss, too. Very obviously filmed keeping in mind the REAL age difference between the actors.

And another 'oh, boy' leap in. Glad to see that that became standard in the leap in this early in the series!

Final thoughts: This one aged pretty damn well (aside from that damned glow up). Scott and Dean seem to be having the time of their lives in this episode. We also get more backstory on Sam. (And technically Al.) I mean, it's basically an homage to Grease/Happy Days/American Graffiti, but when has THAT stopped this show? It's engaging, with great act cliffhangers. And the director does a good job showing everyone's reactions (especially the women) to Bob (and Bob's dad) when they are 'misbehaving'.

I want to say I read somewhere that this is one of the slashiest episodes of the series, and it definitely holds up there. Scott and Dean have SO. MUCH. CHEMISTRY. Thinking back over the series, I'd have to say this is one of my favorite episodes.

#Angie's thoughts #Quantum Leap #Quantum Leap (1989)#re-watch

3 notes · View notes

devils-malady · 3 years ago

Text

Okay okay okay, long post as I just need to write out my inner thoughts on some lore stuff. Also possibly some theories on possible sexual assault? so read on with that warning.

This has been haunting my waking and sleeping time. (I need answers, Capcom!) If anyone wants to discuss any of this, please, by all means.

So I have been thinking about the fucky timelines we have for RE8. Like really really fucky. I have specifically been thinking about Donna's and in extention, the family Beneviento. I feel like that Charley Day conspiracy meme, I shit y'all not.

So we have mention of a Bernadette B. Age 21, no occupation, no prior illnesses. She was subject 177 in Miranda's cadou experiments, which resulted in her death.

Then under that entry, we have Alcina D. Age 44, noble descendant. Not from the village. Hereditary blood disease. Subject 181.

Alcina was made into the magnificent Tall Lady she is in the 1950s, right? Like, it's implied because of the way she dresses, yeah? Was there an actual date or is it kinda just guesses? But Bernadette would have died in that same timeframe.

So next, we have very little in regards to who our dear doll-loving Beneviento Lord was before other than really just Donna Beneviento.

The first information we really get directly is the gardeners diary, though no year is given.

"November 10th

Mistress Donna is now Mother Miranda's adopted daughter. In all my years, I've never been this overjoyed.

Ever since childhood she has always feared others, due to the scar across her face.

After her parents' death she locked herself away and would only talk to Angie, the doll her father made her.

I am forever thankful to Mother Miranda's infinite compassion."

I dont think this diary is decades old but I could be wrong. I feel like the gardner probably died in the span of the days leading up to Ethan coming to the village, when Miranda let the lycans have their way.

Okay, so in this canon, presumably her parents death was the final straw for her? Also fearing others, speaking through a doll, and as Miranda's notes stated severe mental illness and an almost child-like mental state, is not usually a good equation to cultivate the necessary interactions to create and have a child so following my trail there, I personally find the theory of Claudia being Donna's daughter unlikely? Unless Capcom really just said "hey you know what will make her even more tragic?" Then proceeded to make Donna a part of the #metoo movement. I cannot stress how much i really really dislike this implication.

Now, if Claudia were an adopted child, would she even have the potential to be used as a vessel for Eva? Is some connection to the 4 houses needed or was that just in regards to the 4 lords? Would Donna even be able to care for a child?

I feel like i need to add in here, I don't think any one elses theories or headcanons are wrong. Like, I know I'm probably wrong, but we just don't have enough information. I just have to get this shit out of my head because it really is interrupting my sleep.

So we have no death dates for her parents, but we have a range for Claudia of 1987 to 1996. And we have the other diary entries for the gardener.

"November 27th

Mistress Donna seems happy. It might be my imagination, but I feel like her doll Angie is even more lively than before.

She came to me in the garden today and used Angie to talk with me. We had a mighty fine conversation.

Something about receiving a gift of power from Mother?

November 29th

Mistress Donna gave me yellow flowers and told me to plant them in the garden.

I planted them in front of Miss Claudia's grave. I don't know if it was the scent of the flowers, but I felt light headed. Then, like a dream, I saw my departed wife.

I mentioned this to Donna and she seemed thrilled by it. She told me to go to the house tomorrow and see her. She said I could see my family once more.

I'm not sure what she meant by that, but she's so kind."

Alright, so Donna was implanted at some point after 1996. In regards to the titles he uses, she is Mistress, because she's the head of the household after her parents death. Claudia was only a little girl when she passed away so it would have never changed from miss. I don't know if Claudia and Donna were twins, but I do personally like that theory, but Donna could have been a little older even, maybe a young teen. We have her portrait, without her scar, that we know she's had since a child. The portrait seems to be of an adult or young adult woman with Angie seeming to be in somewhat better condition, but that could have also been artistic liberty as the scar being left out possibly was. It was never stated if she doesn't age like Alcina, does it? Cause it says she's pretty much human except the control she has over the mold infected flowers.

I forgot where I was even going with this, other than I really like the Donna that people have made through the fics and headcanons posted. It makes me feel a lot less shitty than the shit rolling around in my multi-track brain.

If i remember any more of the points i wanted to express, I'll add them later. I've given myself a case of the sad, and I need to find something to lift my mood.

(To the Americans out there, have a lovely and safe holiday.)

#donna beneviento #resident evil village #re8 village #re8 donna #resident evil donna #resident evil #angie beneviento

29 notes · View notes

captnjacksparrow · 3 years ago

Note

Could you possibly explain why people are coining NaruHina as a trans couple? I'm so confused over it. I've seen a few ppl say Kishimoto "accidently made them trans/accidently makes these characters gayer". And I've seen ppl talking about how B and H have Naruto's whiskers and so... ??? And ppl have mentioned how Naruto can transform into a woman.

I saw a picture though, I assumed it was official Boruto stuff, of a pregnant Hinata. And going off of that I assumed she carried both of those carbon Naruto copies.

Like, if Hinata carried both kids, wasn't them having Naruto's whiskers just another stupid plot hole thing like so many Boruto things? (like Hima awakening her byakugan because neither her or Burrito had Hinata's eyes because Kishimoto plain forgot about adding any of her features besides her bangs/hair color for Hima)

And if Naruto somehow carried them, how would Hinata have impregnated him??? This all just seems very... out of the blue.

Sorry for getting this Ask done very late... Since I had no clue about such theory being floating around, and I don't know what to write here. So, I took my time to research about it.

To me, this theory looks very absurd and far-fetched with no sub-textual evidences or hints.

First off, Naruto having Whiskers because of Kurama's Chakra when he was in Kushina's womb is in and of itself is a Big Baseless Theory with no canonical proof. I know it's everywhere in the Internet but inside 700 Chapters, there's no explanation about Naruto's Whiskers. Yes, I agree his Whiskers gets prominent when Kurama Chakra flows out of him... But it's all still a Theory.

Kishimoto never explained about his Whiskers in his Manga and it was left ambiguous. Not even Sasuke made any mention about it... Like, at that time when Sasuke was looking for Naruto when Itachi came to the village... he made some description about Naruto.. "A boy of my age with blond hair".. A mention of Whisker could've made his job more easier. It's like Naruto was born with it and none of the characters were finding it to be peculiar... Just like how Suigetsu has Spiked Teeth.

So, I think it should be like a Birth Mark or something which must have been passed on to Boruto and Himawari. I think if we go by this explanation, Boruto and Hima having Whiskers is not surprising at all. I really think Kishimoto also considered it as a Birthmark rather than Chakra influence.

Like, if Hinata carried both kids, wasn't them having Naruto's whiskers just another stupid plot hole thing like so many Boruto things?

But since "Kurams's Chakra influences the presence of Whisker" theory is very popular.... NH peeps doesn't want to acknowledge the supposed plot hole made by Kishimoto. Their refusal to admit Kishimoto forgot or deliberately avoided to give any of the Hinata's features to her Kids gave rise to this NH might be a Trans couple theory which supports their ship without a mess.

So, their theory is, "Naruto transformed into a Woman using Oiroke no Jutsu and Hinata was a Trans... In this way, Hinata impregnated Naruto and then with the help of his Kurama's Chakra, Boruto and Hima got the Whiskers"

But somehow, they forget the fact that How Naruto could've carried out two pregnancies without anyone from the Village knowing about it??? Naruto is a War Hero and people will eventually notice that Naruto was MIA for 15 months... How did he deal with it???

You see, it's just a crack theory which was built upon another theory with no solid hints or sub-texts. It's not that I am against Hinata being Trans.... If that was the case, Kishimoto would have definitely implied in his Manga through his Sub-texts or Texts.... Naruto being Closeted Gay has been implied many times. But this NH being Trans couple theory literally has nothing.

#it's a laughable theory #anon

19 notes · View notes

fromtheplanethexagon · 4 years ago

Text

the robot problem: a critical look at tobecky, 5 years late

hello wordgirl fandom i am back :) and i have a lot of thoughts that i never got around to expressing before i moved on from the show. so be aware that everything i'm saying is based on my experiences during the 2012-2016 era of the fandom & state of tumblr in general, and i am not familiar with more recent fan content.

it's been over five years since the show ended, and @ifbrd reminded me (along with some great analysis) that while tobecky was super popular since before the show technically started (thanks to the play date shorts), it's pretty unhealthy in a lot of ways that tend to be excused or flat out ignored in fanworks. i'd like to reflect on that a bit (a lot); specifically, how both the show and the fandom approached this enemies-to-lovers ship, and how easily this ship can slip into uncomfortable territory if we're careless about how we interpret the ship and create fan content of it.

i will admit, i'm mostly writing this as a response to past me and my old creations - though i moved on from the show as a whole years ago, i do like taking the time to reflect on old interests once in a while, and reevaluating my thoughts on them. and this ship is probably the biggest one that still lurks in the corners of my mind once in a while, so let's go.

cherish is the word: a short positive note before a much longer negative one

i wanted to start this essay off with some positivity, because i am going to be very negative after this. tobecky was, in some ways, cute. it's obvious from the very beginning that these two characters are on pretty equal ground, even if one of them isn't aware of it. and that's part of the fun - the irony of how unaware tobey is that his nemesis/crush/person that pretty much always wins against him is someone that he completely dismisses as incompetent. i want to point this out because honestly, in general i don't like enemies-to-lovers because a lot of them use a power imbalance within the dynamic, and i hate power imbalances, especially when it comes to actual life-or-death scenarios (at least, as much as cartoons can do that). in most episodes, becky is never actually forced to go along with his wishes. she's not held in a 'date' against her will, nor is she ever really outwitted by him. i bring this up because there is one huge, uncomfortable exception, which i will get to later.

another big plus to the ship is the fact that they just... get along? even when fighting? of course we get brief moments where they just hang out and talk about paintings or whatever, but i'm talking about how much they get each other, even if they don't realize it. like the word banter, for example. been there since day one. becky loves words, and while most other people in her life don't really care (ranging from 'eh, that's cool i guess' to her brother calling it annoying), tobey gives her a chance to show off and thus treats her as a worthy adversary as herself, not because of her more generic superpowers - something that we've seen in canon that she feels self-conscious about (see: her motivation in patch game). one of the less noticed examples, to me, is "it's your party and i'll cry if I want to", because it's just - okay. they both are excluded from a social event, and while it's obvious that tobey deals with it by destroying the city, it's also pretty obvious that becky also deals with her frustration by fighting in that battle. like, yes, realistically it's just objectively bad that he's destroying buildings. but they're also providing each other with a way to work through their frustrations, first by fighting and then by talking things out, and finally by hanging out together instead of dwelling on being excluded from the party.

so it makes a lot of sense to me that many tobecky fans gravitated towards writing far-in-the-future fic, usually by implying that some growth had taken place before starting to write the ship. (there are, as far as i'm aware, 2... maybe 3 exceptions, that take the time to attempt a real redemption for him, at least when i left the fandom.) because if you take away his worst moments, either by reasoning out that he was 10 years old and a mess, or that he was a cartoon character in a cartoon world where everyone's actions are over-the-top, or by just flat-out pretending that certain episodes never happened, there's some pretty solid ground to start a ship on.

go gadget go: we all do not see it, we simply close our eyes (review of canon)

when the show began, i was the same age as the characters. a lot of other people were, too - at least in my cohort of the fandom. i think it's pretty safe to say that many of us have fond memories of the show's earlier seasons, and held on to that interest as we got older, for whatever reasons. so like, not to be all 'as an OG fan...', but i remember seeing the shorts air for the first time in 2006. i have a diary entry in july of 2009 about how i, a 12yo with no concept of the idea of 'shipping', was disappointed in the new tobey episode because i wanted more tobecky interactions. (that was robo-camping, btw, lol.) and so i remember how exciting their rivalry felt, watching them as someone literally their exact same age, and then watching that again as a nostalgic 17yo, and then uh... growing up, to put it frankly, and realizing just how unhealthy most of their interactions were.

okay what i meant to say was, this section is an overview of the relationship's canon portrayal throughout the years.

first, we have early tobecky: this includes the shorts and the first few seasons. this is their classic relationship: he likes her and takes robots on rampages to get her attention, she majorly disapproves and has fun taking him down. we've all seen the show, you know what i'm talking about. his backhanded ways of trying to find out her identity often feature prominently in the episodes, which - sigh, i've mentioned this whole issue before, but it's kind of a grey area in the whole uncomfortable-factor thing, because while trying to find out her identity is VERY invasive, it's something that like... everyone in the show tries to do, even her canon crush (scoops). on the one hand, it's really not a great look, but on the other hand, this is a cartoon meant to parody a genre in which this trope is extremely common. so i just wanna say that i have Issues and Thoughts on this aspect of their relationship, but there are other things i find more important to discuss here.

second, we have late tobecky: this is seasons 7-8. this is... a very strange and huge shift from the previous dynamic, though it's not necessarily obvious. what i mean by that is that for some reason, the show writers made it so that half of tobey’s rampages have nothing to do with his crush on wordgirl, even though that used to be the sole reason for his villainy. seriously. we have the birthday episode, where he's upset because he feels left out; wg vs tobey vs the dentist, where he's mad that he has a cavity; and trustworthy tobey, where his robot goes on a rampage... after becky accidentally makes it malfunction. the two outliers are ‘guess who’s coming to thanksgiving dinner’ and ‘patch game’, but they still differ from previous seasons because 1) his destruction is isolated to a forest far away from the city, and 2) his motive is still to impress wordgirl, but his methods are relatively tame. also he completely gives up on the secret identity thing??? i may have missed some things but i think he straight up tells her 'yeah there's no way you're wordgirl, lol' and the subject is just dropped for the rest of the show.

i also want to include 'the robot problem' here, because it's one of two season 6 tobey episodes, and follows the 'doesn't destroy buildings to get her attention' pattern: in fact, he teams up with her to try and stop someone else from going on a rampage (even if his reasons are selfish, lol).

and finally. the other season 6 episode. we have go gadget go, the bane of my time spent in the fandom. because GGG is the single episode where tobey truly manages to take away her autonomy, and proceeds to abuse that power for an extended period of time, for his own amusement. it's bad. it's Very Bad. put in the context that it's a white boy doing this to an (ambiguously) brown girl, it's REALLY REALLY BAD. and the more i look back on it, tbh, the more weirded out i am that the show not only made it seem like she wasn't affected at all within the episode, it just... forgot about it (which is not unusual for shows and especially children’s shows, but WG does make some efforts to either retain continuity or create canon reasons for why things are forgotten about). it's the kind of thing that you can't excuse and honestly you can't redeem (like at this point, you gotta ask yourself why you're spending so much effort trying to redeem this guy when becky has several other possible ships that are nowhere near this unhealthy - violet, scoops, honestly even victoria if you want another hero/villain ship, my absolute fave rarepair rose, etc).

so if you want to still ship it you have to just pretend that it never happened. (i remember trying for weeks to write something exploring the aftermath of this episode, to try and make myself feel better about it, but the more i wrote the more i realized just how traumatic this event should've been, so i eventually just dropped it.) and i brought up my own timeline of experiences earlier to point out that this episode aired eight whole years after the show started. which means that when i saw it, even though i was a huge stickler for canon at the time, i'd built up my own idea of the show and characters strongly enough to go 'yeah, no, this episode sucks and i am going to pretend that it doesn't exist'. and i think a lot of other people did too, because i really saw like... no one mention it, ever, except for some rogue fanfics over on ff dot net that already liked dynamics like that.

because here's the thing, and i don't know if people nowadays are aware of it? but i'm 80% sure (cannot find a source, so the other 20% is that it was just a rumor) that the show was originally supposed to end after season 6. and even if it's a rumor, it makes a ton of sense, because we get 1) an 'ending' to tobecky, which is a bad one, 2) a permanent wordgirl identity reveal that significantly changes one of the major dynamics in the show, 3) an episode where TJ gets to work with wordgirl and get a nice potential ending for their sibling dynamic, 4) an episode where we see Two-Brains explore life without his henchmen... the list goes on, and idk how many of these are just major stretches. but the point is. if the show had ended there, that would've been a pretty solid ending for many things, including their relationship: aka, it would prove that it was only ever heading somewhere bad, and when tobey finally has his moment of triumph, he is truly evil about it. and this provides us fans who HATE go gadget go with an easy reason to dismiss it - we can say that it was an attempt to conclude things in a way that wouldn't have happened if the writers had known they'd get more time. but despite that... it is still a canon episode.

it is odd to me how dramatically the dynamic shifts after that, though, because we seriously go from 'worst case ever, tobecky is toxic, your ship is dead' to 'no actually they get along and hang out and get ice cream together and tobey isn't even pressuring her into it, she's happy to go along with it :)' like, immediately. i never knew much about the show writers, so i don't know if the writers changed in between these seasons, but i would absolutely not be surprised if they did.

the earlier episodes are definitely problematic as well (though they pale in comparison to GGG) but i think everyone who ships it is aware considering that tobey is, yknow, a villain. from memory, he destroys buildings to get her attention, lies to her about the level of danger that people are in to trick her into spending more time with him, blackmails her into reading his poetry, and he creates a robot based on her that’s supposed to be devoted to him (but of course, all of these things backfire). not great stuff of course, but like... he’s a villain, that’s the point of his character. and considering that he’s a child these are things that can be redeemed, if done thoughtfully.

anyway, to sum up this section, the show starts off with a pretty standard 'enemies with an unrequited crush' setup, takes a really dark turn for a single episode, and then for the rest of the show takes their dynamic in a direction that makes it much, much easier to ship. as long as you ignore a lot of previous content.

wordbot: where's becky's autonomy in all of this? (misogyny)

we've finally gotten to the fandom. i recognize that a lot of this is going to come across as hypocritical considering how active i used to be re: this ship, but like... i'm a very different person now. anyway. disclaimer i guess - i don't write this to accuse all tobecky shippers of being like this - i know a lot of us aren't/weren't! but boy do i have things to point out, so without further ado:

it is very hard to ship this without allowing some bit of misogyny to slip into it. very, very hard. the entire premise of the ship involves a girl falling in love with a boy that repeatedly pressures her to date him via threats to the safety of herself and people she cares about, which... it's 2020, i shouldn't have to explain why that's terrible & a terrible example to set for children (which is why i am glad they never made it canon, tbh). best-case fan content has tobey stop pressuring her and start working to redeem himself out of an actual change of heart, which leads to becky seeing him in a new light. worst-case fan content treats his incessant pressuring and sometimes outright threats as something romantic - and even worse, romantic to the point where he deserves her attention and love as a reward for not giving up or whatever. i did see this pretty frequently for a while, especially in the earlier 2010s (didn't read much, Not My Thing At All), but i don't feel like going into detail here because of how obviously problematic it is. one medium (but still bad) case is where the fan content makes him start his redemption, but treats her liking him back as a reward for not knocking buildings over anymore. another not great case is where she tries to fix him with her love, which is a very common and very dangerous romantic trope. both are just... so incredibly unfair to her.

in content where she tries to 'fix him'... yeah i feel like it's really obvious how misogynistic that is. girls and women should not feel responsible for the evil actions of men, plain and simple. idk what else to say here i just really hate that trope and hated it back then and it just sucks! so can we not do that anymore, thanks.

in content that treats her like a reward for good behavior, there really isn't much of an explanation for what she sees in him. if she just goes 'oh wow, you're good now, i am going to fall in love with you for it' the whole thing falls flat because it makes NO sense whatsoever. we get to hear so much about tobey and his feelings and why he likes her and how he feels about it, but where is that energy for becky? why does she choose to trust him, to spend time around him, what does she enjoy about his presence? where is her getting over scoops in the process of falling for tobey? where is her telling her friends about this, confiding in them, asking them for advice? where is her choice in the matter?

win a day with wordgirl: do you guys even like becky or do you just like the idea of her (misogyny... 2!)

it was pretty standard for all fandoms the early-mid 2010s, but that's still not a good excuse for why so many tobecky fanfictions centered specifically around tobey's feelings while refusing to give becky the same level of empathy and nuance. it is true that to ship them comfortably you have to redeem him to some degree, which means spending time figuring him out and trying to find ways to pull him to the light without feeling super OOC. but ships take two people??? and there was so much potential for fanfics to explore becky's complex feelings on the matter - because she is! complex! she's heroic and kind but she's petty and has a competitive streak, she easily befriends villains but also doesn't trust them and doesn't believe they can ever really change, she's the savior of an entire planet but has feelings of inadequacy as her civilian identity and struggles with feeling like she can be successful without superpowers, she's great at the straightforward meanings and uses of words and loves reading but struggles to write passages that aren't dry as hell, it can be easily headcannoned that she's neurodivergent (special interests, issues with fitting in with her peers, taking things very literally, etc)... seriously there is SO MUCH to explore about her character, and a lot of it comes into play when you add tobey into the mix (literally ALL of the things i mentioned are explored at some point using tobey as a parallel or foil), but i rarely saw fanfiction that explored her thoughts on things further than 'he's evil but... maybe good?' or 'he's evil but... i kind of like him anyway?'.

if you want her to fall for him while being a villain, explore it!! why does she go against her morals? does she lie to herself about it to feel better? does she feel like she has to 'fix him' as part of her superhero duties to the city, and if so, how does that affect her as she tries and fails to help him? does she fall for him when she believes that he's turning good, only to feel betrayed when he starts acting worse because he feels like he can get away with it? it's such a shame that fanworks spend so little time even considering these questions, and it is absolutely a product of how deeply misogyny is/was baked into how we approach media (especially back then).

tobey goes good: but wait, i thought this show was progressive (a conclusion, i guess)

ifbrd wrote a great meta recently about how the show is a bit misogynist, despite being progressive in several ways. honestly i don't have much to add, but i'd really recommend reading through this; it makes a lot of great observations about the ways that male and female characters are presented differently through the show

i have little to add, so i'd just like to conclude with a reflection on the ship from my current viewpoint. i do think part of the reason so many of us latched onto the ship, despite how obviously problematic it was, is that the show treats a lot of things that would be serious in real life as normal or even comedic - which is fine lol, i'm not going to pretend that it's not a show for little kids, so they have to keep the tone light.

but if we, as teens/adults, decide to engage with this content in a more realistic manner, we have to be prepared to confront how messed up so many of the things going on really are. and if you still want to ship it, there's nothing inherently wrong with that! there's a lot of interesting things to explore in this ship, no matter what stage of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers you write them at, and it can be really helpful to have a space where you can explore a dynamic such as this in fiction. (speaking from experience here tbh, writing some fic for them helped me deal with complicated feelings about some ex-longtime friends.)

so to write this ship at all means that there are canon issues that you need to deal with if you want to have them end up in a healthy relationship in any manner that makes sense (unless you create an AU where none of that is applicable, which, power to you then). and i’m not saying ‘write them with a healthy endgame or you’re Bad’, not at all lol. but at least please, please take a step back once in a while to examine the dynamic that you’re writing, and please be careful about whether you mean to be romanticizing whatever behaviors you end up portraying as good.

#wordgirl #becky botsford #tobey mccallister #tobecky #tobecky critical #has anyone ever used that tag before LMAO #anyway: i may come back and reword the ending because i am not totally happy with it #but wow this is so many words. so many. send help

135 notes · View notes

mandalorianchronicles · 4 years ago

Text

So What Makes a Mandalorian a Mandalorian? || Part One

Among the main themes playing out in this season, Din’s perception about Mandalorians is a major one. Those of us who grew up with Star Wars - watched the movies, the TV series, read the books - basically consumed as much Star Wars content as we could...we have a lot of Mandalorian lore and information to sift through and many of it is contradictory.

For those who saw the OT, Boba Fett was the original Mandalorian. There were many books written about this one bounty hunter who had a soft spot for the nastiest characters in the galaxy. They were always writing him to have this complicated code of honor that made him sort of good, even though he was clearly bad. We *wanted* him to be good.

Then the PT came out and we got his backstory. Jango Fett was a bounty hunter who took a job as the DNA donor for the entire GAR and kept one unaltered clone for himself to raise as a son. When the Jedi killed Jango, 10-year-old Boba was left alone, nursing a deep hatred for the Jedi (or at least, for Mace Windu). His fondness for the Empire in his later years now made more sense.

But Boba still wasn’t a Mandalorian, as nothing that the EU books or comics had released about him was counted as canon, even before Disney took over. Then TCW came out and we had even more insight into Boba. We saw his complete disregard for his clone brothers. We saw Aurra Sing leading him down a darker and darker path - but we also saw how he didn’t enjoy killing for the sake of killing either. That much, his father had instilled in him. In interviews, we discovered that George Lucas had never intended for either Jango or Boba to be true Mandalorians, something that TCW seemed to confirm when Obi-Wan Kenobi asked the Prime Minister of Mandalore about Jango and Almec stated that Jango was not a Mandalorian and he didn’t even know how Jango had come by that armor. The case seemed closed at that point, though many fans doggedly clung to the lore than Boba and Jango were Mandalorians.

Fast forward to today. We learned a few important things about Boba:

1) His armor is actually his father’s. There was conflicting lore about this as well, none of it confirmed in canon. Some said it was Jango’s, others said it was his own. Some even said that it was made of carbon steel, instead of beskar. Glad that’s settled.

2) Boba never took the creed. This was assumed by most everyone who watch TCW, but it’s good that it was confirmed. So, if you go by the supposition that true Mandalorians are not a race, but a creed - Boba Fett is not Mandalorian.

3) Jango *might* have been a Mandalorian. He was a foundling and he was given the armor by Mandalorians. That would imply that he did take the creed, but it doesn’t confirm it. Foundlings who are raised by Mandalorians are allowed to take the creed when they come of age, and then they are given their own armor. However, as we know from season one, foundlings who take the creed are all recorded in the Hall of Records on Mandalore, something that Prime Minister Almec would have had access to. He obviously knew Jango, but was emphatic about the fact that Jango was NOT Mandalorian. So, did Jango actually take the creed to become a true Mandalorian? Was he “given” the armor or did he take it? Is The Mandalorian retconning TCW or is there more to the story? We may never know. Regardless, he was killed, and Boba inherited the beskar. And now he has it back.

Which brings us back to the Din’s identity crisis in season 2.

Din has learned some very important things about Mandalorians over the past several weeks, and I’d say he’s taking it very well. We started out with him meeting Cobb Vanth, a non-Mandalorian wearing Boba’s armor. When he took off the helmet, Din rightly assumed he was not a Mandalorian. They worked out a deal, and Din kept the armor because it belonged with a true Mandalorian.

Next, Din met Bo-Katan Kryze. When she took off her helmet, Din wrongly assumed she was not a Mandalorian. She informed him that he was part of the Children of the Watch, a fringe cult of Mandalorian zealots who believe in “the way”. I’m going to pause here and define what a cult is for people who have been debating this for the last few weeks.

A cult is “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.” In the case of CotW, their devotion is directed to the armor itself. Mandalorians existed long before they had their armor (according to legend). They developed the beskar armor to even the playing field against their ancient enemies, the Jedi...and everyone else in the known galaxy. We have seen people born on Mandalore (I’ll call them indigenous Mandalorians, even though they are supposedly not the original aliens who inhabited Mandalore) who live their daily lives without armor. We’ve seen how certain indigenous Mandalorians have rejected the warrior ways, though it’s unclear if they still swore to the Mandalorian creed - which I would love to have a canon copy of (please, Filoni?). Even the warrior Mandalorians who owned armor were not always wearing it, and certainly didn’t have a problem showing their faces.

To the warriors like Gar Saxon, Sabine Wren, Bo-Katan, Pre Vizsla, and Fenn Rau - their armor is important to their heritage and their line of work, but it is not their entire identity. Take off the armor and they are still Mandalorians. Not so with the CoTW. Take off that armor in front of another person, and you are no longer able to put it on again. Get defeated just once in combat and an enemy removes your helmet, and you are no longer a Mandalorian. Their entire identity revolves around the beskar. It’s implied that a single failure results in expulsion from the group, unless you’re fine being that one person who walks around naked and exposed, the humiliation and shame of your failure staring you in the face behind expressionless masks every moment of every day. THAT is what makes Din’s group a cult, and if you have a problem with the term, I’m sorry. But that’s what is is.

Moving on. Din has suddenly been made aware that “the way” is not the ONLY way. He rejects this at first, but Bo-Katan masterfully draws him into a mission that she did not need his help with to show that if he ever decided to be open-minded, he had a place with them. I’ll write more on her later, but I don’t have the time to do her justice here. She gets in her digs in true Bo-Katan fashion, but in the end, you can tell that Din has begun to accept her as legit.

Milestone #1: Okay, so some Mandalorians who swore to the creed take off their helmets in front of other people, but they can put it back on again.

Next, Din met Boba Fett and learned that he did not swear the creed. Since the armor was in Din’s possession, obviously Boba had been defeated at some point by someone (if he only knew it was an accidental bump to the jetpack by a blind Han Solo). But since Din forgot to lock up the Razor Crest with its state of the art ground security protocols which I will now never know the details of, Boba snuck in and took his armor back. He then proceeds to take out a few squads of stormtroopers with it, earning some brownie points. Remarkably, Din does not threaten to take it off him as he did with Vanth, but I sure wanted to...ahem. I digress. When Boba shows his chain code (which is apparently also a birth certificate and might have cleared up some lineage confusion in past films), Din just accepts that because Jango was a foundling, the armor rightfully belonged to Boba.

Milestone #2: You can be defeated and have your armor taken away from you and still put it back on again.

Milestone #3: You don’t even have to swear to the creed of Mandalore to have the right to wear beskar armor, as long as your father (or, sole DNA donor) was a Mandalorian foundling.

We’re seeing Din’s ingrained worship of the armor being stripped away one layer at a time. He’s learning that what makes someone Mandalorian does not begin and end with the metal plates they attach to their bodies. It’s deeper than that. And I, for one, cannot wait to see where this leads him.

#The mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #boba fett #the tragedy #din djarin #children of the watch #the mandalorian creed #jango fett

80 notes · View notes

judgejurythceif · 4 years ago

Text

What the Seven’s relationship should have been like

We didn’t get to see a lot of the seven bonding as it was more focused on the quest, which makes sense in the story. But, I feel like some relationships people had and everyone instantly being best friends doesn’t make sense. So here’s a web of what I think the relationship between each member of the seven should have been like, with explanation.

Key

Pink- Dating

Dotted Pink- Crush

Close Friends- Blue

Friends- Green

Civil- Grey

Distrustful- Orange

Percy + Annabeth - Dating

Okay, I feel like this seems kind of obvious so I’m not going to go into much detail, but there were five books that built up their relationship with each other. It’s a healthy relationship and they trust each other. I might explain this in detail later why I ship Percabeth and why it’s not toxic but I’m not going to right now.

Percy + Jason - Friends

Okay, the bromance stuff was completely made up by the fandom except I think for one time where they called each other “bro.” They also have sort-of a Greek-Roman rivalry going on, but after the fight in Kansa, they seem to ditch that except for a couple of jokes about them being able to beat the other in a fight.

Percy + Leo - Distrustful

I’m pretty sure (I haven’t reread HoO in a while) that Leo didn’t like Percy. But Percy definitely didn’t trust Leo after he bombed the Romans while he was possessed. He knows that Leo wasn’t in control, but it was very important to Percy that the Roman and Greeks got along, and Leo blew up the Roman camp.

Percy + Hazel - Friends

Okay so they definitely became friends in SoN when they were on a quest. I just don’t see them becoming really close friends like Percy is with Grover and Thalia? Like, I can see them as the type of friends that talk in school, but not the type of friends that would schedule days to hang out together unless it was for a project.

Percy + Frank - Friends

Basically same as Hazel and Percy. I love their friendship, but I can’t see them trying to figure out time to hang out between their schedules.

Percy + Piper - Close Friends

Okay, this is partially influenced by posts I saw about the potential for their friendship, but I definitely see a lot of potential for their friendship without headcanons and just reading the books.

Annabeth + Jason - Civil

So, in different circumstances, like a mortal au, I can see them being friends. But in the canon universe, her boyfriend disappears, Hera gives her a clue, she goes thinking Percy will be there, and it’s some Roman kid that’s supposed to be his replacement. I just don’t see them being able to get past that and actually be friends. I don’t think she would hate him or distrust him though, because he didn’t exactly have a say in it.

Annabeth + Leo - Friends

Okay, there was so much potential in this friendship and Rick just ignored it. Annabeth and Leo both like to build (Annabeth more so the planning part of it but still), they’re both extremely smart, and they’re also both dating people that are considered the hero of their respective camps. I just feel like we could have gotten a lot more interaction from them.

Annabeth + Hazel - Distrustful

Okay, so we’re going to start this from Annabeth’s point of view: your boyfriend goes missing for months, you go to find him, and he’s just chilling with some new Roman friends he found? He didn’t even tell you anything? Time for Hazel’s point of view because that’s all I have for Annabeth: There’s this boy that shows up at camp, he’s a son of Neptune and also your cousin. He has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything except for his girlfriend. If you hadn’t know what Percy and Annabeth’s relationship was like and how well they knew each other wouldn’t you find that a little suspicious. Also as Reyna mentions, Minerva (Athena’s Roman form) doesn’t have demigod children. It would probably be harder to trust a child of someone who isn’t supposed to have kids.

Annabeth + Piper - Close Friends

It’s implied that they’re pretty close friends in canon while they’re at Camp Half-Blood, and I love that, but it’s like the second they were on the Argo ll Rick completely forgot about that. I think they only interacted once or twice on the ship.

Annabeth + Frank - Distrustful

This is pretty much the same as Annabeth and Hazel’s but a little less distrustful. I see it as more distrustful at the beginning, but as time goes on they grow closer and maybe become friends.

Jason + Leo - Dating

I will die mad that this ship isn’t canon. It had much more potential than Piper and Jason, which seemed kind of forced. I think that this ship would definitely be better if Jason didn’t wake up on the bus already dating someone, and everyone had time to figure out their feelings.

Jason + Piper - Friends

I just don’t really feel like they worked together as a relationship. Hera literally forced it together when Jason woke up on the bus. If I was Rick Riordan (and I am very obviously not since I’m making this post), I would just not have made Piper and Jason wake up on the bus already dating. You need to give them time to figure out what they actually want to do and not shove them into a relationship on the first page.

Jason + Hazel - Friends

This is purely based on the fact that they’re both Roman and I’m assuming they talk at the Argo ll meet up parties that Percy mentioned. They get very little time to talk in the books (I don’t remember them talking at all) and they never mention each other. Hazel seems sad when he dies though so it’s kind of implied they were friends. (Am I still supposed to tag for spoilers for that?)

Jason + Frank - Friends

This is again based on the fact that they were both Roman and the fact that Jason promoted Frank to praetor in the middle of a fight. You probably don’t do that if you only kind of know the person, you need to build a relationship* with each other and trust each other.

Leo + Piper - Close Friends

Hmmmmmm, okay. They definitely knew each other before Jason just popped onto the bus, and they were definitely close (possibly dating?) But I see their relationship ship as more of a sibling relationship instead of romantic. 10/10 I love them though.

Leo + Hazel - Close Friends

Okay, so. Because Frazel isn’t happening in my mind, there isn’t any weird tension between them except for the Sammy thing. So, they figure that out and through that just become really good friends. I would also die for this friendship. That was underdeveloped because Rick rushed a love triangle.

Leo + Frank - Friends

Okay, no Frazel here still so there’s no weird tension between “are you trying to steal my girlfriend?” which was the main part of their relationship. Frank would definitely be wary of Leo because of his fire powers but Calypso gave him the fireproof fabric and he made the bag for Frank’s firewood so they definitely don’t hate each other.

Piper + Hazel - Friends

Okay, this just seems like a really neat friendship to me? They don’t interact that I can remember beside the visit with Aphrodite/Venus and they don’t really talk during that. There’s definitely a lot of potential for a friendship here though.**

Piper + Frank - Friends

Okay, I absolutely love the potential for this friendship. Again, it didn’t happen because Rick is a coward but I absolutely love this and they would be such good friends.

Hazel + Frank - Close Friends

Okay, so. I put two lines between them. ‘Crush’ and ‘close friends.’ No matter what’s going on, I feel like Hazel would have a crush on Frank. He obviously doesn’t like her back, because he is two years older than her. I know that people are saying Frazel isn’t problematic, and I somewhat agree, but I feel like if Hazel was aged-up a little it would be better. No matter what, they’re definitely going to be best friends though. And Hazel definitely still carries his firewood.***

*by ‘relationship’ when I mention it, I don’t always mean a romantic relationship.

**I do really want to put all of them as friends, but I just can’t see that happening, as they were seven demigods out on a ship and told to save the world. In a random group of seven people, there’s going to be at least one you don’t like.

***Another point I wanted to put on here but don’t know where to put it is that Rick forced them all into relationships. A lot of teenagers just don’t date anyone, and that doesn’t feel reflected at all in his books, as he just pairs every single character off with someone.

34 notes · View notes

destieltropecollection · 5 years ago

Photo

Destiel Trope Collection Day 25: Slow Burn

The difference between living and existing (WIP) | @lucy-is-alive

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6052 Main Tags/Warnings: John Winchester's A+ parenting, College AU, Sexuality crisis, PTSD, Childhood trauma, Recreational drug use, Angst and hurt/comfort Summary: As soon as he got the chance, Dean left his father behind and went to college. However, he never anticipated that the absence of the person who had disrupted his entire life would make it worse. With the help of his friends, he tries to navigate through the emotional hurricane that comes with complex PTSD.

Celestial | @deservetobesaved

Rating: Mature Word Count: 10585 Main Tags/Warnings: slow burn, mutual pining, fluff, emotional affair, bottom!dean Summary: Dean is in a less than stellar marriage, but he assumes things will work themselves out. At the same time, Mr. Castiel Novak becomes his new co-worker at school and Dean has to rethink everything he thought he had figured out.

Welcome to the Badlands (WIP) | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 15386 Main Tags/Warnings: graphic violence, dystopian au, fusion, into the badlands au, slow burn Summary: The wars were so long ago, nobody even remembers. Darkness and fear ruled until the time of the Barons, seven men and women who forged order out of the chaos. People flocked to them for protection. That protection became servitude. They banished guns and trained armies of lethal fighters they called Clippers. This world is built on blood. Nobody is innocent here. Welcome to the Badlands.

Profound Kisses | @verobatto-angelxhunter

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 20700 Main Tags/Warnings: Destiel, post 8x07 canon divergent, mutual pining, explicit sexual content, angst with a happy ending, clueless! Castiel, pining!Dean, Top!Dean, Bottom!Cas, slow burn, love confessions, first kiss, french kiss, Sammy knows. Summary: Dean knows he's screwed. He discovers he is in love with Castiel in Purgatory, and now he can't even have the angel in front of him, because he knows it's a one sided love. It’s Valentine's day and Dean tries very hard to hook up as always, but he can't get Cas out of his mind. So he drives back to the motel, drunk, and he finds Castiel trying to help him. Then, when Dean asks Castiel for some experimental kisses and the angel accepts, Dean starts a very dangerous game… finding in Castiel's kisses the most delicious experiences, but also, his own perdition. Will Castiel fall in love with him? Or will he stay emotionless as always?

Hate me, but love me too | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 23310 Main Tags/Warnings: Virgin!Dean,f hate spell, hate curse, younger!dean, older!sam, Grace Sharing, First Kiss, First Time, Hate Sex, Dubious Consent, Mildly Dubious Consent, Cas is cursed, (not really MCD but Cas isn't alive in the beginning), Castiel has sex with somebody else in the beginning(and Dean sees it), Heartbreakbut I will fix it! Summary: Dean’s whole life changes when his mother tells him that John isn’t his biological father and he needs to save the world from his sibling Adam, who is the King of Hell. But he can’t do that alone, he needs the best Hunter earth had, Castiel Novak.

Starstruck (WIP) | @peanutbutterjelly-pie

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 40860 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Slow Burn, Actor Dean, Single Parent Castiel, Pining Summary: From the outside Castiel Novak looks like a regular guy: a good job, two teenage kids, a nice house and a crappy car he’s way too attached to. But there’s one thing no one knows about him: that, over twenty years ago, he used to live next to no other than Dean Winchester – back then a brash and loud-mouthed boy and nowadays a huge movie star and Hollywood’s sweetheart. Castiel never bothered to tell anyone about his childhood friend because frankly, who would believe him? Probably even Dean himself already forgot about his former awkward and weird neighbor, so Castiel seriously doesn’t see any point in mentioning the whole thing ever. But then an interview on national TV happens where Dean reveals way more about his past than ever before … and Castiel - as well as the rest of the world - suddenly realizes that he left a much bigger impact on Dean’s life than he originally thought.

Letter to Dean Winchester (WIP) | @castielsangel-blade

Rating: Mature Word Count: 44182 Main Tags/Warnings: Past Lisa/Dean, Past Aaron/Dean, Past Castiel/Dean, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Mentions of Past Cheating, Mentions of Past Toxic Relationship, Gray Romantic Castiel, Asexual Castiel, Epistolary, Bisexual Dean Summary: Castiel writes and sends a letter to Dean Winchester. He wants closure for the toxic relationship they had in high school.

Falling Apart | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 49204 Main Tags/Warnings: minor character death, sam deceased when fic starts, alcoholism, drug misuse, addiction, rehab au, soulmate au, flashbacks, ptsd Summary: Sword & Cross Resident Rehabilitation is a last-ditch effort for Dean Winchester to move past the drug and drinking problems he developed to bury his guilt over the fire that killed his brother. Not to mention the wild visions and smoky, sentient shadows that have plagued him his entire life. It's supposed to be the best Savannah has to offer, but one look at the crumbling tile floors and dangling crown mouldings, and Dean has his doubts. Enter Castiel Novak. He’s rude, aloof, and a total dick from the moment they lay eyes on each other but Dean can’t help but feel a mysterious connection to the man. Maybe he really has lost his mind. But when Castiel starts making appearances in Dean’s vivid visions of the past, he knows there is more to their link than meets the eye. Even if Cas keeps telling him otherwise. It seems everyone at Sword & Cross knows what’s going on except for Dean. Trying to conquer his mountain of guilt and doubt and figure out the connection he is certain he shares with Castiel is only made harder by the “accidents” that seem to follow him. Not to mention his attraction to Gadreel. Whatever secret Castiel is trying so hard to keep, Dean knows he has to uncover it.

Will you be my ten inch hero? | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 57468 Main Tags/Warnings: Bullying, Homophobic Language, Abusive John Winchester, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, giving a baby to adoption (not between Destiel), Rape/Non-con Elements, John kicked Dean out, Virgin!Dean, surprise guest appereance, Minor Crowley (Supernatural)/Bobby Singer, Minor Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle, Minor Rowena MacLeod/Gabriel, two surprise pairings, not Ketch or Mick Davies friendly Summary: When John Winchester kicks Dean out, after he saw him kissing another boy, and Dean sees that Sam has a perfect life at Stanford without him, Dean starts a new life in Santa Cruz. He works at a tiny shop as a cook, has found some friends there, and is overall happy enough. That changes when Castiel comes into his shop and his Co-worker Azara, who has a different man every night, starts flirting with him right in front of Dean. Not that he would be jealous or anything, but there is something about Castiel that makes him weak in the knees. Only that Castiel would never want him back, right?

Roll With It | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 72818 Main Tags/Warnings: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Boss/Employee Relationship, Secretary Dean, Alternate Universe - Not Hunters, The Proposal AU, Alternate Universe, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Editor Castiel, Fluff and Angst, Sam Winchester at Stanford, POV Alternating, Geek Dean, Russian Castiel, Sharing a Bed, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Top Castiel, Bottom Dean, Misunderstandings, Tattooed Castiel, Love Confessions, Slow Burn Summary: For two years, Dean’s been slaving away beneath his boss – many label him a secretary, but he fucking hates that and feels like it only applies to someone wearing a pencil skirt, so he insists on his title of Executive Assistant. And for what? In the vain hope that one day he’ll manage to become an editor for Sandover Publishing, and that he’ll see the manuscript that he’s slaved over since college finally realized in print. That’s the dream, anyway. Right now, he’s fucking late. Dean wants to be an editor. Castiel just wants to stay in the country. ‘The Proposal’ – as you’ve never seen it before.

When the Magnolias bloom (WIP) | @flurryflair

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 92951 Main Tags/Warnings: slow burn, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, human!Castiel, divorce, infidelity, middle aged destiel, explicit sexual content, top Castiel/bottom Dean Winchester, top Dean Winchester/bottom Castiel, POV alternating, unresolved sexual tension, denial of feelings, porn with feelings, anxiety attacks, manipulative relationship, unhealthy coping mechanisms, canon-typical violence, case fic, bisexual!Dean, demisexual!Castiel, semi-canon, minor Castiel/OMC, minor Dean Winchester/Lisa Braeden Summary: It's been ten years since the Apocalypse. Ten years without talking, without knowing one another. Castiel has a company to handle and a wedding to plan, Dean has a broken marriage and a decision to make. They have separate lives, lovers and families of their own, they aren't supposed to meet again, to mess it all up. And yet they do, when they least expect it, and maybe when they most need it. A story about second chances, about hope and resilience, and a love that feels both doomed and inevitable.

Unsung Melody (WIP) | @toomanyships-sendhelp

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 177617 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Character Death, AU Slaves, Slow Burn Summary: Dean runs a busy bar and grill in Lebanon, Kansas. Semi-retired from hunting, he'll still catch a case when one blows his way or the urge to hunt strikes him again. It isnt until a case that opened decades ago claims another victim and Dean has to get back in the game a little more than he expected.

#destiel trope collection 2020 #destiel trope collection #destiel #slow burn #day 25

157 notes · View notes

mybeautifulbeautifuleternal · 4 years ago

Text

Tea Party

rating: fluffy

warning: canon typical hargreeves family shenanigans. five is a little murdery - its fine

words: 1.7K

AO3

summary: Five has a plan. It does not survive contact with his niece.

Five was absolutely going to blame Klaus for everything. It could only be his fault that Five found himself dressed in a fairy princess dress with matching nails and makeup, attending a tea party.

That morning, Allison had picked up Claire from the airport — Patrick was apparently shooting some sort of documentary in Africa over the summer and didn’t want to leave Claire with somebody in LA or take her with him. Thus Allison got temporary custody while Patrick was away.

Mom was over the moon, loving the chance to meet her granddaughter. Klaus and Ben were almost as excited and Five knew that Vanya and Diego were quietly eager as well, all of them counting down the day until they met their niece. Luther had flown out with Allison earlier in the year for Allison’s court hearing and got to meet Claire in California.

Five was mostly indifferent. He had never interacted with kids before and didn’t really care to now. He remembered what absolute brats his siblings were at that age — even Vanya — and he didn’t want to get mixed up in that nonsense again. He figured he’d be there to greet Allison and meet Claire and then find ways to not be at the Mansion for most of the summer.

It was a solid plan. He just didn’t account for the rest of his siblings. He was working in Dad’s old office — the seven of them had gone to town on the room, breaking everything in sight, even starting some small fires (Klaus) that were very quickly put out. Afterward, they had given Five the room and told him to do things dad wouldn’t be proud of. Five ignored what Klaus was implying with that statement (that was paired with a pair of waggling eyebrows) and gladly moved into the study.

He had planned on working on his equations to get his adult body back— he had hoped to get them done before the new year but as he sat squished into a child’s chair, sipping at imaginary tea he saw those plans go up in smoke. Five knew — to the bottom of his soul — that he wasn’t going to be able to avoid his family this summer.

“Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to stay. I have work to be doing and this is not going to help.” Five was dead set on leaving this ridiculous thing.

“Oh, what are you working on Uncle Five?”

“I need to finish my quantum equation so that I may return to my adult body. It’s work that’s far beyond the intelligence of anyone currently living in this house.”

“That sounds amazing!” Claire’s voice was appropriately amazed.

Claire was absolutely brilliant and he couldn’t let his dumbass siblings mess that up. Obviously that meant he’d have to be more involved in her plans during the summer to run interference against his brothers. He knew, he just knew, that their idiocy would spread and he couldn’t have that.

Klaus was muttering about princesses and dragons and magic...Five narrowed his eyes and quietly began to make plans on how to limit Claire’s exposure to him. That sort of nonsense was ok — barely — in small doses but Klaus was not a small dose and with him not working...Klaus was going to be a problem.

There was a loud crash followed by yelling and cursing and Five frowned. It was Luther and Diego in the foyer and he didn’t even want to begin imagining what kind of bad habits they could impart on Claire, the fools. He distinctly remembered a phone call threatening a defenseless old woman because those morons thought she had killed Elliot. Which reminded him, he needed to figure out what languages Claire spoke so he could help fill it out with more practical languages. Five guessed she might have Spanish and French, but he had a list of languages that would be more useful to know.

Ben’s laughter grew as Luther and Diego’s cursing did and Five mentally crossed him off his list. Ben had spent too long with only Klaus to talk to — he couldn’t be trusted to make good choices. He might be a good partner on some trips though, isolate him from their brothers.

A selection from the Phantom of the Opera grew louder in response to the nonsense happening in the foyer and Five grinned. He’d have to get Vanya on board with his plans — musical ability was high on the list of things Claire should know and it would be helpful to have an ally in his fight. Claire might even ask for lessons herself if he talked about it in the right way.

Allison...might be an issue. Five was planning on hogging her daughter — but he remembers the fights for the bathroom and the sharp pains of Allison’s elbows. He didn’t need a reminder from her this summer. Nor was he going to allow that sort of senseless violence to come from Claire. Instead, he wanted to nurture a more targeted violence. Claire looked like she had inherited Allison’s pointed elbows and Five had plans for those things. Plans.

Five dove deeper into his thoughts, all but ignoring every happening around him.

“Do you think he knows we can hear him?” Diego didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused. He had rushed home as soon as he could to meet Claire but had run into Luther right in the foyer. It has set off one of their common fights which Allison had to break up. Afterward, she dragged him up to Claire’s new room where they were greeted with prime blackmail material — Five playing dress-up and having a tea party with their brother and niece.

“You think we’d still be alive if we saw this?” Allison did have a good point but on the other hand-

“He hasn’t hurt Klaus, yet.”

“Klaus is probably the reason he’s in the dress.”

“Not Claire?”

“She doesn’t really care for tea parties but she does like messing with people.” Allison sounded smug and proud, a tone that had Diego instinctively shuddering.

“Really?”

“Remind me to tell you the story about the third babysitter.”

Diego gave her a harsh side-eye at that and made the silent decision to never do that. He looked again at Five and Klaus playing pretty princesses and happened to see the glint in Claire’s eyes and knew that Claire was more like Allison then he thought. He remembers the Fight for the Bathroom and wanted no part in a round two.

“Is...is he planning on weaponizing my daughter?” Allison’s voice broke his train of thought and he focused on what Five saying more then what he was wearing and it...concerned him slightly.

“Yes. He is planning on weaponizing her. And I think he might be planning on killing me and Luther.”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“What’s understand...able?” Luther and Ben’s echoed question slowly trailed off as they spotted the same thing that stopped Diego and Allison earlier. Diego was only slightly wary of Ben’s smile, reminding himself that Ben had spent several years with only Klaus for company.

“Five is planning our murder.” Diego threw Five under the bus with no shame.

“Why?” Luther sounded confused.

“Do you really think he needs a specific reason?”

“Well, I’d hope he’d have at least one.”

“...he grew up with us.” Allison’s tone was dry.

“He realizes that we also grew up with him right?” Diego muttered under his breath as he tried to remember where Mom left the camera. He wanted physical proof that this party was happening.

“Oh, he probably conveniently forgot that side of the story. Is he planning on using Claire and her el-elbows?!” Ben sounded mildly impressed but Diego saw Luther shuddered and finally had some proof that Luther had a brain somewhere in his giant head.

“From the sounds of it, he doesn’t want our idiocy to infect Claire.”

“Soooo...he’s planning on killing us?” Diego had to sound incredulous. Five was skipping like seven different steps that should happen before murder.

“Oh, he’s been at it for a while. Murder is just the latest step of his master plan,” Klaus finally piped up from his seat in the room, proving that the three of them could actually hear them.

“Yeah, but he’s not going to do anything but plan. Right, Uncle Five?” Claire’s voice was sweet on the surface but Diego knew better. The males present in the room all froze and paled several shades. That tone was all pre-teen Allison and the terror they felt was ingrained.

Only Five was brave enough to start talking, “Claire, I don’t think you-”

Claire only raised an eyebrow at him and he shut his mouth quickly and violently. Diego laughed a little under his breath but the way that Claire slowly turned to look at him muted his laughter.

“Why don’t you all come join us!”

Grace hummed under her breath a little, stacking the cookies she had just finished baking. Her darling granddaughter had asked for some chocolate chip cookies made with love and Grace was hopeless to refuse. She finished with the cookies and moved to take them to Claire’s room. She met Vanya on the landing, Vanya coming from her music room, and Grace offered her a cookie.

“Thanks, Mom. But why?”

“Oh! Claire was telling me she was planning on having a tea party with everyone and wanted some cookies for it.”

“They’re having a tea party?” Vanya sounded both ignored and delighted.

“Well, I believe that your brothers were pressed into it but I'm sure they’ll be glad to have you join them.” Grace hummed a little, wanting to make her youngest daughter happy again.

She got her wish when they came to Claire’s room and Vanya’s laughter rang out over the conversation happening at Claire’s kid-sized table. Grace smothered a smile, not wanting to hurt anybody’s pride but helpless all the same to prevent the smile from forming in the first place. She agreed with Vanya’s laughter. Her boys did look somewhat ridiculous, dressed in badly fitting princess dresses as they were.

“Not. A. Word.” Her lovely Diego uttered what he thought was a threat but Grace knew that nobody was going to take him seriously — not with his tiara falling off and his make-up smudged.

“Auntie Vanya! Gramma! Join us?”

Grace and Vanya shared smiles and went to get changed — they were attending a royal tea party. They couldn’t wear just anything after all.

#the umbrella academy imagine #the umbrella academy #tua imagine #tua #five hargreeves #claire hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #luther hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #grace hargreeves #hargreeves children #m's fics #my stuff #tea party

59 notes · View notes

gvbejvmes · 4 years ago

Text

Drabble: The Present

Title: Fridays with CeCe Rating: PG-13 Characters: Gabriel James-Michaels, Bella James-Michaels, Constance James, Miss Alison, Andrew James, Maxxie Turner, Jonathan James-Michaels (mentioned), Velvet Starr (mentioned), Tommy “Kid” Kidderro (mentioned) Relationship: Implied Gabriel James-Michaels/Jonathan James-Michaels, Andrew James/Maxxie Turner, past Andrew James/Velvet Starr Warnings: Implied drug use and child endangerment, mentions of canon murder and incorrect medical diagnoses Summary: Twice a month Bella had a playdate at social services.

Twice a month Bella had a playdate at social services. She called it her ‘CeCe Day.’ He or Jay would take her down there, and she would bounce excitedly in their arms as she told them about all the things she wanted to do while she was there. It was always on a Friday, and it was always four hours in the morning. When they picked her up, she would either chatter on and on at 100mph about what she and her CeCe had done or she would be mopey because her CeCe showed up late or forgot about their playdate. Mostly she loved Playdate Days. Gabe, on the other hand, despised them.

While he and Johnny called them ‘Playdate Days,’ they’d never actually explained to Bella what they were. They would when she was older, but for now, she was too young to understand. All she knew was that her Mommy’s name was CeCe (well, Constance, but she chose to call her CeCe), and she had a standing playdate with her every other Friday. She never asked why it was always in the same room. And she never asked why Miss Alison, their caseworker, was always there. She only knew that she only got to see CeCe in a certain place at a certain time - the specifics didn’t bother her yet. Bella was three months old when Gabe got the call from social services asking if he could take custody of his granddaughter; she didn’t know any other life than this one.

Like most ‘Playdate Days,’ Gabe arrived a half hour early to pick Bella up. He didn’t know why he did it. Sometimes it was because he was already in the area and didn’t want to stray too far away. Other times it was because he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Today it was a combination of the two. He still needed to go to the art store to pick up a couple of brushes he had custom ordered, but something in his gut had told him to stop by the social services building first.

Instead of going in right away and sitting in the waiting room, he went around to the back of the building to the designated smoking area first - and that was when he saw her.

Constance James was skinny in a way that didn’t look natural. She had definition around her collarbone and chest that reminded Gabe of bird bones. It was like her body didn’t know how to retain fat or muscle tissue on that part of her body. She almost looked concave, but Gabe wouldn’t go quite that far. Her skin didn’t sit quite right on her bones - like she’d lost weight too quickly and her skin tried to conform to her body, but failed. It didn’t hang, but it didn’t look entirely normal either.

Her long blonde hair was streaked with black dye and was pulled back into a severe ponytail at the crown of her head. A cigarette was dangling from her lips as she texted rapidly on her phone. Her nails were short, and the cuticles looked picked at. Chipped nail polish caught the sunlight as her fingers moved across the screen.

She must have seen him approach because she suddenly groaned and put her phone away. “Did they call you?” She asked as she pulled the cigarette out of her mouth. Her foot was pressed against the side of the building, which made Gabe think of a flamingo for some reason.

“Should they have called me, Connie?” He asked his daughter as he pulled out his own cigarette and lit up. He leaned against the wall near her, knowing better by now than to try to have direct eye contact with his estranged daughter.

She shrugged and took a long drag of her cigarette. She looked better than the last time he had seen her. A lot of the time she ducked out before Gabe could get a good look at her. Today she was wearing jeans that actually fit without falling off her hips, and a thick gray sweater that fell off her shoulder, but that looked like it was the style and not the size. She looked healthier than the last time he’d seen her. Of all the things to have inherited, she inherited her mother’s terrible parenting and her grandfather’s temper and addiction.

“I dunno. They always seem to call you when I fuck up.” She admitted. “Ari kicked me out of the room.”

That was going to be a fun conversation with the case worker. He nodded and took a drag, using the time to think about what to say to that. “She prefers being called Bella.” He finally settled on.

Connie finished her cigarette and dropped the butt onto the ground before pushing off the wall. “No, you prefer Bella. She’s three. She’ll answer to any name I call her.” And with that his daughter started walking back towards the street. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

He watched his daughter walk away before finishing his cigarette and sanitizing his hands. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but they both knew she wouldn’t listen. Pushing all thoughts of his daughter away, he went inside to pick up Bella. And sure enough, as soon as he walked into the waiting room, the receptionist led him into a conference room to wait for the caseworker.

“Mr. James-Michaels.” Miss Alison greeted him. And it was Miss Alison. He’d tried just calling her Alison once and she nearly bit his head off. His husband said it was a Child Services/Social Worker thing and to just roll with it.

“Miss Alison.” He greeted in return, watching as she sat down at the table across from him. “I ran into Connie outside.”

The younger woman’s face paled. “Did she tell you what happened?” She pulled out her tablet and Gabe knew from experience that she was pulling up their file.

“Just that Bella threw her out of the room. And that she’s trying to make ‘Ari’ happen.”

Miss Alison sighed. “I put in a call to the judge. We may have to terminate her visitation for a couple of weeks.” It looked like she was looking for the best way to explain to Gabe what happened. Technically there was video footage, but Gabe hated watching it and Miss Alison knew that.

“Miss James has once again refused to follow the rules of visitation. She was thirty minutes late, she insisted on referring to Bella as Ari, even after both myself and Bella asked her to refrain, and she once again told Bella she was going to buy a house and take her away from you. It was at that point that Bella screamed and asked her to go away. We escorted Miss James out immediately. It’s become very clear that the current arrangement is not conducive to Bella’s wellbeing. You and your husband will likely get a summons within the next week or so with a court date to meet with Judge Murphy again.”

Before Gabe could respond, there was a knock on the door, and one of the assistants popped their head into the room. “Sorry, Bella kept asking me to call you. When I let her know you were already here, she demanded to see you because and I quote ‘the connatution says so.’” And he looked like he was trying so hard not to laugh.

Gabe rolled his eyes. “That she definitely got from my husband.” He dug around in his satchel and pulled out a package of freeze dried apple slices and tossed them at the assistant before pulling off his beanie and tossing that to him as well. “Those should tide her over until I’m done in here.” He promised. “I have to go over my and my husband’s availability for the next couple of weeks with Miss Alison.”

By the time Gabe finished his conversation and went to the other room to collect Bella, she was standing by the door, coat on and his beanie shoved down over her wild hair. “Took you long enough, GG.” She complained as he signed her out and carried her out of the building. “You dunno what I had to deal with today.”

His granddaughter was definitely three going on forty-seven.

After going to pick up his custom brushes, they headed over to the Collective so they could drop them off in his studio and because there were some orders he apparently needed to authorize. As soon as they walked inside, Bella told him she wanted to watch ‘the spinning’. He had no idea what she was talking about, until they walked to the classroom and he saw Maxxie running his beginning pottery class. Bella scampered off to sit near Maxxie and watch him move his clay around. Somehow he had a feeling she was going to wind up covered in clay - again. Shaking his head, he walked out of the classroom to find Andrew James sitting at the reception desk.

His son was twenty-six years old and all dark hair and tan skin. There was something about his hair that reminded Gabe of how his hair had been when he was his age. It was long and hung in his eyes - all the damn time. He was broad-shouldered, but was constantly hunching in on himself. It was like he was trying to make himself smaller everywhere he went. If he had to describe his son in one word, it would be skittish.

He spent years on medication he didn’t need after he claimed that he saw aliens take his aunt away. It wasn’t until he was older that he finally saw a therapist who saw his story for what it was: a way for his brain to comprehend a horrible thing he’d witnessed. Unfortunately by that time, he’d already spent years on medication he never needed and the side effects were irreversible. Thankfully the worst of it was memory loss and shaky hands.

“What are you doing working today?” He asked curiously as he gestured for his son to let him onto the computer. His son had been working at the Collective since he moved to New York. He’d made it clear he didn’t want any handouts, but he’d connected so well with the others at the Collective that it was strange to think about him working anywhere else. “I thought you refused to work on days Maxxie and Velvet were working.”

He’d dated both Velvet and Maxxie and now tried to avoid both of them whenever he could. His relationship with Velvet hadn’t been all that serious. As soon as he found out Velvet slept in a coffin, he was out. Maxxie, on the other hand, had been very serious. They’d dated for six months, which was the longest he’d ever seen his friend in a relationship. It had ended badly, to say the very least. He wasn’t entirely sure what happened between them, but fire had been involved somehow.

Drew made a face as he perched on the desk, shoulders hunched over and ankles crossed. “That’s not true.” He lied. “I traded shifts with Kid. He had his first GED prep class today.”

Gabe smiled at that. It had taken Tommy long enough. He pulled up the order he needed to review. There were still things he needed to do up in his office, but knowing that his son was working made him want to stay downstairs with him for as long as he could get away with it.

“CJ texted me.” Drew said after a long moment. “She wanted me to talk some ‘sense’ into you.”

He rolled his eyes. “And how’s that going for you?” While Connie didn’t talk to him, she still talked to her brother, but mostly only when she needed something. Drew, for his part, didn’t take sides. He loved his sister despite her faults, but he also knew how she was and what was best for his niece.

Before Drew could respond, Maxxie’s voice came from the classroom. “Pookie! Can you come get your little sister?! She’s throwing clay on the ground.” And nothing about that surprised him except for…

“Pookie?” He mouthed at his son, eyebrow raised. Maybe there was more to Drew working today than just taking Tommy’s shift.

His son blushed as he hopped off the desk. “That’s the part you’re focusing on? Not the fact that he keeps calling my niece my sister?” He grumbled out. “I’ll watch Bella; just go work.” He waved a hand in his dad’s direction.

As his son disappeared into the classroom and he could hear Bella squealing in delight, he couldn’t help but to mouth out again: “Pookie?”

#drabble #pairing: Gabe/Johnny #pairing: Drew/Maxxie

0 notes

thewebcomicsreview · 5 years ago

Photo

Homestuck 2 Liveblog, Part 3

(See older parts here or on Tumblr here)

Chapter 3: How Are your feelings

We’ve got a new ship, which appears to have sails for some reason, and it’s either rocketing forward with determination, or crashing. Presumably, this is the ship containing the Meatworld Crew, who set out to rescue Rose from Dirk’s mind control. God, this plot is so complicated.

In anyone else’s hands, this is just a microphone. In my hands it’s a pipe boat.

The one spoiler I had for this chapter was that the ship design was stupid, and...yes. That says “Grandpa Harley” a lot more than the Theseus did, though I don’t think Canon Jake ever smoked.

Oh boy, the narration text is in the first person. It’s also lowercase, so one presumes this is Calliope, in Jade’s body? I thought Calliope was trying to maintain the role of invisible narrator, though, and she’s calling attention to herself more obviously than any of the other narrators.

Me on my way to steal your girl by possessing her and floating around all creepy for three years

JADE: the prince’s power grows.

KARKAT: JESUS CHRIST!

Heh. This art is really nice. Jade’s speaking in Calliope’s red text, so she is indeed possessed by Calliope. Poor Jade. Homestuck proper is 8,192 pages. The epilogue is 100,000 words, and we’re 100 pages into Homestuck 2. Jade has been stuck on a boat, possessed, unconscious, dead,possessed again, or otherwise out of the story since Cascade, all the way back on page 4,109. No wonder she became a hedonist. Of course, who’s fault is it that Jade missed the final battle.

(From Homestuck 1).

I always read this as foreshadowing that Jade would get a big moment, and it never happened. Hopefully someone on the writing team remembers that Jade is supposed to roar to life and show everyone who’s the real master. But for now, alas, the real master is Calliope, hypocritically fighting for the free will of all by taking Jade out of the story again. Anyway, that was a long tangent and a lot of search (give me back the .txt file of the whole comic, Viz!) back to Homestuck 2.

Oh hey, DaveKat is canon now, I forgot. It’s mildly annoying that Dave and Calliope are in the same scene with the same text color, but whatev.

Aww, Karkat’s wearing Dave’s shirt. How cute. Less cute: Calliope’s added her red to Jade’s outfit, including her logo. She’s really just as evil as Dirk, isn’t she?

Also, I don’t know if this sprite style quite works for a “leaning up in bed pose”

This just looks odd. Probably doesn’t help that we’re see Dave without shades for I believe the first time ever.

KARKAT: OH, PARDON THE FUCK OUT OF ME FOR OVERREACTING A LITTLE WHEN MY GOOD FRIEND "POSSESSED JADE" BUSTS INTO MY RESPITEBLOCK AT 5 AM!

Aw, I missed this, a Karkat tantrum.

I like this dynamic. But if they’ve been on this boat as long as Dirk has been on his, Jade’s been possessed for three years.

Why are Dirk and Calliope’s powers growing, though? Especially Calliope, shouldn’t she be maxed out by now? She literally ate Lord Engl-

....

Calliope is powerful enough to escape Candyland because she ate Lord English, and Lord English is partially comprised of Dirk, so there’s quite literally a little bit of Dirk inside Calliope right now. That’s maybe something to keep in the back of our minds, but now I’m theorycrafting.

The only way twenty-somethings can afford an apartment this night is if they live somewhere with a killer commute, which is why it takes three years to get anywhere

Okay, phew. So this Roxy is trans, but the Roxy on Candyland isn’t. That’s something I’m going to have to be careful to remember lest I use the wrong pronoun for the wrong one and everyone gets mad at me.

Dirk, like the coffee, getting roasted here

So, has this crew not been chasing Dirk for three years, or has Dave just been all “I sure am comfortable with you being trans now” incessantly from age 23 to age 26? I guess that’s pretty in-character for him. Everyone seems to not be used to a situation they should be used to be now so far, but maybe that’s just for our benefit as readers who can’t remember all this nonsense?

I love how Kanaya the Fashion Troll is basically the only character in the entire franchise to go “Fuck I haven’t been onscreen in over ten years I should change my look”. The big bow is Rose’s from way back when her and Kanaya first met, which is a cute nod.

Okay I get that they want to remind these things to the reader, but Dave. Dude. She’s your sister-in-law. She’s been your sister-in-law for 7 to 10 years depending on how long you’ve been on that boat and she’s been a vampire that whole time. Someone give this boy a set of flash cards, Jesus Christ!

OBVIOUS FORESHADOWING ALERT: This story is about a “young prince”, and this is going to be a metaphor. The young prince is Dirk, the Prince of Time, and the Rose is....Rose.

Aww, this is cute. I should have put on Kanaya’s Theme while reading this, it fits the mood of the scene really well.

Oh man, none of these people know John’s dead

fffffffffffffffff

Okay, so that’s 7 years between the end of Homestuck 1 and the Homestuck Epilogues. Dirk’s been on his boat for three years, but we’re with the Meat Crew at the start of their journey, (which means Roxy only recently came out as trans, which I guess makes it less weird that Dave is still processing it).

But god, this is a lot of timelines to keep track of. I guess it’s fun in a way, being intensely convoluted was part of the fun of trying to piece together Homestuck 1′s plot, but I think I’m this close to busting out a white board where and how old everyone is actually fuck it

God as my witness, I will one day have a vague understanding of what the fuck is going on in Homestuck and I will die trying!

This seems metatextual, in that the characters are more complete when they have like a goal and stuff. Or it might be the Homestuck 2 writers taking a subtle jab at the Epilogue writers, that everyone’s better off having left the epilogues behind and moving on to Homestuck 2. That might be reading too much into it.

Of course, as soon as I say that we cut from Dave talking about how everything’s better to Karkat talking about how everything’s worse.

Wait, non-god Calliope is on the ship? UGH, the whiteboard already needs to be updated! The epilogues implied she was too scared of god-Calliope to leave her room, so I’d assumed she’d stayed behind. Damn it.

Heh. Also: Huh? Karkat is making a lot of assumptions here, given that Terezi, Sollux, and Aradia are all alive, he never saw Gamzee die, and Vriska dying just made her more powerful.

And that’s the update! I like these character interactions, even though they’re mostly just sitting around and naval-gazing like in Act 6 and the epilogues, because at least it’s got some jokes it feels like it’s all going somewhere. And starting next month, it’s going to be going there twice as fast

#Homestuck #Homestuck 2 #Homestuck 2 Liveblog

32 notes · View notes

coldtomyflash · 5 years ago

Note

What do you think of Dick's portrayal in the various tv and movie adaptations? I first saw him in Batman TAS and loved him from the start. But the reboot came around and Tim replaced him as deuteragonist. Also the fallout with his relationship with Barbara (which I once loved) got even worse in Batman Beyond (in which he never appeared on screen) and the comic with the Bruce/Barbara/baby storyline. In the end it was like the writers hated him and in recent movies he takes a back seat to Damian.

“various TV and movie adaptations”

... movie adaptations?

We haven’t seen Dick in a movie in like 20 years. Unless you mean DC’s animated films, like Justice League: War, and similar?

But okay, what an awesome question.

If you check out my previous post (here), you’ll discover quickly that pretty much one of my favourite portrayals of him is Young Justice. I thought they did an amazing job in Season 1 with showing the depth of him (and of most of the main characters honestly) and all the different layers he has in terms of identity, including with his friends, with the league, with leadership, and with Bruce. The time-skip from him being Robin to him being an adult, self-assured Nightwing was a bit of a letdown because that transition is messy, but the characterization was still great.

I also loved him in Batman TAS but I haven’t watched that in so long. Definitely what go me originally into superhero media (well okay I remember being 4 years old and watching the old live action Adam West Batman but like, does that count? I guess it has to, because Dick is straight up hilarious in that, but like, characterization wise idk what to even say about that version). Anyway in TAS we get that whole tension of Dick’s role and identity vis a vis being Batman’s sidekick and I’m really into that. That portrayal is probably like the foundation, stone number one, when it comes to understanding Dick Grayson.

As for Batman Beyond - okay I love Batman Beyond, really and truly, but tbh I kind of think of it like... an alt-universe, almost like a... fic. I think of it like someone’s Batman AU in which they created an OC as a protagonist. And I’m into it! But I don’t really connect it with the rest of the Batman or DC canon if I’m being honest. Terry is great, I adore him, he actually reminds me a lot of Dick, but yeah wtf is going on with the implied fallout between Bruce and Dick and Dick not even being in the show. Idk. Doesn’t count. Side-step that weird non-canon.

(I mean, fucking tell me they’re not basically writing Dick with a different name here.)

Don’t touch Bruce/Barbara. Stick your fingers in your ears and sing la la la la la la at the top of your lungs until it goes away. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Do not let DC continue until that storyline is wiped from the face of the earth.

As for the recent animated films, typically they’re not focused on Dick but they do a half-decent job with him. I do like the Son of Batman (or whatever it’s called) animated film where they introduce Damian to the plot; Dick is pretty good in that even though his role is more minor. I haven’t watched the one with Harley Quinn yet where she’s helping Bruce and Dick but I really want to, it looks like it has some potentially entertaining Dick content in there.

(except that hair. What did they do to my handsome boi?)

What I tend to like about the modern animated films is that they get the snark right? They have these people make fun of each other and themselves, they get to be deadpan, they take the comics storylines and bring them to life in bite-sized chunks that are easier to digest. They also tend to have awesome voice-acting. They’re very much designed for pre-existing comics fans and are light on exposition as well, which makes me a good target audience. So I don’t tend to get too annoyed with the characterization in any of them, in part because they’re often pulling directly from pretty good comics arcs.

So the comics - (whoo boy this is getting long!)

I am in the small and Unpopular camp of people who kind of liked the entire goddamn mess that had Dick’s identity revealed to the world in... was that New 52 Forever Evil? i think it was; I have it on my shelf. I mean - we got some of Bruce and Dick’s dynamic and how much Bruce cares for Dick, and I’m all about that, but it was also like a shockwave in the Batfam because holy shit.

That being said, I’m not sure how much I like the direction taken, with the spiral agents and all that. I mean - Dick is Nightwing. And while him going undercover or being a spiral agent is kind of fun, the inherent problem with the identity reveal that they can’t really take back is that he can’t be allowed to be Nightwing anymore. So in that sense I also really fucking hate it.

And then Dick being Batman for a while when Bruce is off being Not Quite Dead? I like Dick and Damian’s dynamic (kind of) but again it seems like backtracking to me. The way I interpret Dick is so much as his own person that for him to put on the cowl feels... wrong. Like he specifically doesn’t want to be Batman? And it feels like this authorial obsession with Batman, and with their always being a Batman. Like - Gotham needs the Bat fam, not just the Bat man. Y’know?

I don’t mind the recent focus on Damian, though I think my biggest issue with it is that it kind of felt for a while like “ah yes, Bruce has a true son now, time to give him all the narrative weight, who cares about the rest of these former Robins” and I wasn’t in to that. Which is nothing against Damian.

(I want more batfam hugs! not just Damian! but also yes this is cute)

But the Batfam is only as interesting and their connections to each other, y’know? I’d love to see more focus on Tim, tbh, on Tim and Jason, on that whole mess and its resolution, on Jason and Dick, on Dick coming to terms with his family colours being passed down, on what it meant for him when Jason died, on what it meant for him when he met Tim. Let’s explore more of that in the movies and animated series, please!!

(I guess we get some of that in DC’s Titans? I hope so. I need to catch up. Dick so far seems complex and angry, which I’m into, but also like... Dick Grayson is a beacon of hope, okay. That’s who he is. A version of Dick that isn’t inherently trying to help and save everyone is kind of hard to wrap my head around. I’m not fully sure how I feel about him yet, but I do like the series).

Oh I totally forgot to talk about Teen Titans. I haven’t watched Teen Titans Go, but boy howdy did I love the original Teen Titans. I was just the right age when it came out to be the target audience and I very much enjoyed Robin in that series, at least as well as I can remember. And Lego Batman which is hilarious.

Okay that’s all for me now. I’ll go back to pretending I’m a Flash blog or something.

#oh god did i become a dick grayson stan blog #i think i did #whoops #sorry not sorry #dick grayson #dc #bat family #i have no tagging convention for this shit uh oh #uhhh #Not Flash #Not DC CWTV #off topic #nightwing #robin #characterization #Anonymous

42 notes · View notes

cooltrainererika · 5 years ago

Text

Alt-talia: Child of the Groves

So this is another entry for @aphlithuaniaweek2020! This time it’s for the Nature prompt!

I just wanted to expand more on the Baltic mythology after “The Fiery One”, though this is a different interpretation than that one, in which the communication is less direct, and also exploring how pagan/nature-worshipping beliefs form. It’s actually really fitting that they form through, in nation terms, the innocent eyes of a child.

Also, due to that this fic might kind of imply that Liet has been around since even before the birth of the Lithuanian state? Maybe the usual interpretation of when he was born in Alt-talia and canon could still fit, but it might make more sense if he’s actually even older than that just in this one case. After all, there was one tribe apparently called the “Lithuanians”... I guess it’s a similar case with the Polans and Poland in which they were the most major tribe or the one Mindaugas ruled?

It’s late here again, so not spending too much time on this Author’s Note. Let’s go.

Child of the Groves

Shrouded in forest and bogs, rain and low hills, a young boy was born. When he came to for the first time, some time everyone forgot for that was not important, that was all he knew.

The sky was infinite, neverending, all-encompassing. He didn’t speak, for all He had to be was to be present, constantly watching over all.

Days started when the sun showed its face. It was gentle, warm… like a mother.

She was the mother of children without one of their own. Maybe that included him as well. She was at Her strongest after the harsh, dreadful winters came to an end.

But when she left, the moon took Her place, so that he may not be cloaked in complete darkness. As if together, they repelled the demons and evil spirits that lurked in the dark away.

If Saulė was the mother, Menuo was the father, he thought.

His light was not as warm or strong, but it was refreshing, calming as he went to sleep. He would wax and wane, but always, He was reborn.

Together, they nurtured the fields of rye that nourished him.

And if they were the mother and father, the stars must have been his sisters, comforting him on dark nights even when Menuo was awaiting revival.

Often, rain fell from the endless sky. It fell so often, he became known for its abundance.

During these storms was when it struck with a deafening flash, crashing, deafening, shattering the air around it.

The young boy could only cower, shivering in awe as it displayed its mighty power. He was terrifying, forceful… bold, strong, powerful. Strict, but with it He inspired respect.

And where He struck, warm flames, like pieces of the sun, were left behind. She could be destructive, yet warm, protective, removing the toxins from and softening the flesh of the creatures of the forest and cattle, protecting the home from darkness consuming it all. Which she would choose to be was unreadable, but it was possible to appease Her.

The cows nourished the peoples here; and he had found snakes around them. Where the cows went, they followed, and when the cows were bountiful, so were they, watching over them with their unblinking eyes. So, he assumed, they brought wealth. And for they foretold of spring and basked in the sun, they must have served Her.

So if he spotted one, he was sure to offer it milk. His young eyes lit up when one followed him home, where he hand-fed it frogs.

Other welcome guests of spring among the many were the storks; despite their size, taller than even he, they were nothing to fear, though they were quick to chastise him if he were to play too rough with their chicks. The smaller birds serenaded them with their adorable lovely songs every spring, making their presence known even if they were less keen to be seen.

And most of all, most omnipresent, were the forests extending as far as he knew. They were everywhere, and he merely lived among them, much like they merely grew below the World Tree supporting the heavens. They were bountiful and his playground, where he foraged and hunted. Inside the trees waited the spirits of the people who had left this existence, upon them bees built their nests where they produced sweet, delectable honey, and somewhere among them was nestled the legendary fern flower that grew every Midsummer.

But they were also dark, mysterious, dangerous. There were groves he was to never enter or defile if there was no intention to bring prayer. Every variety of tree was left by a divine being as their presence on this plane of existence, and were therefore sacred. Even when childish curiosity pulled at him he knew never to step foot. While surely, the Lauma who dwelled within would spare a child, even they had their limits; and a less merciful spirit could take him to another world, or take his life. Or at least, it would if he were anyone else, but he did not wish to know what they would do to an immortal entity like he. If a rabbit crossed his path, he knew it was a warning from above to leave. And the bears and wolves would be nowhere as merciful. Even on a mundane walk, he needed to be alert for a devil’s mischievous tricks.

It was only when they welcomed him did he explore further; if he was in danger, he could vanish into their depths and let them take care of those who dared to threaten him.

They could be fickle; that was why sacrifice was needed, just to bargain with them, even if even such things were not always heeded. He was at their mercy, for good or bad.

They were not entirely like parents, but not entirely beasts. He never had seen them, but everywhere around him, evidence of their existence lurked, from the golden pieces of stone that washed onto shore, to the very trees in the woods.

The sun rose and fell in turn with the moon, the seasons came and went. For time was a cycle with no start or end.

That was how the child rationalized the world around him, for that was all he knew.

—————

The birds chirped that morning as the last leaves from last autumn crunched under Lithuania’s feet.

The man grumbled to himself, rubbing his forehead trying to fend off a hangover, regretting thinking that treating himself with his first binge drinking session in a while wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Augh my head… At least I can walk straight without throwing up I guess. That’s an improvement.”

Small animals rustled through the foliage as he took a deep breath of the clear air. The trees loomed above him, silently observing the lone man on his morning walk. He no longer feared the forest, so all that was left was it beckoning him further.

Crunch, crunch.

Another deep breath.

Steadily, he thought he felt his nausea and headache subside.

He wandered without particular aim, stopping every so often to pick berries and mushrooms, for once in his life not worrying where he was heading, bathed in the warm morning sunlight, producing an almost trace-like state, letting himself sink into the past. Here, he felt his troubled mind at peace, restful, more than he had ever been even when he called such woods home.

A rabbit ran by his feet, and he let it pass by.

He saw the forest clear in his view; then, a building, an old church.

The forest opened back into neatly maintained grass, and further a parking lot, into civilization, albeit with few here at this time.

He continued to walk towards the red wooden church, near which an old, large, twisted oak stood, protected from defilement by tall fencing, surrounding it in a large circle.

He stared up at it; now old, aging, tired-looking, exhausted and kept alive by caring locals, while he continued to appear not much past his prime. The one family there, or anyone for that matter, would have never suspected this man remembered when this tree was young and fresh. But even he knew nothing about how long it had been here; it was most likely older than even he.

Here, the god of Thunder was worshipped. And mere meters apart, the small church stood. Yet, it felt strangely fitting.

“Oh, you’se were here?”

He turned; just off the platform stood Latvia, his mop of dark blond hair just now entering his vision, his pet grass snake taking a ride in his hoodie and poking its head out.

“You were here too?”

“We’s were thinkin’ the sames things, it looks like.”

Latvia joined him on the observation platform, leaning his lanky body on the railing.

“I’m wonderin’s if there’s really a path to a different world in there… I’ve never gone theres, even if I was always tempted to…”

Lithuania raised an eyebrow.

“Wouldn’t count on it.”

“You haven’t beens in there, right?”

“If you haven’t, I haven’t either. Would make a good movie premise though, wouldn’t it?”

“Wonder since when it’s beens here… Wonder whats it’s seens…”

Maybe within, there was indeed a different world; one he had known, and never completely lost.

That morning, the two reminisced over berries for breakfast, his hangover a distant memory.

#aphlietweek2020 #hws lithuania #aph lithuania #hws latvia #aph latvia #baltic mythology #alt-talia

9 notes · View notes