#if it continues then there needs to be a communication improvement between the team so we can stop having issues of personality flipping

[cagedcats]

Going on a weird-ish tangent for some reason about the newest arc-

I feel like the main issue with the writing and characters is quite literally how many people are involved in the writing aaaaand that the editing team doesn’t… or never seemed to learn the characters from before them.

Such as characters we’ve known to be chill being uncharacteristically aggressive and characters flipping personality/opinions every book or so and just. Idk

Tho having multiple people writing one series isn’t a whole issue tho. It’s mostly the lack of communication between them. Which is the biggest fault in the writing process.

Finchlight supporting Nightheart in one book and in the very next book was treating him as a traitor for the very thing she supported him on. Having StarClan encouraging Leafpool to have a relationship, then treating her like an actual criminal that could be sentenced to the Dark Forest.

[writingwithcolor]

Hey folks!

It has been a while! Well, we wanted to announce some big things coming your way!

WWC Askbox: Soft Re-Opening

Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023 to Thursday, Nov 30, 2023

In light of the recent attention WWC has received by the writeblr community, and the reception to our Guide to Academic Research—the mods have decided that we will temporarily reopen to your questions and test some important changes to the site! As you may have noticed, we've taken a much-needed break to catch up on our personal lives and restore our inspiration to answer the hundreds of Q&A that we receive. 

Once the submission window is up on Nov 30, we will evaluate how our new system is going, tinker some more, and reopen once again once the construction dust clears.

New Rules and FAQ! 

We are pleased to announce our new and improved Masterpost, which we hope will be a more centralized, more informative resource for those new and returning to WWC. 

Brand-new FAQs, with new answers and content for further reading

Code of Conduct and other etiquette rules

The Ask Tutorial—a guide to writing a good ask that we’ll answer!

Moving forward, all followers are required to go through the masterpost to submit a question so they are aware of the new rules, terms & conditions. 

Read the masterpost here and ask your question!

New Process

We're piloting out our own personal askbox via Google Forms. This will help us streamline the process and keep track of everyone’s questions.

We are also introducing the Deletion Log, a public, anonymous ledger that lets you know if your question (identified by a number code) has been deleted due to a rule violation, and what you can do to resubmit. Check out the Deletion Log here. 

Want to submit an ask? 

The below are topics of asks that we will get to right away, based on the mods who are currently active. 

Black 

Chinese

Colonialism

Iranian/Persian 

Japanese (INCLUDING: Anime fanfic questions! Only Mod Rina will be answering anime questions, and only if she feels that the ask would make for an educational post.)

Jewish

Mixed race

South Asian: Hindu, Indian, Punjabi, Sikh (please remember that when asking about South Asia you must indicate region & time period) 

Taiwanese 

Writing/Publishing industry 

Coming Soon: Writingwithcolor.org

We've made tremendous progress on writingwithcolor.org and are almost ready to show off the more permanent residence of WritingWithColor! However, it'll take a lot of time to fully transfer posts and links. To get the new look and all its benefits to you faster, we plan for a soft launch of the content. This will include back and forth linking between WritingWithColor.org and our home on Tumblr. We'll try to keep things seamless and your viewing experience on Tumblr shouldn't be too interrupted. Launch date is coming soon!

New Mod Applications

We still have some applications from our last call of mods and folks to respond to. So if you haven’t heard back, sorry for the delay, but no worries—we will get back to you as we start shaking the dust off our bones and getting back into Q&A. Once we are ready to invite more mods again, we'll continue our outreach.

A Special Thanks To You All

We want to thank you for your continued support, whether it’s been viewership, spreading the word about us, or sending us a tip that supports our domain and future projects for you all. The whole team really appreciates it. We will keep bringing you our best advice and guides on all things good writing with inclusivity. 

Be well and keep writing!

~WWC

[pillowfort-social]

Spring 2024 Funding Update

Hi Pillowfolks!

We wanted to take a moment to talk about the status of our funding as we head into the later part of spring 2024. It’s still important to us to ensure we are as transparent as possible to you regarding our finances.

We are very ecstatic to share with our community that thanks to your continuous support we now have enough funding to remain online as a functional platform until at least October 2024.

Rather than sharing only percentages this time we want to present to you the total amount of funding we received from our supporters so far in 2024. These totals include both one-time donations and Pillowfort Premium subscriptions. We need $5,000USD a month for site upkeep and to compensate our Staff.

January 2024: $4,078.58 February 2024: $5,586.22 March 2024: $5,627.57 April 2024: $5,515.81

Note: These numbers are from settled transactions.

And for those who are curious how this compares to our finances in 2023 here is a look at those numbers:

January 2023: $4,416.40 February 2023: $3,774.40 March 2023: $3,827.40 April 2023: $3,703.67

The difference between this year and last year has us cautiously optimistic, which feels great after many months of uncertainty.

It needs to be said again: we continue to be blown away by how our community continues to come together to help us continue to exist. Thank you for continuing to put your trust into our small team. Thank you for continuing to hold us accountable (especially when you let us know when we make a mistake).

We are still planning to update the donation tracker with improved verbiage. We hope that will remove the confusion that donations and Pillowfort Premium subscriptions are separate from our funding goals.

Will there be any Pillowfort Premium Updates?

Promoted Posts and Gifted Subscriptions are still coming this year. We have a bit more information to share regarding Promoted Posts. Promoted Posts will be rebloggable and can be blacklisted. The plan is to have promoted posts be available on a designated page, while also allowing users to choose the option to have promoted posts show up on their home feed.

We are still planning on increasing our Pillowfort Premium prices this year. Before any price changes occur we will consult with the community and take feedback.

Finally, we are going to improve Pillowfort Premium payment notifications so users have a better idea when their renewal is close.

Well, that’s about it for this post. Don’t ever hesitate to ask questions. We will do our best to answer. Stay tuned for future updates! We will provide another funding update next month. -Staff

[himeryu]

– Love Rivalry: 45. you're losing me

kaveh x reader

You stand still nervously as you and Alhaitham await your professor's approval. You gaze at your professor reading your project with a stern expression. Today is the deadline for your thesis submission-- the final deadline that binds you and Alhaitham together. Despite avoiding your partner for a week, you focused on your project. Unknowingly, Alhaitham's gaze is not on the professor; but on you. 

Your professor puts down your printed proposal with a grin on his face-- a grin of approval. Truthfully, your professor has high expectations of your and Alhaitham's output. After all, two of the outstanding students in his class are partners. "You two never fail to amaze me," your professor says. Your eyes light up, and joy befalls your entire being. 

"An amazing output," he continues, "from the formatting and paragraph construction. To think that two undergraduate students manage to create near-profession research would surprise the head directors of the academe." 

"You flatter us, professor," Alhaitham replies. 

"You two make a great team," The professor smiles.

 

------------------

You exit the classroom with your head up high, emitting an air of confidence. After months of sleepless nights and coffee every morning, you finally accomplished your project. And most of all, you could finally conclude your partnership with Alhaitham. 

Though you believe your relationship with Alhaitham would improve after the project, everything went south when he opened his mouth that day. Sometimes, you find yourself dwelling on the what-ifs: what if you didn't message Alhaitham? What if you didn't look for Alhaitham? What if you left first instead of staying? What if you didn't let curiosity get the best of you? 

Perhaps if you weren't nosy, then maybe every time you gazed into Alhaitham's eyes, your brain wouldn't replay the heart-wrenching memory of his foul tone. If you weren't curious, then maybe your expectations and heart wouldn't shatter into a million pieces like they did on that day. 

You painfully chuckle to yourself, running your fingers through your hair as a thought you desperately tried burying deep into your heart starts to resurface. 

'What if Alhaitham didn't mean those words?' 

How cruel human nature is. Despite hearing those words from his mouth, a slim, thin strand of hope binds you to the possibility that Alhaitham might be lying. 

But deep down, you knew dwelling on the numerous possibilities would be pointless. What's done is done; we cannot change the course of fate. 

Alhaitham exits the classroom, and his gaze immediately finds itself on your figure. You feel it, his gaze and the unresolved tension between you two. You stand still once more, not wanting to see his face. 

"Communication is the key," A phrase you frequently see while scrolling through the comments of your favorite romance novels. "Anything can be solved with just an exchange of words." You believe their words; after all, you've read plenty of books during your time in high school. 

Silence fills the air as you gaze into nothingness while he gazes at you. 

Ah, you needed to communicate. But can you? You no longer understand him.

Finally, you turn to look at him, much to Alhaitham's surprise. His eyes falter as you look at him with an indifferent expression-- a mask you created to avoid cowering in front of the man who gave you so much distress.

Hesitantly, you open your mouth to speak. 

"Alhai--"

"I've thought about what you said," Alhaitham interjected. "Let's talk, [Name]."

---------

Silence. No words were exchanged between you and Alhaitham in the desolate cafe away from the busy students of the academy. You awkwardly sip your drink, eyes glued to Alhaitham cutting a piece of his cake. 

You agreed to talk with him, yet the only words you exchanged were: "What will you get?", "Just a cafe latte." 

Deciding to communicate is easy, but doing it is difficult. After all, you and Alhaitham are arrogant freaks who refuse to put down their ego. Hahaha. Just like Blue Lock. 

The atmosphere in the cafe is tense, to the point that the barista can feel it. The barista glances in your direction once more, trying his best to conceal his nosiness. Nevertheless, his white-colored hair, tan skin, and red eyes are hard to ignore. 

You have to talk to Alhaitham, a decision you cannot ignore. But the inability to read his emotions and thoughts is making you hesitate. Speak now, or you'll forever hold your peace. 

"Alhaitham," You say. Oh, how his name leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. "You said you thought about what I said the other day."

"That's right," He replies. Unlike before, Alhaitham refuses to look at you. But why? You don't know. You can't even think of a reason. Alhaitham became unreadable, someone you can no longer predict.

"Do you have an answer?" You continue, "To, you know, your question?"

"I do." Finally, Alhaitham looks at you, his eyes firm. "But don't you have a question?"

Your eyes widen as your face contorts to confusion. "Me? A question?"

"That's right." He continues, "I can tell that you have something to say."

You stare at him in shock. The mask you created started to crumble. Unbelievable, you reckon to yourself. How dare he? You've been trying your best to conceal your thoughts, yet Alhaitham read right through you. How can he? When you no longer could? Slowly, somewhere deep within you, your emotions starts to pile up, waiting to overflow.

"Humor me with your question," Alhaitham continued with a smug tone as if he was expecting you to open up easily.

You scowl, "How arrogant."

"You know that all too well."

"Are you picking a fight?"

"Stop being difficult, [Name]."

Suddenly, emotions deep within you starts to overflow. It seeps into your blood and clouds your sense of reasoning as rage taints your entire soul, burning red. Your face contorts to anger as you finally succumb to your emotions. You furrow your eyebrows as you glare at Alhaitham's eyes. His gaze faltered, but you paid no mind. 

"Oh. So now I am being difficult?!" You yell, your tone filled with contempt. "You're the one who called for me. Moreover, we finally finished that God-forsaken project that binds us together, so there is no longer any reason for us to talk." 

The calm and collected facade of Alhaitham starts to crumble. "What? So I can no longer talk to you? Was the times we spent together working on that thesis for 4 months mean nothing to you—" 

"Ha!" You scoff, interrupting him. How dare Alhaitham ask that? How dare he? When it was he who forsaken that anguishing 4 months? However, right there you notice: Alhaitham, too, is losing his cool, abandoning his usual rationality and indifference.

"How bold of you to say that, Alhaitham." You continue, "That's right. I have a question. Do you truly mean everything you've said that day?"

Alhaitham looks at you, confused, "That day?"

"That day at the cafe, Alhaitham. Unfortunately, I eavesdropped your conversation." Alhaitham's eyes widen, ultimately realizing the gravity of the situation. You gather up all your courage as you refrain from shedding a tear in front of this man. Finally, Alhaitham's words sank in, burying itself deep into your heart. Oh, how his words hurt you so. Who knew a bunch of words could render you in such a pitiful state? 

You speak, trying to retain composure. However, your voice starts cracking. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Alhaitham? Was the time we spent together all for naught? Do you detest me so much that you'd speak of me that way?" 

Pathetic. 

"I really thought we could be friends, you know?" You say, bitterly.

Unknowingly, a certain barista is eavesdropping on your conversation with Alhaitham. 

main m.list | series m.list | previous | next

Author Note: i was supposed to end the flashback here but this chapter is too long so I have to extend it to one last chapter. Im so sorry for being IA i was just lazy 😭 PLUS the written part took me such a long time cause I was losing ideas like I just want this to end and move to Moth To A Flame but I am lazy!!

SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

taglist

@dee-zbignuts @lxry-chxn @ducq @nikkicola @artssleepy @arraxthatsonjah @kunihaver @i-x4o @soohasoya @yae-raidenmyloves @aixaingela @09yyeol @nebulaera @bokutetsumu @kairxse @victoria1676 @thenightsflower @ti-lsy @alizaneth @abvolat @carnnieval @ultimate-imagines @ventisoba @skimm0nzz @slvdsjjk @succutie @empathum @saoiirsee @disa-ster @httpmitsuya @kunikuzushiit @semi-orangeapple @goodthingimsam @strawberry1894 @meep13r @leeyanyanyaaan @heart-cream @crueldinasty @justonemoreroz @boordbokee @moraxsimp69 @kkiryu @r4yyyyy @tartagli-yuh @raideneiari @kaekazuha04 @dazaiscum @mayasshitposts @kunikuzi @ruisann (taglist full)

[matan4il]

Buddie 604 meta

I feel like I deserve a medal for not making a joke about how, since it was implied in 401 that Eddie stayed at Buck’s during the pandemic, we know at some point Buck will have two ex-roommates who want his body fluids. XD ~~

It’s maybe a small thing, but I enjoyed seeing Ramon advise Eddie on his issue with Chris. It was a lovely callback to their promise in 517 to work on improving their relationship, and it also showed really nice insights from Ramon. I loved it! It’s a nice reminder that 911 for the most part doesn’t vilify people, even when it doesn’t shy away from their faults and failures. It’s also proof this is a show that doesn’t drop things once a storyline seems to have wrapped. I adore that about 911, and I also think it makes every single meaningful thing we’ve witnessed even more significant, because we know the show will return to it sooner or later. Like maybe certain scenes between a couple of firefighters? Maybe... ~~

Buck and Eddie exchanging a meaningful look over seeing this oblivious moron in love at the scene of the ep’s first call is giving me life. The wordless communication, the implied sass, the way they’re so in sync, the irony of them being exactly like him except less aware of their own feelings even if they are more aware of propriety. They’re not even teamed up together, because Chim needs Eddie’s medic experience as long as Hen’s still captain, and yet... Buddie are our hopeless romantic idiot kings, while 911 could give entire courses on how to showcase soulmates in less than a minute. ~~

A continuation of that can also be seen in another call. When Buck recklessly hops on the bike to chase and stop a car by almost getting himself killed in order to save Chim, right away we have Eddie calling out after him. He’s so exasperated with his work husband, he’s not even yelling in order to stop Buck, Eddie’s resigned to his husband’s ways. But a good husband still has to shake his head, much like we saw Eddie doing when Buck boldly insisted on the rope rescue in 316. It’s a part of their love language. ~~

All of that stands in contrast with the rest of the ep, where we don’t get to see Buck and Eddie being their usual self, meaning iconic life partners. The thing is, absence can be loud, and something that really makes this absence stand out rather than fly under the radar is contrast. In other words, we’re meant to notice the absence. That loudness is even amplified with the only scene in this ep where we have Buddie interacting in connection to their personal life. Even though they don’t actually get to consult each other, as they usually do, there’s a lot of intimacy there! For starters, Eddie’s surprised that Buck isn’t weighing in on the new issue with Chris.

This is so uncharacteristic, and we only need to think of the way Buck jumped right in with his objections about summer camp in 318 to see the difference. Eddie also believes that there are things Chris may tell Buck but not him. This man is shown throughout this ep having trouble letting go as his son is growing up to be his own person, and yet the one exception Eddie takes no exception to (sorry, bad pun, I know) is Chris filling Buck in on how he’s really doing. Eddie actually expects that to be the case. It’s a subtle, but oh so real acknowledgement that Buck is Christopher’s other dad and that the two of them have a bond that is not limited to the relationship either one of them has with Eddie. I love it. And lastly, of course Eddie can tell something’s up with Buck, troubling him. But it’s also obvious that Buck’s not ready to talk about it yet, with his quick denial of “no secrets here,” so Eddie, like the good husband that he is, lets him be.

Them suddenly dealing with their personal lives separately very much reminds me of basically the mood of most of season 5a. Buck was kept busy with Taylor and away from Eddie, who ended up struggling with how to be a good parent to Chris without the help of his biggest support, his life partner. It led to Eddie making a rash decision that we all knew he would have to find a way back from. If that’s not enough to make us realize Buck’s decision at the end of this ep is probably the wrong one, we also have him being drunk while getting drunk advice from Hen. The last time that happened (and only other one we saw on screen)? When Buck spiraled in 511 over Eddie leaving, and did something rash and foolish.

I tend to think that’s what we’re going to see with Buck now as well. I already was of the opinion that it doesn’t fit Buck as a person, he just cares too much to be the guy who can walk away. His history with Daniel might influence him to wanna help, do for these parents what he couldn’t for his own, but if he does recognize that connection, could he really help bring a new “Daniel” into this world and then... never have anything to do with that kid? But what makes me even more convinced that this decision will be reversed is the build up, showing Buck coming to this conclusion without consulting the one person he actually already shares his life (and a kid) with, and the way it parallels that storytelling structure we saw in s5. In addition, even the way he verbalized it makes me think this is meant to be seen as the wrong decision. Buck is on this journey to figure himself out, yet at the end of the day his decision to say yes isn’t about himself at all, it’s about Connor and his wife. This is who Buck has always been, the guy putting others ahead of himself. There’s nothing wrong with his big heart and generosity! But in an ep called “Animal Instincts,” this has always been he’s instinct. Now he’s meant to learn to balance it with looking after himself and his own happiness, too. So I might be wrong, but I don’t see it ending here. Taylor was a r/s Buck had to have in order for him to learn how to be the one who leaves, now Connor came to him with this request, and we’re gonna get to see him learning to say no. And just like Buck was a part of Eddie finding his way back during season 5b from his wrong decision, that temporary distance between them leaving them closer than ever, so I expect Buck’s sperm donor arc to be resolved with Eddie’s support and with the two of them getting even closer.

~~ Thank you so much for reading this! And for every reblog and like! If you’re interested in catching up, you can find my 603 meta and more on my blog. Thank you to the incredible @whosoldherout who tops posting her amazing gifs every week with providing some more for my meta.

[chiharuuu22]

Home

Part 1: I Want to Go Home

Part 2: Take Me Home

Part 3: Welcome Home!

Part 4: I'm Home

PART 2: TAKE ME HOME

If you asked when Caretaker's world felt like it was collapsing, Caretaker would answer: now.

Caretaker can no longer stand seeing Whumpee's critical condition. Whumpee has been faithful to his sleep for days. Several times, he collapsed and doctors almost lost him. His condition is now improving, but Whumpee doesn't want to wake up yet.

Before the fight with Whumper, Whumpee disappeared and was a prisoner for several months. Not only Whumpee, but five other team members were also prisoners. They were severely tortured. Two of them eventually died. Whumpee was one of those who managed to survive and fight Whumper at the end. Whumpee manages to win, but ends up in the ICU.

Whumper and his minions are, of course, captured by the authorities. Caretaker's anger exploded when she heard Whumper's speechless confession about what he did to Whumpee and the others. Caretaker could have killed Whumper right away if Team Leader hadn't restrained her.

Caretaker is almost crazy. No, she felt crazy.

The team members who died were given a proper burial and team members who also survived Whumper like Whumpee are still receiving treatment. Caretaker, Team Leader, and the remaining members take turns looking after them all.

"Whumpee, come on, get up. You said you wanted to go home? Let's go home; you've been out of the house for too long," said Caretaker while gently stroking Whumpee's cheek.

Every day, Caretaker will faithfully sit by Whumpee's bed. She monologues in the hope that Whumpee hears her. She is praying that Whumpee makes progress, no matter how small it may be. Although, until now, Whumpee has not shown any sign that he heard Caretaker.

Caretaker started to shed tears again and cried, laying her head down on the bed near Whumpee's shoulder. Her hand stroked Whumpee's face with longing. Without realizing it, Caretaker fell asleep.

Caretaker didn't know how much time passed while she was sleeping, but she felt something gently stroking her hair. Caretaker felt comfortable and wanted to continue sleeping, but suddenly she jolted and opened her eyes. Caretaker clearly saw a thin hand with an IV perched on her head. Caretaker's chest heaved and tears fell again. Whumpee was there, in his position, with his eyes open and breathing heavily. Their eyes met and Whumpee shed a tear.   What happened next was quite fast; where Caretaker called a doctor and nurse as soon as possible to check Whumpee's condition. Doctors said Whumpee was still weak, but his condition was improving. A lot of tests had to be run to be sure, but at least Whumpee was awake now. Apart from that, Whumpee still has to be monitored for some time, so he can't be released from the ICU yet.

"Thank God, you're finally awake, Whumpee." Caretaker squeezed Whumpee's hand. "You really scared me, you know? You haven't woken up in almost two weeks."

Whumpee blinked repeatedly. He let out a groan between the tubes entering his throat, as if trying to communicate.

"Shhh shhh. Don't try to talk yet. I know you're uncomfortable, but you have to let it be," said Caretaker gently while stroking Whumpee's cheek.

Whumpee squeezed Caretaker's hand with all the strength he managed to muster. Staring at Caretaker blankly as if trying to convey something. Caretaker didn't need much time to understand what Whumpee wanted.

"Yeah, I understand. You want me to take you home, right?"

Whumpee blinked.

Caretaker laughed, "Sure. I'll definitely take you home. But you have to get better first, okay?"

Whumpee blinked again and tried to smile. Right now, he really wanted to say one sentence containing his hope.

Take me home.

[inquebrar]

QSMP was one of the projects that had one of the biggest personal impacts on me. since i was younger, i have always been fascinated by getting to know different cultures and learning new languages ​​has always been something that captivated me. although for years i have "been part" of many fandoms and followed different projects, series, groups and things like that for years sometimes, but i just had my interests without having no one to talk with and share it. so this was the first time that i really participated actively and was so engaged in the "fandoms" i'm part of, to talk about it, share my theories and analyzes and stuff like that. so at the beginning (and tbh i still feel a little) i was always very nervous to talk about it or talk with other people in general (especially in a language that is not my mother tongue) because it was something so out of my comfort zone, but through qsmp i learned more about cultures and languages ​​that before i didn't even thought about learning, i felt the desire to continue learning languages ​​that i had left aside, i felt more proud of my nationality, i met very kind people from different countries, it brought me a lot of joy seeing many people starting to learn my language too and see so many people who like the same things as me who share opinions and interests and even people who speak my language who are also very engaging it's so cool to see and the whole feeling of unity, comfort and cultural mix between different people made me extremely passionate about this project and the things it provided.

but unfortunately, recently it has been very difficult to deal with the excess of negativity and heavy topics and serious matters that came to the surface and started to accumulate with disappointments and overwhelming things that i had been feeling for a while. having hyperfixation on qsmp stopped being something that motivated me and brought me happiness, it started to affect my mental health in a bad and unhealthy way, which already hasn't been so good in the last few days. so i thought i'd just vent a little so that maybe someone who is in a similar situation and having similar feelings to mine will feel less alone or a little more understood.

i heard Quackity's recent statement and i was relieved to see that he handled the situation responsibly and addressed the matters without taking away the importance also genuinely apologizing, it was a difficult and sad situation to witness in general but with the server closed on a temporary break, i really hope that he now stays informed and aware of how his team is working and how things are happening behind the scenes. i hope that this brings more organization, communication, correct and respectful treatment to all those who work to maintain the project with care and commitment, and i hope things get an extremely significant change and that everything improves from now on. i still have a lot of love for this project and i want to believe things will be more positive again, but in the meantime i hope that everyone who was affected by everything that has been happening takes care of themselves and always remember that you are important, your feelings are valid and you're not alone. speak up when you feel the need, when you feel disrespected, when you need help. also don't forget to be kind (to yourself too) and i'm waiting for better days.

[horizon-verizon]

Nymeria seized the power over Dorne by murdering its native kings and sending them to the Wall and replaced Dornish customs with Rhoynar as well as put Rhoynar settlers there while Targaryens kept everything untouched, except maybe for stopping the wars and improving the general state of the land, and there’s no Valyrian settlers in Westeros.

Anon maybe talking about this post.

She didn't "replace" any Andal customs. Her people and their people intermarried and influenced the already there culture. Her people were also not "settlers", or that sort; she teamed up with Mors Martell in conquest of other Dornish people. And there is no Ny Sar/motherland that directs the supposed colonization of Andal-FM Dornishmen for her people to really go back to if they so choose or were ordered to and for them to send the resources they supposedly seized for the economic benefit of said motherland...which you kinda need to call something a settler sort of colonialism:

people from one country settle in another country for the purpose of exploiting its people and natural resources

​the act of taking control of an area or a country that is not your own, especially using force, and sending people from your own country to live there

the exploitation of the valuable assets and supplies of the nation that was conquered and the conquering nation then gaining the benefits from the spoils of the war.”

Stanford - “The term colony comes from the Latin word colonus, meaning farmer. This root reminds us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin.”

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/

In settler colonialism the most important thing is land (water, earth, and air), because it is the source of capital and the new home of the settlers. It is also key to settler colonialism because “the disruption of Indigenous relationships to land represents a profound epistemic, ontological, cosmological violence.” This violence continues with every day of occupation as settler colonialism is a structure and not an event.

Beyond this the colonizers, in the process of settler colonialism, redefine the relationships between people and land as only being those of an owner to his property. All other relationships and connections to land are made to be pre-modern and backward as land is recast as property, a resource, and nothing more. This is done by the settlers through the destruction of Indigenous peoples, Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples’ claims to land under settler regimes. In order for settler colonialism to occur, land is seen as a ‘resource’ and Indigenous peoples are erased so that the settlers can “truly claim ownership” of the land.

We really don't need to confuse the words in order to defend the Targs from Targ antis.

[kaidanworkshop]

Workshop Progress: Midsummer Update

Hello workshop followers! It's been about two months since our last major update, and for good reason: following the successful donation drive that we concluded in late May, we needed to reevaluate our staff timelines and prioritization of content, as we raised more than our initial goal. You can find more details and discourse on that discussion here. Additionally, we had several of our staff busy with all the things that summer brings; vacations & holiday, graduations, and birthdays galore. It has definitely been a challenge to pass work between different members and maintain clear documentation so all staff members could stay up-to-date on current tasks while out living their best (IRL) lives. We hope to have another update on our current progress near the end of August. Finally, we have set up our second commission with Paul Warren! It will be taking place this upcoming Monday, July 24th, 2023. Once again, we could not do any of this without your support, and we thank you all from the bottom of our heart. Onto the updates! Creation Kit & Assets Team: Much of our work has turned towards wrapping up the final implementation of the new lines, correcting subtitles to match the line edits proposed by the Writing Team (see more below), and turning our attention towards the rebuild of Kaidan's two personal quests, All of This Past & Blood and Fire. As our in-house alpha testing continues, we have fixed all of the reported bugs to date, in addition to our continued work on visual and quality-of-life-improvements, and supplanting new conditions for a more consistent dialogue experience when triggered. Writing Team: Our work regarding the creation of new dialogue to accommodate pronoun and/or nickname selection continues, alongside new dialogue being created (or old dialogue altered) primarily to remove mentions of the player being the Dragonborn (so that players have more role-playing options), as well as fixing a few plot holes that would become apparent depending on the order in which the player approaches different quests in the Skyrim worldspace. To that end, the team has been working with CK & Assets to create full flowcharts of Kaidan's personal quests, in an effort to see what can be preserved and what will need new lines. Community Team: Behind the scenes, we've been reaching out to other custom voiced follower creators to inquire about collaboration in the future, after we've cleared the full rebuild of the base mod. After the absolute success that was the new line livestreams, we will most likely be hosting another series of streams once we have spliced up the lines from our pending second commission with Mr. Warren. Besides that, we've been working with a member of CK & Assets to create a full blown trailer for our work in the Kaidan Workshop! We're still not quite finished with it yet, but in order to tide the masses over, here is a brief video from our alpha testing showing off Kaidan's brand new voice during his intro quest, A Bounty For The Hunter.

We'll see you in August!

[trigun-manga-overhaul]

hi there! im sure with the advent of a trigun rerelease upon us you've gotten a lot of asks about this over the past couple of days, but in the case you haven't been asked that: do you still plan to move forward with overhaul 2.0 even with the news of a reprint? i ask this with no disrespect or hopes that you do cease work on it, but im interested in hearing your thoughts and feelings about how to proceed.

as well, I'm curious to hear your take on this, do you believe dark horse will redo the translation? or simply edit it? i haven't read much dark horse manga so im not sure historically how they would handle a reprint for a manga that has been out of print for so long, especially since, imo, at this point they would have to meet or exceed your excellent translation. similar to how official video game rereleases at the bare minimum have to meet the current emulation standard- if that makes sense.

btw i just want to say thank you for your in depth and explanatory answers to the many questions you get regarding translation nuances and the work that goes into cleaning and typesetting from scratch and the logic behind your choices. i speak the language but still love hearing the thought process other translators go through when they make certain decisions. it's awesome how much passion you have for trigun and this project as well as helping people to understand choices in the original text and how you translated them for your text.

Hey there and thank you for your question!

We have not been asked specifically about this yet, so your question is very welcome.

We fully intend to continue with Overhaul 2.0, even in light of a Trigun Deluxe release, which the team is ecstatic about, by the way. The need for a digital version for people to read on their computers, phones and other devices remains, and the quality of life that comes with it. Larger pages, the ability to zoom in, very crisp black and white differences, all of these factors can be helpful for people who might find reading difficult due to various health or mental health conditions.

On top of that, it will be free for those who are not fortunate enough to be able to buy expensive Deluxe releases, or the very expensive regular releases, for that matter. We always encourage people to eventually find a way to support the original creator, which is why we suggest buying the digital version of the manga on Dark Horse Comic's own website and not buy second hand books. But until that is economically responsible for people to buy, we offer them a chance to read an accurate translation online in the meantime.

Personally, I doubt they will redo the translation, as the translation for the Berserk Deluxe release remained the same. I don't know if the translation was changed for the Deluxe Hellsing release, but given the trend with their first Deluxe release, I also doubt it.

Of course, they could have changed their procedures for these releases over time and decided some lines or words needed to be changed, however it remains to be seen. Were they to update the translation, we would be very interested in reading it to see the differences, and then determine if it has improved.

Not one wishing to question other industry professionals when it comes to translation, I must still say that Dark Horse comics has repeatedly proven to engage in assembly line translation. Each translation isn't deeply studied, engaged with or understood by the translators, and the work is passed to several individuals with no communication, as is evident by the changing translation of names and words. They do not have the time or means to study the text they are translating, and therefore will ultimately always release a somewhat clumsy but passable script.

None of the translators are incompetent, that is clear, they are instead bound by their workspace regulations to follow the set procedure within the company. You can draw comparisons between the translation industry and production industry; we have the perfect-every-time, cookie-cutter, assembly line product that will do its job but only that, and then the handmade, personalized and polished to the tiniest detail product. Of course, handmade products can come with imperfections caused by the work being done by hand, but that either adds character or can be corrected through recipient engagement.

Thank you so much for your kind words, though. We try our best to be as informative and transparent as we can about our project, while also spacing out information and avoiding to repeat ourselves too much. It is interesting to write about our process too, as it does put the work we do into perspective, even helping with reflection upon how we do it and how we might improve.

So everyone is free to ask about our team, our process or anything that might interest you, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities!

[lennies-blog]

Translation: Sky Sport Exclusive interview with Mick after his Haas exit

Source: Sky Sport F1 Germany

I: “Mick, good to have you here, after a difficult message I believe that you received yesterday. Tell us what especially your feelings are to get here to the paddock after such a decision, probably not easy.”

Mick: “Well of course.. yeah of course I would love to say that I will drive next year, but right now that’s not the case. Difficult, yes, of course it’s not easy, but I’m nevertheless happy looking back at the season. We continuously improved and did the best we could with this situation.”

I: “How was the situation yesterday? It has been speculated about for a while, where you had the feeling, everyone knew except yourself. Is that a wrong impression or was it really something that you only got to realise/know yesterday?”

Mick: “Yesterday was definitely the moment where it became real. I continued to fight hard, to give it my all, tried to give my best always and everywhere, therefore of course, disappointing. But on the other hand I know that I gave it my best and that’s what counts.”

I: “What were the reasons that Günther Steiner stated for why he couldn’t see a future, a future together?”

Mick: “Well they’re ultimately the reasons that he also stated in the interviews he gave. I think the biggest factor is experience. Ehm.. but on my part I also think that when we, or if we would’ve gone into the future together, it would’ve worked well. But in the end it was Gene’s and Günther’s decision and I have to accept that.”

I: “How did you see your development yourself? Because we certainly saw a constant improvement, especially after this difficult start to the second half of the season, where we always emphasised how calm you stayed, how collected, how convinced you were of your own work what then did end in points (what had been required). In Silverstone, in Spielberg - you had a lot of chances where it was prevented by your team, let’s phrase it that way, to drive into the points. So how do you see it yourself, regarding your development?”

Mick: “Yeah, the development is definitely palpable and also visible. Of course we would’ve liked a few more points to our name at the end of the season, but it went the way it did, that’s part of life, and that’s why I approach it like that. In the end I cannot turn back time, because I know that we left a lot of points to grab, especially at the beginning of the season, also on my part, but we continuously fought, gave it our best and that’s what counts for me at the end of this year.”

I: “I just talked to Sebastian Vettel, he said that every driver needs backup and he let on that he did was not really convinced by the leadership and the backup that came from Haas. What is the impression that you can tell us about? Did you have backup from Günther Steiner? From the team?”

Mick: “I had backup from Sebastian. I’m pretty happy about that. We always had a quite open communication between the team and I. We continuously worked on ourselves, we tried to improve everything that was there to improve. And I think if we look at the beginning of the season vs now that we kept this graph going continuously. The race pace was really good and the qualifying pace also improved towards the end, but yeah, was obviously not enough.”  

I: “What do you take with you after these 2 years with Haas – on a sporting and personal level?”

Mick: “Well of course I would like to thank everyone for those two years. It was amazing to be able to start here. Formula 1 is a dream that came true but also a dream that didn’t end, yet. It’s definitely my goal to be on the grid again in 2024. I’ll work hard on myself and will see that I will have all the chess pieces in the right position to hopefully be successful.”

I: “I think it’s impressive what class you’re showing in this situation you’re in at the moment, to thank the team, set a new focus, to – and I am certain about that – gather strength to get to the right and I’m sure better conclusions. Mick, your thoughts on your future now. What do they look like? Can you take us along what your current thoughts are about?”

Mick: “Yeah I think a saying that fits quite well is that you have to.. ehh burn? to get out prettier than before? (I think he means “like a phoenix rising from the ashes” 😂) I think there’s a saying for that! But yeah, I think there are several options and one thing I do have now is time. So I will take the time to look at the options that I have and see that I take the right decision to have the best chance to.. yeah be successful in the end.”

I: “But you definitely want to stay in Formula 1? That is certain?”

Mick: “Formula 1 is the only thing I’m interested in.”

I: “Formula 1, nothing else. That’s good, we’ll take it. What do you need personally? What kind of environment, which atmosphere do you need to be able to show your best self?”

Mick: “That’s what I have to look at. Of course, it’s hard to judge it from the outside, but ultimately I want to be in a place where I can grow, where I can show the performance I have in me and just see that we can go into the tight direction.”

I: “If we take a look at this weekend, which will be the last with Haas here in Abu Dhabi – how will you approach it?”

Mick: “Sorry?”

I: “How will you approach this last weekend with Haas here in Abu Dhabi?”

Mick: “First and foremost with fun. It’s another year that has past – last year we’ve also been here in Abu Dhabi which has been a bit different with covid and all, but this year is a bit more open, more people around probably, so the atmosphere will probably be different. The car should be quite okay, I think we’re just on the brink on tenth place. That means if we managed to get it all right again, after the second free practice, (then we can) hopefully have it all in order to have a good qualifying.”

I: “How will you say goodbye to your team, to your garage?”

Mick: “Ehh, I have to see what special (thing) I can do for the boys, they’ve naturally been amazing this whole year! We had a lot of fun together so therefore I would want to thank them in the right way.”

I: “And Mick, what has also been remarkable was that your post that – as well as you present yourself here – has shown a great deal of class/greatness, had SO many comments, also from colleagues. I don’t know everyone that has commented there, but Esteban Ocon, of course, your great buddy, but many others more, Angela Cullen, Lewis Hamilton’s physiotherapist. Have you been surprised or happy about it yourself to get this reaction?”

Mick: “Yes, of course it’s nice to see that there is support everywhere. I mean I said it several times – I love this sport. How many have said: “We come back stronger!” and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

I: “How will the relationship develop with your team principle, with Günther Steiner?”

Mick: “Well I mean with Günther – we actually have an okay-ish relationship and I think that will stay that way.”

I: “Mick we’ll say thank you then. Good luck to what’s ahead of you. I have said it before I am certain that the energy that you’re getting here that’s being released will end in something great. We’re certain of it. We definitely wish you all the best.”

Mick: “Thank you.”

[theladysherlock]

talk shop tuesday! incredible coincidence - i wanted to ask you more about your dnd OCs, and you posted a new art piece with one of them! continuing the theme: could you tell more about your dnd OCs and how they came to be?

Ohhhh you have opened Pandora's Box my friend!! I could talk about this topic all day.

Basically there's two parts to this: my approach to DnD in general, and in-depth explanations of the characters. I'm going to put this under a Read More to save everyone's Dash.

Part One: Dungeons and Dragons

So the thing I love most about DnD (and other TTRPGs) is that it's a collaborative game. I'm not responsible for the entirety of the story, I bring my character to the table and everyone else brings their characters and between us, the DM, and the dice, we figure out where the story is going. I enjoy it so much more than trying to come up with everything on my own. And I love that people can surprise me!! @mothmansbigfatass and @ahawkmet (my irl friends and in most of the campaigns I play) can attest, apparently I'm a lot of fun to watch during revelations because I always have a big reaction.

So when making a dnd character, it's important for me to know 1. What the world we'll be playing in is like, and 2. What everyone else is doing. Again, it's a collaborative game, so I want to make sure that I'm playing nice with the DM's world. AND often the setting itself will give me an idea (see Ethan: the game is set at a community college. What's a college stereotype that would be fun to play?). Ideally, the character I make would have a really hard time being plopped into a different campaign and have it still make sense. Secondly, it's more fun for me to play a class that will fill out the party. For example, if we already have a cleric, I don't also need to play a religious character. Those story beats are covered by someone else, I don't want to be competing with another person for cool moments.

Once those two things are settled, character creation is determined by what seems fun to play and what would be interesting aesthetically. I like to keep the backstory light to see what happens as we start playing, and then I can fill it in bit by bit later. Sometimes that bites me in the ass, though (see Ethan: I didn't give him birth parents and then they were incredibly important to the plot). I tend to have a general idea about who they are and what they're like, and then I always get surprised by what they actually end up acting like once we start playing. It's fun for me to figure them out along the way!

The last thing I wanna say about DnD (for now) is that I love everyone else's characters just as much. I just draw mine more because, well, they're mine. I feel weird putting their guys in situations and guessing how they'd react because they aren't my little guys. I much prefer working collaboratively with the other players (like an RP thread) to just writing a story on my own.

Part Two: Ethan

Where to even start with my boy. A bunch of my work friends got together to start a DnD game, and I hadn't played with most of them before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I also did not think the game would last very long, since most campaigns tend to fizzle out after a few sessions. So I made kind of a joke character with extremely little backstory: He's a half-orc, since I hadn't played that race before, he's a bard who is the captain of the local community college's Improv Team, he's "the kind of guy to play wonderwall at a party but you're not mad about it", and I said he's adopted by two men, neither of whom were his biological parents, and he wasn't particularly interested in tracking down his bio parents. This last point is for two reasons: one, I was trying to avoid just duplicating a Dimension 20's Gorgug, a half-orc who was adopted by gnomes and spent the whole first season trying to find his dad; and two, I was pushing an "Adopted parents are not less than biological parents" agenda.

My DM took this personally (affectionate). First session, I was given a clue about his birth parents' identities. From then on, Ethan was dragged kicking and screaming into being the unofficial main character of the campaign. His mom was one of our favorite NPCs, a kickass pirate with a truly tragic backstory who would always jump to help us out of a scrape. His biological dad was the human embodiment of Pride who had took on the form of Fantasy Harrison Ford and was an extremely famous actor in-world. Our BBEG was his uncle, the embodiment of Greed. Every plot point became very personal and it was a lot of fun. I also loved putting him through the wringer, so between me and the DM the poor guy couldn't catch a break.

Part of the dice telling the story, I rolled so bad all the time when I played Ethan. It didn't matter which dice I used, I just rolled really bad, which was not something that normally happened with me. So that was fun to incorporate into his character as we played-- he was insecure about his own abilities compared to the extremely powerful characters he was surrounded by (we had a 20 ft Earth Titan who was an extremely powerful Druid, Emeshka you will always be famous). So he became a more three-dimensional and actualized character the more we played.

He's extremely easy to put in situations and his character design is pretty solid, so I end up drawing him the most. My perfect little guy.

(Anything about him I've tagged either "Ethan" or "Big Yarr Energy" if you want to find more)

Part Three: Mina

After the campaign with Ethan wrapped up, we started a new one in a Cthulhu-inspired setting. My goal with making Mina was to do as close to a 180 as I could from Ethan. While Ethan was a friendly and charming but bad at most things, Mina is a competent and intelligent Druid who's blunt and overworked and doesn't quite know how to meaningfully engage with her party members (but she tries, bless her). Druid was one of the classes I hadn't played yet and I've been making my way through the list of available classes. The One-With-Nature stuff isn't super interesting to me as a player, but I found a homebrew subclass that was based more in Big Cities and as an Architecture Nerd that was much more my speed. Also, I hadn't played an Aasimar before, so that seemed like fun. From all that, I pulled together her whole deal: She was from a bloodline of guardian angels who were sent to protect different villages and towns, and she's gone from her mother's small town to being the guardian of a city of several million people and it's overwhelming. She's lonely and she's jaded and she's got severe Gifted Kid Syndrome and she's got her head on a swivel to make sure her party members are okay even if they don't like her very much and I love her.

I didn't give her a lot of tragic backstory because there are a lot of us playing and I wanted to have a character who could push the plot forward with her actions, instead of having a "now let's stop and talk about my life!!" moment every session that seemed to happen with Ethan. Give everyone else some time to have cool moments, you know? And by GOD are there some cool moments. My fellow players are so good at making compelling characters. Ask @mothmansbigfatass about Nelly if you get a chance.

We're still playing this campaign, although we're nearing the end of it. There's still space for some big moments for Mina in the game, though I'm hoping our DM lets me save hers for last. She's the kind of character to make sure everyone else is okay before taking care of herself, so it feels appropriate. I'm excited to see where Mina ends up. She's definitely a character I'll go back and write/draw a lot afterwards, though. Part of being in a group this size means there's a lot of stuff that just won't get covered. I'll have a lot of material to play with for my own work once we get to the next campaign.

(Anything about Mina I've tagged either "Mina" or "Cthulhu Crimes" if you want to find more)

Part Four: Jess

Jess is a character that isn't from DnD but is a TTRPG character of mine, and I like her so I'm going to talk about her too. Jess is a cautionary tale in Knowing Your Audience.

Jess is from a different group of players than Ethan and Mina. Our DM for that game is notorious for wanting to give us Big, Shonen-Style fight scenes and an insane level of power creep. Character interactions are fine, but his true passion is making us look like Goku.

Jess was... not built to look like Goku. In this world you could identify different types of magic users by their focus, and I wanted her whole schtick to be about deception. She looked like a wizard when she was actually a monk, she looked like a dumb blonde girl when she was extremely smart and good at stealing things, she's a dancer but her primary fighting style was based on capoeira, etc. Also part of why Jess sticks with me as a favorite character is the way I had her powers work was so fun and visually interesting that I haven't been able to shake it. Basically her superpower was that she could snatch bits of other people's powers and use them herself, and you could tell which ones she had because they would fill out spectral stained glass wings with specific colors.

Jess was (and still is, frankly) too complicated for the game our DM wanted to run. Immediately any hope of her being a chronic liar was dashed as her powers did not manifest in a way that could possibly pass off as being a wizard. So instead of being sneaky, Jess became very angry. She was quick to point out injustices in the world we were in. She beat up creeps, she yelled at bigots, she stole powers from macho superheroes trying to one-up her. She had to get a lot less complicated for the story we were in, but the complicated version of her still lives in my head and I like to see what she's up to from time to time.

(I don't think I have anything tagged for Jess, unfortunately)

TL; DR:

TTRPG characters are fun because they let me do my favorite thing creatively, which is bounce ideas off of other people. I typically design them based on the setting, party needs, character tropes that I think are interesting, and just general vibes. Most importantly, though, I don't have a fleshed out character without the input of the other players.

[writingwithcolor]

Happy New Year from WWC, Updates, aka we’re alive! (12/31/22)

Hi lovely followers,

First of all, thanks so much for your patience and all your continued support for WritingWithColor. 2022 has been heavily, heartily, devoted to tending to our personal lives, from pressing demands at work, school, mental health, family matters, and so on. All the while, trying to dig through the long backlog of Q's.

2023 should show us some more devotion to WWC. We'll answer more questions, invite fresh mods in the team to balance the load, and last (but not least) get the new Writingwithcolor.org up and running! Your kind donations have gone towards the new blog in progress and will continue to support it. Once that’s all established and stabilized, we’ll look into meeting our other fun goals, such as:

Diverse writing advice e-publications.

Follower giveaways and bonus content.

Charity and community causes.

See support the mods page to donate or learn more

We have made some major strides behind the scenes, though. 

Progress made in 2022

Here's some progress made so far.

1. Writingwithcolor.org, as mentioned, is a thing! Its also been around for a while. It won't forever lead to tumblr, but to our new site, when it's complete. But as long as Tumblr is around and working for us, we'll keep some sort of link between them, so no need for you to fully switch to a new platform to see our content. (Note: you can use that URL to share WWC on other social media. Facebook has blocked all Tumblr URLs, as is.)

2. Major clean-up in the tags, improvements to search. You'll notice both consolidation and separation of some tags. For example, you can search the tags for "Black stereotypes" or even "Black women stereotypes" whereas before they were separated out, which created a less concise search. 

Updated tags and improvements:

X + stereotypes (e.g. Jewish stereotypes, Jewish women stereotypes, etc.)

X + tropes (e.g. Black tropes, Black men tropes, etc.)

X + names (e.g. Indian names, Korean names, etc.)

Colonialism, was colonization

Exotification, was exotic

Fetishization, was fetish

Othering, was other

Microaggressions, was micro-aggressions (the "-” breaks search)

lgbtqia, was lgbtqa+ and lgbtqia+ (the “+” breaks search)

interracial + romance, friendship, relationships, marriage, adoption (it used to all be nestled under "interracial”)

Many more, with some changes ongoing. Check the navigation

What to expect in 2023

     1. Blog askbox re-opening. We haven't determined a exact date yet, but it will be early 2023. | Early 2023

     2. New askbox. Along with re-opening the askbox, we will have a new means for you to submit your questions. | Early 2023

     Our new askbox will:

Streamline the process by organizing the Q's for us (Previously, they’ve been manually screened and organized by Colette with the help of others...oo wee) 

Allow us to respond to questions faster.

Help guide askers through the process to better ensure ask is meeting guidelines, making it more likely to be answered.

     3. New blog launch! Individually hosted and paid for by donation funds from you all! | Spring 2023

     4. Continued blog improvement and cleanup (i.e. tag improvement, outdated post updating or deletion, fixed broken links) | Ongoing, 2023

Again, thanks so much for your support and just enjoying the blog. If you’d like to reply to this post to boost your favorite inclusive books or media of 2022, feel free.

See ya in 2023!

Sincerely,

~Mod Colette and the WWC Team

[damianbugs]

i know you love the dynamics between bruce and his kids as they are, but alot of it is also due to iffy writing lmao.

in your IDEAL scenario, what would bruce parenting look like? would he still be as abusive as he is in canon? CAN he even change?

the short answer to "can bruce change?" is... no 😭 but let me try and explain!

its not because of who bruce is as a character or batman as a hero, but because it is basically impossible for a popular character like him to have any consistent writing. we've seen it before where he's a great father and mentor for a few issues, and then less than six months later he does something horrific and takes ten steps back in that regard.

it's why this conversation (to me) is a very complicated one, because i can't for sure say who bruce is as a person without taking into consideration the literal decades of almost hundreds of different writers, runs and universes. of course, he has made some terrible and very harmful decisions, but again, so much context is required to truly comprehend those situations. that doesn't remove the fact that he has hurt his children, both accidentally and purposefully.

do i think bruce is a bad dad in canon? no. do i think he is a good dad? also no. depending on where in time you're reading him, who's writing him etc — he acts like completely different people. my head spins trying to come up with a simple answer to this otherwise simple question.

a good example i think is the current zdarsky batman run. arguably some of the best bruce wayne as a father introspection we've had in a LONG TIME, the story doing well to remove the 'child soldiers' narrative that frank miller infamously popularised to main continuity despite it not being from the canon timeline. but who's to say this sort of perspective will last before being completely disregarded by the next writer?

it's no secret i pick and choose what i (personally) view as canon, my own personal bias against Certain writers making me ignore their writing entirely, but i am also not ignorant to the fact that bruce can and desperately NEEDS to improve as a parent.

sorry for rambling but back to your original question about what my ideal parent bruce would like and to that it's two very simple words; honest and communicative.

that's really all he needs to do. almost all his shitty decisions can be linked back to him lying or purposely evading the truth and just refusing to communicate to his children, which in turn makes them not want to communicate with him. this then leads to much larger problems and much more devastating outcomes.

bruce needs to realise that his children don't owe him anything more than the very little he's given them emotionally. this whole "soldier-team" mentality that he adopts when he's batman filters into his dynamics with them as family and as bruce wayne, and that is why he keeps hurting them and not taking responsibility for it.

they should not be vigilantes before they are his children. but to do that, writers also need to make the distinction that batman is also bruce wayne, but that is an entirely different conversation.

again, current batman writing (mark waid batman vs robin, zdarsky batman, ram v detective comics, tom taylor batman etc) seems very promising in giving bruce a chance to be a better father, so we can only hope it continues this way. maybe, we'll even get bruce actually holding himself accountable one day.

i try not to discuss this topic too much because in my experience it's far too nuanced to explain in short text posts on the internet but i hope this answered your questions <3

[foolishaetherguardian]

Garden Worlders

Humans aren’t powerful. We aren’t strong. We evolved on a world that had a thriving ecosystem with relatively low gravity compared to other species. We didn’t even have natural weapons. We should be by all rights garden worlders. Our home is lush with life and our climate is relatively stable. Our planet spins fast enough that a human life time can see tens of thousands of days instead of just one or two. I guess that is why you decided we would cave. Pretty little garden worlders who never needed natural weapons, brute strength, or natural magnetic fields to survive obviously made for easy prey. You were wrong about that you know?

The Captain looked down at his notes. They had been appointed here as a way for the Union to keep an eye on him. He had worked as a diplomat for only a few months back home. So when the news of the attack came his first instinct was to grant his defense team autonomy. He decided against that. Instead he decided to put on a show and trust that the Union would hold. So now he stood on the galactic equivalent of a lectern addressing the Community, many of whom were showing signs of enjoyment at his indignation.

As of three hours ago the Unified Nations of Earth is at war with the Deraki Confederacy. I am sure many of you already knew this, seeing as much of the fleet was financed by loans from other nations. I thought about calling for the sanctioning of the Deraki but that would never have passed. So instead I have settled for giving a history lesson. The Administrator of the Community interrupted him before he could continue.

What relevance does this have to the proposed action 882371.1328?

The Captain nodded at the question.

I believe that the historical, geological, and evolutionary history of the Yellow Dwarf 8834591 Third Planet is of great importance to the Agricultural Production Bill 882371.1328. The Administrator seemed to think for a moment before waving the Captain on.

My home planet, Earth, is by all rights a garden world. A place abundant in life so much so that we used to call it a blue green marble. However, many of the members of this community never looked past that. A whole planet thriving with life must be easy to survive on. The Deraki certainly failed to look deeper than that. My home is a place of great life. However, because life is abundant it must be clever, strong, or strange to survive. The Deraki were nomadic hunters, constantly roving in search of the next Kleppi that they could find. In between meals a whole 1/8 of a Deraki life cycle might pass. Humans, however, eat constantly so we could only exist on a planet brimming with life. On a planet brimming with so much life you’d be surprised to learn most of it is impossible for most creatures to eat. In fact the evolution of most every organism has been defined by an arms race between consumer and consumed. The consumed seek to make themselves as difficult to consume as possible. The consumer seek to be able to consume as much of their preferred consumed as possible. This is similar to the process that produced species such as the Deraki but it occurs on a much grander scale on Earth. Millions of unique organisms all competing to be the best at avoiding consumption and to improve their ability to consume. While the process that produced the Deraki  took only a few dozen of their years, the process that produced humanity took nearly a hundred times longer. This is because the scale of the process was such that it could attempt many other things. Humanity is from a garden world yes. But it’s a garden world where everything has gone through hundreds of millions of cycles of development. This produced a planet where even in a sea of life a Deraki could starve. Humanity was conceived on a garden world. That does not mean that the garden is safe.

While the Captain’s environmental suit was there so he could survive the toxic atmosphere it also served a second purpose. Sealing him off from the many theorized plagues that could jump from another delegate. They had been surprised that no such thing existed. We do hope that your forces are able to survive a planet of poison, death, and humans. 

[howitendsstudio]

Is this how it ends? Not with a bang, but a whimper?

If so, thank you for the memories. If not, know that there is at least one person still waiting with peeled ears.

Whatever the case, may the gravel crunch well beneath your boots and the hoot-owls sing fearful heralds of your coming. May your feet be ever fleet as you trek through the tangled forest of life, while those who would harm you find themselves hemmed in by briars and spiteful trees.

Y'all made a cool thing and I hope you know that <3

Hello, and thanks for your question, kind wishes, and for saying you're excited about our story and want it to continue. I thought about how to respond to this, and instead of only replying that we're working on it and it's coming soon, I wanted to write a more personal response. 

There have been long gaps in between seasons before this one. And the honest truth about that is because we're are two people (with a contracted amazing team of VAs) who have families, chronic illnesses, jobs (and job instability), and day-to-day stuff that sometimes hinders the amount of time and money we can dedicate towards How it Ends Studio. We are fully self-financed, save for the generous support we get from Patrons. 

That said, despite those long gaps, we always come back. And we always will. This story will be seen through to its end. Even then, there are countless other stories we dream up all the time that we hope to tell in the future. So, thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support of our show. We love making it for you and anyone else who stumbles across it.

We are excited to announce that we are working on Season 4. We just finished up recording the first five episodes of the season, which will then go into the editing process while Stephanie and I continue writing. 

We have mostly posted about it on our feed on the ever-dying social media platform that was Twitter. It used to be where we could reach our audience the best. But since its rapid decline, reaching our listeners has been incredibly difficult. Many people (rightfully so) abandoned Twitter, and besides our other established accounts, we genuinely don't know where we can reach folks like you. 

We have a Patreon. Sign up for a free account, and when we post announcements, they go to everyone, including Free tier members. We have been communicating regularly with our followers there. We also have an email newsletter, but we are sparing about how many emails we send, so Patreon is more active.

Join our Discord Community. It's quiet since we are between seasons, but even then, we check in when we can. The truth is that there are so many places we'd like to reach folks, current listeners, and new ones, but we only have so much energy and time to manage a few social media platforms. So, we want you all to tell us where you are so we can reach you! Is it Tumblr? Email? Online communities? Blue Sky? TikTok? Instagram? Patreon? Discord? 

At the end of the day, we have to pick and choose where we spend our energy, and most of the time, we end up brushing socials aside not because we don't want to engage with our community but because we need to spend the time producing the show you love listening to and we love to make. 

Please consider this a request for information, guidance, etc. How can we stay in touch with you? What do you want to see from us when we're in production and not actively airing episodes? What would encourage you (the collective "you", not singling you out @bookshopsbizarreblog) to keep up with us during off season? We genuinely want to know so we can improve this aspect of show-making. 

Anyway, thank you again for reaching out. I appreciate the space to answer you outside of the traditional 140 characters. I hope you can appreciate my honesty about our process! But... Stay tuned ;). Season 4 is coming, and it's going to surprise you. We promise. -m.