#just me ranting abt blorbos

[oceansatedogs]

unpopular opinion i guess?

but i feel like it isn't fair that denji has to raise nayuta fulltime by himself without ever having a single moment to just take care of himself. not to mention he probably doesn't get any financial support m and isn't allowed to work + has to go to school

like i AGREE denji's doing a phenomenal job @ raising nayuta, all things considered. and thematically, it's fitting for denji - the person who actually saw makima for what she was and decided to love her in the end, in spite of that - to be the one to care for her reincarnation

but also... he's just a kid himself. a really traumatized one. and honestly, both of them need to be adopted lol

i've been seeing so many takes praising their dynamic & denji's parenting but it's... not exactly ideal or fair, imo. this isn't to say nayuta wants to hurt denji or anything (she doesn't have a sense of the consequences of the things she does yet, because she's a kid just like him). it just feels like once again denji's digging a hole for himself. is he doing way better than he did before? of course. but he still seems conflict-avoidant and puts his loved ones before himself

(WHICH IS FINE, INHERENTLY. but in this context, he could learn to be more selfish. but being a teenage dad doesn't really let you do that. rip)

and understandably people are Not Having it with people calling nayuta abusive and i hope i don't come across that way when i say this, whether here or the tweets i made yesterday. LOL. nayu's not abusive. she's just... a spoiled brat. i'm happy she gets to be the things makima couldn't. but denji spoiled her way too much, and now this kid is way out of control😭😭 i do not blame nayuta for this. she IS the control devil. it's in her nature to be bossy. also she's like, 10-12

but the way i see it, denji's fallen into another dynamic where he has very little control of the situation no matter what he really wants:

caring for a child when he shouldn't have to and isn't ready to either

said child in question sometimes seem to burden denji because again. he is Not ready to be a parent

denji is falling into yet another passive role, though now more self-aware. which is, i think, something we all go through when we try to get better. it sucks denji isn't privileged enough to go to therapy or again, NOT have to care for someone else. because like i said, parenting is a huge responsibility that oftentimes means sacrificing your own needs for the wellbeing of the child

damn i hate how i can't say shit like this without having to over-explain that i am Not Calling The Child An Abuser. but i'm gonna be so real... nayuta's not really the "possessive little sister" i see some people saying she is. but she and denji aren't "the ideal sibling dynamic" either

in retrospect, comparing nayuta to a "helicopter parent" probably was an over-exaggeration of what's going on, but it really, really worries me seeing denji try to compromise (as he should), only for her to spit it back out in his face and basically say "because i said so" "it's for your own good"

because nayuta will not be a cute little child forever! and at the rate she's aging, she'll probably be around denji's age and older in a few more years. that behavior is cute now, but i promise it won't be so cute later🙃🙃

(i do agree with nayuta that getting close to asa is nothing but trouble for denji. but she needs to be taught how to communicate that instead of straight up getting the final say in the situation & not explaining why. because denji, she is like 12. follow your heart. yes, even if it's dangerous)

i just hope denji continues to get better at parenting and overall not assuming the passive role

[themyscirah]

Complaining abt Suicide Squad yet again but the fact that they have Waller exposing the alien community to space racist attacks and talking abt how she got to her position through deceit and being a terrible person and stuff is just. Ahsfiwueh JUST SAY YOU DONT KNOW WALLER.

Anyways literally the 3rd mission of the Squad ever (and the first framed as smth Waller picked and not orders from above) was the Squad discrediting and stopping a rogue vigilante who was only arresting POC and funneling white people into white supremacy groups (of which he was the most prominent member) in SUICIDE SQUAD #4. and it's explicitly framed as this mission being personal for Waller that she's hiding from the government bc its illegal like. Guys. Please why are we having her incite (space bc comics) racist attacks now

Also the whole "Amanda got her position through deceit and being a terrible person" NO. she KEPT her position through being shitty and playing complicated political games!!! She wasn't always that way like there is a difference and it is IMPORTANT ppl PLEASEEEE. In Secret Origins #14 we learn Amanda's backstory and she used to be a normal, caring person! Like even after she entered into working in government and politics she wasn't automatically morally bankrupt like please people. She was originally given control of the Squad by Reagan (*sigh* 80s comics...) to distract and get rid of her because she was so successful at pushing progressive social policy in Congress. Acting like she's this static pillar of evil is such a waste of her character and so fucking uninteresting and disrespectful to her arc it drives me MAD.

Like I am NOT saying Waller is all sunshine and rainbows, she fucking SUCKS (said w love <3) but like there's a human being there. It's a progression, she has a character arc like please, DC, please!!! They've fucked up Waller so bad and made her so opaque and uninteresting she can't even be the protagonist of her own story for fucks sake!

Like I don't know how many times I have to scream it until DC hears me or remembers but WALLER IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF SUICIDE SQUAD. ITS HER BOOK. yet right now she's a cutout to be used as the villain wherever the writers please. Even in her book we get none of her perspective really displayed, no exploration of her thoughts with any kind of understanding of the role she traditionally has played and was made to play in the story.

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Junicrane/Starstruck Ramble

I will not be brief, all under the cut

To clear some things right off the bat:

No corpse, no proof with Juniper. Obligatory this is set in a canon where he's alive and adjacent to the agency in some way.

Reggie & Juniper are just gay to me, but I don't mind any interpretation of their sexuality

The games are set in 1967/68 to me (based on a couple bits in game) which is before it was legal to be gay in America at least (1971), which is relevant to how I interpret canon as being somewhat grounded in reality, despite unrealistic elements.

This is just an insane amount of headcanons/elements of and AU all culminated into one post. I will talk about some headcanons like they're just facts because they are established in my head, and it saves me over explaining literally everything, however I will explain some parts a little bit for clarity.

Alright. Actual beginning of the ramble:

Juniper is a character to me who had gotten so lost in his job as an actor and a social presence that in the end his whole life revolved around that 'role'. Because of this, by the time he's put into the situation where he's around the Agency, he basically knows nothing about himself, though he doesn't realise at first. Furthermore, what little identity he had has changed in so many ways. He's no longer a beloved famous actor in the prominence of public light, he's legally dead and he tarnished his career just before he was supposed to die, with the bonus of that making him lose the majority of his estate. From that, he also has horrific facial scarring from the electrical burns from literally having his face fried. I believe a friend of mine made a post about this a while ago (I also think they were the first to think it up also), but, to me, Juniper has a permanent trimmer in his right arm (aka his dominant hand) from the electrical current and it is messing with his nervous system.

All in all, he's not doing great, but he's too proud to admit that he's not doing great, because if anything, what's left of his ego is all he has as a defense since he's deep in unfamiliar water.

Before ending up around the agency (I have multiple interpretations of this, so I'm just going to bring it up generally), he'd never actually seen Reggie, and his only impression of him is a single voicemail, which was his only reference he had to later impersonate him. Juniper probably has very little feelings other than the ones he projects onto him because of Phoenix and that, at the very least, he's physically attracted to Reggie to some degree (that's like the beginning of how everything else would tumble into place in this sort of interpretation at least).

And on Crane's side? His feelings towards Juniper are probably very intense and muddled. On the one hand, he adores musical theatre, and that's his now ex-favourite actor. The thought of just casually being around him blows the bit of fanboy in him away at first because THAT'S the GUY, plus the inklings of a celebrity crush which still poke at him. And then there's the rational side of him, which knows Juniper has committed absolute atrocities on the side of Zoraxis, and hates him for that. Then there's how much Juniper comes off as an asshole at first because he refuses to cooperate with anything the Agency tried to put in place. He finds Juniper endlessly frustrating, and yet he's stuck working with him since, afterall, he's the one who knows the Agency's history with Juniper the best. I imagine him acting a lot like how he does IEYTD 1 around Juniper.

At this point, I'm just describing the pitch for a romcom.

I think the start of their relationship with one another largely started with Juniper trying to wind Crane up. It was a way of getting his attention, and I don't think Juniper knows why he's so dead set on that at first, because I don't think he realises he has a crush on 'this grump' at first. (I think that's actually the fun part about these two, because it's almost like a role reversal of the celebrity crush dynamic. This ex-big name actor has a TERRIBLE crush on an average joe and it is KILLING HIM.) But of course the Agency keeps them together because Juniper is at least conversing with Crane, so it's a start.

Through one way or another, they actually get talking casually, at least mildly at first. It takes Juniper a long time to fully deconstruct the wall he's built, and the thing is, Crane isn't the one trying to deconstruct it, at least at first, because yeah, Juniper realises if he wants Reggie to actually like him in any way, he can't keep winding him up. So they talk. Small talk at first, something rhythmic and almost easy to keep to a script. And over time that turns into actual conversations. Genuine ones in which Reggie rips out the occasional one of his jokes which Juniper is endlessly endeared about. The way he smiles just before he makes them, like he wants to chuckle at what he's about to say before he says it. That's probably when Juniper realised that he does have some vague crush on him, and that it wasn't going away.

This is what kickstarts John I can't-buy-you-things-to-impress-you-so-acts-of-service-it-is Juniper to do little things for him. It mostly starts off as him trying to make Reggie his tea how he likes it. However, the nerve damage in his arm makes that hard, as the weight of the kettle and trying to pour is hard all of a sudden. And he refuses to accept that, so he tries for a very long while. Long enough that Crane would go to investigate what was going on. And when he does see Juniper leaning over a cup with the kettle as he uneasily tries to pour it, and when Crane asks Juniper responds so matter-of-fact that his intention is nothing but genuine. And it catches Reggie off guard because Juniper hadn't done anything like that up to that point, and his very apparent vulnerability is so clearly on show.

It shifts something between them.

From that point on, conversations are longer, more familiar. Both of their attitudes soften, and Reggie makes more jokes. Juniper learns how to better use his left hand while strengthening his right back to a point where it could be used again. Slowly, they're both spending time with one another not because they have to, but just because they can. Little bits at first, not too far outside what they already were doing, but those little bits turned into long bits to a point where the other person's company was genuinely desirable.

As time passes, Juniper probably realises that he doesn't genuinely know much about himself or what hobbies he's into, because he never really had the time when he got big, and his home life in his youth wasn't bad, but it wasn't picturesque. I think Reggie would pick up on it, and absolutely try to introduce him to some things he's into. Some things stick, other things don't (corn husking very much stays Reggie's passion, and John will go with him sometimes because it's him, but it's not something he strongly cares for). Crane introduces him to a lot of music, and it's something that becomes a staple between them, with tracks they listen to more than others (tragically, I know relatively little about 60s music so I couldn't really say what). Occasionally they dance, never anything intense, think slow dancing, but the closeness is nice.

Through all of it, Juniper is battling the worst crush of his life, and he can't stand it, because I think he struggles to read people since he doesn't have anything like a script or a director to refer back to, so he has no idea if Reggie likes him back or if he's just desperate for that to be true. I think because of that any sort of confession between them would be incredibly raw, not only because of the time they live in making it hard for them to be truthful about how they love, but because it's a complete show of Juniper who's worked to be this better person. I don't exactly know how that would go, mainly because I don't have one set version of their dynamic, this post is just a generalisation of main consistent points.

Reggie does like him back, because he's gotten used to Juniper being just this guy, not a figure in the public eye, not a Zoraxis lackey, and not any sort of Agency operative (despite being under their care to some degree). He's someone he genuinely cares for, because they've given one another the time of day to learn one another, and I think because Reggie was a field agent, he was a lot better at reading Juniper than Juniper was at reading him. Eventually Juniper's company becomes something he could see around him for the rest of his life, and I think he accepts that he likes Juniper a lot more gracefully.

I think any affection directed at Juniper would at first be met with him feeling a little muddled. Reggie was a very physically affectionate person when he could be, and sure the initial flirting with one another came with the occasional little touches, but everything now was so deeply intentional. I also don't think Juniper would almost ever get over the novelty of being able to kiss him, or many other gestures, because it made the fact that they were together so very real, and it was great. I do think it comes easier to Reggie, and it's a big way of showing how much he cares, so it's important for Juniper to try and show it back because he knows how much it means to the other.

I like the idea of them eventually living with one another, too. I think Juniper would have always had a quiet little daydream of sorts where he does just live a domestic quiet life, and he can with Reggie (well, as close as they can get between the Agency and Zoraxis always being at odds), and he loves that, and he loves him, and it's immense.

I think they cook for one another a lot, it helps Juniper work on his dexterity in a controlled environment, which means a lot because it's a huge point of insecurity (that and his scars). He does improve, and Crane is proud of that and shows it and it's great. I also think they'd probably cook together too, because they can deal with being in the kitchen together and they work well with one another. It's probably a good way for them to unwind because over time they can do it in relative silence.

As I said before, I also think music is a staple in their household, and that Reggie listens to things on vinyl almost all of the time because he likes the background noise. Sometimes Juniper will catch him chuntering along to the music which he finds endlessly endearing. I wouldn't put it past his dramatic ass to also join in to fluster Reggie, but I also don't think Reggie would mind that terribly because Juniper has listened to the music enough to know the lyrics, and that's huge to him.

I don't think they are without rough patches, no relationship is, but I think the good part about them is that they're willing to talk about it (... eventually). They're used to long conversations, and while they're often less fun conversations, they're needed and they know that, and it works out.

Alright. I think I'm done for now. I haven't mentioned everything, but this definitely got the worst of it out of my system. If you ever want to hear any specific thoughts my ask box is open but other than that, behold my general dynamic for these two which has been festering in my head for years. I think they're great

[t4tdanvis]

every time i meet a laurance stan theres like a 15% chance theyll like gene, 25% chance theyll just go "eh ok", and a 60% chance theyll go "hey u really like this character right? and u dont want people hating on ur comfort character right to ur face right? here have a 20 paragraph essay i typed up on how much i hate him, including details like how i portray him as an abuser and a rapist! u dont need to thank me :)"

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

omg ari !!! may i ask for a mootie bingo 🥺 i am bringing in some may flowers so we can do some flower arrangements 🥺🌷🌺🌹💐

MY SWEET SELLLL ofc you can !!!!!!! i’m tucking the flowers into a big big vase n adding some too 🌻🌻🌸🌸🌼🌼 hehe ily !!

[skitskatdacat63]

are there any other historical figures you like I'm intrigued 👀

Okay buckle in, somehow this post will be weirder than any of my f1 stuff bcs for some reason I'm very intense about historical figures, I think I just have a tendency to treat them like blorbos

Mostly I'm endeared to powerful figures, idk why, it's the way it is. Okay so obviously you already know I like Napoleon(and Wellington to an extent), that really doesn't need to be emphasized anymore

Since being in Austria, I feel super endeared to Maria Theresa. She just seemed like such a boss! I think she's just really cool. Her father changed the plan of succession so she'd become Empress(rather than her cousins), but immediately upon taking power, she was immediately embroiled in war over her being the new ruler(everyone who had signed the treaty of succession suddeny reversed) But she defended her rule of the Habsburg monarchy! I think the coolest part about her is that her husband, who married into the Habsburgs, was supposed to be in charge, but she wouldn't let him be involved at all practically and was the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire for like 20 years. She had 16 children and was basically constantly pregnant and having kids while involved in war, yet still held power and guided Austro-Hungary through it all 🥹 I think it's very funny also that she was laying out so many reforms, guiding the country basically just herself, and still found time to write letters to all their kids and be an overbearing mother. Also she was Marie Antoinette's mother?? I'm still shocked by how many important kids she had. If you've been to any part of the former Austro-Hungarian(+ Bohemian) Empire, she really left her mark, there's soooo much stuff named after her. The statue of her in between the Kunsthistorisches and the Natural History Museum in Vienna is really cool, and that she has a whole Platz named after her with her giant statue!!! I think it's just really admirable that a woman at that period of time had so much power and ruled so efficiently. (MY god sorry I wrote so much)

Okay now I'll try to refrain from the historical rambles, I also like: Julius Caeser(cliche sorry I know), Dmitri Shostakovich(my favorite composer ever), Pyotr Tchaikovsky(pls read about his sugar mommy patron), Erwin Rommel(I like his nickname: The Desert Fox), J.C. Leyendecker(favorite artist, I am obsessed with his work), Alphonse Mucha, Calvin Coolidge(not the best president by far but the anecdotes about his social awkwardness and quietness are hilarious to me), Ernst Gideon von Laudon(not completely insane about him, but it's like with the Napoleon Crossing the Alps painting, I saw a painting and bust of him and now feel weirdly endeared.) And then there's probably some others I can't recall atm because it's 3 am

I think my top three though are Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Maria Theresa. They're all just very: "Catie saw a painting/statue and is now very weird about it." And then being in the vicinity of so much history made it 1000x worse. Things I saw in Vienna that made me go "oh my god it's blorbo from my history book": Napoleon Crossing The Alps painting(I seriously sat in that room for probably 20 mins just staring at it, I didn't want to leave) + some other various Napoleon artifacts in the Heeresgesichtliche, a very nice bust of Julius Caesar, and literally the entirety of Vienna had Maria Theresa everywhere

[mrburnsnuclearpussy]

I wish so badly that I never started watching Downton abbey because here I am now having near anxiety attacks over a fictional character and it’s just miserable and I want out!!!! This obsession hurts more than it feels good but I can’t get rid of it and idk how 😭

[carp-esh-ove-lem]

sigh i truly am not a huge fan of when Specialest Boy in my fanfics

[pri-maryme]

I wish my socail anxiety didn't always like, fuck me over all the time :///

[gender-i-hardly-know-er]

vent

[danothan]

@ftl-faster-than-life responding here bc tumblr comments are a nightmare to communicate thru

it’s gonna be tough to follow this up, you pretty much nailed everything! if i can paraphrase that vid by osp i was talking abt, the core theme of superman is a trope subversion in of itself, so to have him be corrupted is just playing the trope straight. red brings up a lot of great points abt his purpose as a narrative device AND as a paragon within the narrative, and it’s smth i’ve used a lot in my analysis of clark and other characters

so ig my contribution here would be to make that comparison! clark is so compelling to me as a superhero bc he’s a non-human raised by humans, which is distinct from superheroes like barry who are written as your typical everyman stumbling upon powers most of us can barely comprehend. while these supers are humans that are given god-like powers, clark is basically a god that had to learn humanity. in fact, i think it is Specifically bc his unique situation that he was able to develop his iconic clarkian empathy/compassion. he started off all-powerful, so caution and gentleness were things he had to deliberately learn as he grew up. i’d even say he’s more in touch with humanity than most humans bc we take these things for granted

this is also why i think using this lens is so important for understanding and analyzing other characters. if superman is THE bar, the very standard of what it means to be a hero, then we can see how everyone else falls underneath and in between. i’ve even used this framing to analyze barry in the past:

“but time and time again, we see that being a hero is a thankless burden. clark and barry sacrifice so much to maintain their personas, but they can't afford to shatter such perfect images if that's what the world needs. in this way, superman and the flash are both masks to their respective wearers, but there is a difference in how this manifests: while clark projects what the world needs him to be, barry projects what he needs from himself.

“i make this comparison to highlight the effect it has on clark vs barry. clark wishes he could be normal… but i don’t think barry wants to give up on being the flash.”

it always comes back to superman’s humanity. using clark’s selflessness as a guide, it makes it sm easier to identify barry’s falleable ego, his selfish selflessness. barry, oh so relatably human, had to work his way thru those god-like powers (not to mention status), and if you’re starting off human, then that’s an incredibly unfamiliar and difficult path to navigate. whereas superman’s strength lies in his loved ones, the flash’s refuge is to self-isolate and protect his loved ones FROM himself. in terms of perspective, they share the same path going in opposite directions: god to human, human to god

even if ppl find superman boring (booo tomato tomato), it is undeniable how important and influential his role is to the story. corrupting him disrupts the superhero ecosystem, and writers looove using superman’s symbol/powers to be edgy. but the thing is that it never says anything new or interesting abt his actual character. in typical paragon fashion, ppl fail to see past his status. but fuck, man! i love seeking humanity in seemingly untouchable characters! clark without his powers is still superman, but superman without his heart is just some villain origin story. how inspired.

to sum it up in my friend cierra’s words, superman is a god that is just some guy. a lot of modern retellings miss the mark bc they forget that last part

thinking abt how my sibling went to the comic store with me and asked me abt the way superman gets portrayed in more recent media. i gave some examples of parody, like omni-man and homelander, to which one of the workers perked up and went “uhh… couldn’t help but notice you guys talking about homelander 👀”

we were whispering like it was a library, why were you eavesdropping man, what was that all about -__- tch… boys fan.

[blueflipflops]

I saw the post you made about punk-flower and the patch sharing jacket and I just wanted to ask if you have anything specific that you would like to expand on as I plan to write a fic for it!

I’ve been in a writing slump for months now and you’re post just inspired me again finally so I just wanted to see if there were any more headcannons you had for this idea

This is the post I’m referencing btw!

Ignore the terrible crop job lol

Oooooh thats so cool! Sure!! Go for it!!

There's really not much for me to add other than ✨️vibes✨️and like a general direction/idea. But i do have a few so here's what i got so far:

I imagine that Miles was the first one to ask bring up the patched jackets (i don't really know what they're called) thing for like just a conversation starter at first but ended up getting geniunely interested as Hobie rants explains the whole thing. From its history where its originally a practical way of mending clothes but now means more to the punk culture, to how to stitch it in, picking the right jacket for it, etc.

He would explain each patch in his vest, what they represent, and how he got it. (Or Miles would ask abt it idk)

I like to hc hobie as decent enough at sewing to make shody patches with his own design. Its not good good but he's proud of them enough to show it off

Miles couldn't get his mind off Hobie's rant and some of the shoddy patches that looks so rough and like a snap away from leaving Hobie's vest and he can't get his mind off the fact that Hobie made some of his own patches which made him curious enough to make his own designs.

At first it was just drawings and doodles but then he got curious enough to try embriodery stuff. How hard could it be, right? He was wrong. Embroidery is very hard. (This coming from me who does embroidery for fun) But the learning process was fun enough that he continued on.

Rio absolutely caught him more than once, brings out her sewing kit, and gives him tips and advices like different kinds of stitches and how to fix holes on clothes, happy to have something they can bond over. (Would love to have more Rio content. She deserves the world.)

With his newly aqcuired sewing skills, he offers to fix Hobie's patch that was loose.

Then he showed Hobie the very first patch he made which was a very simple sunflower (or something else if you want) and

Hobie was very normal about that and trying to be casual like: "Can I keep it?" And it flusters Miles like "Uh, yeah, sure. I guess. I mean if you want it—"

Hobie then decided that Miles is his new go-to patch repair guy just so he can spend more time with him

Miles uses a really old jacket from either his dad or his uncle Aaron or heck even from his mom or maybe even from his grandparents. (your pick) Because he knows that you just dont do that on a new jacket! That goes against its whole purpose!!

When he shows Hobie the jacket he intends to patch up, Hobie got so exited that he rips off a patch from his vest and gifts it to Miles to "start him with" or something.

They gift each other patches that reminds them of the other

And yeah. That's it. Thats all I've got haha. Link me up on the fic when (? Or after? Srry idk grammar haha) you get to write it. Really very excited to read how you write my current favorite blorbos!! 💕

[leadandblood]

PLEASE tell us more about your Crozcest interpretations of canon scenes omg 0w0

This reply has gotten SO fucking long, oh my god, Anon, what have you unleashed. (kidding, i love you, thank you so much for this ask <333333333)

Below are my thoughts and interpretations of canon scenes along with screencaps from the show. All the things below are speculation. No, these characters are not related whatsoever in the show. I made this AU up bc it's fun. Don't go into the soup store if you hate soup. Don't read this post if you hate blorbo incest. (though this post is very mild and mostly covers the basic family dynamic)

okAY OKAY, So!! Basically everything has to be viewed through a different lense, because well. they're family now! It changes Everything! So I might as well describe the whole show, but I guess for this post, I can start with ep 1...?

Overall

Technically Edward is better off, because he gets a higher position in the navy. He has influence, he has command, he can order men around as he likes as long as it's something a lieutenant can do. It's possible to think Francis likes him more because of this BUT!

Thomas gets to be way closer to Francis and is allowed to spend more time with him and has way less weight and expectations placed on his shoulders. Many of the tasks he has to do are controlled by Francis, are always the same and don't require much from him apart from physical labor. It's basically "I want to keep you as close as possible on this journey without burdening you too much or raising suspicions". That of course doesn't prevent Tom from working his ass off, but we'll get to that at some point.

Alternative first scene (Francis & Edward)

In one of the cuts, the first scene we get of Francis is with Edward (ignoring Blanky). And he's being all fatherly and friendly and touchy, which is actually adorable. All is well! I'm soft.

Despite everything, especially earlier into the journey, Francis doesn't dislike Edward all that much. When he's in a good mood, one could even say he loves him. Edward has been capable - he's a good lieutenant, when they're actually sailing and when he knows what to do. I'd say Francis is proud of him at least a bit at the start of the show, even though he wouldn't admit it.

(sorry for the shitty screencaps i only have this cut in 720p)

Then there's of course Edward's yay, daddy, hi! 🥰🥰 expression which is beyond adorable. I love him very much.

Alternative first scene #2 (Francis & Thomas)

In the bluray version (and netflix, too, i believe) Francis's first scene is with Thomas. Which in itself is crazy to me like. The fact they chose Jopson and Little specifically to accompany Francis in his first ever scenes!! Bonkers in the best way possible. (and also HIGHLY convinient for this AU reading lmaooo) Anyway.

Tom's cunty little head wiggle here is everything to me. When your dad goes on another rant abt how much he hates your auntie who comes over to visit once a month and you just have to endure it and nod along.

I think Francis is that sort of parent you've had to comfort when you were a kid. They'd pour their heart out to you about their problems (which you could do nothing about). And despite how small you were, you were expected to respond maturely and to not only bear your parent's tears, but to comfort them. This of course is an insane burden to give to a child, who WILL then feel responsible and WILL feel like they have to do something, yet can't. (Been there, felt that. Sorry Tom)

I think he has had to do that since he was young and that's why he's good at it now compared to Edward. He had time to practise and to learn to bear these sessions from Francis. Tom locks his own emotions up to let his father's flow over him. He might then release them somewhere else ehm ehm, Edward.

Overall terribly unhealthy, but very good angst material.

On a sillier note, Tom stop looking at him like that that's your father ffs-

2nd scene (Dinner on Terror)

Here's just a moment to appreciate this quick glance at Francis (and also how pretty Edward is)

Something something Edward being the one at a table, dining with his father and the officers while Thomas is the one serving them. Something something, useful youngest child, something something a-prize-to-show-to-others eldest child. Tickles my brain.

Also I can't help but imagine Edward looking over to Tom anytime his sleeves slide up a bit when he stretches out to pour them a glass like 👀

Then Francis's moment of "can't believe you'd betray me like that, Edward". To look at Fitzjames with such admiration and interest and to ask questions while barely looking at Francis at all throughout the dinner must be so humbling lmao. (it drives him mad)

I think this is part of the reason why he then makes the Birdshit island comment. It's not 100% aimed at James, but at Edward also, although indirectly. "You think he's so great? Well I don't. And it disappoints me that you do."

Toxic parent Francis go woooooo.

Anyway, then there's this glance which Edward quickly ignores. "Are you hearing this shit?" "oh my god dad shut uppp🙄"

Trust (Erebus visit)

When the officers from Terror visit Erebus after she's injured, Edward stays behind, presumably to watch the ship and keep command while the rest of them are gone, which I think is a great show of trust on Francis's part. Francis, Blanky, Hodgson and Irving are all on Erebus... He's really quite alone and although it's for only a short while and they still feel safe, I think it's notable how much he trusts Edward.

Anyway.

Then there's a whole lot of nothing until the ice cutting scene which i JUST noticed btw aksndgkejf Hi Tommy. I don't think Francis would order him to do it. Rather, I choose to believe he volunteered.

He's always wanted to be stronger and better and to keep going and keep pushing and most importantly to be better than Edward. That's why I think he'd volunteer. Though it may have also been an ''everybody needs to help'' situation, where they were way too desperate to waste a pair of perfectly good hands.

Conclusion to ep 1

We mostly got Francis's POV in this episode, but that's okay. There will be time for the sons too.

Overall I think Francis likes both his sons, though in very different ways and the first ep is a great display of that. He may also be conflicted about the ways in which he shows this, but doesn't know how to do any better, so he just keeps at it. It gets worse as the show progresses, but I'd be getting ahead of myself with that.

Edward Francis wants to push through the stress and burdens of command so that he comes out of it better. Not only that, he trusts that Edward can manage it. That, I think is a really interesting part to their dynamic. The duality of "god, you can't do anything right" and "you can manage this" (eldest daughter syndrome if i ever seen one)

Meanwhile he made Thomas a steward. He had been Francis's steward before, so he may have taken a liking to it and maybe asked his father to give him that position again. Also Francis wants to shelter him more than Ned - wants to keep him close. He's the last thing his wife gave to him before she died, so he cherishes Tom like treasure.

The first episode was for introducing characters, of course, and to set it all up, so there isn't much open conflict or relationship evolution between them Yet. That will change, though. I'm already excited to do the next episode.

I will be writing some of this into the actual fic, but I'm far from that yet, so I might as well make this post my starting point.

Um. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😭😭

[puzzled-pegasus]

Okay I gotta vent bc I'm not in therapy and I should be lmao

My mom can't understand why I don't like talking to my (step)dad and so I don't have anyone to rant to abt it but these are some of the biggest things I remember my dad doing that put me off being nice to him now (hes been in my life since I was like 4)

Screaming at me

Threatening to beat/spank me (my mom didnt do spankings thank god but it was still terrifying for 6 yo me to be told in a shouting voice that hes going to "blister my ass" whatever tf that means)

Threatening to shoot one of my dogs (twice! Once with my chihuahua when I was like 8 and more recently with my Australian shepherd when I was 15 or 16)

Him and my mom BOTH secretly put down my cat I had when I was 7-8 because he was "mean" and my mom didn't tell me till I was 16. Thats not really a dad thing specifically its just another thijg im mad about

Saying homophobic slurs

Random trauma dumping

Transphobic rants

"Do you really believe in climate change?" Wtf dad I knew you were nuts but not that much

Telling me to smile like 8 minutes after I woke up in the morning (this was once like a couple months ago and it's not really that bad but it did annoy me lmao)

Once he got mad at me for saying the word nonbinary in front of him ???

Sneaking up and startling me/jumper cables or whatever u call it I fuckin hate that shit

Oh yeah and he used to get really upset when I said ok and didn't make expressions when he yelled at me. Yes im getting tested for autism

One time he picked me up from the school bus stop with the radio on FULL volume and refused to turn it down for some reason so the whole way home my ears were just exploding?? Like wtf lol

Getting mad at me for watching MLP when I was like 8-10. Like "how dare u, a child, watch tv aimed at children about the value of friendship, u should be watching WWII and serial killer documentaries like a SMART PERSON"

One time he picked up my sketchbook and tried to look in it and then he looked at me like IM the crazy one when I snatched it out of his hands

Also he got annoyed at me when I wouldn't show him the drawing i was working on (of one of my blorbos as a merman how the fuck would I explain that) and he said "it's probably overtly sexual and thats why u dont want to show me" like bruh why dont u mind ur damn business if the drawing was for showing I would show it

i can't remember any more off the top of my head so im gonna end the post here :) srry for ranting abt my personal life so much 😭

[skitskatdacat63]

Thinking about him...

OH WAIT ALSO HAHAHAH I FORGOT!! So this is the guy who fought against Napoleon in Waterloo. I am, as you know, obsessed a bit with Napoleon. But now I feel endeared towards this guy as well, just because of how he was described in the personality section.

I can't stop thinking about these. Why were both of them weirdos 😭😭😭😭

The true old man fucker behavior is simping over historical figures

[odukora-lore]

Hi Mykz! I wanted to ask something about your story titles, what would you say is the meaning behind all of them? As in, what does it relate to in-universe, what's the irl inspiration, all that?

LMAOOOO okay this is rlly fun tbh, ngl this was something I was sortaaaa gonna ramble in a recording but then didn't end up, but this is honestly something I somewhattt keep track of in my blorbo notes draft so I somewhat remember them at the tip of my tongue

Either wayyyyy

The Eternal: Fallout - ngl TEF went through a shit fucking load of title changes ffs, veterans would know Egg™ (that's a story for another day) but the main predecessors before it would be A Fault in Time and Brotherhood, AFIT is basically like, hinting at Atch fucking up the time travel lmao that's pretty much it, my memory is kinda blurry on that one cuz it's been a shitass while, it remains as a title that I still rlly like til this day thou that's just unfortunately thrown into the outdated pile, Brotherhood was like, a hint towards it Rin and Jingle's bond (Rin was the protagonist lmao, but again this is another rant for another day), and some sprinkles of the Tree Fam conflict (the earliest version of it anyway) so mainly between Oak and Birch

TEF itself is funny af thou cuz like, I kinda don't recall the exact moment I even settled on it unlike POE??? I think I was just playing around titles and shit, I'm soooo sooo sure The Eternal as like, the tragedy™ is a thing for a while thou, and iirc it mainly stemmed from the concept of, okay yeah ppl keep disappearing for an infinite amount of time, an eternity, it's the eternal™, but hell I can't say for sure lol, I do vaguely remember me settling on fallout cuz one of it's meanings were *the aftermath*, so basically TEF is like, the Aftermath of Mountain Expedition Gone Wrong (in non lore terms lol)

Paradigm of Empyrean - THIS ONE is fun cuz I didn't even come up w the og titles lmaooo, the oldest ver is Mysteries of Naru (for a shit while it was called MON), but like, kinda meant as a series I think, but idr either cuz I didn't wrote crap lol, I do know it's supposedly a trilogy though, the pipeline going Paradigm of Immortality -> Sealed Fate -> Fortress of Time (almost forgot the last one wtf I had to dig my old blorbo drafts), and then as I won the custody war™ I figured I wanted it to just be the one story™ cuz there's too much unknown lore for me to make it into an expansive series, at first I just figured I'd combine it so Paradigm of Fate was the placeholder title for a while before the actual revamp™ last year where I expanded further on the constellation and afterlife shit, the empyrean as a place wasn't rlly a thing not until recently iirc,

But the most fun part abt all this is the unintentional lore connections, cuz paradigm can mean *pattern* and empyrean can mean *sky* so essentially Patterns of the Skies, aka constellations lmao

Again a lotta shit for my main stories are extremely lore heavy so the titles kinda don't make shit sense unless you know what's going on

Anyways onto the supporting stories™

Swan Feather - this one is relatively simple lol, EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU BLACK SWAN ORCHESTRAL VER FOR BIRTHING THE VERY CONCEPT OF DULCET anyways I've rambled abt this quite a lot on my ramblez acc but swan feather was made when I was basically lost™ on wtf to do w TEF tbh lmaoooo, TEF was basically in like heavy revamp era and I was kinda getting pissed and mildly losing passion over it so I just figured fuck it I'm gonna make a whole new story™ to focus on while that remains in shambles for the time being, and then at the time this miraculous mv was released around the same time and the rest is history

I can dissect everything even further but it'll take up half of this damn page atp lmao, but a lot of the swan feather concepts surrounded passion I suppose, Heron and Dulcet were basically reflections of that, w Tang initially wanting to become a warrior out of passion but eventually got obsessed w wanting to be acknowledged and climbing the ranks he just straight up lost who he is (quite literally even), the Eclipsis Empire is sorta a shorthand for trading yourself away to achieve an empty dream that you sought to achieve but losing your very initial drive to pursue it in the first place, Heron initially only fighting cuz he was put on a pedestal to fight but now he has to for the sake of his bloodline, he fights w passion of wanting to defend all he has ever known, that is what intrigued Dulcet, mf basically saw a coward but then a coward w the kinda effort and dedication that he has not seen since forever and purposefully does not kill him from the get go just to see how far this mf can go lmao

A lot of Duclet's graceful dance esque fighting style was inspired by the orchestral ver itself tbh (alongside the quote at the beginning of the mv), I'd be stuck in car rides and imagining an epic fight scene™ and then going hell I need to make a story of out this shit and then it happened lol, forever extremely extremely pissed there's no official release on Spotify, the amount of mfs I'd maul to get that on there to make the perfect SF playlist ever™, but tldr I lost passion but a song abt losing passion made me reignite passion to make a story about losing passion and gaining it back

Sundowner - this is again kindaaa the kinda shit I don't remember lmaooo but tbh sundowner wasn't even supposed to be a story anyway cuz it remained a joke for the longest time, but I still figured it deserved a title so I know wtf I am talking abt when I am talking abt the story lol, I think I just went digging up aesthetic sounding words that are fairly dark sounding and related to illegal things™ and found sundowner: "an alcoholic drink that is drunk at around the time the sun goes down", but then also "a tramp arriving at a sheep station in the evening under the pretence of seeking work, so as to obtain food and shelter" which somehow fit the whole tone of the story lol, esp the latter one cuz majority of ppl affiliated w Budgie are honestly just looking for a means to *survive* through the mess, in some sense its the Budgie Enokie dichotomy within a single title lmao

The Sun is a Star - I'm pretty sure I came up w this on a whim aswell tbh, TSIAS isn't as old as the other stories ngl, like TEF has roots in 2018, same w POE iirc, SF and SD are kinda 2020 esque things, TSIAS is like very late 2022 and early 2023 I think??? TOI has roots in 2018 too lol I'll rant abt that in that section, anyways for a while I didn't even bother expanding it into a full fledged story cuz I was just mainly toying around w the Skyble dynamic lol, in fact Cirrus and Vinca were from entirely separate stories (I don't talk abt them enough lol but they're in the main lineup if u check the site, it'll be a ramble for another day thou), before I decided I'd merge them cuz I wrote a joke esque snippet between Marble complaining to Vinca abt crushing on Skye over the phone lmao

Again it's one of those stories that almost became a tertiary story before I scrapped the notion altogether lol but it was lore heavy enough to be on the same lvl as SF and SD, the title is pretty much a hint towards how the team is mainly researching stars to be used as solar energy equivalents lol, basically the origins of stars as raw magic life forces plays into this, and I just wanted a simple catchphrase esque title that included the concept

Tales of Iridescence - this one is also rlly rllyyyyyy fun cuz the shit is like TOI has roots in 2018 for being a story I came up w a friend on Animal Jam lmao, initially it was called Friendship Tales™ (cliche af but can u tell the mlp influence), but then yeah that's the shit, it was abandoned for a rllyyyyyy long time tbh lmao like Tropiciana lvls of it's extremely unlikely I'll ever revamp this again but then suddenly Magical Girl Obsession™ and then I realize how much the concept fitted a magical girl one lol, figured I wanted to keep the Tales part of it as some way to preserve it's og vibes (like the way I did w POE), and then thought abt like shiny rainbowy things lol, Prism/Prismatic was so close to being in the title tbh but Iridescence rolled off the tongue better

Anyways onto side stories 🔥

Faldeigh Street - this is again another one w funny origins lmaooo okay so the og og og og ogggg ver of this was Where Time Meets, again roots in 2018 (damn I just kept writing shit back then), basically a cliche romcom esque story tbh, I've had so many instances of wanting it to become lore heavy but I just can't bother giving up the cheesy fluffy vibes it always had so I just left it be, Where Time Meets was a part of some trilogy esque thing thou (but then not rlly either they're meant to be sorta separate, the lineup was basically Where Time Meets, Stand by You, Wings of Dawn) but the characters eventually meet to go on this big glowlin origin adventure™ (obviously scrapped lol), this was gonna be the supposed tertiary story I kept ranting abt before TOI was a thing tbh, cuz I just wanted my old main cast to go somewhere (how TEF replaced my old main cast is another load of shenanigans lmao)

But eventually I found it too nostalgic to even make any major changes, for now it's kinda in development limbo cuz there's alotta shit I'm trying to settle, initial title rlly is just me attempting to sound poetic as a preteen tbh, like ohhh where time meets, where these ppl meet at a specific time and cross paths (aka why it was extended into where time meets destiny eventually), cuz the gist was like Maca (the protagonist lol) helped her dad run a cafeteria and then every evening around closing hour there would be this mysterious guy™ that would show up and buy coffee and coffee only lol (another ramble for another day) but again I felt like the title kept sounding rlly lengthy and lore heavy for something supposedly light hearted so I just renamed it into something simplistic like Faldeigh Street (aka where the story takes place lol), actually on second thought it'll be fun to name it Faldeigh Street: Where Time Meets Destiny as some call back anyway, like oh it's this place where ppl cross paths at a specific hour, hm I'm suddenly liking this lmaoooo

Cupid's Serenade - THIS ONE again its sorta like SD having the Budgie Enoki dichotomy this is basically between Angie and Azalea lol, Angie mainly has a cupid aesthetic and Azalea mainly has a siren aesthetic, I was 🤏 this close to naming it Cupid's Sirenade as some sorta pun but idk it looked more like a mispelled word from afar without the context lmao, again this is another one of those stories that didn't have a title for a shit while until I came up w it onna whim

Cabbage Peak - another one I came up onna whim lmaoooo so many of these titles are just me going I need a title what could work and then slap it on there as placeholder before okay this works, but then yeah cabbage peak is just me trying to find a funny ass farm land esque name, the kinda shit you'd name your stardew farm, it's intentionally reeking of stardew tbh just mildly sillier and more absurd for the vibes™

Weather Headquarters - this shit probably has roots in 2016 or even older lmaoooo but like, idk if I named it weather hq back then, I knew Cloud Island was a thing thou, iirc it was named Cloud Island lmaoooo and the weather hq was more so the actual organization (like OWL and ORCA) that did the weather bs, pretty straightforward one tbh

Homecoming - I haveeee dumped abt this so I won't ramble too much but tldr it was a TEF sequel esque thing and the concept hinged on the victims going home™ and then Lio's whole thing of going home and then Atch's whole thing of finding home among the mortal realm and Aichi returning to Naru after presumedly millenia, suddenly I realize the actual actual first ever usage before TEF was conceptualized was actually the Truffs alien AU when Corondale was on the fcking moon and it was essentially the story of Asteria attempting to bring the rockrifts back to earth LMAO that's a whole other shit for another day

All the Days had been Sunny in Tropiciana - again another rlllllyyyyy fun one, Tropiciana has always been a thing tbh like Friendship Tales lol (I think they're even from the same era), basically wanted a tropical island sounding name and my preteen ass was extremely creative™, it's basically the name of the island where the og cast had a summer camp on lol (current ver actually has them live there), anyways this one is interesting cuz again I've always wanted like, a rlly rlly long title for the absurd joke affect, it's just a funny trope I've seen around and I wanted to pull it off, and then I got reminded of like this one attempt at rewriting an old Tropiciana ch, iirc I was on my Good Omens spree™ at the point in time, and the book is known to start w "it was a nice day, all the days had been nice", so I think I started w it was a sunny day, all the days had been sunny, or something, I don't remember tbh lmao, but that's sorta the shit I eventually went w, ig there's also the indirect influence of it's always sunny in philadelphia but I've never seen the thing and only heard of the funny sitcom esque title and it reeked more like sundowner from the looks of it lmao

Anyways that's that, can't believe I ranted for like an hour straight lol worth it, first ever blorbo inquiry answer is fifty pages long 🔥🔥🔥