#literally so strict dad coded...

[murderofravens]

not enuff age gap fics with jake gyllenhaal characters... mayhaps i need 2 get my hands dirty

[zeroducks-2]

What's up with batman and the erasing of queer history? Sry I try to interact with fanon as little as possible

There is no simple or short answer to this but to try and not make it a wall of text - Batman/Robin has always been a staple of the queer community, so much so that to this day there are "brudick" graffiti in big cities and lots of older gay couples have been using them as a reference for solid partnership which endures in spite of adversity.

Originally there was no indication anywhere that Bruce and Dick were in the roles of father and son, rather they were partners against crime, one the shadow of the other, and they would share everything both when it came to crime fighting and in their everyday lives. They're shown sleeping together, going on lake trips together, finishing each other's sentences and Dick being viciously jealous every time Bruce would "replace" him with any of the women he used to have flings with such as Talia or Selina.

Did DC mean for them to be read as a queer couple? No, of course not. Bob Kane and others wrote a partnership, an unbreakable bond which would allow these two men to overcome any obstacle together, and queer people read into it as queer people always do.

Someone else read into it though: Frederick Wertham, who called Batman a pederast and used Batman and Robin as an example of how the evil comics would corrupt young minds to send them on the way of perdition and sin. He wrote all of this and many more infuriating shit in his book Seduction of the Innocents, which was then the major influence in creating the Hayes Code, which is the reason why we never had queer characters in comicbooks and movies and anything really for decades (and we're still struggling today).

Wertham and the Hayes Code did not stop the queer community from loving Batman and Robin though, therefore what started happening was the more subtle shift towards Bruce and Dick having a father and son relationship rather than a partnership. You can see this clearly with Jason Todd for the first time: Bruce takes Jason in and treats him as his own son, the narrative calls them father and son, and there is no doubt in the mind of who's reading that Bruce perceives Jason as his child. It all went steadily downhill from there.

Nowadays, writers have Dick say character assassinating things like "I love you dad" to Bruce, Tim saying "we will save our dad" to Damian, and everyone in the fandom acting like this has always been the case and actually you're weird and you should be sent death threats for shipping Brudick, because "UMMM that is literally his son?!??!?!?". DC has been pushing the idea that these folks are a nuclear family for a while now, but whoever has actually read the comics knows it's not the case, and it used to be very different before.

Brudick, among queer people, used to be entirely uncontroversial. While Wertham raged about how it corrupted the minds of young men and the Hayes Code prevented queerness to be anything but vaguely hinted and coded in the text, queer folks didn't care and kept having matching Batman and Robin shirts.

Today queer people will call you a pedophile and a groomer and try to doxx you for posting Brudick art because apparently they're doing the fascists' job for them, either because they are genuinely misguided or because they think that if they're enough morally pure they will have a spot among the chosen ones, hell if I know. What I know is that they'd suck Wertham's cock and balls if he wrote Seduction of the Innocents today, and it's DC's fault too with their erasure of every found family dynamic among the batclan, and the way they've been pushing the idea of a "batfamily" instead, in which everyone has a strict role of son or brother or father, and shipping them makes you the antichrist.

[nattikay]

Jake is a Good Dad and I will Die On That Hill

Howdy Avatar fandom. Over the past six months or so I’ve seen a lot of criticism directed toward Jake Sully as a father, ranging from him simply being a little too strict at best, to outright neglectful and even abusive at worst. This, my friends, is some grade-A nonsense, and today we’re gonna talk about why. Strap in, lads, this is gonna be a long one. Let’s roll.

So before we get into breaking down the events of the main storyline, let’s address the idea that Jake was always the super-strict “military dad” throughout the kids’ lives: put simply, bullcrap.

Out of the film’s over-three-hour runtime, we get to see very little of the Sullies’ lives before the RDA’s return—only about six minutes’ worth. If Jake was meant to be this strict militaristic dictator during this time period, especially in a way that would significantly impact the kids’ character development and their relationships with him, this would be the time to show it, or at least hint at it. But instead of any of that, we really get quite the opposite. Jake laughs and plays with the kids:

Jokes around and cuddles:

Teaches Neteyam to fish:

He even says in his narration:

“Happiness is simple…whoever thought that a jarhead like me could’ve cracked the code?”

Guys, this is quite literally the best time of his life. This man absolutely adores his family with every fiber of his being, they are his whole world. Like, look at him! He has stars in his eyes!!

We have zero reason to suspect that Jake was overly harsh or strict in a way that would impede his relationship with his kids during this time. The Sullies appear to be a normal, healthy, close-knit family. 

It’s only when the RDA returns and reignites war that things change. 

I’ve seen some people claim that Jake’s personality changed it the second movie. I disagree—it was not his personality that changed, but rather his priorities. 

A1 Jake was a disabled marine vet who was offered his brother’s contract after said brother was unexpectedly murdered by some thug on the street…and part of the reason he agreed to take that contract was that there really wasn’t much else left for him back on Earth, so why not go? A1 Jake had just about nothing left to lose, and therefore could afford to be more reckless.

A2 Jake, however, is another story altogether. A2 Jake can’t just run around poking and prodding and taking risks like A1 Jake did because now he has a wife and four children who rely on him and who he loves more than anything else in the world. It’s not just himself he has to look out for anymore, it’s them. He now has everything to lose. He says as much himself:

Not to mention that he’s older now. Did you really expect the 37-year-old father of four who’s been leading the clan for 15 years and is suddenly thrust back into a brutal war to behave exactly the same as the 22-year-old fish-out-of-water ex-marine sent to fill in for his scientist brother out of the sheer convenience of sharing a genome? A2 Jake’s behavior is not a sudden 180 from his personality in A1, it’s a natural progression and reaction for his character given the changed circumstances. 

“A father protects. It’s what gives him meaning.”

This is essentially Jake’s thesis for the movie. This is his #1 priority, his purpose, the lens through which all his actions must be viewed in order to understand them, and it’s important to establish it upfront because it sets up everything else.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the train raid sequence as its aftermath. Jake begrudgingly allows his now-teenage sons to participate in the war party—from a distance, as spotters. Neteyam seems content to fill this role, but Lo’ak, against orders, eagerly insists that they “have to get in there”, even goading his brother: 

Tailed by an exasperated Neteyam, Lo’ak grabs a weapon from Tarsem and lets out a half-hearted warcry:

...let’s be honest here, Lo’ak doesn’t really seem to be taking this raid anywhere near as seriously as he should be; he’s treating it more like a game—on which point, y’know what, let’s pause to talk about Lo’ak for a moment.

Because the primary purpose of this post is defending Jake, it may at times appear that I am being overly critical towards Lo’ak. This is not my intention—I love Lo’ak as much as I love the rest of the Sully family (which is a lot lol). I think the things he struggles with are reasonable and valid struggles to have considering his circumstances. However, that does not always mean that he is in the “right”. Jake and Lo’ak’s conflict through the movie is not as simple as “son right dad wrong” or vice-versa; rather, it stems from a generational/age gap in experience and priorities. 

In this case, for example, Lo’ak is treating the raid more like a cool action game than a real battle with real stakes. Which may not be much of a surprise—he’s 14! He’s young, he’s naive, he’s never experienced anything close to real war until the past year or so—he probably genuinely does not fully grasp the stakes of this situation just yet. And why should we expect him to, really? He’s never had to before.

Jake, on the other hand, knows the stakes all too well. This ain’t his first rodeo. He was a solider both on Earth (where he was injured severely enough to become paralyzed from the waist down) and then again on Pandora driving out the RDA in a battle that killed several of his friends and allies, including almost completely wiping out the entire Olangi clan. 

Jake understands the risks of war and doesn’t want his kids anywhere near it. We see this not only in the film where he only allows Neteyam and Lo’ak to participate in the raid “from a distance” and ultimately fleeing his own clan altogether once his kids are directly threatened, but also in the comics in which he consistently turns down Neteyam’s pleadings to participate in the war efforts. Unfortunately for him, his sons do happen to be coming of age at around this time and there’s only so much he can do to keep them out of it, so he tries to let them participate in relatively safe ways, like as spotters.

Lo’ak…doesn’t understand this. Not really. And that leads to him recklessly taking unnecessary risks—be it out of curiosity, to get in on the action, or even simply to prove himself. Which understandably scares the crap out of Jake.

When the raid is over, Jake desperately searches the rubble for his sons. He finds Lo’ak quickly and makes sure he’s alright:

…before taking off to search for Neteyam, who he also promptly checks over for injuries. 

which is something I’d like to point out here: although Jake sometimes gets gruff with his sons, he never leads with that. He always always always makes sure they’re ok first. That’s important. We’ll come back to it throughout the post.

Anyways, it’s only after making sure that Neteyam is ok that Jake’s initial bout of fear subsides and morphs into frustration and anger: what were you thinking?! And it’s a fair question. If the boys had followed orders, they wouldn’t have been at such risk in the first place. Once the party returns to High Camp, Jake addresses this point with them, reminding them that by disobeying direct orders they put themselves in very serious danger, and reiterating to Lo’ak in particular that his recklessness nearly got his brother killed and grounding him.

In other words, Jake’s response to his sons going against his orders was…a lecture and a grounding. That’s…a pretty reasonable parental reaction, actually. Sure, you could nitpick and say his tone was too harsh, but given the situation, I struggle to blame him…

…which leads into the next relevant scene: while Mo’at and Kiri tend to Neteyam’s scratches, Neytiri gently chides Jake for being too hard on the boys, concluding with the infamous line: “This is not a squad. It is a family.”

Now, what I find interesting about this scene is that neither party is really in the wrong here. Jake is doing his best to fill his role as a father by watching out for his kids’ physical safety—even if it means being a little strict. Likewise, Neytiri is filling her role as a mother by looking out for her kids’ emotional well-being. As she should!

That said, I think people who use this line as proof of Jake’s supposed parental failure are forgetting the context. While Neytiri’s line is true in general, when the boys sign up to participate in a war party, they kinda do become a “squad”. In that moment, in that context, they are a squad, they have to behave like one lest someone gets hurt if not killed. 

I also think they forget Jake’s reaction to Neytiri’s line:

Look closely. There are tears in his eyes. This dude was terrified of the possibility that he may have just lost one of his sons in the raid, and all his strictness stems from that. And Neytiri seems to recognize this as well, as she can’t seem to decide how to respond. She probably worries about the same thing, after all, even if she handles it differently. 

On that note, let’s look at the next time Lo’ak disobeys instructions: going to the old shack with Spider, Kiri, and Tuk, where they first encounter the recom unit. 

Something interesting about the aftermath of the recom rescue is that no one gets lectured this time actually. Remember what I said about how, no matter how upset he is, Jake always checks to make sure the kids are ok first and foremost? Sure enough, that’s what he does here:

Not only for his daughters, mind you, but also both his sons (we’ll address the daughter-favoritism claims later):

With the recoms now targeting the Sully family specifically, Jake, feeling out of other options, makes the difficult decision to flee and find refuge among the Metkayina clan. 

whoops, there’s that “protection” theme again

When their request for sanctuary is somewhat reluctantly accepted, Jake calls a family meeting and tells the kids this:

Remember how earlier we established how “a father protects” is essentially Jake’s thesis for this movie? Well, this is an offshoot of that: Jake believes that hiding amongst the Metkayina is currently the best was to keep his family safe; therefore, throughout the Sullies’ time with the clan, Jake’s primary goal is to lay low and get along with the clan so as not to tread on their hospitality and get kicked out (even if and when that means setting aside one’s own pride). This, then, is the lens through which Jake’s actions must be analyzed while his family is staying with the Metkayina.

The first time this becomes relevant is after Neteyam and Lo’ak’s little scrap defending Kiri from Aonung and his posse. Jake is clearly not thrilled about Kiri being bullied, but again, his top priority is keeping his family safe and right now this entails maintaining a good standing with the chief, which in turns means that his sons getting into brawls with Tonowari’s son is a very bad look. Which is why, after a moment of internal conflict, he asks Lo’ak to apologize to Aonung (he even tries to explain when Lo’ak protests:)

On that note, while remaining on good terms with the clan has to take precedence at this moment, Jake is clearly quietly proud of his boys for kicking butt, as we see from his exchange with Neteyam (though yes, it is unfortunate that Lo’ak didn’t get to see this bit).

…which brings us to one of the bigger moments that people point to when accusing Jake of being a bad father: the “you bring shame to this family” line. Now, I can understand why this line doesn’t sit right with viewers initially, especially since we have just seen firsthand the truth about what Lo’ak experienced over the past few hours. However, when you consider what’s going on from Jake’s perspective, the line is not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.

Let’s back up a bit to when Lo’ak first returns to the village after meeting Payakan. At first Jake is just relieved that his son is ok (remember: he always checks first)

In fact, once it’s clear that Lo’ak is ok, it seems Jake just wanted to let it go and head home…the real conflict didn’t begin until after Lo’ak lied to take the blame for Aonung.

Up until this moment, Jake only knew Aonung’s side of the story, that he’d taken Lo’ak outside the reef and he got stranded there (it’s unclear whether Aonung specifies that he abandoned him out there on purpose, the little punk, but I digress). But when Tonowari (rightfully) declares Aonung’s responsibility for the incident, Lo’ak speaks up to take the fall, claiming that the whole ordeal was all his idea, which Aonung had tried to talk him out of.

Lo’ak does not have a reputation for lying…but he does have a reputation for pulling reckless stunts that put himself and others in danger, so for better or for worse, Jake has literally zero reason not to believe this claim. 

In other words, for Jake, the situation has just gone from “my son got taken advantage of by the local bullies and put into a precarious situation but he’s home safe now” to “my son dragged a bunch of other kids to a dangerous location where he knows he’s not supposed to go despite the chef’s son trying to talk him out of it, endangering both his life and theirs, getting lost in the process, and thereby worrying and inconveniencing the entire clan on whose hospitality we rely by making them go out of their way to arrange a whole search party in the dead of night just to find him.”

…yeah, no wonder he was flippin’ ticked. No wonder he “didn’t want to hear it” when Lo’ak tries to explain that he was “only trying to make friends”. We as the audience know that’s true, of course, but as far as Jake knows in that moment, based on what Lo’ak himself claimed just moments ago, he was trying to “make friends” by…dragging them out to a dangerous location despite their protests thus jeopardizing both his and their lives as well as his family’s standing in the clan who can kick them out at any time. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to “hear it” either.

When you look at it from that perspective, “you brought shame to this family” doesn’t really seem quite as extreme, does it?

And yes, I feel for Lo’ak here, really, I do; he’s just been through a lot and yes based on the actual events that just occurred his father’s anger is the last thing the poor kid needs and I totally get why it would upset him…but at the same time, I can’t help feeling that he kinda brought this particular lecture on himself by voluntarily taking the blame for Aonung. Not really sure what he was expecting: that Jake would somehow read his mind and understand the way things actually went? That he would see through his lie and praise him for being so amiable towards Aonung by taking the fall perhaps similar to how Neteyam so often claims the blame for Lo’ak’s own reckless shenanigans despite how rude Aonung had been to him thus far? Or perhaps he just blurted out the blame claim as an olive branch of sorts to Aonung (genuinely trying to “make friends” in a way) without really thinking about the consequences of doing so. Who knows. But regardless of how Lo’ak did or didn’t think things would go, I think it’s a little unfair to blame Jake for his reaction. Based on his knowledge of the circumstances, which in turn were based on Lo’ak’s own account given only moments before (remember, Jake had zero reason to suspect he was lying), his reaction is actually pretty understandable.

Speaking of Lo’ak’s adventures with Payakan, the next time we see him clash with his father is when Tonowari lectures him for bonding with the outcast, and Lo’ak defends his new friend. Remember: Jake’s top priority is keeping his family safe which currently means not getting kicked out of the Metkayina. Lo’ak, regardless of whether or not he was in the right, was clearly upsetting Ronal and Tonowari in this exchange—Neytiri is actually the first to step in and warn her son:

…and when Lo’ak persists anyways, Jake has to step in in hopes of smoothing things over with the chief. 

It sucks that this upset Lo’ak, especially because we the audience know that Lo’ak is right about Payakan, but again, Jake is currently more concerned with not getting kicked out of the clan than with his son winning an argument about the validity of a tulkun’s outcast status.

.

...aaaand here comes the hardest part of this essay to write. Admittedly I wasn’t aware of this argument until recently, but now that I know it’s out there I feel obligated to address it here. Apparently some folks are out there claim that Jake did not display a sufficient amount of emotion at Neteyam’s death, and this somehow proves that he wasn’t as attached to his sons as he should have been. And all I have to say to that is: did we watch the same movie?? 

That man broke upon his son’s death. Did he wail and cry like Neytiri, no, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t heartbroken—wailing and crying simply aren’t how his character responds to trauma. He’s a solider, he’s probably trained to delay any external breakdown at least until a given battle is over.

But you can still see it in his face. You can hear it in his voice which breaks and shudders when he realizes that Neteyam is dying and tries to give him a few last words of comfort, wanting so desperately to ease his pain to the best of his abilities. 

...yeah. This man is broken in this moment.

…but his job isn’t over yet. The battle is still raging. He still has three more kids who still need him. As much as he may want to, he cannot take the time to fully grieve in this moment.

…which brings us to the big one, the main line people point to when arguing that Jake is a bad father:

Now, let’s be honest: was this an awful thing to say? Yes, absolutely. Should Jake apologize to Lo’ak for it after the fact, if he hasn’t already? Definitely, one-hundred-percent. I’m not disputing that in the least.

however…

In this moment, Jake has just spent the past however-long locked in a vicious battle, and hardly minutes before watched his firstborn son bleed out in his arms. And now he learns that his daughters—one of whom is a pre-pubescent child with no chance of defending herself—are still caught on the “demon ship” with the recoms, who have just very clearly proven that they have absolutely no qualms with killing these kids. Quaritch taunting in his ear certainly is not helping. 

The only thing Jake could properly focus on in that moment was getting Kiri and Tuk off that boat. Repeat: he wants to get his kids OFF the demon ship, not risk bringing any of them back ON. On top of that, Lo’ak, as established very early on in the film (see: train raid), has a reputation for struggling to follow orders…even when not emotionally devastated by the death of his brother. 

All these things considered, is it really any wonder that Jake did not want Lo’ak coming along on this mission? He’s already lost one son, why in the ever-loving flip flap would he want to risk losing the other by intentionally bringing him back to the danger zone with no guarantee he’ll come out again, especially given his apparent propensity to ignore orders and throw himself into danger? 

Heck, the only reason he lets Spider come is that Spider knows where the girls are and, unlike Lo’ak, Spider doesn’t have that same reckless reputation. Spider, in that moment, appears to be able to compartmentalize the fresh trauma well enough to focus on the task at hand, and can be trusted to do as Jake asks. Lo’ak…can’t. So, Jake wants him to stay behind.

Did he express it horribly? Absolutely. But saying one stupid insensitive thing in a moment of numbness underlaid by grief, pain, and fear does not make him a horrible dad overall, and I think it’s a little unfair to say that it does.

On that note, I do not believe for one moment that Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. Now, Lo’ak may well view it that way and I’m sure it’ll come into play for his character arc in future movies, which can be a topic for another day, but as for Jake’s perspective, no. I don’t think he truly blames Lo’ak. Even if he couldn’t necessarily process it all right away, I think he knows that Lo’ak is going through as much heartbreak as the rest of the family…especially given that Jake himself has firsthand experience losing a brother. He just said something dumb in a moment of pain.

(On the topic of Lo’ak being unable to follow orders, less than five minutes after Jake, Neytiri, and Spider leave for the ship, Lo’ak…immediately disobeys the order to stay safe on the island and heads back out to the ship anyways. Obviously in the grand scheme of things it’s good that he was there to save Jake from drowning after the scuffle with Quaritch, but still, good gracious son. Way to spectacularly prove your dad’s point.) 

So now we come to the point where Lo’ak saves Jake’s life. After a mutual choke-out with Quaritch, Jake is left to drown until Lo’ak finds him and pulls him to the surface, at which point he gasps for air and chokes out Neteyam’s name. 

This can be interpreted in a few ways. It could be that Jake is so accustomed to Neteyam being the “responsible” one that he irrationally thought it was him coming to the rescue, momentarily forgetting he had died or somehow thinking maybe by some stroke of fate he pulled through after all—this seems to be Lo’ak’s assumption, given that he promptly corrects him.

Now, some may take Jake’s “oh, Lo’ak…” as a show of favoritism, or proof that Jake values his first son above his second. I don’t think this is the case though—I don’t think Jake’s apparent disappointment is about Lo’ak being there so much it’s about Neteyam not being there. In other words, it’s not a personal slight against or disappointment in Lo’ak, but rather a form of still-very-raw grief for Neteyam who, remember, only just died, like, an hour ago.

It could also be that Jake is still so distraught following Neteyam’s death that it’s consuming his thoughts…he was able to shove it down and compartmentalize long enough to fight the recoms and get Tuk and Kiri off the boat, but that compartmentalization broke down while he was literally drowning and it took him a minute to focus and put things back together (which he manages to do a moment later when Lo’ak tries to apologize for his brother’s death):

The most excruciating interpretation I’ve seen is Jake thinking he had drowned and is rejoining Neteyam in the afterlife. ouch. Though that is, of course, just speculation.

Regardless, at this point Jake has just about given up. He’s exhausted, he’s in agony, both physically and emotionally. He’s completely drained. He wants Lo’ak to live but is ready to give up on himself (“I can’t make it. You can.”). It’s only when Lo’ak insists: 

 ...that Jake realizes he still needs to press forward. Because his other kids still need him. His other son still needs him and he’s not willing to give up on him. So he takes a deep breath (literally), puts his trust in Lo’ak, and lets his son lead him through the flooded passageways out of the wreck. When they finally break the surface, we have this lovely moment:

This moment is a resolution to one of Lo’ak’s primary emotional conflicts throughout the movie: living in the shadow of his legendary war hero father and prodigious older brother, finally getting the recognition and affirmation he so craved from that father. Some might argue that in terms of “ideal” parenting that this kind of moment should have come sooner, or that Jake’s recognition of his son should never have been in doubt in the first place, and while there may be some truth to that, I struggle to really blame Jake for it for reasons I just spent the past 4000 words discussing. I think the fact that this moment happened at all shows that despite their clashes and struggles and miscommunications, Jake does and always has cared very deeply about Lo’ak; his lectures and frustrations come not out of malice or some personal distaste, but out of fear for his well-being.

We see Jake comforting Lo’ak again after the family returns to Neteyam’s body on the rocks.

 As I said before, I don’t think for even the briefest moment Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. I don’t think he would be comforting him like this if he did.

…which, I suppose, brings us to Neteyam’s funeral, and Jake and Neytiri visiting his spirit within Eywa. No parent should ever have to bury their child and good golly gracious this scene ripped my heart out but I digress. I don’t even really have a lot of commentary to add to these scenes…just…just this. It speaks for itself.

look me in the eye and tell me this man “doesn’t care about his sons”. I flipping DARE you.

.

Well, that concludes the debunking of scenes that supposedly make Jake a bad father. But before we go, let’s look just briefly at this scene of him being a good dad with Kiri. I didn’t mention this earlier because while I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Jake’s interactions with Neteyam and especially Lo’ak, few people have qualms with the way Jake treats Kiri and Tuk—in fact, many people claim that he shows favoritism to his daughters, going out of his way “baby” them and treat them more gently and lovingly than his sons. I disagree and hope the above has done a thorough job dispelling that notion: Kiri and Tuk don’t go around throwing themselves headlong into the same kind of danger that Neteyam and Lo’ak do. They aren’t begging to participate in battle, they aren’t disobeying orders that land them in mortal peril. 

In other words: Jake lectures his sons more than his daughters out of necessity, not nepotism. Remember: Jake’s #1 priority is protecting his family, keeping them all safe and alive. That means that when one of his kids pulls a stupid stunt that puts them in danger he feels the need to crack down on that in hopes of preventing it from happening again. Lo’ak is, quite frankly, prone to pulling those kind of stunts, so he gets lectured a lot. Kiri and Tuk do not typically pull such stunts, so they don’t get lectured. It’s as simple as that, really.

Buuuuuut now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk just briefly about Jake comforting Kiri.

Like with the scene of visiting Neteyam’s spirit, I don’t have much commentary to add to this scene—it’s a very sweet scene and it speaks for itself really. Jake is very gentle and doing his best to listen to Kiri, even if he is a little unsure about her claims. He doesn’t criticize or invalidate, he just tries to be there for her. What can I say, that’s a good dad right there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

One last little point before we wrap up for real: the fact that Lo’ak and Neteyam occasionally refer to Jake as “sir”. I was originally planning to address this earlier but it didn’t quite fit in with the flow of the discussion and I consider it such a minor point anyways, I figured I could save it for a side note—but seriously, it baffles me what a big deal people make of this. 

It would be one thing if “sir” was something that Jake strictly enforced, if it was the only thing he allowed the kids to address him as, if one of them called him “Dad” and he barked back, “no! it is sir!” But…literally none of that is the case. He never explicitly asks them to call him “sir”, and they call him “Dad” just as often if not more.

The kids referring to Jake as “sir” in tense moments is a simple show of respect, nothing more. I recall my own dad also wanting to be called “sir” when we were in trouble and it was never really an issue. And I suppose your milage may vary depending on where you live, but growing up in the southern US, “sir” and “ma’am” are just very common basic courtesy in many situations (not just familial). 

Sooooo….yeah, the idea that Neteyam and Lo’ak occasionally calling Jake sir is somehow proof of Jake being too strict or cold or whatever else is really making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s not that deep y’all.

…aaaand I suppose that’s it for this post. 

In conclusion: 

Look guys, Jake does not have to be your favorite character. You don’t even have to like him, or agree with everything that he says or does. He isn’t perfect (which, by the way, literally no one is). But if nothing else, I hope this behemoth of a post has at least helped you understand his character and why he acts and reacts the way that he does.

Jake Sully may not be a shining beacon of parental perfection from a psychological development perspective (and all things considered, expecting him to be such is, quite frankly, a little silly), but good golly gracious he is trying his absolute darnedest in incredibly difficult and precarious circumstances beyond his control i.e. the RDA coming back to quite literally take over. This man’s family means absolutely everything to him and I’m done sitting back and watching y’all slander him just because he didn’t react to x situation the way you think he should have.

thank you and good night

[goldenvulpine]

ok here is a helpful guide for Superman fans in Tumblr when referring to different eras of Superman:

Golden Age Superman: Kal-L. The Original. Very cocky. Very charismatic. Couldn’t fly as a kid. Has no solid code against killing. Chaotic Good. Can actually fly now. Has a disturbingly high kill count. Loves Toxic Women (Lois Literally Drugged him one time). Literal WW2 veteran. Not from Kansas. Smallville, East Coast (likely New York). Is now married to Lois. Head of the Daily Star (not Planet). Is Power Girl’s cousin. Is very aggressive. Still saved people from suicide canonically. Canonically religious (Married Lois in a Kryptonian Ceremony). “What trauma?” Seen everyone he loves die.

Silver Age Superman: Kal-El. The Most Popular. Speaks fluent Kryptonese. Total ��50’s Dad”. The Strongest. Also the most conformist. Strict Code against killing. Lawful Good. From Smallville. Is canonically Religious (For Rao, his culture’s God). Has multiple cousins. From Smallville, East Coast (likely Maryland this time). Says he wouldn’t hit a woman. Probably has. Sneezed a Solar System Away. Somehow the WEIRDEST one. Also the biggest Prankster. Was Superboy. Was part of the Legion. Saw Pa die. Refuses to acknowledge his trauma. Needs a hug but won’t say it. Works for the Daily Planet. Alan Moore loves him.

Bronze Age Superman: Kal El. Actually just Silver Age Superman but “weaker”. Still the Strongest. Your favorite writer’s favorite Superman. Neutral Good. Originator of the Clex Drama. Met God. Is a pure scientist. Has Three Canon Endings. All of them are literal tragic endings. Is best bros with Batman. Is the Original Nightwing. His cousin is the Second Nightwing. Dick is actually the Third Nightwing. Loves his bro Jimmy Olsen. Smarter than Batman. Made a vow to protect life. Newscaster. Grant Morrison and Mark Waid love him.

Dark Age/Byrne Superman: Clark Kent (Kal El). Still moody. Weakest Superman. Thinks he’s Neutral Good, still Lawful Good. Doesn’t like Krypton. Designer Baby. Best Journalist. Canonically a Porn Star. Died. Came back. Most insecure Superman. Loves ‘Murica. Killed like three people one time. Strict code against killing. “Superman is what I do, Clark is who I am”. Legion who? Superboy who? Supergirl who? Football Star. Pure Sarcasm. Agnostic. People say they hate him but is the reason Smallville, Man of Steel and STAS exist. Literally wants to fuck Jimmy’s Mom. Triangle Era (90’s) Superman: Clark Kent (Kal-El). Is less moody now. Makes more Jokes. Still a drama queen. Smarter. Stronger. Wants to write a Novel. Married Lois. Jimmy is the Best Man. Good Leader. True Lawful Good. The Superman you probably think of the Most. Coolest guy. 90’s Superboy (the best) 90’s Supergirl (Matrix). Was once Gangbuster (Chaotic Neutral). Mind so strong, he killed a psychic in his sleep without knowing it. Christian (Married Lois in a Church). Still knows Kryptonian Kung Fu (Torquasm Vo/Rao). Dick Grayson’s 3rd Dad. Tim Drake’s 4th Dad. Slept with a Mermaid in Collage. Is fun.

Post-Crisis/2000’s Superman: Clark Kent (Kal El) Retcons out the ass. Kara comes back. Knows Boxing now. Knows Kung Fu. Held a Black Hole in his hand. Destroyed Moons. Agnostic. Still Lawful Good. Loves his wife. Loves his adopted son. Chris Kent. His son is Nightwing. His other son is also Nightwing. Walked the earth one time because of war crimes. Saves people from suicide again. Was a Kryptonian general one time. Literal Genius. Smarter than Batman. Is the GOAT. Hates the President.

New 52 Superman: Clark Kent (Kal-El) Very cocky. Very charismatic. Couldn’t fly as a kid. Has no solid code against killing. Chaotic Good to Neutral Good. Lower kill count than Post-Crisis. Loves Toxic Women (Loves the craziest version of Diana). Had a Mid-Life Crisis in his Mid-20’s. Was a Wrestler. Talks like Jason Todd/Wally West/Nightwing/Peter Parker/every mid-20’s white boi in the 90’s-00’s. Everyone hated him. Wasn’t as bad as they say. Is the Andrew Garfield/Spider-Man of Supermen. Killed off without good reason.

Rebirth Superman: Clark Kent (Kal-El). Is literally just Triangle Era Superman. With kids. No Chris tho. Still Lawful Good. Strongest of the Post-Crisis versions. Tries to be a good dad. Is a decent dad. Except for the time where he left Jon alone. So he’s a bad dad. I’m still not over that. Bendis loves him. Says please alot. Watches Anime. Kind of a dead beat. I miss Chris.

if you want summations of other Supermen I didn’t cover you are welcome to ask.

[harmonicabisexuals]

house md s02e05 "daddy's boy" is so good we literally get

the introduction of house's abusive, morally rigid father who house lives his entire life in rejection of- but also therefore inadvertently making his entire life about him

2. house comparing cameron to his father by saying that they both have strict moral codes that make them unable to lie to anyone “But you’re like him. completely unable to lie. a great quality for boy scouts and police witnesses. a crappy quality for a dad.”

3. cameron both confirming and refuting this point earlier in the episode by refusing to lie to a patient but subsequently lying to house's face "your parents called."

4. the main patient and his father spending the entire episode lying to each other, which ultimately results in the patient's death but it is also heavily implied that they lie to each other because they love each other "there's nothing to be scared of. you're gonna be just fine."

[harlowtales]

Jack finds the love of his life who has never been kissed…or anything else 😘

♥️💝♥️

18+ Adult Themes - Romance/Drama/Sex

“Jack stop.” You said, unsure where this was going. You had never kissed anyone let alone had sex. It was time to say something before things went too far. You were saving it for the right person…your husband, and a rapper was definitely not it. You shouldn’t even have taken his invitation to go to the movies but Jack seemed very sweet and down to earth. You figured there was no harm in a movie, but it was going too fast. His hands were starting to go places. You were in the back of an old theatre watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie as they were Jack’s favourite movies.

“Y/N what’s wrong? I thought we were feeling each other” Jack said confused as he sat back.

“Well right here…right now was my first kiss. Jack I…I’m a virgin.” There was no other way than to just tell him. Your palms were sweating and your heart was beating so loudly you thought the whole empty theatre could hear it.

“Say on god.” Jack said in shock

“Swear to god.” You said earnestly “I’m sorry. Can you take me home?”

“If I ruined everything I’m so sorry Y/N.” Jack apologized “I will absolutely take you home if that’s what you really want.”

“I feel so stupid. I usually know better than to waste the time of someone like you. I mean, you’re Jack Harlow. Of course you want to…well you know.” You said in embarrassment.

“Right here, I can tell you I would fucking marry you if I knew it wouldn’t scare the shit out of you.” Jack said in disbelief that he had found a 24 year old virgin. “If you let me be the first, I will be your only.”

“Jack please. I need to go.” All you wanted to do was escape this moment. You weren’t prepared for wanting to do it with him in that movie theatre and that scared you. Jack was incredibly handsome and charming. He was intelligent and funny, tall and distinguished. Everything you ever dreamed of in a man was all in him. You had to get away from him as soon as humanly possible.

You pulled up in front of your parent’s house and your dad instantly peeled the living room curtains back to make sure you didn’t hang out too long in Jack’s car. Jack had to actually introduced himself to your father and ask to take you out in the first place. He saw you with your family at an event his mother put on for charity and knew he had to shoot his shot. Your dad insisted on him coming to the house and properly introducing himself first. It felt like the 1950’s but he appreciated it. Now you being a virgin was all starting to make sense.

“Ughh. He’s literally going to stare at us until I’m in the door. You better walk me to the door or he’ll think you weren’t raised right.” You cautioned.

“Y/N it’s all fine.” Jack laughed “I ain’t going away so pops better get used to me.”

“What? You mean, this isn’t the end?” You said in surprise.

“Why would it be? Cuz I got bitches on speed dial?” Jack said characteristically raising an eyebrow. “If you let me be your first, you would be my only girl. Anything else I had going on would be done for me. Let me make it special for you Y/N.” Jack put a soft hand on your thigh.

You felt a heat rising in you that you never felt before. “Jack call me um…call me later. I have to go. He’s watching us. Open my car door, walk me to the door. Don’t hold my hand. Don’t kiss me on the cheek. Say goodnight to him and shake his hand. Got it?” You said giving Jack the cheat code to dealing with your strict parents.

After some weeks Jack kept calling and spending time with you whenever he could. He FaceTimed you from his European tour and it was no pressure. He never even mentioned sex. You started to think you not putting out had caused him to lose interest in you romantically and it was just turning into a friendship. Jack wanted you more and more, he just didn’t want to scare you away so he was being patient.

The tour was over and he was finally back home. He knew he had to ease you into thinking he was the right one to lose your virginity with. He decided to go to your house and approach your parents about dating you seriously. If that’s what it took that’s what he was willing to do.

Jack was sweating he was so nervous. Your parents came into the living room with just the clock ticking in the background.

“So Y/N tells me you want to date her.” Your dad said

“I know you’re strict. I want to respect that.” Jack said seriously. You were sitting across from him as sitting on the same couch would not have been deemed appropriate by your parents.

“Very protective.” Your mother chimed in “Why does someone in your line of work want to date my daughter?”

“My line of work? You mean a rapper?” Jack said with a tinge of sass. You shot him a look to chill.

“Yes. Entertainment is not for our girl.” Your dad said

“Well I would make sure she’s always with me and protected. I’m very protective as well. You can ask my family that I’m very close too.” Jack explained.

“She can date on a few conditions. She has to check in with us and no sex before marriage. Do you intend on marrying her or is she just one of your many girls?” Your mother asked embarrassing you.

Jack started turning red partly from embarrassment and partly from getting a bit upset. He was sure he would propose at some point or he would have left your house from this grilling by your parents.

“I know I have a reputation but I have intentions of marrying your daughter as soon as she’s ready.” Jack said. A lump formed in his throat. He wasn’t planning on saying that but it came out and he wasn’t sorry. The silence that followed was amplified by the ticking clock.

“Is anyone going to ask me what I want? Do I matter?” You said raising your voice. “I am 24 mom, dad, come on! I’m a grown woman! I’ve done everything you wanted my whole life. I want to date Jack…I will date Jack.”

“Y/N! Really? Hunny you see? He’s influenced her already!” Your father said to your mother like Jack wasn’t there.

“How rude! Jack is right here.” You said

“Y/N please your parents are right. Maybe I should go.” Jack said making s move to leave.

“I’m coming.” You said defiantly

“Walk out the door and don’t come back.” Your dad said.

“Oh fine with me.” You huffed.

“Y/N these are your parents. Please, listen to them.” Jack pleaded with you much to your parent’s surprise.

“Well Jack. Son. I’m impressed with you.” Your dad said “I approve, but talk some sense into her.”

“Will do sir. She’s safe with me.” Jack said assuredly

“What was that? I thought you were on my side?” You said haughtily as you left with Jack to go for a drive.

“I fucking got my hands full.” Jack murmured

“Excuse me?” You said like a spoiled brat.

“Listen princess let’s get one thing straight ok?” Jack said heading away from the park.

“Jack where are we going?” You asked concerned

“Shush for fuck sakes.” Jack said rolling his eyes with a slight giggle

You pulled into the parking of a building and headed into an elevator. When the doors opened to a sprawling condo you realized he had taken you to his penthouse apartment. “Get comfy cuz this is where you’ll probably wind up with your attitude. Geez I feel sorry for your parents. Hungry?”

“Ummm yes. Yes please Jack. Thank you.” You said instantly more polite.

“That’s better.” Jack said kissing you on the forehead. “I want this place to be your place but you have to behave.”

“Ok sir Jack sir!” You said saluting him and laughing.

“Oh yeah? You getting cheeky?” Jack said towering over you. You were like a magnet for him. He pulled you close into a passionate kiss. Your space ached like you had never felt. You longed to be his in every way.

“Y/N I can take you home if…” but you cut Jack off with another deep kiss to his amazement “Take me.” You said looking him right in the eye.

“Y/N come on…” but you pulled Jack towards his bedroom.

“Now? You sure?” He said cautiously

“Please Jack. I need you.” You said in agony

“Baby…I’m scared. I don’t want to hurt you.” He said caressing your hair.

“I know it will hurt but if not now…when?” You reasoned looking up at him.

“Y/N there’s no rush. I meant it. I will marry you.” Jack promised, knowing he was caving in fast. You had a hold on him that was undeniable.

“Come.” He commanded as he sat on the bed and opened his legs for you to stand in front of him. You obeyed and went closer.

He began going up your shirt, fondling your breasts and kissed your bare stomach. You threw back your head and moaned. You saw Jack growing and reached down to touch him but he stopped your hand.

“No. I…I’m sorry Y/N this doesn’t feel right. I’ll take you back.” Jack said. In his mind it was going to happen so differently. He brought you to his place for you to start getting comfortable there. He was used to being around you…wanting you and not being able to really be inside you, he was the one that was hesitant now, and how crazy and special would it be for him to marry a virgin. “We’re not married. This isn’t right.” He couldn’t imagine the looks on your parent’s faces if they found out.

“Are you kidding me? They got to you. They fucking got to you. Wait….you’re not into me anymore are you? I knew it. It felt like a friendship last little while. I should have known.” You burst into tears “I’m not model gorgeous and exciting like what you’re used to.”

“Baby…no no no I have never been in love until now. Did you know that?” Jack said looking at you as you sat on his lap now. “I am very attracted to you. Don’t worry.”

“Then make love to me….Please Jack.” You said softly drawing him into a kiss.

“Ok, I…ok.” He said unable to refuse any longer. You pulled your shirt off over your head and stepped out of your jeans. He was in awe of how perfectly your breasts hung and the curve of your body. “I can’t believe I’m the first to ever see all this and touch you…be inside you.” Jack breathed overcome with emotion.

He gently laid you down kissing and caressing your body. You gasped having never felt such sensations. “Oh god Jack.”

There was no turning back now. He had waited so long.

“It hurts too much and I’m stopping ok?” Jack said lovingly. You nodded in agreement under him, drinking in his aroma and feeling his chest. He tried not to put his full weight on you as your legs opened to take him in. He tested your space dipping in with the head only and pulling back. It was such a foreign feeling you held your breath from the pressure slowly pressing into you.

“You ok?” He asked as he hovered over you about to re-enter a little more.

“Put it all the way in. I’m ok.” You assured him

“We can just play with each other baby. We don’t have to do this all the…” Jack was trying to say

“Can you please just…I want to feel all of you.” You said a bit frustrated and anxious

“Ok baby. Hold onto me ok?” Jack cautioned. He was beyond excited but had to contain himself for your comfort. He held his shaft steadily as he guided it in carefully. You were wet with anticipation but it still was painful. You tried to hide it as much as possible to not make Jack feel bad, but he saw the look on your face and paused afraid to stroke in and out. One thing for sure, your future husband was gifted and it would take getting used to.

“Oh, uhhh, oh my god.” You breathed unable to make sense of the new pain and slight pleasure you were starting to feel as Jack slowly glided partially out and slid back in.

“Ah fuck you feel good baby.” He said breathlessly in your ear. “I’ve waited for this moment” Jack was poised on top of you and concentrating on being as gentle as possible as he went in further and further. Tears started welling up in your eyes with a burning pain radiating through your abdomen and legs as he picked up some speed and put more weight behind his thrusts. You held onto him tightly unable to really move.

After a few moments he suddenly cried out “Uh Y/N!! Baby” You felt your flesh tear apart inside and a warm sensation run down your thighs. There was blood on the sheets from your hymen popping. You were mortified.

“Oh my god Jack!” You exclaimed in tears. He immediately stopped and headed to the bathroom to start the shower and bring you a towel. He wiped you up lifted you off the bed and carried you to the shower. He held you from behind, his arms supporting you as he sung a Bryson Tiller song gently. His smooth melodic voice amplified in the shower filled you with warmth as the pain started to subside.

He wrapped you in a towel and held your hand to his closet where he dressed you in his shorts and hoodie. He combed your hair for you and settled you on the couch. After grabbing you a snack he went to strip the bed sheets and ran back to snuggle with you.

“Are you ok baby?” He asked sweetly “Do you need anything else?”

“Jack please just relax with me. Thank you for looking after me.” You said tiredly. It had been a rollercoaster of emotions your stomach ached, your space hurt, and your legs were like jello. He snuck in behind you and you rested on him as he covered both of you in a blanket.

“After all that you get the remote Mrs. Harlow…this one time ok?” He joked. You giggled snuggling up to him and falling asleep.

@itsyagirljaz @okaaay-mice

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 2, Wave 3, Poll 2

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Chu Sangwoo-Semantic Error

Qualifications/Propaganda:

hey this is just a little more info on Chu Sangwoo (obvs you don't have to include him if you don't want to but I'd figure I'd send some more stuff in) (I also don't think I submitted him? but I know who he is) So there's a manhwa (Korean webcomic) and a tv series (I'm personally more familiar with the tv series). Basically, he's very strongly coded as autistic, though it's never explicitly stated (though in the manhwa I believe they mention that he has some unspecified disorder).So here's a list of some of the things he does in the series that are why people say he's autistic-coded:

meticulously organized and adheres to a strict schedule he set for himself

struggles when things happen that he didn't predict beforehand/throws a wrench into his plans

is very blunt, gets labeled as antisocial/being like a machine, and struggles with understanding other's social cues

practices saying things so that he won't come off as insincere

creates his own systems to accomplish tasks and struggles to work in unfamiliar environments/environments with lots of distractions

views life very logically and doesn't like it when things happen that break his rules of logic

wishes he could format his brain so he wouldn't have to deal with confusing and unnecessary feelings

There's others but that's a few of the main ones.Anyways here's a little clip from the series that hopefully helps add more context? https://youtu.be/Mai2WvTpIv8 And anyways if you still decide to not include him, that's fine, but I'd figure that I'd send y'all some more info just in case! Excited for th bracket regardless!!!

Chu Sangwoo is canonically gay, the series is a gay romance & he falls for Jaeyoung, who's the complete opposite of him personality wise. Hence the title- semantic 'error' since attraction wasn't expected. It's a really good series and Chu Sangwoo is realistic and well-written (speaking as a fellow queer autistic).

Elim Garak-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Qualifications:

He has PTSD due to child abuse, as well as a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant. He is also extremely gay. Like literally everybody who watches DS9 immediately understands this about him. He was explicitly played by his actor, Andy Robinson, as attracted to Julian Bashir, and his only heterosexual romance is truly painful to witness. Andrew Robinson has also said that he has had a one-night stand with Dukat, one of the main villains of DS9 and noted lizard nazi. Do with that what you will. His closest relationship onscreen by far is with Julian.

Propaganda:

This man. There is a reason so many people are obsessed with him. Former spy, current tailor, forever an incurable bitch. Guilty of many war crimes, including onscreen attempted genocide. Once intentionally blew up his own tailor shop (with him in it) because he didn't want to ask for help with something. In his very first scene on the show, he wears an shirt that strongly resembles a watermelon, propositions Julian Bashir, and leaves while canonically high on painkillers. He has PTSD due to child abuse at the hands of the head of the space lizard KGB, who is also his dad, and a painkiller addiction due to a brain implant he has to help him withstand torture. He tortures a main character in one episode, and then a few episodes later they start having regular breakfasts together. Once got high on Space Weed and started systematically murdering people while making ominous announcements about chess over the PA system. The Most Character Ever.

Anything Else?:

He once told Julian to eat his rod. It was about a futuristic USB stick (datarod) but he still very much said it.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[legoflowrs]

HEADCANNONS

c/w: drinking, drugs, addiction, abuse, slight nsfw

AGED UP TO 18 MY PEOPLE!!!!

A/N: ok so in the headcannons he’s with Stan cause Style is very dear to my heart but in the relationship headcannons he’s with reader xx

Kyle Broflovski

- Massive fucking NERD!! (pls i love nerds).

- Got straight A’s throughout high school.

- Was on the honour roll and was on student council.

- Firm believer in basketball Kyle supremacy.

- Came out as Demisexual and Bisexual (male leaning).

- Stopped being super strict on Kosher throughout high school but kept that a secret from Sheila.

- Never stopped being insecure about his nose. Literally at one point started saving for a nose job till Stan talked him out of it.

- Drinks almond milk.

- Thinks thrifting is gross cause he’s a germaphobe. Washes his hands like 50 times a day.

- When I hear the song Basic Instinct it reminds me of Kyle.

- The Smiths > The Cure.

- Style: Stan fell first, Kyle fell harder (bro i love these dweebs lol).

- Was legit so in denial about being in love with Stan for the longest time.

- His Dad pushed him to study law but he ended up studying psychology to become a child psychologist because he saw the effects of unchecked mental health in children while he grew up.

- Got really drunk once and Kenny pierced his septum. He has it flipped up most of the time.

- Hates glasses so wears contacts.

- Such a fkn mummas boy lol it honestly was a problem at one point.

- Didn’t do his own laundry till he moved out. Did not know how to put sheets on a bed 👍

- Such a good relationship with Ike, he would die for his little brother.

- Did someone say abandonment issues!!!! Could not keep a partner to save his life during high school.

- Smoked weed with Kenny twice and then freaked out after he greened out.

- Got addicted to nicotine during college and used it as an outlet because he put so much pressure on himself to be perfect. Spoke to his doctor and he’s trying to quit.

- Defs listens to Phoebe Bridgers because he has a strange relationship with his dad.

- His dad pushed him to be perfect all the time until Kyle had a massive breakdown in junior year that burnt him out for a long time.

- A family man!!! Wants kids pretty early on into his life.

- A god at poker.

- Hates taking photos of himself.

- Still pretty insecure about his hair but Kenny and Stan helped himself to accept it and even start taking good care of it.

- Really struggled with anger issues.

- Stopped speaking to Cartman completely.

- Forest green is his favourite colour.

- Writes poems and makes people cry with how nice his birthday card messages are.

- First out his friends to get a license. His parents paid for his car.

- Such a damn backseat driver.

- Didn’t really work until he moved out.

- I think he’d help Heidi out at the community gardens.

- After Heidi finally ended things with Cartman, her and Kyle became really close friends.

- Had a friendly academic rivalry with Wendy through high school.

- Him and Wendy study together in college often.

- Has a record player.

- Grew closer to Craig’s gang in senior year of high school. Goes record shopping with Tolkien.

- Very accident prone.

- Has diabetes.

- Loves picnics and simple activities like stargazing.

- Smells like pine needles and the ocean.

- Actually a fantastic swimmer.

- Did drama in sophomore year.

- A massive library in his house. Had to instil a book ban on himself because he was spending all his money on it.

- Really nice eyelashes.

- Comes home to celebrate Hanukkah with his family every year.

- Did long distance with Stan during college. They almost broke up a few times but pulled through.

- Enjoys taking pictures of nature.

- Takes Ike to the movies very often.

- Has the nicest knitted sweaters.

- His guilty pleasure is Taylor Swift.

- HE IS SO MIRRORBALL CODED.

- When he’s in a good mood he loves baking and often bakes for his friends.

- Kenny, Kyle and Stan do day trips together super often. In my world these three never grew apart they are inseparable 🤞🤞

Kyle in a relationship

- An absolute gentleman. Refuses to let you get out of his car without him opening the door for you. Holds doors and pulls out seats. Always gives you his jacket.

- Was very insecure about his sexual inexperience. But y’all guided each other through it. I think there’s something so sweet and special about that.

- Touch tank by quinnie is all I have to say 😼.

- Loves kissing your neck and ears. He kisses your knuckles as well it’s very tender.

- Combusts when he sees you getting along with his family. Especially his Mum and Ike.

- Let’s you touch his hair, it relaxes him a lot.

- Opens up to you about his struggle with his Dad and nicotine. You are his biggest supporter through it all.

- Even though he hates photos, he’ll have a polaroid of y’all in his phone and wallet. Plus a photo booth strip in his car.

- Y’all will bake at midnight together.

- You go on fancy dinner dates together and rate the restaurants in the car together.

- Avid Letterboxed users lol! Give each other show and movie recommendations all the time.

- Kyle always had trouble sleeping but there was something very comforting about your presence so he’ll spend a lot of time at your dorm.

- Writes poems for you.

- Brings you flowers every time the old bouquet dies (ugh what a man).

- BUYS YOU LEGO FLOWERS!!!

- His love languages are gift giving and quality time.

- Keeps a list of all the dates you’ve been on.

- Will take such good photos of you fr! Your biggest hype man.

- I think his short temper would be a problem for you guys but he loves you so much he works on it so hard.

- Your praise means the absolute world to him.

- You guys always go to carnival together and share a caramel apple, it’s like tradition now.

- Couples costume for halloween always.

- Asks for your Dads/Mums/Guardians blessing before he proposes to you.

- Loves the smell of your perfume/cologne. Like it’s seriously intoxicating.

- Proposes to you with his Grandmas ring.

a/n: guys i love kyle so much i’m gonna make his mood board now <3

also if any of these are ooc in ur opinion it’s just for funsies and my opinion hehe

[skloomdumpster]

I keep trying to work out why Silva went to such lengths to build up this hyper-idealised image of Andreas in Sky's mind and I keep coming up short. I mean, okay, he probably wanted Sky to have decent male role models (and Silva felt guilty about killing Andreas) but Sky already had one of those in Silva. Silva was all the things he claimed Andreas was. Which makes what he did even more baffling.

I feel bad for Sky too - imagine being told growing up every five minutes what a great, noble warrior your dad is and then the real thing shows up - and he's basically an overgrown high school bully - Silva didn't just lie about how Andreas died, he lied about his entire personality. In Sky's shoes, I'd be pissed too.

I wondered once or twice even if Rosalind had Andreas under mind control - not regularly, but often enough that she'd done permanent damage to his mind in some way. Or maybe he'd been hit on the head one time too many. Beatrix was a better strategist than he was - and less easily manipulated - and she was 16.

Of course, Andreas may have just been Like That™ to begin with.

I cannot put in enough words how much fun this ask was to get!! CACKLING at the Andreas' comments.

Alright so I thought at length about the Silva conundrum, I remember thinking the same, literally why are you making up this saint about a bully? Why are you generating distance between you and the son you raised? The boy who wants to be your son?

And the it dawned on me that the goal is exactly that.

I think Silva felt incredibly guilty over Sky and that this enormous sensation of duty and guilt has been his north for longer than anything else has. Silva is a man who describes his father's attack to a Burned One and the fact he took upon his young (10 years old!!) shoulders the burden to give his father a mercy kill. It's Duty Duty Duty.

And I think it's important we differentiate duty from obedience. Andreas is obedient. Andreas hears orders and ignores his own criticism of them, he follows trough no matter what. Silva is dutiful. He has morals and a strict honor code and he'll sometimes fuck himself up over these, he'll get tunnel vision when he has 1 goal in mind (cough "your duty is to Alfea!" said to Sky about spying on Bloom)

All this just to say, I think Silva didn't see himself as a good role to Sky not even for a second. Not when he was a drunk and had a baby he didn't even really want, not when he was sober and had to deal with the fact he had taken a father from this kid - had murdered Andreas, and certainly not when Sky started asking questions and he wanted to give a good answer so he projects some of his traits, some of his own father's traits into a fictional Andreas and only digs the hole deeper. By doing what he thinks is right: killing Andreas, taking Sky under his wing, lying to Sky so he can have a good role model, Saul only makes himself less and less of a good guy in his own eyes and so he NEEDS to push himself from Sky and well... Rinse repeat.

A vicious cycle you cannot be free from unless you're willing to go through dismantling all of it. I wonder if a small part of Saul felt soul crushing relief when Andreas came back and ruined everything. Yes, he revealed Saul was a liar in more ways than one, he showed Saul was a murderer... But also he showed Sky he was not the Andreas from the stories. Which certainly hurt like hell to Sky, but must've felt a little good from Saul's perspective, since he was painting an Andreas who could easily step in and take his son and that simply wasn't reality.

I'm probably rambling, sorry!!

Now, about Andreas, I AGREE SO MUCH. Honestly, about Andreas AND Saul! Strategic my ass, these two are terrible. But I do think Saul has a much clearer head during combat, he can explore his team's strengths and the enemies weaknesses, where Andreas is brute force.

Which, sure, is pretty bad when we look at it head on, but it's not something without its place in a war. Rosalind promoted him for a reason and I can see it, when you're a bloody war where there's no place for hesitation, no place for mercy and obedience is all your commander asks from, Andreas is the perfect soldier. He's a man who'll push through whatever is front of him with sheer brute force and that's what the Burned Ones called for most of the time in the battle field, someone relentless and blood thirsty. In the long run? Not so much!

I think it shows how Andreas is as a character: pragmatic, brute, loyal - that he doesn't question Rosalind's orders and fucks up his relationship with Bea by doing this. Why did he lie about what happened in Aster Dell? Anyone with a brain would understand he'd have a better luck twisting what Aster Dell stood for (a corrupt place) than twisting his role in its destruction. Yet he does that!! He's not a very bright man and that's alright, being smarter than he was would've probably gotten him murdered sooner tbh.

[campbyler]

just read chap 9.1 for the third time already, I AM VERY MUCH NOT NORMAL ABOUT THIS

so lets go, time for thoughts

LITERALLY DEAD PLEASE THE HAND DOWN THE STAIRS IS ONE OF MY FAV SMALL MOMENTS YET. MIKE WHEELER will’s heart is IM COMING FOR YOU!

THE HAND HOLDING IN GENERAL IN THIS CHAP!!?!?!!?? WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND IT’S KIND OF NICE KNDKSKXKXK.

MIKE PAYING FOR WILL??? I LOVE THEIR DATE THAT ISNT A DATE BUT IS DEFINITELY A DATE BUT THEY’RE JUST NOT AWARE OF IT

sure keep being in denial guys…

yeppp you def made will autistic again thea and so true

ALSO THE CASUAL AFFECTION IN PUBLIC THEY’RE SO IN LOVE

MIKE TAKING HIS FACE IN HIS HANDS IN THE MID OF A COFFEE SHOP “Let me do something nice for you” AND THEN KISSING HIM SOMEONE RUN ME OVER WITH A TRUCK I CANT HANDLE THIS

YOU KNOW WHAT, BETTER THAT I DONT GET INTO THE THRIFT STORE PART CUZ THIS WOULD BE WAY WAY WAY TOO LONG BUT THE GOD DAMN GRAVITY PART I GIGGLED KICKED MY FEET AND DEFINITELY CRACKED MY PAINFULLY DRY LIPS FROM TOO MUCH SMILING!!

THE MUSTANG!! okay honestly this hit very close to home cuz i have a very similar situation with my dad (a lawyer ofc) and his “EvErYtHiNg i PaYeD fOr iS miNe” sooo i fully get it and it felt nice having it explained so well.

OKAY IF WILL BYERS GETS BEHIND THAT WHEEL IM LITERALLY SCREAMING

ALSO IF IT HAPPENS THAT WILL ENDS UP DRIVING BACK (i rlly dont know what the US laws are for driving manual if u have an automatic license, but considering u guys let 16 year olds behind a wheel without at least a few months of driving school with a qualified instructor, im guessing not strict lmao) AND THE GANG SEES HIM IN THAT MUSTANG THAT WOULD BE HILARIOUS

also rip his dignity, but it’s already kinda gone so i wouldnt be surprised kskdkskd

ANYWAY AMAZING HALF A CHAPTER THEA I LOVED IT

RIS DON'T MIND ME ANSWERING THIS JUST NOWWWW LOL...

the hand down the stairs moment makes me 🥺 i would personally pass away if that happened to me so the fact that will is still standing is insane. he is so brave. princess treatment fr <3

will is so clueless to not clock the fact that this was a date until the end of 9.2 like girl. be so fucking fr. that said he Is autistic (me coded) so i think we can allow him to live!! just this one time tho!!

i am glad that you ended up #living and #surviving for 9.2 considering your reaction to 9.1....so sorry that i took so long to respond to this that your predictions/speculations are no longer relevant BUT ty for the monster comment and for the love!! i am glad you enjoyed ch09 as a whole!!

[lesbianwyllravengard]

What say you, friend? Favourite Serennedy headcanons?

Okay 💜 Yay 💜

I have uh a lot sorry

My headcanon that Leon would be the one to cook is not common in the serennedy community unfortunately but I'm glad you agree with it

Luis's favourite soup is warm tomato soup. His grandfather used to make it for him <3

Uh crack theory of mine that turned into a real headcanon, Luis is the one who put the yellow taped barrels and boxes everywhere. It was meant for him but when Leon starts using the items he certainly doesn't complain. And maybe Luis leaves certain things just for Leon

Same as yours, Luis calls Leon every pet name under the sun but the one time Leon calls him something he short circuits

Luis is so overly flirty but when Leon flirts back he gets flustered and doesn't know how to respond

Tall king Luis gets pegged. Final answer. To quote a friend, Leon isn't man enough to bottom

I didn't come up w this one but them sharing clothes, even accidentally, is so <333

Luis has an amazing voice he just doesn't sing much. He plays guitar and knows many songs, but he's super shy about it. But he'll sing for Leon, eventually. Adversely, Leon has an okay voice but he doesn't like singing at all and will refuse to sing, even for Luis. But he likes when Luis sings to him

Might get some disagreeing with this but I fully believe Luis would hold onto his religion even after everything. From someone who kept my religion despite extensive religious trauma, I know it happens, and considering the fact that we see him cross himself in game before fights, I think he is still Catholic. I don't think he'd be super strict about it, probably only go to church once a decade if at all, but yeah. And Leon is for sure an atheist. Neither of them care ab the other's beliefs. They have each other, that's all they need.

Codependency 🤝

They're so autism4autism. And t4t. And bi4bi. Triple threat

THEY ARE GIRL DADS. I know you know this. They're both so girl dad coded. Leon literally has a daughter already like. I'm right.

The both have nightmares from their trauma but they're both there for each other and hold each other through it

When Leon is the big spoon he does it normally, holding Luis from behind. When Luis is the big spoon he like curls up and has his legs around Leon's waist from behind like he's getting a piggy back ride. I've just decided this.

Luis usually reads Don Quixote to Leon, but when Luis is too tired or sad or sick Leon reads it to him instead. He still can't pronounce it right tho.

That's all I can think of rn :') thank you I love you

[charles-simmons-fanfiction]

No Surprises by Radiohead is very Neil Perry coded and I want to talk about it in a little more detail, if you even care

"A heart that's full up like a landfill A job that slowly kills you Bruises that won't heal You look so tired, unhappy Bring down the government They don't, they don't speak for us"

That's the beginning of the song, and it's already very fitting. I can easily associate it with Neil having to become a doctor instead of fulfilling his dream ("a job that slowly kills you", in his case quite literally). Already in the firsts scenes of the movie we see that he has to give up things that made him happy to achieve his father's expectations of success ("you look so tired, unhappy").

The government part also makes me think of how strict Welton was, and how little freedom the boys had. "They don't speak for us" reminding me of the dead poets meetings, and how it was the moment where they could speak their minds and be true to themselves.

I'll take a quiet life A handshake of carbon monoxide And no alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises Silent, silent

This part is known to be a metaphor for suicide, since carbon monoxide can be used for that. The quiet part also reminds of how silent his death was. There was no noise to "bring him back" from his thoughts, no loud laughs, nothing different.

This is my final fit My final bellyache with

These two lines specifically hit me very hard, and I can't quite word why. They just hurt me deeply, and I always hear them as a child (or someone as vulnerable as one) and their parent.

In a way, it goes perfectly well with the last fight Neil had with his dad. How his dad asks what he's feeling and all he can say is "nothing". Your parents are supposed to be the people who will always there for you no matter what, but that fight was the last fit Neil threw. He lowered his head, and gave up trying.

No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises, please

I often see people saying they interpret this song as someone who has a mundane life with no surprises and nothing interesting going on and hates that. Now, I do not know what was the meaning intended by the creators, but this is the lyrics that makes me disagree with that interpretation, simply because of that "please".

When I listen to this song I think about someone who desperately wants to be no alarms and no surprises for once. Someone who wishes life to pause for a while, to give him some time to breathe. No alarms waking you up to another full day, no bad surprises and stress. I don't think Neil would mind to never become a big actor, I don't think he wanted grandiosity in any way. He just wanted to act. To do something he loved, and be around people he loved. Both things that were taken away from him.

Such a pretty house And such a pretty garden

Everyone could look at Neil and see such a charming and content guy. He's full of life, he's passionate, he gets good grades, he laughs a lot. He genuinely seems to be doing fine, and he has all these opportunities and is so privileged (after all, he got all the chances his father didn't, right?).

Who would look at Neil Perry and think he would hold a gun to himself and shoot?

No alarms and no surprises (get me out of here) No alarms and no surprises (get me out of here) No alarms and no surprises, please (get me out of here)

He wanted a way out. He was 17 years old, he was being taken away from his friends, his parents wouldn't listen to him, he wouldn't be able to act again for god knows how long, he would never be able to look back at his first play without the grief that came with it. So Neil Perry desperately wanted a way out. And it would be nice to think that if he's somewhere, there's finally no alarms and no surprises, at least not the bad ones. Although that brings little to no comfort too. He's dead, and it should've never happened.

Well, the song ends here. If you've read all of this, you're as crazy as I am for writing it. Thanks, and take care.

[illogicallyx]

Awh not Megumi being poutty at that but like so canon though- bro (Satoru) was like who’s this new teacher telling off the kid he couldn’t

(Well ignore ignore racist suguru here😭) but like I dint think both his daughters are menaces? Just like nanako? Mimiko’s like quiet and all right? But he’ll catch up on it so quick and I bet he’d want to take advantage of it but haha imagine the shock when you don’t pass his daughters/hypothetically when they fail💀

Nanami is so so so Asian parent coded—be it a girl or boy he has. Like personally, I think he’s a girl dad BUT like he’s not at all afraid to say shit lmao

omg okay PT 2

i can imagine like satoru's confidence faltering upon seeing ur face bc god you're so fuckinh pretty and something abt ur strict teacher aura is rubbing off on him too and suddenly he's feeling nervous just like megumi who's still standing behind satoru like he's hiding behind a wall

i know this man would still put on a brave face doe just like he has done before with yaga and will smile so brightly towards u in the way he usually does to other girls when he tries to wow them and extends his hand to you for a handshake and -

wait....why isnt it working??? why do u still have that unimpressed look in ur eyes and why is ur frown getting deeper?

i can imagine the teacher - you regarding him like 🤨 and being like "is this a joke? megumi did u bring ur brother to parent teacher meeting?" and they both are like oh boy how do we explain this...

and for suguru we will pretend he does not have such racist thoughts when he's with you okay? okay.

i believe his girls are deffo menaces but like in a way that its very lowkey yk? its all suguru's fault okay? they are sooo spoiled by him like he knows they are naughty as hell like when he tells them no sugar after dinner and he hears rustling in the kitchen late at night he knows its them but he just smiles and lets them bc he actually cannot say no

nanako is the doer but i know mimiko is the planner like she may be quiet and very timid but shes the one who gives the idea and she deffo is in full agreement when her sister wants to do something they arent supposed to

they deffo are like the types to eat in class. like you'd be teaching and facing the board snd you will hear the crinkle of the wrapper of a candy bar and u just sigh but u tried so hard to tell them no but they just look up at you with their round eyes and just make you weak for them like okay u tried to be strict but they are so cute.

omg i can imagine like a single parent au where once the romance starts u and suguru both will be like down bad for each other and for the girls

as for the meeting!! he can tell u are lying but he finds it so damn endearing - bc like u fidget with ur fingers when u utter another lie about how his girls are soooo well behaved which he internally scoffs at bc the girls literally tell him abt the fights they get into regularly when they get home so like 🤭🤭 and the girls LMFAO they are having the time of their lives glancing at each other and laughing behind their hands bc their teacher has a crushhhhhhhh even they can tell bc u are currently looking at their father the same way you do when they give u their best 🥺🥺 face lol

and for kento i feel like he'd be the type to give their kid the complete freedom to do whatever they want as long as they pass okay? BUT imagine his shock when his baby girl is soooo into her studies???? like he spent his life not being interested in jujutsu or the corporate world or the real life world but his girl?????? she LOVES to study she LOVES STEM and shee deffo wants to study something like astrophysics JUST like you

whos you? he asks

her physics teacher ofc!!! i feel like before you transferred to her school as a physics teacher she hateddd physics math and all those subjects bc they were so hard for her but then u became her teacher and she lOVES IT and she was surprised and nanami was surprised bc like since when did u stop gushing abt ur literature class and started doing that for physics class?????

yeah imma stop here THSI IS TOO LONG

part 1 part 3

[thedevilsrain]

i started writing this on the tags of that last post but it got too long so i'm. going to put it here lol

out of all the messy implications of eroica (in terms of its' handling of sexuality, politics, religion and even history itself). i honestly think the major's dad and steamroller dick (not even his name is able to save him) are the worst additions to the story

dick is supposed to be this parody of the CIA, he's paranoid, impulsive, reckless and aggressive -- especially the latter, the namesake of his nickname pretty much. he always jumps to violence and won't even trust his ally in NATO

it's especially curious to look at him after reading aoike's "code name: merely jordan" comic, in which she talks about the origin of eberbach, considering he was a pretty distinct character for a shoujo manga (an adult man who "speaks like an old man" (characteristics in japanese which r unfortunately lost in english), a man in the military etc), and mentions how she didn't want a CIA character because of their bad reputation after watergate

which is to say, steamroller dick is supposed to be, in a way, the opposite of eberbach. or, at the very least, he's supposed to be a comparison to him -- the "aggressive" CIA agent against the "cool" and "level-headed" NATO agent, who doesn't give into aggressiveness unless he's deliberately being pushed, which is only the case because of dorian (which is important to note for me -- i always find that the less dorian is in these stories the more boring they become, because eberbach really has no charisma of his own, he's a completely cold man)

but steamroller becomes kind of obsolete when you remember that, in the end, eberbach is just as paranoid, aggressive, impulsive and, let me just say it, a fucking asshole as him, from tying up dorian in a room full of statues in the dark after he was pretty much traumatized due to one, to calling a woman a "godzilla", and his overall treatment of his workers, which is a post for another day

in the end, he isn't any different form steamroller dick -- they threaten each other, they're after the same man for a dick measuring context between intel agencies, and who treats dorian like shit. you can even draw a parallel between the above panel and this!

interesting to note, though -- eberbach's aggressiveness, impulsiveness, and his mistreatment of dorian are all, to a point, the reason we like him. it's funny to see him be pissed off, it's thrilling to see him act on impulsive to save (or kill) somebody, and it's fun watching dorian tease him and him get pissed off. the difference here, however, is that once he's shown to be "better" than somebody, instead of a flawed character that we can enjoy, is when i think his characterization becomes the weakest, which i think is the case with not just this arc (emperor waltz), but every story after it. dorian becomes just an annoying guy who pisses the major -- the better one, the hero -- off, so it feels like every time he's a huge asshole to anybody, which is all the time, becomes justified

and the major's dad... i'll put this under a readmore, because it gets too dark (warning for mentions of child abuse)

right from the start, at the mention of his... rank and duty. as a soldier. in WW2, his entire existence becomes an uncomfortable addendum to not just the major's family's past, but the story in general

the second time we ever see him (and the only where we see his face) is in "vacation orders", when he's talking to a eberbach as a child, who literally answers by calling him "sir"

and it's a moment where you think, okay, his father was in.... the military, he's bound to be strict with his son, but the implications becomes ten times worse once one of klaus' classmates talk about how he could fight, and says his father "taught him". it becomes even worse in the CMX translation, where the translators literally say he "beat him into it"

and then, again, it just becomes a mess. why was this adult man teaching his seven year old how to fight? or better, why did this seven year old learn to fight because of his dad?

but that is all we see from klaus' dad's influence on his childhood -- every time he shows up next, it's when he calls the major on the phone, and each time eberbach seems not just startled by it, but changes his demeanor completely

and, these are played as jokes. and i'm not going to lie and say i didn't find these scenes funny, because they are! eberbach is always serious and demanding to every person around him, and seeing him suddenly submit (for the lack of a better word) is funny

however, the implications, again, become uncomfortable when you take into the picture what's shown about his childhood. almost cruel, in a way, especially when you hear how eberbach absolutely despises his dad, being around him, calling him, and wishes he would stay in switzerland (interesting place to put an ex german soldier in, but ok), and will insult him behind his back

in the end, i feel eberbach's dad should have been the footest of footnotes into the story, or not a character at all -- the first as in, i wish he only appeared for these funny call moments, and the second because, again. ex ww2 soldier. and frankly even when i get to these scenes where eberbach calls him, it ends up giving me a weird feeling afterwards, like i'm laughing at a man's misery, but that misery is just, like, bottled up trauma and repressed rage.

[justaboymadeofhoneyandglass]

Hi! Me invading your ask box for once! Uno reverse (I'm also @everyone-with-a-para) but here is my underdeveloped Batfam paracosm rambles

So you have Bruce/Batman first of all obviously. The original masked hero and Gotham protector. Very protective of his secret identity. A lot of the Justice League know each other's real names but he still refuses to reveal his. This is mostly to protect his kids at this point, he doesn't want them to be targeted (any more than they already are) because of him.

For a guy who "works alone" he very much does not work alone. He's trying his best to be a good dad. A few of his kids' hero peronas are linked back to his - Red Robin and Robin are known to be his sidekicks and it's known he endorses Signal, Spoiler and Orphan operating in his city (although Orphan's existence is still debated amongst the public but we'll get to her)

He has a strong moral code including a very strict "no killing" rule

Then we come to Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Dick was a circus acrobat who saw his parents murdered during a show. Bruce was at said show and took Dick in bc he also has trauma from watching his parents get shot. Dick trained and became Robin at the ripe old age of 9 so that he wouldn't commit Actual Murder (against the guy who killed his parents). Don't let the smile and the sunny disposition fool you this boy has anger issues

At 15 he and Bruce have a falling out, mostly his own emotional issues but also some grievances with how Bruce fights, and he leaves to stake his own identity. He founded the Titans and eventually changes his hero persona to Nightwing and operates in Blüdhaven, Gotham's sister city. He makes up with Bruce not too long after becoming Nightwing and he makes a point to come round at least once a week for dinner these days

Nightwing is probably currently the most independent persona from Batman as they now have little connection other than occasional team ups. The Titans know Nightwing used to be Robin (because he was when they were founded) and worked with Batman, but only a couple (Starfire and Beast Boy) know his identity, and this and his scary fighting skills have earned him the nickname of "the younger generation's Batman"

Dick also tries to be the most emotionally stable one of the family because he feels like that's his responsibility as the oldest. Emphasis on tries, he still has that simmering rage underneath. He's very protective of his family and god forbid you cross them in front of him. He nicknames a lot of his siblings too. Jason is Little Wing, Tim is Baby Bird and Damian is Baby Wing, as well as any miscellaneous nicknames he comes up with at any given moment

In canon his day job is a police officer but fuck cops, he's a literal vigilante he would never, so in my paracosm he's a part-time firefighter

(This gonna be multiple parts I'm so sorry you activated my infodumping)

hi! First of all I loveee your blog so so much!

Love batman idk shit about his canon personality but this is cool af

Cuteee nicknamessss yess

(ooh yes of course don't worry, feel free to tell me everything hehe)

[dreamerthetimelady]

My random Avatar TWoW thoughts/ramblings about Jake

Long post, so everything under the cut; includes spoilers for Avatar 2009, Avatar TWoW and High Ground Vol. 1

Jake only became ‘Military Father’ after Sky People returned - so as we know Jake is pretty harsh on his sons and they also call him ‘sir’ a few times in the movie. However from what I noticed they only use ‘sir’ when 1) he is mad at them or 2) in a ‘military setting’ scenario. Otherwise they just call him ‘dad’; based on this and what we saw in the flashbacks, I believe that their behavior is mostly a result of what was happening during that one year skipped in the movie (although keep in mind I didn’t read all of High Ground yet, so I might change my mind). Additionally as to why Jake treats his sons and daughters differently - It seemed to me that both Lo’ak and Neteyam were very eager to get involved with the action. I’m guessing if they didn’t Jake would be happy to let them help in other ways (actually he would probably prefer it, especially when it comes to Lo’ak). But he probably reluctantly agreed because of their eagerness and decided being strict would be the best way to keep them safe - that’s including discipline (which isn’t going so good anyway, considering our introduction to grown-up Lo’ak is literally him disobeying an order, which did put people in danger), code names etc. While Kiri is technically old enough to take part in the military actions, she doesn't strike me as someone necessarily interested in that? Like I'm sure she could defend herself if needed, but she didn't seem enthusiastic about it the way the boys were (see: Lo'ak in the train attack and Neteyam's "I'm a warrior like you, I'm supposed to fight" later). And if she's not part of the 'war party' she is not under the same discipline. As for Tuk, she's currently too young, but I have no doubt she will become a great hunter/warrior like her mother when she is older and she already has the enthusiasm for that (see for example: her playing 'attack' with an ikran toy). Jake is an idiot, but his actions are well enough motivated in-universe to make sense - okay, hear me out. First of all, yes I’m very much frustrated by Jake’s ignorance, unwillingness to listen to others and general “I’m the most knowledgeable person in the room” vibe. However I feel like all these kinda make sense from his perspective; this is very subtle in the movies (I mean ‘you have to guess and also read between the lines’ or ‘maybe implied but not really’ kind of subtle), but more touched upon in the comics - Jake is expecting Sky People to return. He knows they will return one day and he keeps telling it to people only to be ignored/doubted. It’s mentioned in High Ground vol. 1 that this is a reason he forbid Omatikaya from choosing a new Hometree (which is a dick move btw, but if you remove emotions from the equation makes sense - it would be an easy target if the Sky People wanted revenge on him or the Na’vi in general). And then one day, after 14 years during which many decided it probably won’t happen - the Sky People return. It turns out Jake was right all along. And this time they brought much bigger force with them, just as he expected. Add to that that Jake already thought of himself as an expert on Earth’s military and other stuff and I think it becomes fairly clear on why he thinks he is qualified to speak over anyone when it comes to Sky People threat (he is wrong of course and I think the second movie tries to show that - with a very painful lesson); ‘Didn’t he learn that already in the first movie though?’ - well, yes, but 1) it was fifteen years ago and as mentioned earlier, in the meantime he was validated by the fact he was right the Sky People will return with bigger force and 2) not an in-universe reason, but the whole A:TWoW feels a bit like a soft reboot - the amount of parallels to the first Avatar makes me think they specifically wanted to cater to the audiences that didn’t care or maybe weren’t even around when the first came out (while also I guess winking to the part of the audience that did remember it well? Idk, the parallels were a lot less jarring on the consecutive viewings, but they stood out so much to me when I was watching it for the first time). Anyway, I really hope this was intended as such and we get better character development from Jake in the future. The other big criticism is ‘why did they leave their clan and left them vulnerable?’ and I would agree the logic here is a bit of a stretch, but I believe Jake thinking went more or less like this: Quaritch and the recoms are specifically hunting me and our family -> they are the only ones that can go into the Hallelujah Mountains and not be immediately attacked by the wildlife -> if we leave they will leave too and thus the clan will be safe. There is a big gaping hole in this logic though, which is ‘how would they know we left’ and ‘why wouldn’t they destroy the High Camp anyway if they discovered it’ and either there is some deleted scene here that explains this or we are supposed to just accept this the way it is. Presumably Jake leaving means Omatikaya stopped their attacks. Or they continued, but Jake was not spotted on any of the footage, so Sky People assume (rightly so) he disappeared somewhere. It feels like this specific thing could have been addressed fairly easily by just that - No one’s seen Jake for a while, so it looks like he’s either hiding somewhere or left (it kinda is mentioned by Quaritch, but we have no idea how long it took them to realize or how they found out at all). It does not address the issue of High Camp’s existence being discovered means it will probably be destroyed. I’m not sure if this isn’t on purpose though - Jake specifically leaves to protect his children after seeing them being almost kidnapped and not-too-far-from-dying shortly after seeing Lo’ak and Neteyam almost die in explosion. He is most definitely not thinking straight and it’s a shame Neytiri is not able to convince him otherwise, but I see how he comes to the decision. I mean, he claims he is ‘protecting the people’ but I think he is just primarily thinking of his children at the moment. Otherwise they would not go to a different tribe, but hide completely on their own. Okay, this got way longer than I intended and half of it is probably rambling XD But anyway, I’m happy to discuss, I might have got some things wrong, I might have also remembered some things differently to how they were. And as I mentioned somewhere in the text, I only read the first volume of High Ground, so some of my thoughts might change when I get my hands on the rest (hopefully that will be soon).