#no to be honest tho it is not as drastic as that potentially makes it sound

[aphel1on]

"i am going to write a fix-it"

7k in my pov character is attempting suicide

[brucewaynehater101]

I have a vent fic wip that I may or may not finish so I just need to tell someone that I am...feeling so many things all the time about the consequences of the 16th birthday but...

primarily, right now, at this moment. without Robin/Bruce, Tim thought he would lose Dick and everyone else he knew through Robin. and then a little bit later when he quit for Jack, he got radio silence for Months until he became a potential victim, and even then it was just Cass stopping in to give the message and be like "I'll watch you to keep you safe 👁️👁️ ok bye" and he had actual Proof that without Robin, he would lose everyone.

and then. Dick "you're my equal (even tho I'm drastically changing your life without your knowledge or permission), you're my closest ally (even tho you don't even have a name to go out in the field to assist me as backup), I need you (even tho, as mentioned, I made a huge decision without your input because I didn't need it because I know best actually)" Grayson.

skipping over the fact that Dick didn't even have the time to say "you're fired" or anything resembling that, when Tim lost "Robin" to Damian, he felt like he lost everything else too. it didn't matter what Dick said about "equals" or "allies" or "needing". he already had Concrete Proof that it was all false. cheap words that are easily disproven do nothing in this situation, Dichard!

(disclaimer: I love and respect Dick Grayson, I just also think Dick Stopped Existing as soon as he made Damian his Robin for the most pathetic stupid illogical risky-ass excuse he could ever give for making anyone Robin (or a vigilante in general). "because he'll kill someone again". who the fuck says that?? who thinks "oh no oh god oh fuck this kid is gonna go off the rails he's gonna kill someone, I need to Put Him In A Place Of Power Over Oblivious Innocent Untrained People Who Are Expecting A Kind And Empathetic Hero To Save Them" hUH???? ok sorry, I just wanted to rant about what Tim "losing Robin" meant)

I agree with ya. Dick Grayson is fantastic, but it seems weird that he nuked his entire relationship with Tim (a very strong one that other fans have referred to them as "The Brothers") for the new kid.

Yes, Damian is a ten year old traumatized kid who just lost the dad he didn't really have the chance to get to know. Yes, Damian needed guidance, boundaries, and compassion.

But DC spent so much time and effort building up Tim and Dick's rapport only to obliterate it once the "blood son" came in (I also love Damian. This is not hate on the kid. This is confused commentary on DC's choices). It's just a strange idea, but that's also why it hurts so much when Dick does that to Tim.

Then you tie in Tim losing Robin by Dick to Tim's experiences before? Fuck. You are so right for that.

As far as the RR run, Dick could've handled Tim believing Bruce a bit better. I don't necessarily blame him for that one. I get why he wasn't supportive in the way Tim wanted, even though I would've chosen differently for my siblings.

Dick taking Robin, though? That was fucked up. I, honest to the gods, do not see how that was a justified course of action. I can understand his perspective, but it's still not okay. At all.

There's your very adequate analysis:

Robin, for Tim, is his tie to his loved ones. He has proof (twice) that without it, he does not have access to the people he cares about and his support system.

Dick said a lot of pretty words about "equals," but his actions were precisely contradictory to his "intentions."

Tim has had Robin taken from him before or had to give it up. He chose to go back despite this. He obviously feels strongly about being Robin

Damian has not proven, at this point, to be trustworthy as a vigilante (someone in power without oversight). He has instead shown use of excessive force

This isn't even going into the way he found out. That's just an extra layer.

The way Tim has repeated lost and regained Robin (even after RR) as well as his title as Red ROBIN are, to me, a sign that he's still trying to hold on. It's my belief that he would have moved onto a new title, like his predecessors, if it hadn't constantly been an unsure role.

His start was rocky as hell due to Bruce not initially wanting it. Tim had to prove himself and put himself into the costume.

He "quit" twice before it was taken from him in a traumatic way (nothing like being instilled with the fear that the position you've held for four years can suddenly be yanked out from under you without warning)

Damian and Jason both vehemently protested to him being Robin

It would make sense if all of these factors combined to Tim's unwillingness or inability to just let Robin go, especially when we factor in his reason to be Robin. Since Bruce never really gets "better" and continually falls back into bad habits, Tim needs to maintain his task of pulling Bruce back from the edge. We could also throw Jean Paul into this to further how Tim is forced to play as the barrier between a grown adult and their desire to harm others in the name of good.

So, Tim's time as Robin is marked by consistent instability while contrasted with his inherent position as Bruce's leash and the batfam fixer. While the other Robins did have times of doubt, the predecessors of Tim did not have the pervasive role insecurity with regards to Robin.

They had their big moment at the end and some smaller moments in-between, but not quite on the continous scale of Tim. Tim had three big moments and was still sucked back into Robin when Damian quit.

To be Robin is to earn Bruce's love and the ability to be part of the Wayne family. To lose Robin is the risk of losing that (at least to the perspectives of the Robins if not 100% the reality).

I'm not sure I'm articulating this accurately. Regardless, no wonder Tim clutches the title of Robin with bleeding hands no matter how much it cuts him and costs him.

[kurogane2512]

thoughts (and prayers) on pregnancy sex with any Mommy chars?

Hmmm I'll be honest pregnancy sex is not one of my favorites, which is why there isn't practically any content of it on my blog otherwise I have gotten such requests before and I keep putting them off. I don't hate it per say, I just can't get over the discomfort and potential pain it brings tho I know it can be very sweet and heartwarming. I tried to write it for now to see how it goes. If it does well then I'll make a pt 2 with other characters

NSFW AHEAD

Characters: La Signora, Ningguang, Cocolia, Himeko x gn!reader with a dick (separate)

La Signora/Rosalyne

Rosalyne never imagined she'd experience this side of life after her fate changed drastically. She had given up on the hope long ago, but she was ever grateful to you for bringing it back and making it a reality. Somehow, her libido increases a lot for a few months. The times where she imagines having the perfect little family life with you makes her emotional and needy, it's like she wants more and more.

It doesn't help how caring and attentive you are to her; taking time off work and tending to her every need, bringing her every little thing she wants and taking care of her cravings. No wonder she craves you in another way too. She lays comfortably on her back, relaxed and without worries while you are between her legs eating her out.

Her moans are more restrained than normal but nevertheless sweet, her belly rises as she feels your tongue probe her inside and pleasure her everywhere she wants. She looks down and barely sees your head, constrained by her own belly that's housing the love you made together. She tries to reach over and hold your head to push you deeper but it's proving difficult.

"Mhm....m-my love.... more.... deeper~"

And you immediately abide as you gently lift her legs slightly, ensuring she doesn't feel uncomfortable, then plunge your tongue deeper and fuck her. She gasps a breathy moan and almost arches up before enclosing her thighs around your head and keeping you in place.

"Cumming.... oh, my love.... I feel so good.... there.... aahn— please give me more!~"

She releases on your mouth and you drink up all her sweet essence then lay beside her, holding her close in an embrace. She feels so loved and grateful having you, her doubts about motherhood fade when she sees you and knows you are always there for her. She was called a witch, a monster, and a cruel Harbinger by the world. But being called a wife and mother was what she truly desired.

Ningguang

Being the ever busy Tianquan meant breaks were seldom found. Of course, Liyue had maternity leave and Ningguang had many capable people to take over her work but it was difficult for her to give up everything instantly. She'd still go to her office for meetings and paperwork despite how much her secretaries requested otherwise; in the end, they'd have to call you to pick up your wife and make her rest.

What was more appalling was that sometimes you'd catch her looking over paperwork even while inside the room. She'd brush it off saying she's resting and it's just some papers, but you knew she's pushing herself. The only way to make her listen now was to throw away the papers and kiss her passionately before gently laying her down. Her breath would falter seeing you above and feeling you kiss her neck.

And then the moment she'd feel your finger brush her slit, her breath hitching and legs squeezing around your hand. You'd kiss her legs and pry them open before you unzip your pants and bring out your erect shaft. She instantly pools looking at your throbbing cock, and the next moment you begin pushing in ever so gently and slowly she feels heavenly. You nestle inside her till she's comfortable and gaze at her belly carrying your love, and you can't help but reach down to caress it and plant kisses on it.

Your thrusts are slow and tender, ensuring her pleasure and comfort over your own. You honestly feel good just having her here and being inside her, and her walls clench you tighter than normal anyways. She tries to wrap her legs around your waist but you stop her and instead, hold them up for her as she likes. She wants to feel closer to you, she stretches her arms out and you smile at her before leaning down to kiss her lips. You release inside her after she cums then lay beside her and hold her close, she snuggles into you and forgets all her duties and worries.

"My dear, would I really make a good mother? I can't help but feel I'd neglect out child due to my duties and—"

"Ning, we have talked about this before. I fully trust you, I know you will be a great mother. You are practically Liyue's mother and you take care of it so well, I know you will treat your own even better. Don't worry, I'm here to ensure we both do good."

Ningguang smiles and feels her heart fasten then pecks your lips and embraces you, promising to you and herself that she won't let you down and will give the best life to your child.

Cocolia

The Supreme Guardian already adopted a daughter before so she's quite apprised with parenthood but she knows she could do better. The feeling of having her own child is different, she's not going to mistreat Bronya at all from now on but she can't deny the doting feelings rising inside her day by day as she watches her belly grow. In the early months she still goes to her office and does her work as usual, despite protests from you and Bronya.

She knows Bronya is ready to take over, but it's hard to change so easily when disaster is constantly looming. She looks forward to your visits during this time, knowing that you'll be bringing her lunch and tending to her needs. She intentionally acts slightly needier than usual, just to have you spoil and dote on her. That's how she found herself sitting on your lap currently with her back pressed to your chest and your hands slipped inside the thigh window on her dress and caressing her skin.

"Mmm..... Y-Y/n, not here.... a-anyone could come in— aaahn~"

You chuckle and kiss her neck in response while your hand dips even further below. Cocolia bites her lip to conceal her voice but she's caught off guard when you pull her face to the side and kiss her lips while one hand is rubbing her panties and the other lightly pinching her breasts. Cocolia moans into the kiss as she feels your fingers dig into her slit, automatically resting her body on yours and giving control.

"Just relax, Madam Cocolia. Didn't you want to be spoiled?~" you whisper in her ear and she soon feels your fingers inside her, gently rubbing and grinding her walls. Her head falls back on your shoulder and you keep making more kisses on her neck this way, while your other hand is caressing her belly now. The situation is dangerously erotic, doing it in her office was always risky but you knew she loved it. You gaze at her belly and just think about the child she's carrying, your fingers rubbing faster now to chase her high.

Yet, you were still gentle and attentive to her state. You made sure she felt comfortable throughout and gave her breaks to stabilise her breathing. She also feels your erection rub against her ass continuously and starts grinding on it, seeking any friction. That's your cue to make her cum soon and you do just that, holding her in your arms as her cum drips on your pants making a mess.

Himeko

When she accepted you on the Astral Express, she certainly didn't think she'd be carrying your child one day. You two are so friendly and relaxed around each other that people around you often forgot you are married, but of course they are reminded by Himeko's growing belly. Himeko had her qualms about parenthood at first, mainly insecurity about raising a child on the Express that continuously moved across the cosmos. Pom-Pom had suggested to drop her back to her home planet but she wasn't ready to stop the journey yet.

Himeko would have not accepted this had you not assured her that you will ensure the child gets the best life on the express; and of course, the other members were also extremely supportive and preparing for the moment. Himeko can't help but feel so much love for you deep inside. Whenever you come to visit her in her room to ask if she needs anything, she's always lost looking at you and gives simple answers to your questions.

She makes you stay with her until dinner, both of you just lying on the bed together as you keep your head on her belly and comfortably listen to your baby's sounds. She caresses your head during this, gazing at you lovingly. You plant a kiss on her belly then lean up to cup her face and kiss her as well, the kiss ends up turning passionate most of the time due to her high libido and soon after she's straddling your lap while your lips are locked.

She feels your bulge press into her and unzips your pants to take out your shaft, she's already prepared enough to take you in. You help her as she takes in your cock, sitting on your lap while it penetrates her deeply. Her arms wrap around your neck while yours around her waist, you hold each other like Koalas as she begins to thrust up and down.

"Ngh.... d-darling.... aah~ Please.... give it to me.... mmh!~"

Himeko's breathy moans are heavenly in this state as they ring right in your ear. You hold her well enough and help her thrust, eventually bucking your own hips into her and letting her simply take it. Her head falls on your shoulder when she's tired but you ensure she doesn't feel deprived, your hips keep moving up and down or back n forth to make her feel it where she wants since this was for her pleasure.

She hugs you tightly and bites down your neck when she feels your cock throb and release a stream of hot cum inside, her head shooting back for a moment feeling it fill her up. She thanks you by kissing you passionately again and tries to convey she wants to do more, but the knocking on the door calling you both for dinner makes her pout and wait a little longer.

[dreamsndmadness]

Hello!! Me again, :)

I read the newest chapter(of bloodlines, which was awesome) and I was wondering about Paul. What about Feyd endears Paul? Honestly, Feyd doesn’t seem like someone Paul would be with given the choice especially considering Feyds first impression. It seems to me that at this point even tho Paul and his mother are still being the plotting little schemers we know and love and that Paul’s affections could be apart of some plan of theirs, his emotional boundaries are still somewhat being chipped away at by Feyd.

Also btw this isn’t relevant to the characters but I love how you worked your way around feyds social ineptness to give the readers hints to understanding Paul, for example in chapter 6 when they’re talking about the spice shipments and Paul says “it’s only been a few weeks since the change” and he gets a cloudy look in his eyes; I interpreted that as him also reflecting on how short it’s been since his father died and how his life has been drastically changed but Feyd doesn’t pick up on that at allllll lol.

Also do u mind if ppl draw fanart of ur fic? I’m a very slow artist but I’d love to draw some of ur scenes :3

Another wonderful question 😍.

To be quite honest about what Paul feels for Feyd, there really isn’t affection for him on Paul’s side (at this point!!). Feyd fell pretty fast and hard for obvious reasons. But there are so many more layers surrounding how Paul feels about Feyd. His kinda philosophy going into this was to basically have sex with him because he has to and remain extremely emotionally distant from this person who is part of the family that murdered his beloved father and destroyed his whole world. He very much would not have picked Feyd as a partner if situations were different. Which is part of the reason I am finding writing this story so fun, because it’s picking apart these characters' brains and figuring out a way they can fit together.

Very slight inklings of affection have been creeping up on him and will continue on to creep up on him in the coming chapters. But it is going to be a very slow burn for Paul emotionally. Where Feyd, at this point, is almost in love with him. I feel like each chapter represents another step forward in their relationship, for Feyd and Paul and oftentimes it means different things to them personally.

Paul is only just coming to acknowledge and accept that he’s physically attracted to this person, which in itself was a hard conclusion for him to come to as he was raped on his wedding night. Which was a frankly awful experience for him. Which is why we see him not physically turned on by Feyd for several encounters after that. He’s afraid and in his head and deeply uncomfortable. But Feyd has been pretty relentless about making sure Paul has an orgasm every time they fuck, so Paul was like “hold up… am I enjoying this?”. Basically, chapter 7 was him being like “okay, I enjoy having sex. But I think in order to make this better for the both of us, we need to come to some understandings about how we are going to have sex in the future”. He’s trying to figure out what he likes sexually as he was in fact a virgin before all of this went down. Basically he’s a little more comfortable around Feyd now, hence the slight playfulness in chapter 7 where he tickles him and then laughs at Feyd’s reaction. Honestly such a favorite moment of mine.

(Side note, Paul is going to have a POV chapter soon which will help to elucidate some of this).

So chapter 8 for Paul, that little interaction at the end. He's starting to see and understand that they have a common enemy and see how this could potentially open up some trust between them as they’ve both been hurt by this person. If anyone was wondering, yes I do think Paul knows about Feyd’s CSA. While I haven’t read the book yet, the movies seem to indicate that he gets flashes about people beside himself i.e. Dr Kynes when he knows that she loved and lost a Fremen warrior. In this story, Paul knows Feyd was sexually abused by his uncle. It helps give some perspective on this violent and frankly terrifying person in a way that allows him to feel sympathy and give a little more understanding and context to him as a person and their relationship as a whole. And the fact that at the end of chapter 8 Feyd seeks him out in a protective way rather than to demand sex, goes a long way in Paul having some more good will towards him.

In the next chapter, something else will happen as another step/layer to their relationship that will give Paul another “aha” moment. It’s going to help him feel even more comfortable in their marriage and kinda understand better how their dynamic is going to continue going forward (in a sexual and non sexual way).

Paul and Feyd are such different people with extremely disparate upbringings. Paul was deeply loved and protected by his parents who modeled love and affection for him and raised him to be an intelligent and empathetic person. However, he has little context for having friendships and relationships with people his own age or arguably at all. His only friends seemed to be his parents and much older mentor figures who were old enough to be his father or grandfather. Feyd is not only much younger than those people, but has absolutely no emotional maturity. So there's this very wide divide between them. To bridge that gap is going to take years. Which is why there is going to be more stories after bloodlines. It will not happen by the end of this fic. However, they are going to come to a (hopefully) satisfying emotional understanding by the last chapter. At least I’m very satisfied by it and excited to share it 😝.

If I could pinpoint what specifically endears Feyd to Paul, at this point… honestly not a lot… He is so so different from anyone he’s known before. I think he likes (sometimes), that Feyd surprises him (when it’s not a bad surprise, which honestly most of them have been). He’s much more of an instinctual and spontaneous person where Paul is thoughtful and analytical. I think he appreciates that Feyd seems to like him taking the lead in their sexual relationship. And I think he likes that Feyd seems to respect his intelligence and fighting abilities and actively seeks his council and input.

Oh my goodness this is incredibly long. Hopefully all of that makes sense 😝. Also, yes to Feyd not getting the implication behind Paul’s words in the scene about the time between the change.

ALSO YES PLEASE!!! Oh my goodness!!!!! If you made art for this story, I am not joking when I say I will print it out and frame 🥹❤️. (As long as you are okay with that, that is). Basically, I would be so honored and delighted.

[undead-clown]

vent under

i wish i could violently chnage b4 school starts like other kids

what do you mean ur parents let you dye ur hair

what do you mean you were able to get a piercing

why are they able to change how they act so easily

i wanna be like them

the best i got is i started gauging my ears but i only got to go to a 16 so you can even tell, so i just took em out

but other kids can gauge em up as big as they want

i hate my parents

i wanna look cool

i see slideshows of people a few summers ago and now

and theyre so drastically differnt

i havent changed at all

im not ALLOWED to change

im not allowed to do anything cool

and dont get me started on the way i act

i act like a little kid

i act weirder online so that if we ever met they wouldnt be so off-put by me

im the worst and i envy everyone

i get told i look 9. ive 15. but everyone thinks im a lot younger

cuz of my face

i hate my face

i hate my hair

and if we're honest i hate my skin

i hate people not actually thinking im black cuz im so lightskin

i hate it

i wanna be someone else

i dont wanna be me

i hate me

i wish i was normal i want to be normal i yearn it

i wanna make friends irl and not scare them away or upset them

i hate everything and i dont wanna start school

i dont want everyone to see me

i just wanna hide forever and never leave

im not even allowed to cut my hair

i wasnt even allowed to get dreads but i was able to pressure my parents into it

i dont even like my hair anymore

i dont like the way i dress

i am upset and idk what to do

i dont wnana go to school and potentially get made fun of

or mess up in a class and the teacher not like me

i dont wanna go back

i hate it there

please dont make me do it again

i know people have it harder than me

i know i didnt do that bad in school

i know that

i know i am literally whining over nothing and i need to get over myself

i know that

i have it really easy i know

i just dont have anyone to talk to

i want my moirail

i need him so bad

he probably is tired of me venting tho

he says hes not but i just

and hes sleeping

i miss him

i wanna die already

my brothers already gone i might as well be too

im so tired of this

im so exhausted

being outside is getting more and more exhausting

school is gonna suck

[vimbry]

You have been prompted hit us with those ideas :)

so shockingly, it’s a yotsubato au idea. I hope that’s what was expected haha but um. I've just been thinking about mr yousuke koiwai actually being trans. and by extension the one who had yotsuba. :)

I’m being super indulgent here in that he is someeewhere on the non-binary spectrum. teetering on masc; presenting as masc, refers to himself in a masculine way for convenience because you know, explaining that identity to people is hard and potentially troublesome. it doesn’t really bother him, so long as it’s not his agab.

he’s stealth, of course. moving away to the suburbs with new people made this a hell of a lot easier. apart from with his immeadiate family, naturally. and jumbo, he’s aware too, cause they were friends from being little and it’d be pretty unavoidable. yanda isn’t; koiwai was already presenting as male by the time they met and it just never comes up. he prob never even makes much of an effort to have it be a secret around him, he’s just cis, naive, and oblivous lmao but he’s a good guy really.

the reason the name yousuke took so long to crop up in the series is because he spent a very long time choosing it. he’s not really encountered anyone in the past 5 months of the manga’s timeline who ever needs to know/use his given name, anyway. even his bestie settled on referring to him by his family name until he felt comfortable with one and now it’s sorta stuck.

despite his family’s general acceptance and support of koiwai, they don’t actually know that he’s yotsuba’s bio parent. they highly Suspected it, but they didn’t pry, and he wouldn’t tell, so they eventually pushed it out of mind as families will do with things and it became irrelevant. she was an adorable big hit with everyone when they eventually came back home anyway, so that was more the focus! altho I do like the idea of jumbo being the exception, how there’s some things you could tell your closest loyal friend but not your family. it might’ve just slipped out between them.

jumbo got caught off guard when ena asked him about yotsuba’s mother and came up with “oh she was uhhh abandoned. she doesn’t have one” on the spot, and koiwai just rolled with that when fuuka later asked about it. look he even stalls a sec while trying to think something up. :)

“(internally panicking and buffering) hahaha yea an orphan right jumbo’s such a jokester haha - it’s true tho”

as for her real origins, it’s as boring and simple as you’d expect from a character frequently described as casually irresponsible lmao. (nah I’ll cut him some slack. sometimes things can’t be avoided/you’re on T and think it’s an impossibility, easily done). you've had a lot of heavy projects to deal with, you find a local lgbt friendly hotspot to wind down in, you end up meeting someone, it happens all the time. so he got stuck somewhere overseas in some apartment "””working away””” a little longer than anticipated.

his age was confirmed in an interview with the creator as “very early 30s”, so this would put him in his mid-to-late 20s when yotsuba’s born. still a bit in flux with his identity, this definitely not helping. took a few years to get everything together and return to japan.

we all know the experience of navigating gender can sure be, difficult. koiwai’s still a relatively young guy, and like most people, is taking things each day at a time. so I’m also just gonna go ahead and use this au to overexplain the basic style-shifting in-universe as hormone treatment microdosing/trying out different ways to present as the months progress aha. I mean, he looks SO drastically different. I know a few of them do but man! that is 2 different guys.

(also why he has that little bit of stubble there in chapter 7 and never again. unfortunately discovered that he’s apparently very good at growing a beard. didn’t like it, not for him. shaving is one of the few things he will force himself to do often. thanks azuma for deciding to draw him unshaven once and then likely deciding it was too tedious to replicate in future chapters so I can take this n run with it).

yotsuba’s also unaware that she’s Not adopted because she’s 5 and would tell everyone lol. also koiwai’s built up these nerves and reluctance around sharing it. it’s one of his reasons for harshly reinforcing how she shouldn’t lie. he’s projecting in keeping an especially large one up around her himself, and he also wants to raise her to feel she can always be honest with him about anything. she’s probably told one day as she gets older anyway. I think it’d be cute if they ended up looking super alike. 🥺

anyway yes thank you that is my thoughts !

[red-hood-redemption]

SO I know I’m like, super late to the party, but I finally got my hands on Robin 2021 and there is literally no one for me to talk to about it so now I’m just screaming my thoughts into the void ✌

First off, before i even bought the first two issues, I read through a lot of other people’s opinions on it to kinda get an idea of where it was going characterization-wise for Damian, and because of all the mixed reactions, I figured I should just read it myself and find out. Now I am the FURTHEST thing from a comic book authority, so like, this is truly just an opinion piece but if it convinces anyone to give the run a chance, then yay!!! Honestly, I’m really glad I gave it a shot because I’m genuinely hooked! I’m actually excited about this series (and it scares me lol)!!!

I'm gonna separate my thoughts into two sections: characters, and story, mainly for my own ease, but also if anyone cares more about one thing or the other it's easier to distinguish. But,  the line is a little blurry so if I end up getting a little too much into the characterization in the story section, just bear with me lmao. OH and I'm going to try and keep this as un-spoilery as possible but we'll just have to see. SOOOOOOOO

Characters

I think it goes without saying that Melnikov's art is absolutely gorgeous, and really does show how much Damian has grown up. It makes me want to sob its so beautiful, everyone is so pretty, even the guy that looks like a washed up, high as fuck Tony Stark lmao. But moving on to the actual characters,

Rose Wilson

I honestly don't know too much about Rose, I haven't read enough about her to say anything about her characterization and how it compares to her other appearances, or whether or not she is OOC, but so far, I'm enjoying her taking up the "big sis" role, like, immediately lmao.

I don't know how much I trust her yet, but I definitely get the vibe that even if she does betray Dami in any way, she's probably gonna stick her neck out for Dami again and he's probably gonna do the same.

I'm really intrigued about her motivations for being here. Obviously, Respawn has something to do with it, but I want to know what's up with that. I've seen a lot of theories and I'm so excited. Also side note, that Black Swan chick is hot, and I can't wait to see more of her in action!!!

I feel like Ravager knows a WHOLE lot more than Dami does about the interesting things going on on the island, mainly because she's been doing a lot more sitting and waiting than he has as of yet, but I'm hoping to see more of the two of them doing detective-y sleuthing together. We love a mysteryyyy

Flatline

Okay but real talk, why does she look like a character straight out of Monster High

Honestly tho, I dig it. It's cute! She's cute! She isn't annoying (yet) but I don't know if I care too much about her other than she would make a cute friend for Dami.

I think the problem with DC is that they know people LOVE Harley Quinn and they try so hard to make characters just like her but it always falls short, so honestly I am a little wary of her character development in this run, but I'm willing to give her a shot since her little coffin purse on the cover of the second issue is so damn cute. I'm a slut for character design, okay?

Oh speaking of Flatline and Dami, I don't ship it and I don't want them to force a romantic relationship into Damian's "coming of age"/"soul-searching" moment okay? Because that's what this run is about, at least to me! More on that in the story section!

They're literally 13/14 years old. That's 8th-9th grade, babes lets think about that for a minute

Also let's stop the whole "lets introduce a female character just to make her a love interest!" bullshit okay?

Basically, Flatline is interesting, or at least has the potential to be, but I don't want to get my hopes up because DC is notorious for disservicing their female characters 😕

I think the mixed reaction to her is valid, I don't think she's had much time to make a solid impression yet, so I guess you'd have to read it for yourself. Personally, I don't understand why people immediately hate her, especially because she's like, 14, and what kid that age isn't annoying? like at least a little bit lmao! But, yeah. I don't trust her either but literally everyone on this island is sketchy at least and a murderer at best, so hey 🤷‍♀️

Damian

His new outfit lmaoooo at first I was like "WHaT is this child wearing? You'd think Dick would have rubbed off on him and taught him what good taste looks like" but then I saw the later outfit, with the gold patterning and those sleeeevessssss ugh and I take it all back. A Fashion Icon TM. Truly stunning. A sight to behold. So proud, look at him go 😪

I think there's a lot of different opinions on Damian's characterization in this run, and I can definitely see where its coming from, but I disagree with the notion that Damian has been done dirty and reverted to a blood-thirsty, feral child.  And I have a LOT of opinions on the whole "feral" thing regarding Damian period (but that's for another time).

I don't think of Dami's rampage as a regression for his character. He's letting of emotions right then and I think its very similar to him venting. Its just not verbal, its physical and he knows he's not going to have to grapple with the consequences of his actions on the first kill. He knows he's technically not doing anything wrong.

He is clearly upset at Bruce and his failure to protect Alfred, and while Dami and Bruce are really often described as being very similar personality-wise, they are still distinctly different individuals who came to their current moral codes in vastly different ways. Bruce came to his "no killing" rule on his own; he made that decision for himself. It wasn't taught to him, it was a moment-of-truth kind of situation. Damian, on the other hand is in a vastly different situation.

Dami is, I think, at the beginning of the climb to his own moment-of-truth. He is in his rebellious phase like Dick, where he's gone off to spread his wings. It's not his conscious intention (at least that's not the vibe I got from reading the first two issues), but its directly underlying his "mission".

Damian is growing out of the expectations of his parents and into his own person. We all know he's been thrown from one moral code to another, both drastically different from each other. I don't think its a regression for him to lose his way a little, because realistically, he's going to have to in order to find it, specifically a moral compass that he forged on his own. He's just what? 14? Like hell a kid his age wants to listen to any form of authority. He's as stubborn as it comes. Damian needs to come to his decision regarding the path he takes in life on his own. It can't be made for him. He's seen and lived both sides of the coin, and I don't think he should be forced just yet to choose a side or pave a middle ground, but I do think that he should get the opportunity to see and experience all the gray areas on his own.

I think I'll transition from characterization to story here, because let's face it, this story is about Damian dealing with his confused emotions right now, in the wake of losing Alfred, a man that kind of acted like a grounding presence, a voice of reason, or a moral compass for him (and honestly Bruce and the rest of the bat crew if we're honest).

Story

So there's a lottttt going on in the story that is really enticing and exciting, and I'm really interested to see how it all plays out.

All the rules to the tournament are so, sketchy? Like they don't sound like they are meant to be sketchy, its basic safety and guidelines or whatever but with all the glowy green shit and the stakes of the tournament? Yeah, you can bet your ass its the "no fighting at night" and other shit is gonna be broken, and that's likely when the fun begins *insert evil laughter*😈

I was slightly put off by the whole "let me teach you to have fun" thing with Rose, because it's not like Dick, Steph, Jon, and like the Titans haven't done that with him too, but eh, not something I'm too concerned about. It's definitely just a segway to get us introduced to more characters that might become Damian's friends which will be interesting considering what Mother Soul said about fraternizing.

And that's another thing! I want Damian to make some friends! I know he already has some, but here's the thing: I think he's already been struggling with belonging, and he's definitely been feeling the disconnect between his life and other kids', whether they're supers/vigilantes or not. I think it'd be nice to see Dami have the experience of meeting people who he at first thinks are just like him!! and then realizing that maybe he doesn't really fit in here either, and that it's okay to feel like you don't belong, as isolating as it may feel at times. It just means you have a set of values. I want him to realize that its not always a bad thing, and you learn more about yourself and your own heart this way.

And from there,,, lets talk about the thing that stuck out to me the most in these two issues! GUILT!! It's mentioned SOO many times already, and I think its going to be a really fun, heartbreaking, and interesting aspect to explore about Damian. Is it guilt about his actions? Leaving behind family? Not being able to save Alfred? Not being a perfect example of Robin? He may call himself Robin but he doesn't sport the OG look or symbol like before. I love that his guilt takes on the form of Alfred though, or at least his conscious. I think it'd be really interesting to see this conscious disappear when Dami strays too far from his center, and when he finds it again, it reappears.

I really think that seeing Damian's actions in this run as a failure of character development is an unfair assessment, though. You can't do everything right in order to grow! You have to screw up, lose your way, experiment with life to find your fit, right?

Something tells me he doesn’t care for the tournament itself, but the end result, and the people behind it and more about WHY it was hidden from him. I mean he finds out the tournament TRULY begins once everyone has died once and tHEN he kill everyone? Felt to me less like a “killing spree” as everyone put it to a calculated decision to get the tournament going. He literally cuts Mother Soul off in the middle of her speaking to start fighting at the beginning

Anyway, just my thoughts lol. I do have some issues with the past two issues, and I might make a separate post about that, but honestly not enough for me to dislike Robin 2021 so far. I mean, besides the very obvious white-washing in the second issue, because DC can absolutely do better. And they should. It’s like they thought we wouldn’t notice???? But besides that, story and characterization-wise I’m looking forward to more. Here’s to hoping it stays that way, just with a better colorist!

[thejudgingtrash]

Last but not least: PJO hot takes part IV!

Alright my dudes. I think we’re still in this game for one final round. Anyway here’s wonderwall. And Part 1//Part 2//Part 3!

Percy had actually knowledge about the Greek myths. He didn’t waddle in blindly. Where did y’all even get that?

The new possible Irish myth saga will be PJO 3.0 aka Magnus Chase 2.0 aka The Kane Chronicles 1.2.

Riordan already got the names of gods of that possible saga wrong

Riordan‘s Asian characters only know bitch or bland mode, huh

Stop babying Annabeth for fucks sake. Seriously

How the fuck did Sally afford several private schools for Percy when they were poor as fuck? I guess Gabe had to have a some somewhat decent job but then again playing poker/being a gambler and stealing from your stepson ain’t a cute move

Hazel should’ve been Thanatos‘ kid. To break the classic 12 Olympian mold (yeah Hades/Pluto technically isn’t one but he’s still team major gods) and also to throw the damned Hitler/Pluto aesthetics away

Did any of the kids break their limps or get permanently disabled at some point? Or do they just... die (and mostly stay dead)? I forgot

Where can the kids at Camp Half-Blood actually sneak off to fuck? Percy is legit the only one to claim his own shit as his love bunker. The rest is just fucked I guess or has first hand traumatic pre-college experiences

”Percy cursed“. Literally why, Riordan. Let the kid say fuck. He has earned the rights to do so a long time ago

Did I mention that people lack of basic reading skills in earlier takes? Anyway. Here’s another reminder!

Tbh the gods are egotistical fucks and have killed people for the fuck of it. I don’t see Poseidon being even close to okay with Sally marrying Gabe or Paul

I still don’t understand why Frazel is a thing

Most of you don’t understand how movie production works but that’s okay. Just know that everything inside your head will never be realized and there will be drastic cuts and additions to the books (again)

The electronics not working thing doesn’t even make any goddamn sense? Hermes is the god of the Internet. Does this mean that demigods can use the web just fine but simply can’t call each other? This really came back to bite Riordan in the ass now did it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use old means of communication once you’re trying to reach more important/godly people or electronics fail in an accute situation?

Turning everyone heteroflexible creates the image that you’re simply liking a character for the fact that they are LGBTQ and not the character itself, just saying. More representation sure, but that itself isn’t a personality trait and shouldn’t be the main focus of a character unless it’s really defining in the story line (Nico‘s arc partially for example)

Tbh, HOO should’ve been aged up mentor Percabeth protecting CHB, with the rest of the gang fucking up Greece with aged Reyna + Nico perhaps. I might post an outline on that AU someday (someone should remind me about that tho)

On one hand you have in depth discussions and people diving into the matter and talking about every nook and cranny and on the other hand people are more then just fine with stereotyping and deflecting. Whut. Okay

Why are people shipping the lie that is Jasper/Jasiper

Stop romanticizing the gods

Dark!Percy is just a cheap way for you to turn Percy into an overpowered asshole and that’s that tea

Being in a relationship isn’t a personality trait, my dear shippers

Riordan‘s timeline is off because the coke rush didn’t last that long

The wasted potential of everything past PJO makes me want to cry

Percy’s fatal flaw isn’t stupid, Riordan just didn’t flesh it out properly which is why there were no real repercussions. A fatal flaw is supposed to be hindering you and not a compliment

The fact that adult people still can’t take jokes about their favorite characters is fucking insane part II

Why the fuck did the Stolls get tossed aside? Bruh. The potential? The stigma as a Hermes kid? They trying to redeem their cabins honor? Imagine one of them as a prophecy kid in HOO (and they’d switch and swap to confuse everyone)? Yes??

Every single one of you that essentially is team poc!Percy because he had a rough upbringing deserves to get slapped. Poverty, abuse, a single parent, etc. doesn’t equate to being poc?!?!? Smells racist just saying

Turning Hazel into Nico‘s sister was cheap af

Stop romanticizing and down playing the myth aspect. Tragedy is essential and will haunt demigods. Thank you, next

Also stop babying Percy

Let’s be honest none of those fuckers make it to college

Annabeth Chase is fucking WHITE part II. She’s not biracial, she’s not ”exotic“, she’s certainly not fucking black. She’s white with a little hint of a tan. That still makes her white. Do you really want to turn her into Ariana Grande 2.0? A fucking botched orange? This is your Annabeth aesthetic? Artists get it fucking right unless you state that you portray her as [spraytan headcanon] which is still fucking cheap let’s be real. Orange Annabeth isn’t part of the kulture

Regardless of the reception of the PJO movies, I’ll never forgive you people for letting Logan Lerman aka the OG white boy™ flop. Throw Tom “lipless but okay booty“ Holland and Timothée ”I missed a few meals“ Chalamet the fuck away!

Tbh a less romanticized version of the camps would’ve been more interesting. I’m still put off by CJ (and also the fact that CHB is a summer camp), but had there been more fights and actual deaths that had happened around the camps due to training, etc. you would’ve understood immediately why demigods dipped before the age of 18. The antithetical nature of sweet summer camp and people dying left and right would’ve been amplified

Did Reyna at some point in time even have the time to breath with all of the shit that went down? Her life is simply 24/7 stressful. I get that she wanted to bounce and no longer be in a tiring and demanding position but the hunters ain’t it sis

It’s okay to admit that fanon artwork or fanfics don’t deserve the webspace they are wasting. But phrase that probably in a nicer way

PJO Calypso wasn’t annoying. HOO & TOA Calypso on the other hand...

Alex Pettyfer would’ve been a better Luke Castellan but Jake Abel did an okay job

Percy isn’t an idiot. You are one for believing so

Riordan corrected the stance that Muslims don’t shower during Ramadan (literally how in the fuck did he come up with that in the first place?!) in upcoming MC books. Can he use the same energy to rewrite HOO tho??

Luke’s portrayals in SoM and TTC were straight up trash

Historically accurate PJO would’ve been everything

Monsters can detect demigods by smell. Camo wouldn’t do jack shit ffs

Jason is still bland and making jokes/pointing that out is more than okay

Omfg accept the fact that characters can have multiple facets all good and bad. Reducing them to one specific trait makes them boring and bland. Also it stereotypes

Getting mad over the fact that Clarisse has a boyfriend is still fucking insane

Not everyone needs to be a fanfic writer or an artist, a theorist or someone that analyzes everything phrase by phrase. As long as you’re in the fandom to enjoy works & discussions and remain on the saner side of the spectrum you’re good. You’re valid. Don’t forget that.

Not wanting to stay in a fandom and merely enjoying some of the fruits/benefits as in art/fics/headcanons is also super valid

PJO Reddit, Tumblr, IG and Twitter are a cesspool of chaotic mess and straight up trash but Tumblr > Reddit >>>>>> IG >>>>>> Twitter

Tbh: just try to enjoy a decent book series. It’s all not that deep

[acloudkat]

Gossip Girl 2.0

So. . . I was unsure of whether I was going to talk about this or not but… in the end, here we are!

I shall be talking about the Gossip Girl Reboot.

Now quick disclaimer and mild *excuse you* to HBO, please find ways to make your content accessible to Europe because there are those of us that are interested and unfortunately your "Max" service is US only and honestly i see no reasonable logic behind it. Therefore my means of getting access to this content shall not be discussed.

Extra disclaimer, there will be spoilers. Doi.

Now I am a big die hard fan of the original GG series and despite the outdated (to today’s standards) comparisons and slang, some of the topics hold up even today. For anyone curious or questioning my opinion, based on my generation, I am mildly in the middle as a Zelenial at 23. I did not grow up with GG, I learned about it when I was 14 but watched it for the first time when I was 19. Since, I have watched it up to 14-17 times; more than 10 for sure. So you can do with that as you please. The main reason I mention this is due to some articles and comments pointing out that maybe it’s a “Gen Z only media” or that “Millennials are just bitter cause it’s not theirs”. Keeping that in mind I will be as per usual showing the ups and downs of the show (so far and later on) from my own personal perspective.

After watching ep 1. (& now 2 which will be in a separate post after this) I have a few questions, comments AND concerns. So let’s get into those shall we :)

So let's do a little round up of our characters.

We have newcomer Zoya Lott that is moving to NYC on a Constance scholarship! But little did anyone in the show know, it was all a plot to get to be with her *half sister*. WHAT?! So the tldl on that is that Zoya and our other main character, Julien Calloway, share a mom! Mom, that i quote "left Julien's dad for Zoya's dad and the dads hate each other" because of which hate, they had absolutely forbidden their daughters from communicating. One thing led to another, a friend request was sent and this is basically the parent trap. . . . but for the kids. . .and they're aware of it cause they made it. . . I suppose? The parents haven't really been mentioned to matter in their plan, however, they do keep bringing up their middle names as "Zoya Jane and Julien Elizabeth" as clues left by their mother? Now some rumours around the web have connected the names to the Pride and Prejudice novels and while that would be extremely Gossip Girl-esque to do, and I am entirely up for that, hell yea!!! I'm wondering if it's as simple as... their mother's name was Elizabeth Jane... but maybe GG will be the one to discover that secret first? Other than that, Zoya is very much a very trusting "innocent type" character that probably has more past than we know about so it will be quite interesting to see how that elaborates going further into the series.

Then there is self-made influencer Julien Calloway. She is the new version of queen at Constance but as stated, they "don't do the patriarchy anymore". While she appears all smiles and kindness, personally i feel as if JC is kind of fake? She has things she cares about yes, but the moment someone or something interferes with her followers and her social standing or Obie (more on him later)

"the gloves come off and the claws come out" - Serena Van der Woodsen

When it comes to Julien I am honestly more curious to see who she is once you take away the followers and the media. Will she be an actual person or just a shallow obsessed spoiled brat? I just hope it won't be the typical story of "have to be perfect and have to have everyone like me because my mom left" ie. has mommy issues. That is how that cliche goes after all. So I am greatly hoping that's not going to be it for this one.

Obie Bergmann! We get introduced to Obie as Julien's boyfriend. Throughout ep 1, the things we learn about Obie are that he is basically the richest in the group, and lives in Dumbo. (irony from original GG for anyone that can guess it). He appears like a super nice and kind dude, a supportive boyfriend, kind of bland and tired of the relationship but the main thing that bothers me about him so far is his impossible to ignore "white guilt syndrome". For anyone unaware, "white guilt" is "remorse or shame felt by a white person with respect to racial inequality and injustice". While it's not a bad thing trying to make up for the in-equality in the world, here's hoping that's not his entire character cus that would get old quick.

Then we have the bestie, Audrey Hope. Audrey. . . is cold but to the point. Very analysing and observing. Definitely the type of character that would take all the info first and decide what to do after. I both like and am confused by her? Her cold mannerisms are quite enjoyable among the masses of drama and emotion I won't lie. However, i do predict a juicy threesome between her, boyfriend Aki and one Max Wolfe. Honestly, I am highly interested in how their relationship evolves.

Aki Menzies is kind of a mystery as of the moment. As to be expected with just 1 episode, we won't know too much about all the characters. He is the very supportive boyfriend that tries to keep the peace between everyone.

Max Wolfe on the other hand appears like the much more flamboyant version of Chuck Bass, if Chuck Bass had a supportive family environment and no limits on who he's dating. That's more or less for him but kuddos for his 0 hesitation to basically have a pic of his dick sent to everyone. I will never not find that hilarious. But again, between these three is my prediction for some juicy interactions. Cause to be fully honest, the chemistry is undeniable.

Monet de Haan. Ah. She is honestly the savage that we need around here. She is the control and the power behind Julien's brand honestly. I am curious how come she helps Julien with her brand rather than have her own? If we go off anything said in the episode, she is more feared than adored so maybe that's why? But Monet honey, fear can also have a following, just . . a different one.

And then there's Luna La, "The stylist" while we don't know much about her, some of her one liners are actively giving me life. Her and Monet are definitely a package deal and i wonder if there is juicier gossip there that we don't know yet.

Lastly, we have our new Gossip Girl. Young teacher, Kate Keller. I won't lie, i did not see us knowing who GG is from the get go. I am however wondering whether this will drag her down to the level of highschoolers (besides the fact that she looks younger than some of them xD) Something that is bothering me in the reboot however, is that technically, characters that represent adults, spying on minors??? Like they even make the point that "i shouldn't have these, i should be in jail" in regards to having almost naked pictures of the kids. Like it's not really okay??? In the original yea no one knew who GG was but they always knew it was someone their age. The teachers didn't care at those times. But they do now and I am not fully sure how okay it is.

And of course, the extras like some of the other teachers behind GG and the parents. We however, don't know too much about them as of now so we shall see soon. If any new characters are introduced they will be addressed but for now, onto the episode!

The half sisters plot is definitely interesting so I would love to know where the whole middle names thing will go. The story line I'm most interested in at the moment however is between Audrey, Max and Aki. I want to see that unwind into something horrendous but then beautiful! It has so much potential in my opinion. In terms of character development however i want to see who Julien is without all of her fame and followers. When the focus is not the media and the attention. I want to see that Julien.

The first episode definitely introduced us to a lot of things at once so far that is my take on them. I'm sure that in the future both the teachers and parents will be a bigger part but one thing is abundantly clear. Unlike the OGGG, there won't be more than maybe 2-3 seasons depending on the ages of the students. The teachers won't follow them onto college will they? Or will things drastically change along the way? It was rather amusing seeing them talk about all the old characters however, and reference the OG Gossip Girl. I am vaguely offended that they categorised twitter as "a glorified chatroom for memes for people over 30". Like dude. . . that hit me hard. I am happy that FB was never even mentioned as existing tho! Cause let's be honest that is not the "hip" thing anymore. But the rules they put down at the party definitely made my head spin. Had to listen to them twice to even get what was happening.

But that's probably enough of me babbling on about this xD If you want to find this on an apparently dying type of media, here's my blog post about it as well lol: https://acloudkat.wordpress.com/?p=960

[toycarousel]

Hi wren, i haven't asked you for advice but today i could use your help if you have the time, no rush by all means. I lost some online friends today and i know that sounds stupid but i opened up to them and knew them for about a year. When i left for a week due to me being hospitalized i let them know, it was when i came back that things went bad. I was excited to talk to them again but i slowly found out they genuinely did not care about me and thought i only wanted attention 1/?

Even tho i hate being on the spot they didnt believe me. I was separated from them but it still hurts to know that even tho i opend up for a year to them and got to know all of them, they didn't like my company. I blame myself since i came out as if i was attention hungry. Soon they got sick of me, i loved all of them and they made my day better. I shouldnt be tearing up but i cant help it. I cant help but blame myself for trying to be somthing im not.... 2/2

(My apologies for not getting back to you the day you sent these messages, Anon!!! I was out of town, and our days were packed, so I barely checked tumblr).

This is not your fault, Anon (and it doesn’t sound stupid at all!) I completely understand how hard it is to not blame yourself when things like this happen, though, and it’s okay to feel the way you feel at this time.  It’s okay to mourn the friendships you lost, or that have drastically changed... I know exactly what it’s like to love the friends you make online, to become close to them -- only to find out that they’ve been harbouring negative opinions about you.

It’s likely that, while you were gone, they felt like this was an easy topic to pick apart.  It sounds like a case of (on a limited scale) mob mentality.  Since you weren’t there to defend yourself, maybe your friends bonded over the fact that they could say these things about you without worrying about the repercussions.  They may have also talked themselves into feeling this way about you and your intentions, because when a group of people spark an opinion, that group can become an echo chamber.  And when that happens, even the people who don’t truly feel that way about you may have started to believe that they do, in order to fall in easily with the rest of the group and the popular opinion.

Imo, it’s not fair for them to have outcast you when you were working toward healing.  People who are seeking attention aren’t as likely to actually go to a hospital for institutionalization.  That’s typically a move that someone who really wants help, at the cost of their personal freedoms, makes.  It’s a move that people who truly need hospital care make.  And the thing is, even if you do/did want attention (which isn’t even a bad thing), that doesn’t mean that you’re not in need of professional care.  It doesn’t mean that you’re faking anything, and it’s not a fundamentally harmful thing to want.  

I’m not sure what you were hospitalized for specifically, but in my experience, the worse my health gets, the more I need attention from others -- mainly support from my friends.  It’s hard to try to recover from any illness or bad set of circumstances all alone, and sometimes, we just need others to acknowledge the pain we’re feeling.  It’s okay to talk about what you’re going through, and to share those truths with your friends.

I don’t know for sure why your friends suddenly started to treat you this way, I can only hazard guesses (like the ones above), but I do know that they could have chosen to be there for you, and supportive of you.  It’s okay for them to ask about your motives -- to talk it out with you, if they feel there’s a problem -- but it’s not fair for them to take their own assumptions as pure facts, and act unkindly, based on those assumptions.  

It doesn’t sound like they did much fact-checking with you (before attacking you, I mean) to see if their negative assumptions were actually true.  When I have an issue with a friend, I do my best to bring it up with them.  I don’t assume, right off the bat, that the harsh things I’m thinking about them are 100% true and not to be questioned, even when I’m hurt, or angry, it’s important to take a step back and look at the situation objectively.  I ask my friends what they’re feeling, and thinking, and see if I actually have a reason to stop being friends with them -- to see if we can’t work things out first.  That’s what your friends should have done.  However, these things are incredibly hard things to do... especially when you’re young (I don’t know the ages of you and your friends, though, but it’s taken me till my 20s to even begin to figure out how to do the things I spoke about above).  So your friends might just be giving into the impulses they have to be angry.  It’s still not fair to you.

If there is still a way to talk this out with them, to be candid, open, and honest about how you were feeling, what your thoughts/emotions were/are, and ask them why exactly they feel the way they do about you rn, I’d try to initiate that dialogue, for sure.  It doesn’t have to be a fight, debate, or any sort of argument.  It can simply be asking them “I don’t know what I did wrong specifically, but I’m open to listening to what you all have to say about this -- what specific things do you remember that I did, that made you feel like I was doing this for attention? What things do I do that bother you, and make you feel this way about me?”

You may all be able to talk this out... or, things might not go well.  If they don’t go well, see what you can do to cope ahead.  If you lose these specific friends, remember that you can always make new friends... I know that may sound callous, because these are people you love, know, and care about as individuals, but if they can’t give that same devotion of friendship to you, that you’ve given to them, then they’re not going to make for good friends unless they work to change themselves too.  If it turns out there are things you did or said that you think may have hurt your friends, then you always have the opportunity to change those behaviours, and to let your friends know that you’re going to.  We all make mistakes within relationships, but we often don’t deserve to be fully persecuted for it, especially before we’re even allowed to make a case for ourselves.

In the meantime, and the present, focus more on being around people who understand what you’re going through... looking up online or offline support groups/forums/blogs that are for people who’ve experienced what you have wrt the reasons behind your hospitalization, is one potential starting point.  Spend as much time with people who are supportive of you as you can.  It’s not fair that this happened to you, and I hope things genuinely turn out alright... remember, you went to the hospital for a reason, and that reason(s) is valid.  You didn’t deserve to come back to a cold climate amongst people you placed so much trust in, and this is not your fault.

[silverbulletsama]

Hello there I have a question for you abd hope I am not a bother. I have seen some of your great replies and tho you are the right person to ask (blunt, honest and objective) despite disliking the couple. Do you from your pov see a chance for Akai/Subaru x Jodie? Or is it impossible and he won't ever feel this way for her once again. I honestly don't know whar to think @ Gosho

Hello there. Thank you for sending this to me and trusting my opinion ;w;

A short answer to your question: with the current circumstances? Never.

A longer answer to your question: the only way for them to have a future together is for them to sit and talk, throw everything they have on the table, and change themselves.

[Sorry this ended up being long - more under the cut]

Akai Shuichi’s Front

I have mentioned this before but the gist of it is that Akai is the major issue. He is not fit to fall in love as a person for the following reasons:

1- His wound is still fresh. Whether we like it or not, the timeline in dc universe is extremely narrow (despite the 20+ years serialization). This means that Akai’s true lover, Akemi, has only just recently died. It’s just too soon...

2- Akai is a loner. I don’t see him looking for a rebound relationship to lessen his pain because he is not that type of a person. He is a loner and would naturally keep the pain for himself (and this is what James Black has stated Akai did after Akemi’s death). 

3- Akai is seeking revenge for Akemi. All of Akai’s actions so far are revenge-centered, of course, within what his FBI code of conduct allows him. 

This scene is explained here [x]. The problem with living your life to take revenge on someone is that you will end up thinking about the issue more. Naturally, he would never forget Akemi, however, he is, literally, living his entire current life (as Subaru) for the purpose of getting revenge for her. This will accentuate his issues and make him think about her, literally, daily. 

4- Akai purposely distances himself from people to protect them. Akai distanced himself from his family, Jodie, and most of his other colleagues. Even when he was romantically involved with Jodie, although it was not stated in the manga, he probably did not hang out with her much for the fear of his enemies knowing she is someone important to him. His mission is a dangerous one, so is his job. From his point of view, it is better not to be involved with others... and he probably never dated anyone else except Jodie and Akemi. That was the past. Currently, Akai is seeking revenge. As long as he is  doing so, he will purposely keep himself away from people to protect them. At this point in time, things are even more dangerous, hence he will take extra precautions.

5- Akai hates himself.Now that Akemi has died, he realized how wrong it was to take people for granted and involve them with him. He probably realized that ever since he had to leave her and before her dying. He has stated his belief that whenever something bad happens, the blame is 50-50 on both parties. However, judging by his actions, in that particular case, it is clear that Akai is not respecting this rule that much, and the ratio is skewed towards him. He blames himself first for what happened to her. This leads him to throw his life at the mercy of Kir. I know everything was coordinated but there was a huge chance Kir would actually kill him. Him not caring for that possibility, him remembering Akemi’s words before getting to Raiha Pass ... is but an indication that, at this point in his lifetime, he does not believe that he is worth anything. 

This notion might not be clear much, but t being implied is subtle as the stoic-Akai would never show that side of him to his surroundings. Why is this a problem? Those who lack something ... cannot give it unto others.If he cannot love himself, it will be problematic if he attempts a relationship with Jodie. Hence the part in my answer about him needing to change himself (but also Jodie - see later). 

Jodie Starling’s Front

It is clear that Jodie still has feelings for Akai (I mean who wouldn’t tbh). She states that she has accepted his relationship with Akemi but that does not contradict her coming to term with their break-up. As such, Jodie, in the future may be seeking one of the following:

Trying to get back with Akai.

Moving on for good.

I can see her doing either tbh. Her current journey on this case: being in Japan, meeting with Conan & co., meeting the person who killed her family, going through grief over Akai etc... had drastic impact on her and I can see her growing as a character (except sensei is not focussing on that potential for the time being :c ). Because this is very general, I can see her pursuing either. She may have come to understand Akai’s actions and thoughts better (as he never really shares them with anyone and never did with her. She may envision a better future with someone else. 

From Jodie’s actions and how she was portrayed in the manga, she might be more interested in trying to mend Akai’s wounds (if she finally managed to understand what Akai went through/is going through). She might have realized how much she loves him after going through the grief process. Naturally, she would know that these matters will take a long, long time to settle and that the current time is not suitable for that. 

The things Jodie needs to do to have a chance with Akai in the future is mainly just to be patient. I think she already knows that. Nonetheless, as per Akai’s 50-50 principal, she also, needs to change in order for this relationship to have a chance in the future. 

1- Closing in the Gap. For starters, she really needs to get more involved with him. Her not being aware that he has developed feelings for Akemi until he told us gives us an insght about the nature of their previous relationship, mainly re-confirming part 4 in the previous section about Akai. It might not be her fault that their relationship was not natural in that they barely spent time with one another, it’s probably Akai’s. However, this time, it’s her duty to prevent that. She can’t just sit around and follow what he wants, but otherwise, she needs to actively expresses what she wants, too. If he doesn’t talk to her, she needs to try to make him to. If he doesn’t share what is annoying him, she needs to find a way to make him talk. Being neutral (I doubt she was, she was probably suffering) and accepting to how he dictated their relationship is a flaw she needs to mend. She is a strong woman, she can do it. 

2- Do have the Akemi talk, again.I know this is probably a bad idea but they never really had a decent talk about this issue before. Akai won’t do it. She needs to gather her strength and initiate this talk. It will be therapeutic to both of them, even if this does not sound like it will. Jodie deserves to know how Akai felt/feel/will feel. Her future relies on that. If her future partner cannot talk about this - she probably needs to find a better one.

There are many other points I can bring up concerning Jodie. However, as I stated before, the main problem is with Akai... 

I don’t really know if they will ever hook up again. From the super digest interviews with Aoyama-sensei, some Red Straling fans are urging him to make it happen. He might end up doing it to please them. I just hope that those issues will be tackled as it is very unnatural for this to happen at a short notice - and we deserve to have more insight to how both of them feel about this (their worries, their feelings, their challenges, etc..).