#they are already so dysfunctional. i think if they tried to be father and son theyd both just Explode

[lazaruspiss]

robins but ranked by how quickly they seem to have gotten to a "bruce is my dad" stage

1- jason. thats his dad. bruce didnt really have much competition given that jasons dad was practically nonexistent in his life.

2- damian. blood relation. not very enthusiastic about it after he bonds with dick and gets a taste of what a guardian can be, but still accepts it to some extent. same cant be said of bruce who insists on being Bad Weird about the whole thing.

3- tim. yes he did make up a whole fake uncle to dodge the adoption draft, but more so (from what he tells dick at least) bc he saw how messy/raw things were between dick and bruce and he didnt wanna make dick feel bad if bruce adopted him at that moment.

4- dick. he and bruce are so messy its not ok. even when bruce gave him the adoption papers it was so. they are trying so hard to be father and son but it does Not work for a variety of reasons. from personal conflicts, to dick having had the most loving original family of any of the others, to them wanting to be equals but already not being able to healthily manage that with the ex mentor-mentee relationship let alone a father-son one. the cant even navigate their former hero-sidekick dynamic their asses are NOT gonna be able to create a familial connection there. at BEST they might work up to brothers, but there's way too much history for father and son.

[tomwambsgans]

i just realized what is it about roman, specifically, that allows him to recognize better than any of his siblings that they're not real - or, at least, that they're not real in the ways they want to be. which is of course based on logan.

connor, firstly, places a lot of value on "the old ways," which he gets from romanticizing his father's past. "i'll never understand dad until i shit in a bucket." he mistakenly thinks that logan will appreciate a remnant of rural, traditional childhood - sourdough starter. he's obsessed with history and he runs a ranch so he can larp being a blue-collar bootstraps man full time. he wants to go to a "real bar, where men have dirt and blood on their hands, like in the movies." he wants to badly to not be the out of touch, spoiled rich boy who never had any real experience, who has nothing to show for his life that isn't his dad's money. and it's just not possible.

similarly, kendall stakes his ideal of "realness" in victimhood. he's more disillusioned with logan's backstory than connor is (at times) but ultimately, he wants the same thing. to be able to rewrite his life and believe that he started from nothing. he identifies with the underdog and with the marginalized to a sometimes delusional and fetishistic degree - just watch his very first scene in the show, lmao. he's aware of the evil that his dad has done and, as his heir, he wants to believe that he is a product, rather than a producer, of the fucked of world. because those affected are the real people.

shiv, meanwhile, doesn't look to logan's beginnings but his present when she thinks of what is real. unlike her brothers, she really did make her own pile. she existed, for some time, as separate from the company, with an independent career that, like logan's, involved influencing politics. the only trouble is that there are still many part of a Real Person that she just doesn't have, like the ability to have healthy relationships. even when she tries. her efforts themselves aren't a failure as much as they just ring hollow.

and roman... well, roman just already is the worst parts of logan. the ones logan himself doesn't like and can't stand to see reflected in his own son. he's the youngest [brother], the weak dog, the sexually dysfunct. he got sent off to military school--he experienced something that connor would have enviously considered real life, because his dad had done it too, and it did not help him. everything about him is an overt product of abuse, and it does not make him feel any more real. it didn't make him stronger. unlike his siblings he has never specifically wanted to be unlike his father, but also does not seem to emulate anything about him in particular, either. being physically around his father was all he wanted, and he was aware of it.

so when logan is gone, roman can see by far the most clearly how much of all of them is gone. that's why he knows they're bullshit.

[dootznbootz]

The children of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon literally fit the bill for children of a dysfunctional family

For me Iphigenia was the peacemaker and golden child, her parents saw her as a peacemaker and peace offering in their marriage, Clytemnestra saw her as the replacement and refuge of her first son and Agamemnon saw her as the calmest and the one who took care of things, when she leaves the peace agreement of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon is broken

Electra is the rebellious child and scapegoat, she defies her mother and is also punished by her mother who mistreats her physically and abusively, she defies her by saving her little brother Orestes for her revenge.

Chrysothemis is the lost girl and the neglected girl, she takes refuge in her own world and most of the time she is usually forgotten and is too weak to help or do anything.

Orestes is the "addict" he is the fruit of family dysfunction but also by force the peacemaker and the "hero", his mother tried to kill him when he was barely a baby he was saved by his sister and his lifelong goal was to avenge his father without knowing the consequences that this would bring (the furies), he suffers from the furies and they make him do things he does not want like moments of madness but he also takes responsibility for his sisters by being the only man and trying to keep them safe

dfklj I'm so sorry I thought I posted this!!!

ngl, yeah, like, I think that these are pretty good comparisons to make about the kids. Especially considering everything that happens.

Like even IF they were a "happy" family before, there seems to be these little nuggets of characterization that seems to lead up to who they become later on in life. I always kind of thought of it as a lil messy but fairly "okay-ish" for everyone UNTIL Iphigenia. Like it was always like, "never truly stable deep down". There were always small cracks. Iphigenia's death was the final large crack that broke everything, especially for Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. I think Agamemnon knows he can't ever have things "right" again in the Iliad, and he's already kind of given up in a lot of ways.

[mr2swap]

Take it easy son!

-Okay dad, you already had fun and relived your time of youth and glory now give me back my body and my life or I'll tell mom about the statue you used to exchange our bodies, I know you keep it in the safe in your office! -

I can't believe that my father fucks me like that, he tricked me into touching his fucking magic statue to exchange our souls and have fun with my life and my youth, being a fucking old man sucks I thought it would be fun at first like in the movies and I would learn to see the world with a new perspective but every day I wake up with a backache that doesn't stop until I fill my mouth with a dozen pain medications, my father neglected his body and now I have to live with his huge belly, his thick mustache and with his painful infection every time I go to urinate, my mother has incited me to go to the doctor but I will not let anyone see the tiny and dysfunctional cock that now hangs from my obese crotch.

I have no fucking idea how to do my dad's law job every day all I do is go to his job and drop my fat ass on my dad's office chair for 8 hours and pretend he worked at the computer so that my mother doesn't suspect anything, I have tried all the combinations that I can think of to try to get the fucking statue out of its safe, reverse the exchange and return to my body but I have tried all the possible dates since mom's birthday up to mine and nothing seems to work.

and while he has fun using my fit body to fuck a bunch of random girls and guys in my old room, partying with my friends, and winning my track meet thanks to my long hours of training I sit on the stands next to my mother watching as he shows off my muscular body flexing his biceps to the public after winning first place.

-Wow! take it easy son, there's no need to tell your mother our little secret, she's only been in your body for a couple of weeks, listen, I'll make it up to you when we change again, your birthday is near, isn't it? How would you like to have a new car? I think it's time to change that junk car you have for something better, it's a bit embarrassing to have to move around in that coffin with wheels-

“HEY DAVID ARE YOU COMING? OR ARE YOU GOING TO TALK TO THAT OLD MAN ALL DAY?”

The voice in the distance almost made my heart stop, Monica my girlfriend was sitting in the backseat of my old car with my best friends and her girls, I had not seen or talked to her since my father put me in his obese 250-pound body.

-look, son, we'll talk later, I have things to do…- She ran out using my long and muscular legs and jumped into my car, and left without looking back. leaving me standing there in the middle of the field like an idiot while my mother slowly came up behind me.

-Hey Joe, are you ready to go? I want to go to the mall to try on some shoes for church before I go home- I looked at my old mother who came slowly to kiss my fat cheek and take my hand to walk with her back to dad's truck.

I sighed and walked with her swinging my hairy belly until I got to the car, I just hope my dad doesn't make any more excuses to give me back my body, My parents' wedding anniversary is near and I don't even want to think about what he has prepared for me. mother... maybe I should buy him a gift with my dad's credit card in case my father decides to extend his stay in my body longer, I don't want to make my mother angry and make me sleep on the sofa, my back wouldn't take it.

Hey! You can support me to continue creating stories, see similar stories on my patreon, you can also join my discord if you are interested in role-playing about bodyswap, possession and transformation, m2m!

[deanisridingapolarbear-blog]

You’re not only getting one ramble but two! Because seems I have things to say. We start with the dinner scene from this week because it’s been on my mind and my irl friends don’t care about my weewoo show. 

Was Tommy dismissive about Buck’s feelings? Imo no, actually to me it seems like he already reads Buck quite well, and here’s why.

So first Tommy clearly tries to lighten the mood with the ”your own wing at the hospital” line but notices that Buck wasn’t there yet, his mind is elsewhere. And that’s when Tommy asks if Buck himself is ok and that drags Buck into the space properly. He stops arranging things and focuses and to me seems like he relaxes. He sees that Tommy cares about him, wants to know how he is and allows him to share what’s bothering him. 

Then Tommy’s reaction to Buck’s father? Tommy is a bit confused about Buck’s father comment probably because maybe they haven’t talked about the dysfunctional sides of their families yet and he’s only met Buckley parents once at the wedding. And probably when talking with them at the wedding they seemed nice and polite enough, possibly slightly stressed with everything that was going on and surprised to see their son’s new partner that they’d never heard about. Nothing in anyone’s behaviour then probably gave away that there are issues. Then when picking up the note that Buck has some issues with his parents Tommy shared his own side, not to pin point how good Buck has it, but to show that he can relate and there’s something common for them. Which might be very important considering that at first it’s shown as if Tommy and Buck have no shared interests or past experiences. It’s telling Buck ”Look we might not share every interest but there’s solid grounds for us to understand each other very well”.

I think Tommy showing Buck that he can open up if he needs to helped Buck then steer the convo to something he did need in that point. To move past worrying about Bobby or Eddie+Chris and focus on him/them. And Tommy continues to accommodate that too, Buck makes a joke and Tommy levels to it. To me Tommy seems a bit hesitant/shy when waiting for Buck’s reaction like making sure he made a right call this time. I’ll get back to Tommy being guarded/shy in the next ramble. 

To me this whole scene shows that they are still very much getting to know each other both in many levels whether it’s the past experiences or how they like their banter/flirt. Which might make it cringy at times because they are still learning and there will be wrong calls.

[rin-henricov]

What do you think storks home life was like as a kid, did he even go to school?

Sorry for waiting so long!

According to my old headcanon, Stork was born and lived in a time when most merbs preferred to build their homes deep underground in order to protect themselves from the atmosian monsters that previously inhabited Terra-Merbia.

In a remote provincial village, it was not possible to provide a good education to those in need due to difficult times. The vast majority of merbian schools had a three-year term of study, were small, and could have one teacher for three classes. It is not surprising that in those days, the qualifications of teachers were below average, and young ones preferred to work in the mines for reasonable wages instead of wasting their time at school desks. The possibility that our pilot might have gone to school is dismissed immediately, not so much on a whim as by his parents' decision.

Stork's father was an ardent chauvinist, a staunch conservative, and a clinical misanthrope. In addition, he was prone to a severe form of kleptomania and, in the past, committed small thefts relative to neighboring villages. Despite the fact that he married a weak-willed merbian woman, guided solely by selfish motives, his father was extremely selective in choosing a spouse who was ready to fulfill any whims of her husband, and therefore actively took advantage of the fact that she would not be able to argue for a divorce, would not try to divide jointly acquired property and defend her rights. At one point, he had forced Stork's mom to marry him, telling her that no one would want a plain-looking girl like her, and that she wouldn't last very long without a penny, and he knew how to make easy money. He may also have forced her to conceive a child as an additional labor force (in other words, his father viewed the merbian women solely as a living incubator).

Stork's mother was a deeply unhappy woman, holding on by one-sided inertia to an unwanted marriage. She had no voice in the family, as husband had estranged son from her as soon as the latter learned to speak, thereby taking the initiative to raise him. Stork grew up as a cold and distant merb, not feeling much affection for mother, because he did not feel her deep maternal love in answer. She was also involved in some of her husband's criminal schemes, and all of the small scams took place with her tacit consent.

Stork's relationship with his family members was characterized by heightened tensions. The father did not provide any care, perceiving it rather as a tool that requires correction for certain needs. As I noted earlier, he did not pay due attention to his education, instead assessing in advance his son's ability to fully provide for the whole family, and therefore chose an authoritarian approach to his upbringing. But as the boy grew up, there were many conflicts between the future pilot and his father on any minor issues. Already at a young age, Stork showed perseverance in setting personal boundaries and confidently defended his positions, which often became the reason for their disagreements, sometimes reaching such a level that he was ready to seriously fight with his father for the last canned fish left from a week's supply.

The environment in which Stork lived had severely reduced his social skills, so from the very beginning he built a wall around himself to protect himself from all the preconceived judgments and ridicule of others. Everyone around him knew him as that unsociable boy who most found solace in the company of old books and rarely tried to fit in with any company. Peers did not take him seriously, and even the few children who had the most dysfunctional families tried to stay away from him. The only merbs with whom he could exchange a few words were the neighboring hunters, who periodically came to borrow some provisions for the road.

Due to the shortage of consumer goods, his father found it advisable to teach Stork how to repair household appliances and some basic engineering. Despite good intentions, he approached this issue strategically, which, again, could be caused by the primary motivation to have someone who can do everything for him, thereby significantly saving on costs. However, the young merb's desire to expand his skills has not weakened. He took the initiative to study technical sciences, going beyond his father's initial plans, but given the current period of time, finding the right materials proved to be a difficult task, and he had to borrow books either from dilapidated libraries or from the bureau of unnecessary things. Sometimes the young merb obtained books in other ways: for example, such as bartering, theft, or trading with other villagers. To compensate for the lack of studies, in his spare time Stork preferred to spend hours in complete solitude (for example, in a cramped pantry), studying a volume of an engineering encyclopedia, or reading a reference book under a blanket by the beam of a flashlight while everyone was asleep.

Because his father was repeatedly denied employment cause existence of criminal record, at some point he decided to use his name to register in the illegal hunting business, but he always sent his son to fulfill the contracts under strict orders not to return until the customers' whim was fulfilled. He himself motivated his decision by the fact that this would not only allow him to move from mother's shoulder, but also prepare him for the harsh hardships of life. (Despite the fact that his parents repeatedly fell under the law, most of the court cases had such ambiguous circumstances, as a result of which they were suspended and archived due to some investigative mistakes).

Stork was a "general-purpose" hunter and was determined to eliminate any beast inhabiting the surface. He hunted down, lured, and killed monsters in any hard-to-reach places; in the wilds of the swamp mire, huge mountain peaks, and deep ravines, he was always on the lookout. To catch and finish off his prey, he needed a deep understanding of wildlife, including its inhabitants: how they behave, how they differ from each other, and how best to deal with them. He always tried to think carefully about his plan so as not to give them a single chance, but sometimes it came at too high a price. Mastery of the appropriate weapons and use of tactical techniques also played into his challenging craft. One of the most effective weapons was his late grandfather's family crossbow, providing a reliable combination of power and accuracy while remaining relatively compact and easy to carry. For close combat, he most often used a machete with a predominantly single-sided sharpening.

No matter what kind of chthonic bestiary he had to exterminate this time: Stork, with the composure of a field surgeon, carried out even the most laborious order for a meager penny, knowing that in his case any little thing would be required. The risk of being eaten up by a bog howler and a long stay in isolation negatively affected his condition, however, despite this, the young merb was fed by hunting monsters from the first years of independent life. In addition to this he regularly donated secondary waste from previous traps, which served as an additional source of family income. Due to extensive knowledge in the field of monstrumology, he also independently designed some structures for traps, which helped to significantly develop his inventive skills. Despite deep aversion to his work, she aroused in him a sincere interest in creating various traps with which he would equip Condor compartments in the future and not only.

I took inspiration from such media products as "Made In Abyss" and "LISA: The Painful" to set a certain tone for my headcanon, and I hope that I, well, did at least a little. Anyway, feel free to ask questions if there's anything else in this post that interests you. I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability and free time! ^_^

[soullessjack]

tbh a lot of the ways jack’s infantilization pops up is in discourse around him and dean and their relationship , especially after Mary’s death in game night. because everyone’s relentlessly clinging to the idea of jack as a pwecious widdle baby who can do no wrong, there’s this unanimous refusal to give him any accountability whatsoever for anything he does, particularly with killing mary and hurting dean so severely in the process. instead, everyone decides that dean is the bad guy for reacting to his childhood trauma unfolding again after he’d finally healed from it and got her back.

I mean spn fans fundamentally do not see jack as an autonomous person so it only makes sense that nobody can put him on equal footing in any of his relationship dynamics, but to vilify dean for having a very justified reaction to his fucking mother dying again is just an insane thing to do in the name of woobifying jack. yes, it was entirely accidental and yes, Jack is equally as traumatized by it, but that does not take away from the fact that what he did directly emotionally damaged sam and dean.

not only would a lot of fandom discourse benefit from realizing these are literally not normal functional healthy people dealing with normal situations that give them the liberty to approach said situations in normal functional healthy ways (dean promising to kill jack if he needed to in 13x02, & shooting jack in 13x23), but it would also benefit from realizing that jack is a grown ass invulnerable demigod with the capacity to cause a lot of major damage if he spins out of control, and he bears full responsibility for that damage (which is why it is actually so fucking stupid whej I see ppl say that jack becoming a baby would magically fix their conflict. no it fucking wouldn’t, you just don’t see jack as a full person with direct responsibility in said conflict and you don’t care about their relationship actually being healed mutually).

on the other hand, dean was reacting to a presumed threat almost immediately after losing two of his loved ones in a situation directly related to jack. he has every right to be wary and cautious, and given that he is actively traumatized and already an emotionally dysfunctional person from being abused by John, he isn’t exactly going to outlet his trauma healthily or behave in a way that miraculously breaks the cycle John created. I’m getting tired but lastly, ppl should also realize that jack is a grown ass adult with the emotional maturity to understand and forgive dean for the way he acted before—even while Dean actively struggles to forgive himself and tries to be as good a father as possible to make up for it.

Because again, their situation is not normal and they have no way of treating it or reacting to it normally. as far as jack knows and has seen of his powers, he is dangerous and is able to reach a point where he’s too much of a threat to keep alive. the tragedy of it is that he doesn’t want to be a threat, he doesn’t want people to fear or hate him and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. that’s why he says “you were right all along” in moriah. between dean and jack, a huge facet in their relationship is the question of whether or not dean is right, and by the time they’ve reached a point of mutually seeing each other as father and son that question is up in the air as something neither of them want. jack never wanted dean to be right, and now that dean knows jack as a person and as his own kid he especially doesn’t want to be right anymore.

just. Please start thinking of Jack as an actual autonomous person. That is literally all it comes down to. It will open up your world

[hostofyama]

Jason Grace deserves more recognition

As a person who read HoO first I had a unbiased perspective on the series I saw Jason for wat he was and idolized him for it he was one of the best shafted MC’s I’ve ever seen even throughout all the bs Rick put him through people forget to look at Jason’s life from a real life perspective he has one of the worst lives in the series even with the little information we kno this man was separated from his already dysfunctional family at 2! raised and trained by wolves until he was 3 then admitted into an army as a TODDLER keep in mind the camp is named after this man’s father with the expectations people had on him he was perceived more as a movie or comic character who u knew had to live up to the standards set what made it worst is Jason never wanted to be the chosen one but nonetheless he still never faltered bcuz in his mind if not him who else? constantly met or exceeded the expectations over and over furthering this image no one considering how he felt or what he thought when it came to himself fast forward Jason has served 12 years in the legion the most for his age in history and risen through the ranks as a compassionate composed leader it took the Nico moment for people to see Jason’s empathy but even as far back as choosing his cohort they wanted to automatically admit him to the first cohort and best cohort but he chose the shunned and frowned upon 5th cohort out of dislike of the stereotype and to try to alter his destiny of a son of Jupiter making his own path he brought glory to it by accomplishing all sorts of things such as killing the Trojan sea monster which was said to be the size of a sky scraper, killing ghouls and returning bacchus leopard,and the feat that rose him to the rank of praetor when he fought krios won and toppled Kronos throne Jason tried to be the best praetor he could even trying to change sum traditions such as the name of the legion to 1st symbolizing renewal Jason’s entire career at Camp Jupiter had been built on careful choices. He mediated between demigods, listened to all sides of an argument, and made compromises. He was always the leader and never on a team of equals now after doing everything everyone expected of him never really taking the time to think much of his desires or personal life in general shown by him not being aware of reyna’s feelings Jason just grew to fill the shoes he was given even if he didn’t want to wear them THEN the person who took him from his family wiped his memory and put him on a bus with 2 people with false memories claiming to be his friend and gf I don’t understand how people don’t get how disorienting that is atleast Percy remembered annabeth he still got the better treatment even though Jason got shafted his whole life and writing wise also under is a short post I made about people ignoring Jason’s life personality and feats sorry for the rant but I hate that jason couldn’t catch a break in life death or reality and don’t get me started on what Rick did to him and piper in ToA😞

It’s as if jason story doesn’t exist bcuz rick doesn’t fully tell it people give so many accurate defenses for Jason and most get brushed off or unheard it’s crazy how a undisputed top 3 demigod of his generation lore and logic wise is disrespected so much there was literally a trend on TikTok of Jason saying he could’ve killed percy and it being treated as a joke AS IF ANY OTHER CHARACTER COULD SAY THE SAME OR LEGITIMATELY GIVE HIM A CHALLENGE without amps 🤦🏾‍♂️ ts is ridiculous he barely have feats and people still ignore them like how many of y’all kno this man had a hand in slaying the most giants and was the only one to 1v1 one and hold his ground for an extended period of time then proceed to fight wolves and injure the king giant shit doesn’t make any sense I’m also here for any LOGICAL disputes

[altocat]

hi! just wondering what your in depth headcanons of Genesis' relationship with his parents because I definitely feel like it's probably dysfunctional, like what do you think his home life was like with them? this can also insert Angeal and Sephiroth in any way (idk when Seph and Gen met in canon?)

also, just wanted to say even though I'm a little bit shy, I love your headcanons and posts, you capture the trio + Cloud and Zack so well!

Thank you!! That's so thoughtful. I'm so glad you like them!

Genesis and his parents...don't really get along.

-Genesis' father is a traditional man's man who fully invests himself in local business, rubbing elbows, and ensuring that Genesis grows up to be the perfect son. He doesn't care for Genesis' rather delicate, sickly constitution as a child, as well as Genesis' interests in poetry and the arts. Sissy stuff. A growing boy needs traditional, proper hobbies! He's heard rumors about his son's romantic interests for a long time and it probably would have come to blows had Genesis not enlisted in the Wutai War. Father of the year encourages that pursuit because at least that's something that adheres to his shitty worldview. A man's duty! Strength and glory! Genesis would do well to emulate that Sephiroth kid, not realizing that Genesis partly joins because Sephiroth has been his fanboy crush for a solid year now.

-Genesis' mother is shallow, vain, and extremely arrogant, often emotionally neglecting her son and shoving him into several unwanted vapid social pursuits for her own gratification. Both parents love to fame-chase but she's infinitely worse. And out of the two of them, she's far crueler. Dad is a blustering oaf. But mom pokes and needles and pinches her way into Genesis' insecurities, expanding his gradual inferiority complex little by little. She pretends to be meek and docile and then hooks her claws in. A nasty, conniving mind behind a pretty face.

-Needless to say, Genesis despises his parents, and always preferred Angeal's family to his own. When not forced to participate in activities he hated, Genesis was often neglected, sneaking away to be with Angeal. It was the only time when he really felt wanted and appreciated.

-Both parents refused to let him play with Angeal. Which only made him, you know, play with Angeal even more. Most unorthodox! Angeal rarely swears but has, on occasion, referred to Gen's parents as "a right pair of gold-digging shitters".

-Genesis, at the very least, got to enjoy the privileges of wealthy living through them. Dad at least OCCASIONALLY tries to bond with his son, even if he views him as a weak, girly disappointment.

-Genesis really never understood why Sephiroth seemed so hung up on being an orphan. Parents aren't worth it in his opinion. Just a bunch of moochers on his success.

-Genesis does not directly kill his parents, however. His clones are occasionally prone to instability and during their meeting, one of the products of the latest batch goes rogue midway through the confrontation. Genesis doesn't step in to stop it, as it's already too late, but he does bury them himself. He doesn't speak for a while after the incident, not until Zack arrives in Banora.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Holy shit, Laura actually killed Dr. Guthrie!

Thank you, Laura, for ridding the show of a boring and badly acted character. I wouldn't be so hostile towards him, but the show made him central in the Laura storyline, so I had to endure his long, awkward pauses. I was wishing the entire time for Thayer David's Professor Stokes in his place, but if they were planning to kill the character the entire time, I'm glad Stokes wasn't wasted on this story.

Overall, I thought the Laura/Phoenix storyline worked pretty well. The whole "burned body in Laura's apartment" made no sense with the story the show was setting up - if Laura burns and resurrects after a set number of years, always on the same day, why did she supposedly burn a few weeks ago? Was it a trial run? But the scenes with Laura being spooky, and materializing into people's rooms in a hooded cloak were genuinely creepy. The big climax of the story was genuinely well done, despite the corny special effects. Laura calling out to David to come join her in the fire, Vicky desperately trying to get David out of there, and David watching while his mother burns up into nothing - it was a great moment.

If the story was meant to make me like and sympathize with David, it worked. I no longer want Vicky to toss him off Widow's Hill. I was already starting to sympathize with him for having an awful father and weird dysfunctional family life, and the way everyone (including Vicky) keeps disbelieving him, and telling him to shut up and not be upset when he has good reason to be upset. Maybe it's a 60's thing? Every time a character is upset about something they get someone else telling them to just calm down and not think about it - no emotions allowed! But I really can't hate David after his mother tries to manipulate him into jumping into fire with her, what a fucked up thing to live through. He is also no longer as awful to Vicky, and they have established a real bond now. Vicky had her hero moment - David absolutely would have died without her. I'm even warming up to Burke, since he came running to help. And even Roger showed the very briefest of care and concern for his son.

Goodbye, Laura, you were a lot of fun!

[epickiya722]

I am very new to the anime and manga, so I'm playing catch up, at least with the anime because I caught up to the manga, so I'm familiar with upcoming storylines. I just finished season 4 and Endeavour's big hero moment. I gotta say I really like how he's written, well enough that it makes me want to see him succeed in making amends, but I do feel a big, self sacrifice moment is coming. What are your thoughts on him and his path?

Hm, off bat, Endeavor isn't one of my favorite characters but as I think with a lot of the characters, he is entertaining and an important piece of the story.

Yes, he was a terrible father, but at least he acknowledges that. He could have easily been a character that never saw what he did is wrong, he could have said "Dabi lied about being my son, he faked those results", but he admitted to it.

Overall, the Todoroki Family storyline isn't a storyline I think much about. So Endeavor isn't a character I think about too much.

Although, I'll admit when watching season 2 way back when, before I picked up the manga, I just had a feeling he was gonna get hit with the character development stick. Do I like it or hate it? Personally, I like it on the sense of it is interesting watch Endeavor develop. I have to know what may happen to him at the end.

I think it's well written so far because truth be told, it would have been worse. Like once he started to acknowledge his faults, his family would have been "Oh, We forgive you" right then and there, but they didn’t. After this all over, I doubt the rest of the Todoroki's will make it easy for him. Natsuo definitely won't, I know he won't.

His career won't be the same, that's another thing. Already people are putting all, or at least most of the blame on him because of Dabi. The public is divided on the situation which is to be accepted. There's a lot of "what if's" there.

An alternative worse situation if Endeavor never acknowledges his faults and it gets swept under the rug.

Do you know how many anime dads there is that suck? Some don't even get their karma! And when they do, when it's the end for them, the guy is still an asshole.

So I do like this pace for Endeavor. He's a bad dad, but for one of the few times, he knows that he sucks and tries to make it better. So I am like "Ooh, I gotta see how this plays out for the guy 👀".

I have a feeling that Endeavor may just have a self sacrificing moment, too.

Now, I'm banking on it's going to be his career. However, him dying is possible! Never know with this story!

What makes me think it's his career because that was what important to him.

He wanted to be the best, he wanted to be better than All Might. And he wanted that so bad that he formed a dysfunctional family from it. He hated that All Might retired.

Which now that I'm thinking about it, brings up a question.

You know how he wanted Touya to be better than him, better than All Might and then wanted the same for Shoto?

Okay, what if All Might was still active by the time Shoto was a Pro and All Might retired then? Would he been upset that Shoto didn't get a chance to take the #1 from All Might or...?

You know what, we're gonna ignore my question.

Anyways, yeah, I do feel like Endeavor is going to make a sacrifice. Could be his career, could be his life. Who really knows? I just know whatever happens, the fandom will blow up.

Kinda funny that most of the fandom wants him dead and hates him, all that jazz, but let's be honest here. Without him, there would not be Shoto or Dabi and no one would be invested in the Todoroki's as much. The fandom loves them to bits. Don't blame them, I don't. I like both characters (But Natsuo is my favorite brother) and I do like the family, too.

But I digress... again...

I hope that answers your question, Anon, and that you're having a lovely day!

[ailithnight]

Back to the dinner that became a spontaneous birth then reprimand from a newborn toddler. Where genres collide. Before the misunderstandings clear, there is pain. : )

While the Bats have been busy being Bats, Alfred has been busy being Alfred. Making all the appropriate preparations for Tim and the innocent baby this deal has produced. (Because Alfred is a sensible gentleman and would never blame or punish a newborn for existing, regardless of the presumed 'sins of the father' or potential world ending future.)

That the baby came out so unexpectedly in the middle of dinner and also already a toddler, though clearly he is cognitively much older, is only a minor set back. Alfred had the foresight to acquire the necessities for what he had assumed would be several months of development. The smaller diapers and clothes will simply have to go into storage should one of the other children someday grace Master Bruce with more grandchildren.

"If I may, Master Tim. Young Master, Danny was it?" Tim mutely nods, brain still whirring away trying to figure out what happened to Danny and also why everyone is looking at him like that. "Young Master Danny seems to be in need of dressing." Danny looks down at himself for the first time, then immediately tries to hide in Tim's shoulder with a squeak.

"Da! Tim! Why my naked?"

"Last I checked, humans are not born with clothes, Danny."

"Oh. Yeah. Uh... can I boh-woe a t-shut?"

"Nonsense, young Master. I have plenty of clothes and diapers for a variety of young ages set aside."

Tim startles at that, clearly not expecting it. "Why?"

Danny squeaks again, clearly embarrassed. "Die-puhs?"

"Surely, Master Tim, you did not think I would allow my great grandson to go unclothed?" Alfred levels Tim with his patented eyebrow. "Now, if you would follow me, there is a nursery prepared in just across the hall from your bedroom. We shall find everything we need right now in there."

Apparently Tim's emotions haven't leveled out yet, not that he expected them too immediately, but it would have been nice; because tears are springing to his eyes at the casually implication that Alfred at least still considers him family. "Right, yes, right. Clothes, diapers, good idea."

Danny squeaks once more. "Do I hab t'wear die-puh?"

"You are physically a toddler. Your body probably doesn't have bladder and bowel control yet. So until we know for certain, yes." Tim stands, turning to leave the room with Alfred.

Bruce finally regains enough wits to speak. Which naturally means he immediately puts his foot all the way in his mouth. "Alfred, wait. The child is- We don't know- It's a Death God incarnate. It could be dangerous."

Tim freezes, back still to the room. The temperature seems to drop several degrees. The Bats scramble to take defensive stances. "What?"

"Tim, Son, I know your head is probably a bit messed up right now. But we are your family. We are. And you have to remember, I know you remember, you made a Deal with a Death God to bring me back. And it took advantage of your body to give itself human form. That's not a child, that is a Death God incarnate and it is m-"

Danny glances up over Tim's shoulder, wide eyes brimming with tears, before burying his face back in Tim's shoulder with a high whine straight from his core. Danny knows that Tim isn't his dad. That means Tim's dad isn't his grandad and his siblings aren't aunts and uncles.

Danny knows this big, loving albeit extremely dysfunctional isn't actually his family. But his core apparently didn't get the memo. So the rejection still hurts. It bites and stings and aches along the Y-shaped wound that doesn't physically exist on this body but Danny can still feel it scarred into his soul. And Danny doesn't really know what he did wrong here, but his tiny toddler body is full of big feelings and his Obsession demands he try to fix it, to regain the family's approval.

"Saw-we. I di-int wannoo take ad-ban-tage ob Tim. Wuh jus posed to we-go m' boh-dee. O a boh-dee. My boh-dee wuh hut bad an it wu-int he-wing an Cawk-wuk said dis would be good. Tim uh-gweed, to bing Buce home, I could he-uh inside him. Use his body as a temp-ate to fit mine. I doh-no wuh wen wong. I doh-no. Saw-we. M saw-we. I dunno. M saw-we."

.

Toddler translations again:

"Oh. Yeah. Uh... can I borrow a t-shirt?"

"Diapers?"

"Do I have to wear [a] diaper?"

"Sorry. I didn't want to take advantage of Tim. [I] Was just supposed to regrow my body. Or a body. My body was hurt bad and it wasn't healing and Clockwork said this would be good. Tim agreed, to bring Bruce home, I could heal inside him. Use his body as a template to fix mine. I don't know what went wrong. I don't know. Sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm sorry."

Just a little idea

What if when Tim went off to look for Batman when he was lost in time he bumped into Phantom.

They made a Deal

Phantom knowing CW helped him find Bruce and how to get him back safely, Phantom in return for reasons (hurt badly & recovering, or evolving in power) needed someone very ecto-contaminated (Ra's fault) like Tim, to be contained in.

From a magic user point of view, knowing very little of the GZ and how they work, Tim made a very powerful Deal with a powerful death being (High Ghost King Phantom: Hello!) and is now somehow pregnant (not really but they don't know that)

Danny while inside Tim inside his core can still hear the world outside normally and can share his emotions with Tim to communicate. Which looks a lot like Tim is speaking to his belly just like expecting parents do.

This could be angst or crack

or

my personal favourite, different genres for different pov's

Tim's would be happy, just regular getting his life back together being a total BAMF, coming of age type of vibe

The rest of the Batfam and other heroes pov would be angst, paranormal, psychological horror.

Misunderstandings galore

Dick regretting heavily his decisions which caused Tim to run away because he did not believe him and he has many Regrets.

Bruce feeling guilty that Tim felt the need to make such a decision as to make a Deal and end up pregnant just to bring him back.

Meanwhile the magic users have told the other heroes about Tim's situation and now think that he's going to give birth to the child of a very powerful death being and if something happens to Tim to risk the baby it would cause all of their worlds destruction.

so pretty much-

Tim-Girl Boss, Gatekeep, Gaslight

Batfam- Much Angst

Others- *panicked chicken noises*

~

Just an Idea

[oh-great-authoress]

🌹🌹🌹tell me of your wips dear

@batmantaking-hobbits2gallifrey

Ohhhh, Elli, you do not know what you have asked for.

I now unleash Silmarillion-esque deep dives upon you!!!!

Three Roses, three WIPs…

So you will get information about three of my WIPs, and here we go!

I’m so happy to talk about these.

Benjamin Solo and the Shadow of Death

This is a Reylo and Gingerrose (Armitage Hux/Rose Tico) Grantchester/1950s AU where Ben and Armitage, formerly Kylo Ren and The General, the most feared enforcers of the Knights of Ren, are now Church of England priests after a St. Paul-esque come-to-Jesus moment.

However, their past is coming back to bite them in the ass, throwing a wrench, or rather, a spanner, into every aspect of their lives.

In this story, Rey is the vicarage’s industrious housekeeper, and Rose is the town mechanic’s daughter, a mechanic herself, while Ben is the Vicar and Armitage the Curate.

This story started as an imagine I sent to @galacticidiots, but then I couldn’t shake the idea, and it percolated for nearly two years, until I decided that, like Gandhi said, I had to “Be the change [I] wish to see in the world”, and write the darn thing.

This was/is a passion project for me, and there were moments that I was so worried I’d end up abandoning this story, but luckily, I’m stubborn as all heck, so I plowed on through months of writer’s block.

But despite all the frustration this story gave and still gives me, this story has also given me so much joy, especially when the scene bits (both for Armitage, actually) which I was so proud of and came up with in the two years where the idea lay percolating, made it in the story, which literally made me do a little happy dance in my chair.

Those bits would be the scene where Armitage gets engine oil on his shirt, and Rose tells him to take it off so that she can soak it in her family’s secret formula of stain remover (*snort* yeah, I went here), in this chapter, and the scene where Armitage kicks the town drunk’s ass after he shoves Rose to the ground, in this chapter.

And while this story is still very PG-13, at the end, this is going to be the steamiest thing I have ever written, with use of very, very tasteful fade-to-blacks.

I actually have one of the two fade-to-blacks written (it’s so romantic), with the other one a problem-for-future-Nadia, though the idea is nebulously present in the electric meat.

I am personally so proud of my characterization in this story, and I think that this story was key to my growth as a writer.

It forced me to stretch both my research skills, with the 1950s setting, and my writing skills, as it made me write scenes which I never thought I would ever be able to pull off.

And it still is stretching my writing skills, because I have some very tricky scenes to work through in the upcoming chapters, which will have elements that I do not think are my specialty.

But when this is over, this will be, I think, one of my most favorite stories I’ve written.

I’d like to think that this story has everything, with romance, action, snappy dialogue (I think this story has some of the best dialogue I’ve ever written), comedy, and drama.

(Divider via @delishlydelightfuldividers)

Okay, let me preface the next two WIPs with saying that I never thought I’d end up writing them.

But honestly?

I probably should have seen it coming.

Almost two months ago, I watched “Top Gun: Maverick”, and I absolutely loved it.

And I tried not to devolve into a hyperfixation, but… I just couldn’t.

I mean, for me, the movie had everything; found family feels, dysfunctional father-son road trip vibes, Pathetic™ men ready to be Blorbo-fied, action, comedy, and impressive visuals.

(Am I counting the shirtless beach dogfight football scene as part of the impressive visuals?

I’ll leave that up to you.)

And with me already being an aviation enthusiast, or avgeek, this was bound to happen.

Anyway, this stupid plane movie (affectionate) has had a chokehold on me for the last nearly two months, and I managed to keep it mostly tamped down here on the hellsite, because I was a little ashamed of how easily my brain plunged into a hyperfixation—hypocritical, I know, on the hyperfixation site—but now, the dam has burst, and I’m just going to own it from here on out.

These stories will not make sense at all if you haven’t seen the movie, so here’s the link to the Wikipedia page, so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about.

I also highly recommend looking on YouTube for clips of the movie, because… okay, yeah, I’m trying to drag you down with me, I’ll be honest.

(Sharing is caring?)

So here we have two of my Top Gun: Maverick WIPs…

Prank War

This is the tentative synopsis: “It was getting a little bit chummy here at NAS North Island, so Jake had a genius idea.”

Basically, Jake “Hangman” Seresin, reformed jerk extraordinaire, has the genius idea to start a prank war between him and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, which does not go well at all.

One thing leads to another, and someone ends up strung up by the Naval Air Station’s flagpole, in a coup de grace.

This is pure crack, and even I burst into laughter when I read my own opening scene, because it’s just so hilarious, and, in my opinion, perfectly in character.

Here’s the opening scene:

(Warning: a little cursey)

“Fuck my life.

Fuck my fucking life,” Vice Admiral Beau ��Cyclone” Simpson muttered to himself, as he stared at the report before him in despair.

“Become an Admiral, they said—it’ll be fun, they said,” he continued, aware he was sounding like he was a few screws short of an F-18.

But in his opinion, it was completely acceptable—he had to get it out somehow.

“You’ll just have to sign a few things here and there, but you’ll be able to have more time to yourself.

Meanwhile, I’m here, dealing with fucking infants when I could’ve been flying still, exactly like Maverick.

Well—maybe not exactly like Maverick, I have some sense of self-preservation—but anyway.

‘Best aviators the US Navy has to offer’, my ass—more like two-year-olds, all of them.”

From there, we flashback to all the pranks, until we end up back with Admiral Simpson.

I still, sadly, have to figure out how to properly end it, but I’m still waiting to finish my Grantchester/1950s AU to really work on this and the next story anyway, so I’m not rushing myself…

Finally, the piece I am most excited and embarrassed to talk about:

What Am I Doing

That’s literally the working title, because I was working on Benjamin Solo and the Shadow of Death, when this idea barged in like this:

So thusly the name.

I am actually actively trying to come up with an actual title for this that is not borne out of my frustration at myself for acquiring another WIP.

However, the subtitle, which is actually going to be put on the fic title or the synopsis, is: “It’s the Great Karmic Bitchslap, Jake Seresin!”

Which is a play on “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”.

I honestly have no idea how I ended up with this, but I think, to my knowledge, it was born out of a desire (as these things often are) to torture and torment Jake Seresin.

Because, other than Bradley, and Maverick, to some extent, we don’t know anything about the families of the other pilots of Dagger Squadron.

So I thought, what if Jake had a twin sister?

And what if she ends up falling in love with Bradley Bradshaw?

“Jake would absolutely hate that,” I thought. “I love it.”

But since I’m not entirely heartless, I give Jake his very own romance plot, with Natasha “Phoenix” Trace.

(Hannix shippers, this one’s for you)

So, here’s the plot.

In the middle of the night, Jake wakes up to a call from base gate security: it’s his older twin sister, Anastasia, and his nephew, Lucas.

They’re on the run from Anastasia’s ex-husband, whom she divorced and had her marriage annulled a year ago.

However, her ex is an A-grade crazy psycho, who stalks and follows her and her son no matter where they go.

So she goes to her brother, figuring that since he lives on base, she and her son would be safe.

Here, she meets Maverick and the rest of Dagger Squadron (now a permanent squadron based out of North Island, thanks to the success of the uranium mission), including one Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw.

Circumstance then throws the two even further together when a regulation indicates that she and Lucas cannot stay with Jake.

(Hand wavey contrivance, I know)

So out of the goodness of his heart, Maverick offers to put up the mother and son at his large house behind his hangar (which is widely accepted fanon, since we did not see anything of the sort in the movie), which is sort of off the grid, where—wouldn’t you know it—Bradley is also living, so he and Mav can spend more time together; after all, they have fifteen years to make up for.

Bradley and Anastasia soon grow close, much to her brother’s chagrin, all while Natasha is laughing her head off, as she fills in as said brother’s voice of reason, because this is karmic justice for all the women Jake’s picked up in bars.

There’s a scene I wrote last week which I am already in LOVE with, and I—it’s just so sweet and romantic—it’s EVERYTHING.

I couldn’t even believe my luck when I remembered the PERFECT song for said scene—I mean, the lyrics are just EXACTLY what the scene needed, and the lyrics are just SPOT-ON.

I tell you, it felt/feels inspired.

And I am so grateful that I know/grew up listening to old songs, because this song would never have occurred to me otherwise.

Some background on this scene: it’s the day of the Navy Gala, and Anastasia is supposed to go as her brother’s plus one, she even bought a dress and everything.

But then, just before she was going to get ready, her son had an accident and broke his arm, which meant that she had to take him to the hospital, and she was unable to go.

(Which will end up being good for Jake and Natasha)

This scene takes place at the end of the night, after Bradley returns home.

(I have yet to decide if Mav and Bradley will go home at the same time.)

As a side note, Bradley will be wearing dress whites, not blues, because… well, just because, “cover” is the fancy military term for the uniform cap, and I see Anastasia, or, as Bradley calls her, Ana, as Leelee Sobieski in my head.

Here’s the scene:

(Warning: 100% fluff)

“How’s Lucas?” Bradley asked, setting his cover onto the kitchen island.

“He’s sleeping—they gave him the good stuff at the hospital.

Thanks for asking.”

He nodded. “That’s good.”

“How was the gala?”

He cringed slightly. “Ehh—the usual—lots of boring self-congratulatory speeches before we get to what people actually came for; the open bar and the free food.”

“Was it any good?”

“Yeah, it always is, though I think it’s pretty hard to screw up pasta.”

“You’d be surprised,” Ana smiled.

“Jake?”

“Me, actually, the first time I tried to cook spaghetti and meatballs.”

He frowned, “I don’t believe that, you’ve been spoiling Mav and me the whole time you’ve been here.”

“Believe it, Lieutenant.”

Something almost vaguely familiar briefly clouded his expression, before it cleared, and he continued, “Yeah, anyway, the food was good, though it wasn’t a patch on what you dish out, and… Jake missed you, said he was hoping the two of you could’ve had a night out.”

“Jake, huh?”

Bradley rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, he pissed Nat off enough to make her drag him to the dance floor herself.”

Ana looked down, her hair falling into her face, “To be honest, I was actually hoping to go tonight.

It’s been… a while since I went to a party.”

“Gala, actually—the Navy’s quite particular about not calling it a party.

Got to be respectable and all that,” he grinned.

“Oh, sorry—gala,” she laughed. “Anyway, it would’ve been nice to dress up, and—” she sighed, “this is going to sound so stupid.”

“Tell me anyway?” he earnestly asked.

“I… I’m feeling bad that I wasted all that money on a dress I didn’t even end up wearing, and—God—I wanted to dance.”

Ana looked down embarrassedly, running a hand through her hair.

“That’s not stupid.

That’s normal.”

She looked up at him, a little startled.

Bradley worried his lower lip between his teeth before she saw an idea literally occur to him, the only thing missing, the lightbulb over his head. “It doesn’t have to be wasted.

Go put that dress on, and meet me down here.”

“What are you planning, Bradley?” Ana shook her head.

“Since you couldn’t go to the Navy Gala, the Navy Gala comes to you.”

An incredulous gasp escaped her. “You going to ask me to dance, Lieutenant Bradshaw?” she asked, a stupid smile on her lips, tears in her eyes.

“Well, I am still in uniform, and… yeah, I am.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go—I’ll be waiting,” he nodded encouragingly.

She couldn’t keep the smile from widening to a grin as she went upstairs, pulling the box from the dresser.

She quickly washed her face, before putting on mascara and lipstick, and slipping into the dress.

When she looked in the mirror, even though she wasn’t wearing anything close to the full makeup look she had planned to if she’d gotten to go to the gala, she felt beautiful in a way she hadn’t in a very long time, and tears threatened, but she ruthlessly pushed them back, as she gathered her hair into a loose bun, and stepped into her well-worn black heels.

She crept out of her room and made her way downstairs, where, true to his word, Bradley was waiting, at the foot of the stairs, cover tucked under his right arm, looking every inch the dashing naval aviator and officer he was, in his dress whites.

He looked up at the sound of her heels on the stairs, and an awed expression came over his face.

“Wow,” he breathed when she was a step away from him. “You look amazing.”

Ana sheepishly smoothed the deep green silk with her palms, as she stepped down the final step. “The makeup and hair’s not what I was planning for tonight if I got to go, but I didn’t want to keep you waiting too long.”

“I’d have waited if you wanted to do all that.”

Ana’s jaw slacked a bit, and he continued, “But you—you look stunning.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

Bradley offered his arm, with a “Shall we?”

She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, and they moved out to the backyard, Bradley even bothering to wear his cover for the short walk to the pergola a ways from the back door.

“I’m going to be the envy of everyone at the gala,” he proudly murmured as they walked.

“It’s only the two of us,” Ana shook her head.

“Still,” he breathed, with an honesty she hadn’t heard from a man in years.

Once they were under the string lights, he stepped away from her to place his cover on the patio table which had been pushed to the side, along with the chairs, to create a makeshift dance floor.

Bradley pulled his phone out from his pocket and fiddled with it for a beat, looking for something.

Eventually, he found what he was searching for, and with a final tap, he set the device down beside his cover.

The strains of Orleans’ “Dance With Me” filled the air, and Ana smiled for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

He turned to her, hand extended. “Will you do me the honor of this dance, Miss Seresin?”

“I will, Lieutenant Bradshaw.”

She placed her hand in his, and he took her in his arms, as they began to sway slowly on the floor.

I still have to write basically 98% of this story, but this scene, and a couple of other bits and pieces, including the opening scene, and Bradley’s first glimpse of Anastasia, are written out.

However, while I always tend to give myself room to change things, I am absolutely certain that this dance scene is going to make its way into the final product hook or by crook, darn it.

It’s just… GAH, I love this scene so much.

I was grinning like an idiot while I wrote it, and I still do, when I read it.

I’m truly sorry if that comes off as narcissistic, I just—AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the look into my WIP folder, and all the word-vomit, Elli!!!

Thank you and God bless you if you managed to read all this, truly—I know it’s a LOT!!!

[sokkastyles]

Let’s Read ATLA: The Search pp70-115

I’ve seen this section used a lot by the “Zuko is a bad big brother” crowd, when it shows exactly the opposite. Zuko may be seeing a bit of himself when he says Sokka gets the short end of the deal, but as Sokka already pointed out, Zuko has given Azula chance after chance, and she’s manipulated him, tried to harm him, and tried to harm his friends, as well as accusing him and everyone else of conspiring against her. And she’s lying to him.

Aaaand, he found the letter.

I like how Azula in the first panel is drawn to look like baby Azula sleeping in the flashback.

The “she’s hallucinating” thing is still tiring, and hallucination!Ursa doesn’t say anything new than what she already did in the series. But it’s really just Azula talking to herself. Azula’s mind isn’t turning on her because of Ursa, but because of her own self doubt. She knows the truth deep down.

If Zuko isn’t Ozai’s son, then he can rationalize away his father’s abuse of him. Which is very much NOT what the message should be here, because it was wrong either way, but I can see why Zuko would want to believe this. Poor boy just wants a family.

I already know how this plot turns out, but I REALLY hate this plotline for the way it implies that Ozai treated Zuko poorly because he might not be his son, as if that’s an excuse. The last panel is implying that Ozai’s resentment of Zuko grew out of Ursa giving him so much attention, but the same thing could have been accomplished without implying that Zuko isn’t really Ozai’s son. In fact, I’ve always had the headcanon that part of the reason Ozai resented Zuko was because he was Ursa’s first child, and Ozai is the kind of person who would want Ursa all to himself, even to the point of resenting his own child. That’s also why I think he wanted Azula to spend so much time with him and created a wedge between her and her mother, or fed whatever already was there.

Of course Azula thinks that the least pretty flower in the garden deserves to be burnt. Of course Azula feels entitled to hurt her brother, who is lesser than her.

“I don’t understand why she has to be so mean.” --> “Why’d our relationship have to be like this?”

Because what Zuko wants is some kind of escape from his family’s dysfunction. I think he would give up the throne in exchange for happiness if he didn’t believe that he had a duty to help heal the world, but he doesn’t value power the way Azula does, and she can’t understand that. He doesn’t want it to be like this and Azula is accusing him of things that aren’t even real so of course he doesn’t know how to help her, of course he gets angry at her after all the times she lied to him and manipulated him, and she’s still doing it.

And he’s letting her keep the letter, too, even though he knows what it says now.

Sokka, just because you lampshade how dumb this plot is doesn’t make it any smarter.

Are we still wondering where Azula learned that she was entitled to do whatever she wanted?

Also, Ozai making a point of saying how embarrassing it is for a prince to have a nonbending first born...like Lu Ten.

And this is also why I will not abide Ursa slander. This woman has to sit here while her powerful husband belittles one of her kids and poisons the other. I don’t know if she was intentionally lying about Zuko not being Ozai’s son or if it was some kind of fantasy she came up with to cope with her situation, or if she thought Ikem would help her if he thought Zuko was his.

So we have a story about two lovers who are separated by spirit shenanigans and masks. These kinds of stories are also always about class, the Dragon Emperor being cursed to assume the form of a lowly mortal and falling in love.

One interesting thing that Hallucination!Ursa told Azula at the stream was that she needed to take off her mask, and Azula talks about playing the Dragon Emperor and being a better one. But Azula doesn’t see that she herself is wearing a mask, and she’s still clinging to trying to reach for power. She hasn’t learned the lesson of the play (yet.)

As for Zuko taking on the role of the Dark Water Spirit, of course Zuko always had to be the villain to Azula’s hero, but the play implies that the Dark Water Spirit, though being the villain of the story, is also a force for good, teaching the Dragon Emperor the lesson of humility. This fits with how Zuko’s Blue Spirit role represented a chance for him to free himself from his identity as prince, and in the series he used it to do things that were both good and bad. It’s really interesting to me that a Fire Nation play gives this role to a water spirit. I bet Ozai didn’t like this play very much.

So the gaang arrive in the village where Ursa lived, watch the play, and start asking about Ursa. They’re approached by a guy named Noren who says Ursa used to act in the play and invites them to his house.

This marriage conversation is weird and I don’t like it.

Wait, that’s Kiyi. Oh, I don’t like this.

Of course Azula resents this girl’s innocence. And Zuko protecting Kiyi from his sister because he was always on the receiving end as a child.

IKEM WHAT DID YOU DO????

Aang’s right, but this would be more effective if Aang didn’t jump so quickly at the chance to kill Zuko in the last comic over a miscommunication problem.

We flashback to that night Azula told Zuko that Ozai was going to kill him. I was right in that Ursa learned about the plan from Azula.

Ozai’s banishment of Ursa is explained as fear of her knowledge of poisons, which makes sense. But what doesn’t really make sense is why Ozai couldn’t just give the poison to Zuko. Or indeed, why he needs poison at all, since he was planning already on killing Zuko in his sleep and told Ursa “he won’t feel a thing.” I think Ursa is right in that Ozai would rather Azulon be dead, because then Ozai gets what he really wants, but the question then is, if Ozai is able to kill Zuko painlessly in his sleep, why couldn’t he just do the same to Azulon without Ursa’s help?

I guess maybe the issue would have been keeping the death a secret, whereas Zuko’s death was ordered by Azulon so Ozai wouldn’t need to keep it a secret. I always thought that the reason Ursa was banished was to take the blame for Azulon’s death, since Ozai tells Zuko that she committed treason that night.

One small difference I did notice was that in this comic, she goes to Azula’s room to kiss her, then goes to Zuko’s room to kiss him, and it looks like Zuko wakes up on his own, whereas in the show she definitely wakes up Zuko on purpose. It still makes more sense for her to not wake up Azula, since Azula was hostile to her in their last conversation and wanted Zuko dead, and also was obviously lying to her mother about not wanting Zuko dead, and Ursa knew it, too. If Ursa wakes up Azula, Azula is likely to catch on to what she’s about to do and possibly cause a scene, which would ruin the whole plan.

And we’re getting this not just because of Ursa forgetting who she is but because of Zuko wishing he could be someone else.

[izzythehutt]

The Big Cope: Or, the Tales We Tell Ourselves

Been thinking a lot about what's motivating one Robert Swayze Keene to join the Cobra Kai dojo, train under Sensei John Kreese and win the 51st Annual All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament, and I have come to the conclusion that it wasn't about "becoming a champion" with a reputation that follows him around for the rest of his life, or conquering that pesky inner fear, or controlling his anger. It wasn't about pissing off his ex-gf by doing the exact opposite of what she said was the thing she wanted most in the world, or revenging himself upon his former mentor by giving away all his ancient karate secrets to the other side. Oh, he may tell himself it's all those things, but at the end of the day...

Robby just really, really wanted to kick Miguel's ass in front of his dad.

So, basically, this is S1 Robby-convoluted-revenge plot redux. Robby sure loves learning karate from his father's sworn enemies, don't he? While in S1 it was about "getting back" at Johnny in a kind of nebulous way for his shitty parenting plus the crime of hugging a boy Robby's age in a strip mall parking lot, but mostly acting out to get his dad's attention, in S4 the revenge plot has evolved to...well, it's kind of the same thing, this time with a more focused and specific thing that his father needs to be punished for.

Siding with Miguel over Robby in the fallout of the school fight.

They only have two one-on-one scenes this entire season, but this relationship is completely driving the emotional arc of both characters throughout (and Miguel ends up getting caught in the undertow, propelling his search for his own biological father.)

Robby brings this up, apropos of nothing, after Johnny points out that it's not wise for him to start shit with Hawk, given that he has already been kicked out of school and is on probation. Robby even gestures to the Diaz apartment, which is the first indication I believe we've ever gotten that Robby knows Miguel lives in the same building as his father. Clearly Miguel and the school fight and what his father thinks happens is weighing on his mind.

I guess this moment is still ringing in his ears.

(Sidenote: one of my favorite things about their dysfunctional trainwreck of a father/son relationship is how the few moments where Johnny actually grows enough of a spine to try to exert paternal authority over Robby it always backfires. Unfortunately the foundation of their relationship is so unstable that he doesn't have the baseline respect you need to be able to discipline your child or tell him hard truths. Robby either blows up or throws his mistakes back into his face, and Johnny has such low self-esteem that he retreats when Robby would actually probably really like him to push back and fight. If Daniel had said the exact same thing, the reaction would have been wildly different. In fact, Robby owned up to being the reason Miguel is in the hospital to Daniel without even being prompted! But, I digress.)

So, Robby is feeling put-upon about the school fight and the fact that Johnny missed their appointment because of something that happened with Miguel in the hospital. He has guilt, but also thinks it's unfair he's suffering the brunt of the legal consequences of his actions while Miguel only gets sympathy (of course Miguel also was in a wheelchair for months, but Robby was in jail getting beaten up for that and came out just at the moment when Miguel started walking/making moves on his girl, so that's not what he's thinking about.)

Young man, a week after you were gone he was still in a coma.

That's an understandable resentment, because teenagers can be pretty self-involved, and like his father before him, Robby scapegoats his rival and likes to blame Miguel for shit that's not his fault. It's not fair! After all, the fight happened because Miguel kissed Robby's drunk girlfriend at a party, which prompted Miguel's gf to attack Sam in retaliation, and when Robby tried to de-escalate, Miguel attacked him. But he ended up getting expelled, sent to juvenile hall, lost his girlfriend to this guy...and his dad is sympathetic to him, on top of that? Plus the dude got use of his legs back?? Not cool.

At the end of the day the kid who gets kicked off a railing and ends up in a coma gets the world's sympathy by default. Nobody is going to care that he kissed a girl at a party and "started it". The maybe-paralysis trumps all. The only people who are going to feel sorry for the kid who caused the coma are the parents of said kid, and maybe his karate instructor

He also said he was a good kid in this scene! My heart. He's a terrible dad but let no one say he does not unconditionally love this kid.

The person whose sympathy actually matters to Robby is Johnny, who he thinks blames him for all this because of that one moment where Johnny pointed out that Robby does need to take responsibility for what he did.

But the irony there is that Johnny is off having his Book of Job moment thinking this is all God punishing him for his transgressions, and he blames neither kid and thinks the whole thing is his fault. Which like............it isn't. Not everything bad that happens to your loved ones is on you 100%, buddy.

Okay this is turning into a screenshot treatise, fast-forward through the end of S3 and Robby's Dark Luke Skywalker arc, there's two moments I want to focus on as relates to Robby shutting out Johnny in S4.

This is the narrative he's using to justify his actions. That his father's interest in him is entirely about Johnny "making himself feel better" and not, you know...that he loves Robby.

Even though he's always wanted a relationship with his dad, Robby is so angry at Johnny that he doesn't want to give his father the emotional satisfaction that reconnecting would bring. Which, oh, sweetie. That's punishing yourself as much as it is your dad.

This is an amazing, tragic cope.

That second screencap is such a telling line...holy projection, Batman! That's what he believes Johnny's overtures to him are, so surely they must be the same thing for Miguel.

(The big irony of that statement is that it's a lot more arguable Johnny is using Miguel to make himself feel better than he is Robby. Miguel and he have a warm and close bond and rapport. Robby is a lot of things to Johnny, but a source of warm fuzzies he is not. The best feeling that Johnny has gotten from being around his son is tentative mutual awkwardness as they discuss trapper-keepers in a pimped-out snake car. Of course, in the long run having a relationship with Robby will make Johnny feel a lot better, which Robby doesn't want because his dad doesn't deserve to feel good about anything, but in the short term the relationship just fills him with immense guilt and involves Robby using him as a verbal punching bag. Or sometimes a literal punching bag!)

So yeah, in short, all of Robby's anger is directed towards dad and Miguel, and if he wins the tournament he shuts down dad's dojo so he can't teach Miguel anymore babe don't worry you already drove a wedge without even trying, plus he gets to show his father right in front of him that he's better than the karate stepson replacement. Presumably Robby thought he'd be facing Miguel at some point in the tournament, but then Miguel had to ruin his revenge scheme by dipping out and making the whole thing fall flat with way lower emotional stakes Eli final.

But wait! Half the revenge scheme did end up coming true, because CK did win, so that means Eagle Fang will be shutting down and Miguel and Johnny's lovefest is shattered forever! And how does Robby feel about his dreams half coming true?

He doesn't seem to be enjoying his dad looking sadly at him across the gym......perhaps....this plan did not play out the way he thought it would. Well, Robert, you got your wish. Your dad does not feel better about himself. And hey, Miguel has mysteriously vanished so you don't even have that gf/dad/sensei stealer around to ruin the moment.

Oh...wait.......you're not enjoying that very much? Sometimes the thing you thought you wanted......actually sucks? You could use a sympathetic ear from the one person in the world who you think understands what you're going through.....?

It's going to be alright.

[redphlox]

How Touya can be Saved

I’ve talked before about why I think Shouto will save Touya, and now I want to talk about how. No doubt saving the eldest Todoroki child will be a combined family effort, but I want to specifically talk about Shouto’s role in this because it will be the culmination of his character arc. I also want to tie in how Dabi can make himself seen and understood by crying tears of blood in front of his family. Finally receiving validation after desperately needing it his entire life will be the key to his salvation.

As of chapter 298, Shouto already empathizes with Touya; he feels Touya’s hate and even recognizes Dabi is the person Shouto himself was before the Sports Festival. Shouto is extending his empathy and understanding to his brother the same way he reacted to Iida during the Stain arc in chapter 53, “Todoroki to Iida.”

Having empathy for Dabi’s resentment is only the first step in reaching him, though. That shared rage doesn’t completely validate Dabi’s pain as an abuse victim, which is something Shouto has yet to recognize about himself. Shouto’s anger has always been about how Endeavor abused Rei to the point she had to be institutionalized and not how Endeavor isolated him, physically abused him, and robbed him of his childhood. Shouto probably hadn’t stopped to think about how the other Todorokis perceived their family situation because, like most families in this situation, no one talked about the abuse - Shouto even expresses surprise and agreement in 192 when Natsuo confronts Endeavor with the entire family’s pain. Shouto thinks back to the memory of wanting to play with his siblings and realizes that specific day didn't only stay with him but that his siblings remember it and were impacted by it, too.

Like Natsuo, Dabi knows the root cause of their family’s dysfunction was Endeavor, and while he had a problem with what he perceived as each individual member’s blindness to their abuse, he ultimately doesn’t blame the victims and instead assigns all the blame onto Endeavor. Even 10 years later, he still calls Rei ‘okaasan’, Fuyumi ‘Fuyumi-chan’, and Natsuo ‘Natsu-kun’ because he still cares about them and recognizes all of them as victims of a corrupt hero who never set out to be a husband and a father and only used them.

However, Touya's own victimhood has never been validated - in 301 and 302, it was seen that he was the scapegoat for his family, and no matter how much he tried to earn back his father’s approval or call his father out on his unfair treatment, no one was ever on Touya’s side. His mother told him to look away from his father as an example instead of standing up to Endeavor for herself and her children, and Fuyumi and Natsuo were too young to understand and couldn't relate to what Touya went through as Endeavor's prized heir. Touya needs validation that he was abused and neglected. He always has. He still does.

The person in the perfect position to understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of Endeavor’s impossibly high standards, obsession with surpassing All Might, and quirk training is Shouto. But in order to fully empathize with Dabi and show his brother that he can relate, Shouto needs to acknowledge that he too was a victim. In 292, Dabi basically asks Shouto to validate the pain and suffering Dabi had just exposed in the battlefield, but his question still stands unanswered.

To reach Touya, Shouto also has to show Dabi what kind of person he is - as in, Shouto has to separate himself from Endeavor’s shadow and establish that he too has been holding Endeavor accountable for his actions. We as readers know that Shouto’s entire character arc has been about asking himself, “Who am I?” Often, children who grow up in abusive households struggle with their identity and Shouto is a perfect example of this. This is why he chose his hero name to be his name: Shouto. He’s learning who he is after years of trying so hard to not be his father and becoming exactly like him - cold, distant, tunnel visioned, hateful. It wasn't until he met Inasa that he realized this and wanted to right his wrongs.

Like Inasa, Dabi doesn’t know Shouto at all. Both Inasa and Dabi knew Endeavor and assumed Shouto would be just like him. Inasa had a valid reason to think this of Shouto of course, because Shouto was standoffish and dismissive during the UA entrance exams, but at the time of the provisional license exam Inasa hadn’t learned that Shouto had recognized this toxic side of himself and had begun working towards the kind of person he wants to be. Shouto had to show Inasa the real him, and in a similar way, he will have to prove this to Dabi. Dabi hasn’t seen Shouto struggle with his identity like we the readers have; Dabi only sees his usurper making headlines and willingly interning with Endeavor. He probably assumes Shouto is proudly training to carry their father’s legacy. Dabi isn’t privy to the nuanced relationship Shouto or their siblings have with their father. All Dabi knows is that Endeavor is seeing and paying attention to Shouto and Shouto seemingly submitting. Dabi has no idea THIS is how it really is:

Showing others who he is is a way for Shouto to process his own trauma and establish his identity. As the son of the #2 hero, Shouto has always had to prove himself to others - that he’s not his father. He’s even had to prove this to himself by accepting his fire side and making it his own in spite of his father repeatedly calling him a creation or a masterpiece. Not being like his father is such a defining trait for Shouto that he feels compelled to tell kindergarteners during the re-licensing exam his life story and his trauma. He literally bore his heart out to these kids because he knew he wouldn’t get through to them unless he was genuine. I think he’ll apply this concept to Touya, too.

The thing about Shouto is that, while he hasn’t reconciled with his own status as an abuse victim, he sees himself as a survivor. He sees himself as someone who managed through a difficult situation and wants to help others get through their struggles too. That's why getting through to these kids was so important to him, why he took it so seriously. These were problematic kids, and instead of calling them brats or trying to intimidate or manipulate them, he tries to get down to their level and relate. Notice he emphasizes how much he struggled in school at first, how his relationship with his father is strained - in his mind, it's something these kids may be able to relate to.

Shouto is someone who sets out to understand and make others feel seen and understood. It's what makes him kind. Shouto probably understands why his father abused the entire family - Endeavor's reasons don't excuse him or earn his children's forgiveness, but it's a reason that humanizes him to Shouto. He himself was a cold, bitter person who now believes people can change if given the right opportunity and self-awareness because this is a lesson he's learned from Midoriya and Inasa. This is also something Shouto can grant Touya: understanding, a listening ear, space to be wrong, and a chance to be seen.

Touya wanted and still craves to be seen, and he has to see in return. He has to realize Shouto isn't his father's puppet. He has to relate to Shouto much like Shouto is relating to him. Shouto will have to pull the same move he pulled on those kindergarteners and tell Dabi his struggles, and then show him he’s making his own path different from their father’s and that the family isn’t blindly following Endeavor anymore or letting him do what he wants. Natsuo has stood up to him, Rei has stood up to him, Fuyumi has admitted to herself she had been trying to play a happy family instead of fixing the internal mess - they as a family will have to show Dabi all of this, and he’ll have to wrap his head around it. He has to realize that his family is different from how they were 10 years ago. This is what I mean by allowing Touya space to be wrong - it’s okay for him to be wrong in assuming all these things about Shouto. Shouto won’t judge him for it.

I've talked before about how the narrative framing as of chapter 309 has set up that a person must express their feelings in a socially acceptable manner before they can be a candidate for saving, and that means crying. As soon as Midoriya saw a glimpse of little Tenko crying, he switched his mentality from "I'll never forgive you" to "I want to save that crying boy." When Toga ran away from Ochako crying, Ochako became concerned and curious. Following this pattern, it makes sense that Dabi also has to show his emotions, but it’s complicated because he can’t cry due to his burnt tear ducts. Every time we’ve seen him cry tears of blood, he’s been alone - he’ll have to cry in front of Shouto and the family for it to sink in that all of Dabi’s destruction and hate stems from deep-seated sorrow and feelings of abandonment. The family does not yet know how the fire that killed Touya started, and they have no idea that Touya’s emotions are linked to his fire and that he died because he was feeling overwhelmingly forsaken and sad. Once they find out, however, they’ll fully understand Touya (hopefully) and recognize they haven’t been understanding him at all. Saving Touya will be difficult because he has to be vulnerable and that's not something he's done as Dabi, but that's where the Todoroki family arc is headed: healing as a family.

As a side note: I’m not saying that the message the manga is giving is the correct one (how you express yourself shouldn’t be a determinant of the help you receive) but it’s what we have to work with. I also think saving Touya will be more complicated than this and will also involve Natsuo, but that’s a meta for another day! ;]