#we are all written together

[mhaynoot]

JANG HAYOUNG AND HER RELATIONSHIP WITH KDJ / DKOS IS A REFLECTION OF KDJ’S OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH YJH INCLUDING THE IDEALISATION OF THE PROTAGONIST IN THE STORY AND LEARNING TO LOVE BOTH THE STORY AND THE ONE YOU GOT TO KNOW AND IN THIS ESSAY I WILL-

[royalarmyofoz]

love the change from "i hope you're happy"(derogitory) to "i hope you're happy"(affectionate) in defying gravity

[twolovelyberries]

3—no—4? 5? tickets to challengers please

[lyculuscaelus]

We’re in one of the oldest fandoms where the canon itself is long lost and the source materials for us to draw inspiration from are those of the earliest fanfics themselves—two of which being commonly accepted as beta canon due to their top quality. Sometimes these fanfics contradict each other due to all sorts of OOCs and inconsistencies which is forcing us to choose our own sources to rely on to draw fanart and write fanfics. Each generation of fanfic writers are introducing more headcanons in their works and sometimes their fanfics of fanfics become so popular that they are prompting new sub-fandoms to emerge, inspiring more people to draw fanart and write fanfics for these fanfics of fanfics. It’s almost as if there is a family tree of fanfics and we’re now reaching the third generation and beyond

[greenerteacups]

i'm begging everyone everyone please stop what you're doing and go read this fic where draco is a legionnaire and hermione is a domestic in his household. I could talk about this for hours but I cannot possibly sell it better than the tags can:

[quick-catton]

i just want to say that these two have been on my mind literally all of january. the thought of the debauchery they would indulge in. bobby and his pretty boygirlfriend. using him as a decoy in robberies, his cute lil thing an easy distraction while he takes what he needs, allowing them both to easily slip away. getting to show off his pretty baby in clubs, having a sweet little thing as his passenger princess during long drives through the dessert. a doll for him to dress up and have hanging off his arm wherever they go. anyway <3

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

ON THE TOPIC OF BARNABY. as well as his relationship with Wally.

So. To kick this off - Riv (@funonion) and I were Speculating, and they introduced me to the johari window:

They put Barnaby in the “facade” section, and I entirely agree. To quote them;

“So he’s Wally’s guide, right? He’s the “knowledgeable” one of the two and is always the one teaching him new things. And you know, it’s one thing if you’re just teaching him how to laugh or how to tell a joke. But.

Clown has given us two doors. One says that Barnaby understands Wally in a way the rest of the neighborhood doesn’t, and is willing to do his dirty work so to speak. The other says that their friendship was not a natural occurring thing and had to be enforced repeatedly within the show. HOW THAT’S BEING ENFORCED IS ANOTHER THING ENTIRELY but it is worth it to note.

What is Barnaby willing to keep? What is he willing to bury for his little buddy? I can’t say anything definitively yet, but the fact that I even have to ask is telling. The class clown archetype is usually used as a way to cover up for something else a character might be experiencing”

And my response, (I won’t directly quote because I have little things in the phrasing & elaboration to add / tweak );

Barnaby being a Comic Relief Character immediately raised so many alarms in my head. I love comic relief characters. They’re always so fucked up in one way or another, and Barnaby is almost certainly SO inauthentic. He’s wearing a comedy mask just as opaque as Wally’s own mask. In everything we’ve seen about him so far he’s either Teaching Wally, wisecracking/joking, or… pretty much nothing else. We got that moment of concern in audio 14-14, but that doesn’t reveal anything beyond genuine care for Wally.

Comedic characters have the best disguises. Their poker faces & ability to deflect is always top tier [and practiced], and just look at comedy-focused actors and entertainers - so many of them have severe issues, either with their mental health or life. From what i’ve observed both in that aspect & with fictional characters, they play it off & work hard to entertain/deflect [one in the same] right up until the end. Sometimes it’s a coping mechanism. Usually it’s both. If they laugh loud enough and make people think they’re lighthearted fools w/ nothing underneath, no one will look any deeper and thus they’re “safe”. 

& I’m a little suspicious that Barnaby’s red/orange/yellow spots aren’t naturally those colors. While yes, he could be (in-universe) designed that way to echo Ms. Beagle, there’s a strong possibility that that’s not it. What if he paints them to feel a connection to her, or it’s a physical manifestation of Barnaby covering up his insecurities/issues - what if it’s part of him striving to convince the world that he is what he paints himself as. 

The laidback funnyguy with a loving mom and not a problem in the world. 

And I mean, Barnaby claims to be a natural blue and I believe him! But the other colors? I’m doubtful

(I was going to include the Cast As Lil Kids Designs in this since Barnaby has all blue spots, but given how early in 2021 it was posted and how there seem to be little discrepancies from the ~official~ designs, I don’t want to provide it as evidence.)

& on the topic of Wally and Barnaby’s relationship being both real and not - disclaimer, this conversation happened before my Updated Thoughts On Them post, so there may be some minor rephrasing here from what I originally said - I’m sure that the relationship started out as inauthentic. Wally was assigned Barnaby as a best friend and technically vice versa, but I don’t doubt for a second that it became real to some extent. Clown wouldn’t treat their relationship outside of “canon” WH stuff the way that he does if they weren’t actually friends. They’ve said that Wally & Barnaby would be friends in every universe (which melts my heart <3 platonic soulmates my beloved <3), so then I have to agree with Riv. what WILL Barnaby do for Wally? I touched on this in the Milk Theory, but especially if Barnaby prides himself on “knowing Wally better than anything else”, what would Barn do to preserve that?

This relates to another conversation we had - Barnaby possibly having abandonment issues. It’s such a choice to have him of all characters be explicitly stated as an orphan. That and while every other Neighbor with a mentioned family have a somewhat large one (Howdy and his gajillion relatives, Julie and her three siblings, Poppy and her crowded tree [note: Eddie has a mentioned mother, but that info is tenuous and who knows if there are other Dears]), Barnaby has also explicitly stated that Ms. Beagle is his only family. That’s it. And farm life can’t be a sociable way to grow up, not with all the chores he must have had and how rural he might have grown up. Barnaby jokes that Home is the “Big Apple”, which could just be a joke - but jokes often come from a place of truth, and Home might be the most populated area Barnaby has lived in. Who’s to say!

Either way, Barnaby was orphaned one way or another, and I don’t doubt that it weighs on him. Especially if  his birth parents really did abandon him. That added to a possible life of loneliness… I wonder if he’s latched onto Wally emotionally, which would hit all the painful places if it turns out that my “Barnaby is more attached to Wally than Wally is to Barnaby” theory has merit. Abandonment issues could also strongly back the apparent walls he’s plastered over with circus tent fabric

Back to Barnaby & Wally: the fact that, at present, Barnaby and Wally seem to have the best disguises / strongest masks. That. looking at 14-14, i suspect that Barnaby is excellent at keeping his up, but as soon as Wally’s mask cracks, so does Barnaby’s. 

And then there’s the side of their dynamic that we could look at - it seems to be a very multifaceted relationship. The way that Barnaby genuinely cares yet in the 00 Halloween audio Wally was left off to the side and Barnaby was just “checking on him” while socializing (then again, this could be part of Barnaby understanding Wally & respecting his space / Wally wanting a break from that socialization). Barnaby is patient with Wally and yet he seems to sometimes treat Wally as his sidekick / let him fade into the background and yet Barnaby kept checking in on Wally during the 14 bug audios (this last one I could tie into the abandonment issues theory). 

Then there’s how Barnaby calls Wally kid & can tend to treat him like one despite both of them being in the same age group. The way that all of this could, in a way, relate to the infantilization of autistic people (no matter how well-meaning or unintentional) & internalized ableism. 

Note: Riv pointed out that Barnaby does seem to be doing the best with what he has, and that this can connect to the Johari Window’s blind spot / unknown. 

I do agree with this wholeheartedly! And I have to mention that - and making a Very educated guess here - the interactions we’ve seen take place in the very late 60s / very early 70s, so Barnaby’s behavior towards Wally is actually pretty fucking stellar given the time period. We can’t expect him to be perfect or do everything / say everything right. That would be boring I think! And one thing I deeply appreciate about the Neighbors & their dynamics is that they feel like real layered people, not cardboard cutouts being perfect caricatures of what people are “supposed” to be like.

Riv also presented this:

We likely are going to reach a point where Wally asks Barnaby something that he can’t / doesn’t want to / won’t answer. And like.. Ok. This is a slight tangent but I swear it’s related! When I first discovered WH and learned the Wally basics, I wondered two things.

Are we going to watch Wally “discover” new emotions? Because he certainly has them. Clown has said that Wally only ever feels happy, and a lot of people took that to mean that Wally can’t feel anything else. I don’t think we should take that answer at face value, because. I mean. Look at the project & creator we’re talking about. Layers, guys. Indirect direct answers. I think that Clown meant that Wally only ever feels happy in the Neighborhood because he has no reason to feel any negative emotion. Everything is as it should be. Until it isn’t - and I think that’s where he’s going to have to struggle with new emotions as he encounters them through new situations/events unfolding as the “story” starts to deteriorate. We’ve actually seen this a little bit - in Wally’s record audios (i believe the chronological second to last?), the way he says “Let Me In” so insistently. That’s definitely not a positive emotion being expressed. 

How will the topic of death be handled - because it will be handled, it’s stated in the project warnings. I was wondering this even before I read the list, because I was presented with a blank slate puppet character and so went “oh fuck, this dude doesn’t know about death, does he?” Obviously I wanted to know how that would go. I want to know how it Will go! 

How would Barnaby explain emotions that Wally doesn’t know how to convey? How would Barnaby explain death in a way that Wally would understand - given that Barnaby (& all the Neighbors sans Wally) knows what death is  - and would Barnaby be willing to explain such a thing? I have a feeling we may find out.

And in a way, I suspect that if none of them know, Wally will find out himself and have to process it without help. But then again, how can something die if it was never really alive in the first place? Unless the death warning relates to human characters… I’m currently assuming it relates to both humans and puppets. 

In conclusion: Barnaby has a carefully fabricated facade, he's doing the best with what he has but it likely won't be enough, and uh. shits fucked!

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

"Jason was the happy robin" this, "jason was the angry robin" that. Let's all be fully honest here Jason was the lonely robin

[daffi-990]

Fuck it Friday

Tagged by @steadfastsaturnsrings @wikiangela @theotherbuckley @jamespearce9-1-1 and @thewolvesof1998. Go and check out what they’ve shared (Wolf posted the first chapter of a new fic!)

Writing has been slow for me lately due to it being school holidays (I have two young kids and I haven’t had much time alone for me to truly sit down and write). But today I did manage to get some stuff written for Rival Firefighters 🚒 so here you go …

They’re still shaking hands and smiling stupidly at each other when the ambulance behind them explodes, a big fiery ball of metal that Buck finally realizes as he turns to watch the flames, he could have been in.

“You guys hungry?” Buck and Bobby turn to Eddie who seems completely unfazed that the ambulance he and Buck had just been in had exploded.

Buck stares in awe at the man and then bursts out laughing, Eddie soon joining in.

Bobby shakes his head and mutters. “Great, now there’s two of them.” He claps his hands together to get their attention. Once they’ve gotten their laughter under control, he pulls out his wallet and holds out a debit card. “Go and grab yourselves some food and then we’ll head back to the station.” He nods over to two food trucks down the street from the empty parking lot they’re currently in.

Eddie looks hesitant to accept the card, but Buck has no qualms and plucks the card out of Bobby’s hand, flashing Eddie a beaming smile. They walk to the trucks and order the greasiest burgers on the menu with extra fries (in case Bobby gets peckish) and step to the side as they wait for their food.

“So …” Eddie licks his lips nervously and Buck finds himself tracking the movement. “Why did you suddenly hate me today?”

Letting out a sigh, Buck leans back against the side of the food truck, enjoying the warmth that the truck is emitting. “I didn’t hate you.” Eddie gives him a deadpan look like he doesn’t believe that for a second. “I didn’t!” Buck insists. “I just strongly disliked you and how easily you fit in here. I already told you that.”

“And now?” Eddie pushes, obviously not satisfied with Buck’s answer.

“Now? Well I think —” Buck pauses for a second so he can find the right words. Eddie however uses it as an opportunity to be an asshole (affectionately).

“Don’t hurt yourself”

“Shut up” Buck laughs, kicking his leg out at Eddie who laughs and dodges it with ease. “I was going to say I think I like you again, but now I’m not so sure.” Before Eddie can retaliate, their order is called and they go to the window to collect it.

No pressure tagging: @watchyourbuck @athenagranted @callmenewbie @fortheloveofbuddie @hippolotamus @spotsandsocks @lover-of-mine @devirnis @rainbow-nerdss @exhuastedpigeon @loserdiaz @disasterbuckdiaz @captain-hen @monsterrae1 @eddiebabygirldiaz @wildlife4life @weewootruck @try-set-me-on-fire @ladydorian05 @spagheddiediaz @malewifediaz @shitouttabuck @giddyupbuck @jesuisici33 @jeeyuns @the-likesofus @nmcggg @mellaithwen @missmagooglie and anyone I missed who wants to post something 🥰

[delicatepoets]

on undying friendships for @fightingdragonswithwho​ <3

graceland too - phoebe bridgers / daisy jones and the six / leonard cohen - boygenius / a league of their own (2022) / a little life - hanya yanagihara / ladybird (2017) / the seven husbands of evelyn hugo - taylor jenkins reid

[bylertruther]

yk. the resistance ppl have to so much as considering the idea that mike might not jump to immediately and enthusiastically engaging in obvious n indisputably gay shit with will publicly is kinda funny in a puzzling way when season three and season four, where he does exactly that the entire way through, are literally right there for us all to watch on netflix.com. like. Okay ❤️

[moonilit]

Some random stuff

[blueskittlesart]

tbh possibly the funniest move nintendo has ever made was rereleasing sksw, The Timeline Game, like a year before totk, getting all the new botw fans obsessed with the timeline lore, and then fucking everything up with zero explanation in totk. i hope they never explain it i hope they just leave it like this forever

[tenwhiteandalusians]

so no one was going to tell me if i got literally one episode further tenax drops that he’s the one who saved scorpus from his mom’s pimp AND that he’s intimately familiar with scorpus’ dick when he was younger. guys. guys.

[starleska]

you know what we really needed in Despicable Me 4? Maxime and Valentina being in love!!! 💖 Maxime calling Valentina ma chérie and gushing over her excellent piloting skills. Valentina being awestruck by Maxime's insect strength and speed. the pair of them talking favourably of each other's villainy, perhaps a hand around the waist, a kiss for doing a good job...anything!!!

i was hoping for more familiarity, cosiness, camaraderie... anything which could come with a villainous couple who've been together as long as they have 😭

[aureli-us]

the sebastian vael hate on twitter dot com is fucking INSANE and i hate it