#who doesn't understand people also go through things too that are equally traumatic

[itmegaygrump]

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[commsroom]

this is a sensitive topic for me, so i really hate that i have to make this post, but unfortunately it keeps becoming relevant: stop infantilizing hera, and stop making excuses for it.

"well, she's literally four years old" she's been fully conscious with an adult mind for most of that, awake for most of that, and in multiple places at once for most of that. do you think that is comparable to a child's life experience, or is it maybe representative of something else?

i assume you understand why it would be wrong to call lovelace "literally two" because the fact that she is a clone is textually representative of the trauma she's been through. i also assume you understand why hera occasionally making flippant or frustrated comments about her own struggles living as an AI is different from the text telling you who she is or how you should regard her. it's science fiction, and it's a show that uses science fiction concepts in ways that resonate with real ones. the ultimate fact of the matter is that hera could've been in a lab for 30 years, or for 200 years, in a different setting, and be written the exact same way: as a sheltered, isolated adult woman without real life experiences.

hera is not a child or teenager in a natural stage of development. she is an adult who never went through the usual stages of development or life milestones, who has adult friendships and responsibilities, but who feels she is permanently ill-equipped to handle her life because no one ever taught her how, or gave her the space to make mistakes. if you don't understand why this distinction is important in discussing her trauma, that there are real, adult people who feel the same way, people who feel they've only been alive for four years, women who were never girls... then i really don't know what to say to you.

and i guess i have to say it: it's inherently infantilizing to say her peers see her the same way they see an actual child, or to say she needs them to be parental figures, especially eiffel of all people. "adult women have parents too" not ones that are 30 year old men! and parents have responsibilities to children, even adult children, that are different from the responsibilities two unrelated adults who care about each other have. it fundamentally reframes hera's most equal relationship in a way that diminishes her autonomy within it. (and if you're arguing it's all equal anyway, then what does it add? why don't you consider friendship as important?)

i know some people will dismiss that point because i view eiffel and hera romantically, but i've never argued you have to. if you want to go down that road, it says some pretty awful things about the couple of writers and actors who also view it romantically if you think she was meant to be viewed as a child, much less comparable to his child. you're inventing problems that don't canonically exist.

i just don't understand why you would make it about eiffel at all - and eiffel does not have the right to be a parent; the only thing that will heal his relationship with his real actual child is in relation to his real actual child - instead of discussing what a disabled, isolated, traumatized adult might be able to offer a disabled, traumatized kid. isn't the whole point of hera not being like pryce about breaking cycles? why make her a passive figure in her own story when her entire story arc is about taking control of her life?

there's no utility to this line of thought that doesn't further demean and alienate her, while implying she isn't ready to be a fully autonomous adult person. i don't think most people mean to be ableist, but hera is canonically a disabled woman, and i don't like where that line of thought leads. and yes, she's just a fictional character and can't be hurt by it, but everyone brings some real-world biases to how they engage with fiction. she's written as a marginalized adult person, and her womanhood is textually tied to defense of her personhood and autonomy (as well as a parallel to lovelace, also a marginalized woman.) to paraphrase minkowski - "you are going to show [that woman] some goddamned respect."

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Okay, so I've seen a lot of posts on the "should Morro have stayed dead or should he have been given a redemption arc" and all that and I just kind of wanted to share my thoughts on the topic. I don't think his canon ending is bad, in fact there's a lot I like about it. It's a tragedy and a very good one at that. The way it ends with him and Wu, and with the whole "you can only save those who wish to be saved" quote? That's poignant, that has narrative weight. I think to say that it's bad is to ignore a lot of what makes Morro a good character. He's a reflection of Wu as a teacher, his teachings, and he's a foil to Kai specifically. He shows us why Wu works better now, and why he teaches the way he does. A large component of what makes his story have depth isn't just that he died young and was traumatized it's that he continued a cycle of trauma on with Lloyd (and Cole, if you considered that he dies indirectly due to Morro's actions but that's another topic). He's a bad person, he did really bad things, that's part of who he is. But, I think it's a misstep to call him irredeemable. I think that misses the point of his character entirely actually, like severely. Morro isn't irredeemable, he shows that he's capable of growth in the very scene he dies in! That's part of the tragedy too! It's not a 'hot-take' to miss the point of a character because it's the cool fandom opinion of the month actually. I know people are frustrated at the fandom misogyny in how people talk about Morro vs. Harumi and I agree, it is frustrating, but y'all are just spreading around just plain bad takes and that's getting frustrating.

On the topic of missteps, as much as I do like it, I also think it was a misstep in how DOTD handled Morro. In general DOTD has some interesting ideas and concepts but is overall flat and under-cooked. Morro's part in it isn't excluded from that. DOTD brings him back, it shows that he is extremely capable of change and growth, and understanding (which is something you guys like to ignore too, actually). Then, it has him just leave again, die and I understand why but I think it's very genuinely sad in a way I don't think was intended, or well done. I think it backtracks on the narrative weight his conclusion in Possessed had. Possessions' ending for him is sad but it has depth and weight. DOTD just brings him back for fan service, and again, just has him die, and it's because he wants to. I understand they were going for a "at peace" kind of approach with him but it just falls flat in my opinion. If they were going to bring him back, and I know this is kind of a debated topic, I think they should've just kept him. And everyone who says that he wouldn't be capable of change for that is dead-wrong, the show proves it, and just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad. In terms of how it's handled in fanon, I think it's a mixed bag. Some people do it really well, faithful to his character but other times I think he just gets hit with the fanonization beam really hard. Sometimes you see his woobification of him based on the trauma and death he went through, and that erases what makes him and any sort of possible redemption or relationships with him interesting. I think people tend to miss the idea that a redemption is both not something a character has to 'deserve' (because redemption doesn't equal forgiveness) and also something a character has to work towards. The idea a redemption has to be deserved (as a moral concept not a narrative concept), instead of something worked towards by the character presents in people downplaying his actions and effects, but also in people acting like redemption is inherently reductive to his character because he's bad guys, he's a bad guy guys. Bad guys don't deserve redemption guys (/sarcastic). To be entirely real, I do think redemption can and does have a place in his writing. You can't look at how he acted at the end of possession and DOTD and tell me otherwise. Redemption in fiction at the end of the day is a narrative device and trope, and how a character is written informs their development. Additionally, I think some of you guys take his "you can only save those who want to be saved" way way too literally. That, too, is tragic and it's not because it's right. When characters speak, nine times out of ten, you're not supposed to baselessly accept and internalize what they say as correct and true. Was it true when Cole said he wasn't a ninja after dying in the same season? Was it true when Kai said he deserves to be the green ninja, just because he said it? Come on. Also, just, I think sometimes this fandom needs to accept different people find different things appealing and cathartic. It's okay to prefer a tragedy, but it's also okay to prefer the idea of him redeeming himself (because it takes work) and healing. There's this whole argument about whether or not saying he should've gotten a redemption arc (kind of a stupid question to begin with, in my opinion) but at the end of the day, it's already done. Also, both ends of the spectrum can have the most frustrating takes on him, and yeah I'm going to be annoyed and salty about it if you couldn't already tell. Anyways, there's no proper point to this because it's really just be ranting about several things I find really frustrating about how people handle this topic, so take it as you will. You can disagree, but I'm not saying his ending is bad nor that his tragedy is bad. In fact if you disagree I encourage that this fandom is way too prone to just parroting each others (mostly bigger blogs) opinions and not their own personal ones, so yeah.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

First I must make it clear that I came for Yves, stayed for Cyprus, and found Mont to be my true love. And Blanche as my confusing friend in the midst.

As a new fan that has been searching through this all, my knowledge isn't the best but I'm trying.

Yves is so interesting but also expansive that I'm having a bit of a hard time grasping it all. He's your personification of infallible unconditional love that people can display right? The mother of mothers.

Yet I can't find myself wanting to be open or close to him even with the knowledge that he won't judge me or that he'll take care of me like I dream of. Almost like I'm expecting him to be this way because I'm already viewing him in that parental role since I can't find mysel liking him romantically.

In contrast the thought of Cyprus doing the chores and cooking like in the Yandere coworker series, it gives me a warm giddy feeling like most yanderes would for me. Because I view him in a more romantic light.

I think that says a lot about how he's written and portrayed subconsciously by you. Since I read about him hating children and pets making me decide not to pursue him romantically it made me view all the other works of him differently.

But what I also found jarring due to that view is the first chapter of [the best and worst of both worlds] where he's so flirty and fun while the reader is this nervous failure in response.

From what I've seen Yves wants to mother and while you did say he would change himself for the reader, he wouldn't upheaval himself.

So what does he do when the reader is someone who wants to mother someone else, much like that one ask about Yves being a monster in law against Monty.

Now that was Yves just not being with reader and reader already with Monty. So if [tbawobw] (I'm sorry lol) had a far more put together reader that didn't stalk or fawn over Yves, how would he go about getting their attention?

Another thing I want to question is about Yves with a guarded reader. Now we know that he's 'okay' (debatable) with a reader that just chooses to keep him as a friend. And that if reader would hate who Yves is as a person, he would manipulate the environment to get their views to broaden before approaching.

But Yves with a reader who is very friendly, warm and caring to everyone but will not get close to them. Texts are dry, conversations never steer into Reader's personal life, such questions get obviously ignored or clearly told 'I'm not comfortable with that' and reader keeps even family apart mentally from their inner thoughts and feelings.

Now Yves has all the info, he's Yves but it means nothing if he can't get the reader to actually open up to him even when they do meet. They could be near homeless and still say 'I'll be fine, [insert clear conversation chang].'

Sure he can gift them all the money and gifts, they'll accept and use it. Only telling him that they used it wisely and appreciated his kindness before keeping the convo minimal. The kind of reader that has no shame in telling Yves that they feel uncomfortable with his amount/type of questions and/or visits.

So let's say he drives them into a corner, not too traumatizing but enough so that reader is forced in his vicinity when they breakdown from stress. He comforts them, reassures them, helps them and what happens?

The exact same thing. And if he does ask why they won't let him of all people close even when he is the first person that reader has broke down in front of, the response he gets is a 'I have never seen you become as unstable as I was in front of you. That dynamic felt unfair and uneven so I'd rather us return to our old one where we both were equals without faults.' and they just end it saying they understand if Yves doesn't want to be friends anymore.

What does he do then? He won't break down, he promised himself after all he's been through. So faking a breakdown won't work but just telling false information doesn't work either. Anymore traumatizing could be permanent too.

Yves could just use his drugs and subtle mind control thing that I'm still not really sure how it works, to nudge reader to accept his kindness. But we've seen it with Yandere Brother before, where some people are stubborn enough to require direct methods. Reader could have that same mental fortitude.

AND we all know this situation would be killing Yves, as he loves to coddle and mother reader. Would sending anyone ahead of himself before they meet even work? Only Yves would have the means necessary to make reader break down and someone else comforting them, someone who does break down in front of reader too making it 'equal' earning Reader's trust and closeness would only backfire.

Because now Reader would have someone to turn to for their emotional needs. Even if Yves killed that person off, Reader would just grow even colder to everyone outside of themself.

If he went the drugging then it goes back to reader continuously only giving in when having breakdowns/being drugged. Both which are harmful long term. And mainly that reader isn't truly turning to Yves out of their own violation but out of habit. It becomes emotionless, almost like a chore. They find no real comfort in Yves fixing their problem or caring for them or being with them. The true reader is even more guarded to him.

I feel like this dynamic would be very depressing for him, this situation in whole would be triggering Yves motherly instincts on full throttle while not letting him do as he wishes to help.

But yeah I only know so much so if there's another ask that goes on this road just link it for me please. If not, I would love to hear your take on how Yves would handle it.

Shifting to another point of Yves, lets rewind to how Yves actually feels not being readers partner. We know he won't date them if they can't handle not having sex or not being faithful.

He becomes the monster in law but there's 3 specific post that I really want to focus on. 1 - how Yves reacts to a respectful reader that ends the relationship 2nd date due to the sex. 2 - how he reacts to Monty being the husband. 3 - a post about how being just the friend is killing Yves in the inside. [the one comparing him to Pearl from SU]

So going for 1, in the post Yves is all 'okay' and smiles and just wants to be close with reader. And it's very clear that reader would have dated Yves if not for the sex. Yves vets all the possible partners for the future and only allows the one that fits his standards to stay.

But then it all comes crashing down when we get to 2.

This scenario doesn't touch on how the timing between Reader meeting Yves and Monty. It seems to imply that the whole sex thing wasn't a factor.

As previously stated, he feels that Monty is bad and absolutely nothing good but Yves pushes himself to get along somewhat with Monty to make reader happy. Monty is a yandere and honestly? A big variable at first since Monty's obsession with reader is pure chance.

So if reader is more put together then [tbawobw] leading to a more subby and controllable Monty making them much more compatible without Yves romantically in the mix. Reader could get attached and start dating Monty before Yves can gather enough info against Monty that ultimately doesn't matter because all Monty cares about is reader.

(and my computer is dying, I should speed this up)

Now in the 2 post, Yves has this breakdown about why reader didn't want to be with Yves in all his perfection and instead went with Monty who is his opposite. He says that they could have chosen someone better.

But what exactly does that mean for Yves?

Now on the surface it's just that Yves really wants reader to have the best possible and be well taken care of since Yves can't be their partner due to sex. But that isn't really how he feels. If reader chose a 'good husband' Yves could at least pretend like it doesn't bother him much.

But he just can't with Mont, not with the differences between them. Yves glaring hatred for not being readers husband, for having it taken from him in general is made so obvious and that. That right there is what's pushing him to breaking down in the form that he hates.

Post 3 confirms it all. But it doesn't bring up the topic of sex. Something that he already has so much trauma with. It's hard not to bring up some self loathing even though Yves (rightfully) wouldn't change his boundaries.

So in the worst case scenario, a guarded reader that I described above, rejects Yves respectfully due to the sexual incompatibility, proceeds to open up naturally to MONT and marry him keeping Yves always as a friend at best.

Just how deep in hell is his life? Would something like this expose new actions from Yves? I, uh, do have one more thing about Yves but I think I should just send it like this. It's long enough.

W anon

holy shit W anon u put the W in win bro

a WHOLE ASS THESIS omg thank u so much i love analyses holy crap like a whole well structured and well written essay on Yves's character and his complex feelings of being cucked

ultimately he wants you to be happy, but technically faking breakdowns can work if he does it convincingly enough. His breakdowns will never be about his TRUE past traumas. He thinks you're too delicate and innocent to handle that without accidentally traumatizing yourself too. HOWEVER, he may give you very ,very watered down concepts of what had happened to him- or downright fake events.

He would stage slips of sanities strategically and breakdowns too to coax you out of that shell. But not too much to raise suspicion out of you. Just enough to manipulate you into thinking he can be anything less than perfect. Remember, he's a terrific actor. Anything vulnerable about Yves is probably not real and is probably a highly calculated move

but yes, let's say you rolled a nat 20 on perception checks every time and you caught his bullshit, and he KNOWS that you will catch onto it, AND you fell in love with Monty because he's not fancy pants rich mcgee.... its spirituality and religion time. He will be literally doing black magic rituals just to keep himself in check, he knows that it probably won't help, but this is just for him to not fall into the abyss of despair and insanity, just to retain his sense of self in a reality that loves to erode it exponentially.

so basically, rule of thumb for Yves: if it's anything that he cannot solve without either destroying his boundaries or destroying your happiness, he's drawing those fucking sigils on his attic floor with his blood, lighting candles n shit (just like when you want to die while suffering from dementia, but he keeps you alive because he's selfish)

[hello-nichya-here]

Hi. What do you think about Lisa and Michael's marriage? I mean... they had a complex relationship. Do you think he made mistakes in some of his actions? Do you think both were immature?

The best way to describe Michael Jackson is "Surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who was abused his entire life" and the best way to describe Lisa is "Surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who was literally being exploited in a cult."

I love Michael with all my heart, but he would disappear for weeks after fights with his wife, and told her, to her face, that if she didn't give him children, he was gonna get someone else (who was supposedly just a friend) pregnant, and then he did and went on to marry her. "Made mistakes" is quite the understatement. This is on the level of "Do you WANT to make this woman hate you?"

Not to mention the simple fact that being married to someone who has an addiction is quite the emotional turmoil - especially when they're addicted to the same thing that killed one of your parents and full on told you they feared they'd die the same way. It really isn't hard to understand why Lisa Marie asked for a divorce, and then also gave up on the "affair" they had during his second marriage (well, """"marriage"""" if we're going to be honest here).

But that's not to say Lisa was perfect. She wasn't. She full on said "He had a sad childhood, but who didn't?" to kind of dismiss the whole Peter Pan thing he had of compensating for the time of his life - which is an INSANE thing to say. There's "My childhood wasn't that fun" and there's being a survivor of abuse.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Lisa was some heartless monster (if anything, to me that sounds more like her being very much in denial about how traumatic her own childhood was and not liking that Michael was indirectly/accidentally reminding her "No, what happened to you wasn't normal, you need help too") but obviously it'd hurt to open up about something like that and have your own wife act like you're being dramatic. Dude was the definition of "Just 'cause you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you" after all, of course he would take that to heart.

Lisa also full on admited that, looking back, she had not truly appreciated how much Michael had genuinely tried to make things work for a long time. That it truly had been a HUGE step in the right direction for someone as traumatized him to open up to her the way he did, to share his life with someone, to let everyone see him in love. She full on said that it took him dying for her to finally understand that he loved her.

I think Lisa also set herself up for disappointment to some extent.

She married the man that called himself Peter Pan and lived in Neverland, then was suprised that he was goofing off during interviews instead of trying to act more "adult" to prove their marriage was real. She didn't want her marriage to be turned into a spectacle, yet her husband was literally Michael Jackson (and he had just been accused of abusing little boys, OF COURSE he'd be reminding everyone that he was very much a straight man). She literally said in an interview that she thought she could save him - she looked at that trainwreck of a life that left this man badly damaged, emotionally stunted, paranoid and depressed, then went "I can fix him!" when she was equally messed up. Just terrible idea after terrible idea.

They both went through A LOT of tragedy from a very young age, and it messed them up. On good days, that made them a great match because they could relate to, and find comfort in, each other. But on the bad days? It was a VERY toxic relationship - and not because one or both of them were terrible people, but because, to put it bluntly, it's hard to have a normal, healthy relationship when you never experienced it, or even seen it, your whole life. Of course they didn't know how to make it work.

Add in the fact that a lot of people, including Lisa's mother, seemed to be actively rooting for them to fail, and openly questioning if their marriage was even real, and it becomes a truly unbearable situation. Lisa gets a lot of shit from some MJ fans for being the one who ended things (twice), but in all honesty, sooner or later Michael would have said "enough is enough" too.

And it really is a shame, because considering how genuinely happy they seemed through a lot of their marriage, how they showed support to each other through hard times after spliting up, how they couldn't keep their hands off each other for five freaking years after their divorce, how Michael's nephew was defending Lisa from slanders in public because he had only ever heard his uncle say good things about her, and how much Lisa was grieving after Michael's death, it's clear that they loved each other A LOT.

[autumn-foxfire]

Movie 25: Bride of Halloween time!

And it's already forcing the romance >.> It is funny that Ran always shuts down Sonoko's comments about Shinichi crushing on her as Conan. That's her little brother, she does not entertain that bullshit.

...Did they not bother telling the guests that this was a fake wedding?

Poor Sato, she looked absolutely traumatized over even the thought of Takagi dying on her.

Sato looks very beautiful in her wedding dress, though. I hope we do see the day Takagi and Sato get married, out of all the couples, they are ones I would love to see.

Something I've noticed in the introductions: they never introduce Ran as Shinichi's girlfriend, just his childhood friend, even though they've been together for a while in the manga and anime now. I guess even those who do the introductions don't want to say they're together :p

It's so nice of Shinichi to imagine Ran in her wedding to Sera :p Thank you for telling us he did, Ai.

She's so pretty-

AND SHE JUST GOT BLOWN UP.

KOGORO T-T He was actually being a good father for a change too... He didn't even think when it came to protecting Ai from danger.

They're so scared for him T-T

I like when the police can be competent, especially Sato as we know that Gosho doesn't respect his female characters as much as they deserve so it's nice when writers do give it to them.

I forgot that Matsuda texted his "friend" even after his death. That's very gay, gay, homosexual, gay of him. Sounds like he couldn't let him go.

Fewer and fewer people came because they're all dead. Amuro is the only one of his friends left.

...Did the movies forget that Takagi and Sato are already dating? And that they're sleeping together, both sexually and non-sexually? This seems like drama for the sake of drama.

Ran is not as worried for Kogoro as she would usually be? They didn't get the best writers for this movie, did they. They got a great team to animate though because it looks really good.

Takagi understands Sato so well T-T Well, at least the writing isn't all bad.

I have to wonder how these agents feel, being told to take a child to their boss and they have no clue why. They must suspect that their is something wrong with this child, especially if he's being treated like an equal by their boss.

And it doesn't get solved by you but rather by a know-it-all boy who can't keep his nose out of investigations even if it'll cost him his life.

Was that Amuro's car that just got destroyed? Ouch.

Well at least Date put it to good use.

And of course Scotch asked about his boyfriend. He also came to save his life.

It's not really that tense when I know he doesn't die here, but later.

They tried to make a run for it so they didn't have to do errands for others XD

Ai first had to go through it and now Shinichi almost died T-T They're not having a good time this movie, are they.

Ran looks very pretty in this outfit she's wearing. Very mature but not overly so.

Okay but Takagi looks good with Matsuda's haircut. However, I do like how normal he usually looks so I don't want him to change his normal haircut, just appreciating our great man Takagi.

No one should question Shinichi's presense anymore. Even if he was invited, he would be find his way inside a confidential meeting.

Shinichi just clicked his fingers... to tell everyone that they have a hint for the case. He's so overly dramatic, he gets it from his mother. The only thing he taes after his father is his intelligence and colouring, he gets everything else from his mother.

Lol I wonder if Shinichi was trying to get info from Amuro about his dead boyfriend.

She is so angry. You know she's also angry at herself for going alone with this plan and putting Takagi in danger. But damn she also looks incredibly hot.

Considering how he's panicking Takagi is actually a pretty good actor.

Takagi: I am in WAY over my head.

I really, really love the art direction for this movie. They're bringing out the unique style of detective conan to great lengths.

...Those were supposed to be burns?

They looks like tattoos, not burns. If you're going to do scars, commit to it. Give her proper scars.

OH THEY CAN DO SCARS.

Shinichi has gone into his mind map again. It's not as fun when Kaito isn't there helping him along.

Can't have a movie where Shinichi isn't lying to Ran's face!

Awww, Ai put on a hat for the halloween spirit.

Shinichi's latest genius idea: fake being kidnapped in order to get to the culprit.

Oof, poor guy was completely fooled by his future "wife". He's going to struggle to trust again.

Amuro has no chill. He just dislocated that woman's arm.

I love when he makes this face after he saves people. It's his "well that was fucking close," face which makes it look like he isn't taking what he did all that seriously.

I vote for letting the bitch die but I know Shinchi isn't stopping her for the culprits sake, but rather to save the heart of the woman who had lost too much.

This is the best side of Shinichi.

And Agasa once again saves the day.

I hope Ran gets to help with keeping the football in place. She is there after all.

CAN WE NOT DO THE RAN THING. IT'S SO GODDAMN CRINGY.

Sick shot. He's taking after his husband with the moon shots.

So Matsuda and Shinichi used the same method to stop the bomb and they did so because of Matsuda's dead boyfriend.

One of the only couples I cheer for when they kiss XD

I'm guessing the post credit scene is another practise. Yeah.

THEY BROUGHT TAKAGI WITHOUT HIM KNOWING. OKAY THAT'S FUNNY.

[beanghostprincess]

that pudding card is GORGEOUS i love her so much she doesn't deserve to be a part of op discourse leave my girl alone she just needs love

Pudding is such a complex character! I love her so so much! She really means the world to me. Honestly, her whole story is completely relatable and the fact that it's basically used to parallel Sanji's doesn't help. It just makes everything hurt more. I could talk about her for hours and how misinterpreted her character is due to fandom discourse and the recent wave of "puritanism" within the internet.

I'm not gonna get too into fandom discourse because I hate it and I already have horrible experiences about it in this fandom (with Lawlu, specifically), but... I find it stupid. Her character has so many layers. She's just as complex and traumatized as Sanji. That's... That's quite the whole point? She made mistakes and has mixed feelings and different types of personalities due to her past and trauma responses. She made mistakes. Sanji made mistakes too. The only damn reason why people don't forgive her is because "she hurt our little meow meow <//3 She's so evil!!! Evil woman!!!" as if they wouldn't forgive her character right away if she were a MAN. Like. Misogyny who??

Anyway, I think it's pretty obvious people don't like Pudding because of obvious misogyny and overprotection of Sanji. Which is understandable because I'm also very intense when it comes to him, but damn... He would not like it if he knew y'all hate her for her mistakes.

Also, people only talk about her to say "she's a great character but her age gap with Sanj-" why does it always have to be about Sanji? Let the girl be her own character. Have you hear of the Bechdel test? No? Perhaps you could try it? Her character is obviously created for Sanji, but she's so much more! Let her escape!!! From the hands of patriarchy and men!! That being said, the whole discourse about their age gap is... Just... So fucking stupid.

Don't go cancelling me right away. I'm just saying that when it comes to stuff like age Oda doesn't seem to be very... Consistent? He's made mistakes before. And the Charlottes are a very huge family. I'm sure not even Oda knows the order of these children, lmfao. I think he would only say shit like "Katakuri is one of the oldest and Pudding is one of the youngest idk. Just made her one of the youngest to match Sanji's backstory of being one of the youngest". But leaving that aside-- Maturity never equals age in a show that's... About pirates... Where everyone has different experiences with different social surroundings... It's just like the Lawlu discourse, damn. You have to know the characters before saying crazy stuff like "Law would groom Luffy" because HOW??? HOW WOULD HE DO THAT??? That's basically impossible. And you need to think about the characters before assuming things. And Sanji and Pudding? Leaving aside the age difference, Pudding has more power over Sanji and that's noticeable. Does that even matter tho? They understand each other on the same level after all in the end. Tbh I couldn't tell about the age difference. I thought they were the same age ngl. Only found out bc I saw the discourse going on and my first reaction was "This is fucking dumb". Tbh their relationship is one of the healthiest I've ever seen for Sanji. We see him being himself for once without being extremely creepy. The whole arc about him losing himself is about a girl loving him for who he truly is. And the whole arc about a girl being judged for being different is about a boy loving her for who she truly is. It's so beautiful!!!

Anyway. Not the point. The thing is that people hate Pudding for... Absolutely nothing? Not knowing how to read complex characters? I still don't get it. Perhaps it's just that my mommy issues are too harsh and I can see through her but damn.

Ana also the whole thing about erasing Sanji's memories? People hate her for that and calling her... Selfish??? Did you not... Watch the scene... Of her crying because she lost the only person she has ever truly loved. But whatever. Call her selfish.

[embodies]

resi thoughts under the cut (to be organised by muse and whatnot later):

i don't believe heisenberg would remain the most dangerous lord for long. as it stands in the current game timeline? absolutely, but donna is miranda's latest creation (of the 4 lords) and has not yet fully come into her powers or really shown any desire to. her quiet position in the intro scene of the lords is at miranda's right hand and i think that's intentional on miranda's behalf - she knows donna exhibits more potential at this early stage than the others did, and i think given time she would be capable of more than some simple hallucinations and doll possession.

moreau will often be silent but if you watch closely, he mouths a lot of what other people are saying to himself. the forever desire to be anyone but himself...

miranda has (rare) moments of playfulness with her lords when she's onto a good spiral of research into gaining eva's perfect vessel. she's known to use her shapeshifting powers to prank them, or silly phrases like 'a little birdie told me' (i imagine her to use her ravens as spy drones similar to odin in god of war)

moreau's 'crown' is an attempt once again to distance himself, a feeble mimicry of miranda's regality. he heavily idolises her (the alternative is admitting she has deeply brutalised him beyond recognition, too traumatic a truth to face head on) and often has delusions of almost literally 'being' her. like a child playing make believe.

heisenberg will have thematic / imagery links to hephaestus (god of blacksmiths) in my writing

moreau gifted heisenberg the springweight (often used for fishing) he wears around his neck. an odd trinket but at its base level, metal = heisenberg so he gave him something of his own that was metal. heisenberg is strangely a fan of the ugly underdog (and thought the idea of wearing it was pretty punk or 'metal', pun intended) so added to it with other various metal adornments as we see. in return, heisenberg installed moreau's tv for him. he checks in on the guy once in a while through it.

heisenberg's main role in the village shifts of course as the lycan populace grows, needing more time away from the factory to keep them in check. an easy thing to do for a metal-mover, for he can send silver into their hearts faster than any gun could dream. miranda recognises this strength, hence the assignment.

donna looks slightly different to everyone who looks at her: her hallucination powers go beyond the flowers we see and my icons will reflect this, with no real faceclaim or media source for she is ever shifting in how she wants you to perceive (or not perceive) her. she cannot however hide the blemish on her eye on a permanent basis.

moreau saying 'you're stupid, you talk too much' etc. to ethan is a replication of things said to him. it is a hope to transfer his unfortunate status onto someone else: you'll also notice he doesn't speak in the introductory scene, perhaps trained to be mostly silent amidst the company of miranda and his lords.... because 'you talk too much'.

the lords (mostly heisenberg) often make degrading jokes at moreau's expense, wordplay with the name moreau and the word moron. it is so deeply ingrained now, sometimes he forgets to respond to his actual name.

miranda forces everyone to strictly speak romanian or english only. donna is the only one to subtly disobey this, often speaking italian to herself and only herself. strangely, angie cannot understand it. miranda equally bans the use of technology for communication with the outside world.

miranda's selection of the ravens as an animal associated to her was for practicality : they are common vermin in the village and could be used with ease to spy for her by sharing some of her cadou through them. she has also co-opted their wings for her imagery to provoke the perception of a biblically accurate angel, complete with eyes to emphasise that she sees all. there's also something symbolic to be found, ravens are tricksters and feed on carrion. much like miranda is scavenging from the 'dead' rose to reincarnate her eva....

donna can plant good hallucinations just as easily as bad ones. she just... doesn't tend to. in theory she could help alleviate nightmares by planting more pleasant dreams in someone's head, but again... she's not interested.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

(Sorry, a piece was missing in the message I sent)

I don't understand those who say that Mal is Alina's great love...

People... in a few months she imagined herself building a future with the Darkling / Alexander. If wrong was supposedly his great unwavering love, it wouldn't have crossed his mind after just a few months. She says so. She literally says that she and Alexander could have been together, had it all, and been equals. It doesn't sound like a band-aid relationship at all to just forget about Mal. She was truly moved on and ready to build a life with another man. She also expresses that Alexander was the first to show / prove to her that she was made for more.

Mal and Alina sound like family, then growing up, Alina developed a crush on him. After that, there was Alexander, the betrayal, and then it went back to Mal. There, that sounds like a bandage relationship.

Even more with the fact that she brings up her romantic love for Mal for the first time in front of Alexander, as if to make him jealous. Then afterwards, she literally sinks into this delirium that Mal is her great love.

To me, this is clearly the equivalent of a band-aid relationship to move on from Alexander. She refuses the idea that she might have wanted to share her life with him.

Mal and Alina, in the show may be kind of a cute romantic relationship, but to say that Mal is his great love / true love, while Alexander is literally coded as his soulmate... And who he's said to be with unambiguously she wanted a future with him... No, sorry, I don't buy into that idea.

" I will never feel such love again " I think Alina said something like that to Mal in episode 6... The joke. Girl, you're just in denial at this point.

There's also this insinuating that this true north between them, this unshakeable sense of family that they had been maybe just because Mal was the fucking firebird !? Mal literally told Alina that he no longer felt that " true north " between them ?!

Not to mention the fact that Alina also seems disturbed by Nikolai at the end of the season. You can see it from the way she looked at him when he talked about kissing. It wasn't just the look of someone general. Again, if Mal was supposedly her one big love / true love... I find that she allows herself to almost develop a new crush very quickly.

Brief. All that to say that it makes me laugh when people say that Mal is Alina's great love / true love, with all those things to consider.

Also, I don't understand those who argue that Mal is the same from the book to the series, when he's a completely different character ! I want to hit the one from the book and give a hug to the one from the series. On the other hand, in both cases he remains the least interesting character. But at least the actor has a presence and charisma.

There is a real interest that the Darklina story is not finished and continues in the series. I want at least one more kiss and a touching conclusion between them. It's not that hard to give anyway.

I mean when its comes to shipping etc everything is subjective and everyone is attracted to different things, that being said I too don't really understand or agree with this take that M*l is her great love. For me I see M*lina's relationship as a combination of trauma bonding and the effects of the amplifier. Their relationship actually reminds me alot of katniss and gale in hunger games where they both share this traumatic experience, their dads both dying in a cave in at the mine, and then become co-dependent on each other in order to survive, they need each other to survive, its very easy when going through something like that to mistake it for love, after winning the games and no longer needing gale to survive Katniss begins to realise that other than that trauma bonding them they didn't really have a whole lot in common, that they didn't really fit together and without that trauma they likely never even would have been friends let alone lovers. I think it is similar with M*l and Alina it was them both being orphans that bonded them, both being outcasts at the orphanage, they needed each other to survive, then there is the added effect of the amplifier which would have made them feel even more bonded and again I think it would be easy to think that you are in love. But the question to ask is, take away that need for survival, take away the amplifier and what it left? I think that was what the show was asking to when they had M*l admit that he didn't feel that true north feeling anymore and wonder if the only reason they 'fell in love' was because of the amplifier.

Also with Alina's 'I'm never going to feel a love like this again' line, I do think alot of this is saying things in the moment that don't always stand up to the test of time. The truth is Alina is immortal and M*l is not, so right now she may believe that but there is no telling if she would gone on after M*l's death and fall in love again. I mean like you pointed out a few months after being separated from M*l in season 1 and she was planning a future with Aleksander. It is obvious that she has some attraction to Nikolai though how deep that runs we'll have to see in season 3. So whilst I'm sure in that moment Alina believed that was the case, and whilst I'm sure some part of M*l will stay with her, I don't think it is necessarily true. I am sure at the time Aleks believed he wouldn't love another the same way he loved Luda but then he lost her, time went on and he eventually fell for others including Alina. But Alina is a young immortal and hasn't quite grasped this possibility, as Aleks said right now she is living in a single moment and in this moment she has convinced herself that she couldn't ever feel this way again.

I do think it is interesting that the first time Alina uses love in relation to M*l is when she is with Aleks and I do think she was trying to make him jealous. I think alot of her draw to m*l this season was because, as you said, she is trying to forget Aleks. Before she met Aleks, M*l was the one that she had a crush on and the one she planned a future with, even if that future wasn't really one that she was thrilled at the prospect of, she doesn't like farms after all. It makes sense that when things fall apart with Aleks that she would go back to what she knows, what is safe. I think her trying really hard to believe she has a future with M*l is part of that defence mechanism she's constructed around herself.

I also agree with you that I don't get when people say that book and show m*l are the same, they are very clearly not, from book to screen M*l's character got the biggest change.

And I agree with you that when it comes to darklina I want at least one more kiss and some kind of emotional conclusion to their story, whatever that conclusion may be, I want it to be clear that these two characters do have love and care for each other.

[oat-malk]

i've been trying to articulate why exactly i'm not comfortable conversing with/following minors online, and i think it boils down to:

the kind of things you talk to your friends about doesn't really change with age. when you turn 18, you don't suddenly start talking about Adult Things any more than you would have as a kid. it's the same. your interests might change with age and your priorities in life might reshuffle as you get more responsibilities, but the conversations you have with your friends don't really look any different.

and when you're a young adult, and you're not used to being a Real Adult, you don't get the "wow what a youngster! look at that young baby!" response when you see teenagers going about their day. you don't feel much different at 21 than you do when you're 16. you have to consciously remind yourself that you're not just like them anymore, that at some point in the last few years, you gained Actual Societal Power over the people you're used to seeing as your equals.

it takes a conscious mental effort to remain aware of and careful with that power imbalance. when i was a teenager i could talk to other teenagers about my problems, my love life, school/studies - because we were equals. and suddenly we're not equals anymore and i have to pass everything i say through another filter.

friendship to me is about equality. you listen to each other, help each other out, provide support - as well as obviously hanging out and having fun and joking around. but i don't want emotional support from a teenager. i don't want to complain about my job and my family to a teenager. doing so has the potential to cause real harm; doing emotional labour for someone who you aren't on equal footing with can be traumatic (i know from personal experience). and let's be real, most of the jokes i make with my friends, i also would not want to make around a teenager. i'm just not capable of having a fulfilling friendship with a kid because being a Safe Adult To Be Around requires that i zip my mouth and not talk to them anything like how i talk to my friends.

i can't be friends with a kid, and i don't want to parent/mentor anyone, and i'm much more inclined to spend my social energy on talking to people my age than i am on figuring out how to appropriately reply to some teenager's DM. it's mentally draining at best, and at worst it has the capacity to do measurable damage or get someone in trouble.

additionally, i'm queer + trans + most commonly read as a man, which means that right-wingers already think i'm a groomer. i'm also awkward and autistic and i don't know how to gracefully tell people that i'm not comfortable talking to them without my boundaries coming across as optional. the only way i can effectively enforce my boundaries is to block/softblock/ghost the other person and move on.

i get that it's hurtful when you're a teen and it feels like no adults other than your teachers and family care to talk to you - it's like everyone thinks you're too immature for them. i felt the same frustration when i was a kid and i didn't understand why my age was such a huge issue to the adults i tried to speak to online. but it's really not about you and it's not personal; it's that adults can't relax around you because they have to be in Responsible Mode whenever a kid is nearby.

that's not to say that kids and adults shouldn't share spaces - that's kind of how being in public works, after all. if you're in a communal space, like a park or out on the street, we absolutely *should* be in Responsible Mode because children have as much right to be there as we do. but we also deserve a safe, comfortable, private place where we can unwind and be ourselves and control who we interact with.

i understand that social media isn't completely private, and minors can stumble upon anything i post online. but with features like blocking and muting, i do have some control over who is allowed in my online social circle, and i can flag/censor content so that kids will only see it if they first acknowledge i didn't put it there for them. the internet is not a public place in the same way that the local park is - i can't boot you across the lawn if you approach me in-person, but i can block you if you interact with something nsfw on my blog. i can make my profile an adults-only space and if a kid wanders in then i have the power to remove them to retain my comfort and privacy.

idk. this was a long post. i hope it makes sense. i remember feeling very sad and angry as a kid because it felt like adults never wanted me around and i didn't get why, and i took personal offense to it. i hope if any minor does read this, it helps them to understand. it can be a very stressful argument to have because it's so easily misinterpreted. and i haven't seen very many adults try to explain the reasons why in full detail.

[artificial-ascension]

Original 13 successors

There were 13 people enrolled in the start of the L program. The 13 were picked for their intelligence but also due to knowing L personally from the time he spent as a regular orphan. These are my HCs for them.

A:

His real name is Alejandro Alexander Anderson-Armenta. He's from England but was raised mostly by his mother who was from Spain. His father, despite loving him and his three siblings very much, couldn't be around often due to his job as a sailor. This job would eventually kill him after his ship sank. A's mother died a few months later falling from her lighthouse during a storm. After they were orphaned they A and his siblings were adopted by a kind stranger who actually was a mobster looking to sell them into human trafficing but later decided to keep them after seeing how smart A was. After living with him for a year, A realized he was being played and sook vengeance and the events that followed traumatized him for life. Afterwards he was taken to Wammys House because any kid who could take down a mafia syndicate in one night deserves to be there. His three siblings got to come too. A as a person is cunning yet fair. He prides himself on his strict moral code which includes don't kill people and don't lie. A is incredibly manipulative, usually getting whatever he wants through his whit and charm plus his overall good attitude. The things he wants are simple, A is very hedonistic and power hungry. He wants drugs, money, sex, fancy items, and most importantly power over others. He loves being first place. He loves being the first number one. He is neutral towards detective work but loves the benefits he reaps from it. But of course A was still deeply unwell. Smart and successful yes but truthfully he knew he'd never get to settle down with his success. A was thinking long term, he liked drinking and sleeping around and wasting all his money on new fancy jewelry but when he was 60 would he still want that? Probably not. Plus, A loved the younger kids. He was a terrible role model but he loved them greatly and didn't want them to go through what he did and needed to do something that would shake Wammys House so much it changed how the operated and nothing do do that better than a gool ole fashion suicide.

Other fun facts about A include:

He is transmasc. He has been since he was very young. He one day decided to be a girl again when he was nine and couldn't make it through the day so he's fairly certain little kid him was right on the gender. His parents didn't care and just went with it. They personally renamed him from Alejandra to the very creative new name Alejandro

If A had to choose a name for himself it'd be Axle because it sounds cool

His alias was Auxiliary, and while he found it incredibly insulting it was better than Alternative or something. Definitely better than Backup

A had other aliases he went by. Alan Philips Grant was the name he used to apply to colleges and Anonymity was his detective name for when he wanted to be unconnected to L

A and B are dating and are equally terrible for different reasons

A is goth. But he is often too lazy to dress the way so no one can often tell

Aside from typical gothic music A also likes rap

He doesn't actually care fordetective work. He mostly solved organized crimes cases (his roots of course) but his true passion was marine biology

He and L used to be rivals before they were friends. A is a year and two months younger than L

B

B is from Japan. His legal name is Beyond Birthday but before that it was Koete Tanjobi. When he moved to England, he translated his name directly into English instead of giving himself a normal name. B is part shinigami, his mom being part of some weird shinigami cult. B inherited the eyes from both his parents as they are a recesive trait. His stand in dad died in a robbery and B wasn't to torn up about it, as he was very young and did not really understand death however. His mom died in a train wreck and Beyond was with her at the time. He probably would have died too if not for his shinigami heritage. His shinigami dad is still alive but stuck on earth because his notebook is stuck on earth and no one has bothered to pick it up and give it to him (someone please help him) That’s effectively his punishment for making his horrid child. After his parents died Beyond went and lived with his uncle who eventually sent him to Wammys House as his health was failing and Wammy was a friend of his. Beyond was very shy as a child but eventually was corrupted by A and puberty which made him something of a devious ass. He actually did like detective work but never really managed to surpass A which he was fine with because he liked A alot and seeing him happy made second place much more bearable. In due time he'd gain something of an obsession with beating the real number one which was L obviously on a personal level. After A's death B left for LA where he'd get into some high jinx and several years later would commit LABB.

Other fun facts include:

He can see shinigami and the rules for transferring death note ownership don't apply to him. He can freely pick them up and give them away and not suffer memory loss

B has a medical degree and is a certified forensic tech. He really loves the dead body part of investigations. Not for any weird reason he just likes human anatomy

B gains no overt satisfaction from killing people. He doesn't really have violent urges but he has nothing telling him he shouldn't kill someone. He views a life as the ultimate tool a person has in their journey of existence. Giving it up is something you can only do once so you have to make it count and taking a life to him is just as severe. He just thinks beating L is so important is justifies sacrificing four lives

The rest under the cut.

X

A's older brother, Xavier, and the number 9 of gen 2. Their backstory is similar, only X is unaware that A was the cause of the mafia collapse all those years ago because A never told anyone. He's much less cruel than his brother and alot more straight edged. He likes similar things but he's alot less hardcore about them. He follows orders very well, probably because A always told him what to do as A was the smarter of the two. X generalized his cases, but wasn't much for solving them, which is why he was number 9 dispite being similarly intelligent as his brother. He eventually went on to join the British navy as he came from a well recognized military family and his Wammys connections gave him more free reign than he otherwise would have had. He probably has the most fulfilling Wammys kid life, other than his dead brother which never got over

Fun X facts:

His name is pronounced the Spanish way therfore he sounds more like an H than an X

His alias was Xenon, because there aren't alot of good X names around

He and A used to bully other kids for fun when they were little. X was the muscle, A was the reason they never got caught

He's older than A by three years and has a lot more experience with the real world being one of the only Wammys kids to ever go to public school at some point in their life

They have a photographic memory and remember everything from A's birth onwards

Y

Gen 2s number one. She's from South Korea and her name is Yujin Jin and she hates the repeating sound. Y was more of a peace keeper, being one of the older kids she tried to keep the other L clones civil but always failed. Her parents actually went missing and were never found. There's absolutely no idea where they went but there's strong evidence that they abandoned her to start a new life elsewhere. After she was abandoned she went to an orphanage and was eventually transferred to Wammy's for her brilliance. She was the only other Wammys kid to live a decent life, returning to South Korea as an adult to be a college professor

Fun Y facts:

Her alias was Yin

She was the third oldest of the original successors

She specialized in cold cases and always considered trying to solve her parents case but was too afraid of what she'd learn to do it

She teaches history

Z

Gen 2s number three. He name is Zoe Duval and she was from France. Her parents we arrested for something she is still unaware of. She is a bit afraid to see it because she's certain it was bad. She's very much a more carefree and cool person though somewhat of a loose cannon and overall goofball. She's similar to T in alot of ways and they're good friends but she's close with everyone.

F

Lowest of the originals on the rankings. Not out of stupidity but out of sheer laziness. F is a serious drug addict, though most people can't tell. He's very put together and organized. He sells most of the drugs in Wammys and has gained the reputation as a fun sucker as he plays closer to the rules and generally has the idea of a good time as a calm time. His parents were shot and killed in a robbery. He went though foster care for a while and managed to loose an additional four sets of families before eventually ending up in Wammys House. F unfortunately dies in the field, and is the only other Wammys kid to die in the same place by the same method as their parents (A being the other) For F, he was on a mission in his home country of Taiwan when he was shot.

Fun F facts:

His real name is Feng Lao and his ailias was Ferrum. He also got called Fang alot which he somewhat hated mostly because he didn't like his name being butchered to much. It did somewhat end up becoming his drug dealer name. He has another detective name he rarely uses, which is Fairweather

F barely did detective work. Mostly drug related cases because he was already a drug dealer and already knew how they worked. Plus... he got some good plugs when he didn't arrest people...

F hates guns and therfore has to get weird with his weapon choice. He's well trained in sticks and other long weapons, his weapon of choice is his trusty lead pipe

He has arcade carpet in his room, glowing stars on his ceiling, neon signs on his walls. He loves bright color and no one ever bothered to see what he did to that poor dorm room... the only person who will room with him is K because they are in love (K hates the decor but loves the man) (F is also Bisexual)

F is a character who actually exists. He was in the beginning ofthe L Change The World movie but not the book (I love obscure Wammys kids so much...)

I roleplay him on Tumblr

J

K

K's parents were good friends of Watari and occasionally taught at Wammys. The orphanage has always felt like a second home to her so she adjusted well.

E

T

H

I

W

[nova-alien-jewposting]

as a jew with narcissistic personality disorder, i have some thoughts about this, aimed at anon:

narcissism does NOT equal bad person. i am a clinically classified narcissist and i am not a bad person, objectively speaking (this is based on what people have said to and about me, i personally feel i am terrible but what do i know lol). using narcissism to describe someone who is acting shitty is not okay and only adds to the stigma of NPD. i am saying this as someone who was abused by multiple narcissists throughout their life. people are NOT shitty to you because they are narcs, they can be shitty to you while also happening to be narcs. stop demonizing narcissism and appropriating the term to describe assholes. there are countless assholes out there who are not narcs.

i understand the point of the vent being made, and i promise i'm tired of the whole "holier than thou" shit with morals too. people acting like only THEIR version of morals are correct and everyone else's are wrong is so fucking frustrating. but as i mentioned earlier, this does not point to narcissism; rather, it is a self-serving bias which literally all people on the planet are susceptible to. i am not saying this in defense of the hamasniks or antisemites, but to simply point out that they are assholes simply because they are assholes, not because they are all narcs. going down the route they've gone is a LOT easier than one may think, and that's why there are so many of these people. i honestly think that if i weren't jewish, i would be antisemitic too, with the way antisemitic rhetoric is shoved down everyone's throat.

you can express being frustrated and exhausted from such things without throwing narcissists under the bus because i promise you, we really are not the evil demons society loves making us out to be. we were abused, we were traumatized, and we are trying to cope in the only way we know how. many narcissists may do terrible things, and what we've gone through doesn't excuse our behavior! but if narcs like me are actively trying to be better, please be kind to us. don't generalize the entire population of narcs, because we as jews don't like when the jewish population is generalized either. all groups have their bad apples but we're all hurting and still people.

by the way, if anyone has any questions about narcissistic personality disorder, narcissistic traits, cluster B personality disorders, or other related psychology topics in general, please feel free to ask me about them! i'd be more than happy to help people learn! we all need to stand together 🤍

Tired of the moral narcissism

.

[bad4amficideas]

Bat!Reader Childhood HCs

I'm posting random drafts. incomplete. And so. English with translator. I suppect this maybe even double posted. Uhm. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Note: English is not my language, so I hope you will be understanding of any flaws you find.

🦇Look. You wanted the robins (you already called them all robins even if there was more bats than birds) to become such. You wanted Dick, Tim and Duke with their parents alive and well. To Jason, Stephanie and Harper with the best family circumstances they could muster. Barbara, Luke, Carrie being carefree in their lives, Cassandra adopted in a happy place, maybe with Steph who was not her best friend in the comics for nothing. You wish you could have helped Kate (you were working on Helena and Azrael but were working in his legal name in this moment). Mother of God, you wanted to kill Batman for what it cost you to track down all these people, and even so you know you were missing people but you did pretty well and hell, you were working on it as you could.

Spoilers: Duke, Carrie, Harper, Helena, Azrael (Jean Paul & Michael), Luke Fox, and his predecessor Zavimbe. Batwoman's partner, all "saved" (because I don't know them well enough to write about them and part because the Joker died, the rage is over). Most of them now works or gonna work for WE or the GCPD (it's getting competent) anyway.

🦇But. You walked through your home, looking at empty rooms and fantasized about which one would be filling with each batfam. With how they would be in the mornings, growling, sticking their heads out or snorting at each other.

🦇 Having managed to get Alfred, your father in many ways, to move to a room closer to yours; (and you didn't know the peace of mind that gave you until he did it) a part of you longed for more.

🦇As Y/N Wayne you have a special relationship with Oswald since in your childhood circle he was the one who least infantilized you and you could go with him to do silly things and perhaps some "little savagery"

🦇This is important because with your onset of poison resistance your overall status and appearance as a child was always, regardless of your build, "fragile" looking, and most people tended to overprotect you. Someone from the Gotham paper even turned "Wayne's Treasure" into "Wayne's Gem" into "Wayne's Diamond" (more accurate than they think, hard, but brittle).

🦇Even Roman and Thomas were careful not to go too far in their abuse so people wouldn't say anything to them, which is what started the “they do that to you because they like you"- crap. It also doesn't help that you cousin (who was in her own traumatic moment) was one punch away from letting both of their noses loose. Like, minefield.

🦇Bats met Harvey Dent in high school. And Bats it's very surprised how easy it's to surround oneself with vips (villains-in-progress) in their city. In this AU, Harvey met "the gang" at Gotham Academy for a scholarship since he comes from a middle-class background here. So, to him find the golden child of Gotham being kind and humble and always treating him as an equal and taking his ideas into account. That touches the ego of any adolescent.

🦇Not that Bats didn't know a lot of other people, but Harvey was the only one who put up with the bullshit and bullying of Bats "friends" (putting him further on the road to district attorney ironically). Bats is sure they recognized the names of some Batman's love interests, or at least one female journalist, but they couldn't get close enough to find out.

🦇Their -Harvey's- friendship quickly gelled. Both idealists with similar political positions and true desire to do good for Gotham. A breath of fresh air for Bats, surrounded by two cynicals and a girl in a conflicting phase. Despite the fate that hung at the end of the Dent line Bats couldn't help but think how good it would be to have someone like Dent on their side, especially with the owls swarming and all the normal villains that would have to be put forever behind bars first, if they wanted to even think about the ones in colored costumes.

🦇Anyway, shortly after that year/s there was a disconnect with the world as Bats was abducted by the League of Assassins and then trained for 2 years until they was 18 when they ran away, comes back to Gotham and became Bats (and almost at the same time the tragedy of the circus happened but you're still catching up and you don't know that)

🦇I just realized, mathematically, I've made Dick a terrifying murderous prodigy. Fear, enemies of the Court, now the rhyme is legitimately scary.

🦇Continuing with LoA, Reader, you were there for two years and apart from apparently they trying getting you married and being a worthy possible successor, you left –run away- without having a clue what those people wanted with you. Problem. that's exactly what they wanted, the same thing they wanted in another world with Batman, you weren't going to get anything else no matter how much you snoop, but you refused to assimilate that idea, because “why me?” (If you wanna know, among others, they had noticed your private training and how you had been moving to "take Gotham" and other key points on the planet, as if it were your chessboard)

🦇At that time you really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Or whether to be deeply indignant. This SURE didn't happen to Batman. Wasn't he volunteer to train in the League? Or after 18 anyway? You were already mixing things by stress. Or maybe were the multiverses in your head. What the hell were they doing kidnapping you to train you and shit about weddings? Okay, a couple thing happened to Bruce, but, You were a teenager. What was the word, grooming? Didn't these people have better things to do, like take over the world? to kill people? Also, what's the point of wanting a successor, IF YOU'RE FUCKING IMMORTAL, let's explain.

🦇And then. After you come back, you, Reader, have a lot of people to catch up with and a lot, LOT of explaining to do. And the damn entry into high society and active involvement in Wayne business... But hey, no one appreciates that you escaped from a cult group of super assassins ninjas who btw were still discussing who will you marry when you left. In order not to let women inherit, they are very progressive in everything else.

🦇 At least Alfred believes you. At least you can tell him the truth. On the other hand, it's the truth, imagine if he didn't believe you, having spent two years with a family that has been grooming you at the same time that training you to kill in 50 forms with a spoon. And luckily the batcave was almost set up, you only needed the suit and put together a coherent story of your two years of disappearance (because there is no way you will go through the high school for the third time, being that the League had homeschooled you those years, again). Oh, but some villains were teachers in college. And maybe that could delay your entry into the world of work. Maybe that was worth the try?

🦇The worst is that. Two years and your careful planning went almost all to the fret. Your straps, broken. Dent, thank God, is an attorney and there is nothing unusual about him. But the other two according to the intel you're starting to gather go already for Hush and Black Mask and have the underworld criminal city terrified, Oswald has some dirty things going, you know nothing about Kate but your guess is in the Military Academy, you will inquire, all doctors of their specialties are loaded in their guns (as who says) and, dammit two years and you weren't even in vacations! not fair!

🦇 Aggg, all hurry up and running now. Luckily you had years of planning, but you were afraid of making a mistake. And as soon as you got dressed, the clown would appear because that’s how Murphy works. Some things had been sped up, some had changed, you should start tracking all the robins for their safety...

🦇And you would throw some money and ideas at the Justice League and have them manage without you. They had a forensic and a demigoddess of war and truth, by all deities, they would manage.

Moar spoilers: Villains who did not pass the look of Bats or have been permanently "secured" in Gotham before do actual -big- damage: Falcone, Maroni, Zucco, Professor Pyg, Man-Bat (Ally, it never get to go through that crap), Jeremiah Arkham (diagnosed by out burn before it out of hands), King Tut (who the hell is this??), Clayface, Calendar Man, Condiment King, Deacon Blackfire, Dollmaker, Flamingo, James Gordon Jr., Jane Doe, King Snake (Bane did this), Prometheus (Green arrow doing), Sewer King (no kids in Jason watch), Solomon Grundy. And not just kill anyone who recreates in the pain of others.

🦇: Damn it, I'm one (1) Bat. I'm. NOT. Batman.

[dirtytransmasc]

I just found your blog, and read your post on Billy, and literally could not agree more. My parents worked with kids, a lot of them suffering from childhood abuse. Over the years I've become friends with them, some of them were very angry and mean when I first met them. And its hard seeing people I know be treated as a villain on the show. I could never understand what it would be like to see a character you relate to be killed in a violent way, and make it seem like he deserved it??? And the Duffer said they wanted a new villain in the show, but why did they have to make him a victim of childhood abuse. Could he not just be an ass like Tommy or something?

Anyway I think Billy deserved a redemption arc, and I think espically in season 4, I feel like his personality would work really well with the rest of the group. I also believe he and Max should have gotten that sibling relationship they both needed. Plus I would have loved to see them together, as would literally everyone else.

In my mind he's still alive, him and Max have moved back to California, and he taught her how to surf.

Thank you for this. I think people try and disconnect shows way too far from reality. Like fiction is fiction, reality is reality; but in the grand scheme of things, they are two sides of the same coin. How we see media in one way or another shows how we view reality.

Seeing so many people want billy dead, how many people saying he deserved not only his painful death but to be abused and go through the trauma of being possessed and being used to do horrible things. it's scary. Like I want these people to be forced to look a traumatized person like billy, a person who reacted similarly to billy, in the face and tell them they deserved every horrible thing that happened to them and that they deserve to die horribly.

Like people want to separate billy's experience and his actions so far from real life that their true colors show. they don't care about trauma or mental health, it doesn't mean anything to them if its not palatable, if its not pretty or objectifiable.

And then people who have worked/been around people like him, or are in essence like him, had to watch their hatred be supported by the masses. I fall into both categories, I have gone through very similar life experiences and reacted similarly, but I want to go into child psychology and social work. Most of my friends I have known since we were kids have similar backgrounds to him. and it hurts so much to think people want us dead, at least deep down.

I can only imagine how you feel about this, having been so intimately connected to people like him. it has to hurt equally so, if not worse.

I would have loved for him to be redeemed as he was supposed to. had the show had another human antagonist he would have been, it was in one of the original drafts for season 2 and 3. I try to imagine what it would have been like for him to have gotten a chance to escape, to get better, to live happily. he would have been a great addition to the group, he'd have been very protective, and even wise. he knows what its like to have a shit ton of trauma so young, he would have been a great person for the younger kids.

[professor-glasses]

I can definitely understand why people hate Bronev so much, but sometimes I feel like he gets a little too much. Don't get me wrong, he's committed some terrible crimes, but I feel like people show more hate for him than any of the other villains in PL. For example, Clive. Clive lost both his parents when he was a young child, which can be extremely traumatizing. He went with his plan of revenge which was to destroy London. He probably killed many people(those crushed apartments give me chills) for no real goal. In the end, he admits that he was wrong. He'll probably spend the rest of his life in jail, but he's still young. He can still "atone" for his crimes. Additionally, he grew up with Spring and her husband(forgot his name), who showed him love and support. Bronev lost his wife and both his sons due to Targent kidnapping them. Bronev watched his wife die in front of his eyes, and he was forced to work for Targent, who was most likely armed with lethal weapons. We have no real backstory to Bronev, what his intentions were when he solved the Azran Legacy, what he went through in all those years. He was truly blinded by great stories until the golems destroyed everything he worked for. The past decades of his life were a lie. In the end, when he gets arrested, he probably won't live long enough to redeem himself. He threw his entire life away just to be told that he might've destroyed the world. And when he says Layton's real name, it tells me that he never really forgot about his children. He still remembered their names after decades of not seeing them or interacting with them. Both villains are tragic, but for some reason people seem to hate Bronev more. Bronev's backstory is truly heartbreaking, and I think it has a lot of potential. (what if he believed that the Azran's power could bring back the dead-) Sorry this got really long, but I hope you have a good day.

@targentis is a Lot more qualified to speak on matters concerning Bronev than me (for one thing I haven't replayed PL in ages) but I agree. I think the fact that ppl see Clive and go my baby boy and things like that because he is a little young dude makes a lot of bias like. As has been pointed out by others the Appeal level of the character by which I mean do fans fawn over them for romantic or thirst reasons probably has a lot to do with things. (I wouldn't have believed it but being on tumblr long enough now I realise just how much this affects people's attitudes toward characters it's still Weird to me but that's probably bc I don't experience either feeling type so. anyway that can be equalled too tief is working hard on doing so)

Also the fact that clive doesn't do much to the main cast visibly so people have less Personal reasons to hate him while a lot of people are mad at bronev about things he did which ended up affecting the main cast bc more people care about and will get emotional on behalf of the main cast than countless unseen npcs in buildings

descole did more to the main cast but also I think the blame that would otherwise fall on him gets shifted onto bronev

[nightwolf14292]

I understand this view point!

Personally I've always thought of Tim in that way because with Dick, Bruce tried to shield him from his work but he asked to be Robin (and up until he Two-Face incident he truly enjoyed it) when he found out that Bruce was Batman, same with Jason (who also enjoyed it despite being more violent, what with the whole 'Robin gives me magic' thing) , and Damian fought for the role (though I do agree he's the most similar to Tim in the lack of choice aspect, he does seem to enjoy being Robin though from what I've read).

Tim definitely was excited about the prospect of being Robin, since Batman was one of his heroes, but I did always get the feeling that that childish wonder had worn off pretty quickly when he was faced with a Bruce that was double traumatized from Jason's death. Yeah Tim first went into it thinking "Wow, this is one of my heroes! I can help him out and save Gotham just like him!" But I think over time it became more of a codependent relationship, with Bruce projecting Jason's (and Dick's since they weren't on good terms at the time) image onto Tim to cope, and Tim loving Bruce because he was neglected by his parents and got Bruce's attention by being Robin.

I always visualized him becoming Robin as like a half-choice thing. Because on one hand yes, he did technically have the choice to become Robin, but he felt like he had to because he was stalking Bruce, and therefore he was the only one seeing that Bruce was starting to go off the deep end. He had it fully in his mind that Bruce needed a Robin, and since Dick wouldn't become Robin again, he was the only one who fill the Robin role without threatening Batman's identity. So he felt like he had some sort of responsibility.

And that's also why I don't think he had as much of a choice to get out either, because even after that initial excitement had worn off he could completely see how much Bruce needed a Robin to balance him out, and it probably would've affected him even more negatively had he left. But I do think the fact that after his parent's death he made up a fake uncle purely to keep from getting adopted by Bruce sort of showed how he didn't necessarily want to stick around at the time (Though I suppose you could also chalk that up to him just not wanting another father figure at that moment)

Really I do compare it to the situation with Dick, mainly because they were similar.

Bruce fired Dick as Robin after he kept getting hurt, and Dick went out soul searching and, with Superman as a guide, decided that he loved helping people and chose to take up a new title.

Dick fired Tim as Robin after he decided Damian would make a better sidekick (because he thought of Tim as more of an equal), and Tim basically had a mental breakdown, started going on more secretive, dangerous missions out to random places, and dedicated nearly all of his time to trying to prove Bruce wasn't dead while everyone around him thought he was nuts for it.

I always got the impression that out of all of them, Tim was kinda the one that being a vigilante had the biggest consistently negative effect on. Consistently being the key word, since being a vigilante wasn't good for any of them lol

I think he enjoys what he does now, but I think it's really bad for him. And I think he goes through highs and lows, highs where he enjoys saving people and working as a vigilante, and lows where he doesn't enjoy it as much and does it out of obligation that he feels.

But hey, I haven't actually read many comics myself and most of my knowledge is what I read on the wiki + fandom stuff, so maybe that's not very canon 🤷

Your take is totally valid too :D

As much as I love TimKon, I prefer TimBern and it's mainly because of this:

“Bernard says I sacrifice myself like it's a bad thing.”

“But it's all I've ever known.”

“All that my family has ever been taught.”

Tim, out of all of the BatFamily members is the one that never really had a choice.

Bruce had a choice to become Batman. He almost retired, until things went badly again and he realized how much more awful Gotham would be if he did.

Dick had a choice to become Robin. When Bruce fired him he could've finished college and lived a normal life, but he chose to continue on as Nightwing.

Jason had a choice to become Robin. And while his mind had been messed with after being dunked in the Lazarus Pit, he had a choice to become Red Hood, too.

Damian had a choice to become Robin. He fought hard for the role, and seems to genuinely enjoy doing it.

Tim didn't have a choice to become Robin. Yes, no one actually forced him into the role, but he saw what had happened to Bruce after Jason's death (such as how he became more violent), and knew that Bruce needed a Robin to keep himself sane. He tried going to Dick, but Dick said the best he could do was help as Nightwing as he wasn't willing to be Robin again. So Tim felt like he had to take up the role, because Batman, his greatest hero, would lose it if he didn't.

Tim also didn't have a choice to give up being a vigilante, unlike the others. When he got replaced as Robin, Bruce was trapped in time and everyone but him thought he was dead. He didn't have Dick's experience of going out soul searching and deciding that being a hero was what he wanted in life, he had to almost immediately take up a new secret identity and start going on missions so he could find out what happened to Bruce.

I love TimBern so much, because Bernard is Tim's connection to civilian life. If you're a hero dating a hero, even when you're being civilians and doing civilian things, there's always going to be the knowledge of who you both are really, and the missions you've been on together (Such as Tim looking at Kon and remembering things like when he tried to clone him because he was ‘dead’). I feel like with Bernard, Tim can be a full on civilian and forget about the hero life for a while, and that makes it special.

Also I just think Bernard is neat :3