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shinybearnerd · 10 months

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"Healing Wings"

GOOD OMENS SEASON 2! SPOILER WARNING! IF YOU DID SEE IT YET, DO NOT INTERACT!

Hi!

So, I'm a mess since I finished the new season.

I tried to cope by writing something (since I'll be pretty busy for all of August). And this is the result.

Justice for my boy! He deserved his happy ending.

I wanted to thank everyone that send me requests. As I said before, I'm a bit busy but once I'll have some time, I'll write. Promise.

Enjoy!

Pair: Crowley x reader

(Hints of: Aziraphale x reader, Aziraphale x Crowley, Aziraphale x reader x Crowley)

Words: 2,8k

Genre: Smut +18, fluff and angst

Story: when Aziraphale goes away to become the archangel in heaven, Y/n and Crowley find themselves alone. They both with a feeling of abandonment. As they lean on each other for support, their relationship blossoms deeper.

English is not my first language. I'm sorry if there're any mistakes.

The ride to your house is quiet.

You don't remember much about what happened earlier. You only recall screaming at Aziraphale for deciding to go away and leaving you and Crowley alone. His eyes were covered in tears.

<< Y/n, I can- >>

<< Do not fucking bother! Go on. Go play with your little mates. Is what you wanted after all, right? >> You cut him off, returning to Crowley.

The demon looks at the scene inside the car. He doesn't hear what you are saying but can imagine by the looks of you and the angel. He even doesn't say anything about it once you step inside the car. He only starts the engine and begins to drive.

Once you arrive, you convince Crowley to come inside without effort. Once you lock the door behind you, you see him. Sitting on the sofa. He stares blankly in front of him. Or at least you think so. He didn't take off his glasses or have any intention to.

You walk towards him without saying a word. When you take your first step, it seems like he only notices your presence at that moment.

You walk to him. Crowley's gaze fixed on you, making you feel exposed.

You're now in front of him. You try to say something, but he makes the first move by hugging your legs and placing his head on your stomach. He's tired. You both are.

You remain like this for a few minutes. You caress his red hair and try not to cry, as he enjoys your touch.

He then looks up at you.

You're starting to feel a particular jolt invading your body. Something that grows deeper when the demon stands up and obscures you with his height.

He takes your chin, his thumb exploring your lips. He then kisses you. It's a needy one. A desperate one.

You start to undress one another, but when you try to take his glasses, he freezes.

<< I... I prefer to leave them on. >>

Once Nina and Maggie get out, you pop out from your hiding spot.

Crowley hears your movement but doesn't say a word. Too scared about your reaction to actually do something.

He listens. Listen to the way your clothes sound when they rub against each other. Listen to your increased heartbeat and your hitching breath, wishing he could feel it against his skin while-

<< Is it true? >> You finally take some courage.

Crowley physically can't turn to look at you, like something is blocking him. But he manages to stand up and put on his glasses. And suddenly, he feels like he can at least try.

When he turns around, your heart sinks a little.

<< No, please... >>

<< What? >>

You try to reach, but he takes a step behind, trying to have some space between you two.

<< You know that you don't need those >> you point at the black lenses << when you are with me. We've already been through this. Remember? >>

<>

You sigh, knowing that he's too stubborn to listen. So you ask again, trying to look into his eyes. << Is it true? >>

The demon doesn't respond.

<< It's pretty easy, Crowley. It's a "yes" or "no" answer... >>

Your voice seemed calm and amused by all of this, trying to ease the mood. But every fibre of your body tried to remain calm and not rush things.

Something was still blocking him. His pride, maybe. Or even the fear of you rejecting him. He doesn't know which.

<< I'm sorry... I-I can't. >>

He tries to exit the bookshop, but you stop him.

<< Where are you going? Hold on! Why can't you say it? What's wrong? >>

<< Because-... Fuck! >>

He walks in the room, stomping his feet like a wild horse that's been caught and imprisoned. He's trying to focus on something that isn't you and elaborate a clever way out. He's a demon, after all. He's the master of lying.

He can do this. But once he turns to look at you, he suddenly can't lie to you anymore.

<< Because it's true, Y/n! There. I said it! >>

Your heart is bursting, but you let him talk first. You feel like he needs to.

<< You don't understand how you made me feel in all these years we knew each other! I only thought that Aziraphale would be the lo... >> he sighs, trying to calm himself by rubbing his eyes. << But then you came along. So full of life and wonder, and it j-just... happened!- >>

In the beginning, he's doubtful. The poor devil thought that was an act of pity towards him, but once he comprehend that you're not going to leave soon, he deepens it. A rush of emotions adds to the kiss. Passion, desperation and relief. All put in Crowley's kiss, who is touching and hugging you like you'll disappear.

You don't even spend time saying something. You've already waited enough.

With big steps, you end your distance. You take the demon's sunglasses with one hand while the other takes the head, smashing your lips together.

You start to caress each other. Your hair, your back, your arms... All you two can reach has been touched and loved.

<< Please tell me this is not a dream and that I'm not gonna wake up in the Bentley with a boner... >> he whispered on your lips between a kiss and another.

You smirk against his mouth while pressing yourself towards him.

<> You replied, touching his clothed erection.

The demon growls, squishing the flesh of your hips under his fingers.

<< You're playing with fire, doll. >>

His pushes are erratic and hopeless. Like he can release all that pain he's feeling.

But suddenly his pushes stop. You feel his hold tightening as he's afraid to lose you too. Little and muffled sobs start to fill the air as the demon tries to hold you as close as possible.

<< Crowley? >>

You caress his head, trying to escape his grip to look at him.

<< I'm sorry... >> he muffles in tears.

His head is against your chest. Tears are starting to wet your skin.

<< Hey... No, no, no. Hey, look at me. Please, look at me, Crowley... >>

You take off his glasses. Once you look at his eyes, your stomach tightens. His eyes are full of sorrow, ache and distress. And it all makes you feel awful. It's like you can't do anything to make him feel better...

You manage to take his face in your hand. You voluntarily start to caress his cheeks with your thumbs while you look into each other's eyes. And what you see breaks your heart.

Crowley's lips are a little parted, quick breaths leaving and entering his mouth. His cheeks are starting to get wet too. The eyebrows narrowed in an expression of pain.

The demon makes a face, like he has something to say about that, but you don't give him the chance.

<< I-I'm sorry. I should not... >>

He tries to avoid eye contact.

<< No, hey... Hey. It's okay, darling. It's not your fault. >>

<< But it is! >> He finally looks at you. << If I wasn't the way I am, maybe Aziraphale- >>

<< Do not dare finish what you are about to say! >> You snap.

Your voice is trembling with anger and pain. How could he think that?

<< I don't know what that idiot was thinking. But he shouldn't have said that! And mostly, you mustn't even consider that! How could you even think that there's something wrong with you? That you're the messed up one?

<< Every time I look at you, I fall in love with you even more. I love everything about you! How you say that you're evil and not nice after saying or doing the sweetest and most beautiful things that even an angel can't do! You are infinitely better than a legion of angels. Aziraphale included. >>

<< Aziraphale does not define you, my love. I know that it fucking hurts. Him choosing heaven over us hurt me, and I can't imagine how heartbroken you must feel right now... But he had no right to tell you to change for him. Love is not like that. Love is not changing the other person. Love is feeling like you own the fucking world! Like you've been struck by lightning every time you see them... Love is supposed to make you feel like this. >>

You take his hand and place it against your chest. Your heartbeat is accelerated. The demon can feel it under his hand and thinks it's the most beautiful music he's ever listened to in centuries.

Your eyes lock one last time. Every limb of your body is linked to the other, trying both be close.

You discover that you're crying once Crowley slowly slides his hand from your chest, then to your neck and to one of your cheeks, wiping the tears from your skin. He then cups your head with both hands, leaning closer to kiss the new tears forming. Your eyes are closed. You try to enjoy this moment that you indulge with the other. You put your hands on Crowley's wrists, rubbing them with your thumbs. Suddenly you feel something odd.

<< You have a heartbeat... >>

You open your eyes only to see that Crowley is already looking at you.

Under your fingers, you can feel his fast heartbeat.

<>

<< In your defence, I didn't tell you... >> replied, starting to wander his hand along your hips. He felts like the luckiest entity in the entire universe.

<< Is it supposed to be this rapid? >>

You see him smile a little, then look at your eyes.

<< Didn't you say that love was supposed to feel like that? >>

Crowley leans closer, one hand on your hair. Once your lips meet, you feel fireworks spreading all over you. The demon's lips are so soft against yours. Kissing you with gentleness as if you were made out of porcelain.

You blush and smile.

He does the same. The first real smile after Aziraphale's departure, even if it's little.

His trusts are slow but deep.

Then, he slips the other hand around your hips, bringing you close as he thrusts deep inside you. A moan dies in your mouth.

Crowley smirks a little before he resumes kissing you. His hands are both on your hips as he's helping you move.

Your eyes are locked as your messy breaths get mixed. Sometimes you kiss, but you prefer to look at each other. You can't explain why. You just feel a deeper connection between you. Like you are making love with your souls too.

-.-.-.-.-.-

You continue moving without saying a word. Smiling, touching, squeezing and scratching (on your part) one another.

And when you come, it's like you feel complete and truly loved.

Your foreheads touch as you start panting and giggling.

Moments before, after you got dressed, you asked your favourite demon if he could pick a movie while you were calling your favourite takeaway restaurant.

<< What are you doing? >>

Crowley quickly turns towards you. A pillow is still in his hands.

Once the call ended, you saw his figure walk the hallway one last time before disappearing. You came to understand that he went outside, in the garden. You decide to sneak out and follow him.

As you were talking with one of the staff, in the corner of your eye, you could see Crowley walking the hallway front and back multiple times. Different things in his hands every time he passed in front of you.

You were so curious and amused that you almost forgot you were ordering food.

Under the moon's soft light, you can see that the grass is covered with blankets and pillows. Over them, there's a bottle of wine and two glasses; while the outside was filled with battery candles.

You can't move or form a single sentence. Your mouth, on the other hand, is curved in the most beautiful smile the demon has ever seen.

Crowley's now looking at you. A nervous smile on his lips.

<< Surprise!>> He throws the pillow on the blankets with the others. << Do you like it? >>

<< I-I... don't know what to say.>>

He walked closer, putting his hands on your hips. <> he smugly smirks as he hears your chuckle.

-.-.-.-.-.-

With a snap, the two glasses get filled. Crowley passes you one. << What do you say? >>

<< I'm all yours.>>

He smiles at you and kisses you passionately.

<< You know... I've always wanted to ask something. >>

You two have just finished eating and are now on the blankets, cuddling and trying to get drunk.

Crowley has spent all dinner talking about the stars. He also told you about his time as a nebula creator. You could see a sparkle in his eyes as he spoke. Some sadness behind it, too. Even if he tried to hide it.

Crowley was amused by all of this.

<< Shoot. >>

<< What's it like having someone making up stories about your work? You know, the constellations and so on... >>

<< Oh. Well... I don't mind. It's like reading- What is that you read... Ehm... -Yes! Fanfiction. It's like reading a fanfiction. I don't mind. >>

You chuckle, a little flustered. <>

He brings the glass to his lips. << Oh yes, you do! Every time I see you with your phone and reading something, you always giggle and kick your feet- >>

<< How dare you! I do not! >>

<< Oh, yes, you do! >>

You laugh. Your face turn all red by now. << You liar! >>

You both chuckle and lean against the other. The demon's free hand is now running up and down your arm. His head is on yours as he leaves a kiss.

<< Thank you. >> you said, breaking the silence. <>

Crowley smiles, proud of himself. << Glad you like it. >>

He put his glass near yours and made them touch. A little high-pitched "tin" followed after. << To the perfect night. >>

<< But I have to admit... >> You continue, teasingly raising an eyebrow. << you seemed flustered when I found you setting all up.>>

<< Flustered? Me? Nonsense!>>

You chuckle, leaning in to peck him on the cheek. Your affectionate gaze never leaves his.

He couldn't help but smile, feeling a warmth in his heart that had nothing to do with the wine.

<< Jokes aside, you know how to make a moment last forever.>>

Crowley looks at the wine in his glass. A soft and smug smile on his face.

<< Well, I must admit, this wasn't originally on my plan... >> he confesses.

<< What do you mean? >>

Crowley shifted slightly, trying to find the right words to explain himself.

<> He admitted, his voice soft and hesitant. <>

A suffering smile is on his face as he gunks down his wine.

<> he softly admitted, looking at his empty glass before grabbing the bottle. << You know... after a week of... well, hell. >> He pours the rubin liquor. << For you. For me... for him. For us. >>

You take his hand and kiss it. << Well, I must say, this night picnic under the stars was a perfect first day. >>

He looks at you, uncertain. << Really? >>

You kiss him and nod, smiling. << Today was hard... >>

<< Yep. >> he takes another sip of wine and clicks his tongue.

<< But this has been the best date I have ever been to! >>

He smiles, looks again into your eyes and says only two words: << Thank you. >>

You know that he's not talking about the date.

You kiss him again and look at him, stroking his tattoed cheek.

<< Don't even mention it. >>

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aeor-is-for-reccing · 6 months

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Hidden Gems: Less than 150 Kudos

This week, we have one of our recurring rec lists - fics that you might have overlooked. Enjoy 13 fics that involve highly specific AU's, kink, Ludinus being evil, and of course, trips to Aeor. Check them out underneath the cut and of course, remember to comment and kudos if you like them!

Ages Past, Ages Hence by AthenaVine (12589, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Mostly canon-compliant fic series. The slow & careful courtship of Caleb & Essek during their trips to Aeor.

Reccer says: Omniscient perspective & visceral descriptions of the wizards' feelings

I used to hear a simple song by Amiactuallydoingthis (1378, General) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Meet cute in a university library

Reccer says: I liked it!

inked in skin; etched in bone by QuenaSparquea (56047, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Saving the world for a second time had a way of putting things in perspective. An exploration of magic and relationships in 31 pieces

Reccer says: This collection of interconnected stories sheds light on a slightly AU version of the Mighty Nein, in particular the Shadowhand as he navigates his past while planning for his future.

you must first invent the universe by renquise (3466, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

a snippet of a sci-fi take on the pre-aeor mission

Reccer says: Suuuuper fascinating take on the group in a sci-fi world. The interactions btwn Essek and Caleb are so interesting and you call practically feel all the world building even in the short amount of time.

Frozen Ink by Beauteousmajesty (1663, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek’s chronic pain gets worse once winter has arrived in Rexxentrum. Luckily, Caleb is good at fire.

Reccer says: Domestic and sweet ❤️

Golden hour by Technojuicebox (1914, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek needs help after an experiment of intimate nature has gone wrong.

Reccer says: I love the sexual tension between them

Suspicions (The Empire Spy) by Im_sorry_dont_judge_me (8249, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent

Essek learns of one of Caleb's fantasies and agrees to play it out with him. Then Caleb insists on returning the favor.

Reccer says: I really like that some of the kink negotiation scenes are included - communication is sexy.

farewell star by narspicious (8297, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn, Major Character Death

When Caleb Widogast dies in Aeor, Essek vows that not even the gods will stop him from bringing back the man he loves.

Reccer says: I loved the atmosphere and the premise a lot!

so volatile an equation by bloodredribbon (8459, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: Mutual dubcon, manipulation

After Caleb witnesses Essek's conversation with Da'leth, Essek kidnaps him before he can tell the Nein what he saw.

Reccer says: It's so messy, a lovely dark fic of what could have happened had Essek seen Caleb

of things yet to come by ghostsquidswrites (10467, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Ludinus imprisons Caleb in a sleeping spell to try and get Essek to do his bidding. Essek tries to use magic to figure out a way out of it.

Reccer says: I love it when Essek interacts with the rest of the nein - and here, also other NPCs - and I'm a big fan of the wizards nerding out about spells.

The Icarus to Your Certainty by ithilielthechosenone (14091, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

In Aeor, just the two of them, there are many things to finally resolve. Not least of all the question of what they could be to one another.

Reccer says: This fic has so many of the things I love about Shadowgast - Essek hanging out with Reani, pining, travels to Aeor, considerations of time travel shenanigans, guilt and learning to love themselves through loving others - it's a fantastic read and deserves to be a classic.

I want you to hold me (don't let me go) by Multifandom_damnation (2316, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

After the final battle with Trent Ikithon, Caleb goes home to a worried and waiting Essek, who puts him back together as best he can

Reccer says: The soft coda to Echoes of the Solstice that they deserve

some branch of stars we see by SongOfWizardry (1721, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: WIP

A shadowgast teaching AU where Caleb is training Essek to be a secondary school teacher.

Reccer says: It's a highly specific AU in terms of author's experience, and I love how it also fills in the relationships that Caleb has with the rest of the Nein.

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast.

Check out the previous Hidden Gem Recs Lists here [1] [2] [3] [4]

Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we'll be featuring spanking!

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #critical role #cr fic recs #fan fiction rec list

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paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 · 2 months

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'Who am I to Complain?'

As part of my own contribution to this year's first day of Spring 2024, aka the in universe birthday of one Richard John Grayson-Wayne, the First Robin and the crime fighter known as Nightwing, I would like this opportunity finally....FINALLY...posting up for you all a fic that's been in my drafts for pretty much the better part of any entire year. Originally meant on being released last Christmas, various forms of delay, writer's block and other general distractions have prevented me from finally finishing such a project. Well finally after such anticipation at least on my end, I have managed creating a final form for this story I think can satisfy.

For very quick context, this story is a component of my long running idea proposing and lore building of my own version of the DC Comics Universe. In particular, it takes within the long storyline both @thattimdrakeguy and I have crafted for the better part of two years, the first part being involved within the hypothetical Nightwing solo book, 'Clipped Wings' and its follow up crossover with Detective Comics proper, "Blue Hawk Down'. For more information regarding the general summaries of events, check out the links here and here.

I shall like to dedicate this story to my mutuals and friends @adalineozie @meara-eldestofthemall @nightglider124 @faesystem @confusedhummingbird @spider-jaysart @mothnem @lightdusk96 @camo-wolf @sbd-laytall @theredheaded-stuff @celaenaeiln @starlightbelle @shootingstarssel @avaraydrake @pin-crusher2000 @sillymanwithocs @batboyblog @bluegarners @tarisilmarwen @orange-s-mario @altinyns-multimedia-museblog @katmaatui and so many others

Constructive Criticisms are Generally Welcome; Replies and Especially Reblogs are greatly appreciated

The Following May Contain Graphic Scenes of Violence, References to Sexual Assault and other themes not suitable for a Young Audience. Viewer Discretion is Heavily Advised

As per usual, All Rights and Copyrights to Characters and Concepts seen in this work are owned by DC Comics, Inc, a subsidiary of DC Entertaiment and Warner Bros. Discovery

With all that....Happy Birthday Dick Grayson....Here's my gift of Grade A angst for you

Sigh. Cough Cough

Look at yourself. Just Honest to God, Dick, just look at yourself.

Take a good look at those cuts, that blood all over your ugly as hell face, that blood pouring out of your stupid, big fat hole you call a mouth. You wanna know who’s Goddamn fault it was for all this? You wanna know who's responsible for you being more pathetic and a freak than you already are? Cough Cough

You.

Don’t try to deny it. Why should you?

After all, you allowed this to happen to you, right? Not just with what happened tonight but over these last few weeks. You know what I’m talking about. Losing your home and failing to find out how despite insisting you paid for it. What will Kory Cough say now when she comes back and sees that home you wanted to allow her into isn’t even yours anymore? What kind of fiance are you to allow that?

Why stop there? Here you are, without any place to call a house, your face gushing and oozing red as it had been lately, broke, nobody likes you, not a single damn soul cares about you. You wanna know who’s fault it is? Yours. In fact, as you right now are flinging that bottle of peroxide into your ugly face and stinging from it as you deserve, how about we explore what even happened tonight that led to this, shall we?

I think I should…Cough

Three Hours Earlier….

BAM

“Ack!”

“Tell Us Goddamnit, You Blue Wearing Cunt!!”

As if I would. How do I tell these bastards where the hell Bruce is if I wasn’t even able to speak to him for weeks by now?

I know what you’re thinking, ‘but are you his…’

Stop right there right now. If you’re gonna pull that whole ‘you’re his son’ bullshit on me, for one thing, at the very most I was adopted, I ain’t his real kid. I never deserved being his real kid at all given who we are. Another thing too; if he were to come to my help, he would’ve done so about…God knows how many times by now lately. I would handle it anyways, what kind of person needs any sort of father or even friends when it was their own damn fault they wound up taking two bullets to the hamstrings?

Why yes, that’s what I’m going through and yes it was my Goddamn fault being this utterly stupid and an utter embarrassment with my training for getting caught by those sickos like I was. Now you are thinking, everyone has an off day and…

BAM BAM BAM BAM

Crap! Two on the calves and two more on my hamstrings, I can tell.

“Motherfucker….” Damn it all they weren’t supposed to hear that. Great, now they laugh at it.

The hell’s wrong with me? There’s no time to let them know what’s going with my nerves acting up.

“You know, guys” (Cough) Keep it in, Grayson! You got something to say these assholes need to hear Damnit! “ You’re getting absolutely nowhere right now. If I knew where Batman was, I still wouldn’t tell you. So what the hell makes you think I do then after an hour and…”

“Shut the fuck up, Birdfreak!”

BAM

A kick right to my face? Yeah, another in my long line of failures and that one was justified; I should’ve seen that one coming. Hey, compared to the bullet holes though, it’s nothing really. Besides why even be hurt by that when I have this lowlife staring directly at my ugly mug of a face right now?

“You know him, more than us here! You have to know where he went! We got a sweet little gig here and I ain’t rushing to see that pointy eared son of a dick trying to ruin it! ‘Sides, you’re in our hands now, so you see; once we’re all done here one way or another, we can get that dough from the cops since they’re looking for you more than us! Now you tell us if he knows about this place and if he’s coming, will ya?! We ain’t got all night and I’m missing my game!”

Sweet little gig? As in the child trafficking operation they got here right now? Some of those children right behind me behind a cage like animals, forced to see me pinned on my torso and face, taking crap in many ways from them? They call that ‘sweet’ in mine and their faces?!

“You calling that a game? Selling kids to sexual slavery? I really hate to see what’ll be your idea for a movie if that’s what you.re saying” That quip, I couldn’t help, it was damn true and these creeps needed to hear that. It was about as much a fact as Bruce hates me right now and rightfully so.

Yet all they do is laugh even harder than before. They’re really….really starting to get on my nerves.

Their ringleader grins ever so much in my face. His disgusting and unbearable cigarette smoke billows in my face. “So what?”

So what? So what?? Is that really your best retort to me? It’s unbelievable, just what kind of devils and evils dwell in this city. But it’s evil I hunt for every single night. No one around me sees what I have to or does what I do around these parts. Not Bruce, not Tim, not Kory, no Donna….no one. On that note, no one should have to. Maybe it’s my failure to stop evil like this and everything I do, everything so wrong and never good enough, that’s why I’m certain Bruce decided just to cut me off.

No job, no place I can call a house or a home to stay in, no money, no spare clothes, no answering my calls, nothing. It’s been about three months of this so far, a three month test to see if I break if I had nothing, only for the big bad bat wanting me to literally cry my way back home to him. You know what? Screw you too, Bruce. Or whoever was doing all this. I know that, even for you Bruce, ins outs of everything, even you normally won’t stoop this low. It’s not just nothing I’ve been trying to figure out suggests otherwise. Maybe it’s just this….paranoia….no I can’t be paranoid. What’s happening is real and I need to deal with it and…

“Hey Cockscuker, you listening to me??”

Oh right, this asshole.

Looking at him, I can’t help myself but make my eyes go towards his own. What does he think would work now to make me talk?

In his hands was some sort of object. It looks bladed, I can tell based on the glistening of the steel coming from the moonlight coming in through the window. Once he gets a bit closer, I see it now….oh of course….a damn pizza cutter. Oh and just my luck too, in his other hand is a goddamn cheese grater. I guess either this warehouse is for kitchen tools or just my karma telling me how much I fucking suck and rightfully so again. Maybe the latter.

The asshole only grins at me. “Okay then, maybe some…slices can get ya to talk. What do you say?”

I take a deep breath and brace my teeth within my mouth. No use crying out, screaming or any of that weakness than I already showed earlier . This frankly I deserve, and come on.

I’ve taken a few swings from a baseball bat from Two Face, got injected with Slade’s nanoscopic probes that were shredding my cells inside and out, got blasted by an alternate Luthor, forcibly swallowed a heart paralyzing pill by Slade and the actual Luthor (that bald cunt)….and now just a circular blade and a metal sheet with blades on it on my forehead and face?

Seems fitting enough to take; whatever I’ve done and didn’t do in my vow to protect the innocent and never strive off the path of justice, being a terrible friend, never good enough for Batman as I had always been, letting the only two people that actually had any right to care for me fall to the sandy and hard floor, shattering almost every bone in their bodies when I had only one job to do which was catch them….yeah this is appropriate. This is exactly what I deserve after all of that. Losing my home, my job, and my means to do basically anything for myself, I deserve that.

Who am I to complain, really?

Back at the Present Day….

Sssszzzz….

“Ah Fuck!”

Peroxide…it never fails to emit any sort of sting on any sort of cut, don’t it, Dick?

Oh but you gonna start cussing and feeling it now? What the hell’s wrong with you? You can’t handle just a tiny sting of this shit without any yells?

Suck it up, will ya? You’re acting like a spoiled brat.

Who are you to complain about really?

Oh and by the way, there goes the last of our Peroxide, just circling down this old bathroom sink drain into God knows sewer pipes along with the blood it splashed off. You're gonna have to fetch some more, Dick. It’s not like Bruce is gonna get us anymore.

Fuck Him.

We’ve been putting up with his shit every since we lost are damn place to stay in, then our jobs all over this city, villain after villain breaking out, us being blamed for the Mayor, his wife and girl getting ripped to shreds and blood all over one day with one of your Wingdings, making you hunted down from pretty much everyone (for what only $1.5 Billion Alive? Oh c’mon that's too generous of a bounty for you. I’d put myself at about only 25 cents given your piss poor track record); You know for sure Bruce did all this, all behind the scenes, pulling every string he can to get us like this.

And why? Letting him know that you can take care of ourselves that one time and him being this offended by it? Well, fuck it, You’ve been showing him alright! Things are shittybut maybe that’s just how he likes it for you. Nothing gonna change that anytime soon; might as well make it the best for you, because it’s all you can do by now.

So now, no shoes, no fucking good socks at all, only one pair of torn sweats, that black tee, suit and toothbrush in your bag, here in this damn blizzard….every breathe getting…heavier….kinda….getting hard to stay awa…Cough Cough Cough

Hey! Cut it out, Dickface! Cough Keep going at least somewhere! Anywhere out of this snow…so much of it….Wait, that spot there, in this alley. That’ll work for now.

You hear that, laying on this backpack now….yeah this’ll work….at least not being out in that wind, though…..so much snow….it’s everywhere. It’s been everywhere these last few days. Fitting really, since well you do hear that right?

C’mon pick it up, Dick, your ears can’t be that piss poor

Cough

“May I, as your new Mayor, wish us all in this dear Bludhaven…..”

Yeah, there it is…..old Mafia boss now politician giving his speech for what today is.

“A Good…Merry ... .Christmas…!”

Okay, you get the idea. At least that’s one thing you got right….

Getting sleepy now….

…...pretty cold…..tomorrow might be better….

But at least that’s one thing, Dick….

…this damn city….all of its people….they got a good Christmas….

Gotta close your eyes now…..

Wait….that the Redbird….isn't that….can’t be Timmy…..

Cough Cough

Heh…looks like he tripped…Not real though….can’t be…..Bruce doesn’t care….you don’t need him…..but yeah….need rest…..you gave them a good Christmas

Who…am….I….to….Cough…..Complain?

#dick grayson #my posts #first day of spring #fanfic #content warning #cw violence #cw self loathing #cw gore #cw blood #cw self deprecation #cw child abuse #sfw #viewer discretion is advised #cw language

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laufire · 1 month

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if you're willing, would you mind sharing more of your thoughts on mia/jason? B/c i personally can't see mia wanting anything to do with him (based on the green arrow arc), but i am open to having my mind changed if you have a case for it

sure!

I'll preface this by saying that although I ship them, I don't have A Plot for them yet, the way I do for other of my jason rareships, and thus I have yet to ~envision how I'd personally have it go down. but these are my thoughts on them at the moment.

first of all... the green arrow arc isn't this HORRIBLE, TEERRIBLE, AWFUL thing that happened to mia, or this irredeemable evil jason did, and I'm always baffled whenever I see it talked about that way. like. mia is not a normie kid living her normie life in a slice-of-life teen story. she's a freaking SUPERHERO that risks her freaking LIFE on the regular. jason is this dude one, maybe two years older than her that didn't even want to seriously harm her.

she obviously wouldn't walk out of that encounter with kind thoughts about him. he was an asshole! he wanted to scare her! (and he had a GOAL re: sidekicks and the danger they're exposed to and a point to prove about it, which I always feel is handwaved). but like, jason is not a static character, or not doomed to be at least. he'd have to sincerely apologise, saying that yeah, he was a shit, that was a shitty thing to do, he was projecting some stuff on hers and ollie's relationship that wasn't even true and he's ready to compensate her for it. and again, these are... not normal people. like sorry but I just don't think what jason did in that arc garrants an eternity of hate and enmity to them.

and obviously not hating him forever/seeing his actions for what they were and not more/being able to forgive them in the face of a sincere apology and amendments isn't the same as actually seeing jason as a romantic prospect! but it's a first step into a less than hostile dynamic.

and within that context, I could see mia thinking back on some of the things jason said in their confrontation, about them being alike (also, winick wasn't been subtle in his parallels here, but I've seen people being VERY obtuse about this part of the scene añsldkf). I haven't read mia in a team context/with lots of peers her age yet, but even if she's more likely to find people with commonalities/messed up childhoods among child heroes, common ground is still something to be curious about, to bond over. and such very specific common ground would be something I think she'd value.

I haven't reached that arc yet, but I know mia has also killed, once, in circumstances where she thought she had no other choice. and she doesn't want to do that anymore, she wants to be a hero and stay on the path and raise above. those are things that I find interesting in conjunction to a dynamic with jason, in particular. the way it would lead both to conflict and to a different level of understanding.

also, there's always this sense in posts against these ships where I feel like... mia doesn't have to be perfect. she can be messy and make questionable romantic choices and maybe they pan out or maybe they don't, but it could be something actually fun to explore with her character, to see her in a context like that. less in the "bad boy attraction" sense because really, past aesthetics jason does not fit that role in a romantic sense, but as in getting to explore other sides of her character through a romantic relationship, especially as a character with both a history of sexual abuse and with HIV. and I'm sure there are other candidates for that, both canon and fanon, but it just happens that the first thing I read with her was the Jason Being A Menace arc and that I looooove a meet ugly, especially if it comes with a "recognition through the other (derogatory)" bonus.

anyway. I'm not trying to convince anyone because I'm perfectly happy in my rowboat-sized ships and it's nothing to me if other people disagree or judge me for them lol, but thanks for the chance to talk about them a bit!

#talking to the void #my thoughts #dc #dc thoughts #fandom nonsense #jaymia #jason todd #mia dearden #favourites: birds of a feather #replies #anonymous

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everybody-loves-purdy · 3 months

Text

An Analysis of Bumble’s death scene

Ok so on my reread I have just read probably the most controversial scene in the entire dotc arc, Bumble’s death, and I just want to have a look at it an approach it from two angles

Trying to piece together what exactly happened to Bumble

Gray Wing’s reaction to the whole thing

I want to do this because, on tumblr especially, I see a lot of people swearing by clear sky murdering her, and how Gray Wing is awful for his defence of his brother in this scene. And I just want to explore, with full context, is what actually happened any different to what the fandom perceives?

What exactly happened to Bumble?

When the group first find Bumble there are wounds covering her entire body, Gray Wing believes that no particular wound is causing her to die, it’s a cumulation of blood loss from all of the various wounds on her body. These wounds are described as “slits down her belly and sides” as well as other injuries all over her body. When the group gets close to Bumble the “reek of fox was overwhelming and drowning all other scents”. Clear Sky’s scent is then detected on Bumble’s fur by Gray Wing, underneath the fox scent it is quite hard to detect but it is definitely there.

Before Clear Sky’s scent is detected , Gray Wing tries asking Bumble what happened but she cannot reply.

Wind Runner finds signs of a fight due to the trampled grass on the ground. Gorse Fur then presents the idea of Clear Sky being the culprit. Turtle Tail vocally agrees and says “Which cat has been determined to expand his territory, never mind who gets hurt? Clear Sky! And now he’s attacked poor Bumble”

At this point Bumble tries to speak again and succeeds she says

“This was my fault… I was so hungry… I couldn’t think straight. It was stupid. I never should have hunted here… The cat was only -“

At that point Clear Sky appears and interrupts and says “ I was only warning her”.

At that point Gray Wing and Wind Runner confront him, asking what happened to Bumble, and what happened to Misty’s kits (more on that in a second).

Clear Sky’s eyes show “mingling guilt and horror” as he looks at Bumble before answering. He then tells them that Petal is caring for Misty’s kits (which is the truth).

One argument between the cats present later (more of that soon) Clear Sky gives his side of what happened… the only account we ever get of what happened to Bumble. He claims that he found Bumble trespassing, cuffed her around the ear, she fainted from being so weak and he left her because he saw her paw twitching so knew she would come around. While he was walking away he heard a fox bark, came back and says he was “too late” and claims he was going for help when the group arrived. And that’s basically it, that is all the facts of the case. That is all the books ever really give us iirc about how Bumble died.

So what exactly happened?

Personally I am inclined to believe that Clear Sky’s account is mostly accurate, but I think he roughed her up much worse than he claims to have. I don’t believe she would just faint from an ear cuff, nor would Clear Sky do such a feeble move to drive off an intruder. I think what happened was Clear Sky injured her, saw her collapse and decide she learned her lesson, left, and then a fox smelt the blood and attacked Bumble where Clear Sky left her. I don’t know where the fox would have gone but it is undeniable one was there, and even though Clsar Sky is ruthless, I doubt he would injure Bumble to the extent she is. And even though there are signs of a scuffle, there is no injury noted on Clear Sky, surely if he spent that much time and effort slashing open Bumble all over her body then there would be at least signs of her fighting back? My best guess is that the fox fled when the group started to approach, or if Bumble fought back and and it just thought she wasn’t worth it’s time. I think the guilt and horror reflected in Clear Sky’s eyes is over causing the situation and not intending her to actually get that hurt. Bumble herself seems to start on at least some kind of defence against Clear Sky, we don’t know what that is but she says “The cat was only-“ I feel like if he just completely pummelled her to the point of near death she wouldn’t have said this.

So essentially yes, I believe Clear Sky is directly responsible for Bumble’s death based on the evidence, but he didn’t ruthlessly murder her like many make out. I do believe Clear Sky left her injured and defenceless and a fox then finished her off.

What about Gray Wing?

So Gray Wing’s reaction and defence of Clear Sky in this chapter is one of the things I see fairly often to explain why some believe Gray Wing is one of the most morally bankrupt characters in warrior cats.

I just want to add some full context here.

What Gray Wing knows so far about what Clear Sky has done is as follows

He kicked out Jagged Peak for breaking his leg (Gray Wing has physically fought Clear Sky over this already)

He rejected Thunder and then manipulated him into rejoining the group later on.

He left an injured Moon Shadow behind in the moor camp.

He kicked out Frost for having an injury that won’t heal.

Clear Sky and his cats will fight to maintain and expand boundaries. But so far, as far as Gray Wing knows, no death has resulted from this although there is an accusation (see below).

Wind Runner claims she found the bloodied body of Misty with Clear Sky’s and Thunder’s scent marks in the area, and now Misty’s kits are missing.

So far then, as far as it goes with Clear Sky, he has been a generally shitty person but that’s as far as it has gone. The situation with Misty’s death is currently just speculation by Wind Runner and Gorse Fur. We as the audience know, yes, Clear Sky did ruthlessly kill her, but no one beyond Clear Sky, Thunder, and Petal actually know that.

During Bumble’s death chapter, Gray Wing is “desperate to believe his brother could be innocent”. He brings up the fox scent but is dismissed by Turtle Tail.

At this point after Bumble says that it’s her fault and Clear Sky interrupts her. And here’s a point of contention I have seen. Where Gray Wing now thinks to himself

“Even with Bumble dying beside him, Gray Wing couldn’t help but admiring his brother’s bravery. What other cat would leap in the midst of a hostile group?”

And this is something I’ve seen to claim that Gray Wing is an awful person for admiring his brother while Bumble is dying but I just don’t agree with this at all? It is a flash of admiration of Clear Sky confronting a hostile group. Gray Wing thinks that he “couldn’t help” but admire Clear Sky’s courage. It is possible to admire an aspect of a person in this way without absolving them of the bad they’ve done. I can’t think of any examples but I swear things like this do happen in warrior cats where the hero will feel a glimmer of respect for a certain aspect of an antagonist. I just don’t think this is at all revealing of Gray Wing’s moral character. Immediately after this thought Gray Wing confronts Clear Sky and demands to know if he knows what happened and directly accuses Clear Sky of doing it in the process.

Gray Wing clearly doesn’t want this to be true but he isn’t hiding from the possibility.

After explaining that Misty’s kits are safe (in response to Wind Runner’s question immediately after Gray Wing’s before Clear Sky could answer), Clear Sky asks Gray Wing if he thinks he’s capable of doing this to Bumble and Gray Wing says no.

This is another thing I see people say is why Gray Wing is a massive POS but, at this point, Gray Wing has no reason to believe that Clear Sky is capable of this level of violence except the description of the scene of where Misty’s body was found. A scene which he hasn’t seen that Wind Runner also implies Thunder shares the guilt of. That is it. Of course he’s not going to want to believe his littermate committed this act, nor does he have any real reason to actually believe Clear Sky is capable of such a thing. As far as he knows Clear Sky is a major manipulative asshole who will push others around, but there is a huge step between that and just covering Bumble’s body in so many injuries she’s bleeding out and dying. And as mentioned, there is strong evidence a fox was involved in this incident anyway, it’s not like it’s just Clear Sky’s scent, the fox scent is by far the strongest scent at the scene.

After this point arguments ensue with Turtle Tail reiterating how she believes Clear Sky did this, ending with Wind Runner asking Gray Wing about what should be done next.

Gray Wing does have some doubts about Clear Sky but doesn’t want show it, and does ask Clear Sky directly who could have done this if he didn’t. He wants Clear Sky to be innocent but he isn’t shielding away from the potential truth, he is confronting Clear Sky about this. He isn’t trying to cover for Clear Sky, he obviously wants Clear Sky to present another option but isn’t helping him do it and he isn’t verbally trying to excuse Clear Sky at this point other than saying that he doesn’t believe Clear Sky is capable of such a thing, which again is reasonable for Gray Wing to believe in this scenario.

After Clear Sky gives his side of what happened, Gray Wing even refuses to speak in his defence.

Surely if he was such a Clear Sky bootlicker in this scene like is often made out, he would have said something right?

And that’s about all I’ve got to say. I haven’t moved onto the first battle yet so I’ll probably have something to say about Gray Wing in that. But I just think interpreting this scene to make Gray Wing out to be completely supporting and defensive of Clear Sky is just in bad faith imo. This is his brother he was raised with, I really don’t think he should be penalised for not immediately assuming his brother is the awful scumbag he is at this point in time. Like I mentioned, as far as Gray Wing knows now is that Clear Sky is an ableist manipulative ass, but that is a far cry from being a killer. I don’t think Gray Wing has given him enough shit for that, but I truly don’t think Gray Wing believing his brother is capable of such a thing at this point is that reasonable.

Rip Bumble, it is messed up the torment the Erins put you through.

#gray wing #bumble dotc

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queseraone · 2 months

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Anything with a 1 for the fic game!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?) Oh goddddd what a struggle? I asked @timandlucy to answer this for me, and she said this one (which is, oddly enough, one of my favourite things I've written - it was a fun challenge!) or this one (her Secret Santa gift, so she may be biased there...)

10. How do you decide what to write? If something keeps me up at night, I know I need to write it out of pure spite. Seriously though, if I wake up at 3am thinking about an idea, that alone tells me it's compelling enough and/or excites me enough that I need to follow through with it.

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is? All Chenford, all the time! I absolutely love both Tim and Lucy, and I have so much fun exploring these two characters. But I think if I had to chose, I'd say Tim, purely because (at least generally speaking) he holds his cards closer to the chest than Lucy, so there can be more to play with there.

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you? Hmm, I don't think so? I'm generally pretty open-minded, but once something's on my shit list, it's usually there to stay!

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore? Again, not really? I'm pretty stubborn strong in my opinions!

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer? While I can't think of any specific examples at the moment, I definitely think there are lot of sensitive topics thrown around in fanfic that would be better left to someone with greater respect for them. If that makes sense? Writing from a place of care (whether that's pulling from your own experience or from research to develop better understand) is super important to me!

15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written? Well thus far, I've only written one, for Linstead. But I have a handful of Chenford ideas bouncing around in my brain! Fingers crossed I can make at least one or two of them happen over summer hiatus!

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)? One that I've read and loved? Hello, Chenford married at first sight, aka the AU I never knew I needed! (@cfr749 💖)

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it? @timandlucy, you wanna field this one??? 👀😂

18. If you wrote a sequel to i've got my love to keep me warm, what would it involve? I'm not sure if you had a particular fic in mind here? But in general, I'm not sure I've ever envisioned a sequel to anything I've written, simply because most of my fics lean heavily on the "canon compliant" side of things, so I expect canon to give me the next parts hahaha. But there was a time I thought about writing a part two to this one! And, you know, never say never?

Hmm, interesting!! I suppose this fic technically has the most potential for a sequel - the future anniversaries they hint at at the end. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm 🤔

19. If you wrote a spin-off of you know what it was (he is in love), what would it involve? Well given that this is the shortest fic ever, I guess there's potential to explore so many things in more depth. But technically I guess that's not a spin-off. Something similar from Tim's POV I suppose, but the "show you" line was more fitting for Lucy thinking about Tim than the other way around.

21. If you wrote a “missing scene” in i can go anywhere i want (just not home), what would it be? I actually went back to my doc for this one, because funnily enough, there are some things I eliminated for this. Here's a chunk that I ended up not using:

It feels easy at first. As Nova, she’s nervous, more so than she ever cares to let on. It’s her first job, and while she feels a rush at the excitement of it all, she can’t deny that it’s scary. So much is riding on the op—for the department, certainly, but also for herself. It’s her shot to prove herself, to show Harper, Grey, Tim, and everyone else what she’s capable of. But when all is said and done, it’s a relatively short job, and the newness of it all makes the time pass quickly. She doesn’t feel the nerves as much as Sava. Or maybe she’s just too focused on a different kind of nerves, what with being in such close proximity to Tim and feeling so many things. Being Sava feels easy and almost natural in a way Lucy doesn’t let herself think too much about, but that she knows is because she has Tim by her side. Sure, the op is intense, but the chance to take down Madras is more important than any of the turmoil she feels inside. And in the blink of an eye, it’s over, and there’s so much going on that she doesn’t really have time to dwell on the job. When Lucy goes under as Jamie Hall, she feels a surprising sense of peace. Perhaps because she’s been through it before, so she knows the ropes. But probably more because she has Tim as her backup. She’s still surprised the department signed off on that, but she’s grateful for the added level of protection it affords her. She’s able to really give in to the case, lean into the rush, because just knowing he’s close keeps the nerves and the isolation at bay. So she’s expecting more of the same this time.

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write? Whatever feels right. As much as I fixate on the word count as I write, I try not to let it control when something is done. If it feels complete at 1000 words, so be it!

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.” This fic feels like an extension of canon in such an incredible way that I feel it should be compulsory reading (@makeitastrength 👏)

Thank you!! 😊

#ask games #questions for fic writers #thisnightissparkling089 #asked and answered

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kyouka-supremacy · 4 months

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so, kyotag, your super honest opinion about bsd characters please (aka, who is your fave and who is your least fave. i promise, i am not trying to get you 'cancelled', i am just curious!) 🎤

Ever since I've gotten this ask I've been trembling, I don't think I can ever give bsd honest opinions for the sake of my own future mental sanity LMAO. The upside is, I can talk plenty of the characters I like!!

My favourite character is Kenji! For real, ahah. I'm just always drawn to characters that are just... Good. little guys only trying to do their best and be kind. I suppose there's also a factor of “that's who I want to be” that makes me like them in particular. I don't like the direction they went for Kenji's character in chapter 100.5, but really? I wasn't particularly let down by it either, like it's so fundamentally coherent with the worldview bsd expresses, if anything it was chapter 13 that was out of the scheme. I'm a professional canon ignorer at this point and I'll keep doing just that ahah.

↑ Saw this scene for the first time in the anime, went “Slay! Communist king!”, and he's been my favourite ever since lol.

Although, if we count in Beast, then my favourite character overall must be Beast Atsushi. I mean, have you seen him... Most fucked up guy ever. He went through unimaginable trauma and he still kept being so soft at his core. He just wants to live but everyone is making it so hard for him. He cares for Kyouka so much and he cares for Dazai so much and (to me) he cares for Akutagawa so much like little traumatized boy how did you manage to save all that love in you despite the Horrors. I can't put in words how much I love him but really he's the only character I can say I really sympathize with, like, I want good things to happen to him. I want him to spend the rest of his life coddled and adored.

I love all the female characters <3 I ADORE Kyouka, I think among the other female characters she's the most multilayered and complex character with a structured and compelling story arc. I think she's seriously nice, I really love this stark contrast between her sharp, cynical side and her side that is so sweet and kind and so utterly 14 y/o, and I love how these two sides aren't really in conflict but just come to be together and make her so authentically Kyouka. She's so dear to me. Also, she's the only female character who can compete with the s.kk / ss.kk four for the role of main character, so like, I'm rooting for her ahah.

I adore Yosano for self-explanatory reasons lmao. The chapters of her backstory may not be my absolute favourites for a mere matter of personal taste but I definitely think they make for the best written chapters in the whole manga. I really like how sensitive she is of others' suffering, I think she's amazing– I think her compassion is truly amazing. I want to read more stories of unapologetically compassionate characters. I also generally really really love “older sister” kind of characters!!

I love Kouyou with all I've got. I'm sorry, I genuinely think her story was this good on mistake, but still. I think her backstory makes her genuinely intriguing, I think she's extremely cool and powerful and a joy to see in action, I think toxic mother / daughter relationships are super fun to explore, I think she deserves so much more spotlight and should be back as soon as possible.

I love Mitchell lmao. Like I know it may not look like it but I truly think about her 24/7. I just love women that are kinda silly and over the top. She's got like four lines and every single one is a gem and I adore all of them. She's got those big evident flaws and they make her so human and likeable!!! She's my best friend. Not to mention how loyal she is and how much she cares about her family, I really like those traits of her. Oh, and gowns! I love love love gowns.

Okay but seriously I love all female characters. I didn't like Lucy in particular at the start but she's really grown on me and now I adore her with everything. Wells is spectacular and I need her back as soon as possible. Every woman I didn't mention, from Higuchi to Egawa, believe me I love with all my heart.

I went off a tangent I'm so sorry </3 I know you asked for one character, but how can I not mention the others??? It's just been so long for me in the fandom now and I just can't but grow attached. And I've got so much untapped love for women I never get to talk about on my silly blog that focuses on two men. Following up the list, would be Akutagawa. And I don't want to talk about him because I suppose there's no need to after having made one trillion posts about him but also can I just say? I like him for the same exact reasons I like Kenji. She's just a guy trying to be good. The difference is that he sucks so bad at it, and it makes him SO fun to explore as a character. I really have so much fun playing with him. Then would be Tachihara, Jouno...

... ........................ For the characters I like least, I suppose, R/anpo. I'm so sorry peoples. In R/anpo's case, it's just... Why do you have to be so mean and disrespectful all the time. Seriously, dude. Why is he always treating others as less than he is. I'm sorry, I really am, but I just can't help but find it displeasant? Like it takes zero energy to treat other people with common human decency, c'mon dude. At least Akutagawa is trying to do better, but everyone treats R/anpo like he's entitled to be a jerk? Idk man.

K/unikida. In his case, I Do Get why he's the way that he is (and genuinely can relate to him to an extent), it's just... For the way I am, I consider to try and forcibly impose your own ideals on other people to be about the most insulting thing you can do. And he does that a lot, with Atsushi and Dazai and everyone else. He also has this whole forced lack of empathy thing going on like... I get why he does that, and I get what he went through that made him like he is, but that doesn't change the fact you're kinda being a dick to everyone all the time dude. Please get some therapy.

That doesn't mean there aren't moments when I've genuinely liked them both and found them seriously cool!!!! I still think K/unikida is an interesting character and I genuinely get why people like him. I love the helicopter scene, I remember when I was reading the manga for the first time, when he said “no one ruins my schedule”, I was like, whaa, I was completely in awe. For R/anpo too, the Untold Origins arc from what I could see from the anime was really nice, and I also highly enjoy that one scene of his in chapter 81, the “To tell the truth, I had absolutely no assurance they'd believe me”.

Thank you for the ask Nyusa!! I hope you could find this at least a little bit interesting (?). If anything, now you know a little more about me, ahah. Also not talking about Dazai this time because really I can't be here the whole day.

#*deletes paragraph* *rewrites paragraph* *deletes paragraph* *rewrites paragraph*#I have Strong Opinions but also I just don't want to upset anyone ahcjahjvcahk #people asks me stuff #It's just hard to delve into because the reasons I don't like a character are elaborate and complex–#and not something I can explain in a short paragraph. At the same time I don't feel like starting writing an essay–#on why I hate someone you know? That's just not me ahah #Like for R/anpo there's a whole deal on how considering him autistic–#as an autistic person myself it's a kind of representation that personally disturbs me. But we're not getting into that #And POST please this is making me so nervous #Posting this at 3am so that no one sees it lmao

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dirty-bear-rick-sanchez · 8 months

Note

What do you think is going to happen in the season seven finale?

Firstly, thank you for sending this and sorry it took so long to answer! I’m struggling to find the time to interact in this fandom the way I used to unfortunately. Answer under the cut because I am incapable of being either brief or concise 😅

I think it’s hard for me to distinguish between what I want to happen and what I think will happen so this answer might end up being a bit of both 😅

I think that the ending scene is going to be very hard hitting, since we’ve seen the trend develop over the seasons from the initial ‘haha funny’ drunken Rick rant while Morty suffers, to both Rick and Morty being equally excited, to Rick starting to realise he’s shitty and to heal, and finally back full circle to having Rick drunkenly rant at an unenthusiastic Morty but this time played straight and with Morty realising the horror of Rick’s abuse but still not being able to break free.

I’ve seen people mention the idea of having an equivalent ending scene with Prime and Morty instead of C-137 and Morty which I think would be very interesting, especially if we do get more exploration of Morty’s character and his perspective on his relationship with Rick in the broader sense of Ricks in general, rather than just with C-137. I think the show does a very good job of using sci fi concepts such as clones or different dimensions to explore characters and their relationships and I think it would be very cool to have this with Morty and Prime. However, I don’t know if the Prime stuff will develop that quickly, especially if he’s intended to be the big bad of the latter half of the whole series. Equally, Prime could turn out to be only a small piece of the bigger puzzle and maybe he’ll become relatively insignificant compared to other plot elements. Only time will tell I guess.

I think the most common complaint about S6 (from this corner of the fanbase at least) was the lack of Morty, so I hope this is something that gets addressed in S7 and that his character gets a turn in the limelight. At the same time, I appreciate that the show is trying their best to build off of pre-existing canon but also to complete a big tonal shift so I have faith that Morty will get his time to shine, especially since his dynamic with Rick was explored more in the final two episodes (and at the end of Analyse Piss). I definitely want to see the complexities of Morty’s feelings towards Rick and his family as a whole and I’m excited in particular for the Morty and Summer episode that seems to be about the mindblowers - we haven’t really had an exploration of the way Morty feels about Summer getting all these privileges. After all, he’s always tried to protect Summer from Rick and be a good brother despite being the youngest but now Summer is working with Rick and becoming like him. She also has that sort of power over him when it comes to the mindblowers, which is played for laughs in the episode itself but I’m interested to see them explore the darker side of this - after all, Summer is aiding Rick with editing Morty’s memory, and she clearly has a fair bit of power and control over this, given that Rick trusts her to restore both of their memories and wander down there at her leisure. Morty’s Mindblowers definitely marks a whole new era of Rick’s manipulation of Morty, where we start to truly see just how much Rick is deliberately and intentionally controlling Morty’s perceptions and memories. I’ve spoken before with @hazelnut-u-out about how mindblowing is very much a metaphor for gaslighting - Rick is influencing what Morty remembers and how he remembers it, not only removing memories he doesn’t want but even editing them so Morty has no hope of ever getting the true memory back even if Rick does allow him to keep any of the memories permanently. It’s not hard to draw the parallel between this and the way that trauma can permanently shape the way you view things, even if you are able to remember them or process them. However, Summer is clearly aware of this and seemingly makes no effort to stop it or tell Morty. Obviously she is also being manipulated by Rick (‘I don’t get paid enough for this shit’), but she’s still involved and I can imagine that affecting their relationship a lot. I would like to hope that this episode has Summer choosing to tell Morty and trying to heal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds the room accidentally and is discovered by her instead of Rick, or maybe they’re forced to take shelter from something and Summer takes them into the mindblowers room since it’s the only safe place, leading Morty to question how she knows the room exists and has a key to it.

On a lighter note, we had better see Birdperson again (and hopefully his daughter). I would definitely love Rick having to help look after her and she absolutely hates him.

I’m very excited for S7 and I wonder how much my thoughts on this will change when the trailer drops Monday but these are my thoughts for now!

#rick and morty #rnm #rick sanchez #morty smith #summer smith #birdperson #birdchild #birdtammy

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pencilofawesomeness · 10 months

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Hi! I just binge read your How To Raise Your Dragon Slayers AU and I need to inform you that I have accepted it as my new canon. I like that you make sure actions and events have consequences and things don't just happen in a vacuum. The worldbuilding you are doing is just something and my inner nerd is just thrilled that the magic makes sense. Your characterizations are also fantastic and you can easily believe that a character would have turned out this particular way if things went differently.

But anyway, I'm rambling...

I know it's still some time away but I can't wait for your Edolas Arc! This surprised me because, I'll be honest, it's very much not my favorite. Mashima wasted a fantastic opportunity for some character development and foreshadowing, in my oppinion. On that note, some questions:

Does obscura work in Edolas? Does etherious? As one is the opposite of ether and the other vibrates in a frequency between the two, so to speak. That would be great, just to have a scene where some poor sod goes "You can't use your magic here! You're useless!" and Natsu and Mira go "Oh no! What a tragedy!" and wreck them.

I never understood why some member of Fairy Tail didn't just grab Mystogan like a baby koala and drag him home with them. It's obvious he didn't want to be there and he already made a life for himself in Earthland. Moreso in HTRYDS. He actually interacts with other people, however little, and even has friends and a twin! They would definitely miss him.

On that note, I dearly want Jellal and Myst to pull a Parent Trap sort of thing and pretend to be the other. Or at least have someone yell out his old name to get Mystogan's attention and Eathland Jellal answers because Myst hasn't answered to that name in years.

Will Acno be there? How will Edolas mess with a being of pure ether? That would be interesting to explore.

Will Natsu talk with Edolas Natsu about their respective brothers? After the Zeref reveal I was always mad they didn't include at least one scene where Edolas Natsu asks Earthland Natsu how his brother is or at least have a board with deceased/ex-members of the guild with Zeref on it in the background or something... It would have been great foreshadowing.

Will we get some Porlyuska backstory? I always wondered how she ended up in Earthland.

Not really Edolas Arc related but after my latest reread it's been bugging me. Is Zeref possessed by Anksheram? The Larcade POV with the red eyes sorta hinted at it, what with Zeref having memory lapses and the weird dark amusement during the whole deal. And the whole question of how he new some cultists were trying to resurrect Apopis on a different continent in the first place. Seun *did* know about it when he was finally kicked out of Rogue. And Loke said that that was one of the ways to survive for a god. Your Author's Note on chapter 23 of Demon Tails sorta did too with the "when I talked about 'fighting gods' in the series summary, I was dead-on serious" part. And there was a comment somewhere that you hoped that the series will end with fighting Anksheram. (Or was it someone else and I'm just mixing things up? Anyway)

Hope you're taking care of yourself! And take all the time you need with the writing. A hobby is supposed to be fun. Good Luck!

Ohoho HELLO! WELCOME!

I'm so glad you've been enjoying HTRYDS! And yes! Edolas arc! No lie I'm pretty excited for that one too because I get to go off the rails and make everything better and worse simultaneously lmao. Gonna be a big cast but also that's because it's going to be a whole family endeavor and I am h y p e d.

As for the magic, this isn't a spoiler for the arc or anything but it's not that Edolas is opposite to Earthland. It's functionally the same thing, except, unstable and also to the left. Imagine the same chart, except somebody corrupted the image and then slid it to the side so it looks like an overlap but it's not actually an overlap. Hence the magic being exceedingly harder to grasp in Edolas than in Earthland, though not impossible. And why certain medication and items can jumpstart that grabbing process and let Earthland mages use their magic. Gonna suck for some of them though. Like Acno lmao. Luckily he doesn't need magic to be a tank. Oh and obscura is a similar principle—exists just fine but to the left. Etherious is the fun one because it's already the directionless filler stuff so actually that one is nearly the same. (I've got a reason for this magic system and it's wild but idc I had a lot of fun with my worldbuilding and I wanted Edolas and its insanity to make a modicum of sense and I think I've got it.)

To that note yes yes a thousand yesses Porlyusica is getting backstory. I am so ready for it. Soooo so ready.

And yes!! The foreshadowing! That's what I've been saying! Edolas had a lot of opportunity to account for the fact that Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue were from four hundred years ago and shouldn't exist in a modern parallel unless there were modern interferences but nahhhhh that was brushed to the side. Same with family, like with Zeref!

Speaking of family yeah no Mystogan got robbed. Luckily I love Mystogan a lot and I ain't gonna do him dirty. (Also this arc will be ample opportunity for Mystogan and Jellal getting to work together in fic and I'm also super hyped for that.) But yeah no self-sacrificial tendencies do run strong in FT but the theme is that somebody else stops them so I'm making sure this theme stays intact XD

Also I've hinted at this enough so I don't think it's much of a spoiler but yes we are going to fist-fight Ankhseram. She's lurking around Zeref but there shall come a day, a finale-shaped day, where we gonna fist-fight her. Because yes I have expressed that I wanted that in canon and I am a simple woman. I know the opportunities I have given myself >:)

#htryds ask #anon #I think I answered that terribly out of order but my brain is spinning #very good comment I am getting excited for edolas again ahaha #but yes thank youuuuuuuu #and I am trying to take care of myself no worries #just means smaller chapters in the meantime #cause I know I'mma have to break for October so I don't want to break now #and make the break super long or anything #i'm figuring it out ahaha #thanks for all of the support!#also I really got to make that magic diagram....

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breadvidence · 6 months

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I am at the halfway mark with Shoujo Cosette—ep. 26—and while my experience thus far has been distinctly Malbec-tinted (holiday season, am I right?), I do have a couple coherent thoughts. This was always going to be a harder sell for me because the intended audience is younger and I'm a curmudgeon, and indeed a few of the minor plot arcs and emotional beats have been a shrug for me. That being said, I don't think this is a bad adaptation either in the sense of watchability or its handling of the source material. Thoughts, in no particular order:

The opening credits equate Jean Valjean saving Cosette with Myriel saving Valjean and I am almost resentful to have never drawn this connection myself.

I realize it is unreasonable to complain that a children's show does not explore the behavioral and physical impacts of abuse but—yeah, I am still going to complain about that. The fact that Cosette is an ugly kid who is dishonest and a little feral prior to her being saved rarely gets drawn out in adaptations, but the loss of this aspect of her character is particularly striking when we have twelve episodes regularly turning their attention on her childhood with the Thénardiers. In Shoujo Cosette she is an unrelentingly sweet kid, which is both less interesting for me personally as a viewer and strips nuance present in the source material.

Because this is an unreasonably large Jean Valjean, I cannot shake the impression of Javert being a little man. Look at them:

Javert is at near-perfect motorboating level. His relative size combined with the slender design and dramatically pointed facial features is giving rabid whippet.

After Javert interrogates a man at a tavern about Jean Valjean's past, the tavern owner comes tattling to M. Madeleine—to warn him, sure, but also complaining that his shop won't get any business if Javert comes around with his "intimidating face", and asking that the mayor please convey this. Valjean doesn't demur the task, and the implied encounter is a thing of beauty. This might be the most embarrassing thing to happen to any Javert, both being banned (because of his face) and his investigation being dragged into the open.

I would say this Fantine suffers more because she does not have access to sex work; for all its social vulnerability, that position at least affords her an economic advantage the Shoujo Cosette version lacks.

Was I stressed by the friendship between Cosette and Gavroche on the (correct!) assumption that her promises she would take him with her were bunk? Yeah, I'll admit to that. For one brief moment in Ep. 13 it looks as if Valjean will casually abduct two children in one day, but this is deferred under flimsy premises. The downstream effect of his taking Gavroche would have been extensive, but the show manages this moment with unusual clumsiness.

Catherine falls off a bridge in Ep. 15 and at the time I thought there was something in a "she pulled a Javert, what are the character parallels?" joke, but now that I'm sober I'm less sure.

Jean Valjean's wanted poster is a thing of beauty. Look with me.

Suffered the brief temptation to re-brand as tumblr user JVJs_wanted_poster just to use this image as a PFP. Those deep-set eyes. That chin dimple. Imagining the equivalent of the scene in BBC 2018 where Oyelowo chews out the line "Make his jawline more... more... prognathous" except it's Takashi Matsuyama's Javert throatily growling out "Make his jawline more... more... heroic."

Oddly, this is the only adaptation I can think of which truly draws out ambivalence surrounding the convent (even weakly). Particularly when Cosette is a little girl, you get the sense of the arbitrary and unhealthy control the place exerts on its residents. Ultimately it is a place of refuge—and Jean Valjean, already a tired old man at this juncture, is entirely on board for it—but it is flawed. The show proceeds to shy away from its own implications by having one of Cosette's friends become a nun in a little outburst of religiosity which rather puzzles me.

Grown-up Éponine gets fucked over in this adaptation, at least up to Ep. 26. She has no actual arc, either in he relationship with Marius or in her conflict with her father. I did not think you could do worse by her than '58 but I think I would rather her groveling and lacking bite than whatever's going on here. The issue isn't even characterization per se—they are just so inattentive to the beats and progression of her plot that the end result is incoherent.

I blame Shoujo Cosette less for the incoherence of Gavroche's narrative. He's as much a magical being in the novel as he is a child, and the fact that he has such prominence in the anime means they're trying to build something normal out of what really isn't. They've missed the mark on making him funny or tragic, which is a loss.

Great Grantaire here? Nothing deep to say, I just enjoy him.

This Marius gets a wobbly gold star for being the only one of his kind to articulate "I shouldn't have stalked them". May I present the Valjean expression which first dissuaded him from approaching them:

Truly intimidating. (In the universe of Shoujo Cosette there does not seem to be the same constraints of propriety keeping him from simply kicking off a conversation, making this more comedic.)

All complaints aside, this series repeatedly hits exactly the right note in the relationship between Valjean and Cosette, which is half of why I love Les Misérables—it's devoted, tender, and fucked-up. These two cannot have an honest conversation about anything important, but damned if you don't entirely believe in their love for each other.

#les misérables #les mis #shoujo cosette

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bapydemonprincess · 1 month

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Did they fuck behind the scenes or what??? how does this mating thing work? 👀 Also next part when. WHEN.

GSDJYKGLHOIJ ohhh sweet summer anon... there may be some big time sexual tension, but in this particular sebard storyline... they've only kissed as many times as I've written, and nothing more 😈 I know that must be torture to some of you smut enthusiasts, but despite my own bisexual horny frustrations, I LOVE writing long game, slow, romantic shit 💖 So ya'll will have to endure.

And the mating bond concept is a thing @grelleswife and I came up with and have explored together in our collab writing The Owl and the Raven, a Sebamey centric story. But I realized in that last sebard drabble that I absolutely wanted to explore it again, just with a different ship. uwu It's basically a familiar concept of like, bonded souls or something I'm sure most people have seen. Like the whole "red string of fate" trope, but make it DEMONIC. Lmao. Basically if a demon such as Sebastian grows close enough to develop feeling of a romantic nature, but of course in whatever way demons feel it, they start to connect to that person in a way deeper way than physical and literal like we humans do. It's a logical way, in my opinion, to explain why maybe you don't hear or read about demons being romantic or demon courting, unless its in a bad or smutty light like seducing scenes. This bond that forms unconsciously with this other the demon wants to eventually be with, even if they themselves don't realize it or deny it in many cases, is like an extra intimate special way a demon can stay close to their "mate", as they call them. So it's no surprise that this doesn't happen a LOT or is unheard of. What demon who wants to hunt souls greedily and have fun their whole lives tricking and messing with humanity wanna suddenly be weighed down by a lover??? So I think basically these sorts of things only happen at a certain POINT in a demon's long life; like when they no longer NEED to eat souls as much, and no longer wish to mess around with humans. Like finally feeling like settling down and having a family like humans do! And it works out pretty interesting I'm sure with a demon + another demon; how it SHOULD go normally. The demons come together, court each other in whatever ways they do for the types of demons they are (like a crow/bird demon dancing and flaunting for their possible mate and bringing them shiny presents to show they care 🖤), and once the bond forms between them on BOTH SIDES, they can feel each other's emotions, talk to each other mentally, find where the other is much faster than if they weren't mated; and over long long looong distances too! So it's only natural and meant to happen between these two.

HOWEVER, for this bonding to at some point "activate" with a human the demon has been around and close to long enough... oh boy it's quite a trip. Almost embarrassing in some cases. Basically like a demon's equivalent of "WHY DO I HAVE A CRUSH ON THEM??? I DON'T WANT THIS!!! 🙈🙈🙈" And also the fact remains that a human is a human, they can't feel at all a bond forming on their end. 😭

So sometimes I'm sure these things don't last long and rarely happen at all, seeing as the smart thing to do is to move away and separate themselves from that particular human! ... If they really, really don't want this, that is.

But.. for a demon who might grow curious and hopeful, for they have grown to.. at least like this human in particular..

Well it's certainly seems like the beginning of something different from this demon's usual interactions with humans. 🖤

Finally... I will admit I don't know for certain when I will continue this, I can't promise anything, anon!! TwT But know that because I did enjoy getting to this point, I'll def. likely come back or keep going with my own little take on sebard 🥰 So thank you for enjoying my writing!!!

#kuroshitsuji #sebastian michaelis #bardroy #bard #sebard #headcanons #demon things #demon headcanons #kuroshitsuji demons

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marvelmaniac715 · 8 months

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Something different that’s loosely inspired by Tangled and this particular cover on YouTube:

youtube

I know it’s a far fetched au but just bear with it and have fun.

—————————————————————-

When the twins were reborn into two separate bodies, Tiffany was too preoccupied with the mayhem of transferring her soul into Jennifer Tilly to keep an eye on the babies… or Chucky. She didn’t see when he transferred a fraction of his soul into a cop who arrived at the scene, and she didn’t notice when Chucky’s doll body went down without much of a fight (come on, why would he seriously fight his own child? He wasn’t a monster).

But she really should have noticed when she went to sleep one night with two babies in the house and woke up the next morning with only Glenda in the house. Baby Glen was already nearly out of the state with their father (in his new human body). Glen was taken because, well, Chucky was a proud man, and he had many hills that he was willing to die on. This particular hill was that he wasn’t losing both of his children to Tiffany, that wasn’t happening, no way.

Besides, raising a kid would be fun, right? He was doing Tiffany a favour, because twins are hard work (Chucky thought so at least) so if they both took one twin they’d share the workload. He really thought that being a father would be easy… how wrong he was.

——————————————————————-

As Glen got bigger and began to move around, Chucky realised that he’d have to find somewhere secure to keep his kid trapped safe, because Tiffany had used her newfound influence as a celebrity to put up billboards and adverts offering a reward for the safe return of her kidnapped eldest child. Glen had unmistakable red hair, that would be a dead giveaway if they were ever in public, so something had to be done.

It was actually pretty easy to find an abandoned house in the countryside with windows that could be barred. The hard part was trying to keep the naturally curious Glen from exploring. To combat this issue, Chucky invented a variety of cruel monsters that would await them if they ever left the protection of their father. For example, if Glen asked to go into the woods surrounding the house to pick berries, Chucky would give them a ‘regretful’ look and say ‘sadly’:

“I really wish I could take you outside, champ. Really, I know how much you want to go outside, but the werewolves are really vicious this time of year, you’d get ripped to shreds if you so much as snap a twig. Nothing I can do, sorry buddy.”

And so, Glen grew up very sheltered, with limited media access to prevent them from seeing their mother’s plea for them to come home as well as to preserve their naivety about the outside world. If Glen ever knew about what they were missing, everything Chucky had done would be ruined.

———————————————————————-

It was the week before Glen’s eighteenth birthday, and all they knew for certain is that for their entire life there had been something… missing. Like there was something they were supposed to know or be that had been denied to them by… somebody. The only person who could possibly be lying to them was their dad, but he was the only person protecting them, surely he wouldn’t lie? He’d always told Glen the truth about how dangerous the world was.

Despite being told for their entire life that the world was really dangerous, Glen was desperate to go outside, and they were nearly eighteen now - an adult! Surely their dad wouldn’t mind if they left the house as a full-grown adult? Glen tried to bring up the subject with their dad every day, but every time the word ‘outside’ escaped their lips, their dad would glare at them and say coolly:

“We’ve talked about this, Glen, ever since you were a little kid. What have I always said about the world?”

And every time Glen would reply:

“That it’s dangerous, dad. I know.”

Then their father would respond whilst patting them on the shoulder:

“Exactly, so just stay home where it’s safe, yeah?”

But not today. Glen wasn’t backing down this time, no matter what. They had backing arguments and were prepared to beg if necessary. They just wanted to feel the breeze in their hair and blades of grass between their fingers. Was that a crime? They didn’t think so.

So when their dad came home, Glen set their plan into motion. They pulled out the big presentation they’d made on poster board from under their bed and detailed all of the merits of them being allowed to outside for once. Their dad watched all of this with his arms crossed and a disapproving scowl, and when Glen was finished he simply said:

“No.”

Disappointed, Glen began to plead:

“C’mon dad, I’m eighteen now! I’m an adult!”

Chucky snorted and responded:

“Try again when you can legally buy a beer. You’re still a kid, champ. The answer’s still no, nice presentation though.”

With this, Chucky clearly thought the discussion was over, because he turned and began to walk away. But out of sheer desperation, Glen grabbed a hold of their father’s shoulders to beg him to stay. Maybe it was the argument, maybe it was the grabbing, but whatever caused it, Chucky turned around and shoved Glen to the ground. Hard.

———————————————————————-

Just ten minutes later, Chucky was begging for Glen’s forgiveness (even if he didn’t seem all that sincere). He kept asking if there was anything he could do to make it up to them, and at first Glen refused, but then an escape plan formed in their mind. If they could get their father out of the house for long enough, Glen could find a way to get out. With this in mind, they smiled coyly and said casually:

“Y’know, it’s my birthday in a week…”

Slightly confused, Chucky shrugged and responded:

“Yeah, I know, I was there.”

In their best neutral tone, Glen continued:

“I remember one year you got me these really cool paints made from seashells? I think that’s what I want for my birthday this year if you don’t mind.”

Chucky looked hesitant.

“Are you sure champ? Those shells can’t be ordered online, they’re a long way away, I’d be gone for a few days.”

Glen pouted and gave him their best puppy eyes.

“Please? It’s all I want for my birthday.”

Their dad still looked unsure, but something in his expression softened, and Glen knew they’d done it.

———————————————————————-

It took two hours and a lot of spare fabric like bedsheets and jackets, but Glen finally found a window that was open enough for them to drop part of their homemade rope to the ground below, close their eyes and pray. Glen was ripped from their prayer for safety when they felt a tug on the rope, like someone was climbing up. Sure enough, with much puffing and panting, a teenager with short red hair who looked remarkably like Glen had climbed their way up the rope, a relieved expression on their face.

“Thank god! I didn’t think I’d ever get in, you’re a lifesaver!”

Glen screamed and nearly let go of the rope before the teenager in front of them raised one of their hands in a placating gesture, saying:

“No, no, please! Just hear me out for a second, okay?”

Glen didn’t trust this person. All they’d ever been taught was that people from the outside world were dangerous, and even though they were determined to explore the world, they were still very wary of people - and this one had just climbed into their house without warning.

“W-who are you? How are you in my house? Why should I trust you?!”

Glen fired these questions at the stranger as they helped them in, pulling in the rope so it wouldn’t fall. The stranger just laughed nervously (a habit Glen shared… seriously, who was this person) before offering out their hand to shake Glen’s.

“I know this is gonna sound crazy, I’m still getting my head around it. But basically, mom and I have been looking for literal years, and I came on a camping trip on my own this week because it’s my birthday this week and I wanted to have some fun. I saw you in one of the windows and I just thought, wow, a person who looks like me, locked up in a big creepy house- no offence- then it has to be… Long story short, I’m Glenda, pronouns they/them. I think I’m your twin.”

Glen had nothing to say in response to that.

#chucky #chucky series #childs play #seed of chucky #horror #charles lee ray #tiffany valentine #glen ray #glenda ray #fanfiction #tangled #rapunzel #tangled au #au #human chucky #human au #Youtube

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lesbianpegbar · 8 months

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IS LINK CLICK GOOD AGAIN WAS RHE FINAL GOOD

okay god so. this is complicated. i'm keeping this spoiler free lol, but i wrote an essay so if you dont wanna read that tldr this season wasn't good and this episode retains those overall issues but left me with enough intrique that im still invested if incredibly cautious and heavily jaded

i have suchhhh mixed feelings on this final episode and on season 2 as a whole. having slept on it and letting the euphoria wear off a bit, the episode as a whole was like. fine. it was emblematic of a lot of the issues ive had with the whole season so far. i think the pacing wasnt great, i think we spent way too long on flashbacks, and oh my god the fight scenes were far far too long (looking at one in particular like i did not care about those characters or their relationship). but the ending of the episode, at least in the moment, made me forget all about that and all about the problems with the whole season. it focused back on the main trio, and we saw interactions between them that made me remember why i love these characters and why i loved season 1. and there was a reveal at the end that, when watching, made me quite frankly go absolutely ape shit insane and feel like i was dying so. lol

but again, sleeping on it, while the end of the episode was a reminder of what i loved, it feels a bit hollow when placed in the context of the rest of the season. i think of how crazy the reveal was last night for me, but then i wonder how much more intense and meaningful it wouldve been had we actually spent the last 12 episodes exploring these characters instead of speedrunning a plot that nobody really cared about. in that way, it almost feels a bit insulting? that's kind of harsh, but idk how else to put it lol. like they had this great idea and strung us along with the bare minimum while making some of the worst writing decisions ive ever seen, and then finally at the end are like "hey! remember this thing! remember! arent we smart and clever and good writers!" and its just. sigh.

i think about what we couldve had had we spent this season with lu guang and cheng xiaoshi. if we had been shown them interacting more than maybe two times this season. if we had spent less time on fight scenes and cops and murder drama and actually spent time on the characters that i watched season 1 for. this season feels like something that shouldve been a film or half a season, if it even really needed to exist at all. it feels like they were twiddling their thumbs for twelve episodes because they just wanted to set up li tianchen and the big reveal at the end. and in that way its a huge disappointment, and a bit of an insult. they made me watch twelve episodes of something that feels like they barely thought about just so they could move on to their greater plot in the last five minutes of the season. this whole season feels like it was a stepping stone, a minor or transitory plot point in a greater story, which is a little iffy considering we all waited for two years just for something that felt like it barely mattered.

all in all, this season in general has just left a bad taste in my mouth. the conflict arises bc what they do get right makes me want to keep watching. i care about lu guang and cheng xiaoshi and qiao ling, like a lot. and with the reveal they did last night i want to see what's happening and there's a part of me that feels vindicated for being right about certain plot elements. am i falling for a shitty carrot on a stick? yeah, kinda, and that feels a little gross. i'll watch season 3 when it comes out and we'll see from there. i want to believe they'll turn it around and maybe now that they've gotten all this plot bullshit out of the way they'll refocus on cheng xiaoshi and lu guang, and maybe then we can all look back on this season and laugh and say "oh yeah that season sucks lol but the rest of it is so good so we just ignore it." at this point that's kind of best case scenario. which isn't a glowing review but play stupid games win stupid prizes i guess

#sorry for writing war and peace i have a lot of jumbled thoughts #link click #shi guang dai li ren #mine

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beautyofattolia · 1 year

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Jake and Lo’ak (Avatar: The Way of Water)

Warning: this post contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water! Do not read if you haven’t seen the movie yet, are planning on watching it, and you want to go into it blind. I will be discussing a LOT of things that go on in it.

This post is going to be a discussion/exploration of both Jake and Lo’ak as characters with a deep dive into their relationship. I loved a lot of the character development that went on in this movie and wanted to pick apart Jake’s arc in particular. I also thought the relationship between him and Lo’ak was one of the most interesting and well-developed ones in the movie and wanted to not only examine it closer but also make some predictions about where it’s going to end up in future movies.

Just to warn you now, this is going to be a LONG post (I have SO MANY THOUGHTS Y’ALL), so I’m including a “read more” tab. I don’t want to see this entire monster on my dash every time I look through my tags and I especially don’t want people who have no interest in this topic to have to deal with my ramblings while casually scrolling.

For those of you who want to come explore with me though…let’s dive in.

(I am so sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Introduction

I do want to start by saying that I have seen the movie twice. This analysis/exploration came to mind after the first time I saw it, but I wanted to watch it again with this idea in mind to double-check myself. I wanted to make sure I accurately remembered all the scenes I’m going to be discussing in this post. I’m not perfect and I’m sure there are things I have still managed to misremember or misquote, so please feel free to let me know if I’ve made any mistakes!

Honestly, I would love to see the movie two more times, AT LEAST, but I have no idea when that is going to happen and I wanted to get this done sooner rather than later.

There are also a few things I want to make very clear before I start. First, I absolutely adore both Jake and Lo’ak, so if you don’t and you’re looking to read something that completely bashes either one or both of them…this is not the post for you. Second, this post’s goal is not to convince you that you SHOULD love them or that how you feel about them or their relationship is wrong if you don’t agree with me. It’s not! Your feelings and opinions are completely valid, whether you like them as characters and their relationship with each other or not.

This post is simply a deeper exploration into why I think these characters behave the way they do in this movie and why I believe their relationship is the way that it is. I have seen people claim things like “Jake doesn’t love his kids” or “Jake doesn’t love his sons” or “Jake doesn’t love Lo’ak” and I, personally, think all of these statements are false based on what the movie presents to us as viewers and this post is an explanation of why I believe that.

All that to say, if none of this is up your alley, please stop reading now. I’m not here to hate on anyone’s feelings or thoughts or opinions. I’m only here to share my own, explain why I think the way that I do, and break down and explore two characters I love and the relationship they share (which I also love), in a movie that I adore. I deeply enjoy engaging with and analyzing media that I love. I can’t make fanart and fanfiction is very hit or miss for me (when I’m writing, I love reading it), so this is kind of the only way I have of showcasing my love for a fandom and series that has held my heart captive since I was fourteen.

“Jake Doesn’t Love His Kids”

I think this claim kind of goes hand in hand with the “Jake is a military dad” claim. While I do think Jake does have military dad moments in the Way of Water, I would hesitate to consider him 100% a military dad. Mostly because there is clearly a huge difference between him as a dad before the humans return and him as a dad after the humans return. I will be the first to admit that we don’t have a lot of footage from those first fourteen years, but from what we do see, it is clear there is a difference between pre-humans Jake and post-humans Jake.

Now, I consider pre-humans Jake to be who Jake really is as a dad. He’s much softer, much warmer, and overflows with love for his family. Every single moment of that sequence shows that. The look of awe when Kiri grabs his finger, how patient he is while teaching Neteyam how to fish, the way he holds Lo’ak against him when he and Neytiri tell the story of how they met, how he measures his kids’ heights on a pole in their home, even the way he breaks up the fight between Lo’ak and Kiri. It’s all consistent behavior that shows this is who Jake is as a dad naturally, without the world falling apart around him: soft, warm, loving, gentle, patient.

Then the humans come back.

Sometimes, when reading what people say about Jake as a dad, it feels like they don’t understand why there’s a change between pre-humans and post-humans. Why after a year of war, there’s a difference in how Jake parents his children, and how he behaves as a dad. Why he has become harder, someone who falls into moments of the military dad mentality.

And I don’t think the movie could be any clearer about why this happens.

They are now in the middle of a war and Jake is scared out of his mind.

Fear changes you as a person. You are not your best when you are scared, instead, you often become a version of yourself that you do not recognize and do not like. And the truth is that Jake is terrified out of his mind after the humans return. In order to cope with the fear he is now feeling, he falls back on the marine mindset because he thinks that is what is going to protect the people he loves.

Remember, that’s his whole thing. “A father protects his family. That’s his one job.” That statement is literally Jake’s core belief about what it means to be a parent and what his responsibilities are to his kids.

Now, I’ve seen this statement criticized for being sexist. Like, “oh fathers protect, but what do mothers do? Stay home and twiddle their thumbs?” and I think this misses the point entirely. Jake is not saying that at all. He does not think Neytiri is weak or somehow lacking in her ability to protect their kids because she is their mother. I mean he literally goes to her at the end and is like “I need you. I cannot rescue our children alone.” He needs her because they are mates and partners and these children are THEIR children and she is the most badass badass to ever be badass on Pandora and probably in the universe. And Jake knows that! He loves that! The man looks at his mate slaughtering people and is like “oh my God babe YES!” His statement is not that fathers are the only ones who protect. He states that it’s the parents’ job to protect their children, but he is making it personal for himself. His role in this family is the father. He refers to himself because he is making himself focus on his failings as a parent. He’s basically saying to himself “your one job as their father is to protect them and you are failing it.” He is judging himself, saying he himself has fallen short and failed, not saying that mothers can’t or shouldn’t be focused on their children’s protection.

This mentality, that a parent’s one job is to protect their kids, is why he is terrified when the humans return. Or at least one of the reasons. I think Jake is a really complex character with a lot of baggage and while not all of it is explored in the Way of Water, I think most of it is and the rest is at least hinted at. The movie focuses on his fear of the humans hurting his family, but there are other reasons why Jake is scared too.

When you think about it, Neytiri and the kids are the only family Jake has left. They are all Jake has. He has no one else. Tom is dead and while we don’t know much about their parents, we know they aren’t in the picture for one reason or another because Jake doesn’t consider them at all when he leaves. The life he has built with the Na’vi is the only life that he has. They are his whole world: his family, his friends, and his people. And the humans have the power to take that away, to hurt the people he cares about more than anything else in the world. I can’t help but think back to the first movie, in the extended version (the BEST version), where Jake says “all I’ve ever wanted was a cause worth fighting for.” And guess what? His family and the Na’vi people are now his cause!

So we have his fear of losing his family driving him, but I think we also have his fear of letting down the Omatikaya people as well. I think Jake deals a lot with guilt and I think part of his desire to fight the humans comes from feeling like he still has to make up for what he did in the first movie. Like he 100% loves them, but I do think he is still trying to prove that he belongs, that he is sorry for what he did, and that he is on their side. Jake is afraid of losing his place with the Na’vi, of not only losing the people he loves, but the life he loves too. The community he loves. The world he loves.

He is full of fear and the humans returning brings all of that fear right to the forefront of his mind. And as a result, he lets that fear take over and whenever you let fear take over, you become a lesser version of yourself. And Jake’s lesser version of himself, the one ruled by fear, is harder, colder, and not the kind of dad his kids needs or that he wants to be.

I want to make it very clear that the movie does not present this behavior as healthy or right. In fact, the movie makes it clear that Jake is making mistakes in how he handles his children, specifically Lo’ak (we’ll talk about that specifically in a bit). Neytiri herself is the voice of reason for Jake when she tells him “you are too hard on them” and “this is not a squad, it is a family.” I think this again provides a little more evidence that this is not how Jake was as a dad before. If Neytiri is troubled by his behavior now, there is no way she would have let Jake parent their children like this for fourteen years. Neytiri is not afraid of speaking her mind, especially not with Jake. She would never sit back and let something she disagrees with happen, especially not for YEARS. I do think in this instance, she understands why Jake is acting the way he is (they are bonded after all), which is why she reminds him throughout the movie of how he should be behaving gently and not flying off the handle at him.

Back to the “family, not a squad” scene though, Jake answers he was afraid they had lost Neteyam and Lo’ak, and again that shows how scared he is of losing the children he loves. It highlights Jake’s fear. The movie is saying “Jake is making a mistake but this is why he is making the mistake.” That’s Jake’s whole arc throughout this movie! Him making mistakes with his kids and then realizing he was wrong the whole time. The movie makes that very clear! So I do get a bit frustrated when people criticize the movie for having Jake be a military dad when the movie very clearly shows that lots of Jake’s parenting choices are wrong.

But just because he makes mistakes doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his children. In fact, the reason why he makes those mistakes is because he loves his kids so freaking much that he is consumed with the fear of losing them and that fear turns him into a person who is so bent on protecting them that he pulls away from them emotionally and becomes someone harder and colder than he was before.

I also want to take a second and mention how much I appreciate that Jake is never physically hard on his kids. I think one of the stereotypes of the military dad persona is corporal punishment and that is honestly never a thing for Jake, which is a huge relief to me. Obviously, he is much more physically affectionate in the pre-humans era, but even in the post-humans era, he is still physically gentle and warm with his kids. He holds Tuk when she asks for it, he is physically supportive of Kiri when she tells him how she feels, he hugs Neteyam and Lo’ak when he saves the two from Quaritch at the beginning, he cups Lo’ak’s cheek at the end, he hugs both Lo’ak and Spider after the battle. Even when he is angry with Lo’ak and grabs him to pull him away from Tonowari and Ronal, he is still gentle. His touch is never shown to be aggressive or painful or a punishment. His kids never flinch away from him. Even when Jake is upset with them and leaning into the scared military dad persona or the angry commanding officer persona, his kids do not fear his touch. And I think that is so important because it shows how much he loves them, how much they love him, and how Jake really is a warm, gentle dad who is just scared out of his mind and desperately trying to protect his kids. The movie shows him making a lot of mistakes in this movie, but the way he is physically there for his kids is not one of them.

I think the movie does an incredible job at comparing and contrasting the dad Jake really is (pre-humans) and wants to be with the dad Jake becomes when he lets fear consume his life (post-humans). He isn’t a military dad because he doesn’t love his children, he loves his children so much that he thinks becoming a military dad is the only way to save them. And the movie straight up says “no Jake, that’s wrong and here’s why.” Parents are people who make mistakes and who have to grow and change to be better people and better parents. Loving your children doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes, but it does mean that you need to constantly be aware of how your choices are affecting your children and make changes when needed. And I think Jake’s entire arc throughout this movie is him realizing he is wrong and then making that change at the end of the movie to be better.

“Jake Doesn’t Love His Sons”

A lot of people have been commenting on the fact that there is a difference between how Jake treats his daughters, Kiri and Tuk, and how he treats his sons, Neteyam and Lo’ak. Specifically, they claim that Jake loves his daughters more than he loves his sons. Again, I do think this is proven wrong by the movie. Now, I will say, there is definitely a difference in the post-human treatment of the girls vs. the boys, but I don’t think it has anything to do with how much Jake loves them. I don’t even think it has anything to do with their gender!

I think it’s the direct result of Jake being Olo'eyktan and the one leading the Omatikaya into battle since Neteyam and Lo’ak are both young warriors. After all, Jake has no pattern of treating women differently than men throughout the movies. He doesn’t look down on Neytiri in the first movie because she is a woman. In fact, he is totally okay with her being his teacher and while they do fall in love (something that probably wouldn’t have happened if it had been like Tsu’tey teaching him instead), there is no point in which he views Neytiri less of a warrior because she is a woman. Jake also doesn’t respect Grace any less as a scientist than Norm or Max and he doesn’t think Trudy is any less of a marine than Quaritch or the other male marines. Jake even shows the same level of respect to Ronal as he does to Tonowari, similar to how he shows the same level of respect to Mo’at as he does to Eytukan in the first movie. Jake is not sexist. He has never had a problem with women in positions of power or authority. He does not treat women any differently than he treats men in any situation.

So no, I don’t think the reason why he treats his sons differently than his daughters has anything to do with sexism or even toxic masculinity, another thing I see people mentioning and which Jake has no history of ever displaying. I think the reason why he treats them differently is because his sons have roles that require him to approach them not as their dad, but as their commanding officer. The girls do not. THAT is where the difference lies.

Being a warrior/hunter is an important part of being part of the Omatikaya clan and Neteyam and Lo’ak are the only two children who fall into that category. Kiri does not, even though she is old enough. Much like Mo’at, who also doesn’t seem to be a warrior/hunter and instead seems to be more focused on healing (although being a Tsahìk doesn’t seem to mean you aren’t a warrior since both Ronal and Neytiri are, but throughout both movies we never see Mo’at assume a warrior role), Kiri seems to be more of a healer. A spiritual leader. There is never a moment where she appears to have any interest in being a warrior/hunter the way Neteyam and Lo’ak do. I do not believe she has gone through that process the way the boys have. She doesn’t even have a weapon at any point during the movie even though the boys have both bows and knives and even Tuk has a knife at the end. Tuk obviously isn’t a warrior/hunter either as she is still too young. That may be in her future, but at the moment it is not.

But Neteyam and Lo’ak are. Or at least becoming? Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but it looks like maybe they both have completed their Iknimaya since they both appear to have their own ikran. I’m a bit iffy on that since there is no real confirmation either way, but the evidence does seem to lean toward the fact that at the VERY LEAST, they are warriors/hunters in training close to becoming full-fledged warriors/hunters. Regardless of official status, it is clear that they both are given some responsibilities when it comes to fighting alongside the older warriors. And as Olo'eyktan, Jake is their commander. He is the one who leads the warriors into battle and I think this is what causes him to treat the boys differently.

He is no longer just their father, he is also their commanding officer, and I think he struggles to find the line between the two. He tends to lean more into the commanding officer side, ESPECIALLY when it comes to chastising them for disobeying his requests as their father and his orders as their commanding officer. And again, I think the movie shows that this is a mistake on Jake’s part. He should be more focused on being their father than their commanding officer. I think in his desire to protect them from the horrors of war that they are very much involved in as members of the clan, he is falling back into treating them how he was treated as a marine to try and prepare them. Train them. Give them, in his mind, their best chance of survival. Again, I think it’s important to remember Jake’s background and that the only knowledge he has of how to be a commanding officer is the ones he had as a marine. That’s his entire fighting background! That’s what he knows and understands and can pass on to his sons. So that’s what he gives them.

I still don’t think he ever goes all the way there. I think about how he ALWAYS checks with Neteyam and Lo’ak to make sure they’re okay before anything else every time something happens to them. That’s the dad part of him coming out, making itself known and fighting against the commanding officer side that comes out when he is upset with the boys when they make mistakes. This is also where I think the “sir” comes from. You never hear the kids refer to Jake as “sir” in the pre-humans era and you don’t hear the girls use it at all. But the boys do. And the boys only do it when Jake is in commanding officer mode, giving them orders or chastising them for disobeying. For the majority of the movie, they refer to him as “dad.” It is only in those specific situations that “sir” comes out. I think the movie again leans into this being a mistake on Jake’s part, a way that he has failed the boys in the post-human era by disciplining them not as a father, but as a commanding officer.

One interesting note about the “sir” thing though, Ao’nung and the boys also use it in reference to Tonowari as well. This makes me wonder if it is the English translation of a word in Na’vi that is being used to show deference to the Olo'eyktan. I don’t know enough about the language to say for sure either way and I think my point above still stands either way as it is still Jake being more of a leader to his sons than a father, but I think it’s an interesting detail. One I would love to have some other thoughts on!

The main point is that Jake loves his boys as much as he loves his girls, but because his boys are warriors/hunters there is definitely this line he has trouble treading between being their father and being their commanding officer in a way he doesn’t have to worry about with the girls. He doesn’t have to balance two roles with them, they are simply his children while Neteyam and Lo’ak are older and have more responsibilities. They are warriors/hunters fighting alongside the other clan members whether Jake likes it or not because that is their right and duty as members of the Omaticaya. And so Jake struggles, losing sight of who he needs to be with them because he has to take on this extra role to keep both them and the other fights under his command safe. Because this is the only way he knows how to fight and he is scared that if he doesn’t prepare them, they are not going to survive. It is not an easy line to tread and while it does not excuse Jake, I think it makes it easy to understand why he is the way he is with Neteyam and Lo’ak vs. Kiri and Tuk.

“Jake Doesn’t Love Lo’ak”

And now we get into the main part of this post, which is insane considering how long it took to get here. I’m sorry. Except, you know, I’m really not. I had fun discussing the rest of it! And I am freaking excited to discuss this part too. This is the relationship that made me want to write this post, the relationship that I personally think is one of the most important ones in the entire movie.

The relationship between Jake and Lo’ak.

Now, I do want to first mention that how well you get along with someone is not always an indicator of how much you love them. Or more like, you can love a group of people equally but get along with each of them differently. For example, I have two sisters and I love them both equally, but I get along with my youngest sister better than my middle sister. My middle sister and I have personalities that clash more often so we fight more than I do with my youngest sister. But I would still die for either of them. And that’s the thing, you can love someone and still not always get along with them. That’s just part of being a person.

And I think that applies to parents and children as well. Parents can love all of their children equally, but that doesn’t mean they are going to get along with them all equally. There are going to be some that they clash with more often than others simply because every personality is going to be different and relate to each other in different ways.

And that’s the reason why Jake gets along differently with Neteyam than he does with Lo’ak. It has nothing to do with how much he loves them, it simply has to do with the fact that Jake and Lo’ak’s personalities are way too similar and they clash way more frequently as a result of that. That’s the heart of why Jake and Lo’ak have the kind of relationship they do: Lo’ak reminds Jake of himself in a way that none of the other kids do. And to a man who is already scared out of his mind for and about his children, seeing himself in Lo’ak scares him even more.

They do such a great job throughout the movie showing the similarities between Jake and Lo’ak. There are so many scenes that draw a direct parallel between them, emphasizing their similarities. From the scenes played back-to-back in this movie showing Jake and Lo’ak trying (and failing) to ride the water creatures in the same determined (and cocky) way, to Lo’ak being attacked in the water in a way that parallels Jake being attacked by the thanator in the first movie. Then there are the little bits like Lo’ak flipping off Quaritch and the little speech he gives before decking Ao'nung that are so very much things Jake would have done himself. Even the parallels between Lo’ak bonding with Payakan as an outsider and Jake bonding with Turok also as an outsider to the way Lo’ak falls for his teacher, Tsireya, in a similar way Jake fell for Neytiri. The movie is purposefully and repeatedly showing us how similar Lo’ak is to his father.

They are both impulsive, headstrong, and quick to anger. And Jake sees all that, sees all the negative traits because at this point in his life, with all of his guilt and fear swirling around inside of him, that’s all he can see in himself as well. He has trouble seeing the good in himself, the strength of character, the desire to protect those he loves, and a heart open and willing to fully give for those he loves. All of which Lo’ak has as well, but because Jake fails to see the positive traits he himself has, he has trouble seeing the positive traits Lo’ak has, and therefore Lo’ak struggles to see the good in himself as well.

And I don’t say this as some kind of “Lo’ak is exactly like Jake” or something, because he’s not, but the movie does a lot to show how they are similar and how those similarities are the driving force behind why their relationship is the way it is.

I say all of this to explain why there is more tension between Jake and Lo’ak than between Jake and Neteyam. Lo’ak scares Jake more than any of his other kids because he sees in Lo’ak the same things he has in himself, things that led to him hurting others and, ultimately, himself. And I think Jake is terrified that Lo’ak is going to make the same mistakes he did and so he is harder and stricter with Lo’ak as a result. Again, I don’t think it has anything to do with how much he loves him. If anything, Jake loves Lo’ak so much that he’s determined to protect Lo’ak from his own faults and to prevent his son from following in his footsteps, and doesn’t see how that is hurting Lo’ak.

It’s so interesting to me that Jake tries to use the same tactics on Lo’ak that were used on him in the first movie which directly led to him rebelling against them even harder. And I know some people are going to be like “isn’t that stupid? Shouldn’t Jake KNOW those things won’t work on Lo’ak because they didn’t work on him?” And that’s what makes it so fascinating because it emphasizes the thing I think to be very true of all people: we are never more blind than when it comes to ourselves. Jake doesn’t know how to deal with Lo’ak in the way Lo’ak needs because he has no idea how to deal with himself. Because all he can see are his mistakes, his failures, and the way he has hurt people, and as he looks at his son whom he loves, all he can see are those things being repeated, and that terrifies him. And that fear once again, as is the continuing arc for Jake in this movie, overwhelms him and blinds him to what he needs to do.

Jake gets along better with Neteyam not because he loves Neteyam more, but because Neteyam’s personality is much calmer and steadier and because of that, Jake trusts him in a way that he can’t trust Lo’ak because he cannot trust himself. He’s still scared for Neteyam, but not because he’s scared Neteyam is going to do something stupid. He trusts Neteyam to think things through and be logical in a way he doesn’t trust Lo’ak to be because he himself isn’t logical. And I know that’s not fair, it’s not supposed to be fair. But here’s the thing: relationships aren’t always fair. We are constantly bringing our baggage and insecurities and personal failings into our relationships and even though it is so important to try to be fair and not let those things affect us, the truth is we are all people and we are all going to make mistakes. And this is one of Jake’s. One that the movie very clearly points out. It is not necessarily fair that Jake trusts Neteyam more than he trusts Lo’ak, but he does. And I think that lack of trust is what drives Lo’ak to act out and then results in Jake trusting him even less. It’s a cycle built on them seeing themselves in each other and failing to realize how to deal with it.

Now, bear with me for just a moment because I’m going to go a bit off-script and discuss a headcanon of mine. None of this is canon and while I think there is evidence for it, there is no proof or confirmation. My argument works perfectly fine without it, but I do think it is interesting to bring up simply for conversation and thought.

I think that Neteyam reminds Jake of Tom. And I know we have no real evidence of what Tom was like or what his relationship with Jake was like, but I’m sure James Cameron does and while he may not explicitly say it in a movie that is already super filled with information, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sprinkles in hints here and there. And I personally think Tom and Jake had a relationship very similar to the one Neteyam and Lo’ak have. Again, there is no proof of this, but it would make sense thematically from a movie standpoint for this to be the case. Since there is such a heavy emphasis placed on how similar Jake and Lo’ak are, it makes sense to me that Tom would be like Neteyam, the one who attempted to keep a younger Jake under control. Since Jake is twenty-two in the first movie and had been discharged from the Marines for a least a while, he would have had to have enlisted pretty young. My guess is right at eighteen. I also think Tom probably tried to talk him out of it and Jake, being Jake, refused to listen. This would be a direct parallel to how Neteyam tries to keep Lo’ak out of trouble and Lo’ak refuses to listen. This would be another reason why Jake encourages Neteyam to watch out for Lo’ak and tells Lo’ak to listen to his older brother. Another way he tries to keep his younger son from making the same mistakes he did. Again, none of this is canon, but it is a very interesting idea that I personally really like and I think fits really well with the story being told about these characters.

Another reason Lo’ak believes his parents, and especially his father, love Neteyam more than him is because he thinks they see Neteyam as the perfect child. While I don’t think they think of him as the perfect child, I do think they see Neteyam through rose-colored glasses because he is their firstborn child. Canonically, Neteyam was what gave Neytiri hope again after her home was destroyed and her father was killed. I want to dive deeper into Neteyam in a separate post (he deserves his own), but it’s definitely something I want to mention here because it does play into why Lo’ak sees himself as a failure and Neteyam as perfect. He’s not and I don’t think Jake or Neytiri think he is (or love him more) I simply think he is a symbol for both of them of redemption and hope and proof that after something terrible happens, good things can still happen too. Definitely not an easy thing to live with for either Neteyam or Lo’ak, but something that I think is relevant and needs to be discussed when dissecting these relationships.

Again, this is not fair. But again, relationships aren’t fair. Parents are people too. They are not perfect. They are flawed, they make mistakes, and they stumble. The movie does not glorify this behavior, it simply explains why it is happening and then shows its negative effects.

I think it’s ironic that Lo’ak talks about feeling like an outsider and tells Tsireya that his dad wouldn’t understand when I believe Jake is the only one who would ever understand. Mostly because I believe Jake still feels like an outsider, still feels like he has to earn his place among the people and that’s another reason why he is so filled with fear and even guilt. From what I’ve seen from the movie, even in the pre-human era, I don’t think Jake talked to his kids much about what it was like to be human. I think Jake is so determined to prove that he has left all that behind that he doesn’t help his kids understand that part of their heritage. And while I personally think that comes from a place of love and a desire to protect them (he doesn’t want them to feel different or like outsiders the way he does), it only serves to confuse Lo’ak who has the most human qualities. He doesn’t understand why he’s different and Jake hasn’t taken the time to teach him how to deal with and embrace those human qualities. Again, I don’t think it’s done purposefully, in fact, I very much believe that Jake thinks he is helping Lo’ak, but this is another way that the movie shows us that while Jake’s heart is 100% in the right place, he still makes a mistake. He still cannot understand how to give Lo’ak what he needs.

Jake struggles with guilt and is constantly trying to prove himself to the people. An example of this is when Neytiri argues with Ronal about how Jake was Toruk Makto and lead the people to war. Jake is clearly embarrassed by this and noticeably winces. He doesn’t like being referred to like that and I believe it’s because he still feels guilty. It would be like someone praising you for building them a new house when you were the one who burned down the original. You didn’t rebuild the house out of the kindness of your heart, you did it to fix the mistake you made. It is penance. And I think Jake views his time as Toruk Makto not as some great thing he did, but as him simply trying to fix his own mistake. Penance. Redemption. Correction. And I think it is so ironic that both Neteyam and Lo’ak are trying to live up to his ideal of the perfect warrior, the great Toruk Makto, that they see in their father and yet it is something that Jake is ashamed of. He doesn’t want his sons to follow in his footsteps, he wants them to be safe. But there is this critical lack of understanding between him as a parent trying to protect his sons and his sons as children trying to be like their father, not realizing that is the last thing he wants for them. It is a standard they can never meet because they are striving for the opposite of what Jake wants for them and it causes friction, especially between Jake and Lo’ak. It is another reason why Lo’ak constantly feels like a failure and Jake is so hard on him. They cannot See each other properly.

Their entire relationship and its push and pull comes to a head when Neteyam dies.

I know there are a lot of people talking about Jake blaming Lo’ak for what happens to Neteyam, especially since Jake tells Lo’ak “you’ve done enough” when telling him to stay behind. I want to make it very clear that I do not think it is ever okay to say that kind of thing to your child. And I 100% believe the movie makes a point of showing how that was totally not okay of Jake to say. But here’s the thing: I don’t think Jake ever for even a moment actually blames Lo’ak. Jake blames himself. He failed to protect his children, his whole family really, and Neteyam dies as a result. To add insult to injury, the only reason Neteyam was on the ship was to save his siblings because they were being held in order to capture Jake. That I think this is driven home when Quaritch literally tells Jake it’s his fault Neteyam is dead AS HE STANDS OVER HIS SON’S BODY! I also can’t help but think about Neteyam saying “I want to go home” right before he dies and how horrible Jake must feel about being the reason why his son was taken away from his home. And what is Neteyam’s last word? “Dad.” I believe Jake wonders about that last word and if it was a plea or an accusation, both of which would be heartbreaking for a father to consider.

Jake blames himself, in so many different ways, for Neteyam. For failing Neteyam. For not protecting Neteyam. For not being the father Neteyam needed. And that blame that he heaps on himself oozes out onto the person he sees himself in: Lo’ak. Again, this does not make this behavior okay. It simply explains why this behavior is happening.

All of this leads us to one of my favorite scenes in the entirety of the movie: the scene where Lo’ak rescues Jake. I absolutely adore it because I think it’s the climax of everything that these two have been through together and individually.

Before I get into it, I do want to make a note about the beginning of the scene when Jake calls out Neteyam’s name. I’ve seen some people use this as evidence that Jake loves Neteyam more, but I disagree. I think this is the direct result of Jake thinking he is dead and waking up in Ewya with Neteyam. Once Lo’ak tells him who it is, you can see Jake snap back to reality and realize he is still alive and stuck in a sinking ship. And I want to talk about this next bit very carefully. Lo’ak apologizes for Neteyam’s death and even says something along the lines of “I’m so sorry, Dad” and then corrects it to “I’m so sorry, sir.” I believe the “sir” makes an appearance here because he is, in this moment, appealing not to his father, but to his commanding officer who he feels like he failed. You can see his shift from talking to Jake like a son to talking to Jake like a soldier and yes, this scene is heartbreaking and it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to hurt you. It’s supposed to make you recoil a bit. It’s showing you how exactly Lo’ak is feeling and how exactly Jake has failed him as a father in the last year. Lo’ak is not reaching out to Jake as a son who has just lost a brother, but as a soldier who has just lost his fellow soldier. I’ve seen some people say that because Jake doesn’t tell him “it’s not your fault” he still blames Lo’ak. I disagree with this. Jake tells Lo’ak to “focus” and to “not think about the past” not because he still blames him, but because he is going into protective dad mode and is realizing that he is in danger of losing the only son he has left. And Jake is not going to let that happen. His next words are asking if Lo’ak knows the way out, showing that he is thinking about his son’s safety and his life. He doesn’t want Lo’ak to focus on something he cannot fix or change, he wants Lo’ak to focus on getting out and surviving. At this point, Jake isn’t planning on surviving as well, but he has to make sure that his son will. He is refusing to let another one of his children die. You can almost see the thought running through his head that he may have failed to save Neteyam, but he is not going to fail to save Lo’ak.

The next bit where Jake basically tells Lo’ak to leave without him and let him drown is also absolutely heartbreaking. I think Jake has given up at this moment because he thinks he has killed Quaritch and is sacrificing himself to pay for his sins. Again, Jake blames himself for everything that has happened and I think he believes that he deserves to die. For failing Neteyam, for failing his family, for failing the people. For not being enough. I’ve always viewed his taming of Toruk in the first movie as Jake being willing to die to make up for his mistake. The taming of Toruk was dangerous and could have easily gotten him killed but he knew it was the only way to prove to the people that he was on their side 100%. And once again, after putting his life on the line to save his kids, to kill the one hunting them down, he is ready to die to pay for his mistakes. This whole movie has been, on Jake’s side, an exploration of how he has tried and failed to keep everyone safe to the detriment of his relationships with his children, Lo’ak specifically, up to this point.

And then here comes the moment that made me well up and cry (again) in the theater. Lo’ak tells Jake he cannot lose him too. I think this is a purposeful word choice on Lo’ak’s part. He doesn’t say “the family can’t lose you too” or “the people can’t lose you too.” He says “I cannot lose you too.” What a powerful, beautiful moment where Lo’ak is vulnerable with Jake and admits that he, personally, needs his father, especially after losing his older brother. And you can see at that moment Jake SEEING Lo’ak and realizing that while he may have failed Neteyam, he can be and do better for Lo’ak. That is what makes him fight. That is what gets him going again. He decides at that moment to be there and be a better father for Lo’ak.

I know some people are going to be like “but he didn’t say that!” And to that I reply, it’s freaking subtext bro. Not everything has to be spelled out to be true. It’s in the way the characters act, the decisions they make, and the things they say. It’s the way that Jake chooses to fight after Lo’ak says that. The way he listens to Lo’ak as his son teaches him how to breathe. The way he puts his life in his son’s hands and finally does what Lo’ak has been wanting him to do this whole entire movie: trust him. Honestly, it is such a powerful moment of non-verbal storytelling, of Cameron showing us how their relationship is starting to change and evolve and become better. It’s that moment of trust between these two that allows Lo’ak to save Jake and then when Payakun shows up and saves both of them, Jake gets to see his trust in his son pay off. It is confirmation that Payakun is on their side, that he taking care of Lo’ak and the people, and that Lo’ak was right about him the whole time.

And I’m sorry, but if you didn’t start to cry when Jake cups Lo’ak cheek and tells him “I See you, son” then you may not have a heart. Like, damn, that one really hit me. What an incredible, beautiful parallel to the scene in the first movie when Neytiri saves Jake and they tell each other “I See you.” Absolutely gut-wrenching in the best way. I know some people are going to say “that’s just a catch-all phrase!” And I mean, yeah, it kind of is, but it’s been set up to be that way. It was always used to express heavy emotions that were hard to put into words in the first movie and it is being used in the same way here. It is a moment of apology, of acknowledgment, and of acceptance from Jake to Lo’ak. A moment where Jake finally Sees his son for who he is, that he is more than the parts of himself Jake sees in him. That he is his own person, strong and capable and worthy of trust. Yes, Lo’ak pulls some stupid stuff, but it has always been because he is trying to prove himself to his dad and now Jake Sees him and accepts him and loves him.

I’m getting kind of emotional just thinking about it, holy hell.

I think this moment is Jake apologizing for how he has treated Lo’ak, acknowledging that Lo’ak has grown and matured and become his own person, and accepting the person Lo’ak has become. Jake is giving his son his love and his trust and his pride. He is so proud of his boy, y’all! You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that there isn’t a stupid amount of pride in Jake for everything Lo’ak manages to do. He was proud of him for beating up Ao’nung, even though he didn’t want Lo’ak to know, and he is proud of him here at this moment. I think this moment is also about Jake realizing that he needs to do better. He needs to be better, for Lo’ak and the other kids. That he may have lost Neteyam, but he still has children left that he needs to be there for. Be better for. That he can no longer let his fear consume him because by letting fear rule his life, he lost one of his children. Not that it’s Jake’s fault really, that 100% rests with Quaritch and the other humans who are trying to slaughter people and take over an entire world, but I definitely think this is what he feels. And gosh that family hug at the end, with Jake holding on to Lo’ak, and then later when he pulls both Spider and Lo’ak close for a hug once again shows how much he loves his kids. All of his kids.

To kind of wrap up this section, I do want to mention the really interesting parallel that’s set up between Spider and Quaritch and Lo’ak and Jake. Spider and Quaritch start the movie on shaky ground and then grow closer throughout the movie. Then the village burning, the Tulkan hunting, and the final confrontation happen and their relationship is put to the test. Spider still chooses to save his dad, but he leaves him afterward, choosing to sever their relationship, at least for the time being. In comparison, Lo’ak and Jake start the post-human era of their relationship off to a shaky start and throughout the movie, it is strained more and more. Then Neteyam dies and their relationship is put to the test. And like Spider, Lo’ak chooses to save his father. But instead of their relationship being severed, Jake chooses to embrace Lo’ak and there is a beautiful moment of healing and acknowledgment that things need to become better. A direct contrast to how Spider and Quaritch’s relationship ends in this movie.

All this leads to what I think is going to be coming up next, specifically for Jake and Lo’ak.

The Future Movies

Considering we left with Jake realizing that letting fear rule his life has hurt his family and he can no longer live that way, I think we’re going to see a return to a more pre-human dad Jake. I believe he is going to go back to being softer, warmer, and much less of a military dad. I mean don’t get me wrong, Jake is still going to be fighting the humans and kicking ass, but his entire arc was him realizing how he failed Neteyam as a father and now he will be striving to be better for all his kids. Especially Lo’ak.

I definitely think we’re going to see them become closer in the next movie. Since the Way of Water focused on the strife in the relationship, I think we’re going to see the next movie focus on the healing in their relationship. The way they complement each other in comparison to the way they clashed in this. Jake has accepted Lo’ak as his own person and while their similarities are still going to cause some tension (because they are people who make mistakes) I definitely think we’re going to see them grow stronger and Jake really take Lo’ak under his wing. I would also love to see Jake help Lo’ak come to terms with his human heritage and what it means to feel different from everyone else. I think it’s possible since this movie focused on how Lo’ak feels like an alien and focusing next on how he isn’t alone in that feeling would be an incredible way to complete his journey to understanding himself. I also really think these two are going to bond over their grief about Neteyam and I would LOVE to see them discussing the guilt each of them carries and work through it together. I know that’s a lot I want to happen and I don’t know how long the next movie is going to be and how much it’s going to have to cover. I am confident about them getting closer and their relationship being a cornerstone of the next movie, but as for how much we see of Jake and Lo’ak discussing being “other” or their guilt is harder to say. I think it would be great though and would fit so well with the story Cameron is telling about these two characters.

I also think we’re going to see more comparisons between Spider and Quaritch and Jake and Lo’ak. I think Jake and Lo’ak are going to be the positive father/son example, not because they’re perfect but simply because they have come to an understanding in the Way of Water and are learning to be better together. I’m not sure if Quaritch is going to get a redemption arc or not (I kind of don’t want him to since the things he has done are pretty unforgivable) but with Spider added to the equation it does give him a reason to try to be better. If he does, then I imagine their relationship will parallel Jake and Lo’ak’s. If not, then I think there will be a really interesting contrast between the two. Especially with how much Quaritch mimics Jake during the Way of Water, which is setting them up as foils to each other for the rest of the series.

But those are just a few thoughts about what I think will happen in regard to these characters in particular. I’m considering doing a theory post that contains all my theories about the future movies, but that would be a separate thing if I end up doing it. I’m just really curious to see where we go from here. I think they are setting up a lot in this movie in regard to these characters and I’m honestly so excited to see it pay off. This is kind of where I think it’s going to go after everything this movie set up, but I am well aware I could end up being dead wrong. Either way though, I am so excited to see what Cameron has in store! Especially since it’s almost all but confirmed that the Way of Water made enough money to greenlight movies four and five.

Woohoo!

Conclusion

I love these characters. Like, seriously, Jake and Lo’ak are two of my favorites in this whole series. And I adored their relationship. Not because it was perfect or even good most of the time, but because it was complex and interesting and real. I’m always going to be a sucker for a good romance (Jake and Neytiri literally have my whole entire heart and I’m a big fan of Lo’ak and Tsireya), but I enjoy familial relationships the most. Their complexity fascinates me. The way family members, whether blood or not, choose each other and would die for each other but also sometimes tear each other apart. The way they showcase the idea of legacy and inheritance and how we are shaped by those closest to us. The way they exemplify the idea that we can love people with our whole entire hearts and still hurt them more than anyone else. People always bring their own baggage into their relationships with others, but I think that baggage affects our family members more than anyone else. And I believe that to be especially true between parents and children since our baggage often is what makes us who we are and who we are affects who our children become, for better or worse. The way our parents shape us and the way we shape our parents. The burning, ripping, tearing way we love each other. How there is nothing a parent wouldn’t do for their child and how often children are blind to that. The way that love can also be so healing, so warm, so soft, so gentle. The duality of it. I just…ugh. I wish there were more complicated, real, powerful parent/child relationships in media like this. Ones that aren’t completely negative or completely positive. Ones that are a combination of both because that is so often how actual relationships between parents and children are.

I am so glad this movie had it.

But listen, I’m not here to tell you that you have to like these characters. I’m not here to tell you that you have to think Jake is a good dad. That is a loaded opinion and everyone is going to have different ideas and beliefs regarding what it means to be a good parent. I personally think a good parent is someone who protects their children at all costs and puts their children’s needs above their own. And I think Jake does that. But the movie clearly shows us that there are problems with how he does it. He makes mistakes. He is flawed. And that ends up hurting all the kids, especially Lo’ak. And Jake’s big character arc is learning that and realizing he has to do better. And choosing to try. To change.

I know some people are going to be frustrated with the fact that Jake never verbally says the words “I am sorry” or “I will be better.” But I truly do believe that “I See you, son” included an apology. And the decision to be better is subtext from watching him at the end of the movie. Watching him choose to trust Lo’ak. Watching him embrace his son. Watching him grieve and mourn Neteyam. And hearing him talk about how he can’t live in fear anymore. And since that fear was what was pushing him to be harder on his kids, harder on Lo’ak, then deciding to no longer give in to that fear shows him making that first step to being a better father to his kids. I believe Jake thinks he failed Neteyam and he is determined not to fail his kids anymore. The first step of fixing a problem, after all, is admitting you have one that needs to be fixed. Jake will be striving to be better next movie and I firmly believe Lo’ak will be right beside him the entire time. This is a duo I think is going to play an important role in all the movies to come.

So yeah guys. This is my post exploring my thoughts on these characters and dissecting how they grow and change throughout the movie. Looking at how the movie presents them and how it explains the decisions they make. I’m just here to interact with a film I adore and characters I would die for. And yes, I am here to hit back a bit against the “Jake doesn’t love all his kids equally” rhetoric. Because I do believe it to be false. And this is my insanely long-winded explanation as to why I think that.

I have a few more posts in mind. The one I mentioned about Neteyam and his role in the movie as well as the one I mentioned about all my theories about what is going to happen in the next movie. I also would like to do one about Spider and maybe even one about Kiri. I also think one just going over the parts of the movie I loved would be a lot of fun. But I haven’t settled on anything yet! I’ve been working on this monster since I saw the movie for the first time on December 15th so who knows when I’ll be ready to do another one, ha! We’ll see what ends up happening.

Anyway. After an INSANE 10,000 words (a total that is more than any essay I have ever written), we are finally at the end. That’s how much I love this movie, these characters, and their relationship. So much so that I wrote this monster for absolutely no reason than my own enjoyment. I regret nothing. My English major self really came through strong here. For anyone who managed to get to the end of this…holy hell, my friend. You’re the real one! I hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings and exploration as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Till next time.

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