#Bruce has a child for every mental disorder he has

[batfamfucker]

There are four main types of Batfam fans in regard to how people interpret Bruce Wayne as a dad (/Joking. This is mostly satire and should not be taken seriously):

Fans that think Bruce is emotionally constipated and isn't the best at being a parent but still tries (Differs per person). Don't necessarily think he's absuive but thinks he can be toxic or have unhealthy expectations for the Robins. Can smell the Oldest Daughter Syndrome coming from Dick and have Family Line (By Conan Gray) as their top song on their Dick inspired playlist and Daddy Issues (By The Neighbourhood) for Jason.

Fans that choose to believe Bruce goes to therapy in their own canon. Love B:WFA. Thinks the comic can be cheesy at times and so find a balance between B:WFA Bruce and Please Go To Therapy BruceTM as their middle ground. He struggles. They advocate that Bruce is not a bad parent, he just has bad writers that seem to forget Bruce wouldn't hurt kids, especially not his own. Love the humane moments and scenes he has in BTAS and the early JL cartoons. He may not be perfect but he's not literally abusive. Whores for Bruce being able to admit when he is wrong and for Jason and Bruce reconciling. I recommend Grow As We Go by Ben Platt for this one.

A mix between the first two. Was fine-ish when Dick was younger. Didn't help him in the healthiest way but eh. Still emotionally constipated but that happened more so after Dick left and Jason died. Started getting better when Tim came back but was still closed off. Should probably go to therapy with the kids so they can drag his ass about all the things he's done that have actually affected them negatively. Understands his mistakes and is also able to admit when he's wrong, eventually. It's not easy but he starts to do better and learns to be more emotionally available. Still has to get chewed out by Alfred sometimes but definitely better than he used to be and it shows. Reconciliation is slow and gradual but progress is made for everyone involved.

The one's I personally avoid for my own sanity and wellbeing:

Think Bruce is a complete bastard and abuser. Want him to choke. Hate any and all interpretations of him. Some of which will refuse to understand how anyone could have a different interpretation. Will point out comics where, in all fairness, he is a dick but forget that characterisation can significantly differ from one series to the next, as comic characters are constantly passed around to different writers and have been for decades. Not to mention movies, shows, etc.

#Bruce Wayne #Batman #Batfam #Batdad #I'm not tagging everyone in the Batfam I can't be assed #Sorry there's like 500 #Bruce has a child for every mental disorder he has #Dick is his ADHD. Jason is his C-PTSD. Tim is his Anxiety. Cass is his OCD. Damian is his Autism. #Like bro the therapist is RIGHT there #You have the money just GO #I am a mix of 2 and 3 tbh but more so 2 because he is my comfort fictional father figure. I already have a shit dad irl #I'm not dealing with it in my favourite media too #Type 4 fans scare me I lowkey see so many people like that and I'm like. If the block button wasn't free. I'd be in debt by now #I get that you saw Tom Kings work. So did I. I hate that fuck. But I personally prefer the scene of him in JL with Ace on the swings #Or the one with him playing with shape block toys with a baby whilst Supes and WW handle the questioning #Or when he hugs literally any of his kids #Or the one of him and Jason watching a movie and eating popcorn when Jason's ill. And they have the picture of them posing #Or when he cried in Flashpoint over the letter his dad left him because the little boy in him needed that #Plus any time Bruce and Clark interact as Best Friends. The Golden Age comics where they were basically Dick's gay dads 💀 #But yeah. I could make a poll from this tbh. #This is a generalisation on purpose genuinely do not take it seriously #If I see ANY disclosure. It's delete and block on sight #Bruh I'm still recovering from the notes of my Fallout 4 John Hancock in a Drag Race outfit crossover post #I know it sounds like I'm being paranoid but that's because I am. You have not seen the things I have seen in my notes #You do not know of the wars I have fought of over ghoul dicks and high heels #I have seen things I can never burn from my vision. Read things I will never have the mercy of forgetting #Over silly little shitposts. Lmao. Anyway. Here. Have some food.

[firequeensrules]

Some Batman 138 leaks...Yikes!

At least for once Damian get his ass beaten by Tim and Dick goes feral for Jason Todd's sake! Batman possessed or not is not getting a pass hopefully this time 😔!!

#gotham war #gotham war spoilers #batman 138 #batman leaks #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #this is heartbreaking #jason todd deserves better #He has no kill anyone for so long #He protects crime alley in every way #He follows Selina plan to protect the city if the things go out of hand #And the man who considers as father only see his as a murderer and a bull in china shop who wants to heal #with drugging him with fear every time he feels adrenaline #leave him clawless and completely broken in fear #a man who struggles with post war stress disorders and mental illness #a man who never kills without a reason #wanting Joker out of way and killing child molesters is a green pass for me #And Dc will have him in the end to apologize or through him in prison for doing true heroic work #I am pissed

[nari-writes]

I KNOW THIS IS JUST BRAIN ROT. I know it. Judge me not!!!

I saw a summary post of the current Batman arc ((Gotham War)) and my brain is full of bunnies so the panel of Jason having that panic attack (<- litcherally went to go find fic of this concept immediately after because HELL yes I want to see Jason suffering. Messed UP, Bruce!!!!!) BUT. The concept of a chip that makes you afraid whenever you feel adrenaline. Oh my god. Oh my god ❤️ fear toxin is already amazing. BUT THIS?? SO good. My tags have jason fic rambles but unfortunately I am Currently a Tim Drake stan first and foremost so my brain went:

Huh, Fake Anxieté? 👀 and was like concept: young!Tim's parents find out about his forays into Gotham and his slowly expanding Lack of fear to consequences (he's faced scarier in Gotham simply walking home from school! He's a teenager now and no teenager is able to understand their own mortality it's a literal Thing!), and thus he is Not being a Good and Obedient Young Son. They will Fix This. And so Tim gets chipped (oof don't think about the dog and leash metaphor in this thank you :)) and I like the angst of him not realising it. Having to deal with this sudden influx of anxiety, barely wanting to leave the house because he's started to get panic attacks when he goes out to photograph things, the human brain tries hard to protect itself. If you're constantly getting flooded by adrenaline and fear your neurological pathways adapt and tell you everything is bad.

And it's. He knows this isn't normal. Tries to get his parents to help, gets assistance from online pysch self-help, struggles so hard with it, and then Jason dying 👀 Tim deciding he has to do something even if he's terrified of the outside world. Using every trick he can to get Dick back in the game and when Dick scoffs and does that (I can't remember it verbatim) but the vibes of well if you think he needs a Robin so bad why aren't you volunteering? line. Bro. The angst.

ANYWAY because this is an au (even if using more fanon!tim characterisation 'cause. Chip) I'm also like. Make him fight scarecrow as his first bust.

...Tim literally stuck here in: I can't mode, but if he doesn't, Batman and Nightwing die- it's not even adrenaline that gets properly triggered by his chip anymore, as soon as any of it starts he just gets flooded with fear and his brain makes it so much worse. Alfred watching him have a total breakdown 🥰 <- bad. Being like Hm I think something is Wrong With This Child. And managing to help enough that Tim - who has spent YEARS battling his (fake, thanks parents) anxiety - powers through and then shakily collapses when he's home.

Also this is when Tim is like okay. This is so not normal. I just had a three day hallucination. And Also that felt a LOT like fear gas. Figuring out adrenaline is the trigger and trying to suppress it...oof. And the coping mechanism he uses to get through Robin is just. Completely shutting down. It is CREEPY to everyone else. There is a subsection of mooks terrified that Batman bought the old Robin back to life through his dark magic and that's why he goes from bubbly poking-Batman to Completely Silent and Darkness.

Alfred like: this young man has an anxiety disorder

Tim: something is greviously wrong and I can't bring it up with batman yet because this is an InternshipTM until Batman is able to function on his own but as I get better at being Robin I'm sure I'll figure out why my brain is so weird and Also how it is that I'm immune to scarecrow's gas (that's weird right?)

Nightwing: this kid is a wreck how on earth is he managing Bruce's mental health so well- oh yeah wait nevermind he probably has lots of help with his own. Hm. Let's make sure he doesn't get hurt- why on earth does he go through missions like a robot this is supposed to be fun and adrenaline inducing does he not like FUN????

Batman: Jason 😔

#batfam #bip bop nari drops #anyway it's STILL funny to me that the chip is basically a rip off of batman: TAS episode 19 #literally....scarecrow makes a slow acting toxin that activates when someone feels adrenaline and turns it into fear. #bruce has chip. turns adrenaline into fear. #bro? #ANYWAY THO LIKE ALSO THINKING ABT THE ANGST FIC POTENTIAL HETE TOO BC #like ofc jay will not stop #but MAN if he did get stuck. couldn't get it out. forced to bow to Bruce's whims and try and find some place safe far away #bruce being more. forceful abt relocating jason? #bro!!!!!! #tim drake #fic ideas i probably won't write

[martyrbat]

martyrtodd, my beloved, I see your disability takes and as someone who is physically and mentally disabled I appreciate them and hold them close to my heart.

I humbly ask for some disabled Jason headcanons

goosey my beloved <3 im so glad you're enjoying them and i offer mere samples on how far deep the disabled jason todd rabbit hole can go <3

im mixing in some that he should just canonly have and personal hcs (plus a bit of self projection) but hopefully you'll like any of these too :3

schizoaffective disorder

more prone to mania outbursts

can be extremely delusional

paranoia and anxiety -> isolating

psychosis

(lots of people give him hallucinations due to his ptsd but i think he experiences a range of it and in different levels of intrusiveness!)

(and fun fact, children under 16 who experienced trauma are more than 3x likely to have psychosis as an adult! up to 50x if its severe!)

autistic

literally just a given. look at him. autism coded.

deaf/hard of hearing

always had poor hearing

fast visual learner because of it

has multiple pairs of hearing aids he wore as robin to "keep his identity secret"

bruce taught him asl

batman and robin used a lot of nonverbal cues and their own version of sign language on patrol too. (batman teaches it to the others when hes gone and jason cries)

as a kid he had a gun shot near him & developed tinnitus

^ only worsened as time went on

it gets overbearing after he comes back to life due to the beating he received and literally dying in an explosion

it continued until he got Lazarus Pitted. but that ringing was replaced with silence & most of his hearing fully gone

gains more due to close proximity with firearms and explosions constantly

terrifies him as his hearing loss got worse.

like full on sobbing terrifies.

he spent his entire life relying on his senses and wayne techs always improving technology to keep himself and others safe. with that fully removed it leaves him feeling vulnerable

'how will i know if im alone? if someone is sneaking up on me or im being too loud? if someone is screaning for help just out of eyesight?'

so much fear !

but! he grows to accept it and use it to his advantage and

helmet rigged to have sensors that alert him of almost anything around him

and so sensitive to the vibration of any sound to where he can pinpoint anyone

will close his eyes/remove his hearing aids when arguing so he doesnt 'hear' them

really into heavier music for the bass and drum vibration

fully deaf by the time he reaches his 30s

speech

(this one can be effected by all but)

severe speech delay as a child

repeated lines/quotes mostly to express his feelings because he's autistic and its easier than coming up with the words yourself

semi nonverbal

damaged vocal cords, gets hoarsed easily/painful to talk for too long

stims by clicking his tongue against his teeth

^^ became a tic !

chronic pain

a given for anyone but especially jason

from the streets and not being able to afford a doctor

to as robin and the injuries he received

to dying

to being forcefully brought back to life

to the Lazarus Pit

just so much pain. he cant remember a time he wasnt in pain. its the one thing that'll always be consistent no matter what.

chronic migraine haver, u can tell

talia tries her best to help ease it and make sure he has meds/the fake id and doctor to keep his prescriptions

his shoulder, head, and hips get the worse flares

would push himself as robin too much and made it worse

allows his body the rest as an adult, using that time to do his scheming and think of every detail/possible route in it

misc.

had NAS

picks at his skin if overstressed

being poor can and will make your health worse. from stress to not being able to get the help you need and something small becoming chronic or permanent

extreme fatigue

so many burns and damaged nerve tissue :(

i think about that one batwoman comic where he lost an eye in a future timeline constantly

OCD

periodically gets bad tremors in his hands

again. so fucking autistic coded.

#i wanna talk on the schizoaffective thing in a separate post eventually because #as someone that struggles with psychosis and has a mood disorder.... yea <3 #jason is a bad bitch bc hes autistic and has at least one (1) cluster B disorder #ANYWAYS ! #super sorry for how long this took i had ... a day... but hopefully theres something you like in it :3 #the fun part of making a character disabled is that ur just. never wrong. #goosey my beloved #company in the crypt #jason todd #the d in dcu is for disabled

[wesavegotham]

Okay so forgive me, it where does the toxic Damian stan thing come from? The toxic Robin Stan’s I have seen have all either been Dick Grayson or Tim Drake Stans and then relentlessly bullying fans of Jason Todd or Damian Wayne. I have yet to see truly toxic Damian Stans, not saying they don’t exist I am sure they do. I just see more toxicity from people that don’t like or hate him.

Oh, I think Fancyfade was only making a joke because I'm sure there are a few Tim fans out there who probably see anyone pointing out that DC is actually a lot nicer to Tim than they are to Damian as a toxic Damian stan. It's all a matter of perspective.

And I mean, there are toxic Damian fans out there. I had someone send me hate once because I pointed out that Damian's existence has been pretty damaging to Talia's character and thinking that way apparently made me a fake Damian fan or something. Considering that their sentences were also mostly gibberish I assume they might have had some form of mental disorder, but that's just my impression. There are strange people in every character's fandom.

What I haven't seen from Damian fans as much as I have seen it from Tim fans is the spreading and repeating of false statements. Like: "Tim is the only person other than Bruce Ra's has ever called 'detective'" or "the robin mantle belongs to Tim, he's the one who people on the street think of when you ask them who Robin is!" or "Tim was kicked out of the robin mantle in the cruelest way!"

No. Ra's has called all of them "detective" at this point. Maybe because he can't remember their names. And the most iconic Robin is still Dick. Dick was fired by Bruce and replaced with Jason without Bruce asking for permission to give Dick's mantle away (depending on the continuity), Jason was murdered, Stephanie was killed, Damian was murdered the first time and the second time around DC character assassinated him because they originally had planned to turn him into the big bad of 5G. I'm not saying it was an easy time for Tim, but getting told by the new Batman that he sees you as an equal and not a sidekick is probably the nicest way a robin has left the mantle so far.

It's also scary sometimes when you stumble upon someone writing down their violent fantasies when it comes to Damian. Okay, you don't like Damian and blame him for everything you don't like about what DC is currently doing wrong with whatever character you like the most (not just Tim, have seen some Cass fans do that too). But that is still a child character you are talking about. Keep that shit to yourself.

[gammacousin]

She Hulk Thoughts

I can’t believe She Hulk is over! The 9 episodes flew by so fast.

I want to open this dialogue by saying that I am a Jennifer Walters fan. I enjoy She Hulk comics, Hulk comics and have a tie between Jen and Bruce being some of my favorite Marvel characters.

I went into this show with high expectations and full of excitement. I so wanted to see Jen break the fourth wall. Go off the rails, and embrace her hulk side.

I believe they treated Jen’s character in the best way imaginable. I cannot imagine any other actress in this role either. She embraces it, and embodies Jen in the best ways possible.

I love the way she played off Nikki and Pug. The way she rolls her eyes at Dennis and barely tolerates Titania’s nonsense.

The way she plays off of her father is so comically accurate. And Morris Walters in turn embodies this loving dad who will make mistakes but own it. And nothing and no one is going to touch his baby girl.

I mean…can Morris please adopt me? Please?

This brings me to such a sad point in that Elaine was kept around just to be dragged every episode. For a show so focused on female empowerment, why make someone who could be a strong female figure in Jen’s life an absolute annoying headache?

It is sad to me, especially in the final episode, where Jen calls out “daddy issues” and yet continues to throw her mom under the bus in my opinion.

The character of Elaine Walters was never truly developed to her full potential in the comics but what we did see was a daughter who loved her mom. A mom who drove her daughter to dance classes and went above and beyond to make her happy and to be kind.

What I saw in this show was distasteful mom jokes that have no place in Jen’s story and no relevance to her arc. You could’ve used Melanie to take on that role.

Let’s ramble more on the positives…

Mallory Book is a legend. She is an icon with an edge who demands respect the second she steps into a room. And THAT is Mallory. THAT is a character I want kids to want to dress up as on Halloween.

A character who owns her space, who unapologetically says what needs to be said and is efficient at her job. She doesn’t need to be your best friend to help you. And for all of those reasons, I can’t wait to see more of Mallory, perhaps above any other character, in the MCU.

Another plus: K.E.V.I.N

Another Negative:

Bruce Banner.

***TW: Abuse, mental issues***

I understand that this was a comedy. I understand that this show was about Jennifer Walters. But I am getting tired of writers and directors braving characters they do not understand.

A brief Wikipedia search would tell any writer that they should triple check their work before dropping family names.

Bruce’s story isn’t tragic for the sake of being tragic. It’s a foundation of his character. It’s this idea that hard situations and a psycho father do not define you.

And you may be thinking that we’ve touched on this in many other stories so why do we need it here…

Because Marvel is about growth despite the pain. It is about accepting your own flaws and turning them into something that can be used for good. It is a compilation of stories that remind us the past is not the definition of who we are.

Bruce Banner’s story hits me personally. I related to being forced to raise myself. To be a therapist for my family before I could figure out what was wrong with me. It’s this story of reaching absolute rock bottom, and being forced to climb out of a dark hole.

We were getting that with someone who I think was the best actor for this role yet. And instead of developing this, he has become a joke.

So many other fans cling to this character for similar reasons. Maybe they relate to the bi polar aspects. Maybe they connect with personality disorders.

I disagree with Jennifer that these stories are over told. They are not told enough. And when it comes to serious mental issues, domestic abuse, child abuse, you cannot hide and change morph backstories that hold so much weight when you have a platform to bring awareness to these issues.

I would’ve rather not had Bruce in this series, than take such a deep story that needs to be told and throw it away.

On that note, I will end my rant. Thank you for reading my nonsense. I do not expect everyone to have the same opinions as I do, this is a safe space for loving and enjoying content for what it is as well.

But I wanted to take a moment to share some of my feelings.

#she hulk #Shulkie #Bruce banner #hulk #jennifer sue walters #jennifer walters

[crazyyfilmyfreak]

Okay Guys this is going to be one long ass post / Rant and you guys know what is a love letter right ? and this is my hate letter to mcu for what they have done to hulk ❤ So you have been warned and you can skip this post if you want now

So lets just go back in time even before the whole mcu shit show has started , HULK IS DEF ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR COMIC BOOK CHARACTER OF ALL TIME IN MARVEL, like TOP 5 OR EVEN TOP3 Famous & popular ... Spidey , Xmen , Hulk & FF4 That's how the order would be if you ask me the top4 and anyone who were born before the mcu era would know this HULK HAS THAT HUGE STARDOM & FANS and THERE HAVE BEEN 2 VERY SUCCESSFUL LIVE ACTION HULK TV SHOWS & 2 MOVIES OF HULK & A FEW ANIMATED SHOWS EVEN BEFORE THE MCU HAS STARTED , HE IS THAT FAMOUS...Like he is such an iconic & legendary Super hero / Anti Hero and everyone knew about him & " Don't make me angry , you wouldn't like it if i am angry " line is more famous than all the avengers in the OG Mcu avengers team there were so many tv shows & movies where they used this particular line as a reference to hulk 😭 So you guys know what i am talking about right ? All i am saying is HE IS THAT FAMOUS & HE IS LOVED BY EVERYONE BACK THEN AND HE IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMIC BOOK CHARACTER OF MCU ..Even in mcu the very first movie after D tier super hero iron man was INCREDIBLE HULK ( IRON MAN IS FAMOUS NOW AND I TOO LOVE HIM AND HE'S MY ALL TIME FAV IN MCU But lets be honest he was just a C or D tier Super hero before the mcu ) so by now i have established how famous,loved & important hulk is even before the mcu started and if you don't believe me you can always go and check the record sales , the comic sales , the trps , the older blogs and what not and you too would agree with me 🤷🏻‍♂️

HOW MCU DEALT WITH HULK

Now lets talk how the Mcu has dealt with such an iconic & legendary Superhero/Anti Hero

Remember this line ?

" I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people "

You See how Dark & Deep this is ? He was physically & mentally abused as a child and his mother was dead when he was a kid and you know who abused him & who killed his mom ? BRUCE'S OWN FUCKING PSYCHOPATHIC DAD ... YEAH THAT'S HIS ORIGIN & then he had to fucking fight with himself every fucking day to live & then there's a raging monster inside him who also didn't make it easier for him but did we get to see all this stuff onscreen

NO But Here's a deleted Scene From Incredible Hulk ... The Incredible hulk may not be liked by many fans but trust me even tho it has its flaws its not a bad movie atleast the makers were trying to create a fucking real cinema and lots of footage has been cut and didn't even make it into the final cut but i am very thankful to this movie bcoz the makers atleast took Hulk seriously in this movie and they wanted to tell something about him and i fucking love the movie idc about others but guess what the marvel heads has removed ed norton from future hulk projects bcoz he was a little too passionate with the character and was involved in making the hulk movie and later casted mark ruffalo... they wanted some puppet who will just sit back to do what they ask for 💀 instead of fighting back for the character & questioning the Execs i think that's a lil too much for Mcu heads anyways moving on

1. THE ORIGIN HAPPENED OFFSCREEN

And Jen who knew all of this had the audacity to make fun of bruce's trauma in She Hulk Episode 1 ❤❤❤ you guys know why Jen has no alter where as Bruce has a complete different personality the HULK When he gets angry? ITS BECAUSE OF D.I.D ( Dissociative identity disorder ) & for the Dumb heads who didn't understand yes this is the same condition marc spector from moon knight also had and Bruce also has this condition and the root cause for this is his never ending trauma that he had faced thru out his life ... HULK IS HIS ALTER , HULK IS NOT A MONSTER HE IS THE ONE WHO SAVED BRUCE , Just like how tony Said in the original Avengers movie HULK IS THE REASON WHY BRUCE IS ALIVE TODAY AND NOT EVEN ONCE MCU ADDRESSED BRUCE'S D.I.D OR EVEN HIS TRAUMA , HULK IS A VERY DEEPER & INTENSE CHARACTER & mcu didn't even touch the tip of the ice berg they are too very much far from it 😭

and this is what jen said about in She hulk EPISODE 1 🤗❤ SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING BRUCE HAS BEEN THRU NOT ONLY DOES SHE UNDERMINE BRUCE'S TRAUMA BUT ALSO MAKES FUN OF IT & NEVER EVEN APOLOGISED FOR IT ... The Comic Book Jen would fucking beat mcu jen to death for this sole fucking person... my comic book jen would never do this 😭 now tell me how do i have a remorse for jen in mcu after this ? or even give a fuck about her or care about her ? but Still i was open minded and watched the remaining show

And we all very well know HULK is the main highlight and the SPECIAL X-Factor of original Avengers movie HE MADE THE MOVIE SO MUCH BETTER & HE OVER SHADOWED EVERYONE IN THE LAST 10-15 MINS OF THE MOVIE Even tho he had such less screen time

AVENGERS 1

Later we see him Avengers AOU and he takes a Fucking flying Ship and goes to some unknown planet and we don't fucking know what he did those 2 fucking years ofcourse in thor ragnarok we learn he's in Planet Sakaar but again

2. WE DON'T HAVE A FUCKING CLUE WHAT HE DID IN THOSE 2 YEARS

3. And ALSO WE GET THROWN INTO OUR FACES THAT HULK IS IN CONTROL FOR 2 CONTINUOUS YEARS AND BRUCE WAS NOT EVEN IN THE CONSCIOUS ATLEAST ONCE JUST LIKE THAT??? NO BACK STORY WHAT SO EVER

A LOT OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AGAIN HAPPENED OFFSCREEN

Also i really Do enjoy #ThorBruce in Ragnarok & i was so happy to see bruce smiling & laughing in that film but lets be honest Hulk is a fucking joke & a clown in that movie 😭 i am so sad to say this coz only ed norton,Louis Leterrier & joss Whedon were the only ones who treated hulk with some respect & dignity

Guess what the events of Avengers age of ultron, Events in thor ragnarok & Events that occurred in Avengers infinity war All this happened to bruce within in a single fucking day 😭 YEAH AND NO WE NEVER GOT ADDRESSED ABOUT THIS FACT & HOW MUCH THIS MIGHT HAVE EFFECTED HIM

Now REMEMBER the First Fight in Avengers Infinity war ?

Where Thanos Beats the shit out of Hulk after loki says " We have Hulk " which is also the same thing tony said to loki in Avengers 1 when hulk was not a joke and that was the time when makers took hulk seriously but guess what happens now Thanos beat the shit out hulk w/o even using his Stones 💀 You know why they did that ? Russo brothers wanted to establish the fact that " Thanos is more stronger than the STRONGEST AVENGER WE HAVE EVER SEEN " They wanted to elevate the character of Thanos by downplaying hulk & undermining him

But you know What would happen in a comic book world ? Thanos would die a 1000 times before he could beat hulk and he would have never beat hulk in the first place with out using those infinity gems 😭 BECAUSE BY DEFINITION " THE MORE ANGER YOU MAKE THE HULK THE MORE POWERFUL & STRONGER HE BECOMES " So By definition itself You can not beat hulk coz if you are winning the battle he will get more angry & he becomes more stronger and even BIGGER which will make it impossible for thanos to beat hulk in Infinity war 😭 but yeah anyone who read a comic about hulk would know this fact but russo mfs DON'T FUCKING CARE and Hulk doesn't even come out later in the movie and there is again a big inner conflict between Bruce & Hulk now did we get to see that ?

4. NO WE DIRECTLY FUCKING SEE SMART HULK IN ENDGAME

Again like always the character development & Story of hulk happened off screen💀🤷🏻‍♂️

NOT ONLY HULK DIDN'T GET A SECOND CHANCE TO FIGHT AGAINST THANOS BUT HE WAS ALSO COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY USELESS IN THE BATTLE AT THE END IN AVENGERS END GAME 😭 AND DONT GIVE ME THE CRAP HE BROUGHT BACK HALF OF THE POPULATION BACK THAT SEQUENCE WAS DONE RIDICULOUSLY BAD ... After all this shit as a fan of hulk the comic book character whom i have admired since a kid and seeing the way he is being mistreated in mcu it fucking hurts and makes my blood boil and finally when i heard they were making SHE-HULK You know how happy i was 😭 ? i was dancing on the sky & stars COZ I WAS FINALLY WE ARE GETTING A GOOD HULK CONTENT But mcu again let me down 😔💔 & ruined the show for me ..... Not only mcu jen is not at all comic accurate but it is really hard to like her or even care for her they made it that hard for the viewers but still i rooted for her and even want the best for the character and SHE DESERVES BETTER AND HULK DESERVES BETTER... THE CHARACTER DOESN'T FEEL COMIC ACCURATE & THE WAY THEY WROTE HER ALSO SUCKS AND THE SHE HULK SEASON i will not say it is completely bad but it is definitely very very very underwhelming and below par , i loved , admired & enjoyed every marvel series that has released so far from wanda vision to miss marvel and yeah miss marvel & moon knight were also not comic accurate but they ATLEAST HAD SOME SOUL & HEART IN THOSE SHOWS... MOON KNIGHT FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES & SHOWED US MARC'S D.I.D WHICH VERY MUCH MATTERS & MS. MARVEL HAS DONE A LOT TO REPRESENTATIONS AND THRU OUT THE SHOW THEY SPOKE ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES THAT HAPPENED BCOZ OF BRITISHERS & There was something serious happening in those shows , they had a story to tell, characters to discuss , themes to display & they addressed about some issues that needed awareness but SHE HULK 💀💀💀 WHAT A JOKE

THEY THREW 4 FUCKING FILLERS AT OUR FACE , THERE WAS NO FUCKING NARRATIVE WHAT SO EVER & THE WRITING IS SO AWFUL & CHARACTERIZATIONS ARE SO BADLY DEALT AND THEY THOUGHT THEY DID STH WITH THE FINALE 😭😭😭 I get it i get it The makers of she hulk are basically trolling themselves and jen coming out of the disney plus and talking to writers is straight out of the comics like in byrne's run in comics where jen asks for a better ending 😭 and yes mcu is trolling itself they acknowledged their problems in story telling and they want to us to laugh along with them and they know their mistakes but the joke has over stayed its welcome & it is so meta that it made me cringe af after some time 🤢 like i am glad y'all are self aware and obviously i wouldn't want a crappy routine mcu format finale So why don't you give us a good finale 😭 instead of ending the show with so many loose ends & plots w/o answering them and IF YOU LOVE THE ENDING YOU ARE ALSO SUCH A FOOL COZ WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST 8 EPISODES WHICH LEAD TO THE FINALE EVENTS 😭 ITS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE AS THEY WERE THE CLICHE MCU FORMAT EPISODES so are you saying all this was useless & such waste of time 😴 its like you are contradicting yourself man

Also guess what 5. WE AGAIN DON'T KNOW WHAT HULK DID IN PLANET SAKAAR IN SHE HULK & WE ARE DIRECTLY THROWN THAT HULK HAS A SON WHO IS SKAAR

LIKE ALWAYS A LOT OF STORY & CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT & ARC OF HULK HAPPENED OFF-SCREEN FOR THE NTH TIME 😭😭😭

Also do i even have to talk about how awful the design of She Hulk is ? its obviously not the vfx artists faults but its mcus fault for forcing the vfx artists and torturing them thru out the process and forcing them to finish the project even before the dead line & constantly changing the designs & their ideas and every one knows how pissed the vfx artists were coz they were abused too in a toxic mcu environment in the studios So we can't blame them BUT WE CAN BLAME MCU EXECS & MAKERS OF SHE HULK COZ OF HOW AWFUL & UGLY THE VFX WAS & HER DESIGN WAS THRU OUT THE SHOW 😭 and its okay if you liked / loved the show and liked / loved the show and every thing i said might not be true or i am 3000% right in here but the ones who are dickriding should STFU 💀💀💀 DON'T TAKE EVERYTHING THE MCU IS THROWING AT YOUR FACES BLINDLY QUESTION THEM & BOO AT THEM SO THEY WILL GIVE US BETTER CONTENT IN THE FUTURE & the people who might disagree with me rn i know some of you will agree with me after some time later in the future 😌👍🏻 i am pretty sure about that ... All in All

All i am Saying is

HULK DESERVES BETTER TREAT HIM WITH RESPECT & DIGNITY

JEN & SHE HULK DESERVES BETTER

MCU / MARVEL PLEASE DO BETTER

MCU CAN REDEEM THEMSELVES FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE SO HULK WITH JEN & SKAAR BUT AFTER WATCHING SHE HULK & THAT CLOWN ASS HAIR CUT OF SKAAR 💀💀 I AM NOT REALLY OPTIMISTIC ANYMORE & Since we are on this topic i also want to put this out if mcu can work with sony and use spiderman & make a fucking trilogy and give the 70% of profits to sony what's stopping them from making a hulk movie with the universal studios ? you know what ? THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT HULK 💀 SO FUCK THEM

#Hulk #she hulk spoilers #she hulk #mcu #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #disney #disney plus #movies #tv shows #tv series #comics #marvel comics #mark ruffalo #jennifer walters #she-hulk #tatiana maslany #mcu fam #mcu edit #hulk family #hulk fam #mcu rant #marveledit #dailymcuheroes #daily marvel #mcu daily #the avengers #bruce banner #She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

[ao3feed-irondadspiderson]

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #iron dad and spider son #spider son #iron dad #peter parker #tony stark

[sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins]

Bit of a lengthy post about Sean and his trauma with some new developments

So for my social work class, I'm reading this really interesting book called The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog by Bruce Perry. It's really interesting on how he describes trauma in children. While this is focused on children, I write adults here but plenty of my muses have a trauma related to their backstory and character. Sean is one of the best examples of this and I found some of his explanations could apply to my portrayal of Sean. I'm not a doctor, or a professional of any mental health disorder, or anything regarding trauma. I might not be 100% correct, so please educate me and/or take my words with a grain of salt.

The highlighted portions are what I found interesting with Sean

Sean has various different traumatic events in his life, from a young age to 23-years-old. Sean had to deal with a rough living being on the run, stealing and likely being a witness to violent acts of his father with law enforcement in Ireland. Then Sean had to be a witness to his father's death. He didn't see it, but he remembers the listening cues and knew when his father died. He has a lot of guilt over this. Then there's also reform school, which is essentially juvie in our modern day, and who knows what he dealt with there right after he was thrown from a traumatic event of his father being killed in the room over. Then there's his time with bounty hunters where they ripped teeth, burned his feet, strung his up, punched and manhandled him all for information on the VDLG. There's likely numerous other violent and traumatic aspects of his past with Sean's lifestyle, being thrown into a criminal lifestyle since birth, but these are the main focus of his trauma history.

Onto the character analysis: some say Sean has ADHD, but I'm not sure if he does or not. I'm leaning more towards him having trauma and showing symptoms that are similar to ADHD (since that often happens with trauma-inflicted individuals). We're not sure how he's like before r.dr2 personality-wise, but nobody seems to note anything on a personality change with Sean. But I wanted to say that Sean's aggression towards Kieran (other than gang loyalty) could be a way for Sean to gain control with his recent traumatic event (the bounty hunters incident) in how they showed aggression towards him and tried to get Sean to submit to their will, so he shows aggression towards Kieran. Not every person with trauma or PTSD is violent, I just want to note.

I think Sean's joking and almost proding and challenging attitude towards his captors could've been a way for his brain to deal with the torment brought onto him. And the excessive drinking, lack of sleep (like falling asleep during guard duty) could've been brought on by his trauma. I think Sean was a rather impulsive and easily distracted child, especially coming out during reform school. With his father's death so closely tied to it and a lack of social support around him, the rest of his family being another continent away, I think perhaps these behaviors were influenced by his trauma?

#( 𝑨 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 ; headcanon (( Sean )) #long post #long post tw #// long post #alcohol mention tw #trauma mention tw #death mention tw #violence mention tw

[smilewithapurpose]

//Given that the movie leaves a lot of things open-ended and up to interpretation, I realized I needed to state my meta of Arthur, his life, and his becoming of Joker. Naturally, these headcanons will be spoilers if you have not seen the movie, but are also going to become integral to how I write and portray him. I am also aware that the way I see him and see things may not pan out to be the “truth” whenever a possible sequel comes out etc. I’ll cross the sequel bridge when I need to it. Below will be my meta of Arthur/Joker.

The biggest question, of course, is do I think he’s actually The Joker?

Yes. Absolutely. However, this is an AU and he won’t do and become everything that every other Joker has done or become at this point. We don’t really know yet what he’s truly capable of and we’ve already seen canon get changed in this movie which makes it unique and set apart.

Arthur Fleck had a switch flipped from too much pushing and killing Murray was his breaking point. After the car crash after Murray’s death… When he woke up, stood up and spread the smile with his blood… That was The Joker. However, that doesn’t mean that Arthur isn’t still there.

Again, he is not like every other canon Joker. He doesn’t have a complete disregard for all human life. He’s not completely gone. He has to have a pretty big reason to kill or hurt you. You have to have really hurt him or someone he cares about. In that respect? He’s more of an anti-hero than he would ever be a “villain” like all previous iterations of Joker.  

His parentage… Was he adopted? Was Penny his mom? Who was his father?

This is a big one too. My belief is that he actually was Penny’s biological son and that Thomas Wayne was his biological father. There were multiple bits of “evidence” that I felt pointed towards this, so I began formulating how he could have been Thomas’ and how it was on paper that he was adopted and somehow wound back up with the mother that let him suffer horrible abuse resulting in a traumatic brain injury.

Not all of Arthur’s symptoms/problems are all things that were caused by the TBI he suffered as a child. Some of the issues he exhibits are also issues that tie back with Penny, especially if you look closer at her Arkham file. A lot of these issues could be genetic as well as just caused by her. I am not skipping around the fact that she was a horrible, toxic woman and abused the hell out of him to her death.

As for Thomas Wayne? We’re all so used to the Waynes being represented and painted to be such a saintly, perfect family, but this AU paints a much different view. I find it almost similar to the changes made in the TellTale Batman series. For the first time, we saw the Waynes as not perfect and villainized. This makes their death, the formation of Batman, and even the tie between Arthur and Bruce now that much more significant. Two brothers, who don’t know for sure they’re related, that both suffered very different things and lead very different lives. Two men that become a symbol of something in Gotham and become enemies. I find it fascinating and it opens up a whole new world for interpretation.

Towards the end when Arthur holds a picture of Penny when she was younger, he flips the photo over. The back is signed “Love your smile - TW” This is one of the many reasons I am firmly believing for my Arthur/Joker that he is the illegitimate son of Penny Fleck and Thomas Wayne. I believe Penny had her mental issues before she met Thomas and one thing lead to another and they hooked up. When he found out she was pregnant I believe the whole thing got covered up. I feel Thomas went so far as to start convincing Penny that not only was he not the father, but that the child wasn’t even hers. By the time he was born, Thomas had adoption papers drawn up for the child, signing the child over to Penny with no parents listed. He was able to get away with convincing everyone else that Penny was lying due to her prior mental disorders. The instant Penny left Wayne Manor, Thomas turned his back on her and the son he didn’t want. He never looked back and moved on to marry Martha and have Bruce. All of her letters were intercepted by Alfred and never made it to Thomas.

Did he kill Sophie?

No. Absolutely not. He had no reason to. He cared for her, even if he didn’t really know her. I know that they’ve since said they didn’t see it as he did, but here’s why I see it this way. Even though he figured out that everything he’d been through with her was just in his head because he’d seen a woman he liked was just in his head, he knew it wasn’t her fault. She was never mean to him. She never hurt him. He goes for those that mess with him, hurt him or hurt others. He simply let her go.

Did he kill Penny?

I believe he did. Again, I could be wrong, but I’m playing it that he did. He had EVERY reason to. Look at everything she had done to him. He didn’t really have the tools to deal with that in a “normal” way and did what he thought he had to do to end the years of his abuse.

Did he kill that doctor at the end?

Oh absolutely. This is where I think the fact that Arthur has changed and has more of The Joker mindset really solidifies. He can stick up for himself. His switch can be flipped. You realize he’s been telling her this story of the whole movie that we just watched and probably making her feel like she’s getting through to him or making some sort of progress. See, the Joker has NEVER been physically strong or good at fighting at all… His expertise has always been in knowing how to manipulate and to lead. He knows how to get to people and just what to do to get what he wants or to make happen what he wants. He was only just beginning to realize the actual effect he had on others by the time he rose up as Joker. So, in Arkham, he let that doctor think he was opening up to her and at just the right moment he killed her. He didn’t do it to get out of Arkham, but more for the sheer track record he had with mental health professionals and the system in general. They’d let him down so many times. Why would it be any different here? Why would they care? Besides, at that point, what did he have left to lose still? What did he have left at all? It would just be about him finding a way out at that point if he wanted.

#My Life Is Nothing But A Comedy ; HEADCANON

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

where did you go? (i should know)

by gcldvving

Contrary to popular belief, Damian Wayne was keenly aware of all of his flaws. His entire life had been about improving, about becoming the best version of himself possible, and how could he possibly do that without meticulously recording, indexing, and attempting to correct every single one of his weaknesses? 

Not all flaws, however, were so easy to fix. Frankly, he wasn’t even sure if they could be fixed.

or: the irrational rationalizations of a deeply traumatized fourteen-year-old child soldier, and the secret that just might crumble his ramshackle psyche for good

Words: 2636, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, assorted other justice league/teen titans/batfamily members

Relationships: Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne-centric, Damian Wayne Feels, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Tim Drake is So Done, the labyrinthian complexity of damian's overlapping traumas and resulting mental health issues, canon has been slow-roasted and carved for juicy bits, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Canon-Typical Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/41421543

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the cape crusader #gotham #dc universe #ao3 #ao3feed

[dalishious]

not da but I'm getting into Canadian music, I think you've mentioned before you like the tragically hip, what do you think of sloan? any other bands and artists to consider?

There’s a reason The Tragically Hip is so beloved in this country. Their songs aren’t just songs, they’re poetry. If you want to check them out, I recommend starting with the album Yer Favourites, which is a collection of their top songs voted by fans. And also I’d like to give a special shoutout to what I consider to be an extremely underrated album: We Are The Same. Most people will tell you Fully Completely is their best one, but there isn’t a single song in We Are The Same that I don’t love. (Especially Country Days, The Depression Suite, Coffee Girl, and of course, Now The Struggle Has a Name...)

Sloan has some good ones, and I’d be a poor Nova Scotian not to say that lol. If you like any of The Hip’s songs that have a more pop-ish vibe, you’ll probably like them.

Anyway, some more recommendations, only English unless you’re open to some French as well, let me know:

MATTHEW GOOD. MATTHEW GOOD. MATTHEW GOOD. (Before going solo, Matthew Good Band.) One of my all time favourite artists. I recently shared my playlist of my favourites on my main blog if you’re interested. Also just like The Hip, his lyrics are more often than not very poetic, and I love that. Especially given a number of them come from personal places and I’ll just say if you have any mental disorders yourself there’s a good chance you’ll be able to really feel when he sings about his own. Anyway, my two favourite albums in particular are Hospital Music and Avalanche, with Moving Walls and Underdogs (Matthew Good Band) close behind.

Our Lady Peace is fantastic. I recommend starting with the albums Gravity and Clumsy.

The Stanfields are a fun mix of what they call Folk’n’Roll. Check out their albums Vanguard of the Young & Reckless and Death & Taxes for sure. (Oh fuck, also check out the video for Afraid of the World because the end of it gets me every time... white woman walks around scoffing at all the pumpkin heads, then goes home and puts on her pumpkin head.)

If you’re interested in another really great mix of Atlantic Folk and alternative rock, I suggest Joel Plaskett / Joel Plaskett Emergency. Start with either the Joel Plaskett Emergency album Ashtray Rock, or the solo Joel Plaskett album Three. Also the album Solidarity he did with his father, Bill Plaskett, is beautiful. The Next Blue Sky is one of my favourite songs ever.

Matt Mays is one more Atlantic Folksy rock guy. Once Upon a Hell of a Time and Twice Upon a Hell of a Time (acoustic versions of Once) are a perfect starting point in my opinion, though most fans of his would tell you to start with the album Coyote, which is also great!

Arcade Fire is... I’m not really sure how to describe Arcade Fire. I like some of their stuff, but they are something of an acquired taste, I think. Try the album The Suburbs.

If I tell you I adored Avril Lavigne and Billy Talent growing up, would you judge me? Because I did, and I still do. If you’re willing to keep an open mind, try Avril Lavigne’s albums Under My Skin and Let Go, and if you’re in a real angsty mood, try Billy Talent’s albums Dead Silence and Hits. (I would especially recommend trying Billy Talent if you like bands like say, Green Day and MCR.)

Okay, some more classics... Rush, The Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), and April Wine are all great. They all have greatest hits / best of albums, so just start there.

Oh shit, I almost forgot Bryan Adams, AKA the Canadian Bruce Springsteen. Though you’ll have trouble finding one of my favourite songs by him, so here it is.

I also feel like I needn’t even bother mentioning Neil Young since I’m assuming you him before, but... yeah. Neil Young, obviously.

EDIT: AAHHH forgot Great Big Sea! Check out their album Play.

EDIT: Yes I love Nickelback too. Sue me.

EDIT: I forgot, Alanis Morissete is Canadian. Listen to her Jagged Little Pill album if you’ve never done so before.

EDIT: I had no idea Three Days Grace was Canadian??? One-X and Human are my favourite albums by them, but Life Starts Now is also pretty up there. (Similar vibes to Bily Talent, but I’d say even more angsty lol)

I also wanna give a particular shoutout to at least some albums from my fave Canadian Indigenous artists:

Shawnee deserves so many more listeners please check her out. Her only full album as of now is Let It Burn, but she’s also got a bunch of released singles. 

Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Medicine Songs and The Best Of

Jeremy Dutcher’s Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa... I know I said I’d limit reccomendations to English but I can’t help it.

Susan Aglukark’s This Child

Adrian Sutherland is a newbie, but I am begging everyone reading this to check out his song Politician Man. Needless to say, I look forward to hearing more from him.

#not da #music #Anonymous #ask

[hulkout-archived]

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s BRUCE BANNER/THE HULK, a HERO from MARVEL! HE is 50 years old and looks an awful lot like HUGH DANCY. I hear they are employed as a PHYSICIST. Rumor has it they are AFFILIATED with THE AVENGERS. I wonder what they’ll find with their new beginning! (oliver, he/him, 24, est)

INTRO BELOW THE CUT!

As most of you know, I was in the rp before but had to take a break thanks to some personal issues, so I’m going to give a brief rundown of Bruce’s history/life and then include what he was up to during his (my) break! With that in mind, TW: CHILD ABUSE, HOMELESSNESS, VIOLENCE, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, MENTAL ILLNESS

HISTORY

Bruce doesn’t often enjoy thinking of his life growing up in Dayton, OH. When he does, he sees flashes of his father and mother in fights, watches his mother taking beating after beating for him for being ‘different’ or more advanced than other kids his age. A rage grew in him every day when his father’s reactions only worsened with time, and Bruce could feel something building within him, never actually knowing that being exposed to radiation had changed him irreversibly in the womb.

His parents gradually lost interest in Bruce, his mother being his only saving grace when she found the time to give him something other than negative attention. Slowly, he began to rely only on himself, throwing himself into learning and education as time passed. One night, when his mother had finally had enough of Bruce’s father’s beatings and manipulation, she tried to flee with Bruce, and her life was taken by her husband right before Bruce’s eyes.

After his mother’s death, Bruce began to shut himself off from everyone, even his aunt, Susan Drake, who’s care Bruce ended up in after his father was sentenced to life in a psychiatric facility. And despite his urge to shut down emotionally, Bruce began to develop multiple personality disorder, anger, rage, and sorrow from his childhood trauma being his triggers. He was never properly diagnosed despite constantly talking to himself under his breath to his imaginary friend ‘Hulk’, even through high school.

Alienated from his peers, who thought that Bruce was crazy despite being incredibly intelligent, Bruce began to feel separated from his humanity in general, never quite fitting in with the rest of the ‘human race.’ For this, he was bullied relentlessly throughout the rest of his school years, only shutting himself off further than before.

Bruce’s education through university was the highlight of his life - instead of being tormented for his intellect, he was revered. Easily becoming top of his class, graduating with multiple degrees and PHD’s, Bruce found himself drawn to the sciences and medicines. He enjoyed learning how things worked - what made them tick, and what kept them ticking. 

After graduation, this love turned into something more of a career, as he was tapped by the US Army to create military weapons. This became his life’s work and something that he would become well-known for by the general public. With this work though, it left him little time for a social life. What little dating he attempted, things typically ended because of Bruce’s ‘lack of intimacy’ and fear of commitment. 

Pitching a project to the US Government, which he hoped would not just be used as a weapon of destruction, but also one to possibly further medicine, it was dubbed the ‘Gamma Bomb.’ It was a serum which used radiation to create a ‘super-solider’ effect on its user. On the first test of the Gamma Bomb, Bruce was exposed to the high radiation and died, then instantaneously was revived as a 2000lbs green radiation monster born of the rage and anger of his childhood.

After escaping from his quarantine at the military base, leaving a massive wave of destruction and hurt in his wake, Bruce did tests on himself in a private lab, finding that anytime his heart rate escalated over 200bpm or he was in mortal danger, he would revert to the Hulk and could be a potential danger to anyone he was around. Unable to control himself, and wanting to desperately find a cure for his radiation, Bruce decided to go off-grid, dodging any attempts at General Ross trying to find him.

Until many years later, he would succeed. Bruce used many techniques to keep Hulk at bay, to keep his identity secret, until he is found by Ross’ team in Rio de Janeiro, where he would have to defeat them and flee once again.

THE AVENGERS

The next time Bruce is found, it is by SHIELD member Natasha Romanoff, which in turn has him meet Steve Rogers, the infamous super solider whom Bruce tried so desperately to replicate his own failed super solider serum after.

He is recruited by Tony Stark to help take down Loki, and then ultimately become one of the Avengers, which Bruce vehemently tries to deny, but finds a sort of family within the group of heroes despite not feeling like a hero himself.

It was the first time in his life that he felt like he belonged - that there was actually a group of people who wanted him around, accepted himself and Hulk despite how dangerous they could be. He now stands by them almost to a fault, even when they’re in the wrong (especially Tony Stark, since everyone knows he is Bruce’s weak spot). 

BEGIN AGAIN

After the fight with Voltron, Bruce found himself never staying in the city for long. After many years of being off the grid, sleeping in alleyways, eating out of dumpsters, and never really having a place to call home, it was difficult for him to adapt to the crowded life of New York City. Only coming back when called from the Avengers, Bruce spent most of his time in India, researching a cure for his gamma radiation.

After the rise of Genosha, Bruce found himself back in New York, knocking once again on Tony Stark’s door. Taking him in like the good friend he is, Bruce tried to create a life for himself once more, ultimately making dicey decisions like always.

Visiting Genosha, Bruce became fast friends with Erik Lehnsherr, whom he helped revive after the man’s death as the Phoenix. They travelled off-grid from New York while Erik dealt in some shady dealings, Bruce by his side. 

When returning to New York during the blackout, Erik once again in the spotlight of another dangerous situation, Bruce decided that he and the Hulk were simply too much of a dangerous risk in the city while something was creating ghostly forms of negative emotion, as they could use Hulk to completely destroy New York City.

Grabbing his necessities, Bruce Banner fled the city once more, vehemently denying that he was just avoiding his problems and afraid of any sort of intimacy, like the relationships he’d built after being back in the city.

Now, a few months later, after hiding out in a secluded cabin in Wyoming for the summer, Bruce is back once more, nervously retracing his footsteps like he always does, desperate to come back to the one place he feels like he belongs with the people who make him feel the most human.

#//this is long and unnecessary lmaaaoo but if you need anything changed let me know! #beginagainintro #intro

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing August 30 - 12 September 2020

Here’s this week’s roundup! Aug 30 - 12 Sep!

Remember to give your content creators some love! And join in on the events at the bottom!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Snippets/AU Ideas:

@angelselene​

Stand Without Flinching (Ch. 20) https://archiveofourown.org/works/22763293/chapters/63998467

Gundam Wing, Marvel Cinematic Universe

F/F, F/M, M/M, Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy, Chang Wufei/Sally Po, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner, Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Duo Maxwell/OMC, Heero Yuy/OFC, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Duo Maxwell, Tony Stark, Quatre Raberba Winner, Trowa Barton, Sally Po, Lady Une, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, Vision (Marvel), Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Heero Yuy, Relena Peacecraft, Shinigami - Character, James "Bucky" Barnes

Mature, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War Fix-It, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Real Family, Not Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop Compliant, Enhanced Gundam Pilots, Preventers (Gundam Wing), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ambiguous Morality, Morally Ambiguous Character, undecided ships to come, Family Reunification Act, Parent Tony Stark, Slow Burn, Found Family

For Duo Maxwell, family are the people he has loved and lost and whose names he bears.

For Tony Stark, family has always been blood and a name and Howard's shadow looming over him.

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Twenty Kisses (Ch. 12) https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038704/chapters/63863065

F/M, Heero Yuy/Reader

Heero Yuy, Reader

Romance, Kissing, Drabble Collection, Reader-Insert

Prompt: a hoarse whisper “kiss me”.

Deadly Intent (Ch. 3) https://archiveofourown.org/works/25576657/chapters/64129522#workskin

F/M, Heero/Reader, ???/Reader

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, Lady Une, Relena Peacecraft, Reader

Mature, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Reader Insert, Drama, Angst, Romance, Violence, Lime

Eleven years is a long time for a ghost to come back and haunt him. But Heero Yuy finds himself unable to dodge or outrun it. It’s the start of a dangerous cat and mouse game between one of the most powerful organizations in the world and a loner who has every intention of dragging him down with her. After all, she has come with deadly intent.

Twenty Kisses (Ch. 13) https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038704/chapters/64158358

F/M, Heero Yuy/Reader

Heero Yuy, Reader

Romance, Kissing, Drabble Collection, Reader-Insert

Prompt: following the kiss with a series of kisses down the neck.

@coffeetailor​

Touched by the Stars (Ch. 3&4) https://archiveofourown.org/works/26314657/chapters/64358008

M/M, Chang Wufei/Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei/Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton/Chang Wufei, Chang Wufei/Quatre Raberba Winner

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei

Explicit, thar be porn, Dubious Consent, Aliens, Alien Abduction, Alternate Universe, mention of MPREG, everyone takes a turn with Wufei, alien anatomy and interesting dicks, Tentacles, Monster Boys, Slime, Double Cocks, Cum Inflation, Knotting, Oral, multiple dicks, Xeno, Spitroasting

University instructor Chang Wufei didn't even believe in aliens, much less intentionally attract their attention. But that doesn't mean much when they decided he'd be the ideal final mate for their group and scoop him off of the planet to take home to their queen. Enjoying him on the trip there, of course.

@duointherain​

Beneath: Leprechauns and Clovers (Ch. 12) https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/627927154018205696/beneath-leprechauns-and-clovers-1212

“Goddamn SON of a Bitch!” Duo screamed, staring at the place that Martha had been. Rage sparked around his head, amethyst lightening dancing around hair that just didn’t want to be constrained. He held out his left hand and his favorite scythe appeared. It was the one that Heero had given him on that first mission where Relena had been included. It sparked to life with a green fiery rage. “I have been trying to be so good! I have been trying to be friendly and peaceful and civilian! I look at the people at school and mom’s nice polite house and I have tried SO fucking hard!

TheManwell

The Silencer and the Sicarian (Ch. 7&8) https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478938/chapters/61806169

M/M, Trowa Barton/Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei/Solo

Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Chang Wufei, Solo (Gundam Wing), Hilde Schbeiker, Catherine Bloom, Kyouju H | Instructor H, Middie Une, Sister Helen (Gundam Wing), Heero Yuy, Professor G (Gundam Wing), Doctor J (Gundam Wing), Quatre Raberba Winner, Rashid Kurama, Abdul (Gundam Wing), Roushi O | Master O, Doktor S (Gundam Wing)

Explicit, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Wufei POV, Duo POV, Trowa POV, Solo POV

It was just one vow. A simple but necessary promise to respect life -- both human and fey -- but can Duo hold to it when his resolve is put to the ultimate test?

@tziganecaffiends

In the Bleak Midwinter https://archiveofourown.org/works/26219125/chapters/63812077

M/M, Chang Wufei/Treize Khushrenada

Chang Wufei, Treize Khushrenada, Mariemaia Khushrenada

Explicit, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Enemies to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Sleepy Cuddles, Prisoner of War, Eye Trauma, Angst with a Happy Ending, random cameos, Post-War, Character Death Fix, Fix-It of Sorts, Parent/Child Incest, Frozen Teardrop has a lot to answer for, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mecha, Battle, Multiverse, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Everyone Needs Therapy, Treize gets a dog, Garbage cat, Drinking

Something that had happened down in the office had been bothering him, wanting to come out. The veil of pretending had been pulled down, perhaps, and there was an unspeakable relief in having it said out loud, in having argued with Treize. Someone that smart shouldn't be that much of an idiot. As if there would only be one right way to end things? ZERO was fucked up and weirdly layered. It gave battle statistics, yes, but it also had a limited future function if someone fiddled with it long enough, and Wufei had.

Wufei had looked. Treize had apparently been happy to end with everyone goes on but me. And whatever had driven him to stop looking in ZERO was still in his head. Whatever it was that made a man just tap out hadn't magically resolved itself, which was a shame because Treize was carrying on as if it had. He couldn't fix that. Didn't know where to start unpicking that rats' nest in the man's skull, and it wasn't his responsibility.

Fanart/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/628530984276639744/its-here-cue-last-impression

Wing Zero, gunpla

@gundammeta​

https://gundammeta.tumblr.com/post/628112239191293952

Tallgeese and the Goose™, fanart

@gwfrozentears​

https://gwfrozentears.tumblr.com/post/628482816007634944/al-fin-terminado-me-decidi-usar-stickers-en-lugar

Duo Maxwell, fanart

@silkytea-art​

https://silkytea-art.tumblr.com/post/628646956308348928/was-anyone-elses-childhood-spent-pining-for-the

Heero Yuy, fanart

@the-efaf-draws​

https://the-efaf-draws.tumblr.com/post/628475380147322880/long

WuFei Chang, fanart

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@janaverse​

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/628542891987435520/all-together-now-despite-the-five-of-them

5 pilots together, Sims

Quotes:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/628011527357808640/heero-look-i-know-that-from-the-outside-it-seems

Heero & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/628540026505052160/trowa-practicing-pick-up-lines-i-can-take-you-to

Trowa & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/628929354629513216/duo-so-whats-for-dinner-heero-staring-at-the

Duo & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/628991226010632192

Quatre cat cry

@disturbed02girl​

Calendar Events:

@gwcocktailfriday​

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday, September 18th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/629061052992225280/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday

In need of WINTER/SPRING prompts!

@gwoc-october​

GW OC October 2020!

Calendar and Prompt list will be posted up on September 17th! Watch for it!

@thisweekingundamevents

Events Calendar https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/624053314842230784/event-calendar-update

GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2020

Information: https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/627952774875906048/gw-holiday-gift-exchange-2020

Sign-up Form: https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/628041703013662720/gw-holiday-gift-exchange-2020-sign-ups

If you are hosting an event currently, or are planning on one, hit us up with links and dates! We’ll add them to the Calendar and reblog your notices to get the word out! 

There may potentially be something, happening somewhere, for Halloween spookiness!

#Gundam Wing #This Week in Gundam Wing #Weekly Roundup #August 30 - 12 September 2020

[dajokahhh]

Alright, time for some pretentious sociological-esque rambling. This is gonna be long as hell (its 1822 words to be specific) and I don’t begrudge anyone for not having the patience to read my over-thought perspectives on a murder clown. CWs for: child abuse, 

I think a lot of things have to go wrong in someone’s life for them to decide to become a clown themed supervillain. A lot of people in Gotham have issues but they don’t become the Joker. I think that as a writer it’s an interesting topic to explore, and this is especially true for roleplaying where a character might be in different scenarios or universes. This isn’t some peer reviewed or researched essay, it’s more my own personal beliefs and perspectives as they affect my writing. I think villains, generally, reflect societal understandings or fears about the world around us. This is obviously going to mean villains shift a lot over time and the perspective of the writer. In my case, I’m a queer, fat, mentally ill (cluster B personality disorder specifically) woman-thing who holds some pretty socialist ideas and political perspectives. My educational background is in history and legal studies. This definitely impacts how I write this character, how I see crime and violence, and how my particular villains reflect my understandings of the society I live in. I want to get this stuff out of the way now so that my particular take on what a potential origin story of a version of the Joker could be makes more sense.

Additionally, these backstory factors I want to discuss aren’t meant to excuse someone’s behaviour, especially not the fucking Joker’s of all people. It’s merely meant to explain how a person (because as far as we know that’s all he is) could get to that point in a way that doesn’t blame only one factor or chalk it up to “this is just an evil person.” I don’t find that particularly compelling as a writer or an audience member, so I write villains differently. I also don’t find it to be particularly true in real life either. If you like that style of writing or see the Joker or other fictional villains in this way, that’s fine. I’m not here to convince anyone they’re wrong, especially not when it comes to people’s perspectives on the nature of evil or anything that lofty. Nobody has to agree with me, or even like my headcanons; they’re just here to express the very specific position I’m writing from. 

The first thing I wanna do is set up some terms. These aren’t academic or anything, but I want to use specific and consistent phrasing for this post. When it comes to the factors that screw up someone’s life significantly (and in some instances push people towards crime), I’ll split them into micro and macro factors. Micro factors are interpersonal and personal issues, so things like personality traits, personal beliefs, mental health, family history, where and how someone is raised, and individual relationships with the people around them. Macro factors are sociological and deal with systems of oppression, cultural or social trends/norms, political and legal restrictions and/or discrimination, etc. These two groups of factors interact, sometimes in a fashion that is causative and sometimes not, but they aren’t entirely separate and the line between what is a micro vs macro issue isn’t always fixed or clear.

We’ll start in and work out. For this character, the micro factors are what determine the specifics of his actions, demeanor, and aesthetic. I think the main reason he’s the Joker and not just some guy with a whole lot of issues is his world view combined with his personality. He has a very pessimistic worldview, one that is steeped in a very toxic form of individualism, cynicism, and misanthropy. His life experience tells him the world is a cold place where everyone is on their own. To him the world is not a moral place. He doesn’t think people in general have much value. He learned at a young age that his life had no value to others, and he has internalized that view and extrapolated it to the world at large; if his life didn’t matter and doesn’t matter, why would anyone else’s? This worldview, in the case of my specific Joker, comes from a childhood rife with abandonment, abuse, and marginalization. While I will say he is definitively queer (in terms fo gender expression and non conformity, and sexuality), I’m not terribly interested in giving specific diagnoses of any mental health issues. Those will be discussed more broadly and in terms of specific symptoms with relation to how they affect the Joker’s internal experience, and externalized behaviours.

His childhood was, to say the least, pretty fucked up. The details I do have for him are that he was surrendered at birth because his parents, for some reason, did not want to care for him or could not care for him; which it was, he isn’t sure. He grew up effectively orphaned, and ended up in the foster care system. He wasn’t very “adoptable”; he had behavioural issues, mostly violent behaviours towards authority figures and other children. He never exactly grew out of these either, and the older he got the harder it was to actually be adopted. His legal name was Baby Boy Doe for a number of years, but the name he would identify the most with is Jack. Eventually he took on the surname of one of his more stable foster families, becoming Jack Napier as far as the government was concerned. By the time he had that stability in his mid to late teens, however, most of the damage had already been done. In his younger years he was passed between foster families and government agencies, always a ward of the government, something that would follow him to his time in Arkham and Gotham’s city jails. Some of his foster families were decent, others were just okay, but some were physically and psychologically abusive. This abuse is part of what defines his worldview and causes him to see the world as inherently hostile and unjust. It also became one of the things that taught him that violence is how you solve problems, particularly when emotions run high. 

This was definitely a problem at school too; moving around a lot meant going to a lot of different schools. Always being the new student made him a target, and being poor, exhibiting increasingly apparent signs of some sort of mental illness or disorder, and being typically suspected as queer (even moreso as he got into high school) typically did more harm than good for him. He never got to stay anywhere long enough to form deep relationships, and even in the places where he did have more time to do that he often ended up isolated from his peers. He was often bullied, sometimes just verbally but often physically which got worse as he got older and was more easily read as queer. This is part of why he’s so good at combat and used to taking hits; he’s been doing it since he was a kid, and got a hell of a lot of practice at school. He would tend to group up with other kids like him, other outcasts or social rejects, which in some ways meant being around some pretty negative influences in terms of peers. A lot of his acquaintances were fine, but some were more... rebellious and ended up introducing Jack to things like drinking, smoking cigarettes, using recreational drugs, and most important to his backstory, to petty crimes like theft and vandalism, sometimes even physical fights. This is another micro factor in that maybe if he had different friends, or a different school experience individually, he might have avoided getting involved in criminal activities annd may have been able to avoid taking up the mantle of The Joker.

Then there’s how his adult life has reinforced these experiences and beliefs. Being institutionalized, dealing with police and jails, and losing what little support he had as a minor and foster child just reinforced his worldview and told him that being The Joker was the right thing to do, that he was correct in his actions and perspectives. Becoming The Joker was his birthday present to himself at age 18, how he ushered himself into adulthood, and I plan to make a post about that on its own. But the fact that he decided to determine this part of his identity so young means that this has defined how he sees himself as an adult. It’s one of the last micro factors (when in life he adopted this identity) that have gotten him so entrenched in his typical behaviours and self image.

As for macro factors, a lot of them have to do specifically with the failing of Gotham’s institutions. Someone like Bruce Wayne, for example, was also orphaned and also deals with trauma; the difference for the Joker is that he had no safety net to catch him when he fell (or rather, was dropped). Someone like Wayne could fall into the cushioning of wealth and the care of someone like Alfred, whereas the Joker (metaphorically) hit the pavement hard and alone. Someone like the Joker should never have become the Joker in the first place because the systems in place in Gotham should have seen every red flag and done something to intervene; this just didn’t happen for him, and not out of coincidence but because Gotham seems like a pretty corrupt place with a lot of systemic issues. Critically underfunded social services (healthcare, welfare, children & family services) that result in a lack of resources for the people who need them and critically underfunded schools that can’t offer extra curricular activities or solid educations that allow kids to stay occupied and develop life skills are probably the most directly influential macro factors that shaped Jack into someone who could resent people and the society around him so much that he’d lose all regard for it to the point of exacting violence against others. There’s also the reality of living in a violent culture, and in violent neighbourhoods exacerbated by poverty, poor policing or overpolicing, and being raised as a boy and then a young man with certain gendered expectations about violence but especially ideas/narratives that minimalize or excuse male violence (especially when it comes to bullying or violent peer-to-peer behaviour under the guise of ‘boys will be boys’). 

Beyond that, there’s the same basic prejudices and societal forces that affect so many people: classism, homphobia/queerphobia, (toxic) masculinity/masculine expectations, and ableism (specifically in regards to people who are mentally ill or otherwise neurodivergent) stand out as the primary factors. I’m touching on these broadly because if I were to talk about them all, they would probably need their own posts just to illustrate how they affect this character. But they definitely exist in Gotham if it’s anything like the real world, and I think it’s fair to extrapolate that these kinds of these exist in Gotham and would impact someone like The Joker with the background I’ve given him.

I have no idea how to end this so if you got this far, thank you for reading!

#clown in command ; ooc #i've got a million of 'em ; headcanon

[theseerasures]

Conspicuous Media Consumption, 2020

it’s that time of year again! *saddest toot from the party horn*

for those of you just joining us: it’s a “consume a different content every week for 48 weeks of the year” challenge. for a longer explanation, check out last year’s write-up here, and as always, feel free to pop in and ask questions about any and all of this content.

(same disclaimer as last year too: content for this project ONLY here, and not certain...*looks at my billion Sad Cop Lady posts*...hyperfixations.)

(man remember when i was big into X-Men comics earlier this year? better times than these, if only because no one's discoursing about Emma Frost’s woobie/war criminal ratio anymore--her w/w, if you will)

(...i swear at one point i didn’t exclusively like platinum blondes but alas)

Bitter Root (comic, 1 issue finished 1/1/2020): still very cool on a basic concept level, but runs into the Image Comics problem of just not having enough content to keep my interest beyond that. part of that is on me, for picking it up again BEFORE the second arc rolled out, but the first five issues didn’t really follow (or resolve) any cohesive story either, so...meh.

Immortal Hulk (comic, 3 trades finished 1/17/2020): still not gonna be something i care deeply about (maybe one of Bruce’s Hulksonas dyed his hair???), but i do want to give kudos to Al Ewing for sheer consistency in terms of sustaining this level of quality storytelling month by month for more than two years now. working with the dense archive of the Hulk mythos and managing to make it interesting and thoughtful is impressive even if i personally would not expend the same effort.

Disco Elysium (game, finished 1/18/2020): honestly i should have twigged onto what this year was gonna be like when the third thing i drew from the barrel was pure uncut Eastern European flavored depression. i faintly recall people ragging on it for being pretentiously cynical, but i actually thought its core slid more towards idealism than people give it credit for. also gratified that i haven’t heard anything about Robert Kurvitz using slave labor to finish it, which is a thing we have to say about our video games now!!! fun.

Watchmen (TV, 7 episodes finished 1/27/2020): i am a fool who wants to believe in Damon Lindelof and I WAS RIGHT!!! honestly still cannot believe that he pulled off this highwire act with such deft aplomb. might be my favorite TV this year, which is a pretty high bar given how much TV i ended up watching.

On a Sunbeam (comic, finished 2/1/2020): Tillie Walden rightly deserves all the praise for inventive queer storytelling, but i will say that on reread--since i first read this as a webcomic--there ARE some issues with pacing here that clearly come from the foibles of its original intended medium. still just excellent, even if after some plot significant haircuts i was having trouble telling a few folks apart.

Lazarus (comic, 1 trade finished 2/8/2020): it’s so good and i want moooooorrrreee--though obviously Rucka and Lark have the right to take all the time they need. the newer longer issues work really well with the epic prestige drama vibes of the story! i’m into it.

The Good Place (TV, 4 seasons finished 2/18/2020): i’m gonna be super honest: i actually wasn’t a big fan of the finale, nor the last season as a whole. it felt like all of Eleanor’s flaws vanished for a majority of the season, and the Chidi-centric episode where they tried to give a legible justification for why he’s Like This was...i didn’t care for it. still, it’s so good and unique on the WHOLE that we’ll literally never get anything like this ever again, and that counts for a lot.

The Old Republic (game, finished 2/21/2020): it’s an MMO so it will never actually Be Finished so long as the servers aren’t shut down, but i caught up on the content i’d missed in the intervening months. Onslaught thus far has mostly been...kinda bland tbh; going back to Imps vs. Rebs after all the shakeups in the previous expansions feels like a waste.

High Road (album, finished 2/22/2020): someone should tell Kesha not to say that word!! otherwise i was very happy with this album, and happy FOR her even though we don’t know each other. being able to find joy again in the same genre of music you made while you were being horrifically exploited is very cool.

Young Justice (TV, 13 episodes finished 2/28/2020): given how much the middle stuff dragged--STOP KILLING YOUR HIJABI CHARACTER IN HORRIFIC WAYS--i was...actually kinda mad by how the end managed to stick the landing anyway. the day being saved by Vic’s self-acceptance and Violet’s sublime compassion was A+, and even the Brion/Tara switchup was a pleasant surprise, though it relied on me caring about Brion MUCH MORE than i actually did.

Manic (album, finished 2/29/2020): do people still care for/about Halsey? i feel like even That One Song that was on every tumblr gifset ever has kinda faded into obscurity at this point. this album was...okay. i feel like people give Halsey a pass for extremely obvious lyrical turns that they wouldn’t for other folks because of her subject material--which is fine. not really my cup of tea, but i also listened to lots of Relient K this year, so that’s probably a good thing.

Jade Empire (game, 3/10/2020): the only 3D-era Bioware game that didn’t franchise out, and for good fucking reason!!! the Orientalism and appropriation really haven’t aged well, and even beyond that the story was...standard Bioware faire. even my usual “my wife’s a bitch i love her” Bioware type didn’t do it for me, and i just ended up romancing no one. it did make me think a lot about what level of cultural borrowing is accepted nowadays, and why: people still look fondly at Avatar and talk about how ~accurate and respectful it was, for example, despite it being staffed almost entirely by white folks, and the Orientalism ALL OVER the monk class in DND is still fine for some reason.

Alif the Unseen (book, finished 3/31/2020): interesting to have read this AFTER reading The Bird King last year, because it highlights how the intervening years have shifted G. Willow Wilson’s thematic interest and improved her craft. i’m actually quite fond of how her characterization work is rougher here--Alif is extremely flawed to the point of being insufferable, but it makes his development by the end more satisfying. Dina is also just good and i love her

Baldur’s Gate (2 games, finished 5/31/2020): well, having finally finished the series i’m happy to say that it...still doesn’t really do it for me, sorry. any awesome story moments were overshadowed by the EXCRUCIATING inventory management system and the combat (i still don’t know what a THAC0 is and at this point i’m afraid to find out). these games crucially lack the Home Base that later Bioware games were so good about, and that (coupled with the huge cast of characters you can drop off and never see again) really hurts the intimacy for me. by the time we finally did get one it was the Hell Dimension in Throne of Bhaal, and i was just...trying to get through it. (yes, i did just say that about one of the most beloved expansions ever to one of the most beloved games ever.) THIS particular iteration of “my wife’s a bitch i love her” was very good, but the game wouldn’t let me romance her :(

The Underground Railroad (book, finished 6/19/2020): honestly what is there even left to say at this point! it was exactly as good as every critic on the planet said it was, even with my usual aversion to hype. draining and horrifying in turns but still insistent upon a future for Black folks.

Steven Universe (6 seasons and a mooooooviiieeee, finished 7/11/2020): yes, i DID finish the show and almost immediately begin a rewatch. this series is now one of my top five most formative things, and the amount of love and respect i have for it is incalculable. that said: i once again did not love how the central conflict of Future was resolved (just the resolution--i loved the finale just fine). for all of Steven’s breakdown was built up, resolving it with “EVERYONE HUG HIM UNTIL HE CRIES” felt...cheap, especially since up until this point the show had been so good about treating trauma and mental illness with the respect and nuance it deserves. it made me wish some of the earlier, less substantial episodes had been cut so we could spend more time at the end.

What It Is (comic, finished 8/19/2020): y’all i love Lynda Barry SO MUCH. for the longest time i was worried that One Hundred Demons was more a lightning in a bottle situation but every book of hers i pick up makes me feel obscure emotions i didn’t even realize existed. the compassionate way she’s able to describe her child self and how weird and fucked up she was (and still is) is honestly aspirational.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (TV, 5 seasons finished 9/26/2020): so here’s a reversal of what i’ve been complaining about with other shows: i was mostly lukewarm-to-warm about She-Ra, but the later seasons and the finale made me much more into it as a whole. more shows should improve in stakes and overall quality as they age tbh!! i still don’t actively love Catradora (my sole quibble with season 5 actually has to do with the way Adora kept backsliding as a character to make certain Plot/Relationship things happen), but i’m very happy for them nonetheless. i can certainly appreciate a show that will go for High Feeling over tight plot. dark horse standout moments: trees growing everywhere proving that Perfuma Was Right, and Hordak and Adora seeing each other--that weirdly intimate moment of recognition.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters (album, finished 10/7/2020): again i find myself not having much to say that no one else has said. it’s good! once again love it when an artist reclaims something they’d attached with negative affect (anxiety, depression, disordered eating) for better and brighter things.

Solutions and Other Problems (comic, finished 10/25/2020): i was very into Allie Brosh’s ambition with this book, which feels weird to say but i stand by it. it’s cool to see an artist try to make a new medium work for them instead of just sticking to what already works. not all the experimentation was 100% effective, but it was still delightful and occasionally devastating to read, so.

Legend of Zelda (3 games: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Link Between Worlds, finished 11/1/2020): this was the third time i’d played Ocarina of Time, which made it the nice, comforting groove i settled into before Majora’s Mask blatted me in the face. i’m not usually a completionist Zelda person because...the gameplay in Zelda is bad, do not at me it just is, but i really felt like i HAD to be one for Majora’s Mask since the whole point is to get attached to the banalities of the town. i’m sure nobody’s surprised that i loved it, even if it gave me an existential crisis about how life goes on in the game for NPCs when you’re not there to save them from it, and there’s not enough time to save them all all the time (also not a surprise to anyone: Romani and Cremia gave Personal Feelings). Link Between Worlds...bad. not like in a “this is a bad story by every measurable gauge” way, but i was already struggling with the 2D playstyle shift enough that for the whole story to end with some “yes it’s v sad that Lorule is Like This but trying to steal Hyrule’s privilege is Even Worse Actually” noblesse oblige bullshit left a VERY poor taste in my mouth, this year of all years. i did audibly gasp when Ravio took off his mask, though. i’m currently playing Breath of the Wild in cautious increments; it’s the first time i’ve enjoyed early Zelda gameplay, but if they wanted fully voiced cutscenes i wish they got voice actors who...knew what words sound like.

folklore (album, finished 11/6/2020): my belief that Taylor Swift is Just Fine continues, i’m afraid. i LIKED this album, don’t get me wrong, and respect her constant drive to innovate, but i didn’t love it substantially more or less than any other Taylor Swift album. mostly i’m just tickled by how she thinks leaning into the indie aesthetic means borrowing Vita Sackville-West’s entire wardrobe, though i will admit to feeling Something when she swore in a song. i think it was like. savage vindication?? you go ahead and swear, Taylor Swift. you deserve it.

Shore (album, finished 11/19/2020): do people still care about the Fleet Foxes? i think there was some Drama with Josh Tillman a while back but i don’t remember where the discourse landed with who was being more problematic. it was nostalgic for me to listen to their new album--made me remember being an undergrad who exclusively listened to men who mumbled and played acoustic guitar all over again.

Star Wars (3 movies: original trilogy, finished 11/27/2020): there is So Much bad Star Wars these days that every time i rewatch the original trilogy i’m afraid that they will suddenly be bad, but guess what! they’re not. i love these children and their hot mess stories, i love that Lando doesn’t know how to say his best friend’s name. what stood out to me this time was the way Obi-Wan described the Force in A New Hope, which strongly implied that ANYONE can be Force Sensitive; that obviously faded with each subsequent movie, but part of me does wish they’d kept it.

X of Swords (comics, 22 issues finished 12/5/2020): i am enjoying Hickman’s X-lines!!! not so much here for the Grand Conspiracy or whatever, but the character work and highkey weirdness is fabulous--they FEEL like X-Men, despite all the shakeups in-universe. this crossover is a nice microcosm of all that: grandiloquently all over the place, but still full of cool standout moments and genuine hilarity. ILLYANA DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL MAGIC.

Fire Emblem (4 games: Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, finished 12/14/2020): this was the thing that i was closest to giving up early on, but i ended up hyperfixating on it instead. that’s a credit to what the gameplay does to my lizard brain more than anything else, because the story and character writing is...insipid. it was very bizarre to witness this franchise blunder around with its animal-people racism allegory around the same time i was getting back into RWBY, and ITS animal-people racism allegory blunders. Awakening was the first time i felt anything for the franchise beyond “teehee red units disappear make exp bar go up and brain go ding,” so i’m excited for more mature storytelling in subsequent games (they MUST get better. they MUST). the child husbandry thing is...very bad tho, and Apotheosis being “challenging” entirely through the game changing all the rules is also bad.

once again no vidya games that came out this year--i’ll probably pick up Spiritfarer or Hades after the New Year, though (or maybe TLOU II! but probably not. sry Laura and Ashley). more TV and franchises this year, which made me feel In Touch with the Children but was also kinda exhausting. nothing was so egregiously terrible i dropped it without finishing! in a year like this that feels almost like an accomplishment

#conspicuous media consumption