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iraprince · 1 year

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I love the entire concept of Cookie... the look, the fashion, the gender... Would you mind telling us a little more about him? I'm also intrigued about why she's named Cooking with Gorgeous!

HI i would LOVE to talk about george thank you so much. also this makes me realize i've never actually sat down and just made a post unabashedly infodumping at length abt an oc before and it seems silly that i haven't. i ask only for all dear readers to please temper their expectations for this post with the knowledge that i just smoked half a joint before sitting down to answer it. a small one. but still. anyway

FIRST OF ALL FOR THE UNACQUAINTED THIS IS COOKING WITH GORGEOUS, aka cookie or george for short. he uses he/him and she/her pronouns interchangeably!

hi sorry that's not cookie that's a horse in a bridal veil that i. found in my stuff while trying to scroll and find my cookie art. i just got distracted and had to show you. okay no for real here's cookie

he's the character i'm playing in a playtest campaign of the absolutely mesmerizing sapphicworld, an in-development ttrpg!!! and if i'm going to be talking about cookie i feel like i HAVE to say i think a huge amount of her charm and dazzle and charisma comes directly from the charm and dazzle and charisma of the setting i created her for. i know i am laying it on really thick right now but that is on purpose. i want, desperately and unashamedly, for this game to get really popular bc 1. it's genuinely that good. and it's not even DONE yet and 2. i want everyone to get into it so that everyone will make sapphicworld characters and then i'll get to see everyone's sapphicworld characters.

EDIT i'm scrolling back up here and adding a readmore bc this is already getting so long lol. you asked for "a little more" and apparently i have graciously decided this means "literally every fact about cookie that exists in my brain"

SO a lot of the info/tidbits i haven't shared about cookie are i guess gameplay-specific stuff... his title (which is like a class/playbook) is "The Noble Sweetheart," though in sapphicworld "nobility" no longer has anything to do with wealth or class, and is instead entirely about amassing a court purely via devotion/popularity; her subculture (which is like, Who You Hang Out With; drifters, goths, poets, debauchers, cowpokes, etc) is Babe; and her kind (which is like ancestries but in sapphicworld is really just like, a physical form, which u can change more or less at will) is Lunarthrope, which is basically a werewolf!! or more broadly a furry, since u always look like whatever were-animal you are 24/7. just MORE at night, tho i suppose i don't represent that aspect much in my cookie art... ANYWAY i am restraining myself from just sitting here and like. transcribing her entire character sheet. but basically what all this means is that cookie's role in the world (at least at the beginning of the campaign) is "Professionally — no, VOCATIONALLY Hot Person who everyone loves so so so so so so much." cookie really enjoys this role.

he's named cooking with gorgeous because he's an avid cook, and he wants to share that with you, and he's gorgeous!! though honestly the cooking hasn't ended up as important to his character as it was when i first came up with him, lol — but my initial concept was kind of like, what's the equivalent of a bouncy normie recipe blogger/lifestyle influencer but in the context of the lush horny trans deathless psychedelic universe of sapphicworld. and it's cooking with gorgeous, a doggirl dyke with big blue boobs (six of them!!) who is so devastatingly cute and darling that a bunch of people just kind of pledge their fealty to him for no real reason other than he feeds them. and is cute

also her name is def influenced by the fantastic names of many canon sapphicworld npcs! like, quick example list of some npc names off the top of my head: the booty commie, death cybernetic, princess eureka!, the culinary goof (whom cookie dislikes. btw.), pizza friday (whom cookie loves!!!)

cookie is very very determined, and she's ALMOST always very confident. even when she isn't feeling confident, she's still very good at forcing herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other — maybe just while screaming or crying or uncontrollably barking or at least very ardently complaining. he has a tendency to be spoiled and, like, tactless-via-obliviousness, so sometimes he can be grating to interact with, and he has a petty/vindictive streak; but in general he's an AGGRESSIVELY kind person and usually aims all his shrill, cheerful stubbornness directly toward the goal of refusing to accept anything but the best for everyone.

at the beginning of our campaign cookie has JUST received a brand new castle!!!! (chateau gorgeous.) which he doesn't actually "own" bc, remember, no wealth or class in sapphicworld, but he's the ENTHUSIASTIC new caretaker and is chomping at the bit to renovate it so ppl can live there and he can throw a bunch of magnificent parties and basically continue living exactly as he has been, But Even More Fabulous. obviously this is exactly when the main plot threat of the campaign shows up and spoils everything and compels cookie to go on his First Ever Adventure!!!!!! she HAS to save the world otherwise NOBODY will be able to go to the first big party at chateau gorgeous :((((

at this point to prevent myself from just like, giving you guys a play by play of the entire campaign so far i am going to just start listing every cookie fact i can think of as bullet points

🎀 he owns a magical sword in the shape of a giant microplane. it's called The Microplane. he pronounces this "mee-crow-plah-nay"

🎀 george desperately wants to resurrect The Dog-Lich, an entity that once ruled over all beasts from its palace on the moon but was murdered and torn to pieces in a cosmic war far in the past. her attitude towards this desire is 50% devoted lunar cultist, 50% parasocially obsessive twitter stan

🎀 this isn't really a cookie fact but going back to how his title is The Noble Sweetheart — just for a glimpse at party composition, his fellow party members' titles are The Intimate Scholar, The Tentacle Advocate, and The Tw*nk Controversial (the * is the canon spelling).

^ aforementioned tw*nk. its name is Mwah ("pronounced like the kiss you blow at someone you just fucked over"). mwah is played by @/squiddelyfather on twitter!

🎀 mwah and cookie used to be very, very tight, BEFORE mwah became the tw*nk controversial. now that it's so.... you know.... controversial, well. they're still very close, but it has gotten a little stilted and weird (and watching them slowly un-weird it together as the campaign goes on has been one of my fav roleplay experiences ever honestly)

🎀 cookie's other adventuremates, skarligge and delaryn, are both very indulgent towards him. delaryn acts the most grumpy/dismissive about it but is honestly sometimes the worst about spoiling cookie out of anyone in the party (skarligge's player is twt@/clown_dream and delaryn's is twt@/glaiveguisarme and hey while im at it our fantastic gm is the sapphicworld dev, twt@/ddemoneclipse. hi guys i hope u don't mind me chattering abt ur ocs here lol it's just hard to talk abt the best of cookie w/o bringing up everyone else's characters and roleplay also!!!)

🎀 cookie is very VERY sensitive and will burst into tears at the drop of a hat. the precursor to this is her eyes getting So So So Big And Wet And Round. one of my favorite bits to menace the other party members with is when something is not going cookie's way i will lean into my mic and say "cookie's eyes are getting so so so big. they're getting so big and wet and round and shiny. they're so so round and fucking big her eyes are like big wet black glass marbles" and this is like kryptonite to them. this is like getting hit with deadly radiation

🎀 oh speaking of fashion!!!! one of cookie's perks from being a Babe is that she can always change her look whenever she wants. she will ALWAYS have whatever outfit she needs and can quickchange instantly. wait this reminds me i have a bunch of seasonal holiday outfits sketched out and i don't think i've ever posted them here but it'll only let me put one more image in this post. well here have this one

🎀 okay well suddenly i have forgotten all other george facts so that's all for now!!! from now on i will try to just dump oc facts like this more often tho this is really fun. ty for getting me going lol!!!

#my ocs #my art #cooking with gorgeous #sapphicworld

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kitorin · 1 year

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boyfriend headcanons ! itoshi rin

contents. how you met, how you got to know each other, when he realized he liked you, how you started dating, dates, all fluff

warning. rin backstory spoilers, i can't write kiss scenes either, written with all lowercase intended, it's word vomit bc school has screwed me up mentally and i can't think properly atp lmao

a/n. reo, rensuke and yoichi ver coming soon, was supposed to be all four of them but tumblr didn't save some stuff so i lost motivation and i probably wrote too much for rin anyways

how you met

you were invited to hang out with a group of friends, but ended up hating it since you were basically invisible, since everyone else were talking about a common interest you didn't have

you ended up walking away, finding somewhere actually interesting, and found a muji store (minimalist retailer that sells a lot of household items and more), and had your own fun, looking through stationary, skin care, nice clothes, and more.

you were having a great time until you heard someone from the hangout looking for you and calling

rin who notices your panic right next to him, questions what's wrong (not necessarily out of concern, honestly probably because he may have found it slightly irritating)

after you explain your situation briefly, he nods and finds you somewhere to hide, and goes to deal with your friend

he's got perfect control over his facial expressions, he'd easily lie and even if your friend was persistent, he'd still scare him away

"haven't seen them in here, they left a while ago and you better stop yelling,"

"are you sure-?"

"yes. now piss off and stop disturbing everyone here,"

once he's sure your friend's gone, he goes back to where he instructed you to hide, giving you the clear

"i hope that lukewarm asshole wasn't your ex."

you're slightly amused at the word 'lukewarm' it wasn't a typical description you'd hear often. "nope, i'd never date him. thank you so much though. i really appreciate it, please let me do a favor for you"

before he can object, you grab a sample pen, scrawling your number on his hand, "send me a text and i'll do my best to help you with anything okay?" you send him a smile as his eyes widen in shock, "bye kind stranger, have a great day," and before he could respond, you were gone, rushing out the store out of embarrassment for not being able to slip away from your friend uncaught.

how he got to know you

[unknown number] : i really don't need a favor you know?

i hated that idiot anyways, loud and annoying

[you] : don't careeee, i want to make it up to you somehow, please?

i'm y/n, you?

[unknown number] : rin, itoshi rin

after he gave in to your offer, you ended up tutoring him, he didn't care about grades but his high school had a rule of requiring a certain standard of grades to compete in tournaments

turns out he wasn't even a bad student, he's diligent and consistent, he only needed a little bit of guidance and advice, with math being the exception

in between sessions, during breaks and outside of your tuition you'd talk a lot, considering how rin has no friends ("neither do you, your toxic ass friends shouldn't count" he replies when you realize it) and you're patient enough to deal with his personality

even after he has his grades up you still hangout with each other, watching horror movies, playing horror games, reading horror novels / comics (you introduced him to junji ito), and he'd even teach you some soccer when you visit his training. he also tries out all your hobbies and favourite things to do and eat

you two spend so much time together, simply because one has no other friends and the other has no healthy friendships

how he knew he liked you

BRO WAS IN DENIAL. FOR. SO. FUCKING. LONG.

he thought he had a health problem or fever when he felt his face getting hot, or that odd sensation in his stomach, or his heart relentlessly pounding against his chest

he tries to research it, doesn't believe it when he sees all those love related posts, so he literally goes to a doctor

his doctor probably almost instantly realized, and had to deal with rin's denial

"you experience these 'symptoms' with a certain someone, don't you?" the doctor doesn't even bother with noting down anything, he's 100% sure and knows it's perfectly in character for rin to do something like this

"that's not possible- that doesn't make se-," he pauses, and recalls that he only felt that way when it came to you, "... yes," he's sort of bashful, slightly embarrassed but quickly composes himself again. 'i apologise for doubting you, please continue,"

"no worries," with a grin, his doctor prepared leave and meet his next patient, "i diagnose you with love sickness,"

when i tell you, this man fucking asked him what meds to take and what to do as self treatment

his poor doctor mentally face palmed himself, sat himself back down and had a (long) talk with this emotionally repressed boy

rin still insists it's something medically wrong, but he's soon shoo-ed out of the office, while hastily being told to make sure he's honest with his feelings, otherwise it never goes right

back at home, he's lying in bed, revising what his doctor said

"rin you need to learn how to acknowledge your emotions. i understand they're confusing and i'm not a therapist, but you can't keep denying it. it's just as unhealthy to neglect your emotions as it is to ignore an injury,"

...

denial huh?

he thinks of you and his heart once again can't calm down, his face burns and his stomach is doing somersaults. he buries his face in his palm, groaning. he hated anything unfamiliar, anything that he couldn't navigate with confidence, or fully comprehend.

"do you really despise it? or do you refuse to acknowledge your feelings because you've never experienced something like this,"

his doctor's advice comes back to him, and he thinks.

if he truly loathed how you made him feel, why is he still hanging out with you, why is he still investing his time into you, why do you make him so damn happy?

he passed out eventually completely lost in thought

how you ended up dating

some time passes and you finally have the courage to confess to him only to receive a cold "i don't feel the same way," a complete lie

accepting his emotions was one thing, accepting a relationship is another. he could immediately feel regret clawing at his stomach, he wanted to tell you. badly, how much he likes you, your patience, intelligence, your kindness, literally everything

yet nothing comes out. only his stoic and stupid facade's character

you walk away after mumbling out an apology for making things awkward, and rin's left there standing, finger nails digging crescents of frustration into his palm

he's overwhelmed with his thoughts, some insisting for him to give up and accept that he fucked up, others demanding him to move and fix things

what would be worse than losing you, anyways?

and that last thought was the final push, he's basically sprinting towards you, soon his arms are wrapped around you, releasing a gasp of surprise from you.

"ri-?"

"i lied," rin blurts, internally screaming at himself to just say it, "i lied, i know i shouldn't have and i'm sorry. but i like you too much, i can't express or understand my feelings, i don't know anything about relationships or love either, and i wanted to hide how i felt so i wouldn't get hurt,"

"rin-," he doesn't let you finish, ignoring your whisper.

"but i don't care, i like you so much that i'm willing to risk hurting myself, anything's worth it if i can be with you, spend time with you, and love you. if it's for you i'd overcome all my fears of love. i can't afford love, but if it's for you i don't care anymore,"

"you're perfect, you always have been," he concludes his speech, almost breathless from how rushed it was. scarlet was dusted all over his face, teal eyes wide open.

that fact rin, someone who's never been good at communication, went this far to express how he feels for you, warms your heart even more.

"rin?"

"yes?"

"may i kiss you?"

somehow, he blushes even more, and as he nods your lips press together.

dates + other headcanons

MOVIE NIGHTS !! not at cinemas though since he prefers the comfort and privacy of his room, and doesn't like how loud or dirty cinemas can get

doesn't want to force you into anything too scary, but he secretly enjoys it when you end up clinging onto him

since he struggles with articulating his emotions, he likes using playlists and songs to (die for you - weeknd, shinunoga iiwa - fujii kaze, love, maybe - melomance, sweet - cigarettes after sex, COME INSIDE OF MY HEART - IV SPADES SUITS HIM SO WELL)

he's not a fan of pda, yet he wants to show you off to everyone he knows

if you genuinely like soccer and have an interest in it (obviously doesn't want to force you to watch 90 minutes of a sport you don't like) he'd watch his favourite games with you, even books tickets for the both of you if there are any good teams competing nearby

also takes great interest in your sports !! reads a lot about them so he can discuss them with you, and if you also compete in sports he puts together a training routine for you and asks to go to the gym together (say yes dumbass)

SURFINGGGG !! since he grew up in kamakura, he loves the beach and went to swim and surf a lot as a kid and would love to do it again with you, even if he hasn't done it in ten years (same rin, same). same with hiking too (kamakura's also famous for it as well)

visits the store with you where he always bought ice blocks with sae, the same lady who worked there when sae and rin still got around is still there, congratulates him for getting a partner, is proud of him

he's a great listener too, he prefers it over speaking a lot and you can talk to him about anything, whether you're talking shit about someone (he'd join in and start swearing) and or you're hyperfixating on your interests

whenever he gets a question related to his love life he takes a moment to blush when he thinks of you, pauses to compose himself (keeps you a secret for your privacy from the media), then says with a straight face that soccer is a priority, but everyone knows he's lying

©kouyun : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

#itoshi rin #itoshi rin x reader #blue lock x you #blue lock x y/n #blue lock x reader #itoshi rin blue lock #fluff #headcanons #blue lock headcanons #blue lock

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corrodedbisexual · 1 year

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I am once again thinking about Steve's injuries. Specifically, the road rash on his back and the back of his arms.

So... About a year ago I slid on a wet rock on a mountain hike and broke the fall on a rocky surface with my bare knee. The surface was relatively smooth, and the overall slide was... maybe half a meter. Nowhere near close to what Steve went through.

Several points from personal observation, in case you're curious and haven't scraped your skin much since you were a child learning to ride a bike and don't remember how it goes, and the resulting headcanons. (Having thought about it, I myself will try to incorporate this into my post-Vecna fics more, bc honestly there's never enough attention paid to it, and in the long run it might just be 100 times more of a bitch than the bat bites, despite not being immediately life threatening, due to the enormous surface of the skin affected.)

1) It doesn't really hurt that much right after the injury. The scrapes are shallow, there's little blood, it's mostly just mangled skin. So despite this being a common criticism of the canon, it's entirely plausible Steve could shrug that off and keep focused on the Vecna shit without treating it. I'll allow it.

2) The fun begins about a day later, when the injury really starts to scab. A knee or an elbow is probably the worst fucking place to get scraped: every tiny movement of your joints results in extreme stretching of the scabbing skin, damaging it over and over again when it's just begun to heal. I spent a week walking with a limp. But really it applies to any part of your body that moves a lot. For Steve, I'd say the worst would be his shoulder blades. Raising his arms, lifting anything heavy, anything that stretches the skin on his back would hurt like a bitch in his condition after a couple of days.

3) Also, he wouldn't be able to comfortably sleep on his back, or lean back in a chair. No fucking way. The edges of the scabs are sharp. When pressed on, they dig into your skin. Ouch.

4) The fun continues when it really starts to heal and ITCH! LIKE! A! MOTHERFUCKER! And of course, the scabs prevent you from scratching, because your body is smart like that, so of course you start peeling them. But you can't do that if it's on your back. I just imagine Steve behaving like a flea infested bear, trying to scratch his back against tree trunks and door frames while everyone tries to stop him from doing that because that keeps opening up his wounds. Maybe Eddie or Robin could offer him gentle backrubs when they hang out. Enough to take the edge off the itching, not enough to damage the scabs.

5) The scarring. It's not gonna be super visible, but it's gonna be there, a white spiderweb of scars. I realize that everyone's skin heals differently, and there are ointments that can help, but in the end, with all that, this is my knee about a day after the injury and 10 months later.

So, uh... Yeah. Stevie. I'm so sorry baby. (Hugging him tight to my chest)

#stranger things #steve harrington #stranger things meta #steve harrington meta #tw wounds #misha-bawlins meta

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carrotkicks · 5 months

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i'm sleepy right now but

here's part of the school au timeline bc i'm gonna make a silly video game inspired miniseries based on that Player: START drawing i just posted in order to talk abt some parts of the au that i find making comics and lore posts tedious for

Dazai transfers in, she runs into Chuuya, and she notices her crazy strong ability. the first arc is Dazai just making friends, particularly the Detective Club, which is the og ADA trio, and Chuuya, who she is needlessly annoying to.

Chuuya's infamous in their class because she's "mysterious" and "kinda scary." Dazai forces friendship onto her with but here's the abridged version of the pitch: "I can nullify your powers, meaning i'm a threat, so you should keep me close. Keep any potential enemies where you can see them." (This will end up being a decent lesson for Chuuya later)

Okay [here] is just a cutesy slow paced section of Dazai and Chuuya becoming friends. There's some secrets coming to surface though. I think in this section we get a paced out series of flashbacks describing Dazai's backstory, and some hints about Chuuya's "home" life with N, and the abuse, but nothing in Chuuya's perspective yet

Dazai's pre-Mori life in this AU is vaguely like Batman's origin story and that's all you need to know for now i think.

Considering that Dazai is Mori the Mafia Boss's ward and recently participated in a coup,, there might be SOME risk of her attending the Academy, right?

School gets raided by some belligerent gang looking to fuck around with the Port Mafia, *a miniature school-contained zombie infection bc of an ability user storyline ensues (don't ask why. i've been thinking about it a lot* Skk saves the day, but it puts the two of them on the Map. Namely, a couple of assassins take notice (cough Rimbaud cough Verlaine... cough they aren't working together btw we need multiple quests obvs)

Adam Frankenstein new substitute gym teacher gets sent to the Academy to keep an eye on and protect Chuuya in particular. Why's she still in this school if there's shifty evil government bureaucracy nonsense happening? plot reasons. but she's got a bodyguard now :)

Random but EXTREMELY important fact is that Chuuya is not as good a fighter as he is in canon. She's skilled with her ability, but without that she's more or less on par with Dazai. She's considerably worse at offense than everyone else but decent with defensive moves. Either way if Chuuya's ability isn't at her disposal, she oughtta back out of the battle... Will she though? nah.

Rimbaud crawls out of his burrow when he realizes that his target from 7 years ago has resurfaced in a more vulnerable position. Obviously he's gotta take a crack at capturing it, right?

ok sleepy again. i leave you on this cliffhanger. I'll reveal some "stats" in the art posts later. BYEEEEEEE

#hehe giving you a very jumbled timeline #the highschool survival horror level IS indeed a playable side quest where an ability user from a anti-port mafia gang #infects the student body with a zombie like mind control bug and they're all trained on killing Dazai specifically.#chuuya and dazai and the Detective Club (for a bit) are the only ones available to stop it.

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reasonsforhope · 1 year

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One of the things that I really appreciate about this blog is that now, every now and then, when I hear about some new awful thing in the world, it will be in the context of "and this is what people are doing to fight it". That's so much less paralyzing.

(If you have any sources to recommend for experiencing more of that, me and my mental health would be further indebted.)

Ahhh, I forgot about this message, sorry! Been a hectic couple of months.

I absolutely have more sources!

One of the biggest is the media collaboration The Solutions Journalism Network, which focuses on just that: closing the massive gap between people reporting on problems and people reporting solutions.

I have a giant bookmark list of sources for this blog, for good news stories and hope, so here's a bunch of links! Roughly in order of how good I think they are (in terms of size of stories, previously uncovered stories, good editorial standards, accuracy, detail, number of stories, etc. etc.)

We're gonna start with the ones that do good news ONLY, because sometimes you fucking need that, and then below I'll link some excellent sources that have a higher than average number of quality pieces on good news, even though they also publish other stuff too.

Good and hopeful news sources:

Future Crunch - If you only read one of these sites, read this one!!! It's a MASSIVE biweekly roundup of international good news stories with really high quality reporting--a lot of UN and WHO and major NGO reports as their sources. I cry from hope at LEAST 30% of the times I read this, and tbh it used to be like 100%, about a year ago when I started realizing that hope for the planet and for humanity was something that was REASONABLE TO HAVE.

Reasons to Be Cheerful - Fewer stories, but FANTASTIC quality of reporting, especially on fantastic local stories, many of them in international communities, that you've definitely never heard of before

Positive.News - Good coverage and especially roundups, mostly Europe-focused.

Good News Network - This one is awesome for the high number and approachability of its stories, but unfortunately also includes more "That's not news that's just a heartwarming anecdote" and "That's not good news it's actually dystopian" pieces than I'd like.

Jane Goodall's Good For All News - Really awesome focus on international issues, a lot of news from Africa, a lot of news about youth organizers and youth-led projects, and a lot of focus on how helping the environment and helping communities are inextricably connected. Yall Jane Goodall is doing SO MUCH amazing work out there even at her age, and most people also have no idea.

Good Black News - Mostly posts on music and entertainment, and doesn't post all that often, but they're great.

Good Good Good

The Good News Hub

Only Good News Daily

( ) for Tomorrow - Directory of grassroots solutions to all types of issues and "proof that no solution is too small to have an impact"

A Plus - Dedicated to uplifting stories in video form. I'm sure they're awesome, I just don't rly use them bc videos can set off my sensory issues

The Happy Broadcast - Illustrated good news tidbits! I haven't been using them much but it looks like they've (recently?) added more text and sources to each image, so I might change that. Illustrations are pretty cute tbh

Sources that publish a lot of good news, but also other not good stuff:

Euronews.Green - Environmental section of European news org

Yes! Magazine - Excellent solutions-focused journalism, excellent focus on BIPOC content and underrepresented communities

TheMayor.EU - EU-focused, discusses a lot of good projects and cool local developments/programs

Grist - Solutions journalism, fantastic corage especially on environmental issues

Mongabay - Billed as "News & Inspiration from Nature's Frontline," they are amazing and have some of the best goddamn reporting I've ever seen. They mean "frontline" very literally: there's a TON of pieces about and by and interviewing communities on the front lines of environmental conflict, especially developing nations and Indigenous communities world wide. That said there's also a lot of bad news on nature's frontline still, while they report a lot of amazing and powerful good news, make sure you're in a resilient mood when you visit this site, because some of the stories are also pretty upsetting.

Indian Country Today and Native News Online - two of the leading news orgs for Indigenous communities in the United States. Kind of like Mongabay in that they have a lot of good news stories from Indigenous communities that often no one else is reporting on, but also plenty of coverage of things that are definitely not good, so better to read when you're in a resilient mood.

If you have any good news sites/sources you'd like to add, please drop them in the replies or comments! I'm always looking for new good news sources (though I def don't always have time to use all of them, rip!). Plus, let's support these sites by giving them some traffic!

We could all use more ways to get some more good news.

#ask #good news #hope #conservation news #environmental news #human rights #activism

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nyxronomicon · 4 months

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CAPTURED. WITH JING YUAN. I NEED TO KNOW.

this was supposed to be porn but i wrote almost 3000 words of plot and they don't even kiss! anyway just bc i like you here's the entire wip

send me a wip and i'll post something about it!

jing yuan x stellaron hunter!reader

cw: enemies to lovers vibe (though i never got to the lovers part lol), lots of swearing, reader is sarcastic & pessimistic, mentions of suicide (falling to death)

Captured. It was honestly kind of embarrassing. Of course, the same fate has befallen Kafka and Blade, but that was expected. Your role was to stay unseen, to let them distract the general while you carried out your part of the plan.

That soft smirk on his face when you literally bumped into him. You instantly wished you were paying more attention to where you were going rather than making sure you weren't followed. Then maybe you could have avoided getting caught. Although he looked a little different from the photo, this was undoubtedly Jing Yuan, the General of the Xianzhou Luofu.

"Oh?" He chuckled. "And who might you be?" The iron grip on your wrist suggested this was a rhetorical question, not that you were going to answer. He just smiled, your silence answering the question just as well as your words could have.

"I'm afraid I'll have to take you into custody." His smile was almost apologetic. It was infuriating. He was infuriating. You opted to continue your silence, seeing how this was uncharted territory.

He was gentle with you despite the fact that you were an intergalactic criminal. It was odd, to say the least. This wasn't the first time you were caught like this, but it was by far the most pleasant. He simply boarded a starskiff with you, taking you to aeons know where. You weren't even cuffed, not that there was anywhere you could run to at this point.

You watched your captor as the starskiff glided through the air. You'd seen pictures of him in the briefing, but none of them did him justice. He was incredibly hot, his long silver hair flowing gently in the breeze, framing his strong jaw and that stupid smirk he still wore. Your eyes trailed down his form, noting muscles that could only be maintained with daily training. Despite the situation, you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking about how attractive he was.

Maybe if you hadn't chosen this life, you could have found someone noble like him to spend your days with.

You shook off those thoughts, reminding yourself that you weren't bound and could make a run for it as soon as you docked. You needed a game plan. You didn't really know where you were, but you could get help from HQ if only you could escape. So as you felt the starskiff slow and the cloud knights busy themselves by hitching it to the dock, you jumped off the boat and ran.

You bolted down the only path you could find, but were quickly met with a dead end and the voice of the general.

"You didn't really think it would be that easy to escape, did you?" He chuckled. You looked over the ledge to the fall below, not realizing he'd approached you from behind until you felt his body against yours. He grabbed your wrists in one hand, easily restraining you with his strength. Not that there was much of a point in making a run for it again.

"I guess I should have figured there would be nowhere to go from here." You finally spoke.

"Don't worry." You could hear the smile in his voice as he firmly pushed the back of your head with his spare hand, forcing your gaze down to the foggy abyss. "Falling would be a fate far worse than what we have to offer here."

"Is this not a prison?" You hissed back at him.

"It is. But at least you’ll live. And I promise this is better than the other prisons you’ve been to." So he did know you. He didn't just stumble upon you by accident, he was looking for you. It was no wonder how he captured the other two so easily.

General Jing Yuan had thrown you in a cell days ago. You hadn’t spoken to a soul since, only knowing the hands that brought you meals three times a day. Admittedly, the cell was much nicer than any of your past prison stints, although the others had their gaps in security that this one just didn’t seem to have. Even if you made it out, Jing Yuan made it clear that you’d need a starskiff to get anywhere.

You were stuck.

Not knowing the status of the other Stellaron Hunters made this all worse, and none of them knew what happened to you, either.

Not that they could help you if they did.

You sighed.

The silence of the cell was deafening.

You heard footsteps. The droll pacing of whatever poor Cloud Knight guarded these cells, most likely. You laid back on the hard cot trying not to think about how dismal the situation was.

"Bored already?" A familiar voice spoke through your cell door. Your eyes darted to the small opening where you could see locks of silver hair spilling over Cloud Knight armor.

"Did you come to keep me company, General?" Your voice was hoarse. Apparently, that happens when you don’t use it. "Pretty sure that’s against the rules." You watched the window, your only glimpse of the outside world.

"Is it?" He chuckled and leaned down, his eyes finding yours through the bars. "Luckily, I’m the one making the rules here." He sported another infuriating smirk.

"Fuck off." You scoffed, looking at the ceiling.

"Come now," He tsked at you. "You’re leaving me hanging after I came all the way out here to visit you?"

"You just want to know what the Stellaron Hunters are planning, right?" You sighed. "I’m not a snitch."

"I never accused you of such." He was so nonchalant. You wished there was a warning in his file about how punchable he was.

"Then what could you possibly have come here for?" You glanced back at the window momentarily before looking up again.

"Kafka seems to have escaped." Jing Yuan smiled.

"She did?!" You immediately sat up, staring at his infuriating grin.

"We were wondering if you have any information to offer. We can make a deal." He was completely unreadable. He seemed all too casual about this, but he was like that about everything, from what you could tell.

"What kind of deal?" You knew you shouldn’t even ask, but you were feeling lonely and bored with no one to talk to, so you just wanted to extend the conversation.

"So you have information that might be valuable to us, then?" Jing Yuan stood again, his chest taking up the window as it did when he first spoke.

"I might." You said too much. Still, you didn’t really plan to say anything more.

"Good." He chuckled. "We’ll keep you here a bit longer, then. And how stupid do you think we are? Let Kafka escape?" His laugh was heartier now. "Yeah, right."

Shit.

"You lied." You hissed, trudging up to the little window to get a good look at him.

"You trusted me." That fucking smile was maddening. You wanted to strangle him. "That was your first mistake." He paused for a moment, clearly imperceptive of the growing fury on the other side of the cell door. Either that or completely apathetic. "Well, I guess your first mistake was watching your back instead of your front." He sauntered down the hall with one last quip. "Made my job a lot easier, though."

Time didn’t really mean anything to you anymore. You could count the meals, but there was no point. Jing Yuan visited you occasionally, but there was no pattern to it from what you could tell. He mentioned a while ago that Kafka and Blade were gone, so you were all alone here. Today felt especially quiet until you heard the familiar gait of the general.

"I’m tired, Jing Yuan." You said when you heard the footsteps stop at your door. You didn’t even need to look to know it was him. "How long have I been here?"

"Do you really want to know?" He was already bent to look through the window, seeing you laying on the cot like usual. You thought for a minute.

"Yes." You looked at him through the window, seeing an empathetic smile. Something about it always ignited your anger again. He was holding you here for no reason. He never even questioned you about your activity. You couldn’t even remember what crime you committed other than being a Stellaron Hunter.

"Its new year’s today." He watched your expression carefully. Two months. You’d been in captivity for two months. "I thought you might appreciate the company."

"Liar." You’d taken to calling him a liar whenever he extended an olive branch. It was more of a reminder to yourself not to take him at face value.

"C’mon." He chuckled. "That was one time. Can’t I feel a little empathy for my favorite prisoner on a holiday?"

"Favorite prisoner?" You scoffed. "What kind of title is that?"

"You don’t like it?" He tilted his head, reminding you how badly you wanted to strangle him.

"Yeah. I love being reminded how trapped in this hellhole I am." Your voice dripped with sarcasm. He chuckled again, each time it got more grating.

"I brought you something." Jing Yuan was as unreadable as ever.

"How generous of you." You sat up on the cot, hoping it was something to eat other than dry rice.

You watched as the general pulled out a pair of fancy handcuffs with a wide grin, holding them in front of the window. They were intricately carved, but still unmistakably sturdy.

"You’re kidding." You sighed.

"I’m not." Jing Yuan always seemed so amused, you wanted to wipe that smirk off his stupid face. Was he purposefully trying to anger you? There’s no way it wasn’t intentional at this point. "The fireworks are in an hour. I thought I’d take you to the roof to see them."

"Pass." You scowled.

"I thought you were dying to get out of here." He grinned. "This might be your last chance for a while."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You’re wanted on a lot of planets. That’s gotten your case caught up in quite a bit of bureaucracy. It could be months before there are any changes to your situation, and it’s likely it’ll only get worse." He lowered the cuffs out of your view, looking directly at you through the barred window. "I’m afraid this will be your last chance for fresh air for a while."

You looked at him, weighing your options. As much as you loathed the thought of spending the new year with him, you felt like you were going insane in that room. Maybe later you could headbutt him or something just for the satisfaction.

"Why are you doing this?" You finally asked, wondering if he had an ulterior motive.

"It would be a shame for you to miss the new year." He simply smiled. What a stupid reason. There was a dash of melancholy to his voice that you couldn’t quite place, like maybe taking you out like this would mean more to him than it did to you.

You wanted to reject him on principle, but he was right. You hadn’t been outside in two months and you were desperate for a change in scenery. He seemed so empathetic towards you, maybe you could even inspire him to do this again. Or give you better food. Aeons, the things you’d do for better food…

"Fine." You muttered. You could hear the metal latches shift as Jing Yuan unlocked your cell door. This was the first time you’d seen it open since getting thrown in here. He casually walked over to you, opening the handcuffs. You stood, begrudgingly allowing him to cuff you.

The metal was cold on your skin, a sharp contrast to the heat of his body. You hadn’t been this close to another person in months. It was like you forgot what it felt like to touch someone. The brush of his fingers on your skin… you hated to admit it to yourself but it felt really nice. Warm. Inviting.

He finished cuffing your hands behind your back and wrapped a hand around your elbow. "Shall I escort you?" He chuckled, his good spirits as infuriating as ever.

"I can walk just fine." You tugged your arm away from him.

"So be it." He shrugged. "I’ll note that there are Cloud Knights stationed throughout the jail, so there’s no point in trying to escape."

"Yeah, yeah." You rolled your eyes.

He tried to make idle chatter on the way to the rooftop, but you were busy taking in the new scenery. The halls were empty and labyrinthine, and even as you tried to memorize the route, it got jumbled in your mind.

You arrived at an elevator, which Jing Yuan called using his fingerprints. Just another insurmountable barrier to your escape.

"You're not listening to me." He said when you got in.

"No." You scoffed. "I don't really like you."

He feigned offense at your words. "I'm your only regular visitor and you don't like me?" The general pouted.

"You're the one who locked me up." You sighed, leaning against the elevator door. "You don't get to be my friend and my captor."

"I see." He laughed that infuriating laugh again. It was like everything you said was a joke. Like he never took you seriously. And yet…

You stomped on his foot. As he recoiled away, you closed the space between you, getting in his face.

"Is this a fucking joke to you?" You growled. Despite having him cornered in the elevator, he was still taller than you. Stronger than you. And he knew it too with the nonchalant smile he wore, even now. "What am I, your little trophy prisoner? The Stellaron Hunter left behind?"

"The Stellaron Hunter left behind…" Jing Yuan repeated your words. "I guess Elio knew this would happen to you, too." The elevator door opened to a small room.

"Whatever the reason, it couldn’t be helped." You shrugged. His tone made you more irate than usual. Maybe you were feeling defensive. The thought had crossed your mind many times in that cell, but you remembered Elio’s words. His gentle tone, his unshakeable confidence, and an intimate focus on you and your worries accompanied them. In time, you will know that this, too, is destiny’s plan.

"Do you really believe that there’s nothing they could do?" Jing Yuan spoke, unlocking the door in front of him. He opened it, the soft natural light spilling in. The air smelled so different, so fresh. You almost wanted to forgive the general for dragging Elio through the mud.

"Maybe they’ll pluck me right off this rooftop. I’m sure Elio knows we’re here." You hissed, glaring at him as he held the door open for you. "Maybe I’ll jump. Destiny is a cruel mistress, as they say." You smirked, wondering what would happen to Jing Yuan if you died because of such a frivolous activity.

He laughed.

The fucking General of the goddamn Xianzhou Luofu laughed at your escape plan.

The sound grated on your ears. Did he have any idea how annoying he was? It was so patronizing how little he thought of you. Just the idea that Destiny’s Slave would come back for you was funny to him, and you were facing a life sentence if not the death penalty! How sick and cruel destiny was to make you spend what could very well be your last moments outside with a man like him.

#idk if i'll finish this but idk we're so close to the sex part lol #yeah it was gonna be hatefucking. under the fireworks #jing yuan #hsr #jing yuan x reader

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icarusxxrising · 9 months

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// long ramble TLDR just me discussing how I found my politics at the beginning

When I was a baby leftist the final push for me into anarchism wasn't when I learned what anarchy actually was, it was 1 event leading to a culmination of recognizing one of the biggest problems in social and economic systems was people having power over each other.

When I first got into leftism there was nothing on Anarchism when I tried to lookup "beginner leftist books". It was The Communist Manifesto, State and Revolution, The ABCs of Socialism, etc. Nothing about Anarchism though.

I tried to connect to Communism through reading and content creators but it couldn't stick for me. Not to say I'm not a communist now but my communism is different, and more inherent to my Anarchism. A lot of communist creators I watched talk were very intelligent on the system and helped me realize some positives, but they never could talk about the negatives of past communist ideologies.

When people addressed genuinely negative things that communist regimes did, like their treatment of disabled people or the genocide campaigns, they responded with facts about literacy rates going up. Obviously something like literacy rates going up IS a positive that should be addressed, but they could never just say "Yeah that was fucked up, we don't condone that bullshit, here's how we are going to stop that from happening". (Hell a ton of communists idolize and have pfps of some of the dudes that did horrible shit).

Even if I disagree I'll respect a communist who will say "These regimes did xyz fucked up shit, We can do better and learn from this fucked up shit tho", and I have met some that do that, but I couldn't click into the communism being fed to me because it once again felt like blind worship and just redoing the past rather than striving for something that would fit our modern society.

Ironically the first time I thought "Power corrupts people always" was when I found out TST founders were gross and Fascistic. I was getting into Satanism and was excited by the idea of TST fighting for religious freedoms within the system (lib moment), and how they were gay friendly and had posts about respecting lgbt ppl unlike COS who just said summarized "who cares what you feel about them as long as no one tells you you can't do that :)".

But when I found out about Queer Satanic and actually dove into the history of TST it was kinda this Camel Straw moment. I was angry I had supported a shitty organization and I was angry that something that could be good was controlled by shitty people who could just do fuck all bc they had power. It made me realize that as long as there was a person in power over others that there would be problems. It made me think of my childhood and how when parents have complete authority over their children it causes harm more often than not just by the nature of Exploitation that comes with holding power.

I didn't know what Anarchism was yet or that it was a real leftist ideology, I just thought it meant Chaos and Warmonger, but I took the steps into it without knowing just from the realization I had.

When I did find out about Anarchism it clicked for me. A style of communism and workers unions that won't hold power over individuals. And then I just began to learn more and it makes sense for me. It doesn't matter how many times other people told me it was unrealistic, my brain can conceive Anarchism better than systems that call for few people to hold power over entire populations.

Too be fair, I've always had anarchistic tendencies growing up, but once I found it the pieces just fell into place.

* This isn't for debating if you come into my comments with some USSR bullshit I'll just tell you to walk somewhere dangerous and block you *

#leftist #anarchy #leftism #anarchism #anarchist #socialism #socialist #communist #communism #theory #satanism #tst #queer satanic

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utilitycaster · 7 months

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Unpopular opinion: the tower conversation between Caleb and Essek was a define-the-relationship conversation on a 20+ intelligence level and with the context that defining a relationship does not inherently mean "we have decided whether or not we are dating from this point onward with the only options being a static yes or no," and if more of the fandom read it that way, there would be significantly less equivocating over their relationship and how often Essek is mentioned in regards to existing and potential post-canon content

This is very funny to me bc if you were not off anon I'd be like "man what does Megs say about it, she'd know more!" Anyway, after this one I'll be taking a break bc I do need to do a bit of D&D prep and this is going to be a slightly long one. To that point, it's below the cut.

Anyway, thank you, because I very much enjoy Shadowgast but I don't know if I've made as much of a study of it as others have, or as I have for other ships, but this led me to rewatch/reread the transcript for this speech (2x133, btw, starting around 3:26:00 for those wondering) and: yes.

I think this is definitely the 20+ INT level version; it is entirely about theory, and the arcane, and everything is subtext. But it's not unprecedented. If I were to do the mathematical thing, and I will, and reduce it to a problem I already know, this is akin to Fjord and Jester's conversation in episode 2x72. Compare:

LAURA: Would you do anything to get them back?

TRAVIS: No. No, but, I feel like I knew what I was doing, and I realized I have no idea.

MATT: "You spoke once of intent, lot of fortunes have changed since. What is your goal? Ultimately?"

LIAM: I think my priorities have mostly shifted since we last spoke about things like this. I think what's going on right now is more important than my petty, earthly grievances. Still very much fascinated with and attracted to ability and skill. And it's not fashionable to say, but to power. Who doesn't feel the tug of such a thing? But, uh-- yeah, I said it knowing what your reaction was going to be. I see you outside. (laughs) But it doesn't matter. There are bigger things than you and I.

MATT: "I think that's the key. The pursuit of magic, in the ways that we know it, in the ways that we've been disparately, but in some ways similarly raised and studied. At a certain point, it becomes about the self. It becomes about what I can do. And it's impressive that you've deviated at your skill level. I just hope it holds."

LIAM: That's the key, isn't it? Because if you were to put the very thing that I have wondered about for so many years in front of me, I'm really not sure what my reaction would be.

It is, as you say, a definition of the relationship. It's not "we are now dating;" it's them figuring out if they want similar things; if they will be not just compatible but good for each other. It's foundation laying and setting boundaries for something that won't come to fruition for some time yet, but it's undeniably something more serious than mere friendship.

I think the tower conversation is also uniquely important because it's Caleb's first romantic overture after meeting with Trent. He volunteers the information about his past not just willingly, but specifically in order to connect with Essek rather than to protect him or push him away. They are even able to laugh about it together, and that's really it. This is the point where romance becomes an option.

There's more - I think that Essek admiring Caleb's ability to set aside himself despite his rapid progression as a wizard is absolutely a flirtation, as is Caleb saying he's attracted to "ability and skill" - but really in the end it's them saying "this is my condition, and you have met it." I think the relationships that lack some kind of condition and stakes like this - and to be clear, it's okay if, as with several relationships I don't cover here, those stakes and boundaries are set not through a clear conversation that serves as a turning point but rather more implicitly/through actions - end up feeling fundamentally empty and lacking in possibility because there isn't that tension and that recognition of each other.

#answered #essektheylyss #opinions rating ask meme #cr tag

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byanyan · 3 months

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thinking about... byan making friends with all the pets of the foster families they've stayed with. them at a certain point finding more comfort in those friendships than any relationships they have with the family. ...thinking about at least one home where they were treated about as well as the dog, so when they ran away... they took the dog with them

#recurring themes of byan getting along better with animals than people bc they can relate to them so much more #and don't like. have all these questions about where they stand with a dog or cat or hamster.#i think... they stole the dog from that one home but that's the only time they ever did it #bc they realized that they can't provide for a pet when they can't even provide for themself #...and they probably took that dog to a shelter when they had that realization.#just made sure he stayed out of that shitty home... if they couldn't keep him then hopefully someone who #could actually take care of him would. hopefully someone would love & take care of him better.#goddddddd but they would have CRIED while saying goodbye to him UGGGHHHHGHGHGHH #and this just plays further into why i love them eventually getting to adopt some cats w sol...... bc they've always WANTED #to have a pet just so so badly....... and eventually they can and do and akjsfdsh #ugghghghghghghghhhhh i'm crying don't mind me #(i know i've been ooc posting a lot tonight..... but i'll have at least 1 queued piece of writing to make up for it tomorrow i promise)#━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ ooc ⋮ don't @ me.

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woodlaflababab · 2 months

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hey! can i ask what your thoughts are on sokkaang? why do you ship them?:)

Oh my gosh. Okay, so funnily enough I literally gave a break down to someone yesterday. Sokkaang is my little rare pair gem that I hold close to my heart.

I did write this meta, but that doesn't cover even half my thoughts.

I'll give you the short version first in case you don't want to read my full ramblings:

Sokka is Aang's biggest protector. Aang. The Avatar. Sokka is a nonbender but he don't give a shit bc Aang still needs and deserves protection.

Aang is the biggest believer in Sokka. He thinks all his ideas are genuis, and unironically uses the stupid names he comes up with. He also brings fun to Sokka.

They're smart and wise seperately, but idiots together and I love that. I just think they'd make fantastic partners in all things.

Long Version:

So, I'm a sucker for protective tropes, right? And something that absolutely kills me about Sokka and Aang is that Sokka is a nonbender and Aang is literally the most powerful person on the planet, but it is Sokka who protects Aang. I've always been soft for Aang and more than anything I want good things for him. Too many people throw him at threats, too many people expect great things from him.

Sokka doesn't. He fights Hei Bai for Aang while everyone stands back. He realizes Aang needs them in the Bato episode. His plans to defeat the fire lord are always centered on helping Aang, giving Aang any advantage he can. At this point I'm just repeating my earlier meta BUT

Basically, when I realized this I was just like, "aw, cute friendship"

And then I remembered the fuckin "Toph writes a letter" plan. The two are fucking idiots together. It's hilarious that they affect eachother like this and it's not even like, unrealistic, because of what Aang does for Sokka.

Aang is Sokka's biggest supporter. He usually happily follows Sokka's ideas, he accepts the stupid names Sokka comes up with and uses them unironically. Aang belives Sokka to be a genuis, which means he doesn't question his ideas when they're stupid, he just trusts it's a genuis idea because of course it is, Sokka came up with it. And Sokka soaks that up like a sponge.

People talk about Aang bringing fun to Katara and like, 10/10 I love that, but I feel like it's not talked about as often just how much Sokka changes thanks to the brightness Aang brings. I'm paraphrasing someone elses meta here but I don't remember where I saw it but if you know it lmk, but Sokka literally goes from "You can't fight firebenders with fun" (to which Aang replies "You should try it sometime") to the finale where he gets rid of an entire crew by fucking around all amused at himself. He goes from the most sour character to the joke filled idiot we all know and love. I do believe a lot of that is thanks to Aang's influence.

So, yeah, cute friendship, blah blah, but then I was thinking about post-war them and I realized, despite zukaang being my favorite ship and loving kataang, there's no one I'd rather see travel around with Aang than Sokka. That's always been their dynamic, Aang with the purpose and Sokka with the maps and plans to get it done. I want Aang to be able to continue to rely on Sokka in tough spots, I want Sokka to continue experiencing the world and fun thanks to Aang.

I just don't see Sokka wanting to settle back down and take on the responsibility shoved onto him as a child. He fucking bloomed thanks to being on the road and getting true oppertunities to use his strengths and I want that for him.

And Aang is Not Good at the whole plans and stuff. Sokka is so good at filling the gaps in Aang's abilities and I don't want Aang to lose that. I don't want him to lose the person that says "I don't care if he's the avatar, I'm going to fight his battles with him." I feel like Aang would be lost in some ways without him.

Then I was thinking abt Aang's admiration and belief in Sokka and realized, it wouldn't take much to tip that into a crush, esp for Aang who falls so easily.

And Sokka, we have established, is attracted to people that could kick his ass without ever landing a blow. I can see Tall Aang being Sokka's surprise gay realization.

And I just think, if they were together romantically, it would be so drama free because it would be the epitome of a relationship built on friendship. They'd just be together. No bells or whistles. I feel liked they'd just be chill af about it. They'd love eachother and it'd be as simple as that.

Just, partners, in everything. I love them so much. I'm so alone in shipping this but I have so many sokkaang ideas and they will never not be dear to me. Also, tbh, it helps that Sokka is my favorite character after Aang ksndksnd

#sokkaang #sokkaang talks #atla #woodlaflababab #i have many feelings about them #thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about them #i need to write more sokkaang metas

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cuephrase · 12 days

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What are some things introduced new52 to current day that you like and think are an overall net positive for batfam continuity? (As in, it's not uncommon for me to see fan things that mainly focus on post crisis/pre flashpoint stuff but still incorporate new comic aspects, such as slightly changed family dynamics/new developments, and it's interesting for me to find out what different people think is and isn't worth keeping from what got added after the reboot)

ooooh this is a fun question!!

i was going to say i haven't read that many n52 and onwards runs, and then i realized i have actually read most of the ones i want to, i just haven't read any batman/'tec/batgirl/or duke's runs yet. (i read like...half of We Are Robin, Joker War, and i've read batman from where zdarsky come in so like have also read Gotham War.) (might read Catwoman?? not the point.)

since we're sticking strictly to net positives, i'll include something that i like, even if i have criticisms of it, but i won't get into those criticisms so we can stay positive!! (future cue, so this is kind of a lie but i swear i didn't go overboard.) i'm going to include stuff as minor as like costumes bc why not. also nothing is going to be in order of like what i like the most to what i like the least, just fyi. also, probs not definitive, knowing me i will forget something lmao

New52 Era-

tim's red robin costume. that suit is *chef's kiss* imo. i love that he has wings. i...i don't know if i necessarily want it back rn bc i am sososososo in love with his current robin costume, but i do adore the n52 red robin suit

i personally like that they went ahead and made jason less villain, more anti-hero. i think him trying to reintegrate with the batfam creates some very compelling crises

dick as Agent 37!! which...okay, no criticisms nvm. michael janin's art tho >>> okay well actually maybe sometimes i wish this was like elseworlds/black label instead of mainline but

might be a bit of a reach, but i really enjoy the first handful of arcs in n52 b&r and the relationship dynamic they established for bruce and dami

i like that tim and jason are somewhat friendly. i think it makes sense. for a lot of reasons. this is a somewhat controversial opinion, which i understand. but this is where i stand

did i like anything else from this era specifically?????????

DUKE!!!!!!! i loooooove him very happy he was added

Rebirth Era-

the outlaws, specifically jason's relationship with bizarro. (i enjoyed artemis a lot too!! tbh, haven't read these guys outside of this run tho so zero clue how accurate these portrayals are, so grain of salt?)

the return of dick's fingerstripes!!!!!!! best part of tom taylor's run /hj

TIM'S ROBIN COSTUME AHHHHHH. i'm sorry i love that suit way too much

love damian's current robin costume, although...does he have combat boots rn still? can't remember. if he doesn't, they should give those back

damian + jon's relationship, ik it gets obliterated by the stupid age up, but super sons is still very special to me

tim being bi!! now do kon dc you cowards

alfred's death. i refuse to elaborate. i could, but i shan't (this is not alfred hate tho i swear)

i'm forgetting something rn i know it

oh yeah, i do like tim being robin again. IK. IKKKK. no, i don't think he should be robin forever. no, i don't think dami is a bad robin/shouldn't be robin.

um...i liked dick getting shot in the head. the ric era is not how i would've wanted the aftermath but

i don't want to comment on anything super recent, but i do think there's stuff going on rn that could end up being net positives

the titans being reassembled. jury's out on their location but, i do like that they're back

i'm not counting yj because they're not doing anything with them rn, but they should ugh

i think...i think that's it? there could honestly be a lot more that i'm forgetting. i hope this was interesting!! if there's anything i didn't mention that you're curious about, or something i did mention that you'd like a more in-depth answer about, please feel free to ask!! i'm curious what you consider net positives anon, you should shareeee

#dc comics #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #batfam #anon asks #cue answers #cue on comics

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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years

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Why Will Byers is the answer to everything (and the key to vol. 2)

After making a post yesterday about why I think Vecna was the one stalking Will in 1x01, I was reading into some other posts about why this is relevant now, given what we know from S4V1, and how that could affect how S4V2 goes down. I'm going to be exploring the possibility of Will having powers, mirroring Henry Creel (Vecna), and having been watched by Vecna since he was taken in 1x01. This is probably going to get pretty long, so buckle up brochachos!

So, I already explained this in my post yesterday, but I'll reiterate it here for those who didn't see it. When Will leaves Mike's house after the campaign where the demogorgan gets him, the garage lights flicker. It's important to note here that only the garage lights (and the light on Will's bike) flicker, not the rest of the house. While there was a power outage that same night (when El opened the gate, making contact with the demogorgan), Mike's house is on the opposite side of town and wouldn't be affected by the blackout (pointed out by @willel).

Now, on his way home, Will runs into a shadowy figure on the road--I believe this is in fact the demogorgan. You can hear it growl (a sound unique to it that Vecna doesn't display) and it is within the demogorgan's hunting ground, as it would've just escaped from the lab and into the woods. Seconds earlier, you can see Will bike past the HNL fence. However, this begs the question of why the lights were flickering at Mike's house? In stranger things, flickering lights are associated with supernatural creatures or psychic powers. No one was using powers at Mike's house, so it must've been a supernatural presence, not the demogorgan bc it would've just escaped from the lab, which points toward it being Vecna.

Before we get into why Vecna would be stalking Will in the first place, let's quick go over more evidence of why it was Vecna, in case anyone is still doubting my theory. Once Will gets home, he immediately calls for his family, but once he realizes he's home alone, he immediately calls 911, only to hear something growling back at him. As far as I know, demogorgans are only foot soldiers for the upside down and don't possess any sort of powers. Now, I know that in the show characters claim that the demogorgans are capable of opening gates, like the one in the tree Nancy enters. However, I'd like to think that it's actually Vecna who's opening these gates, making it easier for the upside down to infiltrate the normal dimension. If demogorgans can open gates, why did it have to wait for El to open the gate in 1983? And why wouldn't the demogorgan in Russia have escaped by now? But I digress.

When else do we see phones or radios being messed with in relation to the upside down? Think back to the multiple times El has used radio static to find people in the void. Radio static has been associated with psychic powers. We know Vecna has very strong powers, but the demogorgan does not. It would make sense that Vecna was the one messing with Will's phone here. It's also brought up a lot that Will's front door is unlocked and opened using telekinesis. Besides this scene, there's been no indication the demogorgan has powers--but Vecna does! Hence, it was almost certainly Vecna who was stalking (and kidnapped) Will.

So why does Vecna want Will specifically in the first place? Based on what we know from st4v1, Vecna had an unhappy childhood, killed his family, was taken by Brenner, then tested until he was given Soteria to weaken his powers so he could be easily controlled. He spends years in the lab as Peter, biding his time to get back at Brenner. However, he seems to take a liking to El, and before he tries killing her, he attempts to convince her to join him. She says no and banishes him to the red void--his mindscape?

Now why did Vecna wait 7 years before he started killing people again? It's likely that being banished to his mindscape drained him, forcing him to bide his time until he could regain enough strength to get back to the normal world. It's likely that he either needs to absorb enough energy (from people's fear right before he kills them, a parallel to Pennywise from IT) or absorb someone's powers to escape the mindscape.

Since he was banished in 1979, Vecna has most likely been on the lookout for someone with powers (not El, because last time went so poorly, and not Kali because she's "out of range") to target, in an attempt to get his full powers back. So when he senses Will, Vecna goes out himself to snatch him, bringing a demogorgan for backup. Once he catches Will in the shed, the light becomes blinding before suddenly going back to normal, with Will gone. If that has been the demogorgan, Will most likely would've immediately been eaten. However, @willel pointed out that the light in the shed lights up similarly to how the flashlights stay blindingly bright in the Creel house. This points to it being Vecna.

It's also interesting to note that the upside down is stuck on time at November 6, 1983, the night Will went missing. Who do we know of that has time manipulation powers? Vecna. I think that the first time Vecna majorly used his powers (since being banished to the mindscape) caused time to freeze. It's really the only explanation I can think of as to why this occurred. The night Will disappeared was obviously the start of all this, and it seems to be leading back to Vecna.

Furthermore, Will is able to escape his capture and hides in Castle Byers for nearly a week. The whole time, he's singing "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," which is brought up multiple times throughout S1. There's even a flashback to show how meaningful the song is to Will. Mike mentions that Will is "always singing that weird song he loves," and when El finds Will in the void, he's humming his song. Who do we know that's deterred by favorite music and happy memories? Oh right, that's Vecna.

During his time in the upside down, Will is resourceful! He uses lights multiple times to talk to Joyce, like "one blink for yes," the alphabet wall, and the circle of lamps in his bedroom. Now, I know that S4V1 expanded on this lore and showed how to communicate with lights from the upside down, but this actually just raises more questions for me. How likely really is it that Will was able to reach the christmas lights? The alphabet wall wouldn't have even been there if the upside down was frozen the night he went missing. Also, there's no way he would've been able to turn on those lamps in the circle so quickly.

This points back to Will having powers. He seems to be more resourceful when in the upside down than other characters, and is the only one to have survived more than a few hours alone. Even when he's eventually caught, why isn't he immediately killed like the other victims? Instead, he's brought to the library and a vine begins to suck the life force out of him. Why? We've seen that vines feed Vecna's powers, and likely recharge him. Is it that much of a stretch to say that Vecna was using the vine in Will to transfer powers, making Vecna stronger? The mindflayer does a similar thing in S3 with El, as biting her absorbs her powers, rendering her powerless.

Once Will is saved, he attempts to readjust to normal life, but is unable to stop seeing the upside down. His friends say he has "true sight," but what if that's not the case? Vecna could be giving him visions, attempting to weaken his resolve so he can be targeted again. In S2, we even see Will with his eyes closed multiple times, looking like how the tranced people did in S4V1.

Perhaps what Vecna really wants is a vessel in the real world? Even Jason said that the devil needs a vessel, so this could be foreshadowing to Vecna wanting to weaken Will enough to possess him fully. We saw kind of what that would be like in S2 with the mindflayer, but Will was still strong enough to fight back.

However, now, Vecna has been biding his time, waiting for Will to be as weak as possible. He's been alienated at every turn: ignored by his friends all summer, perpetually connected to an evil dimension, abused at home and at school, and now, his whole family and best friend (crush) forgot his birthday. Will is at his most vulnerable right now, so I believe the minute he arrives to Hawkins, Vecna will be taking full advantage of this.

Will is the perfect vessel for Vecna. Through flashbacks, they've been shown to parallel each other: called "sensitive" by their mothers, enjoy drawing as an escape, made to feel different from the rest of the world, and even dress the same. Both feel like they don't belong, and since El didn't work out, Vecna wants Will.

If you made it to the end, congrats, that was long. Hopefully it kind of made sense! This is where I think S4V2 could be heading, and Will is my favorite, so obviously I want him to have a bigger role moving forward lol

#will byers #vecna #stranger things #stranger things theory #byler #this got so long but hopefully it makes sense lol #i am a will byers has powers and is the main character truther!#sarah.txt

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