#validation affection and a sense of a real family

[seance]

five and klaus in wedding at the end of the world.

#tuaedit #the umbrella academy #tua #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #userbecca #number5theboy #tusermyra #edits #random gifset cause i missed them and their easy banter #the way five just doesn't shy away and relaxes around him #and i'm just so sad cause i think part of the reason why klaus was trying so hard to bring the sibs to trust reginald #had less to do with him personally and a lot more with his desire to give them back part of what he thought he could finally have #validation affection and a sense of a real family #he really wanted for them to be all happy and accepted together #he wanted to do that TOGETHER cause any amount of turtle-dad time was almost meaningless without them #the fact that they could also save the world in the process was a pleasant bonus #he wanted to believe SO HARD that they all deserved to get their childhood back #and his face gets so soft looking at them but he doesn't push #cause he knows where they're coming from #especially five

[cheemscakecat]

Fun/Interesting details in Expiration Date

Heavy knows that Pauling is calling them, and lets Scout be the one to answer. Also, road safety because he’s not distracted driving.

Medic is so hyped about tumor bread.

Hoovy smelling the sandwich and deciding it’s safe to eat [or that it doesn’t matter at this point].

Pyro standing like that. He don’t know what’s going on, but he’ll still be polite. Also, Sniper just chillin in the back with a poker face the whole time.

Medic smiles at Soldier as they walk past. Engineer’s got that Conhager death-cheating focus at the moment.

Spy’s eyes widen angrily when he realizes it’s Scout at the door and then he smirks like; “Oh hi! Twelve hours was enough time for you to get bored of my absence, then?”, not expecting a sincere apology [maybe one orchestrated by the other teammates, but not Scout].

There was some vitriol behind that “***”, look at his nose. He does not want Scout to gloat, try to prank him again, or give a fake apology. And that’s valid, since the team dying is something Scout should have taken seriously, and the last wishes handled with respect. He crossed a line that Spy doesn’t take lightly.

Dad, I threwed up. But in all seriousness, that’s the “My family is dysfunctional, and I don’t know how to be emotionally honest with people” posture.

See my bucket scene analysis for more on these two.

He didn’t say “You’re terrible with girls” in a snide or smug tone, he said it with like actual parental concern. “Scout, no you have three days! Do you want to die rejected or die before you can enjoy being together? No. Don’t do this to yourself.”

Look at that cup, he did not need a refill. This fake smirk and disinterest is Spy’s way of checking how serious Scout is about this last wish and taking his advice. And when he goes “This never leaves this room” Spy perks up.

Medic was taking a sample of bread tumor puss [or injecting it with something].

They have a whole entire wrestling ring, how did I never notice that?

This is one of those multiple choice questions where you can choose more than one answer and have it be right. But the chicken in combination with the other options looses you points, and just taking the chicken is like the token wrong answer.

Spy sighs when he realizes Scout chose just the chicken. Like chile, I gave you multiple options and you still went with your go-to that doesn’t work!

This room has a gym floor, which implies Spy took a bunch of fancy stuff from one of his rooms just for this date training. Also shoutout to the other teammates for helping with this.

Okay, so most of these decorations came from Pyro, who Scout is terrified of. Archimedes came from Medic, who Scout also doesn’t want to make angry, and the grass cutouts are potentially part of the base camouflage. But that disco ball? That belongs to Scout, he just doesn't want anyone to know he’s real into that. [The team would not judge, but his brothers would, so.]

Man when he gets his heart broken, I hope he finds the right girl for him. He deserves better than Pauling always making excuses to turn him down instead of telling him like it is.

Foreshadowing Solly being romantical towards Zhanna. Look at this content man.

Spy holding his knife like this. There’s no reason for it to be a threat, so he’s just genuinely in the habit of doing this while listening. Or while nervous, which also makes sense.

#tf2 #dadspy #character analysis #expiration date #tf2 scout #tf2 spy

[bluespiritshonour]

Water Siblings and Fire Siblings as Foils

Katara and Sokka are peak sibling rep: they bicker, they hurt each other, they take turns being the voice of reason while the other goes batshit crazy—and they'd die for each other.

And very clearly Sokka's daddy's boy and Katara's momma's girl: and for most parts, they seem to be content with that dynamic.

Look, parents have favourites, let's establish that first: don't come at me for it.

But in a healthy environment, where all of the kids’ emotional needs are met irrespective of which kid gets along with which parent, they're less likely to tear themselves apart yearning for parental affection.

Sokka and Katara's family was a normal one, a healthy one—as healthy as one can be in a war ravaged world—and Sokka and Katara are normal siblings. Even after their mother died Katara doesn't seem to care much that Sokka gets more time with their father. And everytime she brings up their mother Sokka gets this weird look on his face, which, I think is later explained by the fact that he feels guilty that he doesn't even remember what their mother looked like. And it's not because Katara seems to know more about their mother despite being younger.

Neither of them grudge the other for having been close to one of the parents—let's call it ‘being close to’ instead of ‘dad/mum loved you/me more’ because that's what would come up with Azula and Zuko.

One can say that Azula's daddy's girl and Zuko's momma's boy... Except it isn't like that.

Azula wasn't loved by her father; neither was she close to him. If anything she had the illusion that she's close to him. But children can sense when they aren't loved, which can explain why she took her mother being close to Zuko so hard. Because she didn't get that from her father and isn't she supposed to be daddy's girl? But dad's good to her; mum... isn't. Dad lets her do what she wants... As long as she obeys him or she'd end up like Zuko.

For Ozai, both his children are pawns. He uses Azula to abuse Zuko, which in turn is to get at Ursa. And honestly, Ursa was a bad mum and an abuse victim and not the villain are takes that can co-exist.

A lot of mums in primarily patriarchal cultures end up abusing their own kids while trying to protect them in an environment where they themselves hold little power.

Ursa and Hakoda can be compared in this.

Katara haters can look away: she isn't whiny. And even if she is, well, she takes responsibility when no one else does so I guess she deserves to complain if that's what it takes. Katara is extremely mature. When she was mad at Hakoda, she still had the critical thinking skills to point out that yes, she understands why he left. He had to! She doesn't blame him for that, it wasn't his fault that there was war going on—but it still hurt!

And what does Hakoda do? He hugs her and apologises. He doesn't defend himself, because he doesn't need to. She understands! She said she does and he doesn't insult her by making excuses. He acknowledges and validates her pain.

Unlike Katara, who grew up in a healthy family with parents and grandparents and a whole community—Azula was isolated and under the influence of Ozai. And she was so young! If you remember being that young, you'd remember thinking that parents are always right. You don't realise that parents make mistakes too—and while her emotional needs weren't being met by Ozai, she turned to Ursa—but Ursa was at her wits end trying to undo the damage of Ozai's abuse on Zuko.

If she had given attention to Azula, Zuko, who thought that Azula was perfect and already had father's approval would have gone off rails—and since she didn't... Azula went off the rails.

Which was exactly how Ozai would want it. I don't like the comics much but it made sense that Ozai would hold both the children as bargaining chips against Ursa. Ursa made her choice, or rather, the illusion of her choice and Azula had to pay for it: the real reason Zuko could turn over a new page while Azula couldn't was because from the very beginning, Zuko had his mum and uncle.

Azula had no one!

Like Hakoda had to go to war and leave his children behind, Ursa had to choose between Azula or Zuko; Ozai orchestrated it as such.

But while there were people to pick up Hakoda's slack, there was no one to guide Azula. Sokka and Katara raised each other and they had Gran Gran.

Zuko and Azula were constantly pitted against each other by a war-mongering father.

I don't like this unrealistic expectations that fandom has of a family where both the siblings not only love each other equally, they also process emotions similarly (see: the Sokka vs Katara debate on how they both react to trauma) and parents who love all the kids equally.

Katara and Sokka are normal and realistic in the way that they are both different people: they process grief differently. Katara takes up responsibly and grows up too fast, it takes a toll on her and she's vocally expressive. She turns her grief into anger. Meanwhile Sokka internalises it in a survivor's guilt kind of way.

There's also gender involved in the way both pair of siblings interact. It's more subtle for the fire siblings than the water sibling. Plus, Suki makes Sokka drink his respect women juice, please y'all don't call Sokka sexist. That was character development for him which was addressed. I could make another post for gender and A:TLA.

And they both love each other dearly and they're okay with the fact that one is daddy's boy and the other is momma's girl. It's okay.

In contrast Zuko yearns for his father's affection and Azula yearns for her mother's. And while Zuko feels inadequate, for Azula it's “behave or you'll end up like your brother.”

She also learns to derive a sick sort of pleasure from watching Zuko suffer—which is entirely her father's doing. Because in rare moments when she doesn't have anything to gain by getting Zuko into trouble...she actually kind of looks out for him. It's extremely rare and sprinkled here and there to show us the Azula that could have been.

And I don't think Zuko really realised that Azula was abused too—not until he lets go of his father. Until the final Agni Kai. What I love about it is that despite portraying Azula as Zuko's tormentor for 3 seasons (and she was his tormentor) they did not frame the Agni Kai as some epic good vs evil shit.

Because from Zuko's point of view Azula was perfect. He's out here vying for his father's affection while she gets it freely. She's so lucky!—until he lets go of his father and realises what a monster he was... And he also realises that father never really loved Azula either...

They didn't say as much in words. But the final Agni Kai is proof enough. Zuko doesn't rejoice bringing Azula down (technically Katara did it). At this point, I guess, he realises that Azula's a kid too. Even younger than him—that their father couldn't care less about either of them.

Okay. I really do think that Zuko suddenly becoming invested in Azula's redemption would make sense after the Agni Kai. I also read this Twitter thread by Aaron Ehasz where he says he had plans for Azula's redemption and it was fantastic.

So yeah. Without being overt, the water siblings and fire siblings are contrasted by each other. Which is why I don't like the comics trying to do this brother-sister thing where they put Sokka and Katara and Zuko and Azula in back-to-back panels like... Even if I'm a huge supporter of Azula-deserves-redemption I didn't like those panels in the comics.

P.S. don't pit Sokka and Katara against each other. You aren't Ozai. They're different people who process trauma and loss differently and hence, react differently.

Adios.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #ink rambles #katara #sokka #zuko #azula #azula deserves redemption #katara defence squad

[upheavalofmemory]

PAC | Love Predictions Based on Random Pokemon

Hello! This is just a fun pick-a-card! Choose a pile and get a random love prediction based on random Pokemon generated from randompokemon.com <;3

If this gets positive feedback, I may possibly do a game doing cartomancy but with Pokemon cards (I have plenty from my childhood haha) or through the same website, or possibly continue doing pick a cards like this- we'll see!

♢ There are six piles to choose from. Pile one is the letters, pile two is the paper heart, pile three is the ticket to happiness, pile four is the painting, pile five is the telephone, and pile six is the bandaid. Feel free to pick one or several piles. ♢

Pile One ♢ Letters

Who's That Pokemon?

It's Porygon2!

Right now, your love life may be pretty monotonous and boring, constantly going through the same cycles. You may be trying to find a partner through the internet, and it's really not working.

Put in some energy to make connections with people in the real world, especially doing hobbies and things you love, and you may find your love life will become much spicier (not in a 18+ sense, but rather just more flavorful and fun!)

Pile Two ♢ Heart

Who's That Pokemon?

It's Pincurchin!

You might meet someone who naturally has a guarded appearance, but in reality, they are a true softy. They might initially harm you with their words or actions, but they mean no harm, they're just not used to the affection. They'll warm up to you eventually, as will you! You'll find that they're actually quite pleasant to be around, just initially hard to get to know (you know how some people don't date well but are good in relationships? Like that!)

Random note, but they might be very physically affectionate, they love cuddling and hugs <3

Pile Three ♢ Ticket

Who's that Pokemon?

It's Excadrill!

Right now, you may be going in ready to fight, like you're holding a battering ram ready to knock the door down. Right now, you are taking NO prisoners and you mean it! Someone might have hurt someone you love, and you are not standing for that. You may feel so strongly due to previous wounds, you don't want anyone else to feel the same way you did (the red markings remind me of scars). Either way, you're locked and loaded, ready to fight. You might have also recently gotten out of a relationship or don't want a relationship so you're fighting off people you really don't want the attention of. I admire your strength pile three!

Pile Four ♢ Painting

Who's that pokemon?

It's Tinkaton!

You may have quite an adorable demeanor, yes, but people tend to overlook the edginess of your personality. Like pile three, you tend to take no prisoners and would probably gladly go on a riot. Your personality keeps you out of the mold, a rebel almost with a fighting spirit. This may have kept possible partners away from you but someone is going to love your duality!

This pile reminds me of how some women struggle because they haven't received romantic validation from their peers (ditto) and I want to tell you that if you feel the same way, I want you to know that there IS someone out there for you, they just need to match you energetically. If they don't match your boss bitch energy, or at least respect it (or are working towards it), then they aren't worth your time, period.

Pile Five ♢ Telephone

Who's that pokemon?

It's Swadloon!

Ah, my introvert pile. I had the urge to say my "ace pile" so if you are ace you might resonate with that. You're huddling in from the cold, enjoying yourself inside. Do you want a partner? Maybe... Do you feel like looking for them? Not really. You're in some deep, reflective hermit energy right now, gathering up your energy and just enjoying yourself and your own presence. You might have recently broken up with someone.

Basically, enjoy yourself while you are at it. Enjoy your own presence and your own emotions and feelings by yourself or with non-romantic relationships (friends, family, etc). If you're looking for love, there is someone on the horizon, but just chill out for now, you'll go back at it when you're ready and recharged.

Pile Six ♢ Bandaid

Who's that pokemon?

It's Wailmer!

Beach bodyy! I wasn't sure initially how I was going to do a reading based off of Wailmer (he's just a round whale for goodness sake) but then my brain just started yelling beach body and then it clicked.

You might be insecure about your body, especially with the upcoming summer, which may have caused a blockage in your love life, but somehow, you are glowing up! I don't even mean in a physical way, but rather in a mental way. You're going to start seeing yourself better and become more confident in yourself and you're gonna love it.

You might have a summer lover in this incoming season, although I see you are pretty unaware of them. They might randomly come up to you and start making you feel pretty and that's not normal for you. You might push them away at first but they seem pretty consistent; good for you :).

Also, you or they might have a winning/million-dollar smile, "Say cheese!"

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to check out my masterpost with more readings, or you can support me by purchasing a reading by clicking here. Thanks for the support, let me know which pile you picked and if it resonated or not :)!

#pick a card #tarot reading #oracle reading #pac #pac tarot #pick a picture #pac reading #tarot pac #pick a pile reading #love tarot free #love reading #fs reading #future spouse tarot #future spouse pac #future spouse pick a card #upheavalofmemory #uomTAROT

[lovelyrotter]

okay but i actually kinda wanna know ur take on stridercest being canon compliant O_O <- autism stare

oh hey i am also hitting you with the autism stare. ill try to get my thoughts down in a way that makes sense to more than just me hahaha

bear in mind that im an epilogue lover and i think Meat/Candy are really valuable pieces that further all of the characters and are also hard canon in the sense that we're looking at just 2 post-game universe outcomes out of an uncountable number (the book in the picnic basket representing post-canon fanfic). i think the characters actions in the epilogues make sense and are satisfying to me. yes even jane (i love alpha jane and i will not do her the disservice of 'cleaning her up' w/o showing her work for it. thats not how you depict a character who grew up with fascist programming). i could totally go on a whole tangent about this specifically but thats another post lol we'd be here forever and its also not stridercest

but okay. canon stridercest. under the cut cause it got kinda long

basically it has to do with the cherubs and how their relationships and mating rituals are pretty obviously incestuous leaning even though cherubs dont have the human concept of Siblings or blood family. the cherub who predominates will search across paradox space to mate with another cherub who closely resembles the cherub they predominated which is like textbook Freudian sexuality. theres a lot of Freud and Jungian stuff in HS imo even if im kinda [wobbly hand gesture] at the validity of these theories applied to real life and real people. but theyre super fun tools and lenses to use in fiction and i mean. gestures at all of dave

so the incest aliens cherubs. the whole reason why im talkin about them is bc Caliborn is so incredibly interested and invested in the Striders in particular. caliborn as both Lord English and Lil Cal shapes earth NOT OVERTLY but more so embeds himself in earth society, but again, the Striders lives in particular. dave is full of incest jokes. hes even apparently got a list of his friends arranged in order of how likely theyd incest-elope with each other (thank you epilogues for this amazing factoid). he seems to think about it often enough to, yknow, Do That. have a good solid think about that and construct an organized list about it. bearing in mind dave makes jokes about stuff thats a) bothering him, or b) generally camping out in his brain. hes not even really aware of it most of the time (as we see in one of the openbounds where hes all 'why am i thinking about puppets???' after seeing dirk for the first time in that dream bubble. he is thinking nonstop about dirk at that point and going off his only frame of reference for ANY dirk, which is his bro. his bro who was most likely deeply warped by Lil Cal)

sorry for the long blocky paragraph lol. but now onto the next thing

Caliborn as Lil Cal is the centerpiece in the beta strider apartment. dave cant escape him and beta dirk grew up with him. what the fuck do you do when youre childhood comfort item is also the most evil creature across all of paradox space? if youre a dirk you try to fight it. but how long can you keep fighting something like that. its safe to say that bro was affected by Caliborns particular brand of perversion and sfw kink. i dont think i have to say how insidious abusive and toxic he is about those things. and looking at the truth of beta bro (16yo alpha dirk) you can start to see just how warped beta bro became. beta bro is a false dirk (still a very Real dirk but not the Truth of dirk. beta bro has been toxified and made infinitely worse by an absolute evil influence over decades of life. in 80s fuckin texas. presumably in the system. anyone would be fucked up after that)

so for this analysis/theory im stating beta bro as a false persona. using jungian terms he is apha dirk's shadow

both dave and dirk live with a fake, carefully manicured version of their bros. they live with personas (or shadows of their guardians on the walls. hello platos allegory of the cave). they dont actually know e/o and they dont until the striunion

alpha dirk especially grows up embedded in the Public Persona Of Dave Strider 400 years post mortem and completely alone with unlimited internet access. hes a self admitted expert on his bro and we dont get to see a lot if any of his early childhood but i can hazard a guess at how much he clung to that persona of his bro. he fuckin idolizes dave. he LOVES dave. right off the bat he is in some kind of love with dave and i think if you try to argue against that then thats you slippin. i think youre a fool and have to reread homestuck because i wholeheartedly believe the striders loving eachother is part of the win state

once again this is speculation cause we get barely anything about alpha dave, but from what we already know about him im guessing this bro-persona is

achingly effortlessly cool

oozing masculinity (toxic or not, not really interested in categorizing that although toxic coolboy masculinity IS something the striders contend with & is an important facet in their lives)

a skilled fighter

a dedicated moviegoer (hes a director need i say more. this one is probably the only genuine thing about his on-screen persona)

and now lets look at jake. someone whos grown up on pretty much nothing but movies, whos doubtlessly been influenced by hollywood and its idea of gritty 'main character' masculinity through that, and who also clings to more old-school ideas of manliness (think victorian/edwardian era gentlemanly-but-loves-a-good-scrum kinda manly. moustache twirly with a monocle kinda manly. basically everything that grandpa harley is)

but okay lets look at what jake wants to be. lets take a look at his teenager persona

achingly effortlessly cool (his own 'hollywood star' kind of cool also def influenced by his favourite characters like lara croft who is indeed achingly cool. you see him succeed in inhabiting this hollywood star persona on earth c)

oozing masculinity (the old school manly mans-man kind)

a skilled fighter (two pistoles always. harder to aim cause you cant use a free hand to make up for kickback. that takes skill)

a dedicated moviegoer (again one of the only genuine parts about his persona. his questionable-to-wretched tastes aside. but bearing in mind that the SBaHJ movies are intentionally bad which is what makes them loop around to good. such is the nature of intentionally 'bad' art. jake fuckin lives in this perpetual bad-good art loop. okay enough with the art tangent keep focused man cmon)

because dirk has obviously way more contact with jake i dont doubt he sees through jakes own (admittedly way more flimsy) coolboy persona but the point still stands i think. different flavours but the same kinda guy. dirk has a type and i dont think its a stretch to say that hes looking for aspects of the bro-persona he grew up looking at in other boys, much like the winning cherub looking for the one they lost in the cherub theyll mate with

also wtf is with dirks obvious boner for dave chasing him across paradox space to decapitate him huh?? the last few sentences in Meat are about that very thing. he wants to fuc fight dave sooo bad. haha remember how the cherubic mating ritual is one of the most violent and long running spectacles in paradox space? i sure do

#stridercest #davedirk #dirkdave #alphacest #my t #thank you if you read all this HAHAHA #i am dedicated to my craft (autistic) (indulgent)

[beethebisblog]

The boys all being big brothers except shy guy is perfection.

Betty and Gil being siblings is unexpected but adorable!! Their sibling banter was hilarious, and accurate. Gil and his crush on Olivia is actually adorable. The fact that he has five sisters makes the way he treats women in comparison to the other guys in the show make so much since. Also the way he would not let Richie steal Potato’s dad’s lucky dollar was so sweet :( “I’ve been the man of the house since I was eight years old and I’m exhausted” 😭😭😭

Potato taking care of his younger siblings and letting his dad sleep :( he’s so sweet. It makes his funny guy friend persona make so much more sense. He is such a good guy. The way he loves his dad :( his dad’s ptsd affecting the whole family :(

Shy Guy boxing is such a juxtaposition to his personality, but it makes sense. He’s a big sweetheart and later in the episode when Richie tries to use his size for intimidation purposes, you can really see how much that hurts him. He’s just a big teddy bear. He’s so valid for standing up for himself in the parking garage.

Richie 😭 him having no clue how to regulate his emotions😭 him getting the whole group in trouble and them trying to stop it 😭 him beating himself up in the parking garage 😭

THE WAY THEY ALL CRY TOGETHER BUT ARE LIKE IM NOT CRYING AND THEN THE DUST THING SO THEY CAN HUG WITHOUT HUGGING 😭 it’s so representative of the way boys and men are taught to not show their emotions at all and so they have no healthy way to process it.

The way they were so proud when Shy Guy did his lines 🫶

Buddy’s journey this episode was so necessary for him as a character. He’s the good guy, rich kid character that’s never really had to try for anything and learning that there’s a reason he didn’t have to try is devastating. He feels like he has never done anything to deserve anything he has and now has to process that.

His solo was really good. I’m glad he stuck up to his dad. He’s still not my favorite because every time he seems to be making a real effort to change, he seems to take a step backwards.

We love open and honest discussions about our feelings. Good job for not pushing, I’m actually really proud of Richie.

Also: last episode when they were like “Cynthia and Hazel are so the same size” brooo ain’t no way

#grease rise of the pink ladies #t birds #richie valdovinos #Gil Rizzo #potato #shy guy #buddy aldridge #boys being boys

[badaziraphaletakes]

Hello! This isn't exactly Good Omens related, but I've seen this blog talk about "perfect trauma victims" vs actual trauma victims, so i figured one of the lovely mods might know!

One of my WIPs right now is an essay on the harmful effects of "perfect trauma victims" on actual trauma survivors. I know that Harry Potter is a good example of the "perfect trauma victim" stereotype, but was wondering if you could think of any others? (I was thinking Cinderella, but I'm not sure). As for good portrayls of trauma survivors, I am planning on citing Aziraphale, but would Angel Dust from Hazbin Hotel be valid, and are there any others?

Also, as another source: how would you define a perfect trauma victim versus a trauma survivor?

Thank you! Y'all are seriously doing Gods' work with this blog.

Cinderella is an interesting one because it's such an old story and has been retold in so many different ways that there's probably a version of Cinderella to fit any occasion. If we're talking about the Disney movie, then yes I would definitely cite her as a perfect trauma victim stereotype.

(I haven't watched Hazbin Hotel yet, so I can't speak on that. I'm starting to feel like this is a fail on my part.)

Another good portrayal of a trauma survivor might be Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In the first movie she was a pretty, helpless waitress who got yanked out of her comfortable existence and forced to endure horrifying things. In the second movie, she's hardened and unsympathetic. Her son tries to hug her, and she ignores his affection in favor of patting him all over, looking for injuries. Her character arc culminates in an attempt to k*ll an innocent researcher in front of his family in an attempt to change the future. The overall theme of the movie is that humanity will save humanity, and recognizing the value of human life is the ultimate goal for a happy future.

(I did not notice the Good Omens parallels until I typed that out just now. Neat.)

A perfect trauma victim is a societal myth that hurts real trauma survivors. It's a stereotype portrayed as a person that reduces survivors to a one-dimensional trope. It implies that if a trauma survivor is unlikable or makes bad choices, then somehow they deserve what happened to them or somehow brought it on themselves. Or that they're not a "real" victim; they must be lying or faking it if they don't act just right. In criminal trials, juries are tempted to find for the defense when the accuser turns out to have committed unrelated crimes or had a nontraditional sex life.

A trauma survivor is more difficult to write because they're more complex. They behave as real people would and are a complex blend of internal and external influences. They make choices that fans might not understand or approve of, but in terms of their own survival it makes sense. Like going along with a powerful, dangerous superior instead of telling him where to stick it, so that one and one's companion can live to fight another day. You know, hypothetically. :)

Hope this helps! <3

#badaziraphaletakes #cw: victim blaming #terminator 2 judgment day

[punkeropercyjackson]

This isn't a problem exclusive to it but it's INCREDIBLY annoying and so fucking stupid that the Atsv fandom is so set on defining Miles,Gwen and Hobie's dynamics within just 'romantic' or 'platonic' and straight up harrasing people over it or making debunked accusations

Yes,romantic Ghostflower is canon but that dosen't mean nobody is allowed to perfer them as found siblings and what i got from them having no set canon is the nature of their love is irrelevant to their variants that got to meet to because it's always just love,no set category,just love and Siblings!Ghost Flower is no lesser and saying it is is very insulting to Gwen and Miles' bond as if they only want eachother for romance and would consider all they've been through together worthless if it's not for dating

Hobie and Gwen being familial isn't canon but Hobie being a minor IS-That interview you guys love so much?Yeah,that '19/20' line y'all haven't shut the fuck about since was about Prowler Hobie,not Spiderpunk Hobie.Ultimately,their relathionship is ambigious enough that any headcanon for them makes sense within canon.The writers didn't say he was no longer a romantic rival for Miles and kept the jealousy bits in so Ghostpunk is a valid interpretation.Siblings!Ghost Punk is too since they never actually say they're a couple onscreen and neither does anyone else in-universe.Relathionship Anarchy Gwen and Hobie goes without saying

From experience,there's nothing inherently only romantic or inherently only platonic about Gwen's relathionships with them because i see a lot of both me and my s/os and me and my younger siblings that we consider eachother so important and close to we call ourselves siblings.If your real goal is to stop enforcing strict relathionship norms,you're going to have to accept that the same affection gestures can have different feelings and context behind them and that nobody is secretly evil or whatever for realizing that or a fucking prosh*pper for shipping a minor you confused for an adult and refuse to admit you got it wrong with other minors

And you're also going to have to accept that in the case of Punkflower,Miles and Hobie moments you call 'brotherhood' are just Hobie being punk and therefore having a strong sense of community and what's almost textual gay undertones you've been taught can't be gay with homophobic propaganda,the antiblack kind especially

#ghostpunkflower #ghostflower #ghostpunk #punkflower #siblings!ghost flower #siblings!ghost punk #pro punkflower #miles morales #gwen stacy #hobie brown #atsv #spiderman #black gwen stacy #trans autistic swag #💌 #summerposting

[salt-and-a-dash-of-pepper]

Quaritch and Spider’s Dynamic Means So Much

Hate how many people are over-simplifying Spider and Quaritch’s dynamic. Spider loves his Na’Vi family, but he’s aware he’s the “family pet.” He’s aware Neytiri doesn’t see him as part of her family. He’s aware he’s not Na��Vi. He’s aware he’ll never fully be accepted by the Sullies, and that deeply affects him and his sense of belonging.

He’s also aware of the atrocities that Quaritch has committed, which is why he’s so ashamed that he’s his son. But what changes is that Quaritch emerges as a Na’Vi, technically a completely different person, just with Quaditch’s memories and personality, so there’s enough of a fresh slate for Spider to influence. He wants his father (or rather, father’s clone) to experience life as a Na’Vi -- perhaps to dissuade him from causing so much damage against the Na’Vi later, but also live vicariously through him, and later to bond with him. Quaritch is the first authority figure to acknowledge Spider as an equal, stressing that he respects Spider’s resolve to not betray Jake. Spider yearns for encouragement from another authority figure, and he gets that from Quaritch.

And it’s so obvious that Spider’s existence affects Quaritch. You can tell he’s visibly bothered by the sky people’s interrogation of Spider, to the point that he acts uncharacteristically insubordinate by directly stopping the interrogation, which was headed by his own commanding officer. Later, when Spider is pleading with his father to not hurt the Metkayina people any further, Quaritch once again is uncharacteristic by showing restraint, choosing instead to burn their houses down rather than killing them. Still a terribly cruel thing to do, since he is the villain. But, I’m convinced Quaritch would have killed the Na’Vi without even blinking had Spider not been there. Something has clearly changed. He’s starting to want his son’s approval. 

Finally, the obvious scene where Neytiri was prepared to kill Spider if Quaritch did not release Kiri. Sure, it could have been a bluff. But she was drunk on rage and bloodlust. Perhaps she would have killed Spider. What’s important was that Quaritch wasn’t willing to take that chance. He lets Kiri go. Those weeks he spent hunting Jake down to finally take revenge, holding his one advantage against Jake in his hands, immediately means nothing when Spider’s life is threatened.

Now, it’s totally valid to be enraged at Spider over the fact that he saves Quaritch after the man quite literally caused Neteyam’s death and vowed to kill all of Jake’s family. He is a traitor for doing so, and I’m interested to see how it plays out in the next movies. But part of me understands. Imagine your adoptive mother, who never really felt you were part of the family in the first place and never truly cared about you, held a knife to your throat to save her real child. Imagine the fear and betrayal he must feel. He still loves his Na’Vi family, of course. But Quaritch did something that Neytiri couldn’t -- care about Spider. And that feeling conflicts in him. He wants to belong, and the one family he trusted abandoned him at the beginning of the movie with no interest in saving him.

Lastly, by the end of the movie, Quaritch is willing to admit he views Spider as a son. He had stressed in the beginning of their first meeting that they were “strangers” and mean nothing to each other, but by the end of this movie Quaritch was willing to drop his whole quest against Jake to protect his son, and so when his son returns the favor by saving him, he wants Spider to come with him. But Spider just can’t do it, so he runs away.

I love the parallels between Jake and Quaritch because of it. They’ve both become fathers. Quaritch is starting to feel the protective love for his son the same way Jake feels his love towards his own family. 

I’m really excited to see how this affects Quaritch in the upcoming movies. Perhaps through Spider, he embraces the fact that he’s a Na’Vi. Perhaps he embraces that he’s a father, and, like Jake, he’ll do anything to protect his son.

#avatar 2 #avatar 2 spoilers #avatar way of water #avatar the way of water #avatar the way of water spoilers #spider #quaritch #i wrote this completely sleep deprived so i may edit it when i wake up tomorrow

[sukibenders]

Some in the Bridgerton fandom will paint Kate as being in an abusive family, paint Edwina and Mary (even Lady Danbury at times) as these villainous people who make her life miserable just to make Anthony and his family the "better choice". Like, ignoring how this trope of "villainous poc family causing the poc female character to run away into arms of a white family" is so terrible it also makes no sense when in reference to these characters themselves. Let's start with the Sharmas: we have Kate who is the daughter of a man who remarried and had a child of their own. Now, from that alone people just outright use this as a way to paint Mary in a bad light, making up the most outlandish things, when Mary admits very adamantly that she always viewed Kate as her daughter and has/will always love her. Why do you think she was so outraged by Kate being willing to accept the deal given by the Sheffields?

Now, on to Edwina. Some will hang that "half-sister" line over her head but won't give the same action to Anthony, or heck, even Kate (though she doesn't deserve hate like Anthony more so criticism for some parts). Now the line was wrong, for sure, but that doesn't mean Edwina wasn't in her right. Here we have a young girl who lost her father, is aware of her family's social and economic status, and is informed from the beginning that her finding a suitable match will either tip or support the balance of her family's lives. Edwina is literally entered into the show searching for a husband to help support her family, that's first, romance came second. So enter Anthony who, infront of her, is so charming and kind and even though him and her sister are fighting at times he still seeks her out. He's wealthy and promises to provide for her family, something that she wants. Only to find out that none of it was real, or at least, real towards her and that she was hurt in the process (by this I refer to the Sheffields ordeal and Anthony's whole attitude and his lack of respect for her). Like that's messed up and anyone would be upset over it, forgive a woman (more so a young woman in Edwina's case) expressing their feelings. Some of you want her to be Kate's cheerleader 24/7, and it shows. And Edwina was always ready to comfort Kate, from her (Kate) being detached from the world (during her wedding) to her supporting her (Kate) and Anthony being together, so let's not go on and say the Bridgertons would be better.

Now, on to the main family themselves, what we see of the Bridgertons in s2 isn't even that positive when you really think about it. From the beginning, when Anthony is looking for a wife with the most horrible standards, Violet, who notes that her son isn't looking for marriage for the right reasons and instead of trying to talk to him about it, instantly goes and states she's disappointed by his outlook and fears he won't be happy, confused as to why he's this way. BECAUSE YOU PLACED THAT WEIGHT ON HIM. Like I understand losing her husband was terrible, it was, but to then put all that pressure and weight on to your eldest and then become surprised when it starts affecting him in ways you don't like, while taking hardly any time to actually talk about his feelings, is laughable (couldn't think of a better word). Like whenever Anthony is around with valid points, she looks exasperated at times. And the other Bridgertons aren't better from Daphne literally pitying him (even tho she knew about his feelings for Kate and could have eased the situation instead of letting it go on) to Bennedict laughing at him at every turn to the siblings joking about the situation he put them in (which they themselves could have prevented but didn't & aren't affected as severely by like the Sharmas), it makes no sense how people would view them as better than the Sharmas.

Now on to Kate and how this view affects her. One big reason being is the fact that it ignores her insecurities, only paints them in a different light. Kate didn't view herself as Mary's daughter because her father had been with someone before he met Mary, long after she was born. She didn't think Mary would love her as a daughter and is surprised when she finds out that she actually does. Kate accepts the Sheffields deal because it will help Edwina, because she (Kate) understands their social and economic status and is willing to leave the only family she has just for them to be secure and happy. That's the reason she has turmoil, not because her family hates her and is abusing her! Like where did that thought even come from? Kate has issues of not expressing her feelings, bottling them up and trying to handle things herself until it blows over, that's it. And when she does express them, do you know who actively seeks to reassure her? Her mother and sister. They don't make jokes or make the environment able to express these emotions nonexistent (like the Bridgertons with Anthony), they try to help her because they love her.

Honestly, the Sharmas deserve so much better because if it isn't the show doing them dirty than it's the fandom.

[Quick edit because people were taking some things out of context, by sneaking behind her (Edwina) back, I was referring to the whole Sheffield incident because, when it's revealed, it literally put her, and her sister and mother, in an awkward position and makes her and her family look like bad people, especially in front of the Bridgertons. I reworded my original post and added context, and admit I could have worded it better, but for those who saw it as me immediately trashing Kate's character, I will state here that was nowhere near the intent and never was, sorry for the slip up]

#kate sharma #edwina sharma #mary sharma #anthony bridgerton #the sharmas #the bridgertons #dni if you can't have a calm conversation here

[feyhunter78]

Personal rant about an issues I’m having with my best friend under the cut, TW mentions of past sexual trauma both fictional and IRL

Thinking about how Alicent and Rhaenyra coded my best friend and I are, (minus the gay undertones) she’s headstrong, beautiful, confident, feels like she deserves what she wants no matter what and has no fear that her father won’t be there to catch her when she falls. But it makes her ignorant to the deeper plights of others and she lacks the knowledge to look further into things, and weigh her opinions and options before she speaks. She’s so strong and confident that she refuses to accept that her thoughts and opinions can be wrong, and she never does any research.

She was like “I’ve heard Andrew Tate talk some and I think he might be right” and I was like friend???? The man is a sex trafficker who has been quoted saying that women who aren’t virgins are damaged goods, and his OWN SISTER doesn’t talk to him. And she was like “oh I didn’t really look him up or anything” like motherfucker are you serious????

Then you’ve got me, quieter, more traditional, (still beautiful, but my goodness my best friend is a different level) always trying to do what’s right, do what I was supposed to do, trying to make sure everyone is okay, that my words and actions won’t harm and if they do can I take them back or make up for them?

I’m more agreeable, people see me as soft and kind, easy to talk to, but it comes with this guilt, religious, personal, social, whatever I’m always, always watching, always considering the other side because I know what it feels like to be powerless. And I do my fucking research because you have to know the rules!!!!

We’ve argued over TG or TB and she just refuses to accept that Alicent’s actions are motivated by valid reasons, that she was a child victim and was a victim until her husband finally died. She also blows past the fact that Daemon groomed and assaulted Rhaenyra because “they’re so hot” and I just???? I could not and cannot understand how she can overlook the pain and trauma these characters went through and act like it’s absolutely nothing.

Then we got in a bit of a thing because she got into booktok smut and I tried to warn her about the trigger stuff in some of the books and she’s like “oh it’s fine, yeah he like rapes her in this one part, but he basically makes it up with his words in the end” and I’m ????

Like yeah I like my dark stuff too but not a love interest who’s a rapist💀 there is no coming back from that for me????

And the fact that she just doesn’t care, doesn’t even stop to think about how her lack of care for the atrocities committed towards female characters in literally any media affects her is just so concerning to me. It’s like because nothing like that has happened to her then it’s not real??? Or it’s just like “not that big of a deal”????

Like y’all who read Pink Pastels know I went through shit, not a full assault but something similar that I left out of the fic because it was too much and I hadn’t really accepted what had happened. And the fact that what is it one in five women have been assaulted??? Statistically speaking she knows women who have been!!!!

So it makes me sick to my stomach that she’s so blasé about this stuff. To be fair to her, I never told her about it but I have now and I haven’t gotten a response yet so I’ll hold judgment until I do. (She hasn’t seen the Snapchat yet)

I just it really frustrates me because she is such a good friend outside of this stuff but she just lives such a different life from everyone else (her family is super rich) and I feel bad because I really want reality to knock some sense into her with a baseball bat. She just doesn’t understand that people actually suffer this stuff it’s not all just fun in games and ha ha giggles oh he’s so hot!!!

Like bestie I’m here, standing in front of you, asking if you fucked Daemon in a pleasure house (if you really are going to keep reading and flaunting your love of these dark, violent, terribly written books) while I’m trapped with your old ass father who’s been assaulting me and ignoring the children he forced me to have (carrying and trying to sort out the multitude of trauma from my ex) begging you to tell me that you didn’t and you still see me as your friend (that you aren’t a horrible pick me girl who doesn’t actually care about the pain and suffering women go through just because you haven’t experienced it)

#meg talks #I’m just having a hard time tonight y’all #she’s really a good person but sometimes I’m like ???? you are so fucked up #like your apathy is vile #meg that’s so personal of you

[stargirl092]

Behold, an unasked for, frankly concerning, painfully cringy and probably idiotic rant about Bojack horseman. read if you want lmao

first off, I am not that far into Bojack horseman, I am just now finishing up the second season. and even though I haven’t seen that much I am literally obsessed with it, and have consumed a very embarrassing amount of media about it I PROMISE I KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT I HAVE WATCHED A MILLION VIDEO ESSAYS. I am very passionate about this please bear with me Lmao.

As a mentally Ill person, Most media about mental illness and especially depression misses the mark. Books like “girl in pieces” and “my year of relaxation and rest” seem like they are laced with misery from the start to finish page, and seem like there is no actually depth and everything sits on the surface (I have read both of these books by the way). I believe they very commonly include controversial topics that can be sort of alienating instead of making people feel included, which doesn’t make a ton of sense but I feel it’s very possible to have actual depth without literally actively alienating the people that consume your content.

with BoJack Horseman, I genuinely assumed it was a stupid cartoon about a talking horse. Which it sort of is, but I heard good and bad things about it so I decided to try for myself and I was immediately compelled by how they introduce such serious topics with an on the surface almost stupidity, but also humor and ACTUAL ACCURATE DEPICTIONS OF DEPRESSION. as a person with depression and anxiety, I do not want to see a extremely attractive girl wearing makeup with perfect hair sitting in her bed in her spotless room while a singularly tear falls down her stupid but conventionally attractive face. I mean, not saying that’s not a valid experience of depression but depression/mental illness is messy. It’s disappointing, unbearable, and complicated. For most cases, it can negatively impact things like your character, social life, relationships with people you love, career, or ANYTHING in an awful way. And that doesn’t make you a bad person, but that is realistically The affects mental illness can/will have on you. Once again, not saying that mental illness has to ruin your life for it to be valid but a lot of the Time it can, or almost can.

take BoJack, for example. he is an alcoholic, has strangled a girl, sabotaged Todd’s career, backstabbed herb ETC ETC. So yea, he’s sort of a bad person and that’s a question the show sort of lets you answer for yourself. But he also had an awful childhood and absolutely hates himself. To alot of people, that makes him real because when you have the things that happen to BoJack happen to you, the things he does to people are things that THE CAUSE MAKES SENSE FOR THE AFFECT. despite all of this, BoJack tries to be a better person relentlessly, and fails every time. BoJack is painfully human (which is funny because he’s a horse) and that’s why he is an amazing character and a realistic character. It doesn’t make sense to have a traumatized mentally Ill character that is literally perfect and completely unscathed.

Take Diane, for example. Diane is an example of an amazing complex character. some people don’t like Diane and think she is a hypocrite, WHICH IS LITERALLY BULLSHIT AND I COULD SPEND HOURS TALKING ABOUT WHY ITS BULLSHIT. BoJack and Diane had similar childhoods, where they were both told negative things by their family members/parents but the main difference is that BoJack believed them and Diane did not. Another point is that BoJack and all the other characters make you feel comfortable with being or feeling “broken” but Diane makes you feel uncomfortable about not doing anything about it. Diane does make a sort of recovery, by taking antidepressants, gaining weight, and divorcing Mr. Peanut butter. Diane is complex, realistic and an amazing character. Tbh I think most Diane haters are just misogynistic.

One last example is Todd. Todd is supposed to be the sort of comic relief, stupid character (ex. “Todd pick up your shit”) But he has depth!! He has trauma and issues and he’s asexual, which is pretty cool because I never see asexuals in tv shows. id say a time you get a little glimpse into Todd as a whole is when he tells Bojack; “it’s not the drugs, it’s not the alcohol, it’s not the shitty things that happened to you when you were a kid, you are all the things that are wrong with you. Fuck, Man what else is there to say?” which is an amazing line and a hard truth that Bojack kinda needed to hear. Also may I add the genius use of the word fuck in the entire series, only using it once per season to really put emphasis on something. It is not used casually in the show. The only time it is used in season one is when BoJack tries to apologize to Herb and he says “Now get the fuck out of my house.” Which is a very big deal for BoJack.

Overall, this is way too long and I think it takes actual talent to be able to portray depression so well and have lines like “before I jumped, I should have seen the view from halfway down” (which btw is gonna be my yearbook quote) and also be about talking animals and be animated. Genuinely very impressive.

edit: I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT SARAH LYNN OH MY GOD

#bojack horseman #diane nguyen #You are all the things that are wrong with you #Diane Nguyen is girlboss you guys are just misogynistic

[a-teacup-of-golden-cracks]

tw this is a trauma post but it's also a narrative I'm proud of. Suicide and self harm (mental and physical) will be mentioned.

To help those who aren't me understand, I think in part in references since it is both easier and more fun than creating original thoughts.

(1): reference to the videogame Omori

(2): reference to the movie The Dark Knight (take a guess as to why I like and relate to the joker)

(3): reference to a song I like (in order, HOPE by NF, Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park, Love the Subhuman Self by AISHA, Arc System Works, and Jamison Boaz)

(4): a random saying I heard and enjoyed

“No one knows what it's like to be the bad man, to be the sad man behind blue eyes. No one knows what it's like to be hated, to be fated to telling only lies”

“Behind blue eyes” by The Who

Welcome to the nonsensical abyss of my mind, you've been here as long as you can remember (1). By reading this you're getting to see my thoughts without translation. Nothing here makes sense to anyone except me, I make references others rarely understand. But allow me to tell the story of how what you see now came to be. You wanna know how I got these scars (2)? “I spent years of my life holdin’ on to things I never should've kept, full of hatred, years of my life wishin I was someone different looking for some validation.” (3)

Middle school was a special sort of subtle hell for me, it stole things without me noticing. First it was my feeling of impervious safety when a kid laughed at a genuine heartfelt remark I made. Then it was my trust that friends would never betray me and always respect me when they wouldn't stop making jokes at my expense. Slowly, steadily I descended into paranoia and loneliness, and thus my contentedness with life was stolen. The ax forgets yet the tree never does(4).

A secret hidden issue that I only found out this year was that the ADHD meds I needed to take to function may have been causing the paranoia to start with. I still don't know how to feel about that, that all my issues and trauma might stem from something that's not even real.

Once I started high school it became more and more apparent that nobody liked me. At least not for very long. I never learned to function in middle school so I was still struggling with what everyone else already knew and mastered. Giving a compliment and sexual harassment, would you like to know the difference? I would've but nobody told me until after I'd been punished.

Intent vs impact, I never intended to hurt anyone yet my impact was that I did more often than not. So I cut off the things that hurt people, removed them from my mind. Who needs humor? Not me if I can't use it right. Who needs to give compliments? Not me if I can't say it right. Who needs to hug people to show affection because it's your primary love language and you want to show everyone how much you like and appreciate them? …… not me…. if I must…. to not hurt them…

You see where my inner pain starts now? Where the scars in my mind begin? There were two things I could never bear to cut and slice away, my name and my kindness. Most trans people change their names to align more with their gender but I decided no. I am done changing things for other people to accept me more, they never do. My name is Daniel and it's the sum of my entire being. If I am non-binary, or a woman, or some eldritch horror that everyone fears and that has lost every shred of humanity because of the things I've endured, then my name represents all of that. It's not my issue if people make a poor assumption about my name because of what they think it should be.

Maybe I don't even want to be human anymore if all that humans have shown me is hate. All throughout high school it was nothing but hate or dislike shown to me, barely any kindness outside of my family. So I isolated myself from everyone, to avoid those who hated and to not burden my family with my issues. I'd handle it by myself like I always had in the past and I'd be ok.

I was not ok.

I was rageful. I was tearing myself apart more and more and more internally, only my desire to never hurt anyone kept me from tearing the school down brick by brick with all the students inside it. But maybe… could it be I was the exception and the problem? Could it be I'm the one who deserves to hurt for the pain I've caused? Should I hurt myself? And so I tried once, a good solid punch to the forehead that didn't make me feel any better and never tried again.

The pain I deserved wasn't physical, it was mental and so I gave myself infinite mental pain. What an idiot I was for giving that compliment when clearly in retrospect it was sexual harassment, what a dumbass I was for saying that joke, looking back I deserve to lose my entire friend group over it. Maybe I'd be better off if I didn't exist anymore if I caused more harm than good and could never seem to learn or improve. The thoughts I had then… and sometimes still now… it's so hard to remember that looking into the past makes everything obvious in the worst ways possible…

But there was a light eventually, someone who told me all that was wrong. Someone I met online and will never see in person, someone I messed up horribly with and yet she still forgave me. Thank you infinitely June. You showed me that monsters can be good.

So I steeled my resolve and used my rage at myself to look inward and outward and found that I was being mistreated and misunderstood. I shouldn't kill myself to not exist or hurt people because I would improve and I could make others improve. So I stood at the very last meeting in front of the whole school and spoke the truth of my mind with as much respect and rage as I could muster. So much pain and anger and hate and sadness I'd endured and I showed all of it to the entire high school of 300 people.

I've never felt more satisfied in my life than when the headmaster of the school himself asked if there was anything he could do for me and I said no. I've never felt more proud when I met with him two days later and asked for a neurodivergent support group to be created for the middle and high school, and he said yes. Half a year later my brother told me that the headmaster stuck to his word and did more than I asked. I never felt more vindicated than when I was told by my only friend that he'd heard people making school shooter jokes after I stood up and told my story.

And so I started to heal. My humor, I did need that. How could I be happy if I could never make myself laugh? My desire to give joy and be kind, I needed that. How could I not fulfill the purpose in life I'd made for myself? My ability to hug and love and be happy with others, I needed that. Desperately. “I want to heal, I want to feel what I thought was never real, like there was somewhere I belong.”(3) I just needed to find better people who understood. I reconnected with my family and told my pain and tried in every possible way to show how sorry and sad I was for cutting them off. I couldn't stitch the old bits back onto me but maybe I could grow something new. Something I wanted and I loved, for me.

I can never fully heal, that's why you see the holes in my form, but I've incorporated them now, so that they help me as much as they hurt. I carry on and love my subhuman self, accept me for me and go back to being with humans (3). I give them the kindnesses I can but only after I do that for myself. This is the kindness and respect I give to me, the biggest change I made, because I deserve it as much as everyone else. Now close your eyes and you'll leave this dream (1).

“But my dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be.”

Behind Blue Eyes by the Who

[unstatedmartini]

anyway i'm looking at the stills of tk and carlos (presumably) interviewing officiants and i'm emotional!!! i'm thinking about how the only two people we've ever heard accuse tk of regularly running away or blowing things up are carlos (valid from his perspective! on their singular relationship!) and tk himself (as articulated by coma dream gwyn) and how pretty much everyone else's perspective is that he longs for family, that he wants to belong, that he loves so much it hurts, that he's willing to give everything, that he's loyal, he's committed, he's a fighter, he doesn't know when to stay down

i'm thinking about how the timeline doesn't really make much space for tk to have a consistent pattern of running away from healthy, sober romantic relationships as an adult, and about how when tk says he 'did the thing' where things are too good so he blows them up - of course he's thinking about carlos, and maybe he's thinking about some other partners, but he's also thinking about spiraling into addiction even when things were good with him and his dad and his dad's real family, and about proposing to alex to try and protect something good with a man he loved and trusted and thought was his soulmate, and about the way his and his parents' lives were affected by his suicidal overdose and the aftermath. and i'm thinking about how his life has been shaped from childhood by absence and grief and how it's not always easy to tell what's solely your fault from what you're claiming just so you can try to control it

and tk's not perfect! as a person or as a partner! but he's not careless and he's not a coward, and to see him push back against the story he's told himself all his life in order to make sense of his pain, to figure out what's truly his responsibility to fix and what isn't, to see him fight with his whole heart to get to a place where he has earned confidence in himself and trust from carlos, and where he and carlos can love each other openly and fiercely and loudly with so much joy in their present and hope for their future is absolutely beautiful

#911 lone star #tk strand #tarlos #spoilers #it's tuesday must be time to cry

[blackyote]

Ok so. I was thinking about how Matt wears that hole-riddled hoodie (which I think has sentimental value, more on that later) and has a chipped tooth (which reminds me of Hunter’s scar), and suddenly realized it might make sense he comes from a lower income family. Like, his parents didn’t personally know any healers and couldn’t pay for a professional. (Or maybe- magic only works if the ‘injury’ is fresh, and Matt kept it a secret too long because he was afraid of getting in trouble for fighting.)

The way Matt’s desperate for attention and seeks validation in all the wrong places definitely hints at someone who’s not getting enough of that at home. I don’t really have the headcanon that either of his parents are bad, necessarily, but I do think his dad is emotionally distant. Then Steve, the only one to show him real affection and make the house feel like a home, moves out, leaving Matt feeling abandoned when he’s still so young. It’s no wonder he acts out.

There’s no real point to this post. I just think it’s incredible how the writers unintentionally managed to make Matt one of the most interesting and compelling characters (to me) when he has so little screen time. There’s so much to be inferred!

#the owl house #mattholomule

[sylwanin-was-right]

That very short scene where Neytiri tries to talk to Kiri while they were preparing food could have been such a touching and vivid mother daughter interaction with so much hidden meaning but was severely undercut by Jake's evesdropping, Neytiri's sheer lack of dialouge, and the breivity of the scene.

All Neytiri said was initially asking Kiri what was wrong then just saying her name in pity after she revealed that she felt so different from everyone else. Then the scene was over after literally ~15 seconds. This was a really important scene for Kiri's character development since it introduces what she feels about her ultimate role in the film (and happens before her seizure). It was also important for the character development of both Kiri and Neytiri because a lot could be revealed about Kiri's temperment and morals from her reactions to Neytiri's words, and vice versa.

I think it would have made more sense for Jake to have the 15 second scene and for Neytiri to have the scene with Kiri at the dock because Neytiri just makes more sense to recieve spiritual observations and the affects it has on her daughter's feelings of isolation:

Kiri revealing perceptions of Eywa deep within her would have been compatible with Neytiri's future role as tsahìk and her own established belief in Eywa. Neytiri would understand moreso than Jake what Kiri was feeling spiritually and physically, and even help interpret Kiri's perceptions by using her wisdom and faith to better validate her and futher establish Eywa as a real, significant force to the audience.

Having Jake as the one who consoles Kiri in the introduction to her identity crisis wasnt as compatable because Jake's belief in Eywa didnt come until after he changd in A1, and in A2 it was less expressed and less consistent (like when Jake took Norm's scientific interpretation of Kiri's visions as symptoms of pathology). In cannon, when he asked Kiri those questions about what she felt, it felt more like things you say to someone to make them feel heard, rather than genuine belief in what they were saying.

Neytiri also would have been better able to understand Kiri as her mother, and as another female person. Mothers often see themselves in their daughters because their shared traits and behaviors are a reflection of their own childhoods. Women are more keen to girlhood, too, since women experienced the same puberty, and had similar social navigation as young female people. I dont remember her demeanor in Adapt or Die, but perhaps Neytiri could see her kid self (or even Sylwanin) in Kiri for feeling eccentric, and for feeling Eywa differently than others (similarly to how she had to defend her feeling Eywa's prescence to Tsu'tey in order to spare a tawtute in A1). Neytiri certainly could have seen herself in Kiri, a girl distressed from displacement and in isolation from her peers; she, too, was in a position of stress from being isolated from her People and her Native home, surrounded by hostile strangers, and struggling to maintain peace with her own family in dire circmstances (in A1, she was possibly isolated by getting too sympathetic to Jake and oher reasons, though we can only speculate this).

Instead of an emphasis on the Jesus-esque mystery of her origins in a question to her father figure about her father, Neytiri could have reassured Kiri that the spiritual energy she felt was important and real, while validating her feelings of isolation and inner turmoil as a normal and relatable experience of girlhood because she saw herself in her daughter and understood her as her mother. Hell, we didnt necessarily have to lose Kiri's dilema about her paternal origins since that was a big question that would have been relevant to Jake, and men in the audience. Kiri being a spiritual person would have likely told Jake about what she felt eventually because he's her dad, even if Jake didnt believe them the same way but still wanted to support his daughter. But I just feel we got next to none of that balance and consideration in the movie.

Lastly, I think the intimacy of the food preparation between Neytiri and Kiri was an element that had lots of potential for subtle metaphors as well as a medium that would be familiar and important to women and girls. I could see Neytiri teaching Kiri about self acceptance and finding her niche through food metaphors. They were using leaves to pack or wrap an item, and even though it wasnt clear if the leaves were an edible part, Neytiri could have taken the wrapping elements of their task and exemplified in her handwork and quality of the foodstuff how precious and unique Kiri is and how she has to be patient with accepting herself.

Food and food prep have very social implications for all peoples, and would likely be very important for hunter gatherer/fishing cultures, so having a moment of food prepartation was a narrative choice that would make sense in the cultural context, but also because food prep and cooking is heavily associated with women and mothers. Women are often innovators of home cooking, in charge of gathering, and possibly even innovators of the first agricultural practices. Spiritually, food is associated with goddesses because of the metephorical and literal ways food sustains fertility and provided nurturing. So the layers of metaphors would likely have reverberated with female audiences in a way thats not necessarily misogynistic.

But we barely got to see what they were preparing, what it was they were doing, how they felt about it, and why we needed to see it at all other than to establish that they needed to be together for their scene, which was unfortunate as we lost submersive elements of the culture they were learning, and what the characters felt beyond what the plot needed to advance.

What bothered me most about this particular scene, though, wasnt just the brievity of it, considering this is a nearly 3 hr film, it was Jake's eavesropping:

His male oversight on Neytiri and Kiri's mother-daughter moment was upsetting on my second view because they werent dignified a private, touching moment with each other for women and girls to relate to solely. It had to have literal male oversight for some reason. Jake being visably shown in the scene to listen in on their conversation was invasive and unfair since we didnt get the equivalent of Neytiri evesdropping on him and Kiri when they had their scene together. After Aounung, Rutxo, Ronal, etc set the tone that she was a "freak", Kiri became notably withdrawn and her tone and body language visably indicated frustration and sadness, so both parents could have easily picked up on Kiri's mental health seperately, and had their seperate scenes connecting to her that women, men, and girls could relate to.

TL;DR: On my second watch, Neytiri and Kiri's scene together was so noticably short and abruptly ended that it felt itw as cut to make room for the next scene with Jake and Kiri. I counted the seconds it lasted by scrubbing back to it twice to confirm its miniscule timing of ~15 seconds. Neytiri's lack of dialouge greatly exposed how neglected her character was, and Kiri telling Jake rather than Neytiri about her spiritual connection to Eywa revealed how hamfisted the introduction elements to Kiri's character arc was. This scene also highlighted how interactions between female characters in AWOW were overshadowed by male-led scenes or oversight, or were simply too brief to carry much weight to the plot or development for their characters. Lastly, this scene exposed how much we missed out on layered metaphors for characterization and cultural submersion from neglected use of the world around them as important elements of their interactions.

#put it under a readmore cut cuz it got pretty long lol #avatar film #avatar 2 #oel.mine #james cameron avatar #avatar way of water #avatar the way of water #jake sully #neytiri #kiri #eywa #awow review