#I need more and more family issues and more found family trope

[bruhstation]

steam team's seniors during their baby years

A friend group so weird and toxic to people they dislike it could rival It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s. They're not immune to the "I came to Sodor to avoid my problems and wanted a fresh start" trope many Sudrians also follow

Edward Pettigrew

Age: 31 as of 1984

A kind, friendly NWR railwayman who didn’t mind a lot of things and was popular amongst younger folks for his looks and demeanor. He likes showing newbies the ropes of the NWR and Sodor as a whole because he just loves infodumping. Despite being made fun of by some railwaymen for his “weirdness”, Edward worked hard and was known as the jack-of-all-trades by his peers, usually treating younger and newer railwaymen to drinks after work to get them accustomed to Sodor (he did this to Henry, then Gordon, then James). Originally from the village of Pezë in Tirana, Albania, 1940s. Due to his beginnings in a small rural village and the Albanian government’s censorship of outside influences and heavy restriction of traveling outside the country, Edward’s hunger for knowledge about the world grew more and more. His family had connections to the Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare and Edward’s particularly bright and good at talking, so he became a diplomat to travel outside Albania – a step into his plans of learning more about the world. After landing himself in the United Kingdom and studying everything he wanted, he believes it’s still not enough. He found out about an island infamous for its supernatural occurrences and cases of people missing just off the coast of the UK – Sodor. Being the curious man he is, he discarded everything that’s needed for the LNÇ to locate him and landed on Sodor, gorging himself with every mystery the island has to offer. Impulsive? Yes. But for the first time, Edward felt true freedom. However, Edward got too curious and nosy and became a casualty in an accident fueled by supernatural hysteria related to Lady of the Legend and was transported around 40 years into the future, landing in 1983 with his memories all over the place. Despite losing his sense of self and having no idea what he is, his thirst for knowledge still lives on inside his head. His cheerfulness, amicability, and kindness are extensions he formed to make up for the hole inside his heart. Edward does love his friends, but he believes that if he can withhold information from them and make them all live in blissful ignorance, they can be truly happy – this all stems from his fear of exceeding his limits and being discarded (which he later copes by being a typical wise friendly old man in 1999). He often sees visages of Lady in his dreams.

Gordon J. Gresley

Age: 26 as of 1984

Joined after Henry. Looked like he was fresh out of a funeral. A young hotshot who was more polite, quiet, and reserved compared to his 1999 counterpart. Gordon started out as an apprentice fireman for the Wild Nor’Wester’s previous driver. He treated his arrival on Sodor as a desperate last resort to escape his issues and grief and pitifully believed he was “lumped with the social pariahs in the boonies”, but he’s gotten better and believed that this is where he can truly outshine everyone, much to the annoyance and chagrin of his seniors. Gordon acts like he knows what he’s doing in order to build up his image as someone who’s dependable and strong and revels in small basks of limelight. However, he was constantly uncomfortable with how Edward treated accidents as normal due to their survivors being in tip-top shape the next day and how Henry is so distrustful of and odd about everything and everyone and sweats 24/7, but he’s been masking and convincing himself that he’s not like the rest of them. He’s normal. He’s normal! Let’s all hold hands. Don’t be fooled by his sad face. Young Gordon can be arrogant and think he knows everything for being a youngin.

Henry Stanier

Age: 27 as of 1984

Joined after Edward, so he’s quite close to him. Gordon’s “senior” by 6 months. He’s always, ALWAYS scared endlessly about anything “out of the ordinary” and beats himself up over it, much to his own disgust. Henry had a deep rooted hatred and jealousy towards his peers for pitying him after a coworker revealed to other railwaymen that he’s narcoleptic without his permission. He’s been masking his disabilities despite it being detrimental for his well-being, but as long as people treated him “normally”, Henry would endure (dreadfully). He did this especially with Gordon, the newest addition to the Northwestern Railway at the time, because he didn’t want anyone else to treat him differently when they find out about his health issues. As an extention, Henry developed a vitriol towards Gordon too – he’s particularly jealous about how he’s so “ungrateful” of everything’s given to him like his fair looks, clothes, and position as the to-be face of the Wild Nor’Wester. They did become friends though despite the process not being easy. It’s okay. They became besties that were mean to old nosy folks. Initially wanted to pursue arts, but due to circumstances from his past related to his health and paranoia fueled by his past failures and “jinxes”, he came to Sodor as a half-hearted last resort to get a job. He wasn’t hopeful of having anyone respect him for who he is, but things do get better, much to his surprise.

James A. Hughes

Age: 25 as of 1989

Joined the NWR 5 years after Edward did. At that point, Gordon already discarded his GNR Green look and went for the blue attire (minus the big coat). Flaunts his beauty almost at any given time, especially when someone mildly complimented him. He’s more of a nerd (word used loosely because he acts like a know-it-all when he actually has no idea what he’s doing) compared to his canon, 1999 counterpart. James came to Sodor for a fresh start and believed he deserves more than what he’s given. He thinks he’s so tough and hard as nails – in fact it became his source of hubris because he gets into accidents and was scolded by his seniors for being so vain and stubborn. He doesn’t want to get dirty, he doesn’t want to shovel coal, he doesn’t want to get wet from the washdown suds – he only wants the good out of the work and doesn’t want to accept the “bad” sides as well, so James was branded as the “problem kid” of the NWR by older folks. James, who can’t handle harsh criticism and labels well, grow even more distant with them. He primarily hangs out with the RWS trio because they seem to understand his situation and the feeling of being “outcasted” (despite Gordon’s annoyance at his boastfulness). 

#thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #ttte edward #ttte gordon #ttte henry #ttte james #casa tidmouth #senjart #ngl using the phrase ‘’steam team’’ for cstm make me frown because it makes the main cast sound normal or closer #when it cant be more far from the truth in cstm #young edward's rockin the persona protagonist default expression #can you tell I had fun coloring gordon's piece #ALSO can you tell that young gordon is significantly thinner here #and henry too. #james looks like a handsome woman. a bokukko if you will #(well technically he CAN be a woman whenever he wants to be but you get me.) #when james joined gordon already got his blue uniform (minus the coat) but I HAVE to draw greendon SO. SOOOOOOO

[the-music-maniac]

I think what drives me a little crazy (in a good way) about zosan as a ship is - ironically - that they're willing to do the worst possible thing, to sacrifice, for a necessary goal unrelated to their relationship. By that I mean that a common romance trope is an individual being willing to sacrifice the world, anything and anyone else, for their lover, and zosan is...not that. And for some reason that drives me more feral than that other romance trope ever possibly could. I find that more romantic than "I would burn the world for you" and I'll explain why.

The root of their specific willingness to sacrifice isn't a shortage of love or care by any means, but a complete trust and understanding of each other. To the absolute core of who they are. I'm going to refer specifically to that agreement between zosan (that I got spoiled on, so apologies if I get details wrong, I haven't gotten there in the story yet - ALSO spoiler warning if you haven't gotten to around Wano, so click away).

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I'm referring to Sanji telling Zoro to kill him if he changes after his stint in Germa, and Zoro agreeing without need for an explanation, telling Sanji to survive until then - that is so fucking romantic to me, and people hold it up as proof that they don't care about each other but to me, it's anything but.

There is a burden of duty to being the wings of the pirate king, and they both take that responsibility seriously. They're both devoted to their captain and to their crew, and to the dreams of their crew. Zoro perhaps more outwardly unwaveringly so, but Sanji is devoted too, different from Zoro but equal in intensity. There are moments when you can TELL they're on the same wavelength, moments where Zoro gives a rare speech on the dynamics of their crew and Sanji is silent because he agrees. Sanji is terrified of hurting his found family, and he's terrified of becoming like his brothers and father. He loves his nakama and so he's willing to sacrifice his own life to prevent from turning into that type of monster.

Zoro is similar. He is willing to die for his nakama, and their dreams. They are in complete understanding of that point. Death itself is not something that scares either of them, there are some things that are worth the price. Potentially for different reasons ahem self worth issues ahem Sanji ahem but that's still something they both understand. Zoro would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat to save Sanji (he already has at Thriller bark), Sanji would do the same (again. Thriller bark), so it's not remotely because they don't care or love each other. They are absolutely willing to give all they are to keep each other from outside harm.

But what happens if the threat to the crew is Sanji himself?

Sanji asks Zoro to be the one to kill him, because Zoro is the only one on the crew who he trusts 100% to do so, to fulfill the promise, who understands. I personally think Luffy would try to save his nakama, even beyond what is possible, at his own detriment. The other crew members would probably do the same (then again I'm still not through the show so feel free to disagree with my interpretation).

But Zoro could do it if it came to that. It would be awful, and it would shatter and change him, irreversibly, heartbreakingly so - I don't agree with people who say Zoro would kill his nakama without hesitation and be fine with it out of loyalty to his captain, Zoro has a heart y'all and he loves his crew - but he could grit his teeth and do it if he realizes it is necessary, that there is no other option. Sanji trusts him to keep his word, to protect the rest of their family. Do you know how telling it is about the level of regard you have for your partner, to trust them to the point where you can easily place the well being of almost all you both treasure into their hands, once you realize you can't be the one to protect it anymore, and know without a shadow of a doubt that it'll be safe as long as it's with them? With knowing they're strong enough to accept the heavy burden of having your blood stain their hands for the rest of their life, the blame for your death on their shoulders, the shadow of you in every single thing they do, inescapable and marking every facet of their life forever? And to trust that they'll not only accept those consequences without hesitation because it's what you asked of them, but will also protect what you both treasure until their last breath, without you even needing to EXPLAIN that that's what you're asking to them to do, because it's the obvious, it's what you've both been doing all this time, it's something you both know so well that no words need to be exchanged, no reassurances need to be given.

And the implication of Sanji wanting Zoro to do this task too, of being okay dying by Zoro's hands because they're equals in every way. Especially since their fighting dynamic is mostly a competitive, I'm stronger than you, I'll never lose to someone as weak as you, blah blah. This is proof that that's not what Sanji and Zoro actually think of each other. Sanji knows that they could kill each other if either of them truly tried for one - wouldn't have asked Zoro to kill him otherwise. Sanji is also fine with Zoro being the one to defeat him. There is an inherent (kinda fucked up) romance to that notion. 'If I have to die, let it be by your hands.'

And on Zoro's part, there's an inherent fucked up romance to keeping your lover close forever because your fingers are stained with the necessity of their blood.

fUCK.

(here is a caveat that I'm viewing this in a scenario where Sanji and Zoro have established that they love each other and are potentially in a relationship. If it's before that you could also flavour it with Sanji's "I love him but I think it's unrequited, actually I think he may hate me, so it would hurt him the least to be the one to kill me" which is JUICY, but just for this post I'm viewing it where they've already established that they're valuable to each other, that they care)

How am I supposed to look at that and not fucking die. It's so much more nuanced and romantic to me personally than "I would burn the world for you" because that trope at its core is a selfish sort of protection. I can 100% see how people find it romantic, don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you if you like that trope, that's so valid. It's "I can't live without you" and "I would choose you above all others" which is romantic, but it's romantic in a different way. Depending on the characters, it's also, I would go to extremes to make sure you're alive, even if there's nothing else left after the carnage except for each other, even if everything else that makes life worth living has been destroyed for survival, and we can only ever rely on each other for the rest of time. I only care about you but not anything else you care about. I won't try to save it, even if you tell me to, even if you want me to, and won't forgive me for all I've done because I can't bear the burden of you not being alive and around anymore.

I get why it's compelling, but that trope could ignore (depending on how it's written) everything else that person could hold dear. Ignores potentially, the agency of the person being protected, a character who could have accepted the consequences and have not wanted the world to burn for their sake, who is strong enough for that burden. And true, maybe the character isn't like that, maybe they just want simply to live a life (valid of them, people are allowed to want happy endings for themselves), but my point is, it's a different archetype of romance for a different archetype of character, but it seems to be more accepted as a romantic trope then zosan's dynamic and I think it shouldn't be that way.

Zosan is the opposite. It suits their character type perfectly. For them, it's "there are things that are worth more than even you and me. I love you, knowing who you are and how you view the world and what other things you value. I love you everyday on purpose, not hopelessly or illogically or blindly, even knowing you may not always choose me. I'm willing to accept the pain of that, just to be next to you. The time we share isn't any less valuable for being fleeting and impermanent. I care about the things you care about and our lives are also worth living because of those things. It would tear me apart irreversibly to hurt you, but I would do it if you asked it of me, I would do it if that's what this life demands of us. I know you can protect what we both love, even if I'm not beside you. I respect your choices. In this, we understand each other perfectly."

THAT is my shit. That's the fucking deranged ass bs that has me staring at my ceiling at 3 am, pacing the floors at 6 in the morning, gnawing on conkcrete like a rabid dog. Brain rot brain rot brain rot.

#EQUAL PARTNERS IN LITERALLY EVERY WAY I CANNOT WITH THESE TWO #one piece #zosan #sanzo #zoro x sanji #sanji x zoro #THEM #romance tropes #analysis #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #monkey d luffy #the strawhats

[terapsina]

Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.

I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.

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1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.

Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.

Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.

Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.

2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.

More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.

Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.

3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Found family trope but with clones.

Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.

Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.

4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.

Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.

Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.

Unless someone interferes.

I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.

Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.

5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.

The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.

(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).

Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.

He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.

Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.

Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.

And oh yeah... found family.

6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.

A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.

Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.

One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).

As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.

7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).

The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.

It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.

Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.

Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.

This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.

A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).

But it's such a satisfying slow burn.

And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.

If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.

(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).

This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.

There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.

Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).

(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)

10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.

A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.

Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.

(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).

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In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.

And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).

#leverage #killjoys #orphan black #person of interest #12 monkeys #the good place #avatar the last airbender #love between fairy and devil #the clone wars #star wars #clone wars #lbfad #atla #nikita #terapsina rambles #terapsina's tv rambles #tv recommendations #tv recs #tv rec #long post #sag aftra #it's possible i wrote out this whole thing just to talk myself into doing some rewatches #it seems to be working if yes #terapsina's leverage rambles #terapsina's killjoys rambles #terapsina's poi rambles #terapsina's the good place rambles #terapsina's atla rambles #terapsina's lbfad rambles

[captainsboonie]

Pale and ash-stained cheeks

Words: 2042

Warnings: Gore, blood, violence, vomiting, fires, minor character death(s)

Additional tags: maybe maybe ooc!price (idk? most likely), nonbinary reader, no y/n used, no appearance described (except for injuries), explosions, reader gets a big boo-boo, Price helps to keep ur blood in, kinda rude price (but he likes u i promise), reader gets knocked out, crying, only survivor trope, very unrealistic, military inaccuracies, medical inaccuracies, reader is in constant pain :(, serious blood loss, near death experience, light slapping, reader is a sergeant, is that all idk tell me if i need to add more (pls)

Summary: It was then the thought hit you. You shouldn’t be alive. Everyone else was dead- and you were the only one left to suffer through the torment. 

or

John Price finds you, a dying Sergeant, in a dark alleyway corner. He helps.

NOT PROOFREAD IN SOME PLACES. spare me if u find a mistake

The mission had gone wrong from the start. 

Your ally had, unknowingly, given you faulty intel- which wasn’t detected until you and your team were already deployed. As soon as the first few men exited the vehicle, guns ready, their bodies started dropping dead like flies. A trap.

You suddenly felt the panic coursing through the battle-hardened soldiers as you were met with a highly unexpected resistance, bodies dropping all around you as their heads and chests exploded, one by one. Crimson from those who you loved most covered the ground, covered the vehicle you arrived in, covered you. You quickly took cover behind the military-issued van you arrived in, tripping on some of your fallen teammates on the way, crouching by one of the front wheels to avoid getting shot from the gap beneath the vehicle. You panted, wide eyed, back splayed against the thick rubber of the wheel as you tried to collect your thoughts. 

There’s no way you’re getting out of this. Swearing under your breath and gritting your teeth as you tried to reach for the radio on your chest- or was supposed to be, anyway. You’d dropped the fucking radio when you tripped. You closed your eyes, brows furrowed and hands clenching down on the rifle that you didn’t even get to shoot once. 

Suddenly you heard gunshots against the metal of the car's body shell behind you. There’s no way they know you’re here- they were too busy picking off your teammates to pay attention to you. Then what the hell are they aiming for?

The engine. They’re aiming for the fucking engine-

As soon as you started sprinting from the truck as you realized what was happening, the car went up in a ball of flames. The shockwave threw you like you were a ragdoll- flying a decent distance before landing on your back, violently slamming your head against the ground. Feeling whiplashed and confused, the last thing you managed to focus your eyes on was the smoke rising into the air from the burning bodies of your found family. 

…You felt like you were floating in and out of consciousness, sometimes waking up enough to hear fire blazing, coming closer with each second, but you could do nothing. The metal chassis from the van creaked and screeched as the fire devoured everything possible within it. You were so aware, yet so tired. You couldn't move your limbs, and ultimately, you succumbed to sleep again, knowing that the fire was coming for you as well. 

Eventually, you slowly woke up, and started regaining your senses one by one. Touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell-  and oh god, the smell. It smelled like iron, blood, so much of it that you felt sick. You could smell dead bodies burning- making your eyebrows and nose scrunch up in a disgusted expression. As soon as you regained your sight to some degree and tried to get up, an indescribable pain hit your side. You swiftly put your hands on the place that hurt so excruciatingly much, and yelled out in pure misery as your eyes watered. 

As your hands traveled down you felt something metallic sticking out of your side- something huge. You gasped for air and looked down, teary eyed, seeing a metal sheet that had pierced you when the car blew up. Holy fuck. 

It was then the thought hit you. You shouldn’t be alive. Everyone else was dead- you were the only one left to suffer through the torment. 

The flames spread vigorously- greedily consuming each and every straw of grass and body around it. You had to get out of there. You promptly realized that you had to pull out the metal sheet out of your body. You’d most likely bleed out before you got to a place that could offer help, but it was better than slowly being consumed by the fire- ashes and bones ultimately uniting with your fallen comrades. 

Pulling out the metal sheet was grotesque. After screams and tears, followed by repeated vomiting, you had successfully pulled the sheet out- but now you needed something to apply pressure to the gaping wound with. You stood up in horrible pain, clenching your teeth and hunching over as you shuffled over to a dirty cloth conveniently laying on the ground by the now exploded car. It would have to do. The wound was quite inconvenient, being positioned in both a bad place and angle, so holding the rag steady and applying pressure at the same time proved difficult. You immediately started slowly shuffling towards the city close-by that was supposed to be the team’s rendezvous.

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The blood loss took its toll quickly, just as expected. When you finally reached the city, you knew for certain that you were a goner (as your teammates would have put it). Your eyes couldn’t focus properly- everything was just a blurry mess of street lights and alleyways that made you even more sick than you already were. You didn’t notice it, but you were swaying quite heavily from one side to the other as well. As you eventually found a dark corner in an alley, you shuffled the last few steps your body could handle before crumbling down- praying that you were hidden enough in case a civilian passed by. You’d rather go out slowly and spare military secrets than alerting civilians to a mission that was supposed to be quiet.

Your heartbeat was slowing, you noticed, but you couldn’t care less at that moment. Death was portrayed as a foul thing when you grew up- something to be scared of. But now, it felt comfortable. It felt good, almost. Cozy. As your eyes closed, you noticed the nausea fading away. You couldn’t feel your arms and legs, but that’s okay. Everything got warmer, like sitting in front of the open fireplace and drinking homemade hot cocoa back when you were little. Your hearing faded, and now it was just you, in the comfortable silence. The cozy warmth around you made all your muscles go lax- going completely limp as you felt like you were floating. Is this what dying feels like? If so, you couldn’t enjoy it more.

…

Until you felt your torso get roughly shaken and your cheek slapped. All your senses returned immediately, and that cozy heat quickly simmered away.

“-oi.” A male voice. Rough, but comforting. You felt yourself get shaken once more, pretty heavily this time. You groaned, face contorting into a pained expression once more, letting out a groan of pure anguish. Your side hurt massively as you had slumped from your sitting position and laid yourself on it while in that previous state of bliss.

“-you awake?” He talks again- and you just now realize that he’s probably talking to you. Your eyebrows scrunch up as you try to open your eyes, and you manage to open them a sliver. It was exceptionally blurry. All you could make out was someone crouching in front of you, a hazy but muscular figure with seemingly beige pants and a black, long sleeved shirt. He seemed to carry a hat of some sort, and had an equally as beige tac-vest as his pants.

“There we go. Strong as ever, eh? Already gave you an adrenaline shot, so let’s sit you up, yeah?” His voice entered one ear and spilled out the other as your eyes tried to adjust to him. He had a beard- quite a well groomed one, you noticed. His hat was unusual, but it fit his face and blue eyes perfectly. He also had freckles, quite a lot of them by his nose and on his cheeks. As you observed him, he carefully put each of his hands on your sides- moving the hand on your injured side higher up, just above the wound. He prepared to push you up to a sitting position- and it was then it clicked that he had to be military as well. Has he come to save us? Come to save me? Does he know what happened-?

Your thoughts were immediately interrupted as the pain from your side made you groan and clench your teeth together- hands flying up to grab onto his arms as he moved your body so you were sitting up. He started muttering to try to distract you from the pain- and his eyes soon fell to your wound, the pool of crimson beneath you and the completely blood-soaked rag discarded on the ground, “I know it hurts, I know. Bloody hell...”

You let out a pain-filled sigh as he propped you up against the wall-  adrenaline most likely starting to take as you didn’t feel the pain as much when you leaned back. You barely even registered his voice at that moment, too affected by the blood loss, pain and adrenaline to answer. He quickly took the blood-soaked rag and pushed it against the wound, ignoring your whine of pain and the tears threatening to fall. He raised his left hand to turn on his radio, speaking into it clearly. “Watcher, stumbled upon one of em’ in the city. Critically injured, need medevac asap.” 

The radio went quiet, and he put his left hand on you again, supporting the right one and continuing to hold the rag on the wound. You felt pierced open (which, in reality, you were)- the intense pain dulling every other feeling in your body. The tears had started to escape now, running down pale and ash-stained cheeks, leaving river-like trails on the ash in their wake. The radio soon buzzed to life, and a calm but serious feminine voice echoed through, “Received, Captain. Medevac is eight minutes out, hold on for a few more minutes and we’ll get you out.”

“Copy.” He grunts, still applying pressure to the wound. He lifts the rag gently to get a look at the wound. He sucked in air through his teeth as he noticed how deep it was, a fleshy, gaping hole- worried about a potential internal bleeding or an infection (or multiple, for that matter). “The fuck happened out there, Sergeant?” he questioned suddenly, locking onto your eyes, “faulty intel doesn’t usually kill off an entire squad, let alone one as big as yours.” He practically growled, obviously enraged by the fact that they’d lost an entire multi-operational squad. Apparently he knew who you were, but you had not a single clue as to who he was.

“I dunno,” you slur pathetically, “there were so many of them. Took out the team in minutes, sir. I didn’t even get to shoot a bullet before I had to run and hide behind the truck-”

“And how’d you get this fuckin’ wound, eh?” he interrupted you, “that’s not something you get from an ordinary combat knife, Sergeant.” He eyed you, keeping the pressure steady on what was most likely the cause of your upcoming death. 

“They exploded the truck. I flew and got knocked out, I think, and I woke up with a piece of it in my side.” You explain, noticing how pathetic your voice sounds. You looked down at the rag he was holding, his veiny hand holding it in place and keeping pressure on. You stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up once more, muscles slowly getting more and more relaxed in his close presence. “I’m cold, and tired.”

He huffed a laugh as he looked at you. “Aye, remember what happens when you lose too much blood, soldier? Don’t fall asleep on me now, keep talking. Medevac’s getting here whenever.” He kept the pressure going, looking under the rag every now and then to see if the blood was gradually stopping. His gruff voice muttered out, “Woulda’ slapped you, but I’ve got my hands full.”

“Already done that once, sir.” You sigh painfully, easing into his touch despite the searing hot pain he was causing. By now the whirring of the helicopter blades were just barely audible, a comforting, rhythmic sound that made you relax so much that even Price noticed it. He huffed a laugh once more, his chest vibrating and the left side of his lip tilting up ever so slightly. Eventually, as the heli came closer, he stood up and towered over you. “Alright, let’s see if we can get you up from there, shall we? Let's go, Sergeant."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

literally my first fic ever lmao. Hope it turned out well <3

#john price #captain john price x reader #captain john price #john price x reader #captain price #captain price x reader #cod mw2 x reader #john price x you #captain johnathan price #price mw2 #john price cod

[mysisters-bike]

Eric Harris was not a psychopath.

I know, this is a controversial title. Allow me to explain. TL;DR SUMMARY AT END! And, before continuing, do not mistake my presentation for sympathy.

What inspired my professional research in the first place was the trope that Eric was a psychopath. This trope was, I believe, popularized by Dave Cullen's awful account of the events at Columbine. First of all, Dave Cullen is not a psychologist or mental health professional. Next, Dave Cullen's work has been referenced by professionals as if he were a psychologist.

You're probably wondering why some person posting on Tumblr feels more qualified to speak on this. My credentials: I am qualified to conduct research on humans, I have a BA in Psychology, and a Masters in Forensic Psychology. My chosen career path focuses on intervening on at-risk youth before they become school shooters. I chose to present my research in an accessible location and not hide it behind research journal pay walls.

The biggest takeaway I want you to get from this is that severe mental health diagnoses take away from the smaller warning signs we need to be paying attention to.

So, what was Eric's "problem?" His behavior is rooted in poor childhood socialization. We know this already. Eric moved around a lot as a child. Throughout his crucial developmental years, the family moved three times: Kindergarten through second grade at 2 schools in Ohio, then to Oscoda, Michigan. In Sixth grade, and a portion of seventh, he was in Plattsburgh, New York. The remainder of his middle school and high school years were completed in Littleton, Colorado.

Eric's high mobility is an explanation for his poor social skills. A study conducted by Robert T. Webb, PhD, Carsten B. Pederson, DrMedSc, and Pearl L.H. Mok, PhD (2017) supports this theory. They conducted research on over 1 million children in Europe and analyzed the psychosocial affects of "moving around a lot" in childhood. This sort of scenario is commonly seen in children of military families; Eric's dad was active-duty Air Force and is the reason they moved so much.

This research found the children who moved around more were at higher risk for: attempted suicide, successful suicide, and deviant behaviors. Violent offending spiked in those who had more mobility in mid to early adolescence. The study reported even higher risk for those who saw multiple moves in the same year, which is something Eric also experienced.

Barker and Berry (2009) found that children of active-duty military caregivers often experienced behavioral issues while their parent was deployed and excessively attached behavior when the parent returned. In a separate study conducted by Flake, Davis, Johnson, and Middleton (2009), children of deployed caregivers exceeded Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) cut-off scores for high risk psychosocial morbidity. Meaning, these children had the highest possible likelihood for behavioral issues rooted in interpersonal starvation. This is a dangerous hot and cold game to play with adolescents that are still learning and understanding the meaning of attachment. 

Forming connections and then quickly abandoning them could understandably create an inability to form deep, personal attachments with others. When he did form these connections, perhaps he clutched them a little too closely. These relationships may have been highly volatile if Eric feared he may leave them and lose their connection, just as he had experienced so many times before. The slightest movement may have triggered an aggressive response out of fear. 

Eric’s inability to keep and maintain a friend group wasn’t his fault – he did not learn how to properly socialize as a child. Sure, he was friendly and polite, but those are surface-level traits. After breaking the ice, friends of Eric began finding that he was pushy, controlling, and even a bit callous.

While Eric was noted as kind and polite, he was often regarded as shy as well. This shyness may have been influenced by trouble with low self-esteem. In a journal entry dated 11/12/1998, Harris wrote, “Everyone is always making fun of me because of how I look, how fucking weak I am and shit…” (Note: Eric's surgery for pectus excavatum as well as being bow-legged)

We’ve gently and briefly begun the exploration of Eric's childhood and understand the ways in which it could have affected him, behaviorally. The sad truth is, however, there just isn’t more data to help us understand the intricacies of his upbringing. I believe it is incorrect to say he wasn’t met with love by his family.

 I do believe, however, this was the case of a child who was gentle, sensitive, and whose personality required fragility and a compassionate parenting style. He was treated a bit more ruthlessly than he was able to withstand by being subjected to an authoritarian parenting style, which we will certainly unpack further in the coming research. I cannot imagine this was on purpose, but I do feel he was forced into being a tough, surface-level person that he was not capable of being. Truly, Eric was probably a very weak person. 

IN THE END, ERIC REQUIRED CONTROL IN HIS RELATIONSHIPS. Because of his constant social upheaval, Eric fucking hated not having control. This is a common pattern in attachment styles; avoidant, anxious, ambivalent, etc. We crave control because, for so long, our lives were unpredictable.

Okay, what about his inflated ego? Eric's sense of self was greatly inflated in private, but in public, he was quiet, shy, and relatively unlikeable. He equated himself to a god -- a god of what? He was a master of nothing in real life. Eric's insecurity led him down a path in which he privately lived out his fantasy of being better than those around him.

The most important thing that gets overlooked and nullifies the idea he was a psychopath was the fact that he did feel. Evidenced in his journal:

He expresses that he doesn't want blame to fall on his friends or family. He also writes that he has no self-esteem, he wishes he was accepted more, mourns his relationship with his Dad ("I had a lot of fun at that gun show, I would have loved it if you were there Dad. We would have done some major bonding. Would have been great. Oh well."), he's upset about not having friends ("I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. And no don’t fucking say “well that’s your fault” because it isn’t, you people had my phone #, and I asked and all, but no. no no no don’t let the weird looking Eric KID come along, ooh fucking nooo."), and is self-conscious of how he behaves ("why the fuck can’t I get any? I mean, I’m nice and considerate and all that shit, but nooooo. I think I try too hard.")

Lastly, the infamous scene from the Basement Tapes in which Eric is crying and says a tearful goodbye to his friends that he wishes he could have said goodbye to. Read more here, page 8.

Eric's journals are filled with anger, hate, and deplorable language. But in my opinion, he does not bear the mark of a psychopath.

TL;DR

Moving around a lot interrupted Eric's ability to socialize in childhood

As a child, Eric was likely sensitive and required a gentle parenting style and was instead met with an authoritarian style that focuses on obedience rather than nurturing

Eric's own words demonstrated his ability to feel emotion, remorse, and self-consciousness.

Eric's "inflated ego" was a show he put on in private because he wasn't accepted by his peers; it was a defense mechanism to protect himself

Overlooking small behavioral patterns in favor of severe conclusions forces us to miss the warning signs after it's too late. It’s hard to hear, but sometimes it doesn’t take that much for people to do horrible things to one another. 

#eric harris #dylan klebold #columbine #tcc #true crime #psychology

[class1akids]

Did you watch the new live action of ATLA ? Recently I've seen the live action and animated version of ATLA and all i can see is that the parallels between Zuko and shoto are insane?!

No, I haven't watched it. I've spent a few years in the ATLA fandom, I love the show, but I have been pretty disappointed in LoK and the comics, so I have no desire to see any further spin-offs and re-thinking and just want to keep the original in my head in its near-perfection.

I think I've written also about Zuko and Shouto - this question comes up a lot. There are a some parallels between them, but I think they come from common literary and manga tropes:

Abusive family

Toxic father / daddy issues

Absent mother / mother issues

Facial scar as symbol of pain endured

Healing arc

Found family

Ruined sibling relationship with a sibling possessing blue fire due to shared abuse / toxic family

Fire powers that unlock with healing

Unconventional use of fire power that symbolizes healing (Zuko's lightning redirect and Shouto's Phosphor)

But if you look beyond these tropes, I think the psychology between them is very different:

Zuko is a "black sheep" / failure character, desperate for his father's approval. In his attempt to earn that approval, he does pretty bad things, betrays his uncle and needs to go on a redemption arc to learn to let go of the need for his blood father's approval and embrace the father who truly raised him - Iroh.

Shouto by contrast is a "golden child" / "masterpiece" character (more like Azula in that sense), but he's never after his father's approval. His arc is about gaining autonomy and sense of self, healing, forgiving and reconnecting with his family. And his ultimate challenge is not to let go of his need for his family, but to learn to accept that in order to find himself, Shouto needs to learn to see and accept his father as a flawed human being as well.

Just think of their endgames. Zuko's endgame is to reject his father and walk away. Shouto's endgame is keep fighting for his family despite every let-down and rejection.

So I think despite the many similarities, both arcs deep down are quite different and unique. In ATLA Zuko and Azula both develop and change, Ozai stays as a static, one-dimensional evil character. In the Todoroki family, everyone is more dynamic. Shouto, Touya and Endeavor all change, but so does Rei, Fuyumi and Natsuo. While Zuko has Iroh’s unconditional love to counterbalance Ozai, Shouto has no “Iroh” character to guide him. Even if you could argue that All Might’s inspiration is the counterbalance to Endeavor’s abuse, All Might is quite a distant figure for Shouto. So his journey in that way is more about understanding and assimilating the human characteristics of both Endeavor and All Might into his own end goal of who he wants to be.

The ATLA Fire family is about Zuko's coming to terms that he'll never get the family he wanted. The Todoroki family is about coming together and reconnecting a fractured family.

#atla #bnha #todoroki family #zuko #todoroki shouto #zuko-shouto parallels #c1a asks

[pumpkinsplots]

Writeblr Intro

Hello, writeblr! I finally caved and got tumblr, mostly because I love rambling about my wips and hearing other people ramble about theirs and all of that lovely stuff, so this seemed like a great platform to do that. With that being said, I plan on posting about my wips and ocs, as well as art related to those things, so if that interests you at all, I’d love to see you stick around. Also feel free to call me either Pumpkin or Maria, it’s entirely up to you!

About my writing

I’ve found that I really enjoy writing in a variety of genres, so hopefully at least one of my wips will tickle your fancy. Though I’d say a common thing for me is that I really like to world build, so my wips tend to be sci-fi, fantasy, or magical realism of some variety. Anything where I can put my own spin on the setting is something I’m bound to enjoy writing about.

I write in third person, usually with multiple povs, and I really enjoy character driven stories.

I often like to have a wide variety of ages in the cast, and if I had to pick a favorite trope it would be found family, so that’s usually present to some degree in my stuff.

Tonally, I always include light-hearted moments here and there, even if the wip is very bleak. It provides some levity, and I think it makes the painful stuff hit a lot harder. This is probably partially why I put some thought into each character’s sense of humor.

Most of my wips are geared towards older teens and adults, but I’ll get more into content warnings when I talk about each individually, because it really varies.

I’m one of those writers that kills off a lot of characters, so this is your warning not to get attached /j

I’m demisexual, so at least one character being on the ace spectrum is like a requirement for me at this point.

I’m a plantser, and pretty bad at staying motivated to actually finish first drafts.

About my wips

Falling Up

Falling Up is a sci-if story set in the future where Earth is a utopia where inhabitants experience little to no hardships throughout their lives. The deceased are replaced with AI created to replicate them, and everything is automated to the point where people no longer need to work to make a living. This lack of struggle results in dull, perfect lives and skewed morals. The people crave entertainment, even if it means making others suffer for it. Quasdom, a miniature man made planet initially intended to be used to separate deviants from the rest of the perfect society, is used as a catalyst for entertainment. The people of Quasdom believe that those on Earth are superior to them, and that Earth is a place where any wish can come true. This leads to the tourney, a death game between groups of ten on Quasdom, being viewed similarly to winning the lottery. The winning team gets to go to Earth, after all. Being chosen for the tourney is the luckiest thing that can happen to you. There’s no hard feelings between participants, death is completely painless, and the afterlife will welcome any participants to a better life than they previously had. There’s nothing to fear, so smile and put on a show.

A large cast and lots of character deaths

An exploration of why we get so attached to fictional characters, and how fiction can have an impact on reality

Probably going to be a trilogy

Content warnings include language, some unsettling themes, depictions of mental health issues, and generally things that are more psychological. Despite it being a death game, there’s no gore, like at all. The people on Earth may be desensitized, but they aren’t accustomed to seeing blood, so the tourney is designed with that in mind

Facade

Facade is set in a world where the living world and the spirit world coexist. Due to some actions by the main antagonist, about 20 years prior to the current story, spirits started getting aggressive and sort of going haywire. They possess any person they can, turning the individual into an uncontrollable killing machine. The best defense to this was the invention of a certain kind of mask that prevents possession, and masks quickly became widespread. Since there’s no known way to reverse spiritual possession, the only solution is to kill those that are unfortunate enough to meet that fate. A group led by an anonymous vigilante known as K9 seek to find a way to reverse possession. Many enemies are made along the way, and there are countless obstacles to face.

Its setting is based on Singapore and set in the 90s, though there are many creative liberties taken

The wip is currently pretty no plot just vibes

Themes about individuality vs equality

Content warnings include language and some sexual content

Facade: After Dark

While Facade is currently no plot just vibes, developing the characters led to me thinking of the plot for a prequel. Is it a self-indulgent novella about two of the characters I love? Yes, absolutely. In summary, it’s a romance novella about the the relationship of Leijing and Iris, and their struggles in navigating the wild world of Facade. They have vastly different upbringings and experiences, but their differences bring them together in more ways than one.

I have so much backstory for this pre-established couple and I couldn’t think of a good way to incorporate it into the main story without cutting a bunch of it, so boom it’s a prequel now

I’ve found that working on a wip that’s more low stakes and simple is really fun—I tend to get stressed about my more ambitious plots, so this wip is a great change of pace

Leijing is demisexual with little interest in anything sex related and Iris is an omnisexual sex worker, and the story explores how a world obsessed with all things sex can effect both more sex-negative and sex-positive people

Content warnings include language, explicit sexual content, and potentially triggering subject matters. This is my only wip where it’s strictly 18+!

Lights Out

Sunlight is the essence of life. Without it, the world would wither away. However, a dangerous new life form of unknown origin festers in the light. With long, elegant glimmering limbs, high intelligence, picturesque precision, and a craving for flesh, these organisms pose a major threat to humanity. But for some odd reason, these creatures refuse to step into any area where the sun doesn’t touch. Much of humanity takes to the shadows, building elaborate underground tunnels for civilizations and doing what humans do best—using their resources and ingenuity to adapt.

Has two protagonists that butt heads but start to develop a father daughter dynamic. A young adult girl who’s from the underground and unknowingly part of a cult, and an older man with one leg who’s so stubborn he’d rather fight and die than flee to the darkness

Lots of creepy cult imagery and themes about religious trauma

So much banter of course

Content warnings include language, disturbing imagery, and gore

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Asks, comments, tag games, and messages are always appreciated, and I’d love to hear about your wips as well!

#writeblr #writeblr intro #writing #writeblr introduction #creative writing #writers of tumblr #new writeblr #writer #writeblr search #new to writeblr #writers on tumblr

[sleepyelliee]

how john and abigail treat you after finding out your dating jack. part two.

before you continue!

GN reader, implied financial issues, brief mentions of the VDL gang, brief mention of injury, implied starvation and poverty. Jack is nineteen years old, Abigail and John survive AU. Implied malnourishment Loosely proofread, lmk if I missed anything. just 'you.'

credits...

thank you so much for the love on the last post!! lmk if you want me to write more of this series. part one.

One of my mutuals gave me this idea, so thank you so much @creamqueen <3.

puppy love trope implied with jack marston <3.

Throughout the short period of knowing the marston family, you managed to make a name for yourself in that household. You were popular within the walls of the ranch because it seemed like the couple's lovestruck son didn't ever stay quiet about you, everyday either John or Abigail had to hear about how pretty you were, how you were such a sweetheart, the looks that you give him, and the list seemed to go on without a stop.

Abigail and John both enjoyed your company in that small amount of time of meeting them couple weeks back. Abigail basically became the mother you never had due to her wanting to teach you everything and anything because you were never able to experience that growing up. She loved the sweet mannerisms that would escape your lips whenever you thanked her for something she would've considered small - hand sewing your clothes, fixing up old clothes that had holes in them, teaching you new recipes and she adored whenever you would compliment her food, knowing you aren't as lucky as most, causing her to insist on giving you more food because your small and malnourished body always makes her heart break.

She was also grateful that her son managed to find someone sweet as you, she was afraid that the morales and respectful demeanor she stuck into that boy's head would've gone to waste on someone who was a bad influence. Afterall, she didn't want her son to be following the same path they were running away from for years.

John was no different to you, he was carrying towards you in his own way, he would back up his beloved wife when they tried to convince you to stay over, always buying freshly new packed cigarettes for you and invites you out on the porch as he would tell you old stories of running in a gang - scolding you in the process not to make the same mistakes he did. He smuggles... insists giving you money whenever he would shove it in the pocket of your coat whenever Abigail would fix up your clothes, he knew that you needed it more to keep yourself stable because you'll decline the money otherwise. John decides to set up a room for you in the attic without telling you and gets his beloved wife's opinion aswell as the pair would decorate the room and put things you were lacking - warm blankets, couple of snacks, shoes, clothes and whatever else jack tells them that you needed at the moment.

Both parents also took notice of how Jack no longer called you by your first name. Anytime he spoke about you at dinner, he would call you sweetheart, love, darling, honey or anything that came to his mind that caused his cheeks to grow a rosy red.

He was excited for you to see the room they set up for you, it meant that you finally you have a chance to relax and enjoy a fully cushioned bed without having to worry about bills or food. It also meant that he gets to see you more often and spend more time with you.

He knows that your not fully moved in yet, but the thought of you staying here for a couple of nights makes the young man excited, Afterall he misses you whenever your not around.

...

When you found yourself on the property that belonged to the Marston's once again, you were learning back in the chair as your boyfriends father spoke about his past, mentioning couple members of the gang he used to run in. He slipped a pack of cigarettes to you like he does normally, insisting that you should take one or more.

You don't know how you found yourself smoking cigarettes as the cold wind blew against you to Jack showing the new room they are allowing you to stay in for however you'll like with a big grin on his face - excited that your going to stay over for a couple more nights than just one.

It still didn't change the fact that his arms were wrapped tightly against you, his nose buried deep in your neck as he muttered reassuring words, hoping you'll accept the offer as you two laid down on the small bed, squished together making the proximity closer.

...

Most cases whenever you stayed over, Jack would either be in the room that is considered yours or you'll be in his. You two would sleep until Jack would wake you up, hearing Abigail scold both of you through the door, stating that it's late and breakfast is already cold. Depending on the gunslingers mood, sometimes he would smart-mouth his mother just to hold you longer, causing him to get scolded more.

You two would help John with ranch work, he would always try to impress you in some type of way or both of you would get distracted and his father would scold you both.

thank you so much for reading! please do not repost my work on any other platform, reblogs and likes are very appreciated! <3. masterlist

#john marston #rdr1 #red dead fandom #red dead redemption community #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #red dead redemption two #rdr2 john #adult jack marston #rai's rambles. #jack marston nation #jack marston x reader #rdr1 jack #jack marston

[mistakenlyfoundnico]

Lately I have one been dealing with aphobia, that one was a new one for me. Like of course it happens but I have yet to experience it myself until recently and two i keep seeing posts like when i found out i was ace:🤷‍♀️ when i found out i was aro:😟 or something around making being aromantic sound like a very sad thing to happen so because of that here is a list of reasons I enjoy being aro and just aspec in general but mostly aro:

-i enjoy that fact that i don't have to worry if someone likes me back romanticaly

-the whole trope of "ruining" a friendship, i am genuinely happy being friend zoned

-i get a cool ass flag

-i don't have to stress out for dates

-i am apart of a rather accepting community

-i share a sexual and romantic orientation as saiki k

-if i was a secret government official i wouldn't be seduced for authorized information

-i can say i am above foolish human emotions like love

-i don't need to plan or pay for a wedding

-i will never have sex therefore i will never get stds or pregnant

-my cat can stay my first priority

-i don't have to find time in my very limited free time to spend with others

-i can wait to buy discounted valentines chocolate without someone upset i didn't buy the day of for them

-i can avoid any stress of dating

-when someone tells me love is what makes us human i can imply i am more than human

-if i start a tv show i can watch at my own speed without waiting for someone to watch it with me

-i can unpack and work through my trauma with out bringing someone with me through it

-i don't have to confront my commitment issues quite yet

-i get to be the comedic releif who is really into movies in a slasher film (i am totally talking about randy from scream)

-i get to be the comedic releif in general

-i am fine being a third wheel cause sometimes they pay for your meal

-messy breakups i don't have to deal with those

-i know i mentioned it but it is one of my favorite reasons i get a cool ass flag

-there is no one to judge me but myself when i eat a family size bag of chips in one sitting

That's all i can think of off the top my head, i think it would be pretty cool if yall could reblog more positives about being aro or aspect in general, i just really think we need stop making it seem like the worst thing to happen, and i am a part of this i have posted a fair share of sad things indirectly related to be aroace but being aro isn't a bad thing it and there is so much happy parts of it that we don't talk about

#aroace #being aromantic is not sad #aromantic #aro #aromanticism #arospec #acespec #ace #asexuality #asexual #aroallo #alloace #Being aspec is a beautiful thing #Being aro is a beautiful thing #aromantism #aromantic positivity #i don't not like being aromantic #aromantic asexual #aspec #asexual positivity #aromantic pride

[perfectlyfinespacebacon]

everything now netflix

some spoilers!! and apologies for the long post.

i honestly really enjoyed it! it was almost like a skins/euphoria but imbued with like a heartstopper/sex education vibe in the sense that it dealt with serious teenage issues/mental health but light enough that it doesn't weigh down on you. my character thoughts:

mia was so infuriating almost at all times. obviously under the circumstances, it makes sense but there's this level of likeability that was missing for me. maybe it was the writing or the acting who knows but in my mind it's like this: im making an albeit an unfair comparison to effy from skins or even rue from euphoria, but they were battling their demons and making all the wrong choices but there was still this level of “i want to root for them” that's missing with mia personally.

in a similar vein with alison, she is meant to be this popular rich mean girl archetype who surprises you but obviously in the first half of the season she's supposed to be kind of unlikeable but i found her very endearing. as for the relationship, alison and mia DO NOT belong together. like at all. i am not rooting for them. alison in a way forced a relationship with mia and then also mia was like too scared to say anything about it. its clear that alison liked mia waaaaay more than mia liked alison. like carli says in the last ep as well, “to learn to not be a fantasy to each other”, alison needs to take mia off this pedastal she has for her. i'm very interested to learn more about her character outside of mia though if they hopefully continue the show. i have a feeling that we are supposed to think that she and cameron hooked up at the end or something but i'm rlly hoping its a red herring.

carli is also a character i would love to learn more about. she definitely has more chemistry with mia and i love her for standing her ground against mia, as she needs to help herself before she can be in a healthy relationship. but i will say it was pretty shitty stringing cameron along.

speaking of cameron, i didn't quite expect to like his character as much as i did. in a way his arc in the season is battling toxic masculinity as he kinda seems to come off as this laid back, bro kinda guy but he cares and loves so deeply. it wasn't right calling bec a "sket". i'm not british but obviously its like equivalent to slut, and im very glad he owned up to it. i'm also really interested to know more about his family and stuff.

i love bec as well. she deserves all the happiness in the world. im glad she was able to air out her things with mia, albeit in a very treacherous way and i also love how her mom was supportive of the abortion. i'm honestly kinda tired seeing the mom kicking out the daughter for getting pregnant trope so it was nice to see a mom just being supportive. bec is just such a wonderful friend and mia honestly has a lot to make up for. re not telling mia about her and cam, it was honestly frustrating seeing mia be so petty. i understand that its a big secret and she felt like everyone was hiding things from her but its also right to have secrets amongst friends, idk that really stuck out to me.

will for me had the weakest arc as in it wasn't the most interesting to me. don't get me wrong, i love the character but it just wasnt giving a whole lot to me. i recognize him as more than the comic relief but also at the same time he was stirring the pot in a lot of the arguments / blowups the group had, consciously and unconsciously. though i will say will x theo <3 but comedic duo of the century is will x alison. the little song they did for mia's birthday is stuck in my head.

tldr; great characters and great show. it's really hard to find a show about teens as a 25yo living in a 16yo body that i enjoy and don't find annoying. i just love how each character was able to be so nuanced despite being an ensemble cast.

but knowing netflix's track record it's gonna get cancelled because a) it's good b) has wlw content... but i really hope not.

#everything now #everything now netflix #mia polanco #becca #cameron #will #alison #carli #sophie wilde #niamh mccormack #jessie mae alonzo #harry cadby #lauryn ajufo #noah thomas

[ddesertmoon]

Batman Fic Recs Feat. Jason Todd’s Return

All my favorite fics about Jason’s return to the family. Gen, and mostly hurt/comfort.

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Red Hood by envysparkler

“Gotham doesn’t relinquish her soldiers, no matter how far they’ve fallen from the nest.”

In my opinion, this is THE quintessential Red Hood debut fic. It’s got this one trope I love: regular civilians take a chance and protect their protector (it happens a lot with Spider-Man and its really great to see crime alley thanking Jason in the same way).

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Vermillion by xandromedan

“Jason Todd returns to Gotham with a bang. In between setting up a criminal empire, dealing with national conspiracies, and the Joker, he re-learns how to be a person.

When the Bats learn of a new face in Gotham's underground, they get interested. Some of them get friendly. His plan becomes... complicated.”

I love when Red Hood becomes close to the bats without revealing his identity… idk something about how he BELONGS with them even though he’s changed…

-

hang on ‘til the chaos is through by JustGail

“BEFORE:

Jason likes Tim. Or, he thinks he does. Tim has spent most of the week since he moved in locked up in his room, only coming out for meal times and sometimes to use the big TV in the media room, but the few words Jason has managed to extract from Tim show a bright kid who can clearly easily keep up with the best of ‘em, despite his young age. So he’s pretty sure he likes Tim, or at least will, with time.

AFTER:

Tim knows there’s something going on, and the worst part is that Batman isn’t even trying to pretend there isn’t something going on.

Stay out of it, he’d told him. Like something as big as a new player in town is something that Robin could stay out of. That Tim could stay out of.”

So so SO good. The story focuses on Jason and Tim and how they both join (or return, in Jason’s case) to the family. Both of them are characterized perfectly.

-

ghost story by envysparkler

“Jason Todd dies in Ethiopia. Well. Kind of.”

After Jason dies, he’s forced to watch his family grieve as a ghost. This gives him a new perspective when he returns to Gotham (which changes everything). I LOVE this fic. It’s suspenseful and emotional, AND there’s found family.

-

Twists And Turns Will Take You Home by Sun_Moon_Stars_Jedi

“Bruce Wayne is used to getting kidnapped. He's used to Gotham's villains hating him.

So why does this new crime lord come to his aid when he can't defend himself?”

Short and sweet. A little identity reveal fic because Jason Todd + identity reveal is my favorite combination of things. The fact that it’s told from Bruce’s perspective and you can see his slow realization… perfect!

-

miss me? by envysparkler

“Jason’s plan to observe his family’s reactions to his resurrection…does not go as intended.”

Basically, Tim, Dick, and Bruce assume Jason is a hallucination because they’re all so fucked in the head that them hallucinating him makes more sense than like. Magic or something. Very good! I love it when characters are fucked up and sad.

-

Late Night Encounters by paperxcrowns

“Not long after Jason comes back to Gotham and asserts himself as the Red Hood, Tim meets Jason in a diner late at night and by some miracle he doesn't recognize him. After another chance meeting where Jason still doesn't make the connection between him and Robin, Tim decides that this might just his chance to get to know Jason Todd.”

Pretty much exactly what it says in the description. Red Hood hates Robin, but he befriends the sad teenager named Tim. The secret identity thing causes issues which cause explosive emotions and slight agony for the characters!

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best laid plans by Valkirin

“Tim Drake knows that Batman needs a Robin. When Bruce and Dick aren't interested in what he has to say, Tim makes his way to the cemetery to say a few words to the boy he's trying to replace.

Tim has the chance to say far more than he expected when Jason digs himself out of his grave that night. Tim does his best to get Jason home to Bruce. The League of Assassins finds them first.”

This one’s more about both Jason and Tim “coming home” but I’m going to count it because I love this fic. In the end, they’re all together which is all I can ask for.

-

dead ringer by punkrockhades

“‘Oh, are you guys talking about Jason?’ said a familiar mechanized voice from across the rooftop, and the Bats spun around to spot the Red Hood casually leaning against the rooftop access door. ‘I miss that kid, he was a riot. Hope he’s doing alright.’

There was a moment of silence as the entire group stared at Red Hood, processing his words, and then Red Robin blurted, ‘Wait, you know Jason?’

‘Sure,’ Red Hood responded breezily, amusement written in the lines of his posture. ‘We got pushed into the Pit at the same time. He went a little crazy and fell off a cliff, but shit could only go up from there, am I right?’”

Basically Jason (as Red Hood) pretends to be his own friend and casually makes the batfam lose their minds. Very funny!

-

Aftermath by ivy_and_ivory

“Now: Batman is in Paris, pulled there by a case that extends beyond Gotham’s borders, when circumstances lead him to a badly injured Red Hood – who might hold the key to Batman’s investigation.

Then: The Red Hood storms into Gotham, begins to stake his claim on the criminal underground, then abruptly disappears – but only after he breaks into Arkham Asylum and leaves the Joker dead in his own cell.”

You have to have an ao3 account to read this fic (sorry) but if anyone wants to know how to make one I can help! This is a really great case fic. Batman doesn’t know who the Red Hood is, but their relationship is complicated from the start because he was able to do what Batman never could: kill the Joker.

-

Tap by CKBookish

“Bruce returns home from the time stream, haunted by phantoms and dreams. Dreams of a past that can't be real.

But all of that wouldn't be so bad if his home didn't feel so empty in the absence of one of his children. Jason, refuses to talk to him or even answer his calls and Bruce can't figure out why or what he did wrong, not after they had mended their fences before his disappearance.

Meanwhile,

Catherine struggles to hold it together for her and Jason as life falls apart around them. When all she has to give is love she does her best to give it all.”

I really love this fic because it shows vignettes of Jason’s life with his mom without shitting on her as a character. Also, it’s a bit different from the other fics here because it takes place after Bruce comes back from the timestream instead of at the beginning of Jason’s stint as Red Hood.

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when my cage is by the window (I can see the sun) by mikkal

“When he was seven, Damian finally escaped the League of Assassins - but not without his brother sacrificing himself to give him time. Now, six years later, he's Robin and Tim's been captured by Ra's in his latest plot. The family goes to Nanda Parbat to rescue him only to run into a revelation that might just break them.”

This fic is INSANELY well written. The small snippets of Jason and Damian’s time together are beautiful. It doesn’t have a happy ending necessarily, but you could probably interpret it as a happy ending!

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robin’s roast by envysparkler

“There’s a new coffee shop in Crime Alley. It’s called the Red Hood.”

Jason gets to establish himself in Gotham as the owner of a new coffee shop instead of as a crime lord. This ends up being more effective in completing some of his goals than being the Red Hood would have been.

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grave secrets by envysparkler

“Jason only came back to confront Batman and kill the Joker. His job is done.”

Be sure to mind the trigger warnings in the tags. This fic is very different from a lot of the ones on this list, but it’s VERY good.

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The Long Road Home by BumblingBeesAndWillowTrees

“The first time Jason held Damian in his arms, the green abated and he knew he had never loved anyone else so fiercely before.

The thing about love is that it is so rarely enough.”

Jason raising Damian!!!! The family meeting Damian and not knowing that Jason raised him!!! Identity reveals! Aaaaaaaaa!!

Also, you need to have an ao3 account to read this fic, sorry.

-

prodigal by punkrockhades

“Dick liked to think he had a pretty good handle on the whole ‘big brother’ thing by now, even if Tim still saw sleep as optional and Damian still got a little stabby when a hug lasted too long.

But then Damian’s other big brother comes to town, mysterious and red-helmeted and oddly familiar, and seems to want nothing to do with the Bats sans Damian. Damian is strangely close-lipped about his other brother's past, but Dick is determined to find out more about the Red Hood - he could always use more little brothers, anyway!”

The batfam knows the Red Hood as a violent vigilante (and as Damian’s mysterious brother) but then they get to meet Jason!! Identity reveal and all that jazz!

-

the bird, the fog, the mist by bacondoughnut

“Jason Todd returns to Gotham with a foolproof plan, to kill the Joker and protect the city as the Red Hood in a way that Batman never could. But when he gets there he makes one major decision that's not a part of the plan. He goes home.

aka; The one where Jason tries to balance being the Red Hood with repairing things with his family, and maybe learns a thing or two about forgiveness and family and love along the way”

Jason comes home but he’s still the Red Hood and there’s a WONDERFUL amount of secrets being kept. I like this one because it’s the opposite from a lot of the other fics on this list (in that the family meets Jason Before they meet Red Hood)

You need to have an ao3 account to read this fic

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forward tho’ I canna see by nex_et_nox

“One of the thugs trying to sneak up behind Robin stoops low, comes back up swinging at Robin's unprotected back with a fucking crowbar—

Metal clatters against the ground; the body follows it a second later.

Jason lifts his finger from the trigger.

Robin whirls, taking in the body dropped with a headshot. With a scowl, Jason kneecaps the idiots trying to take out Robin from behind again.

[or: Jason, newly returned to Gotham as the Red Hood, keeps accidentally helping out the Bats. It's really frustrating.]”

Oneshot with a bunch of interactions between Red Hood and the bats. Identity reveal that’s soft and sweet and everything I’m looking for <3

-

Bonus: Incomplete Fics (at the time of this list’s creation)

-

riptide by punkrockhades

“Jason’s first mistake was hacking the Bats’ secret comm channel.

Although could it really be called hacking when they’d never bothered to change their frequency since his Robin days? All he’d had to do was log on, and boom – instant access to the best ways to avoid meddlesome Bats while he got shit done. And since his end was carefully muted, they wouldn’t even know anyone was listening.

His second mistake was thinking he could listen without getting sucked back into their drama.”

I love this fic SO much. It made me feel so many emotions… the buildup to Jason’s reveal is amazing and the reveal itself is perfect. The last chapter is (as of right now) not posted, but that chapter is an epilogue so the story is able to stand without it! A million out of ten, would recommend.

Chapters: 5/6

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what you’re longing for (you claim to abhor) by Ghxst_Bird

“He smiles, all teeth, ‘Come on Replacement, I even got to the door with both legs busted. This should be nothing.’

‘You’re right. Jason… Jason wouldn’t have given up. He would fight, I can still—’

The boy wobbles, and Jason has to suppress the mortifying impulse to jump to his aid.

‘I can still fight. Batman needs me.’

‘That’s a terrible idea,’ he muses aloud, and if there’s a hint of real concern somewhere under all the roiling green, well, nobody can prove it.”

AAAAAAAAAGH THIS FIC. This fic is SO good. There’s a ton of interactions between Jason and the family when they don’t know his ID because they assume that Red Hood’s relationship with Jason Todd isn’t “of course I know him, he’s me” but something Very Different. Angst, humor, the whole shebang.

Chapters: 10/11

(likely to update soon as the author has been posting a lot recently, but who’s to say. Either way, great story!)

-

Welp, there they are! Hope everyone enjoys because this is my favorite trope :D

#fic rec #batfam fic rec #fanfiction #jason todd #bruce wayne #red hood #Batman #batfam #dc #batman fanfiction #dick grayson #damian wayne #tim drake #Jason Todd returns home

[sukibeloved]

okay so i binged the entire show and now i have thoughts.

positives

- the set is absolutely stunning i was breath taken every time it’s as if they just pulled it straight out of the cartoon. incredible

- the castings were so good! they really are what i would have envisioned

- APPA AND MOMO ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!

- i think merging the earth kingdom episodes was a smart PRODUCTION decision. it was confusing as an og watcher however it makes sense for the live version cause they can’t just keep coming back to the earth kingdom (they mixed eps 5, 10, 17) and also i believe they linked it well so i’m alright with it genuinely.

- zuko’s actor perfectly nailed the acting. whenever it was a flashback scene it felt like zuko was 3 years younger despite looking the same, because zuko was more innocent sounding. and then the acting for current zuko was major sass (which was the best part)

- SUKI ATE DOWN SO HARD

- avatar kyoshi was 7 FOOT TALL. all i have to say

- sokkas actor ate down i fear 🫶

negatives (or just minor critics)

- azula, ty lee and mai were not supposed to be in book/season 1 and it didn’t really make sense for them. i love all 3 their my girls however it felt like a fan service and they didn’t really provide any plot development. ESPECIALLY MAI AND TY LEE i swear the girls just stood and watched azula fight and that’s all. i think what could/should have been done is feature azula at the end scene like they did and make it a whole big reveal and if they really wanted to provide fan service chuck mai and ty lee next to her. i understand the girls are fan favourites but if they wanted to make hype for the second season it would have been better to just show them at the very end to get fans excited. instead i found myself annoyed when they popped up because they weren’t needed.

- it would have been fine to have the girls for flashback scenes. also! in book 2 we start off with azula having to find mai and ty lee. they aren’t meant to just be together already. what happened to circus ty lee? that’s like a really important detail idk.

- i felt the humour was lacking. NOT BECAUSE OF THE ACTORS. it was not their fault and i loved sokkas deliveries when he had the chance to. the blame is on the writers but the issue was is the series was more dark (which is fine) but it erased the humour from the show so toward the end i found myself getting a bit bored. i think what caused this is the removal of the “filler” episodes.

- secret tunnel? that is meant to be in season 2 and i felt a bit robbed because wdym that’s all we got?

- i also feel that the found family trope wasn’t executed as well as it could have been probably also because it lacked filler episodes. we didn’t get to see them hang out and actually get to know each other so we haven’t seen them build that connection yet. obviously we assume with context they have but idk it makes it lack.

- yue my girl 😭 first of all the wig which i’m not gonna talk about. i cant exactly place what was wrong but yue’s storyline made me cry my eyes out for days and i LOVE HER. for whatever reason i did not feel this way. i want to say it might be because suki & sokka kissed like in ep2 which felt like 5 days ago idk. -> also i jumped up and down when that happened. but it just felt like not as dramatic as it was which was so upsetting cause i was getting ready to bawl.

- katara was more chill. i love her actress btw i blame the directors for this. i just feel like they swapped sokka & kataras roles sort of, sokka was shown as the more mature one and trying to be like his dad whereas katara was viewed as the “little girl” their whole dynamic was that katara was way more mature to the point sokka ONLY PICTURED KATATA when he thought of his OWN MUM? i also feel like katata didnt blow up and get angry as much as she should of idk?

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #zuko #azula #katara #sokka #aang #avatar netflix #ty lee #mai #yue

[flaneur001]

CW- talks about mental health, child neglect, random character analysis and unnecessary deep diving into little details (lol)

Whitney Theory Time~

I went down a little rabbit hole pertaining to Whitney’s oral fixation. I have known that when something is brought attention to constantly during any story, then it’s not a simple coincidence. I feel like (how Sydney said in the library) that Whitney has a lot going on. And it’s probably not good. I feel like their back story will be very angsty and sad.

So as someone who has studied psychology for a while, I found this…and I feel like I hit the nail on the head (for those morbidly curious like me this is Freud’s theory on oral fixation…and yeah don’t judge me for going all Freudian analysis on Whitney/silly)

So chances of our Whit being a neglected child are very high. But from their general appearance in the game (m!whitney wearing a blazer and f!whitney wearing a long school skirt. Both items are on the costlier side in game) I feel like they come from a well off family? the general hate towards the privileged people they hold, points to either them living a life of privilege but they are so miserable they want to escape? (Tbh their whole schtick sometimes gives rich kid doing all kinds of weird stuff trying to get attention from their absentee parents trope)

Or maybe used to be a part of a well off family? I feel like they are not being able to cope with the sudden change in their lifestyle if this is the case. Thus are trying to sell this fearless image of themselves.

And Is it just me or do you find it weird too that although Whitney is sent to detention Leighton almost never does anything to Whitney besides scolding? I feel like they do come from a powerful background. Otherwise why would all these lackeys follow them around?! And they own a phone to top it all off. I know all the other NNPCs have a phone too but amongst the LIs only Whitney (and Avery) owns a phone?!

The lowkey neurotic and manic tendencies they have towards PC also screams of separation anxiety. (Ahem collection of stuff toys?) For example, them needing to control PC at all times. Their love stat going high only when PC willingly chooses to act on their every whimsical/cruel wishes, them wanting to tattoo their name on PCs face of all places, not being able to be more open/ vulnerable with PC because they feel that PC might leave them.

And their dismissal event also shows just how much their image matters to them, and why they crave to be in control. This is yet another trait they share with Avery, when on low dominance, you can see how humiliated they get whenever PC fights back with them. Add insecurity about looks on top and viola, you have some deep childhood issues (I love complex fully fleshed characters so much)

Also the not being sufficiently fed during nursing part (I’m referring to the picture above) makes me think that the Headcanon about their parents being divorced and maybe their mom moving out at a very young age, seems like a possibility. Hence Whitney not being able to withstand emotional cheating seems like a result of that (I’m just spitballing here…)

So yeah. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. I feel good after hyperfixating about a fictional character.

[Bonus Angst Headcanon] I like to imagine, if it indeed turns out that Whitney lives in some mansion with their dad, and their mom left when they were young, why do I get a feeling that their mom left them/ said goodbye to them near the water fountain on a rainy day. Them just staring into the fountain with a solemn mood, feels like there is a definite reason behind it. Or maybe they used to come to the fountain and make wishes with their mom? (Yes I like to torture myself with sad thoughts)

#ashe writes #random thoughts #degrees of lewdity #whitney dol #dol #whitney the bully #rambles

[tmntforeverinmyheart]

Unfamiliar familiar is not just a fic, it is a harmful representation of tmnt 2012.

Infantilizing Mikey who canonically has ADHD, and then going ahead and giving him autism, rubbing salt even further into the wound. As an autistic person, it is absolutely disgusting seeing one of my favorite characters be broken down and destroyed by an in educated idiot, who obviously does not care about the 2012 tmnt characterization or the fact that they have pretty much ruined the tmnt 2012 AO3 tag for so many fans, including myself.

They had a big hand in the creation of the “abused Mikey” trope, which is an absolutely horrible characterization of 12 Mikey and his brothers.

It is harmful by villainizing Raphs anger issues, infantilizing ADHD and autism, not tagging the fic as an AU, as it is so OOC and completely destroys everything Tmnt is about.

Family, the turtles being brothers, being strong and stealthy ninjas. If Mikey couldn’t handle a bit of roughhousing, how would he have gotten through 15 years of ninja training!?

If torable actually watched the damn show all the way to the end, then it would become apparent that Raph goes through character development the most. He changes, is calmer, less aggressive, he’s happier more at ease, because he’s found people in his life who understand and love him for who he is. The change isn’t a flick of a switch, it’s a gradual change over the seasons. Raph is so much more than an aggressive impulsive idiot.

ADHD and autistic people are misrepresented in media, in absolutely horrible ways, and even when autism is done right, it’s always only the one side of the spectrum and never with an actual autistic actor. autism and ADHD do not need to be misrepresented in fanfics as well.

What ever the hell that creature is that torable claims to be Mikey, it’s one struggle after another, and adding autism because you just want to infantilize him is abhorrent. Autistic people are not babys who need to be treated like glass, and representing Mikey as that destroys his character and misrepresents autism in a horrible way.

On a video I did on tiktok about “unfamiliar familiar” I got comments from people saying that they know the author IRL and apparently they are ex-friends and torable was abusive towards them, I’m not saying these claims are true, but I got 3 different people comment about that same thing…🫢

Anyway FUCK YOU TORABLE! FUCK YOU UNFAMILIAR FAMILIAR! FUCK YOU “ABUSED MIKEY” TROPE AND FUCK YOU “RISE ADOPTS MIKEY”TROPE !

#tmnt 2012 #Tmnt 2012 are not abusive #i wish all those abused mikey fanfic authors a very hope you fall in a ditch #me and all my friends hate “unfamiliar familiar #tmnt unfamiliar familiar #rise of the tmnt #autism representation #adhd representation

[utilitycaster]

I've seen you talk about found family dynamics a few times and how its often abused in fandom and I know Bells Hells in no way fits this trope but I was wondering about your thoughts on Vox Machina and Mighty Nein within the dynamic or if it doesn't fit those groups either.

Hey anon,

So here's the thing: I actually think the bigger issue is that most people make a lot of incorrect assumptions that a found family is automatically functional and healthy and loving and ignore that simply because it is a family born of choice rather than birth. D&D parties are often found families, but they are also often a bunch of deeply traumatized weirdos who met by chance in a tavern, which is not precisely a recipe for the most well-adjusted dynamic. People can make terrible choices of family just as easily as they can be born into a dysfunctional or abusive family.

A lot of people also equate found family with "they need to stay together forever in the equivalent of the avengers' mansion" which is similarly not true. What is a family? It is an (often) lifelong bond; but the people within the family still also have their own lives outside of it, and might live apart while still loving each other very much. They also often forget or try to disparage the idea that characters can belong to a found family while still also having families by marriage or blood outside of it and might need to make compromises to balance the two, even though this is again a very true thing of families in the real world.

The cast of Critical Role generally gets this; the fans don't always. Quoting from episode 1x85 for the second time in like 12 hours but as Keyleth said, "I think Percy's right. We're worse than friends, we're family. And family leaves." I can't entirely define a found family - it is ultimately a vibe, and it is ultimately subjective - but I actually think Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein are both found families.

What's always been very revealing to me is that no one ever really disputes Vox Machina is a family, even though from the end of Campaign 1 until the TCSR was published over four years later, in early 2022, it was assumed that they were all living separately or in couples - Percy and Vex in Whitestone; Keyleth in Zephrah; Scanlan and Pike in Westruun; Tary in Wildemount; and Grog traveling the world but often finding himself in either Vasselheim or Westruun. Indeed, even with the TCSR and the fact that everyone has residences in Whitestone, Keyleth does usually live in Zephrah (though she can easily travel); Vex must spend time away from both the others of Vox Machina and her actual family by marriage and blood given her duties in Emon; and Scanlan splits his time between Whitestone and Ank'Harel. Perhaps it's that there were already familial bonds between the twins and between Pike and Grog, and that only Tary dated outside the party and the people who make this claim often forget him anyway.

People do frequently argue the Mighty Nein are not a family for parting ways at the end, despite this being no different than Vox Machina, and also actually being far more able to reunite quickly than Vox Machina can. I think it's in part because several party members (Veth, Jester, Caduceus) all did still very much value their biological families and a lot of found family people really do not like that, but also...look. Most Campaign 2 hate is a front for either being mad that Molly wasn't resurrected or being mad about one or more of the ships. I've never seen anyone whose only complaint was "I felt like it was a found family but then they parted ways"; it's always thrown in on top of being far more angry about several other things.

For what it's worth: I don't think Bells Hells are quite as bonded, but I do think they're on their way, especially if travel and communication remains messy and they're forced to spend more time on watch and sharing rooms (again: I think Matt's vision for this campaign is, in retrospect, actually pretty great, but it should have probably been communicated a bit better to the cast and more investment have been put in the character development to compensate for the challenges of this unique structure). My issue specific to the fandom response to Bells Hells as a found family isn't that I think they're not going to be a found family; it's that people who insisted they actually had the best and most honest found family dynamic and everyone who disagreed were just being haters suddenly turned on the proverbial dime when a character not in their good graces was the one who actually voiced it.

In summary: I think people in fandom, generally, place a disproportionate weight on found family as like...an end all and be all and forget that much like a family of blood/marriage/adoption, a found family can also take on many different configurations and have various levels of functionality and honestly and healthy behaviors; and in doing so forget to actually say "is this dynamic of closely bonded people fun to watch and interesting? then who cares what the fuck we call it." But I do think it's hard for a D&D party in a longform campaign of very close friends not to take on some familial traits.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

[findroleplay]

🧟‍♀️

hello, welcome to my new and improved ad. i am twenty two, my pronouns are she/her and i am a searching for a zombie apocalypse rp. i've been on hiatus for a couple months due to some health issues but i've been bitten by the writing bug once more. i'm an advanced literate writer to a novella style. writing is my escapism, so with that being said -- plotting is essential for more. i adore headcanons and plots and creating little things together. i need the enthusiasm to be returned because it helps keep me invested in the characters and world we build. another important factor for me is creating pinterest boards, i don't know why it's such a game changer for me but it is. i love finding art and songs that fit, i love visuals. all of it! so i ask if my writing partners align with me on that. i will also only write with those eighteen and over.

what i'm looking for in terms of plots, is original dystopian / zombie apocalypse romance plots. i ADORE it. i play male and female muses, i'm good with any pairing but right now i do have a small lean towards mxf pairings, i don't mind which role i take. i will list here some of the tropes i adore so you can get the idea of what i'm looking for. . . enemies to lovers, villains, morally grey characters, forced proximity, tension, one bed, star crossed lovers, forbidden love, gods/goddesses, fae, vampires, elves, grumpy x sunshine, "who did this to you", touch them and die, found family, soulmates/mates, war themes, there are so many more but i feel like it will become tiresome to read so i will stop here, however, if any of it interests you, please feel free to interact or reach out and shoot me a message. i write on discord! another thing to note is the face claims i use are either realistic art or actors/actresses. if you only use female muses, you are welcome with me too! i just request that there isn't any overly submissive characters, i like having some spice and some bickering between the characters.

hopefully i've peaked your interest, i hope to find some passionate fantasy writers. much love!

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#rp #roleplay #zombie apocalypse rp #oc rp #fandomless rp #original rp #dystopian