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emachinescat · 3 years

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Mama Bear

A Tales of Arcadia Fan-Fiction

by @emachinescat @whumptober2021 day 3 - Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But... ("who did this to you?")

Summary: After Jim’s fight with Draal, his mom sees his bruises, and Mama Bear is unleashed. Post-Win, Lose, or Draal.

Whumpee: Jim

Words: 2,603

Note: This fic was inspired by what Barbara said in 1x13 about Jim coming home from school covered in bruises. As is my way, I took the idea and ran with it.

TW: none

Barbara Lake had always considered herself incredibly lucky that her son turned out as well as he did. It wasn’t her own doing, she was sure of that – she always did the best she could, but being a single mom meant she’d had to work extra shifts to support her small family and never felt like she was there enough.

No, Jim was just a really good kid.

Not many moms could boast that their sixteen-year-old son could cook better than they could, let alone that they made gourmet lunches and dinners (and breakfasts, on most weekends), not just willingly, but happily. And not many moms could brag that their sixteen-year-old son did the dishes or kept the house clean or put aside his own wants and dreams to take care of his overworked mother. Who got up early to leave flowers on their bedside table after a long night at work, or who tucked them in after they fell asleep on top of the covers, still in their scrubs, because they’d been too exhausted to do anything else.

Barbara tried not to brag too much about Jim. She knew that he did have a social life of his own, and as far as she could tell, he was fairly well liked at school and she didn’t want to embarrass him if any of his friends found out just how much he doted on his mother. But sometimes she couldn’t help it, and she’d find herself rambling to her beautician or the nurses at the hospital or sometimes even a long-suffering patient about how her son was one-of-a-kind. He didn’t get into trouble at school, didn’t fight, didn’t skip school, and almost never missed curfew.

Until one day, he did.

It wasn’t even like it was a gradual change. There was no slow fade. She didn’t watch him slowly descend into bad grades or late nights or midnight calls about museum break-ins. There were no signs. He went to bed one day, the same as ever, and then suddenly he was getting into trouble at school, getting into fist fights, missing curfew, breaking into museums in the dead of night. Not only that but his grades – which had always been slightly higher than average – had plummeted, and he’d developed dark circles under his eyes like he never slept and sometimes he moved around like he was an eighty-year-old man and though his good nature and kind heart remained, it seemed strained at times. He still did sweet things for her, but not as often.

At first, she’d thought he was burning the proverbial candle at both ends and his lack of sleep was taking a toll on his mental and physical health. As a doctor, she’d seen firsthand what lack of sleep could do to a person. Their entire personality would change, or fizzle out, and their judgment would be severely impaired.

But then she’d seen the bruises and her sleep-loss theory flew out of the window.

***

Two weeks ago

Barbara thought boundaries and independence were a valuable part of a child’s development, so she always knocked before she entered Jim’s room. Of course, if he were gone, she wouldn’t bother.

On this particular day – one of her rare days off – she was sure he wasn’t home. She hadn’t heard him come in, hadn’t seen his bike propped up against the side of the house or in the garage. The container of store-bought chocolate chip cookies (she had neither the time nor skill to bake them herself) she’d left out for him hadn’t been touched. For all appearances, Jim hadn’t gotten home from school yet.

And so, she didn’t knock as she approached his bedroom door with a laundry basket propped on her hip. Jim always did his own laundry, but she’d seen how tired and overworked he’d been lately and wanted to ease his burden however she could.

The sight that greeted her when she nudged open the door and flipped on the light was one that would stick with her, tattooed onto her mind’s eye, for the rest of her life.

Jim was asleep on top of his unmade bed. It looked like he’d gotten halfway undressed and then decided to forgo comfort for sleep, and lay on his stomach in only his jeans. One shoe was on, the other halfway under the bed. But what arrested her attention so violently was the great rainbow of bruises arching across his back and stretched around his side, disappearing beneath his stomach where he lay on the bed.

She couldn’t help herself. A horrified shriek escaped her, and Jim sprung up so quickly it made her head spin. The panicked look in his eyes did not escape her notice, nor did the way he made a desperate reach for his pocket, like he was trying to grab something – trying to defend himself? When he saw who was in his room, and that they were alone, and that there was no danger, the raw fear faded, though a hint of panic remained.

“Mom!” he squawked, crossing his arms across his chest like that would be enough to hide the dizzying array of green, purple, yellow, and black that blanketed his chest. She noticed with surprise the lean muscles of his arms. Jim had always been fit, but never strong. He’d never said anything about a gym and he’d never been serious about sports, but she filed this information away for later and focused on the problem at hand.

Her stomach twisted as her doctor’s eyes traveled slowly, deliberately down her son’s bare torso. The bruises were worse on his stomach and chest, something she hadn’t thought possible, and she realized with horror that some of them were days, maybe weeks, older than others. This – whatever this was – was not an isolated incident.

Rage like she’d never felt before, like the protective energy of all mothers who had come before her collected into one finely-honed sword, pierced her soul as she came to the only conclusion that made any logical sense: Someone had done this to her son.

When she spoke, she barely recognized her own voice, cold as the furthest depth of the ocean, shaking with unmitigated fury.

“Who did this to you?”

Jim’s answer didn’t surprise her, but she also didn’t believe it for a second. “No one. It… was an accident.” She watched, lips crammed together in an impossibly thin line, teeth grinding against one another, her hands trembling with a righteous anger she had no outlet for, as Jim slowly reached out for the shirt he’d left in a heap at the end of the bed, the other arm still wrapped protectively around his torso. She didn’t stop him. She would absolutely be examining his injuries fully before the evening was done, but for now, she’d seen enough. The sight of her son’s bruised flesh would burn in her memory forever, more clearly than when she saw it right in front of her.

Skittishly, like a cat caught sniffing around back alley garbage cans, he snatched up the shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head. He couldn’t hide the flinch as he raised his arms to pull the fabric over his head. As he did so, she got the full view of his torso, and the wild, impossible thought flitted through her mind that it almost looked like some giant hand had wrapped around his body and squeezed. The image, however nonsensical, sent waves of nausea crashing through her. Her anger swelled again, and the crest of it burst forth, no longer containable, and the only person she could release it on was the one who was actively lying to her.

“James Lake, Jr. – do you think I’m an idiot?!”

Jim froze, his hands stilling completely as he adjusted the neck of his tee. He had never heard his mother direct such cold fury at anyone, let alone himself. “W-what? Of course not, Mom. I just–”

“You expect me to believe that you accidentally hurt yourself this badly? That you woke up one morning and you were covered in bruises? Jim, I’m a doctor. I see people come in for less than this. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have fractured ribs.” Now the anger was giving way to panic. “And don’t think that I haven’t noticed that some bruises are newer than others. This isn’t something that just ‘happened’ and it’s not an accident. So tell me. Who – the – hell – did this to my son?”

A small, ridiculous surge of satisfaction bubbled up inside of her as she watched Jim’s mouth fall open. He’d never heard his mother utter a word stronger than darn before. She’d always been very careful about the language she used in front of him. But his condition released something feral inside of her, and it was honestly a bit of a shock that nothing stronger came out.

She watched his face, saw the conflict in his eyes, knew with even more surety that he was hiding something big from her and trying to decide if he was going to answer truthfully. Well, tough luck. He wasn’t leaving his bedroom until he answered her question.

He must have seen this in her eyes, for after a moment, he dropped his gaze. Heavily, he sat down on the foot of his bed and stared down at his hands. “Mom, I… can’t. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

At this, the fear took center stage again, and Barbara fell to her knees in front of her son, cupping his face in her hands. The tears she’d been holding back with such determination threatened to fall at the way he unconsciously leaned into her touch. His eyes closed briefly, and for a moment he was a child again, sniffling from a scraped knee and being comforted by his mother. That moment ended all too quickly, because his scraped knee was actually a bruised and battered torso, and he wasn’t a child anymore, and he was in trouble.

“Jim. Whatever is going on, I promise, I won’t be angry. But someone is hurting you. You can’t deny that. What is happening to my son?” She tried not to speculate – dared not speculate – but so many possibilities chased themselves through her head, each one worse than the last. Bullies? Abusive teacher? Drugs?

He sat for a moment, a slumped, defeated statue with too much weight on his young shoulders – Young Atlas, Walter’s voice echoed in her mind. She saw the exact moment when he made his decision. He squared his shoulders, set his jaw, and met her eyes once more. Something brewed within those beautiful blue depths, but what it was she couldn’t say. Was it regret? Guilt? Fear?

“It really was an accident,” he finally said, voice slow and measured.

“Jim, really–!”

“I’m telling the truth, Mom!” he insisted so fervently that she was tempted to believe him. Almost.

“Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?” she demanded. “What kind of ‘accident’–”

“A Vespa one,” Jim blurted, and his eyes flickered down to his hands in shame. “I… a friend gave me a ride on his Vespa. I was on the back and got thrown off and rolled halfway down the embankment before a tree caught me right in the ribs.”

Fresh panic wormed its way into Barbara’s mind at Jim’s confession. As horrible as it was, part of her desperately wanted to believe him. If he had been in a vehicle accident, then no one had been deliberately hurting her child. It was just his own irresponsibility and stupidity.

“When did this happen?”

A beat. Then, sheepishly, “... yesterday.”

But – “What about the older bruises, Jim? Did you get into two Vespa accidents?”

“Paintball,” Jim answered without missing a beat. “We had a whole thing a few months back. Guys versus girls. And I got hit. A lot.”

Barbara recalled clearly the size and location of the older bruises that had peeked out from underneath the fresh, reaching ones. They could have easily been from punches or kicks, but it was feasible that the bruises could have come from being shot at close-range by a paintball gun.

Deep down, something still nagged at her. But Jim’s explanation was a siren’s call and she was so tired of swimming.

“Do you promise me you’re telling the truth?” The gaze she fixed on him one would have withered a succulent.

Without hesitation, Jim answered, his voice clear, strong, and insistent. “Yes.”

Relief flooded through her, and she squashed the last remaining doubts, perhaps a bit too eagerly. “In that case, you are grounded.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “What, really? You promised you wouldn’t be angry!?”

“I’m not angry, I’m disappointed. Let’s see, you know how I feel about both paintball and those Vespas and yet you went behind my back and nearly got yourself killed. You’ve been lying to me, Jim, keeping secrets. Is this why you’ve not been sleeping? Why you’ve been so distant?” It didn’t explain why he’d been getting into more trouble than usual, but right now she would take what she could get.

The slightest of hesitations. “Yeah.”

She considered, eyes burning into him, for a long moment, then she sighed, the sound of every evil thing escaping Pandora’s box, and she clapped her hands together briskly. “Okay, come on.”

Jim cocked his head to the side. “Where are we going?”

“The hospital.”

Jim groaned. “Mom, I’m okay. I’m just bruised.”

“I’m not taking any chances, mister. You could have fractured ribs. You should have been rushed to the hospital as soon as the accident happened. Who is this friend, anyway? Why didn’t he take you to the E.R.?”

Jim scratched the side of his neck. “You wouldn’t know him,” he evaded, and Barbara made a promise to herself to revisit this point later. “And we were afraid we’d get into trouble…”

“Well, you did, kiddo. Now, get up. We’re going to the hospital, you’re getting x-rays, and then we’re getting ice cream.”

Jim blinked up at her. She wondered if he realized his arm was curled protectively around his ribs as he slowly eased himself off the bed. “Ice cream? I thought I was grounded.”

“You’re hurt, Jim, and I’m your mother. I’m not a monster.” A soft smile pulled at the corners of Jim’s mouth at her words, and not wanting him to get too comfortable, she added, “You are grounded, though. Absolutely. You’re not going anywhere after school for at least two weeks. And depending on the x-rays, you might not be leaving your bed for a while, either.”

“Mooom.”

“Don’t you ‘mom’ me. Now, put your other shoe on. Let’s hussle. I want you looked at as soon as possible.”

What she didn’t see as she turned to leave the room was the heavy curtain of guilt being drawn over Jim’s face.

Later, she’d drive him home with a diagnosis of two cracked ribs and deep bruising across 80 percent of his torso and a bottle of muscle relaxers for the pain. They’d get ice cream and he would mope about bedrest and she would try to cheer him up (but not too much; he was still grounded, after all). But behind the pain of his injuries lurked a deeper, fierer ache that no balm could soothe, no medication could ease.

With every lie, he could feel the chasm widen between him and his mother, and it hurt more than a few broken ribs and bruises ever could.

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leelysian · 4 years

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Changbin as your older brother AU 💖✨

genre: fluff, bullet point fic

word count: 2.3k

warnings: swearing

Disclaimer: I do not personally know Changbin. This work is purely fiction and my own idea. I took inspiration from his on screen persona. Please do not translate or re-upload my work.

A/N: hi :) Sorry if this is kinda bad. I’m running out of ideas for this series(?). It’s really hard to write these aus for the members when there’s limited knowledge about them and when you’re trying to make everything seem different without making it seem like they’re all one dimensional and cut from the same cloth. Thank you to everyone who has been reading these older brother aus and thank you for being patient. Please leave some feedback, it really keeps me going. ❤️

☆ Let’s start with you as babies.

☆ Changbin would for sure as kiddy questions like “How did the baby get inside mummy’s tummy?” “When will baby come out?” “How does baby poop?”

☆ Your parents either answered him vaguely or somehow dodged his questions.

☆ Would sleep in your parents bedroom close to your mum to protect her baby bump.

☆ Would be hella excited to feel you kick in your mum’s tummy.

☆ Would say cute things to the baby bump. “Come out quickly baby I can’t wait to play with you.” “We can play with *insert favourite toy* together.” “We’re going to have a lot of fun together.” I am close to tears

☆ Doesn’t care about the gender.

☆ When you were born, he was extremely excited to see you but little Binnie patiently waited till your parents had their moment first until they ushered him to the hospital bed.

☆ He was wide eyed as he held you as if scared to hurt you. He smiled when he stroked your cheek with a finger and smiled wider when you grabbed onto his finger.

☆ CUDDLES, CUDDLES AAAAAAAND MORE CUDDLES

☆ Tried to help your parents take care of you but most of the time failed.

☆ *tries to put pants on you* *gets kicked in the face instead*

☆ The only thing he could properly do was cuddle you as he fed you a bottle and somehow you ate properly if he was the one feeding you when you were being fussy.

☆ *you two fall asleep while he’s holding you*

☆ Adoring/curious stares.

☆ Fed you a bit of lemon for jokes when you were starting to grow teeth and had the time of his fricking life when he saw your reaction.

☆ I’m talking the kind of laughs he does with his whole body.

☆ Helped you learn how to walk patiently. Just laughed when you fell on your butt.

☆ Taught you how to high 5 at a very young age.

☆ You talked to him a lot. Not like he understood what you said because it was mostly babbling but it was fun for both of you.

☆ You broke a lot of his toys. He’d get upset until he got new ones.

☆ The one toy he never shared with you was Gyu, his plushie.

☆ Fast forward you’re older and know how to walk and talk coherently, Changbin is a kid.

☆ Changbin wants cookies but they’re on the top shelf and your mum purposefully put them there so neither of you could reach.

☆ “Changbin what are you doing?”

☆ Changbin: 👀

☆”I’m gonna tell mum~”

☆ “NO DON’T. If you help me, I’ll give you a cookie then you have to promise me you won’t tell mum.”

☆ Your smart ass contemplated for a few seconds before you agreed, “Ok what do we do?”

☆ “If I lift you up can you grab the jar? Don’t drop it.”

☆ “Yes.”

☆ Somehow both of you managed to retrieve the jar unscathed. Why none of you thought to grab a chair and do it, I don’t know.

☆ One cookie turned to two then three until the jar was half empty and your dad caught you.

☆ Everyone except you two with crumbs around your mouths in the room:️

👁️👄👁️

☆ Your dad walked in with brooding eyes. He grabbed a cookie and started eating quietly, “It’s a secret.”

☆ All three of you smiled happily and continued munching on the cookies.

☆ Until a while later your mum walked in and gasped, “YOU ATE ALL THE COOKIES?! *insert dad’s name* YOU WERE IN ON THIS TOO!”

☆ The three of you gulped nervously until you said, “No mum look! We saved a few for you!” The three of you smile innocently.

☆ Your mum sighed and smiled exasperatedly. “This is the last time.” A chorus of agreement sang throughout the room yet nobody meant a single word.

☆ Most of the time you two were hyperactive and played around so much you’d be knocked out cold by the time it was around 9 pm.

☆ Your parents had to lug you to your shared room.

☆ You two played tag a lot, he was really fast so you’d always get tagged very quickly.

☆ HIDE AND SEEK

☆ Running. So much running. You’re the hyper kids.

☆ Rock paper scissors. Winner flicks the loser’s forehead. Changbin always took the penalty but never really doled it out on you, if he did it wasn’t too hard.

☆ Races. “LAST ONE IS A ROTTEN EGG!”

☆ Changbin could easily win, but sometimes he slowed down purposefully to let you win for a change.

☆ Giggles. Giggles everywhere. Giggles all the time.

☆ Pillow forts in your room.

☆ Tickle fights.

☆ Cuddling together while watching cartoons.

☆ You thought he was cool.

☆ He liked you thinking so highly of him.

☆ Made him want to be even cooler for you.

☆ He’d ruffle your hair playfully.

☆ He’d pinch your nose. “AAAAHHH”

☆ He’d pull your hair.

☆ PIGGY BACK RIDES!!!!!!!!!

☆ Such a joker. It was harmless fun.

☆ Once you doodled on his school notes. He got mad and stopped talking to you.

☆ He rarely got angry at you, sure you two bickered sometimes and sometimes got whiny at each other.

☆ You apologised with a treat you got, instead of eating it by yourself, you gave it to him as a peace offering.

☆ He didn’t eat it himself, he shared. “It’s okay just don’t do it again. These are important. You’ll know when you get older.”

☆ “Ok. I’m sorry.”

☆ Things became alright again.

☆ Fast forward you’re tweens/teens/young adults.

☆ The dynamic is wild.

☆ You two would always goof around like idiots.

☆ Changbin annoyed you a lot.

☆ “Y/N look over there!” you’re stuck in visible confusion. *smacks your head and runs*

☆ “CHANGBIN!”

☆ You’re eating chips. “Y/n what’s that?” “What’s what?” *steals bag*

☆ “When are you gonna stop tricking me?”

☆ “When are you gonna stop falling for that?”

☆ You get pissed.

☆ Then it escalates into a wrestling match until ultimately you get hurt and start nearly crying in pain.

☆ “FUCK! SHIT SHIT SHIT I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY HERE YOU CAN HIT ME BACK. PLEASE DON’T TELL MUM! PLEASE STOP CRYING!”

☆ You’re watching tv peacefully. Changbin walks in with a nerf gun/water gun. “REACH FOR THE SKY!”

☆ The living room turns into a warzone or a set for mission impossible.

☆ You ‘borrow’ his clothes. “Y/N STOP STEALING MY SHIT!”

☆ He ‘borrows’ your charger. “GET YOUR OWN CHARGER CHANGBIN!”

☆ He casually strolls into the living room, sits next to you with feet propped up on the table, snatches the remote when you’re not looking and changes the channel.

☆ “HEY I WAS WATCHING THAT!”

☆ “Well too bad. I don’t wanna watch it.”

☆ “GIMME THE REMOTE!” “No :}”

☆ Another wrestling match for the remote.

☆ You hide his glasses. Basically keep them with you.

☆ “Hey y/n have you seen my glasses?” “Nope.”

☆ He looks EVERYWHERE.

☆ You keep them on top of the tv when he’s away. “Hey Changbin found it on the tv.”

☆ “That’s weird I don’t remember putting them there. The heck?”

☆ “Maybe you’re just losing your mind. Already becoming an oldie?”

☆ “I may be old but I can still kick your ass.”

☆ You’re the younger sibling that either grows up to the same height as him quicker or grows taller than him somehow.

☆ He hates it. You thrive on it. “Hehe shortie. Can you even reach?”

☆ So he started working out to tone up.

☆ You’re barely able to lift a heavy box. He picks it up with ease. “Do you even lift?”

☆ He’s washing the dishes. You leave your dish for him and sneak out. “Y/N! I SWEAR-”

☆ You have a lit music taste because of him.

☆ You’re sleeping, he’s up early. You need to go to school. Instead of waking you up like a normal person, he pulls the blankets completely off of you and tackles you. “Y/N WAKE UP!”

☆ “CHANGBIN YOU CRAZY BASTARD! DO YOU WANNA DIE?!”

☆ You two are eating. He’ll finish eating seemingly at the speed of light and stare at you eating. “I’m not sharing.”

☆ “I didn’t say anything.”

☆ awkward silence

☆ You pass your food to him. “You owe me, pabbit (pig + rabbit)”

☆ Both of you forget about it later on.

☆ He’s hella clumsy.

☆ He’d definitely break a glass or plate or vase.

☆ He’s the type to fix something just enough to make it seem not broken so the next person who uses it would think they broke it.

☆ Anything to not get his ass handed to him by mummy dearest.

☆ You do this thing to annoy him which is basically mock/copy him when he tells you something.

☆ “Hey you know-” “Hey you know-” “you know that-” “you know that-” this continues a few more times until he screams and tackles you.

☆ You did this thing where you literally jumped on his back when he was unaware and you'd stick to him. The scream was worth bursting your eardrums. Worked every time.

☆ He was built he could carry you.

☆ Another thing is copying his actions.

☆ He yawns, you yawn. He scratches his nose, you copy. He stretches, you stretch. He shifts, you copy.

☆ “STOP COPYING ME!” “Stop copying me” “I said STOP COPYING ME!” “I said stop copying me!”

☆ “I hate you.” “I love you too bro.”

☆ His friends like you and a lot of times you hang out with him and his friends.

☆ He wears the weirdest stuff just for shits and giggles.

☆ “Hey y/n.” “What?” you look at him and burst out laughing.

☆ Where he got a shark head mask, you had no idea. You had tears running down your face as he started to sing and sexy dance to baby shark.

☆ “STOP I’M GONNA PEE!”

☆ You two say the darndest things.

☆ “I just realised- if vampires can’t go out in the sunlight then wouldn’t the moonlight kill them too?

☆ “How?”

☆ “Moonlight is just the sunlight shining from behind the moon dumbass.”

☆ “Oh shit you’re right.”

☆ Another example of this would be:

☆ “The hospital is the only place you leave without entering.”

☆ Both of you: 👁️👄👁️

☆ You’re eating watermelon. You bite some of the white bit.

☆ “I just realised the worst part of the watermelon tastes like a cucumber.”

☆ awkward silence “wait you’re right.”

☆ “Anyways, here you can wash the plates.”

☆ “Y/N!”

☆ AEGYO FLUFFY GOODNESS

☆ Will use everything in his cuteness arsenal to get what he wants.

☆ You hate to admit it actually works sometimes.

☆ “Y/n~ pleeeaaaseee get me some cookies.”

☆ “No.”

☆ He keeps whining and rocking or shaking you. “PLEEEEAAAAAASEEE”

☆ “FINE!”

☆ Who’s really the older sibling and who’s really the younger sibling?

☆ “You know you could’ve just gotten them yourself with the time it took you to annoy me into getting them for you?”

☆ He just smiles toothily.

☆ “If you could choose between a giant me or 5 mini me’s which would you choose?”

☆ “Neither I’d rather die.”

☆ “Y/N! WHYYYYY” he whines and shakes you.

☆ He’s always there for you when you need him the most. He’ll always comfort you with tight hugs.

☆ He’s the type of person to make silly jokes and make you smile or laugh to make you feel better instead of sort of brooding with you.

☆ This is only acceptable with him, if anyone else tried to be goofy when you were upset it wouldn’t work.

☆ Because it’s Changbin’s thing. Only he has that power.

☆ You rarely see him upset. He’s always smiling, joking around and acting cute.

☆ One time, really late at night you saw him in the kitchen sitting with a glass of milk. He hadn’t noticed you.

☆ This was off putting because you rarely saw him this quiet. He’s always laughing and loud.

☆ He was staring off in the distance, the glass gathering condensation from being out of the fridge and into warm temperature.

☆ “Can’t sleep?” He was startled and shook his head no. “What’s on your mind?”

☆ “It’s nothing.” You sat with a glass of water. “You know you can tell me, right?”

☆ “I know I just don’t wanna bother you.” he said and this confused you. “Why would you be bothering me? That’s absurd.”

☆ He shrugged, “I dunno, seems like all I do is annoy people these days.”

☆ You pat his back. “Hey, that’s not true. Well it only applies to me because you’re my sibling. That’s a thing. Is there anything specific you’re talking about?”

☆ He stays quiet for what seems like the longest time until he unloads.

☆ You’re not good with words like he is. You try your best to listen and give sensible input.

☆ Changbin admired that about you. Despite being younger, you were sometimes mature and understanding. You were authentic, you never tried to be something you weren’t.

☆ Which is why he always valued your words.

☆ Afterwards if he had anything on his mind, sometimes he’d vent to you.

☆ You the ability to make his insecurities disappear simply because he feels stupid for the way he thinks when he talks to you.

☆ You make his problems miniscule, not in a belittling way but in a way that makes him realise how things could be different or done differently.

☆ Your sense of perception was something amazing.

☆ This is why Changbin believed you were the best sibling he could ask for.

☆ But little did he know, you wouldn’t be able to function properly if he wasn’t the goofy, silly, clumsy, idiotic Changbin who exists today.

☆ He’s just the right type of flavour you need in your bland life.

☆ don’t be shy put some more.

☆ He’s the right balance of a clown, a baby and a guardian angel.

☆ He’s extremely caring, loyal, kind hearted and annoying.

☆ You’d change absolutely nothing.

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differenceenginegirl · 4 years

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Everything seems a little dark and scary at the moment, so I have complied a list of links to cultural and/or educational things (and some just streams of cute animals, or just plain fun) that are available to watch or listen to or do for free (mostly) online. Some of these will only work for the duration of the current situation (marked with a *), but most are permanent (so far as I know) so can be kept around for a little bit of sunshine on a rainy day.

Feel free to add to this with your own links or ideas, and remember, we’ll get through this together (with the appropriate social distancing). Follow the advice that’s been given, wash your hands, and be kind to one another.

The majority of links were brought to my attention by @theyahwehdance, @elleflies, and @buckysleftarm (plus a bit of a deep dive through my drafts). Under a cut because hoo boy it got long...

(Some links in the linked lists may be broken, some may be region-locked, and some may be duplicated, I haven’t checked them all.)

Culture and Education!

The Metropolitan Opera, free nightly (19:30 EDT, 23:00 GMT) broadcasts of operas, available for 20 hours following the broadcast too. (Schedule for the first week)*

Berlin Philharmonic: 30 days free access to their virtual concert hall (redeem before 31st March 2020)*

Playbill have compiled a list of 15 professionally recorded musicals you can watch at home (Not all free) and are inviting people to join them in watching Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Starring Lesley Ann Warren on 20th March at 20:00 ET! (video may be region locked)

12 highlighted virtual museum tours and a whole load of others from around the world!

Science Twitter, a series of Skype with a Scientist virtual lectures! (A sign up with an email is required through the link in the tweet, running from 12:00-14:00 EST, (16:00-18:00 GMT)

30 virtual field trips! Links to virtual tours and live cameras of many different places! (Aimed at kids)

Animals!

Cincinnati Zoo Facebook Live virtual safaris, every weekday at 15:00 EDT (19:00 GMT)* Completed safaris will be posted to their website shortly after the Live finishes, and also kept on their Facebook.

Live Monterey Bay Aquarium Cams: 10 different cams showing various tanks and enclosures, and the bay itself!

Live San Diego Zoo Cams: 9 different cams showing various creatures in their habitats!

Atlanta Zoo Panda Cam

Danish Sea Eagles Cam (this site in Danish, and may go dark, as the equipment is solar powered): A live feed of a Danish Sea Eagle nest!

Peregrines in Norwich and Bath!

Live Animal Cam, Ohio: A cam focused on a feeding station, with night vision so the feed continues even after the sun goes down! (This shows wild animals, so there is no guarantee that you’ll see creatures)

Shedd Aquarium let their penguins out to explore! (Under supervision) More exploration here!

Two Oceans Aquarium did too, and look at these little cuties on the stairs!

A livestream of adoptable kitties!

And here’s a thread with some of these cams, and more!

Music!

Various people (started by cellist Yo-Yo Ma) playing/sharing music that comforts them on Twitter.

Virtual High School Musicals! (Original Thread) (Wider Hashtag) Many High School kids are now finding themselves unable to perform the musicals they’ve been working so hard on, so Laura Benanti invited them to video themselves performing and share it with her, so they still get to perform for an appreciative audience! (Some of these are absolutely stunning!)

Never before heard Hamilton track demo!

A playlist of Quarantunes on Spotify, compiled by Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks’ wife)

A playlist of 101 Feel-Good songs on Spotify, compiled by @lanamlouise

This guy made a really cool instrument out of PVC pipes!

A group of engineers in Stockholm turned a set of stairs into a piano to encourage people to use them rather than the escalator!

Stories!

Josh Gad reads a bedtime story (Olivia goes to Venice) with voices!

Various celebrities reading kids stories, as part of a charity initiative to keep kids fed during school shutdowns.

A bunch of free short stories, essays, audio and video by the wonderful author @neil-gaiman (Plus two photos of him in an ancient hat!)

Find your local indie bookstore and support them while also getting a new book! (US only)

And of course, you can’t leave out the marvelous Archive Of Our Own for fanfiction and fanworks for almost every fandom you can think of! (Remember to make use of the tags and filters to narrow your search or avoid things you don’t want to see/read!)

Food!

A recipe for Norwegian Christmas Butter Squares! (Apparently like sugar cookies, but in bar form and better)

A fudgy brownie-in-a-mug recipe!

A really nice chocolate pudding (in the British sense, so like a cake) with spiced chocolate sauce! (I love the whole cookbook that this is from, and it’s especially good for Discworld fans. Available from various sellers, I have linked my favourite money-sink, the Discworld Emporium: Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook)

My favourite biscuits (cookies) to make! Honey and cinnamon, with a picture book (Honey Biscuits by Meredith Hooper) that you can read alongside to explain to kids where all the ingredients came from!

Creativity and learning new things!

LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems! (13:00 ET weekdays, videos remain post-stream) Aimed mostly at kids, but don’t let that stop you doodling with the Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence!

A little list of doll makers/dress-up sites!

How to take really good photos of the night sky with a phone! (Please continue to observe social distancing rules while taking your pretty pictures)

Fancy making a language? Here’s a site with resources to help you get going with that!

A long list of sources of inspiration, arty websites, and some that are just fun!

Make your very own Peaches the Mouse by @my-darling-boy!

Want to learn 3D modelling? Fusion360 is free (for hobbyists and students) and professionally used, with a good network of tutorials and an, imo, fairly intuitive interface! (I use this a lot)

Want to play with Photoshop but don’t have the money? Here’s a free, in browser version! (Has ads, but they’re unobtrusive)

Want to try your hand at creating a sim? The Sims 4 Character Creator Demo is free! (Limited options, but still fun to play with)

Whether you play D&D or not, this is a really cool custom miniature creator, with loads of options that are being constantly added to updated! (And if you have the money, you can get it in a printable format, or printed for you in a variety of materials!)

Fancy learning something new? Memrise has a load of free courses, ranging from real languages like French or Spanish for beginners to fictional languages like Quenya (one of the Elven languages from LotR) or Klingon, or trivia bits like Harry Potter Spells or Noble Houses in Game of Thrones, and many more! (Available in multiple languages, although not all courses may be available in all languages)

Ever fancied trying to build armour or cosplay props from foam? R31 Studios has you covered with free PDF templates for all sorts of bits!

Meditation and Calm!

60 second meditation tool! Put a worry into a star, and watch it float away with a calming soundtrack and

Meditation with Lizzo!

Customisable Rain Sounds!

Customisable Train Sounds!

And many more customisable noise generators!

Play with liquid/particles! (Warning: this one made me feel a bit motion-sick, but pretty!)

Interactive generative art!

Random bits I couldn’t catagorise!

Don’t want to dine alone? Have dinner with the Gaffigans!

A series of Mildly Interesting images from @catchymemes!

A group of stuntmen doing Super Mario!

Another list of Good Links (Really well organised!) by @secretladyspider!

@thelatestkate draws wonderfully reassuring cartoons! (On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook too!)

World Record Egg Instagram! Lots of nice little positive cartoons.

Happy news from The Happy Broadcast on Instagram, The Happy News, and HuffPost Good News!

Here’s an ongoing list of good stuff by @pftones3482! (Check the notes for more good stuff, and the latest addition)

Some feel-good browser games!

And finally, a little frog here to give you some reassurance!

#positivity #feel good #happy things #reassurance #link list

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infriga · 4 years

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A, S, Z my dude.

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Most of them are in One Piece haha. My main ones at the moment are SanLu, ZoLu, and KataLu. In SU I wasn't originally all that into Connverse, I didn't mind it I just wasn't too interested, but it really grew on me in later seasons and in SUF, so I'm quite fond of it now.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

I headcanon that Steven is an animal whisperer, wild animals, domesticated animals, anything. He goes full Disney princess around them. I feel like the scene with the alien animal that got attached to him right away in Why So Blue is convincing evidence for this.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

I have thoughts about various fandoms but here are some for my main three:

Steven Universe:

I've always enjoyed how SU isn't afraid to show Steven being less traditionally "masculine" while still being a boy. I like to think that any boys or men who have been afraid to enjoy things that would be considered more "feminine" can watch the series and gain more confidence in that part of themselves.

I also really like that they gave him center focus in SUF and deconstructed the idea of him being the benevolent therapeutic do-no-wrong character that only served to prop up and showcase all the other characters, and they did it without making him a bad person or a villain (and no I don't consider kaiju Steven to be a villain. I don't consider a scared kid having a mental breakdown triggered panic attack to be a villain). I like that they sort of forced the audience to look back on things they used to take for granted about him, like how often he was tossed around and subjected to terrifying experiences. I also especially love the deconstruction of cartoon logic and cartoon physics, and the unflinching open acknowledgement of Steven having ptsd. Like the number of people badmouthing him during SUF by saying he was getting egotistical, or that he was just being edgy and hormonal, shrunk drastically after Growing Pains and it was great to see.

One Piece:

I love how hard Oda goes with the found family trope. Like he does have plenty of good biological parents and he does have some biological siblings who genuinely care about each other, but there are so many arcs that incorporate the themes of "you choose your own family" and I love it. Like during Marineford, we'd just found out that Ace wasn't Luffy's biological brother not that long ago. You'd think a big deal would be made by the narrative regarding Ace's parents, but it's not. Sure it's made a big deal by the government, but in terms of the narrative the main importance is given to him being Luffy's brother. Even when Ace tries to disown him to push him away out of fear of him being hurt, Luffy refuses by literally screaming "I'M YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!!"

My dad was adopted, so I love when shows portray adopted families to be equally as valid as bio families.

Gravity Falls:

I love how... Adult Grunkle Stan's story is? Like, there's a difference between mature topics, and adult topics. Plenty of shows made for kids deal with mature topics, like war and racism and all that stuff, and I think that's a good thing for kids to see and learn about in a controlled manner. But Stan's story was something that mostly adults experience. Not specifically homelessness or crime, younger people can experience that, but that long time estrangement of family, working for decades to do something right and still being viewed as a failure, finding a new side to yourself in a younger generation that believes in you and cares about you without the baggage, and inspires you to change. Old grudges and running from past mistakes, built up on a long history of being told you're not good enough. And I love that his story ends with him being a hero, not because he's some saintly person who believes the world deserves to be saved, but because he's just a man who loves his family and would do anything for them. I love that despite having every reason to believe he'd fail, he still kept working for 30 years to save his brother. He proved everyone wrong about who he is, and showed he was a good man who was capable of great things.

#Steven universe #Steven universe future #One piece #Gravity Falls #Reply #Ask meme #Long post

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frederator-studios · 6 years

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Adrian Thatcher: The Frederator Interview

From Nelvana’s studio in Toronto, Adrian Thatcher has been expertly steering the Bravest Warriors Space Whale from the Director’s chair. We here at Frederator have had as much fun watching Adrian’s work, as he's had creating it! Here, Adrian discusses his windy path toward directing animated TV, and the many awesome shows and films he’s contributed to along the way. I’ve gotta echo Adrian on one BIG point: bring Clone High back!!

Did you go to school to study animation, or anything else?

I went to Sheridan College in Ontario. I applied for almost every artistic course I could think of: Illustration, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, and of course Classical Animation. I ended up taking one year of Illustration before switching to Classical Animation.

When did you know you wanted to work in cartoons, and what inspired that choice?

Like a lot of people in animation, I didn’t even realize that working in cartoons could be an actual career. Drawing was pretty much the only thing I did as a child, so I knew that I’d have a career in something creative. But animation probably would have been very far down the list—I really enjoyed graphic design and advertising in high school. I didn’t make a conscious choice to pursue animation professionally until about halfway through my first year of college. The industry was booming and it was in the news a lot. Jurassic Park, Toy Story, The Mask. It didn’t take long to discover that many Sheridan graduates were key players in some of these films. These were people that went to the exact same school I did; I thought, “I can do that!”

So that was my first concrete inspiration, from a career perspective. But I had early brushes with animation as a kid. My big brother showed me how to make flip books. The subject of which mainly consisted of a little stick-man skateboarder doing tricks before falling off of cliffs, smashing into walls or onto a bed of spikes. Inspiring stuff as a kid, seeing your drawings move, but not exactly something that I thought I could turn into a career.

What shape did your path through animation take, position to position?

Great question! Let’s see, a walk down memory lane. My first job was at Walt Disney Animation Canada. Yes, they had a Canadian studio. Two actually: one in Vancouver, one in Toronto. I was hired onto the pre-production crew for Hercules II after my second year at Sheridan. The first job I did was inbetweening for Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) on development animation for a new Hercules villain. I enjoyed that but also wanted to explore my options, and pre-production was great for that. I did a little character, location, and prop design, as well as storyboarding. After Hercules II, we began Peter Pan: Return to Neverland; by then I’d narrowed my focus to location/prop design. I learned a ton from lead designers Ted Collyer and Dermot Walshe. From there I moved into production layout on Little Mermaid II, Lady and the Tramp II, Jungle Book II and a few smaller projects. For those films, I moved to Walt Disney Animation Australia for two years. Sydney was awesome and I learned a lot from the people down there, even if I didn’t know it at the time.

When I returned to Toronto, I started my 16+ year career with Nelvana as a location/prop designer on Clone High. A couple production layout gigs at Nelvana followed and then I was given my first art direction job on a show called 6teen after doing the development location designs in full colour. I loved the job even though I’d never planned on being an Art Director. I don’t think I even knew what an Art Director did until I started! I remember going home after being offered the job and searching the Internet for information about being an Art Director. I must have found the right stuff, because after that, I art directed Ruby Gloom, Willa’s Wild Life, and Scaredy Squirrel before getting my first directing job on The Adventures of Chuck and Friends. I even managed to win an Emmy award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction on Willa’s Wild Life. After Chuck and Friends I went on to direct Oh No! It’s an Alien Invasion, Ranger Rob and then….wait for it... BRAVEST WARRIORS!

Ahh ye-ah! Since you've done everything from layout to design to art directing, do you have a favorite role? Was directing your goal?

I think that my favorite job has to be directing - it’s definitely where I’m happiest. At times it almost feels like that first week on the job at Disney, where I could choose what I wanted to do. Directing allows me to have a hand in many areas of the production. I still design some characters and locations, like the Slumber Sisters (BW, “Chained to Your Side”) and the Techno-Cavern (BW, “Whispers in the Morning”). I’ve even storyboarded a little! Ted Collyer and I teamed up to board the new Bravest opening. My favorite part of directing is working closely with, and having the support of, so many great people. People like my Assistant Director Campbell Bryer, who can step in and handle production details when my schedule gets crazy—and it often does. Marc Sevier, who keeps an eagle eye on the animation; Davian Bobrowska’s amazing art direction. Everyone on the team, really. I never chased directing: I just focused on learning as much as I could in the role I was in. Once I felt I’d learned enough in the role I was doing, I wanted to learn more, and that’s what really led me to directing. I’m still learning more every day.

What qualities are most important for a Director in animation to have?

Wow, there are so many and they all feel of equal importance. But a few in no particular order: I think that you need to remain humble. Having a big head as a Director will not serve you well. The ability to listen to the ideas of others and to collaborate is paramount. And having a sense of humor, of course!

If you weren't a Director of animated TV, what would you be?

That’s easy. I’d be a general contractor. For some reason I really like mudding and taping and I can cut in with a paint brush like a pro… I kinda wish I was kidding. Either that or a very low paid singer/songwriter. Yeah, I play a little guitar. No, not a ukulele. I mean I play guitar a little.

Do you have a favorite project ever, and why?

I’d have to say that I’m currently experiencing it! Directing Bravest Warriors here at Nelvana and getting to know all the great people at Frederator over the last year and a half has me in a permanent state of happy.

Aww, yay! What do you like best about the show?

Making Bravest is a blast. I get the biggest pleasure from the writing and humor. It has a great balance of weirdness and intellect. Benjamin Townsend (Story Editor) has done a fantastic job of guiding the writers through the Bravest Multiverse. He’s very well read and a student of culture - it shows through in every script. We’re lucky to have him on the team.

Who is your favorite character on Bravest, and why? Do you have a favorite episode of the current season, so far?

My favorite character changes every day. I think it might be Danny…or Wallow…but then there’s Beth. Arrgh, this is tough. I think I have to say Danny. John (Omohundro) brings so much to the role. He’s a super funny dude! And my favorite episode? That’s even tougher. So far, I’d have to say it’s episode 416 “Nothin’ Stays the Same” by Ryan North. It’s a great Beth episode with a Groundhog Day theme. I really like the fast pace of that one.

How was it to work on Clone High - do people still tell you how much they love it? (I love it, so that counts as one).

HA! Clone High. I still love it. Yes, I still drop that name and get great reactions. Even now we quote Clone High on a daily basis here at Nelvana. Interesting fact: when I got the Bravest Warriors job, the very first person I contacted was Ted Collyer (Director of Clone High) to be part of the Bravest storyboard team. Lucky for us, Ted was just finishing up another series and accepted. Ted has been a huge part of Bravest; he was my teammate in boarding the opening. Clone High definitely deserves a reboot! Bring it back! Bring it back!

What were your favorite cartoons growing up, and what are your favorite animated shows or movies?

My absolute favorite cartoon growing up was the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show. Sooo many iconic characters, and I loved the short formats. I think a show of the same format and structure would do well today. Of course The Simpsons. For animated movies, I’m a bit of a Disneyphile. My favorite of all is Aladdin. Toy Story II is right up there too. And, even though it’s not animated: Back to the Future. I’ve watched that movie too many times to count.

Thank you for the interview Adrian, and the awesome work on Bravest Warriors! Which everybody can catch up on riiiiiiight here :)

- Cooper

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schtroumpf-a-lunettes · 6 years

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under cut because long!!! this is roughly a discussion of like, children’s media (or something propped up as children’s media/parodying a kid’s show) being depicted with grimdark and/or mature content or w/e. I both agree that these ideas are often completely unoriginal and boring and stuff and bad. but also it can be done right and have plenty of merits. and in saying that, that’s not what my fic is trying to do as well though

I think I’m edging (relatively) closer to looking like a little bit of a hypocrite if I agree with the notion that portraying characters from children’s media in dark situations tends to be boring/unoriginal/edgy and I don’t know how to, fully express how much that I... well for one thing that’s not.. what I ever really want to go for. many of those kinds of portrayals are generally irreverent, wildly OOC, edgy for the sake of being edgy, purely for shock value. Sometimes the person doing it doesn’t rly know anything about the source material beyond the most basic surface level, and it furthermore can be boring if it doesn’t offer any meaningful commentary. ofc those things don’t usually intend to offer meaningful commentary, they just want the shock value of something like “haha the SMURFS but VIOLENCE/ADULT CONTENT, wild right???”, and they achieve that very basic goal, and it can be boring. it doesn’t tell us anything, it’s just, shock value and that’s it.

Ok I mean... it DEPENDS, sometimes (plenty of times) I actually find the Subverted Kids Show trope incredibly enjoyable, but like, hm. some ways of going about it are more tasteful than others. I guess part of that is personal preference though I do think there is a small amount of objective guidelines involved too

and you can still make insightful commentary on a text aimed at children through a Subverted Kids Show Format while having the characters be ooc! Robot Chicken smurfs (which I will discuss more in other posts) for me oscillates between making a surprisingly good commentary sometimes and mindless (but fun(ny)) scenes to, very tasteless/bad scenes that don’t do much imo. well its goal is to be funny and that’s it I guess, and it hits that goal some of the time

I guess the exact opposite of the surface-level shock value joke can also be super boring though. a text/theory that takes itself super seriously and tries to explain to you how Actually This Kid’s Show Dark! can possibly be even worse. e.g. “characters in kids show are just trapped in purgatory/it’s all a coma fantasy!!” or whatever. But I think, part of what would make a thing like that Bad is a fundamental misunderstanding of core parts of the canon and/or a... lack of regard for canon in the sense that you’re really willing to sit here and write of everything that the characters have ever been through as being Meaningless because it was all just one character’s dying memories? that completely robs the text of its power. Like saying Homer’s been in a coma since like season 5 of the simpsons. As a certain podcaster that won’t be named said because I have, a lot of bones to pick with them lol - there’s something so redundant and pointless about saying “everything that’s happening in this fictional show isn’t real”. what does it realistically.. add, kinda thing.

But I don’t think there’s cause to be automatically dismissive of anything that tries to.. approach children’s media from an angle where you can construct it as being just a little bit more sombre than it looks like on the surface or something? idk. because there can be worthwhile things to explore that make interesting commentary on the text, where you NEED to introduce less-than-happy concepts to derive them. (Sometimes the kind of commentary that deconstructions try to make is, not so good and misses the mark, although it’s not always the case.) there’s one argument against this which is like, Why can’t you just let kids have things? It’s not that deep. You’re trying to put a sinister spin on something when... it’s just not necessary. Why add to the darkness of the world. let people, especially kids, just have this bright and pure thing.

And I completely agree with that sentiment, honestly. The smurfs are good, happy, innocent, that’s the way they are and should be, don’t try to take that away from kids or people. Like 80%-90% of my enjoyment of the smurfs is all about that, I’m in full agreement, I just want happy little innocent elf society adventures and I’ll be happy. Although. It’s not like smurfs was always happy. there are plenty of tearjerker moments in the show, plenty of disasters and bad things happen to them (that they readily overcome by the end of the episode). and here I guess you also have to avoid patronising kids in thinking that only happy and nice stuff can be for them. as in, the smurfs does have really sad and upsetting moments but that Obviously doesn’t make it Not For Kids.

I think that in addition to that, slightly darker themes can be explored and exposed under certain extreme circumstances if smurf society was subject to it. And I think this in no way invalidates their tranquil, happy status quo and good nature as a society as we know it. Also it just so happens that my inspiration for fic happened to revolve around negative ideas instead of positive despite me, in fandom, just enjoying the positive/light-hearted usually (I think?). whoops. but these kinds of outside-of-canon things don’t do anything to the canon, canon stands as it is. I try my best to stick as close to canon as possible kind of, as a kind of canon purist, haha, in terms of characters and realistic reactions.

another thing is, for a positive kid show like smurfs, to have something really bad happen might seem off, but, one of the things I want(ed) to explore is “if x thing happened, how would the characters deal with it?” (I think this point will be, more pertinent to the next smurfs fic I have lined up once I finish the current one I’m working on. heh, heh, heh.)

I mean really bad stuff happened in the cartoon but it was never too extreme and it was resolved by the end of the episode normally. so for something long-term... yeah.

I also think occasionally I’ve done like. stupid smurf stuff that is kinda ooc over the years. and part of why is I think something happened where I was so anti-doing that that it kind of looped back around to the point where I Did it because, of course, I acknowledge how far-removed from canon it is that it therefore doesn’t mean anything, or something like that. and It Amused Me. and sometimes shock value smurfs at least done Somewhat tastefully is amusing to me too for that same reason because (if) it’s harmless fun or something

now this whole thing I’ve written up is mostly general thoughts and not actually much related to my fic. just, writing the fic has got me thinking about this kind of stuff so some of it is vaguely related. But fundamentally I don’t want my fic to be super dark. in fact, there are many very dark storyline paths that I could have taken which I actively chose not to, because those paths were not what I wanted this story to do. I just want it to be a fic where the smurfs experience a lot of hardship that they struggle to overcome, and I want to keep it very closely aligned to canon where I can, while other stuff changes, with.. time. Like yea there are definitely some dark elements though haha. But I’ve read some dark smurfs fic and haha.. don’t think mine really shapes up.

Like this whole post might sound like me being defensive or something, but it’s not because the premise of my fic isn’t “Edgy Grimdark Smurfs” or anything like that, and therefore that’s not a concept that I need to defend for my fic. and I don’t need to be on any kind of defense because nothing anyone else has said has prompted this post, haha. I didn’t set out to write Dark smurfs fic, I set out with an idea of some challenges the village could face and followed through with how I thought the village and its inhabitants would/could react to them, or some of the possible ways the village could react to them. And IF the results turn less-than-smurfy, I still follow up on them if I think it is realistic to the canon for it to happen and an interesting path to explore. Like I’m not really taking the world and adding/forcing dark elements in, I’m bringing out underlying currents that I already saw present when observing the society in the cartoon. Maybe I added some stuff to flesh things out, but the core ideas I bring out have basis in the cartoon imo. Anyway yeah like 70% of this post isn’t related to my fic, just kinda general thoughts type thing as I said lol.

Oh yeah also it’s like - I want my fic to still remain mostly in-tune with the show, I want to do my best with that. I don’t want darkness-induced apathy or for it to feel like it’s too far out of line from what is plausible. in-tune with the universe and the characters, but exploring stuff you wouldn’t necessarily pitch to young children at the same time type thing. And I’m not going out of my way to do that, moreso I’m not imposing that restriction on myself in terms of what I write. I’m tryin’ my best, haha. like, setting out to write grimdark fic is fine, but it possibly requires a different audience and authorial approach compared to what I feel is the approach I want to encourage for my fic. both approaches and writing styles are valid, just different type thing. I’d hate to turn people away if they’re not into grimdark stuff when it’s not what I was going for or w/e

#I don't want the fandom to judge me because like #I'm one of you!! I agree!!!! hahaha #take this I'm adding it to the queue and it's rly late lol so sorry if it's not so gr8 lol #just sum thoughts

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Everyone Loves All Might and Here's Why!

He’s the Symbol of Peace, an icon of stability and optimism in a superheroic age. He’s the greatest of superheroes, chasing down villains wherever they lurk, saving the people with a gallant smile. He’s a friend and mentor to our boy Deku, equipping him with all the strength and support he needs to achieve his own heroic destiny. He is All Might, My Hero Academia’s shining star, a character whose design screams Infinite Strength and Giant Teddy Bear all at the same time. All Might’s presence is a tremendous part of what makes My Hero Academia so great, and today, we’re going to celebrate all the things that make All Might special. Let’s start at the top and raise up a cheer for the Symbol of Peace!

Reason One: He’s Just That Awesome

We’re going to get into some less obvious reasons eventually, but there’s no denying the big one: All Might just really is an awe-inspiring superhero. From the grand finale of the show’s first season to his recent participation in the superhero counterattack, the moments where All Might gets to go wild are always incredibly rewarding. Just seeing him smash through that wall to save Bakugo gives the immediate impression that things are going to be okay, even when we know that’s not really true. All Might’s beautifully realized strength makes it totally believable that he could carry this world on his shoulders; he evokes in us the same confidence he props up for his own people, making us truly believe him when he says “it’s all right now. Why? Because I am here!”

Reason Two: He’s Extremely Adorable

You wouldn’t think a man who alternates between appearing as a muscle-bound goliath and a sunken-eyed husk could possibly come across as “adorable,” but All Might somehow manages it. Part of it comes down to his demeanor; in spite of brimming with gallant confidence when he needs to, he’s also awkward and overly polite and often a screwup, so there’s a great natural tension between “I am the strongest hero ever” and “whoops, I broke another school regulation, now everyone’s gonna be mad at me.” Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt that he does stuff like awkwardly asking Deku to lunch and showing up to loiter at work when he’s bored. All Might might be the lofty Symbol of Peace, but he’s also a pretty relatable dude.

Reason Three: He’s a Flawed but Committed Dad

All Might isn’t literally Midoriya’s dad, but I mean, c’mon, he’s Midoriya’s dad. He’s the figure Midoriya looked up to as a child, the one he saw as an invincible goal to aspire to, and the one who’s gone on to be Midoriya’s day-to-day confidant in navigating not just his powers, but life in general. All Might has given Midoriya great confidence, helped him regain hope in his dream, and generally supported him, but he’s also been far from a perfect influence. All Might’s instinct towards sacrificing himself for others has in Midoriya turned into something even more self-destructive, and All Might often lacks the perspective or good sense to keep his adopted son from getting hurt. And yet in spite of that, All Might acknowledges his own failures, and works to protect Midoriya while knowing he hasn’t always been the best guide for the boy. He screws up and tries again and does a little better, all the while demonstrating he’s not just a great hero to the populace, he’s also doing his best to raise one mixed-up kid.

Reason Four: He’s Trying Hard, Too

All Might works hard to present himself as an invincible icon of heroic strength, because that’s what the world needs him to be. But in truth, All Might is always pushing himself, and as the series goes on, it’s clear his constant heroics take a heavy toll on his health. All Might is ultimately much like Deku: strength doesn’t come naturally to him, it’s something he pursues because he feels he has to, because people are in danger and he thinks he can help. Because of this, when All Might claims he was inspired to move by his own students, we can easily believe him. All Might is as vulnerable and uncertain of himself as any of us, and the fact that he still works so hard and achieves so much in spite of that is what ultimately makes him so great. Even when he's physically spent, All Might knows he can never let down the people who believe in him, and so raises his fist all the same. Acting strong when you're actually strong is easy; performing strength when you're at your weakest, because you know the people need something to believe in, is the sign of a true hero.

All Might is a tremendous boon to My Hero Academia, and that’s before we even get to his weirdly charming design, or the animation buffet of his major fights. Though his time as the Symbol of Peace may be coming to an end, the importance of his work is clear in all the people he’s inspired, all the new heroes he’s taught to believe in themselves. Whether it’s through sparring with villains on city streets or simply telling Deku he did a good job, All Might embodies the spirit of heroism, giving us not just a hero to believe in, but the confidence to believe in ourselves.

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Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now, and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time, or follow him on Twitter.

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leoxrobertson · 7 years

Text

[Ramble, Parte Deux]

Eh, bien, continuouns! (From yesterday’s post)

New author mistakes, mostly by men

I’m going to come back to authenticity, but before you hear me list some caveats, just know that if I’ve described your writing style but this is genuinely how you think about the world, or how you sound to your friends, there’s no problem with it at all. The only real problem with the below is how it rings false, fails to hit the mark, if you get me.

I can tell new male authors by how they sound exasperated with everything. They’re so nervous that they’re not an authority on anything that they feel the need to tear everything around them down, and sneer heavily, which they call voice, but really it smacks of the fear and desperation with which it was written. The writing apes our favourite authors: Bret Easton Ellis, Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahniuk. The sneering is usually combined with a desire to be seen as some sort of cool waster bohemian type, as per our other favourite authors: Bukowski, Bolaño, McCarthy, Carver.

Or there’s the desire to be seen as some sort of neurotic, misunderstood genius, like our gender’s other group of favourite authors: Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace, Charlie Kaufman, Woody Allen. Or some downtrodden salt-of-the-earth type whose sad life gets super sadder, like the work of George Saunders, Louis CK. If you’re an older guy but new writer, you may feel the need to sound incredibly well read, and say things like ‘One thinks of Homer/Ovid’, or, ‘Leave that to the world’s greatest stand-up comic: Kafka’ so it’s all like ‘Ohhhh he’s pure in touch with contemporary culture but has something of the masters to offer us!’ like Salman Rushdie.

Sometimes you see writers championing a particular genre and claiming it’s the one genre we need the most in these times, often, as I’ve done above, quoting a number of authors, their names like buttresses used to prop up a nervous argument that is framed as follows: ‘I don’t know how to prove this or why you would believe me, but I have read a lot.’

Phew! Okay that sounds like a lot of pitfalls to avoid. Sorry if it was tough to read, and it may even sound like my own nervousness is causing me to pull rank and outsneer sneerers. I promise that’s not what I’m doing: see, there is a clear (but ever changing, ever evolving) path to good writing that neatly dodges these pitfalls, and it’s a path only you know the routing of, because it is your path; it is authenticity. You find it, trial and error-like, by falling into the pits of your favourites. This is why you’ll always be your best editor before anyone else: because more than anyone else, you know what you’d say. So you know what to take out!

There’s no shame, not at all. But it’s something to graduate from. I’m not sure I have. I’m probably not as good as I used to think I was, though I’m definitely better than I’ve ever been. When won’t that stop being true for anyone, about anything in their lives? Because using the path-navigation analogy, you’re forever going forwards. And these favourite writers: maybe sometimes they’re pitfalls and other times they’re mountains. Or ramps or something. You can fall into them or you can spring off them to higher destinations.

On early female writer mistakes? Not being well read enough, or demonstrating a predilection for a rubbish author—while at the same time claiming to be inspired by Dostoyevsky or something. But these are demonstrable flaws of either sex, and I think women generally get better at fiction faster because they tend to have been more naturally curious about others even before they came up with the highly megalomaniacal and egotistical idea of harvesting the LIFE from their surroundings for their own benefit and canonisation.

Hah, of course there’s more to writing than that. Growing up, the great thing about fiction is finding yourself, or your observations better articulated, such that you don’t feel alone and have words for feelings. When you’ve done most of your growing, well, I find it too frustrating wading through fiction for someone else to tell me what I’m feeling: I’d rather take a shot at articulating it myself and assume someone else feels the same, or similar enough for it to resonate. It’s surprising that even now there might be a new way of looking at the world, that what could be considered the millionth version of a story that I tell might be unique enough to be needed. But I’m not in control of that. I mention some other author coping strategies later, but one of them is ‘I was telling my own [often with specified genre] stories to my friends and family since I was knee high to my uncle’s walloper.’ I totes wasn’t, by the way. I wasn’t even reading as much as I thought I was, for most of my life. To be fair, Borges didn’t come up in my Dynamic Behaviours of Process Systems or Particle Engineering classes, for example! But feeling out of sorts, underqualified, like you’re playing catch-up, feeling intimidated—it’s just what it feels like to be human sometimes. Other times you’re able to not give a shit but I think you have to do both unfortunately, to stay focused—or something.

One route to authenticity is self-deprecation. I discovered a quote through an interview with John Barth, and a bit of Googling to reveal the origin of it showed that it’s a maxim handed down through many different professions, so I have reason to believe it’s a decent guiding principle: “The secret of success is sincerity. Fake that and you’re in.” If there’s a character you identify with most, make them do something really stupid and embarrassing, or say something ridiculous, or laugh at themselves, or you can take notes on their past that are embarrassing or something like that.

Well, self-deprecation is just one example of making you see the character as human—then they can no longer be this idolised version of yourself—because this is embarrassing and unattractive. It’s like as a kid when you watch cartoons and you think if you were to design a superhero, you wouldn’t give them a weakness. He’d win every fight, but you wouldn’t tune in!

You don’t want to hit on the self-deprecation too hard either, right, which is what’s so grating about the emptier celeb memoirs. ‘I have caviar delivered to my manse so dorkily, durr!!’ Readers both need their writers to implicitly demonstrate some authority and also to be humble about where that authority or knowledge or understanding fails them. Then I suppose that any story is inherently imperfect—which it absolutely is—is not a shame but a necessary feature of it. It might feel like a shame because sometimes you want the last word on a topic, but we’re all part of an endless conversation, “Yes, and”-ing each other until the end of days.

The typical American strategy is to argue so forcefully for one’s own opinion and draw as little possible attention to opposing viewpoints that the reader simply has to subscribe wholly. I guess that’s one strategy—it worked out for Ayn Rand haha—though I don’t think it’s the best. I suppose that’s how you both create comforting bubbles and hide their existence.

You can balance both opposing views such that a story seems fully fleshed but almost ambivalent (Chekhov.) Or you can be so nervous as to spend most of your time building up straw men and tearing them down sneeringly, like young male authors like to do.

And on that note, get over this idea of artist-as-persona. I used to love the idea of being interviewed and didn’t understand why writers seem so uncomfortable when they’re on some panel or whatever: they’re living their dream, right? Until you watch the whole interview and hear that not only are most of them incoherent but they really don’t have any more clue about what’s going on than you do—or if they do, they aren’t as great at articulating as they would’ve liked. If there’s a guiding question for the interview or panel, you’re not really much closer to answering the question at the end than you were at the beginning. The following stances are irritating until you try explaining things yourself and realise they’re unavoidable in a sense:

- ‘Well what I did in my latest book, available in all good bookstores now, is…’

- ‘I need to phone a friend: I’ll put him on speaker. Okay DeLillo’s not answering, so I guess I’d say, something meandering, then quote a passage of Nabokov I think I’m special for understanding.’

- ‘I’m just some crazy kid from [Nowhere] with a [working class slang for typewriter] and a [working class slang for basket] of dreams seein’ where this wild ride takes me!’

- Others

And who’d want to sound like the above? The writer knows not only that they have to shuffle off the stage having gotten out very little from inside of themselves, but that the world will judge them on these random Tuesday morning events for years to come. Boooo!

Anyway it’s hugely arrogant to think that you know who you are and are in full control of how you present yourself to the world, and the discomfort of trying to do this every day, rather than setting yourself in stone and acting the same—much lesser, I’m sure—part, will provide you with the knowledge that no one is free of this central conflict of life, and once you see this, you will write better, with more empathy. Empathy isn’t everything nor is it nothing.

Writing a story should be a discovery process for the writer: they set up a set of initial conditions and carry them to their logical conclusion. That’s what I think good stories are, by the way: thought experiments. This is what I think is key to the notion of why something has literary or lasting merit and something else satisfies only the needs of the fans of its genre. And it explains how the industry of fiction is similar to, say, the scientific community, which producers paper after paper with insight building upon insight in a neverending fugue of information. This being true, you can expect to train for a long time as a writer without producing results, much in the same way a PhD student can self-direct years of failed experiments, finding out way after way that something doesn’t work and hopefully allowing this to guide them closer to a viable solution, a new way to do something, to think about something, a new discovery, whatever it is. It also explains how a writer may at any stage of his or her career create a failed experiment. The worst thing is that only to a writer does a failed experiment sometimes look successful! But the pain and confusion of the writer’s life is not unique to writers; I’d say the writer’s life is less obviously necessary and hence less respected. Or at least, the writer’s pain has a unique flavour—but the scientist’s can be just as acute, just differently so. And again, anything on the spectrum of self-doubting sigher to joy-filled happy-to-be-here-er to productivity-driven automaton to rebellious slacker is acceptable as a coping strategy for this pain. But I suppose in literature the personality more evidently informs the content.

I can say countless books have at least adjusted my perspective and given me a new way to look at a problem, and at most saved my life. It’s way less likely that they can do this if written by an author who is less diligent.

Side note: saving lives is a thing we all do. Since humans can’t live in absolute solitude, who knows who we’re cumulatively keeping alive or how? There are general principles on how to act that can maximise this in most instances, of course. Saving a life is perhaps the most important thing we can do, but I suspect we all do it at the very least once in our lives in a discrete-occasion manner, but in a diffuse continual manner, life is all about its self-propagation, using all of us in a network in order to do it. What I mean is, if you’ve ever saved a life, you’re special and you’re not and you may have to do it again today. The jury is out on you and all of us. Anyone around you could be on the brink right now: maybe they need a kind hello at the bus stop, which has saved plenty; maybe it’s deadly relapse number seven and there’s no hope. I lost my point, but this is interesting to consider. This is why empathy is important and it isn’t: there may well be no need to ache for everyone, but can’t pull up all the drawbridges on your island either. Binary warring forces, everything in constant flux.

More tomorrow :)

#creative life #creative writing #books #ebooks #amreading #reading #amwriting #writing #author advice

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