#//But he knows there's Also a greater risk of him really ending up hurt or worse there; and Not the physical kind

[dutybcrne]

Kae does make it a point to avoid going to the Winery when he knows Diluc will be there. His exceptions being Mandatory Knight Business, or bc the Traveler happened to bring him along with.

[inbarfink]

So one of the cool and interesting ways ‘Steven Universe’ used to try and balance being both a series of 11-minutes episodes that each have their own satisfying emotional resolution and being an overarching story with complicated character arcs that take multiple seasons to resolve is the… I���m going to call it the ‘Not Quite Right Lesson’ episodes. Episodes where a character kinda learns a Very Important Lesson… but a more careful and retrospective look at the situation shows that what they learned is not Quite the Right Thing for them. They internalized something in that adventure which just ended up causing more Emotional Troubles for themselves farther down the line.

‘The Test’ is the most classic example. 

As a standalone thing, it’s just a sweet episode about Steven learning to accept that his caretakers are also flawed and confused and figuring this shit up as they’re going along just like he is, and then doing a nice thing for their sake.

But looking back at this episode, it is quite obviously the nadir of Steven appointing himself as the Family Therapist and repressing all of his problems so he could better help the Gems’ with theirs. Like, there have been some early warning signs for this Complex, but this episode is the one that really cemented that idea in his mind and probably the reason it took him like the Entire Rest of the Show Including a Post-Finale Season to really untangle it.

But… also, I’ve been thinking a lot about the episode right after that, ‘Future Vision’. I think it’s also a very important ‘Not Quite Right Lesson Episode’ for the character of Garnet, and to some extent, the Crystal Gems as a whole. In many ways, it is to the CGs' character arcs' what 'the Test' is to Steven's.

So in this episode, Garnet reveals to Steven the fact that she has Future Vision. She hoped that telling Steven a little bit more about herself and being honest with him will lead to a greater understanding and a greater bond between them… but it backfired. It just led Steven to become a total paranoid, terrified wreck stuck in a total existential crisis.

And it seems like the lesson Garnet learned is that… she should’ve never taken that risk at all. That it would’ve been better for everyone if she just kept Steven ignorant of the truth forever.

Extremely reinforced with the ending of the episode, where Garnet chooses to once again hide an uncomfortable truth (that he just came very close to dying again) from Steven, for the sake of his own ‘peace of mind’.

So, like, the Gems were already hiding uncomfortable truths from Steven since day one. “If you could only know what we really are” and all of that. But I think… With the actual truth of Homeworld encroaching on them more and more at this point of the story arc, this would’ve been a great time for the Gems to reconsider their attitude and actually Explain to Steven What the Hell is Going On. 

But instead, I think Garnet saw the events of ‘Future Vision’ as a reinforcement of the idea that there’s just some things Steven is Better Off Not Knowing. Actually being frank with him about Homeworld and the Diamonds and the War right there and then, that would have just overwhelmed Steven with fears and worries and would’ve ended up doing nothing but hurting him. And Garnet can’t accept that possibility, not again.

And so, Garnet, alongside Amethyst and Pearl, keep all these truths from Steven as long as possible. Only revealing bits of information when they have to. For Amethyst it’s about her emotionally-evasive attitude (also, she legit doesn’t know all of that stuff herself). For Pearl it’s about how she learned to romanticize Rose’s own fucked-up obsession with secrets. For Garnet, with her usually very direct attitude and preference for the most straightforward solutions, I think it’s very much the events of ‘Future Vision’ that were still playing in her head every time she had the choice to actually Explain something to Steven and decided not to. 

But that, indeed, was Not Quite the Right Lesson. While being bluntly and directly told by Garnet all about the Many Ways He Could Die caused Steven to go into an anxiety spiral and an existential crisis for an episode - the way the Gems have been consistently secretive and evasive with Steven ended up causing him so much more emotional grief to him in the long run. As all of these secrets ended up revealed to him in the most surprising, dramatic and traumatizing way possible.

And the secretive attitudes ended up driving a wedge between Steven and the Gems. 

Even after they promised to be more honest with him. Because the sight of Steven crying on the roof that day is one that Garnet can easily move away from. Because Garnet’s Not Quite Right Lesson was almost as difficult for her to unlearn as Steven’s own. 

But after the big confrontation at the start of the Zoo Arc, Garnet ended up being the most upfront about the Crystal Gems’ history. Almost overeager to share what she knows about the past.

I mean also, again, Amethyst just has less to tell and Pearl is hiding secrets for reasons beyond her control - but I think it’s also important to consider from the perspective of Garnet’s arc.

Because the fallout of the Pink Diamond Reveal is very much centered around Garnet (or, well, Ruby and Sapphire). That was the Truth that was hidden from her 'for her own good'. And at the end of the day, despite all the grief that unveiling that truth has caused

It has also brought them, all of them, a lot closer.

There's a reason why 'the Truth' is Garnet's Final Missing Piece in the movie. It is as central to her character arc in the series as Lesbian AngstTM grief over lost love is to Pearl.

And still, some remnants of the Trauma of 'Future Vision' remained...

After all, even the very last episode of 'Future' was centered around the Gems once again trying to hide things from Steven (at that case, their turmoil about him leaving) for his own sake

Even though it once again just caused Steven a whole lot of grief.

It's maybe notable that at the end of this episode, Garnet, once again, tells Steven what's waiting for him in his Future...

[liass-21]

this trailer literally could not have come at a better time bc my benthan obsession has recently crept up again and now it’s like 100x worse

that said, imagine an au where after fallout benji and ethan stop talking. benji is always targeted more bc of his relationship to ethan & ethan realizes that that will never stop no matter what he does & benji’s life will always be in greater danger because of him. he thinks abt rogue nation & london & lane & then lane again & maybe even one more instance where something happens to benji so someone can get to ethan that’s not actually in the movies. & he realizes that the only way to keep benji safe is to distance himself from him. however, at the same time, benji is thinking through these same instances, how he’s always the one captured or used against ethan & thinks it’s because he’s the weak link. he’s not as good of an agent as everyone else & it’s obvious to everyone especially the bad guys.

i cant decide if this is an au where benthan are already dating for a few years (& have already been talking about marriage) & ethan breaks up with benji a few weeks after fallout & gives no explanation & then just stops talking to benji entirely & leaves benji there in the dust wondering what he did wrong. or if it’s where they’re just friends & after fallout ethan just slowly distances himself from benji – he is still polite in the office and acknowledges him & makes small talk, but he stops putting benji on his team during missions, stops talking to and hanging out with him outside of work, stops really being his friend.

but either way, benji eventually puts things together and realizes that ethan had realized the same thing he did after everything that went down – benji isn’t good enough. and ethan’s done dealing with it anymore. benji’s too much of a risk factor, he’s not good enough to be on ethan’s team, not good enough to be his friend/boyfriend, & ethan’s too polite to tell him that but it’s clear he doesn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore.

idk and then somehow sometime later benji confronts him about it, maybe he gets drunk and calls him & ethan goes down to the bar & takes him home & takes care of him (“what’re you doing here?” “you called” “so?”) & then they talk the next morning & ethan comes clean bc he feels terrible & it’s clear that all of this is hurting benji so much more than ethan could ever have imagined. & idk if they would get together then, i think it would take a while for ethan to come to terms with the fact that benji’s life will always be in danger bc of him & is it really better to hurt him this way than the alternative? (& in the case of them dating & ethan flat out dumping him with no warning or explanation, i think it would take a long time for benji to forgive him & get back together). & it’ll take a long time for both of them to heal from everything but at least they’re talking now

and yeah idk i don’t really have an ending & sorry this is slightly incomprehensible, my brain is not working, BUT i had to share bc this is eating me alive

new m:i trailer, benthan obsession reinvigorated, kai in my asks ranting about old men spy yaoi… world is healing 💜

that being said… ur MIND. it would be so angsty but also like so believable idk i can easily see both of them being like ah the only solution is to cut off the ones i love. i need to gnaw on them like a dog chew toy.

i love the idea of it being an ambiguous ending and like? they’re not really happy but at least they don’t hate each other/ignore each other/etc? and it’s slightly hopeful with a bittersweet tang because they both know that ethan will be in danger for the rest of his life because of the job and so benji will be too, but they decide that maybe (just maybe) it’s worth it.

ugh. chewing on them. tom cruise fandom we are so back

[astarlightmonbebe]

the shenanigans in wedding impossible are fun and all, but impossible to truly enjoy because i cannot forget the high stakes behind them. it was bad enough when the premise was simply a contract marriage to cover up one man's secret, but now we have 'let me seduce my brother's fiance-soon-to-be-wife' thrown into a mix. jihan's actions are harmless on the surface, sinister beneath it. for all he says he cares about his brother, ajeong is right when she says he's not a very good brother (i mean, you could argue the same for dohan, which i will get into in a minute), because what brother makes a move on his brother's woman? it doesn't matter if there's no feelings yet, or if the marriage is fake - they've barely begun and they're already getting caught. and jihan and ajeong getting caught leads to dohan and ajeong getting caught out too, and so it always comes back to dohan's secret, his reason for trying to escape. i think starting off the drama we already know that dohan ultimately won't be able to keep his sexuality a secret, that it will somehow be forced out into the open, but with each episode, the stakes surrounding that reveal get higher and higher. the higher it gets, the more the fall hurts. the higher the walls, the more violently they crumble.

and, objectively, none of the characters are entirely without blame or flaws in the situation. dohan asking ajeong to marry him without consideration of the cost it could have on her (he's asking her to move to ny, lie to her family and his, possibly stall her career or risk losing it entirely, etc). ajeong lying about her career to dohan and acting as if she's rich and all that. for close friends, they are sometimes careless with one another, but we can also see them remedying that, rebuilding the gaps, such as when ajeong sincerely accepts his offer, and dohan calling her to check in. jihan's a much more volatile character. his character can be understandable when you think that he wants dohan to have happiness because he somehow thinks of himself as responsible for their mom dying, but what's the point in fighting for something for dohan that dohan doesn't even want? dohan has made it clear he doesn't want the company, but jihan has it set on him inheriting it, on marrying him off. he's not much different from their grandfather in that respect, although at least their grandfather agreed to let dohan marry ajeong instead of trying to break them apart like jihan's doing now. jihan's pushy and overbearing; dohan, in contrast, is perhaps too laidback. he doesn't seem to understand jihan's ambition or his struggles in the power balance, and he also left his brother alone with the wolves for five years. it's hard to really analyze the brother's that much, because we don't get that many scenes of just the two of them and have barely any backstory on how their relationship was like growing up (did dohan look out for jihan? what does he know that jihan doesn't, and vice versa? how was dohan's position in the family (we understand jihan is bottom rung)? etc).

still, when it gets down to the bone, the biggest blowback is on dohan, because he'll end up losing the one thing he wanted to protect. ajeong entered the game as an outsider, and she'll leave like one (or eventually be welcomed back into the family as jihan's wife at this point), although there will probably be considerable affect possibly on her career or public image as an actress. jihan could lose a lot, more so in standing, which he cares about, and public image as well. dohan gets outed to his family, and probably the greater public depending on how much comes to light (that reporter seems like he'll be an issue). so really, jihan and ajeong are playing a game and forgetting dohan is in the middle. and that's going to be a problem.

[mikuchan]

BG3 Marriage Rankings

Mikuchan version. Would it end in love or hurt (or would it even get off the ground)? main girls and guys + cherrypicked side characters

1: Alfira. at the risk of being self-pandering, I REALLY think we would work. I would write my stories, she would write her music. I'd work at a Baldur's Gate printing press or something and support her music career. We'd hype each other up. We could adopt a cat.

2: Gale...I was a Gale Hater for a long time but I'm eating my words lately. He is very cool and we'd work well together. And to be real, "eloquent man who's very skilled, into deep lore, is also a good cook" describes both Gale and my irl husband. I do think I would struggle with the Mystra thing but I have enough past issues of my own to relate + hopefully mutually get over it.

3: Aylin. Again, "strong cool confident person who loves deeply" is just my irl spouse. I thrive under constant touch and reassurance lol and I appreciate loud people. On the flip side I think I would temper some of her brashness. I did rank her below Alfira/Gale because I'd be insecure about the immortality/mortality thing.

4: Karlach...we both feel deeply, but also both optimistic enough to haul each other out of the darker parts. Small issues like I think she's way more extroverted while I'm happiest at home, but we could make it work.

5: Wyll. We'd just be sweet together. I could learn how to dance. I feel like he'd enjoy going to yard sales with me.

6: Lakrissa. I love her but we wouldn't have crazy chemistry, if I'm being honest -- her quiet would set me on edge, my waffling would probably annoy her, etc. I think we'd be better as friends. That said, I think we're both determined enough that we could work together in like, an arranged marriage or fake-dating type situation.

7: Dammon. I haven't really dug into Dammon beyond basic game interactions, but he's sweet and I like his muscles his work ethic

8: Isobel. I ranked her middle because probably no obvious problems? but no deep chemistry here either. I like Isobel a lot. I hated her at first because I thought she looked a little like myself and I'm a betta fish with a mirror, but I'm over that now.

9: Shadowheart. I love her but we'd have terrible communication, we'd both go passive aggressive cattiness instead of bringing up our issues. BUT if we could get over that, I think we'd do well.

10: Minthara. I think we have the same problem of 'dislike' being our initial impulse re: new people (or situations, or things) (#born2hate) but if we were in a forced proximity situation like the bg3 quest, I think we would both get over it. Like Shadowheart, I think we'd either be at each other's throats and end in divorce or learn to work together and be one of those rude judgy couples.

11: Rolan. I waffled on him because on the one hand, I think we'd do very well at pushing each other to greater heights, supporting one another, but I also know we wouldn't totally gel. He's more committed than I am, but I'm more quick to be indignant and would get annoyed at his passivity under Loroakan. We'd be better as workplace frenemies slash cheerleaders.

12: Jaheira... she would not want me and my parent issues... she would probably appreciate my old lady hobbies but also I'd say 'pog' and she'd dump me

13: Mizora. I ranked her lower because it would absolutely end in divorce and possibly death (my death) but yes would 100%. I see a hot evil woman with horns and red hair all my self respect and moral quandaries fly out the window. I would sign that sugar baby contract. good time not a long time and all that.

14: Halsin. we'd be great on some coffee dates, but I'm too monogamous for his free love + not into literal bears.

15: Minsc. I would mumble something half-articulated, then get annoyed when he doesn't read my mind and know what I mean by it. I like Boo though.

16: Lae'zel. Low in this list through no fault of either party, but she would be unimpressed by me and I'd be intimidated & annoyed by her.

17: Raphael. similar to Mizora but lower because I like Mizora more, and I don't like Harleep.

18: Orin. I would try sooo hard. I would take her to Costco, I'd take her to a smash room, I'd introduce her to slam poetry. I'd buy her flowers and bones etc. I would give her so much love and support BUT I pass out at the Red Cross giving blood safely and cleanly with four kind nurses hovering over me and my weird blood. I would NOT survive a Bhaal ritual or even the minorest of knifeplay. She'd eatme alive.

19: Astarion. between first playthrough to now, Astarion and Gale flipped in my rankings. I wish him all the best but not for me.

20: Gortash, no shade to his lovers but I hate this guy.

[lazytitans-world]

Wish: The Series (Season 2 outline)

For this season, I wanted to explore the world outside of Rosas while building the relationship between Asha and the Star Boy. I was enticed by the idea of Asha leaving Rosas for a while and going on this adventure to this new place that she has never been two while learning more about her magic and about Star Boy.

For those unaware, early versions of Wish had Asha and her family live in a village hidden away in the Forrest. This village purpose is for those who did not wish to give their wishes to Magnifico to hide as they are considered traitors of the crown. The residents could never say their wish out loud as it would risk Magnifico and his army to find the sanctuary. However, to keep in their spirit of wishes, the villagers would tie a ribbon to a tree at the edge of the Forrest in hopes that their wish would come true.

I really grasped on to the idea of this hidden village deep in the Forrest and thought it would be a great place for Asha, Star Boy and Star to take their next steps in their journey. I’m still toying either way concepts but here are just a few ideas I had.

• I want to go way back to the start of this season with the arrival of Star Boy. He has come down to Rosas to retrieve and heal Star from the dark magic. He cannot bring Star back to the sky as it risks spreading the dark magic and corrupting other stars. This is where we'd get the mention of a place deep in the forest that has tremendous healing capabilities. Asha would offer to go with them, but Star Boy would drop those "haven't you've caused enough damage?!" speeches as he goes over how Asha has endangered Star and everyone around her. Star would eventually help him come around on Asha and the three would make their way into the forest.

• The village would be built up early on as this urban legend amongst the kingdom, probably started as a fear monger campaign by Magnifico.

• the reason our main leads would seek out the village as a way to heal Star, who for those who haven’t read the original pitch, was greatly damaged by dark magic as Magnifico escaped his containment.

• I want to spend at least 1-3 episodes with Asha and Star boy trying to find the village. Gives us time to build up the relationship between each character. We'd see the caring sibling like dynamic of Star and Star Boy, Asha being a caring mother figure to Star, and the start of Asha and Star Boy's adversary to lover's story.

• I have two ideas on how the village would be when they get there: One has the village still be unaware of the true nature of Magnifico’s defeat as rumors and legends are made up about how Asha is this great wizard with the power of light on their side and other types of stories that overblow what happened. The villagers would be distrustful of Asha as the last person with power like hers was Magnifico, so she has to show them that not only is she worthy but also that they are free to speak their wishes aloud without fear.

•Another idea was that some or most village see the stars as gods. All powerful beings that should be worshiped. I liked this idea as it gives Star Boy a bit of a cocky ego (he loves to make Asha grumpy; he finds her cute when he does it). But this would be used to showcase that stars have powers greater then even they know. I want to build up that Star has this power within them that will be used at the end of the next season.

•building off the last idea, we would see Star Boy go “nova”, basically an avatar state for Stars that has them in full god mode. We’d see this in action through Star Boy as certain villagers hold Asha and Star hostage and when he sees them using Stars powers to hurt Asha. His eyes would become pure white as he emotionlessly bulldozes the captors just with a swift motion of a finger moving. He’d come out of it by seeing Asha and Star frightened of what he became, Asha even making a brief speech saying that this is not like him. He’d snap out of it but we’d see the trauma even he had from doing this. (I just realized I basically copied ATLA)

• I am debating on whether to do an episode where a villager who would flirt with Asha and Star Boy gets a little jealous. It would show that Star Boy has deeper feelings for Asha, but I think I can do something better.

• One scene would have Star Boy and Asha sitting in the wishing tree looking at the stars. This is where Asha and Star Boy share more of their personal sides as their bond grows as now both see the other in this new life. We’d learn a little about the life of a star from this.

• One episode would have little star tries to play matchmaker with Asha and Star Boy. Star enjoys being with each of them and sees how well they complement each other and tries yet fails to force a romantic spark between the two. The episode would end Star Boy and Asha sitting in the wishing tree looking at the stars. This is where Asha and Star Boy share more of their personal sides as their bond grows as now both see the other in this new life.

• The romantic tension between Asha and Star Boy would grow as both do little things to show affection such as hand holding, giving a flower, etc.

• Asha’s arc outside of her budding romance with Star Boy would be dealing with the aftermath of Magnifico escaping. She begins to doubt herself after her choices ended up not only endangering Star but the people of Rosas as well. Asha would be more hesitant to use her wand this season, opting for a more strategical approach.

• This arc would end with Star Boy teaching her the powers of the wand as well as the magic and history of Stars over the course of two to three episodes. She grows more confident with her skills, and it again adds to her relationship with Star Boy.

• Meanwhile in Rosas during all this, Amaya is slowly being taken over by dark magic that was released during Magnifico's escape. It would speak to her in her own voice and sometimes Magnifico's. The voices lure her in by playing on her fears of ruling on her own, trying to do what's best for the people, fixing the damage her husband did, dealing with betrayal and losing her husband fully to evil.

• Her turn would be built throughout the season as she breaks out old spell books and tools to see if anything can heal Star from the dark magic, but nothing works. It's during this time of concern where the dark magic latches on to her. She would slowly become more paranoid and concerned with the absence of Asha and the others, sometimes lashing out at citizens or Asha's friends. Eventually she would give into the darkness and start dabbling in the same type of magic that her husband used, only this time using it in more subtle and hidden ways before being consumed by it and going full evil witch mode.

• To wrap up the village storyline, Asha would win over the village as she is able to use Star Boy's teachings to save the village from someone or a group of villains looking to harnesses the power of both stars in order to take over Rosas. As they are nearing the divider between Rosas and the forest, one of Asha's friends rides in on a horse to tell the trio about Amaya.

• The trio would then return to Rosas to find Amaya having caused similar chaos to that of her husband with Amaya now showcasing a new look that is reminiscent of female Disney villains like Maleficent or the Evil Queen. The trio would try to stop a now powerful Amaya by any means, with Star Boy stepping up to fight Amaya with his own magic to protect Asha and Star. Star Boy would put up a worthy fight as he taps into the nova powers without losing himself to it, but he still can't fully control it and Amaya would almost defeat him after he slips out of his power. I wanted to end this battle with Asha being able to speak to the good that is in Amaya, showing that someone can be saved from the darkest parts of themselves if they truly want to be redeemed. It ties back into Asha shouldering the blame for Magnifico's escape and her finally moving past it as well as showing that Magnifico choose to be evil, and it was not just the book controlling him.

• After the battle and fortifying the magical defenses of Rosas, Star Boy would declare his feelings for Asha as they sit on the wishing tree Asha and her dad sat on when she was young with Asha reciprocating his feelings with a kiss. Once that happens, we would cut to Magnifico who is holed up in dark cavern or lair of some sorts as he is planning something devious that will take out our main trio but also give him power over all wishes forever.

• I want to use Magnifico sparingly, one because getting Chris Pine would probably cost a lot, and two, I wanted to see the trio deal with other threats before going back to Magnifico. He would appear at the end of certain episodes when the audience would least expect it to remind the viewer that he is still out there and is growing stronger.

• To reuse a scrapped concept, I want Magnifico to actually consume the Wishes by eating them. The voice of dark magic could say that he did not have full power as he only crushed the wishes when he should have consumed them himself. It makes for a truly twisted visual and shows Magnifico's evilness.

• I don't know if I want to use this idea for this season or the next, but I want to tackle the concept of what I call "dark wishes" which are wishes but used for evil purposes. This would tie into the ending of the series which sets up the everlasting battle of good vs evil but that may be a story for another time (or when another spark of creativity hits me)

So that would be season two of my three to four seasons Wish sequel series. I wanted this season to do the Asha and Star romance we never got while taking Asha and Star to a place they have never been to get them out of the comfort zone of Rosas. And yes, I know I skipped over season one, but the idea of the hidden hamlet really sparked a story from me. Maybe I might flesh out the other ideas I had for the other seasons or maybe not. I hope you had fun reading this and as before, you are free to use these ideas for any animatics or comics just please credit me for story ideas and my asks and comments are open for all questions and critiques.

[captainstarburst]

hey can you tell me more about captain starburst. I think he's really cool hehehe

YES ID LOVE TO. i made a big post about him here a little bit ago, but i always love the opportunity to infodump so i will try my best to give a full summary of aaaalllll his stuff. under the cut of course. warning for some body horror? esque stuff because i talked about his weird body

SO starting off i'm actually gonna talk a bit about nix, because starburst is an AU of him. nix is a god from a place called the purpose, and his story has a few similar themes to starb's. they both have a lot of focus on guilt after hurting others. nix, as opposed to starb, is a lot more aloof and at times abrasive, while starburst is overly cutesy and joyful. nix is a god that was forced into a "hero" position (more of a villain in the broader scope of things, but told what he was doing was for the greater good) while starburst has dedicated his life to heroism. they both started in a similar place, but diverged, with nix turning towards more selfish goals and starb forcing himself to be nothing but selfless. i should probably make some kind of big summary post for nix too at some point since i feel like people know less about him even though hes like, the first one, but that's besides the point.

he comes from a universe called superverse, which is a collaborative setting between me and a bunch of friends. it's basically just Supheroes With Capitalism, most heroes are there for show and entertainment exclusively, even if that's at the detriment of those in surrounding. specifically, he was made by a company called AMOEBA, who makes furries and sells them as tools, or otherwise less than people. they grow them in tubes LOL. starburst was made to be handed off to.. i just say The Government there isnt really anything specified there because i dont know government stuff. but they wanted to use him destructively, just to do whatever for their gain. cartoonishly evil american government you know. he was their first project, and quite literally an explosive failure. when he was born he exploded the entire building he was made in. his body's kind of fucked up and so are his powers!

in terms of his biology, the most notable thing about that part of him is that.. his body's full of a SUPER strong acid, and that's used almost exclusively to? destroy his own organs. if theres too many. because his body ALSO regenerates his organs, and like, makes multiple of them. that's why he has two hearts! it doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes he just gets a new organ. and if he has too many his body gets rid of some extra ones! it doesn't hurt him, but i imagine it probably feels.... weird. but that's why he has two hearts!

all of his powers are emotion based, and EXTREMELY volatile. when he's feeling any kind of strong emotion, including positive ones, and doesn't have it in check, he's at risk of just.. generally being way too strong, leaving holes in things or breaking stuff he grabs, he generates warmth in states like that and if it comes to too much of a head he will quite literally explode. he can also create stars, big or small, think like.. the variety of sizes that plates come in. when he's in control of his emotions, the stars are round and glow a warm yellow, and when he's not, they're pointed and sharp and more of a gray/white. when he's excited he also tends to have little glowing floating stars appear around him! he also has slow falling and healing powers, both that he has to be calm and focused to use. for specifically his healing, he has to make a wish to use it (like wishing on a star).

he was on his own for a while after he came out of the tube, wandering aimlessly before eventually becoming enraptured by the idea of heroism and helping people. he didn't really understand that heroes were just for show, and that influenced how he went about his career later down the line.. but early on, any time he tried to help people, it just ended in fire or explosions or some sort of harm coming to other people. he has a lot of guilt and repressed feelings because of this, and it took him a long time to learn to control his powers.

i use him in roleplays with my friends, and i ALSO use nix in those roleplays. the reason he was able to control his powers was because of nix helping him learn, and the two getting closer and eventually dating. he has a lot of partners and a lot of his story beats around him meeting these people he ends up caring so much about and helping them, and in turn learning more about himself.

i go over this in the post i linked above so i'll try to be brief, but along with him learning to control his powers, the first big thing that skyrockets him into being a known hero is when AMOEBA comes after him. they kidnap people, get him to come back to them, he ends up stabbing the guy in charge in self defense trying to free those people, and eventually does get out with them. AMOEBA is never punished for this, but they do leave starburst alone after that.

before he was a recognized hero, though, he met another AMOEBA creation, russian roulette. they WERE successfully used as a government weapon, and mistreated greatly. they captured starburst at one point, then they both broke out, and then they got too scared of being close to someone and they ran away from him. they were recaptured and promptly punished, and with nowhere to turn their anger at the situation, they started blaming him for what happened to them. for a long while the two had a really long running thing of getting into fights or chases or whatever but russian roulette never actually having it in them to hurt him. eventually they both get trapped together and still they refuse to kill him, which leads to them eventually talking it out and both of them agreeing they don't really want things to change, but they don't want to actually fight anymore. they're also something like partners?? but not exactly. its complicated and starburst has a lot of strange relationships with people where he just doesn't mind them being weird or trying to hurt him in the past hes a weird little guy LOL

a similar thing happens to him with another hero, villian spectasy (his hero name is hocus pocus.) villian comes from wealth due to his father being semi-famous, and is a little bit.. too self centered for his own good. the two enter into a business partnership after handling a fight well together, that kind of just ends up as villian turning starburst into his sidekick.. while the two also get into a romantic relationship. eventually they get into a disagreement publicly, culminating in starb telling villian he doesn't want to be his sidekick anymore. villian's whole thing is him kind of learning to be a better person, and i didn't wanna just like.. leave him stranded after doing a bad thing, and i also like him, so he and starb don't break up. starburst really wants to see him become a better guy, and villian really wants to be better because of that. and eventually he'll learn to be better for just. the sake of it. i think it's sweet.

and FINALLY, i will talk about tesla and scelestic. both are owned by my friend @apotheoseity!! scelestic is a villain organization, one of the bosses there (TISM) turns people with powers into tools and what have you. not a good explanation ask him more about it LOL. but starb gets kidnapped by them, mostly so TISM can harvest the aforementioned acid in his body and turn it into.. weird acid grenades. that's not the important part though, while he's there he meets teslacoil! who is tism's adopted snake son. the two get REALLY gay really fast, despite.. the kidnapping? and the evil surgery, and all the villainy stuff? starb just gets googoo gaga about him. it culminates in starburst getting kicked out of being kidnapped for being too gay LMAO. but the two kept in contact and eventually got married! they're the perfect couple, despite how beautifully strange they are. starb also eventually ends up reconciling with TISM after he marries tesla, and now he's just TISM's weird son in law.

i wanted to focus on specific story beats with characters and plots, and thus the timeline for this is kind of incorrect. the actual order of events is more like this: early starburst stuff, before he meets much of anyone -> he meets russian roulette and they're together for a bit before they run off -> he gets with nix -> AMOEBA comes back for him and he solves that whole thing -> he gets kidnapped by scelestic and meets tesla -> he and tesla get married -> he and villian have their whole thing -> he and rouls reconcile

he also has some other connections i didn't touch on- his adopted son is @apotheoseity's maya, and he's also a father figure to @pbjpuppy's flicker. he's also dating his motorcycle (it's name is the star strider), a big slime guy named glumby (from another plot with villian), and @pbjpuppy's vinny!

and very important hes ME! hes a representation of a lot of stuff to me, and also just... literally a representation of me, i represent myself as him more often than not (and nix, he just tends to be the cuter of the two i guess?) he carries a lot of guilt with him, and in general pushes himself to be something that's soft and cute and nice for others, and disregards a lot of his own feelings. he does almost nothing but work, and even if his work is exclusively helping others, he still does nothing but doing things for other people and not himself. and that's really important to me. i imagine in the future he'll grow into better habits, but right now his flaws are very meaningful to me.

this is SO SO long im sorry. theres so much to this guy and theres so much to. everything i write and all my characters. but if you read it all THANK YOU!! i don't usually talk this in depth about my characters, and it can feel a little vulnerable to do so, but i want them to be enjoyed to their fullest. and thank you for asking about him it means so much to me that people wanna know more about my stuff!!!

[mireyadc]

SUPER-POWERS - headcanon

The Octopus - Mo Octavius

Climbing

Her climbing ability comes from the suction cups that cephalopods have on their tentacles. If she is nervous or holds on too tightly to smooth surfaces like glass, you can sometimes hear the “Blup” of the suction cups coming off, although you can't see the suction cups on her hands or feet. Unlike other climbers that tend to slip a bit on glass, she sticks to it wonderfully, her problem is with surfaces that are too rough and uneven.

A classmate did rock climbing, canyoning, "salto del pastor" and other activities that require surviving between the walls of a ravine. Mo asked him to train her and with some effort she improved her arm and hand strength so she can climb when the suction cups don't help.

However, she rarely has to use her bare hands to climb rocky surfaces, in these cases it is her tentacles that lift her.

Camouflage

Cuttlefish can change color and texture to adapt to literally any environment, even artificial ones, and the mimic octopus modifies not only its color pattern, but also its way of swimming, to impersonate other marine animals.

In Mo's case, these abilities translate into invisibility, or rather the ability to impersonate objects, animals and even imitate other people, which allows her to go unnoticed, sneak into places, hide better her alter ego and hide in the crowd if necessary.

Instead she's not exactly a shapeshifter, more of a very good mimic, with slight invisibility and a perception filter.

Metabolism

The mutations he suffered also affected his metabolism and internal anatomical structure, which can be a problem, since Mo has three hearts, more even than a time lord.

This gives her greater resistance, better blood oxygenation, tension problems (Not only high, but ups and downs) and some chest pain due to the extra space occupied. The main problem here is that if a doctor auscultates her, they will realize that something is wrong with her heart, they're going to want to find out why her heart is beating strangely and she doesn't want to become a guinea pig, so she can't go to the doctor and risk, If she gets sick or ends up hurt, she's on her own.

Or not at all...

Cephalopods are one of the few animals in the world capable of regenerating their nervous system, and their nervous system is one of the most complex in the animal kingdom. They can regrow their limbs and in the case of octopuses, which have a "little brain" in each tentacle, they can completely regenerate it. Mo also has this ability, she can quickly heal his wounds and regenerate her limbs if she loses them.

This also has a bad side. His regenerative ability is faster than a surgeon's hands. Once they tried to do an operation to leave her with only one heart so she could return to normal, but the incision the surgeon was working on closed faster than he could handle, he hardly had time to get his hand out and the scalpel from inside Mo and was only able to remove one of the three hearts, which grew back completely within days.

That ability to divide cells is very dangerous, a cancer that could be benign and easily treatable in other people, in her it could be a death sentence in a couple of days or even hours. Mo is really terrified of the idea.

Tentacles

Tentacles, all cephalopods have them, but she doesn't, she's human. Instead her mutated brain, trying to adapt to the new body, began to demand more limbs, more tentacles, which caused her a serious PLP and she couldn't go to the doctor to ask him to reset her anything for the pain.

Her uncle Otto had been working on renewable energy for as long as she knew him, what she didn't know was that he had previously tried to create power using a stable fusion reactor and to be able to operate it safely he had created four mechanical tentacles.

The experiment went wrong, there were injuries and her tentacles were damaged and they had to remove them. Since then he had been working with less dangerous energies and creating four new tentacles, better than the previous ones. He never got to try these new inventions of hims, he always felt that they were missing something, until his niece confessed to him about her pain.

To help her, Otto gave her the four robotic tentacles and her own Mo's body took care of giving them what they lacked, generating new nerves to move them instead of cables, making them part of her.

By having their own nervous system (a brain each like octopuses) the tentacles developed their own intelligence (not artificial because it is not technology, but a real brain), each with its own mind. Mo had to learn to live with them as theyr intelligence grew, and she learned to override her commands over the individual minds of the tentacles.

She can hear the voices of all four in her head and talk to them, they are no smarter than a domestic dog, but they makes good company and she gave them names, named after four gods of the aboriginal culture of their land.

Magec: upper right hand - Is usually the detail-oriented, very dynamic, attentive to Mo's needs and very affectionate, they're the one who comforts her if something goes wrong.

Achaman: upper left hand - Calm, formal, attentive to his surroundings, prepared to stop any threat, protective…

Guayota: lower right - The most violent and a bit rebellious, the anarchist of the group, but also the most protective to Mo and their brothers. (have a "scar", a dent)

Chaxiraxi: lower left - Calm, responsible, the most loyal, the one who responds best to orders and the one who usually carries the heaviest part of the work.

Ink

She can produce ink, she have two glands on their wrists like spider-man's web-slingers and connected to these are some sacs where the ink is stored, similar to that of cuttlefish but much darker.

Out of the water they are not very useful, so she only uses it in an emergency, throwing a jet at the enemy's face to mislead, or to draw and write. She always liked using a feather pen and with how expensive ink is, having free and portable ink is very useful. She only need to gently press the gland with the tip of the pen and the pen is soaked enough to be able to write and draw.

Sometimes when she gets too scared a little ink can escape, she already has stains on the sleeves of several shirts, the ink doesn't wash off well.

[queenharumiura]

6996, 5986, 10069

[My KHR ship game] ||Accepting|| @astrxthesiai Reminder: This is me just talking in general, so in no way is RP portrayals or anything being considered her. All Neo in her head. Characterizations are based off what I think would be interesting set up for the ship.

Will also state that anything involving Mukuro may not be very good because I have a tendency to avoid him. So I apologize in advance if I have some things wrong.

6996

Hate it | Am Neutral to it | Ship it | love it! |

5986

[here] I truly cannot do a repeat. I'll DIE

10069

Hate it | Am Neutral to it | Ship it | love it! |

[READMORE TIME]

-

So, some of us know how I feel about Mukuro. I may appreciate him as a character, I know that he adds a lot of value to the story, to the progression of certain character growths and the like—but I personally don’t vibe with him. I don’t like him. I can understand that he had a rough past, I can get that he’s nuanced, I can understand a lot of things, but ultimately, I view him as a bit of a risk. For his ideals, he is liable to doing things such as taking over bodies and not caring for the state that the body will end up in.

It isn’t to say that I don’t understand his motives, because they’re certainly understandable. He doesn’t want what happened to him to happen to others. I, unfortunately, am an emotional bean who is feels guilty very easily. I cannot use others in quite the way that he does. The moment he was shown to possess kids or possess injured people to use them against others- while totally understandable and a viable tactic- I just don’t like it. I don’t vibe with it. I just cannot get over it. MY CHILD FUUTA!!!!!! The emotional turmoil that child went through. I just… cannot condone the hurt that the child went through.

Then there is Birds who was very much willing to want to use Haru/Kyoko against the others and possibly ruin their lives. It matters not to me that it may not have been explicitly upon Mukuro’s orders or what. Inherently, the fact that he’s doing so, it makes it feel like he knows it’s okay to do so while under Mukuro’s wing. Perhaps the mentality of the necessary sacrifices for the greater good and it does rub me the wrong way (yes, I’m biased, and it may very well largely be because of Haru. SUE ME).

I’m well aware that people really like him, and that’s totally fine! Like I said before, as a character, I like him. He’s got a lot of nuance and dynamicism to his writing. He’s got a lot of depth to him in regards to his motives, machinations, his pitfalls, etc. That said, from an emotional and moral stance, he rubs me the wrong way and I don’t like him very much. I don’t hate him, no, but I will just stare at him from afar and squint. Would I defend him from any slander? Absolutely. I truly have my allegiance to the girls and to the kids. I hate Iemitsu and Cervello more than I do Mukuro for instance.

I absolutely understand the need to gather all the ‘guardians’ ie combatants together for the final sky battle. Totally get it. I see why the poison mechanic was used. I truly do understand why it was done—but EMOTIONALLY I’M STILL SEETHING!!!! LAMBO!!!! MY POOR CHILD!!!!! FK OFF YOU CHERRY HAIRED BITCH. <- How I like a character or dislike them truly is based off how petty I’m going to be.

Oh- I also forgot to mention. My favorite character, my very FIRST one was Lanchia. Do we now understand why I truly just cannot vibe with Mukuro? After what he did to Lanchia’s famiglia? How it left him with a lot of guilt and trauma? MY FAVORITE? NAHHHHHHH NAAAHHH!!!!

So yeah. That’s why I don’t like him. Don’t hate him, but also HISSSSS!

Before anyone gets scared—No, that doesn’t mean that I dislike Mukuro rp’ers. No, it doesn’t mean that I’d hate if a Mukuro rp’er wants to approach Haru and I. Neo enjoys all sorts of scenarios and relationship dynamics. I’m willing to try things if someone wants to try something. You want them to be friends? Sure. Frenemies? Sure.

Oh- another reason I remembered. I also muse Hibari as some of us already know. He, along with Yamamoto are tied for third place favorite KHR character BECAUSE HARU MIURA TAKES FIRST AND SECOND PLACE! THE LOVE OF MY LIFE TAKES TWO SLOTS, YOU OTHER CHARACTERS SIT DOWN AND BOW- just kidding.

I’m loyal to Hibari and he doesn’t like Mukuro so THEREFORE! I cannot like Mukuro. Mhm mhm. It’s only right, mhm mhm. I’m a loyal bean, mhm mhm. (Would I also throw  him into a room of Sakura blossoms to piss him off though? No comment. I’m only loyal to a point. I just love chaos)

ANYWAYS, to the main point.

There are aspects of Mukuro and Chrome that I do not like as a ship, and it comes down to the power dynamic imbalance that the two had. Especially in the beginning of the series where she can only survive based off his illusions and what he gets out of it is taking over her body so to speak to enact whatever he has to do. It is rather symbiotic, yes, but there is more power in the hands of Mukuro and her behavior shows it. Yes, he in essence saved her, but she didn’t really save him. He’s using her in exchange for her life. There is a feeling of how her life is his and that whatever he wants is fine by her. She is his to command because of the gratitude of giving her new life.

Her identity is not only her own but also his. There is more of an imbalance which makes me a bit uncomfortable at times. Yes, you may argue that he too has given up a lot and done a lot for her but one can also spin it that he puts up with certain things because of the overarching goal of what he ultimately wants—to get rid of the mafia. What better way than to get closer to the Vongola 10, let them drop their guard with the sweet Chrome and then swoop in once he sees a crack. This is a way that you could spin it. I’m not saying that IS how it is, but I’m shedding light on the fact that it COULD be a way of looking at it.

Depending on how you personally view him, some of their dynamic can take shape in a different way.

Now, I do personally think they are meant to be a duo. (Yes, after I said all that I think they are meant for each other lol) When you think about how the primo and tenth gen are very similar to one another but with differences, you can truly see something through Elena/Daemon and Chrome/Mukuro. Just like how Elena was the one who introduced Daemon to the Vongola and asked him to join the cause, Chrome is the one who basically dragged Mukuro into the Vongola due to HER association with them. She slowly assimilates with the Vongola and becomes friends with them, and by that association, Mukuro is associated with them as well for her sake.

This contradicts his desire to overthrow the mafia and rid of them in a sense, but also- it is a good way for him to also oversee what they are doing and get rid of the dirt that he doesn’t want to see. He both can make use of this while also in a small way going against his ideals and it’s for Chrome’s sake by large. I believe anime didn’t really go through this but the manga did. Mukuro remembers his other past lives, and he’s been through the torment of the various hellscapes. He’s seen more than the average person and went through more. Mentally and emotionally that had to be taxing and arduous for the soul.

Elena was Daemon’s light. She was his everything. She was the connection that connected him to the Vongola. When he lost her, a part of him snapped and he in a sense went rogue. He had no tether to keep him grounded. Chrome could’ve died, but Mukuro came in to save/help her. She is his tether. Unlike Daemon who failed to protect her, Mukuro was able to keep Chrome around. The first generation have had failures to some degree where the 10th generation resolve a lot of those failures. It’s almost like a tale of generational healing. The 10th generation are NOT the reincarnations of the primo generation, but they are similar. Eerily so, and that is to so the parallels between them and to show that new generations can pave the way and do things differently to heal from the past.

So you have Chrome and Mukuro sticking together, you have the Vongola and Shimon rekindling their friendship, the guardians not having to live with the fact that they failed to protect their boss and keep him around (cough TYL arc almost counts but doesn’t lol). Chrome, much like Elena was for Daemon, are a tether to keep their guys grounded, but to also help heal their pains through their more gentle nature. Almost like a reminder that the world may suck, but there are still good in the world. Nobles SUCK but some nobles like this daughter of a DUKE cares for all, including the common folk. There exist some nobles who TRULY embody the Noblesse Oblige.

In final arc where Chrome buts in to help strengthen Mukuro’s illusions he even thinks to himself that it’s amazing that someone else can understand his illusions so well and amplify them—he can feel his heart- healing? Chrome is that person that Elena was for Daemon. They both need each other for different things. Chrome eventually became able to make illusions for herself and to become self-sufficient. Sh can be the warrior who can fight alongside Mukuro. This contrasts how Elena likely wasn’t a fighter or did anything on the front lines. Chrome intends to be by Mukuro’s side and fight alongside him. She will not allow herself to just sit idly by. I feel Elena wished she could have done more by Daemon’s side. Take on some more of his burdens and Chrome embodies that regret and she solves it herself.

More towards the end of the series, when Chrome is able to sufficiently care for herself with her own power, that’s when their true symbiotic relationship shines through. There is less of a power imbalance between them. She becomes her own person- as we know that’s why she struggled for a while because she refused his illusions. She had seen him walking about in the flesh, and it was like he wasn’t a part of her anymore and she just couldn’t accept his illusions when she had no real use to him. That, is what shows the imbalance they had. We NEEDED that scene for Chrome to grow and come to terms with what she wanted.

No, she will not allow herself to be a bystander who will just allow herself to be taken care of. She wants to be helpful to Mukuro. She WANTS to be able to stand by him proudly. She WANTS to fight alongside him. This is such a poignant difference between the two generations. It’s so incredibly important to highlight where they differ and how this change shifts the dynamic between the two. Now, it’s more of respected equals. She’s able to be more proud of herself, and to assert what she wants. She is more open to actually being what she had always meant to be: herself. She doesn’t have to rely on someone else, she doesn’t have to associate her being, her IMPORTANCE to someone else. Now, she is truly Chrome Dokuro, and she has chosen for herself that she wants to be Mukuro’s warrior, his comrade.

This is an incredibly important and praiseworthy dynamic shift between the two and this is what makes the ship between them AFTER this point a more healthy one. I don’t have many ideas for cute things between them—and that’s largely due to the fact that I don’t think too much about Mukuro in general because I prefer to avoid him in my mental space. Sorry if any ideas that do come out aren’t very good. I am very hesitant about the knowledge and understanding I have of Mukuro. I don’t think I understand him that well due to the fact that I like to turn my eye away from him. I did try though!

I suppose a cute idea could come in the form of the box animal, where Chrome may like to dote on the owl and care for its feathers. I could perhaps see Mukuro finding it cute to see them bond, but also feel a bit left out because all her attention is on the owl and not himself. Watch him be like pluck the bird from her hands so he can take care of the feathers. Instead why don’t you help him with his hair? Look, brushing hair is epitome of domestic bliss. When someone else brushes my hair it gives me the brain tingles that ASMR is supposed to give you. BLISS. Don’t underestimate small bliss!!!

I just like the idea of Chrome learning how to make simple chocolate desserts from Kyoko/Haru for fun. She learned to make some for her friends but somehow a lot of them end up getting hogged by Mukuro. He likes chocolate for one, but they were also made by Chrome’s hand. He shan’t give them up to other people so easily. I personally am okay with lil greed moments like that. I find it both a lil funny and a lil cute. It would be very funny/cute to me if he got caught and he just tries to play it off like it’s no big deal. NAH BRO YOU GOT CAUGHT.

Sorry, that’s all my brain could think of for now. I have the next portion to go to so let’s move on.

-

-

So I’m neutral to it while also somewhat hating it. Most of it comes down to who the characters are. The reason why I’m more neutral towards it…

LOOK I MAY FIND HIM UNNERVING BUT A BITCH CAN’T DENY A PRETTY FACE, OKAY? BYAKURAN IS ALSO A PRETTY FACE, OKAY OKAY? TWO PRETTY BOYS KISS!!!!! FOR THE AESTHETICS!!!!!!

That’s all. Moving on.

Just kidding! I’m tired, my fingers have already typed like what… 10k for these ship memes alone? I’ve been writing other stuff too. My poor fingers…

Anyways. I will also state that the reason why I’m very SQUINT about ships including Mukuro is that I see him and Chrome as a duo, a pair. If I see him with anyone else, I start shaking my screen like YOU FUCKER!!!!!! HOW DARE YOU, TO CHROME!!?!?!? I’LL SLAY YOU WHERE YOU STAND. YOU DARE GO ASTRAY FROM THE BEST LIL BEAN, CHROME?????? So yeah. (Yes, I’m biased)

See, here’s the thing, we know that Mukuro dislikes the mafia, and he doesn’t want what evils happened to him to happen to anyone else. Byakuran quite literally in essence mind broke Uni and she was a young lil girl. He has actively acted to kill people, to manipulate them, to use them, to discard people, etc. I can perhaps see him feeling impressed by the extents that Byakuran is willing to go to for his ideals, but ultimately his ideals are such that it goes against Mukuro’s creed.

He is also a reason why his Chrome had to suffer in the TYL arc, due to his evil machinations. Chrome had to be brought to the future and she did suffer some. It was a dangerous time for her. TYL Chrome was also injured if I recall correctly. It’s just a time of you put my Chrome in danger. I do not really see Mukuro being able to look past that.

Now, you can argue that for the sake of his ideals and wanting to manipulate Byakuran, you could do the plan on employing romance or seducing him to lead him in the direction that you want. I honestly can kind of see Mukuro doing so—but in that case, I don’t consider that a ship because it’s not in earnest?

Of course, we do know after TYL arc, Byakuran is different. He is more or less turned good by a factor of ‘well I can’t do any evil any more. I was stuck in limbo for a while until Uni saved me, I shall do what I can to make it up to her. Whether people trust that I intend good or not is up to them~’

One can argue that he’s good now, it’s okay! There is no difference in morals or motives! Still, as we’ve seen with some of the others, they can’t so easily put the ‘past’ aside. They went through a lot of traumatic shit because of Byakuran. He had showed them all just how ugly his motives were when he went ballistic after Uni sacrificed herself. How he literally almost killed Tsuna and all that. That is not an easy thing to look past, so it’s actually very impressive of Tsuna to be able to be willing to put his trust in him, and for Uni to want to bring him out to ask for aid. Both are very impressive individuals.

One can argue that through this change, it is a possibility and that perhaps Mukuro could want to cosey up to him for the benefits of whatever power Byakuran may possess in modern times. His influence, but I mean—he’s under surveillance. He doesn’t seem to really intend to do anything bad, so he wouldn’t be that much use as a pawn or anything like that. So I don’t see the whole seduce in the effort to use tactic.

I suppose you can kind of look at how they both have the tendency to tease others or lowkey mock them through sarcasm and consider that a fun banter between them. That is fun, I won’t lie, but that alone doesn’t constitute as a ship for me. I just personally don’t feel enough of a vibe between them to feel that they could be a ship that isn’t anymore more than a superficial thing.

I like the ship from an aesthetic stand point. Both are very beautiful and the sarcastic kind of banter between the two of them could be fun. It could also be interesting to see how they both continuously try to undermine each other for their ideals, which would again make for a fun dynamic, but that alone just—doesn’t work for me. I do feel there would always be a level of mistrust between them. The fact that you tried to kill me/you killed me kind of mentality would still remain. Mukuro’s ‘death’ wasn’t really a thing as we know, but it was believed for a time (not I. You can’t fool me, Amano!!!!). Byakuran DID die by the hands of the Vongola. That really isn’t easy to move past.

Yes, you can argue that Byakuran’s flighty attitude and his nonchalance may be a sign that he doesn’t really care for it, or doesn’t think much of it, but I disagree. If you pay attention to some of his wording choices in some scenes, he is very cognizant of the fact the future self had done wrong. He feels for the fact he did really fucked up stuff to people, especially Uni. He was willing to do whatever he had to for her sake. He wanted to do something for her and when asked if ‘can we trust you’? He could only really respond with the logical, that’s up to you to decide, because it really is up to them. He was VERY aware that there is 100% reason for them to doubt him. He accepted the fact for what it was and left the decision in the hands of Tsuna.

There is an underlying sense of guilt that he has for what he’d done, even if he may act the same carefree and playful kinda guy. In my mind and observation, it’s somewhat of a mask. I do think it would be easier for others to deal with him if he kept that upbeat kind of personality because that’s what they knew of him. Changing too drastically would be too much. Naturally, I do think it IS a part of his personality, and that is also hard to change. Still, I don’t think his lack of major change to personality shows that he wasn’t affected.

You can see it in some instances of his speech, his willingness to just sacrifice whatever to be of use, to almost prove himself as someone who isn’t that dictator from the future. He wants to solidify a new identity to himself. Given Mukuro’s past and his disdain for the evil corruption of some mafia… I don’t think he and Byakuran are a good match because it’s going to be a constant reminder of who he was.

What that Byakuran had done to Mukuro. It would be incredibly hard to work out a ship between the two and my gut is telling me that neither of them are the sort who would really want to exert such extensive energy to forge a relationship that is past a superficial one based off interests and motives.

However, one could argue that Mukuro could somehow see the modern day Byakuran for what he is, a victim of circumstance. He’s being doubted and disdained for something he literally didn’t do. He can never become that guy again, and yet he’s being treated with negativity and mistrust. The Byakuran of the past hadn’t really done anything (I don’t think he had done anything yet at that point in the timeline to be fair, hence me saying this), so it can feel unfair to him. There is maybe a SMAALLLL chance that Mukuro can see this and watch over Byakuran to see if he’s truly a different person.

Is he trying to do better by everyone? If so, maybe he can offer a small alliance of sorts and they can work together to act against the filth of the mafia. Mukuro gets what he wants and Byakuran gets to do a bit of paying back for the evils his future-self did. In a way, you could say that he’d be resolving some of the knots in his chest brought about from guilt. It can be nice, but then it sorta comes back to what I didn’t like about Chrome and Mukuro at first, that there would be a bit of a power imbalance inherently because one of them is still basically a ‘criminal’ but is trying to repay that by doing good and Mukuro is basically the one who is directing him to do so. For an alliance it would be more titled towards one party.

I don’t like such power imbalances personally, but some people may like it! If you like that, all the power to ya! This could be your cup of tea! I personally don’t really like it, but I can see the merit to it. I think it would be an incredibly fascinating idea for someone to write out. Some relationships in fiction and reality do have a power imbalance, but if you have enough trust in each other, you can make it work. It mostly is an issue if someone has hidden motivations, which, with Mukuro could be likely. That’s what I don’t like, but I think it could mayyyybe work out, but it would take a LOT of work.

Also, if they became a thing what are you going to do about Chrome, huh? You going to start neglecting her? HUH? I’m coming for your pineapple brand and will put you onto pizza.

I shall not think of cute ideas because I’m not really on board with the ship so I don’t really feel like thinking about cute things. Forgib.

[tonydaddingham]

LWA: I like your alternate reading of the damsel-in-distress scenes, in that Aziraphale's explanation becomes both post hoc and an attempt to lie to himself about how he feels about this dynamic persisting into the present. That would parallel Crowley's repeated attempts to invent a consistent friendship/partnership with Aziraphale that the script shows us is only of recent vintage. Both characters are unreliable narrators.

1967:

Two things interested me about the 1862/1967 scenes when I first watched the series. First, they're out of line with all of Crowley's other requests for Aziraphale to step out of Heavenly form, and that includes the straight-up child murder. Crowley can convince Aziraphale to go along with the Arrangement, anti-Armageddon, and even the child murder because they all involve benefits for both of them and/or the "greater good." The Holy Water is /only/ for Crowley. Here's the point for Crowley in the argument: Aziraphale won't do a (really big) favor just for Crowley. (Back to the new 1941 scene: Aziraphale's sleight of hand saves Crowley, as a riposte to 1862.) However, the flip side of 1862 is that Crowley, who by this point in the script knows that it took several centuries for Aziraphale to agree to the Arrangement, just drops the request on him out of nowhere. This was destined to not go well, even though the matter is urgent. More importantly, Aziraphale sets a hard boundary in this scene: he won't give Crowley a suicide pill. No, it's not self-evident that Crowley wants a suicide pill instead of a defensive weapon (the new 1827 scene explains why Aziraphale's mind went there, however), but Crowley just doesn't get around to stipulating why he's asking for his anti-demon nuke.

(I will take a quick break from my chain of thought to note that Gaiman's abandoned plans for a "Wild West" scene would have blown up our understanding of their nineteenth-century chronology. If it was before 1862, then Crowley wasn't in Hell for thirty-five years; if it was afterwards, then they would have seen each other prior to 1941, even if on hostile terms. The TV fandom keeps forgetting that according to Gaiman, TV!Crowley is awake for the nineteenth century.)

The script is clear that the 1967 scene parallels the 1941 church rescue (Crowley's/Aziraphale's "what are you doing here?!", the gift of an important object as a token of love). However, the script is also clear that the conversation has not progressed beyond 1862. Aziraphale repeats his earlier points and says explicitly that his mind has not changed. The boundary has not moved. Instead, Aziraphale faces two options: he can let Crowley risk death for something that he still thinks is a suicide pill, or he can just give him the suicide pill. So he plumps for the least unacceptable option, which is door #2. But he has still violated the boundary he has set for himself, and spends the rest of the scene visibly near tears about it.

A lot of fanon assumes that Crowley's "anywhere you want to go" is lovely and romantic and all, and that Aziraphale's "you go too fast for me" is a sign of a character flaw. Resisting the demon's love, once again! At the risk of treading on sensitive fanon feet, the parallel to this scene is the end of S2, in which Aziraphale's half of the proposal crosses Crowley's hard boundary about Heaven. In S1ep3, Aziraphale's dialogue shows that his hand has been forced; Crowley's "anywhere you want to go" is not a reciprocal action because it doesn't respond to what Aziraphale either says or visibly manifests over the course of this scene. The outcome of this mini-arc is that Aziraphale hurts himself to help Crowley, but does not get any assurance in return that Crowley will not make him do that again. I'm not sure that we need something more from the 1941 scene to explain why Aziraphale yeets himself out of the car as he does. (That being said? If we are idly predicting what might happen in 1941 that causes Aziraphale to be upset in 1967, it's most likely to be yet another request for Holy Water at exactly the wrong time.)

thank you!!!✨

re: wild west, i did think this when i saw his ask response - and the same for the 60s scene that neil mentioned - that they would potentially alter the narrative as we've received it so far, so for the moment im glad they weren't actualised, even if they would be fantastic on their own merit.

as an unrelated aside, because i haven't fangirled about this yet; the papal mention really piqued my interest - it was vague ("15th century") but even the implications of that time period... the build of the sistine chapel (and michelangelo)? the borgias and medicis? or even reference to constantinople? that would have been so cool!!!

anyway -

i see your point about the holy water request being of a different kind to any other request that crowley has made of aziraphale, either directly or indirectly, and that's true.

it is entirely for crowley's own benefit, as opposed to the wider benefit of humanity/'greater good'. i would slightly also argue that 1941 was also for their joint benefit, insomuch that whilst aziraphale is cognizant that hell is directly threatening crowley, he - aziraphale - would lose crowley, and only just having realised at least to some degree that he feels something More for, loves, him. would this - aziraphale saving crowley in 1941 - therefore by definition be selfish as well as selfless, compared to 1862 where arguably it is only for crowley's benefit? debatable but admittedly very tenuous.

in any case, id have to agree with your second reading of 1862; whilst crowley no doubt sees this as the only time that he's actively reaching out to aziraphale for help, and has been refused despite that it must be desperate because he is asking, not only is it dropped out of nowhere on crowley's part, but also the context is key from aziraphale's perspective, and that is what is being withheld.

aziraphale is hypothetically not under, at this point, any notion that crowley might be in danger, he's presumably been out of contact with aziraphale since 1827 (if we accept that pre-1862 wild west is technically not canon...? if it's not in the story?), and crowley presumably has just dropped a cursory letter or telegraph to tell aziraphale to meet at st james with no explanation whatsoever. i think given that, aziraphale's demeanour is understandable, and hardly poses as a good set up for such a request.

and it's a huge request! as you indicated LWA, aziraphale is slow to change himself, and slow to take in changes to the status quo; whether that's the idea that what is Good is not always Right, or whether that's 'lending a hand when needed' in the Arrangement because it means he's consorting with a demon etc., to drop something monumental on him, something that could ensure crowley's destruction, is not a light thing to aziraphale. i could imagine in some way it almost feels like a betrayal of the friendship and trust that they've slowly been building up.

ive taken a look at the scene again, and crowley's first line to aziraphale is, "ive been thinking. what if it all goes wrong? we have a lot in common, you and i." so, first of all, no preamble. straight away, he's loosely suggesting there's an Issue without so much as a by-your-leave. but the reference to having something 'in common' is stumping me; what does this line serve? is crowley saying that they both are being watched by their head offices, like aziraphale in 1793 and crowley in 1827/this scene? is he saying that he and aziraphale are both in the grey, and that puts a target on their respective backs? is he saying that they have started this friendship, and by that a reliability on each other, that crowley is hoping will play a part in aziraphale acquiescing to his request?

regardless of that (which, LWA, would be grand to have your interpretation at some point because idk if im just reading too much into it, but similarly also feeling like im Missing Something that could be key contextually for crowley), absolutely the mere suggestion of a suicide pill is a hard no for aziraphale. and crowley is deliberately vague with using 'insurance' because, to my mind, he sees it as being either/or. if demons come looking for him, he'll try to take them out. if that doesn't work, he'll remove himself from the equation entirely. and that's a horrendous prospect, but completely empathetic, but we only surmise why it's empathetic by way of our hypothetical conclusion drawn from his yeeting in 1827.

aziraphale however is demonstrably a little slow on the uptake and has clearly got some pretty big self-esteem issues. it's understandable (albeit frustrating) that he'd immediately interpret crowley's disappearance as being a reflection on him himself, rather than something potentially involuntary on crowley's part. it's only in 1941 that aziraphale understands why the request was made and - yes, 105 years after st james - in 1967 he finally reconciles that to give crowley the holy water instead of him risking death to get it (which in itself must lend some indication of how dire the need was and is after both 1827 and 1941) is the safer option. caught between the devil etc etc.

in terms of the boundary not having moved by 1967, absolutely. and this is where i imagine what will be a follow up to the s2 1941 minisode will be key in s3, because the departure from the softness at the bookshop is so vastly different to 1967.

there must be (speculation alert), not only a further conversation about the holy water - given that it's not discussed at all in the s2 minisode - but i think this will directly correlate with 'you go too fast for me'. that crowley perhaps - now feeling secure in that they can fend off hell - pushes the boundary of their friendship/arrangement/relationship, and tells aziraphale what happened after 1827 (bearing in mind that im basing this entirely off of a theory at this point). tells aziraphale that is why he needed the holy water, pushes again for it, and aziraphale still refuses. and given what they've just gone through at the theatre, crowley is expecting aziraphale to just change his mind and follow what crowley has asked for, not taking into account that this is a bit too soon for aziraphale.

maybe also a romantic move is made, maybe not, but aziraphale having only just realised what he feels for him can't quite bring himself to give crowley what he's asked for, not yet, and perhaps in multiple senses. personally, i think it has to be something deeper than just a move being made (although this would offer an interesting parallel to the ep6 kiss), but in any case the fact that aziraphale responds with such veiled conviction that for now this is all he can take shows to me a huge leap in his development.

even if he has given crowley the holy water, he is probably quietly angry that crowley has pushed the issue (in trying to get the water by any means necessary, directly undermining and neglecting how aziraphale would feel to lose crowley even by accident), and feels potentially even somewhat betrayed that crowley would use him and his feelings for him like that - even if at this point crowley only interprets those feelings as purely platonic. it doesn't surprise me that this is the last scene we see of them together pre-2019, and i kind of hope it remains that way (although i pray nightly to every god above that we at least see crowley in 1984/5 but that's immaterial).

last couple of things; "anywhere you want to go" always struck me as crowley trying to brush everything under the carpet, same way he kind of intended in 1941 with "lift home?". yes, on the surface, it's an innocuous, kind gesture - but going by character-reading feels like it's a, 'cool that's over and we're good now, let's get on'. it's crowley reverting back to his Acts of Service standby like that will solve everything. it worked in 1941, possibly because of the setting and aziraphale being distracted by his epiphany, but it worked; crowley was invited back into aziraphale's world, and the status quo was re-established.

but in 1967 he attempted this twice: "can i... drop you anywhere?" comes first, which aziraphale rejects, but remains in the car and intimates that they're not over (however you want to interpret 'over') but one day proposing a picnic or the Ritz, but first he needs time. crowley steamrolls this, pushes again - "anywhere you want to go" - and this seems to finally push aziraphale away, and he physically removes himself from the car (which now feels like an very interesting mirror to the s2 ending).

and ooft, your remark on this hurting aziraphale but crowley not seeming to notice and makes no overture to ensure this is a one-off incident? well. his calling him 'stupid' in s1 being mirrored by 'idiot" in s2, his borderline-gaslighting apology in s1 being mirrored by the dance in s2 (even if aziraphale seems to accept it), his distrust that aziraphale could find a solution to armageddon in s1 being mirrored by his dismissal in ep5 re: demon incursion in s2... certainly seems to be a bit of a habit.

[taybatwo2]

I just finished the season finale of The Bad Batch, and while I already knew what was coming (YouTube thumbnails kinda ruined that for me), it still broke me!

I was kinda teary eyed during the whole thing, but didn’t break down crying until several minutes after it ended. I wrapped myself up burrito style and just bawled. It was a great season, haha, that’s the only reason why I could feel so attached to these characters and so upset when they are also hurting….

I. Can. Not. Wait. For the next season. Spoilers below

With Star Wars being, well, Star Wars, it’s kinda difficult to determine if Tech is actually dead. Did he go out like Kanan, 99, and Fives did, or will he come back like Maul, Fennec, or even Palpa-toots did??!?!!!?!?! I wasn’t even a huge Tech fan until this season!! And now he’s gone!! He didn’t even get a good bye kiss from Phee!! Everyone else is all depressed too! Poor Wrecker…witnessing it first hand. The sniffling sound he made when Tech’s name was brought up broke my heart…. Hunter feeing more broken because he lost someone else under his command and his daughter, Omega (the shining light in his life right now that will make every loss worth it…or at least feel a little less painful), is gone with no way to find her. I can also understand why he wanted to cut his losses and give up on finding Crosshair. Everyone almost died, his DAUGHTER almost died, Tech did die. He wasn’t about to risk anyone else, especially when he has the chance to give Omega a real life on Pabu. And Echo….he’s already lost so many brothers, but to add Tech to that (when he looked at the empty pilot’s seat -oof my poor heart) and have Omega kidnapped and taken to a lab (that he knows is doing something with clones) must dredge up the worst memories….

I know what Cid did was wrong, and made things way worse for the Batch, but I can’t even be angry with her. She looked pretty miserable taking the money and I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to make it up to the Batch later. Not that it makes it right though. I wonder if she had already let the empire know that they frequent her establishment or only let them know after she saw them come in…? I want to believe Phee when she told them that she saw more in Cid.

I also don’t think Saw purposely wanted the Bad Batch to die, but I know that he is written to be an extremist sect of the rebellion, and he doesn’t mind sacrificing a few people in order for the greater good (including the Batch), but would it have killed him to have offered them a lift out of there?!?

Sigh…..I am really going to miss Tech….he gave the best quips….his facial reactions were always so good. He was SO SKILLED at everything he did. Like his reactions were amazingly quick.

The whole season was good; I’d give it a 9/10. The animation has just been getting better with every season (the extra details in the expressions and the body language of the characters are great); and I am forever grateful they went with Clone Wars inspired animation models instead of Rebels.

[belovecore]

Throwing my hat in the ring for an OC if you are accepting them 👀 I love a self-sacrificing character (like a paladin archetype), I also really like characters who are hiding a lot of insecurity. I also like physically strong chars! Guys or ladies either's good

oh boy, oh boy-

i don't know if this is cheating but this guy is fair game-

this is Rocket, more well known as Rocket Pop Prime (no he didn't want to go by Popimus or Rockimus, but a lot of his comrades call him 'Poppy' sometimes)

here's some stuff i wrote for his bio:

rocket is a 'prime' for good reason, he is dedicated to the autobot cause and sacrificed so much for the greater good as needed. this is not without unfortunate loss, rocket has lost not only so many comrades over the years but also a very close sparkmate and chance of sparklings

to be so high up on the ladder requires so much, and as rocket is still able to keep up, he struggles and without constant alert behavior or anxiety to fuel him, he feels he will collapse and not be able to get back up.

rocket holds himself to high standards to never break down, cause if he does, his whole team fails. he fails the autobots, he fails his cause. this sort of thinking is damaging to his psyche and in turn has degraded his health in both ways.

rocket does not completely evade emotions but only sorrow, not admitting it completely for weakness but knowing that crumbling down to that state takes time to build back up. he cannot rest or take a break, that is too much of a risk for him and his team.

but he fails to realize that constantly putting too much pressure will eventually cause a collapse from stress, maybe some day he'll realize he can show his vulnerable side to his team and be accepted, knowing he doesn't have to always be strong for everyone all the time. he deserves a break and to finally stop holding everything together and let others help.

to sorta tldr;

my boy, Rocket- [ my answer to being more calm around Optimus if you will :') ]

hard working guy who has lost so much, and his answer is 'i will make sure no one else will ever have to feel the way i did, cause i know how it feels' versus the approach of 'i have been hurt and i want other to hurt and feel exactly how i did'

dude didn't ask to be a prime, if anything that gives him more anxiety, but he's quite good at hiding that sort of thing and all of his team see him as a pillar of perfection despite him having a lot of trauma and issues expressing himself

he's sweet and would put himself on the line for others, he has don that a countless amount of times

it would just do him some good to get some therapy and take a nap and like, maybe a break i suppose- he's afraid to do so since he feels everything is his fault if something goes wrong

i'm rambling but i hope that helps sum him up, unless you want me to list off random little moments i've written about him

he's holding a lot in, i remember one of my autobot ocs who isn't the best at getting her work done- rocket did his usual schtick of trying to calmly compromise, but she got quite snippy with him-

with all of that building up, he ended up just crumbling in front of her and sobbing his optics out and she freaked out- she didn't mean to literally make her leader, her prime, of all people to be sobbing in front of her because she gave him a slightly hard time

she felt bad after that but that was one of the first times i think rocket ever showed anything outside of his usual hero and leader role

he showed he was a normal mech who has his own problems and imperfections despite how much he tried to hold them in

[hanako-san]

Ok so In mitsu condition to be a artificial pure supernatural he has to continuously prey on other supernaturals (just their heart I guess) eating a mystery gives him the power of that mystery but it still a temporary thing to stable his body so he still needs to consume though not just supernaturals but also humans ( doesn’t seem he actually did it thank goodness) mitsu feels ashamed i think 🤔, the kou just straight up state on of those questions of morals the “eating is apart of life, wild animals prey on each other so what’s the difference if we do it”

In the end I love the latest chapter and I guess we still need to wait on kou’s actual resolve

I'll break your question down into parts so I can answer it better.

Ok so In mitsu condition to be a artificial pure supernatural he has to continuously prey on other supernaturals (just their heart I guess) eating a mystery gives him the power of that mystery but it still a temporary thing to stable his body so he still needs to consume though not just supernaturals but also humans ( doesn’t seem he actually did it thank goodness)

Yes, Mitsuba must eat their hearts. The fact that he can eat people is really scary and it's a miracle that he holds back and manages, only because of Kou he was at the limit. He hasn't hurt any humans, apparently, but he can do it, and he's a very dangerous supernatural. He's also dangerous because he can skip school, which puts him at greater risk of attacking a human (I'm glad he didn't, okay?). It cannot be trivialized.

mitsu feels ashamed i think 🤔, the kou just straight up state on of those questions of morals the “eating is apart of life, wild animals prey on each other so what’s the difference if we do it” In the end I love the latest chapter and I guess we still need to wait on kou’s actual resolve

Mitsuba may be ashamed, and he certainly is, but it's not only this, Mitsuba is unhappy. He went to Teru to get rid of him, it's a sign that he's unhappy and he doesn't want to live like this and it's a torment for him. I feel very sorry for Mitsuba.

Kou on the other hand acted really desperate… Kou found himself in the same situation as Amane, and his behavior confirmed two things one that he is gay and he finally understood it, I guess… at the very end… the other… sure I can't judge him fully, but I can say one thing.... he's a hypocrite, and that's confirmed in this chapter. You know.. Kou has no right to moralize Amane for what he did to Aoi. Amane at least granted Yashiro's wish, so it's largely her fault, and Kou doesn't mind if Mitsuba ate a human's heart, he'll do anything to save him no matter the cost, as he's shown in this chapter, so he's a hypocrite. But at least I hope he understood how Amane felt facing all of them when they tried to stop him.

I know Kou is a smart boy and I think he understood, but he is lost.

[cero-sleep]

Hey!!! I do not have artfight so I cannot look at your ocs on there but!!!! I wish to know about them... Tell me about some of them bestie!!! Infodump time I am perceiving!!!!! -- Evening-art :-]

Weeeee hi @evening-art!

Ok so in Rem's universe some individuals have super powers, there's villains and vigilantes

My main villain is Callisto, who some years ago kidnapped Rem (and Anfri) from a research facility bc of their powers

Rem has dreamlike abilities, being able to trap people in a dreamscape or cause hallucinations. They are in a sort of trance/unconscious state while doing this, as well as the victim

If the person trapped dies on the dreamscape they die in real life

At first they refused to kill/hurt anyone but there were consecuences and the victims ended up being brutally murdered anyway so, seeing there was no other choice they decided that they could at least make it quick for them

When using their abilities they get really tired and risk passing out

After some years they encounter a group of vigilantes and, gathering the courage to do it, they contact the leader on her dreams asking for help and so they eventually rescue Rem

They live some time with the vigilantes, unlearning some stuff from their past and learning other things, like starting to learn sign language (they are mute) but eventually they are recaptured, most likely when some of the vigilantes are out on a mission

Callisto has one of their eyes removed as punishment for escaping, and most of the time they are under her hypnosis, making their mind all fuzzy so they don't try anything

Callisto also convinces them that no one will come rescue them anymore, that the vigilantes tried but because of them they are all dead now

Rem believes this since they think they saw it happen, and they blame themselves for it

So when they come to try and rescue them they believe it's a trick

-

The shadow is another oc from this universe, she used to work as a scientist for the villains, but eventually started conspiring against them. He was found out however and suffered a lab "accident" where she was supposed to die. Instead, he gained shadow like abilities, including a shadow form, but she also lost his memories. Callisto decided to make use of this and tricked her into thinking she belongs with them and what they are doing is for the greater good

That day he also lost her name, only being refered to as the shadow or shadow now as a way to dehuminize her more

She is on her shadow form almost 24/7 since it's really hard for him to stay corporeal

She used to know Rem as a scientist and they will recognize him after being recaptured, she however won't and will be tasked with keeping an eye on them, essentially becoming their shadow to make sure they don't try anything

Eventually, she will start to realize the villains aren't what they told him, this will be hard for her however, but after a while she will also be redeemed and become a vigilante on her own, Poltergeist

-

I'm in the process of reworking an old oc for this universe, her name might be Anfri but I'm still not sure, it means disgrace. Or maybe desgracia 🤔 ok I'll decide that later shjshsjs she was also kidnapped with Rem bc of her powers. She can move through mirrors and communicate with the dead, serving mostly as an informant, but she can also summon ghost hands with super strenght being a strong opponent

-

You can find drawings of them in my oc tag! "cero's ocs"

[mserm]

Think the green in Steve’s eye was the hidden specks of envy, pride, and selfishness he always insisted to others he had, but a large part of himself thought he wasn’t allowing them to influence him until The Tape is played and suddenly his choices are suddenly revealed to be more flawed and human and within his power then he realizes?

Like really it’s for the best and greater good for all involved Steve not tell Tony until Steve is 100% sure it was Bucky, Tony will be haunted by the what if and why bring up something painful he’s clearly past? Why put Bucky in that position where he’s maybe blamed for things he did even do, brainwashed or not? Why have Steve maybe hurt his team cohesion and potential friendships by bringing it up before he’s sure? Really Steve is protecting Tony and Bucky and shouldering this burden alone! Until he realizes he’s taken away closure from Tony, who’s wound from his parent’s death has been festering not healed over time like he assumed (and didn’t ask), and now lacked the time and resources to learn this information safely for himself and others. Bucky is being punished for what he’s done without getting to explain himself due to the situation Tony’s currently in. And Steve has now burned more bridges then he even knew he was protecting by trying to protect only his own feelings when he had convinced himself he was being noble

Like for all this movie and so much of Steve’s life he been pushed and pushed into either making awful, rushed, compromised choices or they have been taken away from him, and then in the final hour when things might have maybe been salvaged, his wholly own choice selfish it the final straw the breaks his own world apart and he can never return home, a home he didn’t even truly believe was is home until it was taken away and even when he’s physically back it’s so broken he ends up fleeing back to the past

(Also, one could argue a lot of Steve’s choices were very much being fueled by fear but also were “secretly selfish being masked as noble”, his refusal to STOP and risk ANYTHING to do with “saving” Bucky, to let others know what was actually going on, because he couldn’t face any choice that he wasn’t 100% in control of or would have to compromise on, etc by the end because Steve is stubborn and won’t yield and usually that means he saves the day but sometimes it means he tramples people along the way and doesn’t notice until he looks back)

I just think its neat

It is neat!

Steve's choice to not tell Tony is such a good character beat because we're conditioned to think the choice that's going to break Steve is something life-or-death but instead it's something terribly normal. Yes, I've never had a brainwashed best friend kill my other friend's parents, but I have had to decide if I should tell someone Important Information. I've told myself countless times that by not saying something I'm helping someone else, but in reality I'm selfishly avoiding conflict and taking responsibility. So I get it. I never empathized with Steve more than the moment Tony asks him 'did you know?'.

Steve doesn't want to face the fact that Bucky's actions had real victims. He wants Bucky back, and he wants Bucky back whole, and that means Bucky has to have no responsibility for what he did as the Winter Soldier. Set aside whether or not someone who's brainwashed should have responsibility, it still happened.

To Tony, it still happened.

Steve wants to be a good man. Sometimes that means saving people. Sometimes that means saying the Very Important Thing when it's really hard. But wanting to be a good man shields Steve from looking within himself and seeing his own flaws. He wants to live in a world where being good means something, means you can have Bucky and Tony and the Avengers and actually feel happy.

(Anyway I'm still obsessed with this movie seven years later.)

((Thanks anon!))

[bylightofdawn]

Fic snippet

I am enjoying putting Cody through the emotional wringer so much in this fic. He's struggling with the dichotomy of the person he has in his mind as this cold and vicious traitor versus suddenly remembering he'd actually been an excellent sergeant and an ori'vod to shinies who'd come in greener than hell.

So it's kinda tearing himself into two parts over remembering this and feeling more betrayed by what he'd done but also a sort of reluctant compassion and fear that if he forgives even a little bit, it is a betrayal to the brothers who were hurt or killed by his actions.

I am a slight Slick apologist in that I think he really did believe what he was doing was for the greater good. And that he just wanted to end the war to save as many lives as he could but I also think that's kinda bullshit and he still did betray the people he claims he was trying to protect. Soooooo yeah. He is SUCH a fascinating character, I'm so upset they did literally nothing with him.

Uh context, I headcanon Slick and Dogma ended up in the same prison and Slick kinda reluctantly took him under his wing.

“Can I ask you? About Dogma? What happened to him?”

“What, you suddenly care?” The waspish response was halfway expected.

“Of course, I care. He was a good kid, tortured in a lot of ways but he did what he thought was right to protect his brothers.”

“It’s ironic you’re willing to give him a pass for using the exact same reasons I was giving you all those years ago, but you shut me out and threw me to the wolves.”

“He didn’t get his brothers killed or wounded. He made an impulsive and impossible choice in a terrible situation.”

Slick just scoffed and stalled as long as he could by taking a long and measured sip of his caf.

“I tried my damnedest to hate the little vaar'ika I didn’t want to risk getting close to another brother after everything that happened. But he was so stupid and naïve they were going to eat him alive and spit out the bones. I couldn’t just stand around and let that happen in front of me.” Slick admitted softly. “He didn’t know when to shut his mouth and when to pick his fights.”

There was an unmistakable fondness in the other clone’s voice despite him listing a laundry list of Dogma’s more intolerable traits.

Though he was loath to admit it even in the privacy of his own thoughts, Cody remember how the sergeant had been a good ori’vod to the freshest of shinies. Those so green they hadn’t even earned their battalion paint, and he’d always seemed to find some extra time to help them out, teaching them valuable tactics and information that often got overlooked or glossed over too quickly in training.

How to keep your head on your shoulders when the Seps were raining mortars down on your head. How to keep pushing forward even though your first instinct was to find cover. Or how to throw a droid popper to maximum efficiency. Little things that had helped keep the shinies alive long enough to learn the ropes so they didn’t just become meat for the meat grinder.

He was uncomfortable in remembering how many times he’d simply sat with a group of clearly shell-shocked recruits and talked them down from the precipice.

No, it had been so much easier to forget those parts of the man in favor of the negatives. Even now, the sting of betrayal was a dagger to the heart.

“But you loved him anyway.” Cody finally stated as neutrally as he could.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Slick grimace ever so slightly.

“I did. The little brat grew on me like a fungus I guess. And…it was nice to not be completely alone in there.”

Something akin to guild churned in Cody’s chest. The urge to say ‘I’m sorry’ hung on the tip of his tongue because he understood that sense of isolation now. How foreign and unnerving it was to be surrounded by unfamiliar faces when you’re used to the comfort of having your brothers around you. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that, couldn’t bring himself to forgive the man.

“You keep using past tense. What happened to him, Slick?”