#(i took a character with a handful of notes as to her most basic facts: name! age! husband's name! family status! sister's name!)

[softersinned]

hehe found my first writing for astoria 🥰

[matsunoluvr]

I thought I saw you were looking for writing ideas. Can we get the LaD men reactions when their s/o touches their butt by accident? (Bonus points if she shyly offers to let them touch hers to make up for it)

୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ accidentally touching the love and deepspace butts…?

warnings: suggestive content, swearing

author’s note: HELLO i’m so sorry this took literal months… classes beat me HARD. also… so very sorry for the zayne girlies, i had zero idea what to write. i feel as though i have disrespected him.

characters: rafayel, xavier, zayne, sylus

link to master list here!

more under the cut :3

when rafayel paints on small, detailed canvases he’s always edged up close to the canvas - basically eating the paints

it’s the reason why he literally gets his materials all over him, but that’s not what annoys you.

his back is quite broad, and it makes it almost impossible to see the canvas properly as he paints.

one day, out of curiosity, you try to lean in and get a glimpse of how he’s painting - getting on your tip toes to see over his shoulder

then you lean a little too close - but as you bring your hand up to balance yourself, you feel something brush against the back of your hand

and hear a very, flustered yelp.

“Ah! What the fu-”

immediately rafayel’s head whips around, his body tensing as he felt the gentle graze of your hand.

his eyes are wide and his ears and cheeks are already turning red with embarrassment - whether it’s because of your touch or his reaction is hard to discern.

he’s sputtering and stuttering over his words, unable to speak properly

like a fish out of water just flailing around, hands doing this and that whilst he’s just like “Uh, uhhh?? Huh? HUH?? WHY?” and you’re like “NO IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I SWEAR IT-“

definitely doesn’t want to admit that it felt ticklish, poor fishie had a sensitive butt :3

pouty and very upset with you, he was flustered beyond belief!! how could you be so… so prude!!!!!

definitely rubs his butt after to try and get rid of the tingling sensation it left

i feel like rafayel (if not in the ‘mood’) gets really easily embarrassed if you touch his erogenous zones - like his collar bones, ears, neck, abdomen and… butt

am i overplaying my ‘virgin-pure’ rafayel headcannons right now probably

maybe it’s in lemurian customs that touching in general is an act reserved for the one you love most/bonded to

and when you touch rafayel he still is flustered by it, regardless of the fact that he’s lived as a human for a long time (especially when you touch his butt I’M SORRY I CAN’T GET OVER SENSITIVE RAFAYEL)

so when you then suggest so innocently, so purely and so so softly if he wanted to - quote unquote - ‘touch your butt to make it equal.’ he almost burst on the spot

like literally you could here the little pwoof of hot air that came off of him

“You want me to- to do what?”

he gets even more embarrassed, i would say he gets red but he’s already so flustered he’d burst a blood vessel if he did.

is he against the idea of touching your butt? absolutely NOT rafayel loves every part of you, including your ass - but the idea of touching it just makes him a mess

and when you offer so sheepishly… how is he even supposed to touch your butt?

does he go in for a little brush? a handful? how long? finger tips or whole palm? upper butt or lower… does he go for one cheek? which cheek???

literally just malfunctioning on the spot, paintbrush dropped.

his hands are clenching and unclenching as he swallows dryly, composing himself as he takes a deep breath and reaches out - eyebrows furrowed as if he was concentrating really hard

slowly, he just - rests his finger tips against your butt.

he was so shy, as if he’d never touched your butt before - although to be fair he was much less off guard and more… in the mood.

you could almost laugh at how sheepish he seemed, not even making eye contact with you

“Hmph, this doesn’t make things even cutie.”

you and xavier were taking a nap together, well more like cuddling as you had both long waken up.

he was nuzzling into you, face rested in a gentle smile of content as his nose prods gently into your neck, arms lazily wrapped around your waist

your arms were trapped in his grasp until you wiggled a little - much to his dismay, and freed them

“Don’t wanna cuddle with me?”

faux offence masks his face as he pouts up at you, eyebrows furrowed as he gives your neck a loving little kiss

rolling your eyes, you shift in his grasp to allow yourself to cross your arms over his back

but as you reached around to hug him… instead of grabbing his lower back you aimed a little too low

boom.

hand full of ass.

xavier is definitely surprised, you can tell by the way he doesn’t say anything and instead he widens his eyes a little, lips parting slightly

his butt is nice and soft, and to be honest if you weren’t so embarrassed by the wholesome situation turning very PG18 in a matter of seconds you’d probably appreciate it a little more

but you have no time to revel in the stress-ball, mochi-esque butt before you shrivel up in mortification

i feel like xavier gets over it quite quickly, just blinking a bit before giving you a cheeky smile

“I didn’t know you wanted to do that to me.”

no matter what flustered excuses you give, he’ll innocently tease you further about the little situation

he’d say things like ‘would you rate your experience?’ and ‘is this an exclusive perk only you get?”

to be honest, you couldn’t tell if he was trying to ease the tension or if he genuinely just didn’t care that you literally squeezed his butt like it was a toy

shifting around in his arms, you try to face away but he just airily chuckles - grasp firm enough to make it difficult to turn but not impossible

he knows you didn’t really wanna turn away

until you do turn around

immediate switch in demeanour, going from teasing and playful to more concerned and serious

thinks he upset you by teasing you or that you got too embarrassed around him - both terrible outcomes in his eyes

but just as he’s about to ask what was wrong, you mumble out some words

xavier asks you to repeat yourself even though he’s heard the first time

he thought he heard wrong

but when you repeat yourself, a little ‘you can do it back…’ he’s holding back a jaw drop

however, after not too long you feel a large, firm hand snake its way from your waist, to your hips, then finally settling cozy on your butt - and you could feel his smirk against your skin.

definitely gives it a little squish, not a squeeze, just a squish

don’t be fooled by his faux calm demeanour, he’s actually using every ounce of his self control not to take you on the spot as he watches your reaction

“I’m not quite satisfied yet… is there anything more for you to offer me?”

playing doctors with dr zayne…

him checking out your blood components, heart beat etc, just a routinely check-up to ensure your protocore syndrome isn’t acting up

his hands soothing over your upper arm as he takes your blood pressure, calloused fingers rubbing (whether intentionally or not) against you whilst adjusting the device

he’s fully in business-no-nonsense mode, you could tell by the crease in his eyebrows

you can’t help but become amused at his professionalism, i mean, after all, he was your boyfriend - what’s with the coldness?

giving his cheek (face… not ass) a small pinch, you try to egg a smile out of him - only for him to frown and move your hand away gently - but firmly - a clear message of ‘not until the procedure is done’

fine… doctors orders i guess

after everything’s done zayne’s face relaxes a little, and you know he’s out of professionalism mode

to celebrate another check up of not dying and not being in imminent danger of your protocore syndrome wiping out your existence, you jump up from the table and go to pat his back…

pat his back… oh how pure and innocent your intentions were

unfortunately for you, the results were far less PG when you watch zayne stiffen up, eyes ever so slightly widening as he feels your palm flatten against his rear

a small “Hmph?” for a reaction

it was a little surprising how firm it was, and if you’d not whipped your hand away at mach-fucking-speed it’d probably have tensed a little more

but your hand did retreat much faster than humanely possible

his lips part… expecting some sort of comment from him

you already began to scheme some sort of excuse

it was the wind.

he was hallucinating, how much sleep did he get last night?

and then he readjusts his tie, looks down at his clipboard and carries on talking

…

..

what??

you, his significant other, just touched his ass and his response is to read out your ‘average platelet count’ and ‘mild arrhythmia but-nothing-out-of-the-normal-for-you’???

when you look at him incredulously, he falters ever so slightly

“What’s the matter?”

not so politely pointing out the obvious that - hey dude, you’re not going to say anything after i groped you?? - he can’t help but respond with an amused huff

replying with something sophisticated about “accidents happen all the time” and that you’re “both mature enough” makes you feel, well, embarrassed at how relaxed he was

it made you want to tease him, mess with him, see him as flustered as you.

so, naturally, as any person would, you asked him if he wanted to “return the favour”

and naturally, as any person would if their partner suggested something like that, zayne’s mind short circuited

“Not in the hospital, Y/N…”

don’t feel too dejected, that night he DEFINITELY made use of that ass (proud believer of zayne doggy style lover)

missions with sylus were always an adventure

you were either going to be diverging on a mini “date” (toooootally platonic.), looking at flowers, enjoying the nicer outskirts of the N109 zone, or quite literally fighting for your life

today… well somehow you found yourselves playing cat and mouse with a group of men…

except imagine the cats had literal war weapons

and the mouse had a crow friend with a bit too smart of a mouth.

which definitely spoke the wrong words at the right times.

sylus had insisted he just “rid of the problem” to which you pointed out that the mission goal was to extract intel from one of the masked members

after muttering something unintelligible under his breath (probably some curses or whinging, man child.) he decided to jog after you

which is how you two ended up hiding behind a flight of stairs, three or four mossy, wooden crates pressing the two of you against the dull brick wall

the faint damp smell of rotting organic matter, however, served nothing to distract you of the sensation of your front pressing a bit too much into sylus

sylus is a tall man, evident by the way his was craning, preventing his hair from brushing on the underside of the stairs

which also meant your lower tummy was pressing flush against his butt.

if sylus was uncomfortable, he definitely did not show it, nor comment on it

in fact, it seemed as though only you noticed the predicament the two of you were in, but you knew that was far from the truth.

nothing could evade his inhuman senses.

the sound of footsteps flooding the streets almost drowned the rush of blood that was flowing through your face, invading your ears and sending a dull ring through your skull

why was it kind of soft?

would it not be more muscled, toned?? his thighs look well sculpted, does he neglect his ass??

or is he just born with a peachy butt? is he blessed by some butt genie?

peace be with you, butt genie, this ass is marvellous.

“Sweetie, they’re all gone.”

his low, calm voice reels your mind back as you realise what was going on.

oh my god. you were literally GROPING his ass.

hastily pushing back and away, you almost tumble over the crates as you distance from his ass as MUCH as possible

it was too powerful, like a magnet it’s force field dragged your body to it!

as sylus was extracting himself from the hiding spot, you slowly come up with some sort of repentance, an apology.

you’d say you apologise for pushing any boundaries and that you understand that it was inappropriate and then the two of you would continue with the mission.

which was obviously why when he was dusting off his clothes you stutter out “You can touch my butt too.”

if you were trying to see sylus surprised for the first time, it definitely was successful.

after his initial confusion, a little smirk plastered his lips as he raised an eyebrow

“Could I claim my prize now?”

with the hesitant nod of your head, a large, warm hand clasps around one of your cheeks and gives it a firm squeeze.

he lets out a deep, appreciative hum before letting his thumb rub across the peak of your butt, then lifting his other hand to gently tap the end of your nose

“Naughty kitten, don’t offer these services to anyone else. Okay?”

end note: ARGHHH i’m not happy with this lowkey but i can’t do any better!! im so sorry requester if this disappoints (;´д｀)

[cartoonistcoop]

ShortBox Comics Member Interview: Sloane Hong

Throughout the month of October, the Cartoonist Cooperative will be sharing interviews with members of the Co-op who have a new comic available at the ShortBox Comics Fair 2024! 

NOTE: The Cartoonist Cooperative is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way formally connected with ShortBox.  

Today’s spotlight is Sloane Hong ( @plaest2k ) and their new comic for ShortBox, Expiry Date.

We’d love it if you could introduce yourself and tell us about your background in comics.

Sloane Hong: Kia ora, my name is Sloane Hong (she/her), I’m a Korean-tauiwi illustrator, comic artist and tattooer based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. I only started making comics professionally about five years ago but they’ve always been a significant part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Tell us more about your new comic?

SH: Expiry Date is an erotic, body horror, sci-fi short story about coming home from a long day at your shitty, minimum-wage job, crashing on your couch and fantasizing about how fucking good it would feel to just die.

I mean, it’s also about transness, labour rights, our relationship with our bodies and death under capitalism, etc but it’s mostly about shitty jobs.

My friend described it as “what if David Cronenberg was a transsexual dyke who grew up reading ero-guro”.

What are some early experiences as a cartoonist that shaped you or your process?

SH: My brother’s also an artist, probably better than I could ever be, and I basically owe any good taste I might have to him. Growing up, I always got home from school first so I’d sneak into his room to admire his drawings and read his comics. He had most of the usual stuff you’d find on any Korean kid’s shelf in the 90’s: Akira Toriyama, Masamune Shirow, Yoshito Usui, etc, and a couple of Korean manhwa that are all now damn-near impossible to find. As he got older, he started getting into American comics and brought home stuff like R. Crumb, Daniel Clowes, Fletcher Hanks, etc from the library.

But it’s not just that I had someone to introduce me to all this stuff, it’s the fact I’m six years younger than him and he was already reading this stuff earlier than most. So I think I started looking at all those misanthropic underground comics by horny white men when I was, like, what… about 10 years old?

Besides my brother, the trauma of working shitty jobs for years on end, The Terrible Boredom of Paradise, and this weird and fucked up miracle we call life are probably the wellsprings of both my inspiration and ceaseless burnout. 

Tell us about your creative process; how did you develop this comic and what are the steps you took to bring it to the final stage?

SH: I did something really stupid for the 2023 ShortBox Comics Fair. I have ADHD and one of the many ways it manifests is that I have a debilitating habit of overthinking my stories. “Are the themes too obvious? Is it too heavy handed? Are the motivations for this character clear enough? Is this the right way to phrase this? Is this the right word? Is this the right letter? Is this the right punctuation?” etc, etc.

On paper, it probably sounds like something every writer goes through but when I say debilitating, I mean interferes-with-my-ability-to-live-a-normal-life-kind of debilitating. It’s kind of impossible to articulate how bad it was but it got to a point where I was so sick of myself and all the stories I never finished that I said fuck it–maybe if I just jump into a comic with nothing but a stupid premise, no planning and an impending deadline, I won’t have time to think about all these inconsequential details. So I sat down and forced myself to write, pencil and ink a comic, page-by-page.

It was essentially an exercise in automatism: I was still thinking about draftsmanship, composition, flow and everything but I kinda just let the story tell itself by writing/ drawing whatever felt like a natural progression for the narrative.

That was how I ended up with Marrow, which was kinda funny because the whole point was to make a goofy, low-stakes comic about nothing to circumvent the pressure of having to write anything good. Instead I’d inadvertently made something that was layered and deeply intimate and won the sci-fi category in the 2024 Minicomic Awards. But, more importantly, the whole process helped bring everything together. It reminded me of something I used to tell young artists: developing a style isn’t something you really set out to do, it’s something that just happens. You don’t practice drawing to get better at drawing; you do it to better channel your voice. It’s only when you can stop thinking about how to move your hand that your heart can take the lead.

I’d forgotten my own advice. I was so concerned about the technical details of how to write a story that I was basically assembling components rather than writing anything at all. Marrow helped me realize I’d already internalized everything I needed to write long ago. I just needed to stop thinking.

Expiry Date was a continuation of that process and made in basically the same way. There was just significantly less stress involved now that I knew I could trust myself.

Mostly.

Read the rest of the interview HERE! And dont forget to check out the Shortbox Comics Fair to support these lovely creators!!

[chouettecrivaine]

Ah, Young Love! [Our Life: Now & Forever]

Fandom: Our Life: Now & Forever

Characters: Qiu Lin, Tamarack Baumann

Notes: takes place during Step 1, so he/him is used for Qiu as that is how he identifies at this point in the story!

So anyway I'm obsessed with how everybody wants Qiu but Qiu only has eyes for MC once they meet so I'm thinking about his silly little boyhood crush. And then I couldn't leave best girl Tamarack out of the love fest so here's just a few little things I was thinking about with them having childhood crushes on u <3

Note that only the demo is publicly available and I am not currently a patron so anything here that is proven true is coincidence and anything proven false is just me having a little fun

Qiu Lin

So like. I've seen Qiu call you pretty twice in the demo. Once when you meet him if you choose to call him pretty first, and again towards the end of what's available in the demo when he's listing off reasons why you should be allowed to join the club..

I just think that whenever he talks about you he always has to let it slip that he thinks you're cute. "They had on a really nice hair clip today!" "Their hair looked so cute when they took off their hat at school." "When I picked them up to walk to school, I was so surprised at how pretty they looked!"

When he told his parents about you he probably said "this really pretty kid surprised me in our yard and we went on a miniature adventure!"

Also (and note that my MC uses she/her so im gonna quote him using gendered terms but only for this one instance) When he's introducing you to one of his friends, he starts off with your name and says "she's a girl!" (Or whatever terms you have set)

So I just think he says the most basic facts about you with so much awe and wonder 🥺 like you wore overalls to school? He talks like you invented denim. You had a funny comment or joke? It's like he's never heard one before in his life when he retells it.

I feel like…the first thing that makes him interested in you is that you're new. Not only does this make you fun to mess with, but it makes you far more interesting than the people he's known his whole life. Plus you, unlike Tamarack, don't immediately brush off the cool things he wants to show you or do with you if it isn't immediately your cup of tea.

Darren and Baxter are sick and tired of hearing your name !! If you're not around Qiu wonders aloud at least once if he should or should've invite(d) you. If he did invite you and you had to decline, then he wonders what you're doing.

The type of kid to skip out on his weekend chores at home and go to your house to help you unpack instead

Ok so MC says they used to live in an apartment, right? Probably in the city? And MC was only allowed to play on their own because Golden Grove is "a safe neighborhood?" What if MC doesn't know how to ride a bike. What if Qiu teaches them…

Whether you get a hang of it or not, he daydreams about doing that thing where he rides the bike and you sit backwards on the seat or on the handlebars or something

When he finds out you can't ride a bike, he definitely shows off by riding around without his hands on the handlebars.

Will teach you how to jump off the swing set too, then will have competitions over who can swing the highest and leap the farthest

I feel like Golden Grove has a cute little main street with a bunch of locally owned shops. If you're interested, he'll show you every. single. business. Even if most of them are "granny shops" he isn't interested in. He'll let you poke around for a bit :)

He has a special page in his notebook for all the little notes and doodles about you

If you look closely at the note he gives you after class, you can see the remnants of a few tiny little hearts that he erased!!

Going back to him offering you to ride on his bike: he probably got you in trouble once because you were on your front lawn and he rode up asking you to go on an adventure with him on his bike. You're expecting a fun little 20 min ride through the walkable path in the woods that'll have you back home by dinner. Instead he takes you to town and buys you ice cream and the two of you have to struggle your way back up the hill on foot and it takes like an hour and a half to get back and your mom was worried SICK

Buys a pack of pens with one/some of your favorite color(s) and writes you notes exclusively in that/those ink(s)

If you and your mom go somewhere and he knocks on your door while you're out, you will come home to see him sitting on the steps to your front porch and waiting for you

Before class starts, he always gives you a funny face or a wave. If you come in late because of a doctor's appointment or something, naturally a lot of the kids turn to look at your entrance, and he immediately waves at you. Maybe even says hi to you out loud if he knows Mrs. Murray is in a good mood / he can get away with it.

If he finishes his work early or something, he'll turn around in his seat and just watch you from across the room with major heart eyes. He smiles wider and waves when you notice.

Anything you compliment him on, he immediately draws attention to around others. Say his hair looks good today? He'll hit you with a "oh but not every other day?" but then tell his seatmates about what you said.

Buys extra portions of his little snack bags of chips and candy or whatever he likes when he can so that he can give them to you during lunch.

Gets on a kick and will pester you about having a secret handshake until you let him come up with one. He likes having special things just you and him 🥺

Probably invites you to his hideout at a specific time and day every week and he gets soooooo excited for that time to roll around.

Tries extra hard in your favorite subject, even if it's one he hates. He's not trying to be top of the class, but he doesn't want you to think he doesn't care about something you care about!

If you like a class he's terrible at, he'll ask for your help! Or, if you struggle in a class he's good at, he'll volunteer to help you out even though he HATES the concept of doing extra schoolwork. That's how much he likes u

He'll do this with any windows but especially if one of your bedroom windows faces his: he will definitely pull a Taylor Swift in "You Belong With Me" and write notes for you guys to read to each other

Since he can't sit with you, he'll write you notes or make you doodles and then pretend he has to get up to sharpen his pencil so he can pass your desk and slip it to you

Tamarack Baumann

Tamarack will straight up just stare at you 👁👁

She follows you around like a lost puppy and visibly brightens up when you're around

Looks forward to school because she gets to sit next to you all day! Like she'll skip happily along the path with you and Qiu and you'll ask her if she's looking forward to all these things and she'll just go "No!" and when you finally give up and ask why she says "because I get to spend the whole day next to you!"

When she goes to play in the woods, sometimes she'll spend a while in the shallower end of the tree line waiting to see if you'll come outside and play with her

Has definitely thrown sticks and pebbles at your back door to lure you out before she gets bored

Likes to go around and pick up the coolest rock, the prettiest flower, the biggest piece of tree bark, a leaf the size of her head…then before she goes home for the night, she stops by your house and gives what she picked up to you!!

If you're not home then she leaves it on your porch with a note, usually held down by a rock if it's not something heavy 

She'll be over the moon if you give her cool rocks and stuff you found. Even if you're literally giving her trash, like if you ONLY give her bottle caps or pop tabs you find on the sidewalk, she cherishes them. Would make jewelry out of them tbh

Ok so quick tangent but there's a book I read in about 4th grade called Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, and in it the love interest girl is the quirky type. One thing she has is a little decorative cart on her dresser which she puts rocks in every time she's happy and takes rocks out when she's sad. When the protag goes to her house and finds out, she explains how she has put the most rocks in it since meeting him. They kiss sometime after that and she puts another rock in and tells him about it. I think Tamarack would have a jar or a doll house bathtub and she would do the same thing, putting rocks in it when she's happy! So what I'm saying is give her plenty of rocks so she can exclusively use MC rocks for that 

Also will make matching jewelry for the two of you without even stopping to think if you even wear what she's making. She'll buy kits to make special rings and headbands, braid a million friendship bracelets out of multicolored string, use acorns she found to make earrings…anything! She is just as happy if you wear it then she is if you buy a jewelry display stand and show them off in your room. Eventually she adds keychains into the mix for some variety

Doesn't mean to spend a lot of her time waiting on you but she does. On weekends, instead of going directly into the woods, she'll just lie on her back in her yard and stare up at the clouds, completely still, daydreaming (about you) until she hears your door opening. Then she runs to you.

If any of your windows are open, particularly your bedroom window, she'll send a bunch of paper airplanes your way. Most of them make it! However, you've learned that if you find even one paper airplane inside, you're going to have to check that side of the house for more scattered on the ground

Grips onto your arms or your clothes whenever she can. You two are connected.

Makes a BIG effort to like anything that you like as much as you do! And when she follows you around, it doesn't really matter if you're doing something she doesn't care about. She just wants to spend time with you! It does make her whole week if you follow her into the woods, though.

She doesn't take notes in class, but you leave a writing implement out for her and sometimes she'll reach over and doodle a cute bear or something on your paper :)

If you say you're cold, she'll give you her scarf, no questions asked. Is also down to share but don't let her do that while you're walking because it WILL end badly 

Has wrapped the scarf around the two of you and tied you guys together before and yes it was the best recess of her life 

When walking, she tends to lean into you which sometimes almost turns into pushing you and Qiu into the road if you're not careful

Likes to drag you around places and pretty quickly invites you to her house. She doesn't tell her grandparents that she's inviting you over, so they're surprised by you almost every time, but they don't mind! She's dragging you up the stairs to her room too quickly for them to say anything anyway

[thesoftboiledegg]

After last week's brutal episode, "Rickfending Your Mort" was pure silly fun. I love the lore episodes, but serialized shows that grow increasingly dark get exhausting after a while.

While many shows (Breaking Bad, The Sopranos) grow darker until the last season is pitch black, Rick and Morty has lightened up a tad. That sounds bizarre after the last episode featured Rick beating the man who killed his wife and daughter to an unrecognizable pulp, but it's lighter in the sense that Rick's growing up and abandoning his need to be the world's smartest edgelord.

Similar episodes, such as "Total Rickall" and "Morty's Mindblowers," show Rick at his worst. Here, Rick isn't exactly at his best, but most of the scenes lean away from "cruel" and more toward "dumb and goofy."

Plus, he and Morty have some genuine bonding moments. "I don't like that he's talking down to you!" "Thank you."

Rick and Morty might have disliked the Observer, but he cracked me up. His voice, his pettiness, the fact that he hovered outside the house to antagonize them--and his design is great, too. Rick's a man who collects crystals every third episode, so I don't know why he had a problem being surrounded by crystals and geodes.

"Rickfending Your Mort" had a few cameos for long-term fans. I'm glad that Space Beth's still hanging around, and her clip showed that she really is her father's daughter. Jerry's reaction to his clip reiterated that he's the most shameless person in the family. Rick acts like he is, but nah--he gets embarrassed.

On another note, this episode surprised me because I totally thought that the final scene was the beginning of another episode: Morty encourages Rick to get out of the house, and shenanigans ensue.

The title reveal showed a picture of Blips and Chitz, leading people to speculate that "Rickfending Your Mort" was a follow-up to "Rick: A Mort Well Lived." Honestly, I think that was a one-off. Morty's already recovered from Marta's absence; he argues with Rick, challenges him and calls him out instead of rolling over and doing whatever he wants.

Morty even took initiative here, which is refreshing because earlier episodes made him a glorified side character. He saw first-hand what killing Prime did to Rick and wants to cheer him up in a language that Rick understands: wild adventures.

Rick doesn't know how good he's got it. "Unmorticken" made it pretty clear what happened when another Morty found his Rick drunk on the garage floor.

Talking to Dr. Wong must be helping because Rick was able to bounce back from this one. Morty had to nudge him out of it, but minutes after the Observer arrived, Rick was his usual snarky self and hanging out with his grandson again.

Letting go isn't Rick's strong suit, but Prime Rick and his original wife and daughter are gone forever. He needs to be here for the family that he has now. Morty and Summer are basically his kids. He has three girls that he can't say no to. Even he and his Jerry are close.

And now that he's endured a clip show with the most annoying geode in the universe, maybe he can stop watching his life and start living it.

[finniestoncrane]

It's Easy!

Lucy Maclean x Maximus, word count: 1.4k i have never related to a characters straightforward desire to fuck more than lucy maclean, you're my hero girl, keep trying to get your hole at every given moment, even if you have to take it upon yourself to uh... teach your partner how to treat you right... based on that scene from episode 6 which is where most of the dialogue from the intro comes from!! 💛💙 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: inexperienced/experienced, guiding, instructional, premature ejaculation, handjob, goofy losers getting it on my beloved

The harsh lighting was slowly giving Maximus a headache. Lucy, however, seemed to thrive under it. She was used to it, obviously, but he still marvelled at the way she seemed to soak it up, smiling under it's cool, white glow. An infectious smile, one that made her large, brown eyes sparkle like slightly irradiated water. One that pressed into her cheeks, pushing them up and out. One that made him smile back for reasons he wasn't quite sure of.

In fact, there were a lot of things about Lucy that made him smile, and as he ran through the list in his head, he found he had started saying one out loud before he could stop himself.

"You smell good."

There it was. Out in the open. No taking it back, so instead, he kept his eyes trained on the ground, acting as nonchalant as he could.

"Oh?"

With an immediate understanding, Lucy took a relaxed breath inwards before casually proposing an activity to pass the time away during their quarantine.

"Do you wanna have sex?"

That smile again, beaming over at him. With a surprised stutter, Maximus managed to respond.

"Y-you mean use my cock?"

Widening her eyes before looking from side to side, Lucy nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

"I dont know... that weird thing could happen."

Maximus' nervous laugh preceded the statement that had intrigued Lucy to no end.

"What on Earth could he be talking about...? Has something else strange happened up here since... everything?"

Lowering one eyebrow and raising the other, she probed him for an answer.

"What weird thing?"

"Well, it's just... for some guys, and not me,obviously, but, uh... for some guys, you know... when they make it move..."

He gestured to his crotch with his hands, a quick but dramatic glance down to it for emphasis so there was no mistaking what he was talking about.

"... it gets all big an hard like a big pimple and then it pops. And they say it can happen to anybody, but it's still... it's... it's gross."

A knowing smile settled on Lucy's lips, her face blushing at Maximus' misunderstanding, the endearing naiavety he was displaying.

"You know, that's actually completely normal. It happens all the time. Every time, ideally."

With a grimace of disgust, Maximus felt his body moving backwards, as if he were trying to distance himself between himself and the notion that someone would want their cock to pop like that.

"Well, either way... I'm a Knight. Of the Brotherhood. We're... we're not really supposed to-"

"Okey dokey!"

Lucy interrupted him with a shrug and a polite grin, trying to save him from the awkward rejection he was trying to stumble through. But as she began to recline on her gurney on the other side of the small room, she stopped, leaning back on her elbows to listen to Maximus' rushed mumblings.

"Uh... but! B-but I... want to. Maybe? I just... don't know how..."

"Oh! If that's the problem, don't worry. It's easy! I can show you if you want? Teach you the basics at least."

He was a Knight. Well, no he wasn't. Not technically. But as far as Lucy knew... And as a Knight, he could stand to take matters into his own hands for once.

"I... I'd like that."

"Okey dokey, then! Let's do this!"

On that positive, overly optimistic note, Lucy stood up from her gurney and sat down next to Maximus on his. Her hand shifted tentatively to the side, pinky grazing against Maximus warm skin. He didn't respond in kind, instead stiffening up and staying completely still. So Lucy was once again the one to break the tension.

"We can try just kissing first if you'd like? Start off slow, get the basics down."

"Sure."

"Have you ever kissed someone?"

"No... have you?"

Lucy paused for a moment, considering everything she had done so far in life, everything she might do, and everything that had gone on between the first bombs dropped and now. The rules were different above and below ground, and she didn't want to risk offering any information about certain cousins that might make seem strange to someone like Maximus.

Aware that she had been staring wide-eyed into space for longer than necessary, she quickly turned to him.

"Yes, a couple. No one you would know."

His eyes narrowed in response, nose wrinkling up, mouth dropping open in a confused expression as he nodded in obvious agreement. And to prevent him from asking any questions, Lucy leaned into his parted lips and placed her own on them. A tender meeting of their bodies, far beyond polite handshakes, different from the way they had been clinging to each other in weaker moments.

Responding to the beat that his heart skipped and the way his body suddenly flushed with heat, Maximus raised his hand to Lucy's cheek, pulling back quickly with an apology and breaing off their first kiss. His first kiss.

"Oh, that's ok! You're kind of supposed to let nature take its course with this kind of thing. Deep down we all know how it should go... it's in our biology!"

He shrugged, averting his eyes once more, embarrassed to admit it, but confessing anyway.

"I'm still kinda scared... of the... pop."

Ever the dutiful problem solver, Lucy stopped for a moment, humming over potential solutions before beaming bright and excited when she thought she had the perfect one.

"Oh! I can show you what it's like. I'll take charge, and then you'll see it's ok. How does that sound?"

He nodded, slow and stuttered, all of the built up excitement hidden behind the shocked expression he wore. She was so forthcoming, so helpful, and the idea of her touching him did make him feel good. Different, but good. And that feeling was only amplified as Lucy started dragging down the zip at the front of his jumpsuit and dipping her hand beneath the fabric.

Her skin was soft, her palm warm as it glided past his stomach and down to the tuft of unruly black hair above his cock. And then she was touching it. Unafraid, bold and confident in the way she let her fingers trail along the length before settling the flat of her hand against him, semi-erect already and throbbing under her.

Smiling, smug with her effect on him, Lucy could feel his cock stiffening as she wrapped her fingers around it, beginning to stroke the length. As her hand moved up and down, Maximus noticed the way his length, and his whole body in fact, twitched when she reached the bottom and again when she neared his head.

"It's... it's happening isn't it?"

"Yep! But it's ok... totally normal... completely normal... very nice..."

He shifted, not uncomfortably, but awkwardly, as he took in the compliment.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Lucy was smiling at him, eyes glinting with something he hadn't really noticed before as she asked the question.

"It... it does..."

"Maybe we can go a bit further then? Give me your hand..."

She took his wrist, steadying his shaking limb, and placed his palm against her breast over the top of her suit. He let his fingers sink in a little, squeezing the soft mound and breathing in deep, shaking breaths. it felt comforting, but it made that coil in his stomach tighten as he felt her chest heaving against him.

"Now... if you think this my hand feels nice, imagine how good it would feel to have it inside my- oh!"

The words weren't particularly sexy, at least not in the cheerful, matter of fact way that Lucy spoke them, but it was enough to send Maximus over the edge. His cock twitched, that threatened moving, swelling, throbbing, his veins pulsing, and then the pop. His orgasm came fast and hard, cum spilling in warm, white ropes over Lucy's hand.

Immediate embarrassment came over him as he tried to clean it up, recoiling at the sticky texture of the liquid that had come from him. But as he looked into Lucy's eyes to show the sincerity of the 'sorry' that he repeated, he saw that she was still smiling. Ever cheerful. A sense of satisfaction about a job well done.

"Good, huh? Next time you'll be able to last a bit longer, I think!"

As Lucy made her way back to her own gurney to lay down, Maximus muttered to himself.

"Next... next time?"

And now he began to smirk. Self-satisfied. Relaxed. Excited for this next time.

[krislikofan]

EXPLORER ANN THEORY (+sketchs)

Ann - That character that has haunted me since her appearance. Her presence in the horizons is not significant, Liko’s classmate, as well as her close friend. But I'm not sure that it will be as insignificant in the future.

For me, the theory that Ann is connected with the explorers is, in fact, so far the most truthful theory that there is in general in this anime. As we remember, the first person to see the pendant from Liko’s hands was, of course, Ann. Afterwards, when Liko moved to the Brave Asagi, she began calling Ann, and surprisingly, explorers always found out where the Brave Asagi was without complex tracking systems(of course, this does not apply to the moments when we were openly shown that the explorers were intentionally tracking the ship.)

Ann could very well be a fake friend for Liko in order to convey basic information to the explorers, and her goal is to gain Liko’s trust and also transfer all the information to the explorers.

By the way, do you remember that episode where Ann met Liko Dot and Roy on the way to the Academy? From this episode, the scene where Ann showered Liko with compliments, and Dot only cast ambiguous glances at Liko, became ingrained in me. The episodes where they took notes were about nothing. We were simply shown the relationship between the main characters and their Pokémon, but what I noticed first was Dot’s behavior. She was quite active in these episodes, noticed the condition of Liko and Roy, offered help, was interested in how everyone was doing, and in general she was active. But as soon as Ann appeared in their trio, Dot remained silent. She didn't say anything, just glanced at Ann and Liko.

I don't think it's because of Ann's activity. If we remember Nemona, then Dot behaves normally with her, chatting with friends the same way. Maybe because she has problems with her social life? Don't think. Just remember the episode where Dot lured an incredibly large number of people to a cafe. It's possible that Dot sees something wrong with Ann. She is clearly embarrassed by her behavior and her excessive attention to Liko. And it’s even clear why, she doesn’t look through rose-colored glasses, she has a good instinct, and she’s not used to trusting others so blindly like Roy and Liko.

But I also often asked myself the question - how could Ann even get to the explorers? Until one day I noticed one detail. Have you noticed that Ann and Sango are similar? Hairstyle, shades of pink in the hair, similar eye shape, as well as the fang on the same side. It is possible that Ann may be a relative of Sango, for example, the sister.

It may happen that when Liko finds out that Ann is Sango's sister and that she helped the explorers, she will be disappointed in her. But Ann will go over to Liko's side, sacrificing her relationship with Sango. Naturally, Liko needs time to ask Ann.

In general, initially Ann could not have any intentions of becoming real friends with Liko, but let's remember that first of all they are children, and naturally Ann became attached to Liko and began to perceive her as a friend. She could tell Sango that she is not at all attached to Liko, and views her as an enemy, but it will all be a lie. Of course, Ann perceives her as her best friend, and sincerely does not want to think differently.

SO! That was the biggest post in my life... I hope you like it!!

[bucketkicked]

a new muse has joined the ranks: yū fujimoto ! *

❝ just admit it, you love me 'cause i'm a rascal ~ ! ♡ ❞

* Yu is pretty much an original interpretation of the character Lup.in t.he Thi.rd. I absolutely recommend the series and movies (both of which there are several!) ♡

BASICS:

Name: Yū Fujimoto, (Fujimoto Yū, 藤本 悠 )

Alias / Nickname: Arsene Lupin the Third, Lupin, Lupin III

Age / Birthday: Somewhere between 25 and 35 (per police reports), August 10th

Height:  5'10"

Gender: Female, she/her

Orientation:  Bisexual, strong female lean

Occupation: Master thief

ABILITIES / SKILLS:

Thievery skills, such as: lock picking, stealth, glass cutting, sleight of hand, climbing, persuasion/acting, etc.

Racecar driving (a hobby of hers!), piloting a boat and other vehicles

Acrobatics / flexibility

Strategizing (a girl loves planning!)

Sharp shooting (mostly to disarm or injure)

Master of disguise (incredibly good at makeup and costuming, not to mention voice impressions/imitations)

Escape artist

Multilingual (Japanese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Mandarin)

PERSONALITY:

Lupin is extremely goofy and doesn't take much seriously. She likes cracking jokes, even to the police! She thinks taunting them is funny but takes any arrests like a champ (mostly because she manages to get out!). She enjoys leaving notes and doodles behind at the sites of her heists. Humor, however, tends to be a huge defense mechanism for her and has a habit of pretending things are fine when they really aren't.

However, Lupin is an incredibly soft-hearted person. She's a hopeless romantic times ten and tends to get crushes easily. That being said, she does like to woo people and flirt. She'd never cheat, though, that'd just break her heart.

Does thievery for, well, the obvious reasons, but also because she loves a good challenge and chase. If it's not obvious, she's a thrill seeker. Despite her devil-may-care attitude, she's really a brilliant mind with a strong imagination.

Even if she's a thief, she has a strong sense of justice and fights injustice. She's even gone so far to foil the crimes of worse criminals. Lupin never steals from those in poverty, only seeming to target the wealthy and well-off. They can take the loss! She'd never harm a woman or child, however, even if the object in her sights is something really special. She stays away from murder and even helps those who are less fortunate.

Besides racing, she enjoys fishing, nightclubbing, gambling, playing pool, watching TV, and travelling. She really enjoys eating international cuisine and wine but also enjoys tea and coffee. She smokes on occasion, and she prefers the French brand of cigarettes Gitanes.

HISTORY:

Currently known as one of the world's most notable and notorious thieves, Lupin III is under the watch of the likes of Interpol and other government agencies. Likened to a Carmen Sandiego figure, her heists are big and bold, going from banks to museums to mansions alike. If she can steal it, she'll sure try!

Known for her use of gadgetry (some of which she invented/built herself!), she's quite a hard catch. However, she's not perfect, having been imprisoned many times. The real catch? She's hard to stay caught! She's escaped as many times as she's arrested.

Despite some witnesses stating she's died at least twice; Lupin is still somehow kicking. This is due to a mysterious amulet she'd plundered from a museum one day, giving her nine lives. Maybe the love Egyptians had for cats ruled in her favor! The amulet ended up back in the exhibit, but Lupin was alive and well despite losing her steal. She's on life number 3, lending itself to her name: Lupin the Third. She thinks third time's a charm, and maybe it is!

Unfortunately, with such infamy comes copycats. Lupin's been framed for grievous crimes, those of which she'd had to track down the perpetrators for. She prefers to clear her name herself, 'cause the legal system sure won't!

MISCELLANEOUS FACTS:

Lupin took her alias from the great fictional thief Arsene Lupin! She doesn't tend to use her real name unless she knows she can trust you. It also makes her harder to track! Good luck catching an Arsene Lupin the Third, suckers!

For when she has to do some serious undercover work, Lupin has a feminine persona named Ayumi. She often wears red and has short, blonde, and curly hair.

Lupin has a very notable laugh, ehehe!

Three is Lupin's lucky number! Things that happen in threes is a good omen to her.

She seems to have a lot of strengths? SO WHAT'S HER WEAKNESSES? Women, mischief, and extreme curiosity.

[aliciavance4228]

I think I've already talked a lot about how lots of fanfics and retellings are making Persephone, Demeter and Hades dirty, so I'm going to talk about other two figures from Homeric Hymns to Demeter people made dirty as well.

First of all, there is Hecate. In a lot of fanfictions and retellings she's either Hades' adviser and/or one of his most loyal subjects or something like that because... *checks notes* Ah yes, she's a chtonic deity too!

While Hecate was indeed associated with the Underworld for a very long time, she didn't have any sort of direct connection with Hades nor with his kingdom until Demeter asked her to become Persephone's attendant and substitute queen. Before that she was living in her cave and minding her own business.

Besides, it’s also important to emphasize the fact that Hecate was the only one who took pity of Demeter when she was hopelessly searching for her daughter and the one who led her to Helios so that she would find out where is her daughter.

Hekatê came to her, holding a light ablaze in her hands. She came with a message, and she spoke up, saying to her: “Lady Demeter, bringer of hôrai, giver of splendid gifts, which one of the gods who dwell in the sky or which one of mortal humans seized Persephone and brought grief to your philos thûmos? I heard the sounds, but I did not see with my eyes who it was. So I quickly came to tell you everything, without error.” So spoke Hekatê. But she was not answered by the daughter [Demeter] of Rhea with the beautiful hair. Instead, she [Demeter] joined her [Hekatê] and quickly set out with her, holding torches ablaze in her hands.

This is one of the most prominent examples of women supporting women from Greek Mythology, considering not only that Hecate helps Demeter, but becomes a protective figure towards her daughter during her time in the Underworld when she's far from her mother as well.

Depicting her as supporting Hades or even being against Demeter and suggesting Persephone to remain with her husband isn't just out of her character, but also very reductive, especially for a written work based on a hymn which centers on its female characters along with their interactions and suffering.

Then there's Rhea. As I said, Demeter's interactions with other female characters are a relevant aspect from the myth, since these are the only type of figures who seem to emphatize with her and comfort her in a way other gods cannot. The only male figure from this hymn who tries to bring her some sort of consolation is Helios, and he literally told her that she should consider herself honoured that her daughter is now the wife of one of Zeus' brothers, as if he didn't clearly hear Persephone's screams when she was kidnapped.

But I urge you, goddess: stop your loud cry of lamentation: you should not have an anger without bounds, all in vain. It is not unseemly to have, of all the immortals, such a son-in-law as Hadês, the one who makes many sêmata. He is the brother [of Zeus], whose seed is from the same place. And as for tîmê, he has his share, going back to the very beginning, when the three-way division of inheritance was made. He dwells with those whose king he was destined by lot to be.”

This part basically shows the patriarchal mentality people from that time had on marriage, or, in the best case, how Helios is uncapable of fully understanding Demeter's grief and concern purely because he doesn't know what being a woman and a mother respectively is like.

But then we have Rhea, who is not only a female figure, but also her own mother. She understands not only what being a woman or a mother is like, but also the fear and rage of seeing your own children being taken from you, considering the fact that she saw five of her children being eaten by her husband, and even when she saved Zeus from the same fate she wasn't able to raise him because otherwise Cronus would've soon figured out what is happening.

This happened the moment she [Rhea] arrived from the boundless aether. They [Demeter and Rhea] were glad to see each other, and they rejoiced in their thûmos. Then Rhea, the one with the splendid headband, addressed her [Demeter]: “Come, child, Zeus the loud-thunderer, the one who sees far and wide, is summoning you to come to the company of that special group of gods. And he promised tîmai that he would give you, which you could receive in the company of the immortal gods. He [Zeus] assented that your daughter, every time the season comes round, would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath, and the other two thirds in your company and that of the other immortals. He has assented to all this with the nod of his head. So come, my child! Obey! Do not be too stubborn in your anger at the dark-clouded son of Kronos. Straightaway make the harvest grow, that life-bringer for humans.”

Now, many people would say things like: "Oh, but she was just sent by Zeus to tell Demeter what he has decreeted!" and ignore that she literally told Demeter that her rage and persistence weren't in vain, that she managed to gain her own victory to some extent by getting to spend the majority of the year with her daughter besides her despite the fact that she ate those pomegranate seeds.

Zeus, Hades and Demeter are all Rhea's children. Technically you would expect their mother to remain impartial in this sort of situations and conflicts, yet she still wanted to comfort the only one of them three who went through a similar suffering she went through once and was able to understand what losing your child and being almost unable to do something about it is like in a way her sons couldn't.

So the fact that a lot of retellings either completely erase her or depict her as Hades' lovely mother who is happy because her oldest son finally has a wife (I've seen a comic where she meets Persephone and tells her something like: "You're very beautiful. No wonder why my son kidnapped you.") and consider her role to be a minor/insignificant one in Homeric Hymns to Demeter despite of the (more or less) clear historical context and how girls used to be taken from their mothers and forcibly married off to men they probably didn't even know is, again, out of her character and whoever thought that this is a briliant idea misses the entire point of why she's making an appearance in this myth in the first place.

So if you really want to create a "feminist", or at least decent/compelling retellings of this myth (though let's be honest, Homeric Hymns to Demeter is already a masterpiece and a surprisingly progressive/innovative written work considering the time when it was written), perhaps it would be a better idea to focus on women's interactions with other women, instead of either sanitizing or demonizing them based on what sort of relationship they have with the central male figure from it (Hades).

[alfredsolos]

hey, you know how you did a review (basically) of colin’s character and kinda outlined or corrected any misinformation ppl make ab him (like that he’s Jon kent 2.0?) (idk how to explain- character study??? u just explained him rly well with good textual evidence)

anyways~

do you think u could do something like that for Maya Ducard? like, clear up any misconceptions ppl have ab her character and such? i want to write her but i don’t have the ability to read the comics/don’t rlly want to anyways.

Alright! Before going into a character analysis, let's talk about Maya's story. Who is Maya Ducard?

Maya Ducard is a vigilante/hero called Nobody. She is the second person to take up that mantle. The first Nobody aka Morgan Ducard aka Maya's father, was killed by Damian Wayne in Batman and Robin.

Maya finds the remains of her father's corpse beneath the sea and watches the clip of Damian killing her father. So to take revenge, she goes after Damian to kill him.

But during that time, Damian goes into a redemption trip where he tries to undo the damage he did when he was an assassin.

During on of those missions, Maya and Damian cross paths and she tries to kill him. But when she finds out that he was on a redemption trip, she decides to go with him and ensure that he is doing what he's supposed to. And she tells him that in the end she'd kill him.

Damian let's her tag along and they go on adventures together, growing closer and closer. And in the end, Maya forgives Damian.

Now, going back to the topic. Coming across Maya fics are harder because there are too few. So I don't really know how the fanon portrayes her.

I do know that most of the time she is portrayed as a supportive big sister, which is true but she is also so much more. So in this post I'll give out some facts about her and explain her character using canon panels.

****

1. Maya does not like the idea of innocents dying:

Even when she was trying to kill Damian, she interrups her plans to save the innocent people. This tells us that she indeed has a pure heart. Along with her potential to be a hero.

2. She knows how to get inside someone's skin:

During the times where they have a temporary ceasefire, Maya does not hold back from hurting Damian with her words and trying to get under his skin. This tells us that whoever her target is, she will do proper research on them and make sure to know them on a personal level. Which makes her dangerous.

She has a sharp tongue, so don't forget to apply this trait of hers on your fics!

3. Abilities?

Maya does not have any super powers. But she does have a super suit with numerous abilities. The most prominent ones being: Invisibility, sonic boom devices that are built into her hands, a device that distorts people's eyesight. She is also a very skilled fighter.

Another very important thing to note is that, her father wasn't the one who taught her how to fight:

She learned how to fight by herself, watching her dad from the shadows. Which indicates amazing strategic and martial ability. Not to mention how she tracked down Damian and manage to hold her own against him.

4. At first these two did not get along:

And by that I mean, they did not get along.

They did not fight due to the ceasefire. But the things they said to each other? Ouch.

5. Maya loves Goliath:

Before and after trying to kill Damian, Maya always loved Goliath. She even tried to take him away from Damian at one point.

Goliath also loves Maya very much, risking his life for her countless times.

6. Along with her hate for Damian, she was also jelaous of him:

One, he had a family that gave everything to him. Two; while her father never taught her anything, he took in Damian and taught him special moves and trained him. And due to this she naturally had a bit of envy of him.

7. Maya was still adament to kill Damian when they started to get along:

This didn't last that much, but in her mind it was some kind of divine justice.

8. Damian saved Maya from Deathstroke:

After Maya quit trying to become an assassin and killing Damian, Deathstroke came after her. But Damian basically pays her off and gives Slade 5 million dolars to stop trying to kill her. Surprisingly it works.

But Maya doesn't understand why he did this. She calls herself worthless and with this, we can get that she has very low self esteem and self-deprecating thoughts.

9. She is more laxed, compared to Damian:

As you can see, she does not shy away from resting unlike other assassins who do not stop until they complete their plans.

10. She has never killed anyone:

Even before or after Damian, she has 0 body count. She never killed or kills anyone in the future. This fact is the reason why Damian let Maya come with him after she tried to take him on. He knew that she wouldn't be able to do it.

11. Damian has a habit of calling her 'chica':

It's obvious that he does this to annoy her. But we can use this in the fanon as Damian annoying Maya by calling her chica

12. Damian gives Goliath to Maya:

After the redemption trip and Maya forgiving Damian, he tells her to take Golaith with him. Maya refuses and tells him that Goliath belongs to him. But Damian answers with:

Goliath ends up staying with her.

13. Damian shies away from asking Maya for help:

After the redemption arc, Maya settles in and is actually happy. Damian sees this and hesitates to ask for her help.

As you can see, this happens multiple times. Which is cute, to see Damian being shy. Maya could be the only person who makes Damian feel like that.

14. Maya gains a brother:

After forgiving Damian for killing her father, she tells him that he has gained a new sister. Which means a lot because this shows that blood isn't what matters, but love. Seeing Damian accept and love her, destroyes the 'blood son' argument.

15. Maya hates the al Ghul's:

She tells Talia that she hates all the al Ghuls, besides Damian. She also goes on to tell her that she is a horrible mother. And by that, she really goes all out.

16. She kidnaps Jon Kent:

We all know that Damian met Jon by kidnapping him. But the thing is, he wasn't alone! Maya also helped him to kidnap Jon.

****

Anyways, these were my intrepretation of Maya Ducard's character from her canon interactions. If anyone wants to add onto these, please feel free and thank you for the ask!

[mulderscully]

Another thing about the rwrb acting comparisons that’s frustrating is that not only are they playing such different characters, but just by the nature of adapting book to screen, we gain a lot of extra Henry pov, but by contrast, we also lose a lot of Alex context.

I think the film is a solid adaptation and I understand why they made (some of) the changes that they did, I really do. But it’s frustrating that people are critiquing the depth of Alex’s character by attacking TZP’s performance, when his performance is not the issue. Some of the choices they made in adapting to film took away things that added depth and interest to Alex as a character. Most of the comparisons I see about the acting performances literally just boil down to the fact that the characters are different, with different backgrounds and motivations. A lot of complaints I see just reek of racism. I think a lot of it just doesn’t really hold up, and is especially unfair considering how much of Alex was basically lost in translation.

Without the divorce and Raf, we don’t understand that Alex is deeply fearful of being left behind and betrayed by people he trusts and admires. His abandonment issues are such a big part of how he’s affected by Henry’s rejection at the lake house coming in the form of him taking off without a word. (We also don’t get the dear Thisbe note, which is what gives Alex hope and motivates him to go to Kensington and fight for their relationship. Until that point he had come to believe that he was unwanted.)

Without June, we don’t see the guilt and anxiety Alex carries around about her essentially putting her own goals on hold to look after him. The shame he feels for being or taking too much, or not living up to expectations and not being enough. (I think this is also relevant for understanding why his relationship with Henry is so significant to him, in the book he initially chooses not to hide the parts of himself that he usually hides from people, because he doesn’t really like Henry and doesn’t care what Henry thinks. What that ends up doing instead is giving Henry the ability to know and love him as he truly is, allowing Alex a level of vulnerability in their relationship that he hasn’t yet been able to achieve with anyone else.)

Without June and Nora having a relationship that Alex often feels he can’t quite penetrate, we don’t see his loneliness, and how that shifts when the super six is formed. How that belonging brings so much growth for Alex and helps him slow down finally.

What we’re left with is his drive, and confidence, and hopefulness. All traits that are absolutely true to Alex, but that without that additional context that we have in the book, might come across shallower on screen. On the other hand though, that’s the nature of an adaptation. There’s not room to keep everything and still create a meaningful story with characters who all feel real and purposeful. If they hadn’t made some of those changes, we would have been lacking in a lot of other things that make the film watchable, including some of the time spent helping the audience know Henry better.

The thing is, I think TZP did a great job bringing Alex to life, and when I watch his performance, I’m still able to recognize some those other aspects of Alex that are better defined in the book. Like you said, his fidgeting and other body language is so telling of what Alex is really experiencing. Even his facial expressions give a lot away. I think he did a beautiful job adapting Alex, because I think that’s exactly what Alex would look like seen from the outside. The whole book we’re in Alex’s head, basically. I do think it would’ve helped if they’d been able to give us more of Alex’s inner world on film, but it was never going to be a complete replica of the book. TZP did the job he was given, and he did it well. So did Nicholas.

I think it really is a perfectly cast film, and both of the actors gave performances that were true to the characters they each portrayed. I’m genuinely so impressed by how well cast this film was, I never felt an ounce of disappointment over any of it. Sorry for the length of this, your post about people constantly comparing the actors like that just made me feel so strongly about how ridiculous it all is.

ugh the edible just hit but i wanna try to reply to this seriously so please bear with me 🐻

this is all so well said! i certainly agree with you. it's a tricky line to talk about this because if you're a movie fan and criticize or even talk about changes the movie made then movie antis think they can bounce off that sometimes and it's really frustrating.

i've always seen books and their adaptations as seperate things. a movie version has never "ruined" a book for me because the book is still there.

with rwrb i went into it with that knowledge, what mattered to me was that the heart of alex and henry's relationship remained true bc it's a romantic comedy tbqh. i never minded matthew changing the divorce (and tbh i actually prefer it being taken out for reasons of like. the latino father gets up and leaves sits wrong with me tbqh.) and while i do think taking june was a mistake, it never bothered me, per se.

because you gotta meet adaptations half way and i think what matters most is what book fans think and i think alex is still recognizable as alex in the movie, that's what really matters. you can fill in the rest if you need to.

i do fully hate the miguel change but at least miguel is useful for shitty exes in au fics? but yeah, god the book is so much better in that regard and in my murky bookmovie canon i def prefer what the book did.

i do think the movie needs to have alex struggle internally more which is why i wanted a movie sequel so badly. the movie runs at breakneck speed and i think alex being older in the movie allows him to dive into the election in a way he couldn't in the book being 22, but it also leaves this question of like now that i've helped my mother win her second term and someone else is president and i'm sort of a normal person again, what does that make alex? how is his relationship with ellen even like? that's so interesting and i hope they address it.

BASICALLY i agree with you but i also enjoy the changes the movie made and how that shapes characters into being the same and different? i think it's so cool 😭 i have two firstprinces wow anyway.

but yes i fully agree with you!!! v well said thank u 🫶🏼

[koalaforlife]

Happy Birthday, Hange Zoë

This is a story of how Hange became one of my favorite characters now after so long, and how I think they are one of the most underrated characters, always pushed aside (probably due to a lack of an emotional backstory and lack of the relatability factor). 

For starters, I will note that I will most likely end up referring to them as she/her because in my mind (thanks to the anime), I can’t help but see this character as a female and honestly, I’ve been struggling for Idk, all my life? to find a female character in any media that ticks all the boxes for me (I have plenty of ultimate faves in terms of male characters instead) and to my utmost surprise now, I think Hange just might be the one so allow me to fulfil my long-time desire of finding a great female character that I can call my ultimate favorite.

Also, it's important to mention that for the longest time, my favorite AoT characters had been Levi (ultimate bias) with Erwin coming in a veeeery close second. 

Let me start with the beginning. When I first saw her in the first season of SnK, the exaggerated reactions that were meant to be comic relief only made this “mad/obsessed” character more cringe to me. Not to say I hated them, I just…got second-hand embarrassment from watching them. I didn’t quite get a good grasp of the character and probably like 90% of the fandom, I just saw them as just another character fading in and out of the background, that at times helps the plot advance with some new bits of info.

Then, at some point, I probably saw some cool scenes of them that gave me a pleasant surprise (eg. when she threatens to push Pastor Nick off the wall) but as I was getting distracted by other, more impactful and shocking scenes, I wouldn’t really think much of it and I didn’t actually use them to form a full character portrait/depiction in my mind. These scenes, few and far between, were forgotten in the end.

When I became a more active reader and passionate fan, about 4 years ago I would say, somehow I ended up learning about the pair LeviHan, and it really won me over with their dynamics. Whether people choose to ship them romantically or not, there is nothing that can deny the fact that they had a special friendship in canon AoT. 

In any case, to my shame, I have to admit I started paying attention to Hange because of that ship, and though I didn’t realize it at that time, I liked her for the most part because of that ship. So basically, I liked her because of my favorite character, Levi. Of course, I still liked the legendary trio, Erwin, Hange, Levi, but again, I don’t think I was that attached to her as a singular character.

Soon after, I dropped out of fandom when the manga took a really weird turn for me. I started disliking it and it went on for a while. I lost my hope in it getting any better. I don’t know why it affected me THIS much but I can only assume it had something to do with my mental state back then. 

Now, after almost 4 years, I reprised the manga and watched the final season of the anime. I felt differently, way more tolerant and accepting of whatever direction the story was going to take. And I can’t say I am unhappy with it, I just think that certain parts seemed like cliches and overused tropes, which is not very characteristic of Isayama, but oh well. I think the poor man was exhausted and wanted to finish it asap, and I can’t blame him. 

Speaking of mental health, a few months back I had gone through a major shift where I started thinking more positively overall. I think this is important to mention because it’s probably why I also saw Hange with such different eyes this time. 

And, I think this is also why I finally got ready to read the rest of the manga, despite knowing she dies. That was the only spoiler I got, and when I first heard it years ago, I was “disappointed, but not surprised” - at that time like I said, I had lost all hope in the manga. And once again, I had felt more sad about it because of Levi, who’s lost everyone he cared for deeply and who understood him. Once again, I had failed to see Hange as a singular character with massive importance in the story, instead of just a convenient accessory to Levi. 

So why is this character important? There are many reasons why she was integral to the story, and inspirational to us readers, so I will try to summarize all that.

1. Open-mindedness

I don’t think most people remember (I know I didn’t) how she was the only one who first tried to challenge our perspective on titans. 

For decades, we've tried to fight the Titans with hatred in our hearts. I want to try and see them from a different angle than the current norm.

Call it maybe foreshadowing, or just Isayama trying hard to come up with a unique, arguably crazy character (that’s what I thought at the time), but when you think about it, it’s something that was desperately needed. When you don’t understand and know something, try to look at it from a different point of view. When you are afraid of something and the situation is dire, try to dare to hope there might be something good in it.

Armin: They decided we're devils without knowing our intentions? Why won't they consider a path of peace?

Mikasa: I think...because they don't know. They fear us because they don't know what we are.

Hange: That's right. They won't trust people whose faces they haven't seen. So let's meet 'em! If you don't understand something, go figure it out! Isn't that what we Scouts do?

That positivity, openness, and exuberance shines throughout most of the scenes we get with Hange in the first season, and when things get serious in Season 2, we also get a glimpse of their duality: though they were someone that faced titans with excitement, they were not to be messed with when it came to protecting people.

2. Humanity  / Emotional Intelligence

That duality becomes more apparent in Season 3, where we see them shine on their own. And btw, one of my kinks in this season/arc was the fact that the OP, goated trio, EruRiHan, were each on their own having to call the shots and contribute to the team’s success with little to no communication at times. Fills my heart with warm fuzzy feels and pride :D Anyway back to Hange. :D 

Hange displays some nice people skills as she is trying to tie the “reputation” loose end and clear their names and seek answers, truth, and justice, by collaborating with Flegel, Roy, and Beaure.

Some notable quotes here are the following:

[speech to flegel] Well, you have a point. The thing is, that doesn't sound like living to me. Look at it this way, Flegel. Instead of scampering around like a scared little mouse your whole life, wouldn't you rather face up to your enemy, even if it means risking your life--?

and one of my most favorites,

“What are you talking about? Defeat is all the Survey Corps have ever known. (said with a fucking sunshine on their face, because they are literal sunshine)

And when all is cleared up,

Levi: Looks like the gamble paid off.

Hange: Yeah. It wasn't just Erwin though. The lone choices of many managed to change the world.

This sentence  just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside because it sounds inspirational to me: it's the small things we can all do that help shape the world, and it's not just the more inspirational, brave, and special people that bring change, it's all of us.

If for some reason the previous scenes weren’t enough to see what an empathetic and people-oriented person she was (eg. when she tries to befriend Eren, Levi and his friends, when she gives Sasha a potato as thanks, when she admits she wasn’t going to harm Pastor Nick, and was visibly disturbed by his death)….well this line I think perfectly shows how Hange encompasses teamwork, people’s unity, compassion, friendship. 

3. Mental Strength

However, at the same time, they are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Just like pretty much every relevant character in this story, they have to kill (or torture) to survive or to help humanity. That ability to know what needs to be done and get it done comes with a certain life experience and maturity that a lot of our main characters still have to achieve, which is probably why Hange gets overlooked as she already is a matured, developed character for the most part of the story, who doesn’t really need to make any life-altering decisions that shape their personality in one way or another.

But for me, that was a plus, actually. Don’t get me wrong, I love Armin’s growth, Conny’s development, Reiner and Annie’s inner conflicts, Historia’s whole arc, and some other minor character developments (Sasha and Ymir). But I can’t help but admire Hange now when I look at a more complete picture: a person with love for knowledge and love for life, but with a feral instict and strength to protect that same thing she loves - the lives of innocent people and the access to truth and knowledge.

There are people I want to bring back, too. Hundreds of them. I've had to say farewell since the day I joined the Scouts. But...You know, don't you? No matter who it is, there comes a day to say farewell. I know it's impossible, but you have to accept this. There will be times you can't keep your sanity. It's tough. Very tough. I know. Even so, we have to keep moving forward. 

4. Honesty and Accountability

Hange is blunt ("I agree. I thought it should've been used on Erwin...") and always takes responsibility for her decisions especially when she knows it might affect someone's mental state. ("The decision was mine. You were just a factor."/"I said the decision was mine."). I don't think people appreciate how important this is.

5. Flaws

When she gets overwhelmed with politics, responsabilities, and stress, and overpowered by the Jagerists, it is almost humiliating to see her cuffed and rendered useless, unable to do anything but follow the stronger ones. You can see how she slowly realizes that this surpasses her abilities to tackle the politics and the grim reality that the world most likely wants them dead. Defeated, she says

Erwin, you only made one mistake in your life. Why did you make me a commander?

I am sure some people would agree with her, but honestly, I disagree. First, there was literally no better option. Second, Erwin had an ability to see, understand, and manipulate people. If he nominated her, he must have believed in her enough, just as he believed in Levi and Armin when he entrusted them with crucial tasks. And third, some may argue that Erwin would have handled the situation better. But while Erwin might have probably been less stressed and overwhelmed with the political discussions, the reality would still be the same, and he would have had to work with the same equations and factors: world wants them dead, eren doesn’t want to sacrifice historia, eren wants the rumbling, what’s there to do? what could have Erwin done better in these circumstances? 

This new side of Hange’s character is really sad, but it makes her relatable in my opinion. I know a lot of people find other characters relatable instead, but for me this part right here speaks more to me than others. This sort of impostor syndrome (which Armin also suffers from), and the clear showcase of a character’s flaws and failures for the first time (when did we see Hange fail before?), all these things bring her down from the sort of “great character with no mistakes” pedestal and make her seem more like…us.

How many times did we not get some huge responsibility that we felt we were not good enough for, and doubted ourselves? Be it a project at work, leading a team, parenting, or even simple things like not being good enough at some hobby that you want to pursue, or good enough to be in a relationship with someone. These doubts are human and okay to have, and there's nothing wrong with that, but...

6. Resilience 

But what’s important is to keep moving forward and do your best, do whatever you can to change the outcome for the better, and if you fail, don’t go too hard on yourself. Hange knew that she did all she could, and she kept moving forward, even though she felt so down at times and almost as if she wanted to give up. 

Looks like my turn has come...even though I thought I did the right thing. Times change and you end up in a cell....What do you say we live out here, forever?

[a few moments later]

Levi: There's no way in hell you can stay out of the action.

Hange: Yeah, I can't. (bittersweet smile)

She does what she does best: she moves forward. She saves Levi and nurses him back to health, risking both of their lives in the process (I guess she was possessed by Erwin’s gambling spirit? :D or she was just THAT determined to ensure their survival). She seeks to form an alliance with the remaining survivors, including the Marleyans. 

In the forest scene, you could say that she is the one presiding over them, and the funny thing is, she does it while cooking dinner. It’s kind of symbolic if you ask me, as food is crucial to our survival, but it’s also something that brings people together. 

7. Integrity

One of the most powerful quotes in my opinion, is this one

I’ll be damned before we justify genocide somehow.

[manga: There is nothing anyone can say to change my mind about that.]

It really showcases her determination to save human lives and a core belief that makes her just more admirable in my opinion: genocide is wrong.

But I'm sure none of them would have been so selfish as to say..."as long as the island has freedom, that's all that matters."

Her demise is so characteristic of her - she’d always been fascinated with titans, but that never stopped her from killing them in order to survive and to save people’s lives. Her goodbye words to Levi and that lovely chuckle of hers once again reminded us of that familiar “all sunshine and rainbows” energy she always had. And then she fell like a burning star. 

The music choice couldn’t have been more perfect. I admit I didn’t even remember this song before, but now it’s one of my all-time favorites, and I can’t help but feel all kinds of bittersweet and nostalgic when I hear it now.

Hange is now my favorite character, up there with Levi, and irrespective of Levi and their relationship. I love her because to me she is relatable, because she encompasses pure things such as willingness to understand and accept things and people she doesn’t know, exuberance, love for life, and curiosity. I love her because of her duality- both flawed and strong, both sweet and menacing, and I love her because she never loses her integrity as a human being. Hange brought more to the story than most of us think, she wasn’t just comic relief or a vessel to share information about the lore, she brought our beloved characters together and nurtured them, and she was the embodiment of what the Survey Corps represented: exploration, understanding, and bravery. If Erwin was the mastermind that pushed them forward, and Levi the one that protected them the most, I like to think Hange was the glue that kept them together, and kept them going with her positivity and passion for life.

[butchdarling]

review of every book I read this year btw

The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K Le Guin

Probably one of my favorite books I've ever read if not my most favorite. The concept of a human ambassador on an alien planet is really good on its own and Le Guin executes it brilliantly. Really compelling world building and such good atmosphere (probably helped by the fact that I read part of it in January during a power outage lol). I also really liked the author's intro on this; it shaped the way I've looked at sci fi media since I've read it.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

I feel like I was missing some of the historical context to really understand a lot of the symbolism in this one, but the prose and storytelling was strong enough on its own to keep me engaged. I think I would enjoy this one more if I read it as part of a class or book club.

Maurice by EM Forster

Demian by Herman Hessie

Could have benefitted from being just a little bit longer and exploring some of its ideas a little more in depth but also I do love a shorter book and everything it does discuss is really well done.

Shout out to gay people escaping the narrative got to be one of my favorite endings 👍

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Haunted houses and mentally ill women what more do you need. Couldn't put this one down I love the way the horror creeps in until it's suffocating.

I know it's a classic and everyone already knows this but damn what a good book. I knew a lot of the story going in but reading it myself was still a rewarding experience. I like how you can very easily trace all of Frankenstein's choices back to a fundamental fear of and unwillingness to face anything truly bad

Howls Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

Honestly I kinda lost interest in this one about halfway through and idk if it's my fault for not really paying attention of the book's fault for not being interesting. I did like the ending though.

The Iliad

This was part of my Hades (video game) phase. I don't really have much interesting to say about it, but my favorite part was when Hektor visits his wife and she tells him she's scared of him dying and leaving her alone but he tells her it will be okay because it he dies in battle it will be okay because it will bring them both glory. And then he turns to pick up his son who starts crying at the site of Hektor in his armor and helmet. It's not an important scene by any means but the potency of the symbolism stuck with me.

All Systems Red and Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

These were really fun ily forever Murderbot <3. Murderbot really is the heart of these books and is a deeply charming character, at least to me. I feel like it's very easy in sci fi to either make AI a pure evil villain or basically human so it's refreshing to see a more nuanced take. I really want to read the rest of this series at some point.

The Time Machine by HG Wells

I liked the beginning (mostly the explanation of time travel and the fourth dimension) and the end (the Time Traveler going to the end of time was really cool) and I like the stuff in the middle conceptually but I think the execution was kinda boring. Another one I think that would be more interesting when discussed with other people who read it.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I feel like I would enjoy this one more if I read it again and took notes. I enjoyed it on a surface level but I feel like I missed a lot of the deeper themes. Loved the interpretation of time as a concept though.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Reading this one rn so I haven't finished this one yet but I'm enjoying it so far. I got a little apprehensive when on of the reviews on the back compared it to doom, but so far it hasn't been too dense, if anything something about the style and narration is actually very comprehensive (at least for me). You might be able to make the argument that the presentation of colonialism and imperialism is a bit heavy handed, but I think it works for what it is, especially in the first couple chapters where it helps establish the world.

[thesoulshyperrealaslacreatura]

Strive Pre-Patch Opinions:

Overall:

Super happy on overall lower damage/more interactions and nerfed 6P's! Also glad that the direction they took for the whole cast seems to have been specializing them instead of homogenising them. It does, however, mean that the character changes are what the patch is relying on, so the game experience is gonna go in wildly different directions for different players, not even counting how the changes relate to each other in different matchups - that is to say... idk man who knows what the game will look like tomorrow for like, anyone.

Characters I play often enough:

• Ky: on one hand, appreciate them leaning further into his special mechanics, but trading the game feel of reliable combos for more set play oriented ones feels like it's really pushing against the limitations of how simple shock state is as a mechanic (you either have it applied or you don't). He's still one of the 4 characters in base roster to not have gotten a new move, so I hope they take the time to give him something closer to Gio's or Chipp's where it directly impacts his flowchart and pushes the different corners of his gameplay together. I'm talking about Dragon Install yeah of course I'm talking about Dragon Install please have Dragon Install be more than a meme button no one uses.

• Jack'o: not much changed, so I'm vibing. 2D was generally kind of way too good (dodges + brings you closer + sets up for everything on counter hit while being the exact type of move most likely to actually hit people on counter hit) so I can understand where the nerf came from, and if you can still set up servant, than like, it takes some meter away, but who cares, you're still in win condition anyway. The new dash cancel definitely sounds fun, even if just to watch people at a higher level than me learn to use properly. Still silly.

• Bedman: interestingly went the exact opposite way of every other character where they buffed his neutral and combo game while nerfing him in win condition. Can't say I see myself really enjoying the changes, but, as always with this character, will depend on labbing and watching people better than me figure shit out. Have to say I don't understand how many situations were there where he had the head bomb error loaded and not just hugging the opponent, but maybe there actually were and the fact that there was nothing useful to gain from it is why it doesn't register in my mind. Them specifying that it drops lower before exploding if you use it in the air is interesting though. If the recovery from bed install is good enough to activate on block string I will make out with the whole development team sloppy style... if not... it should make for even more wild combos at least. Also finally the big body character has big body health holy shit this might be the biggest thing in his favor this patch lmao.

• ABA: still silly. No more holding back while going forward in neutral state is kind of sad but it did feel a little cheap. BETTER DANZAI. idk still looks fun.

Characters I don't play but still have thoughts on:

• Sol, Leo, May: I hope they shot them dead. Ok they can still be good but they have basically all been at top 5 for like the game's whole lifespan. Let's shake things out a little more like please those three were always just the "good at everything + explodes you in two touches" characters.

• Zato: cannot believe they are still being so conservative with his buffs. But who knows. It's not like I play him.

• Pot: sad that it seems like people are sad about him. I don't think my mains really struggled against him that much so I might not be feeling them anyway.

• Bridget: I used to play her more but I haven't ever reached a good enough level with her to be able to follow the patch notes and get a feel for what the changes would be like just in theory. Looks like she is gonna explode in this version though, wow.

• Anji: losing RC on overhead is rough but honestly charged Fuujin into other special moves sounds more fun I might learn him for a bit. Like yeah the reward on one of his options is lower but the mind games man I like the mind games (you know I play bed lmao). Hope his parry super actually works now.

• Baiken: almost everything about her sounds more fun, so I might also play around with her new kit. She finally looks like her own character rather than like, a rushdown with one or two weird properties about her. She always had one of the coolest themes so that also helps.

• Elphelt: the changes don't seem like enough to get me interested but glad they're still trying I guess. Always felt like I could mesh well with some of her degenerate offense but if only there was a bit more to it.

• Nago & Goldlewis: lmao. Also...

• Dizzy: lmao. I haven't purchased season 4 yet and might just not but she looks fun - set up based gameplay tends to scratch an itch for me. It's just that her optimal gameplan still looks like it might be a little too zoner-y for me to really feel like I'd play her beyond some messing about. Absolutely love her new design though and if that's the level of animation to expect going forward I just hope that once Raven definitely makes it in season 5 (PLEAAASE OH MY GOD) he gets to look this cool. Very funny looking back at animations for like, Sol and Ky's victory screens being just zoom ins on their faces (really smooth and expressive zoom ins, but still)

• Ram: I have to see her more in action but same as Baiken glad to see her have more of her kit instead of whatever it was that they did to her from Xrd to Strive.

[moltensmusings]

Alright current thoughts after I spent 4 hours trying to figure things out last night/got a few issues into the 80s titan run.

The dynamic between Raven and kid flash is cute. It very well could be mind control since I feel like they keep bringing attention to him being confused for a reason, but I wish they'd bring back him and raven having a friendship

I definitely need to go back and fully read the 60s run, but the way Slade/deathstroke seems to be a more evil/morally gray Batman does interest me and knowing half the crazy stuff they write for him as the series go does make me a little disappointed. I would've loved if he took in teens and his hatred of the titans bled into them without things getting sexual or weird.

If they aren't going to put kori and Nightwing together they should've explored Kori and Donna. The fact that they haven't in spite of all the various other ships they've tried does make me side eye DC a bit.

Yeah things are a bit dated but there's a certain level of joy and camp in the older comics that I wish we could revisit. The costumes felt more experimental and fun. Specifically I love starfires design with my whole heart.

The writing can be a bit confusing at times. The way they start chapters often makes me feel like I missed something only for them to jump back to an earlier point and explain a page or 2 later. I'm guessing it was for hooking the audience but binge reading is a different story. It doesn't ruin my entire experience though. More just a note.

Starfire getting her name because she just kept blasting people for a solid week because no one could understand her and she didn't bother trying to learn the language is deeply funny to me. Go crazy girl. Like initially it seems like tamaranian powers were through basic skin contact with kissing being the fasts. All she had to do was hold someone's hand for a while to get a base understanding but she said "nah." Which is so fair.

Again: they are dated. But I'm having fun. I actually enjoy that I do have a starting point to work with and that we get scenes of the characters chilling together. I wish we got another run that didn't make me feel like I was missing a huge chunk of the story.

Let me go into som gripes I have with DC as a whole/some frustrations about the teen titans under the cut:

The writers of the more current stuff have completey forgotten that titans content should allow dick grayson to be his own entity. Him being tied to the batfamily so heavily at this point when him and Tim are the 2 to get proper real content beyond it is disappointing. Say what you will about the 03 show but at least batman was never a major part of the story

I don't know if the titans have ever properly been rebooted and that frustrates me. Every time I looked at a different run it would reference them already being a team, a new line up taking over, or in general just be written like the readers should know they've been doing this together for a minute. It makes it easy for them to trivialize what starfire meant to nightwing though so I guess it is what it is.

On that same subject, them completely retconning that starfire was a major reason for Dick choosing the name Nightwing, what if I commit arson.

I love the og kid flash design, but I much prefer them actually changing his race like they did pre rebirth because it makes him more distinct from flash. One of my biggest gripes with most of the teen titans is how much they looked like young versions/children of their respective mentors. I wish Donna (and maybe even dick a bit) had gotten a similar updated design rather than them backtracking.

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 47 – The Gods Are Bastards Volume Two by D. D. Webb

Being entirely honest I read the first four volumes of this in a sprint, but I’m spacing out the reviews with things I read afterwards in between for variety and (honestly) to help keep each distinct in my head.

So, for context, Volume 2 is comprised of books 5, 6 and 7 of an incredibly longrunning web serial. You can find my thoughts on Volume 1 here. The serial follows a set of college students/novice adventurers of improbably vast power and (much more interestingly) a sprawling cast of supporting characters in a world that’s best described as ‘generic D&D fantasy setting on the tail end of the magical industrial revolution’.

While the main plotlines still (unfortunately) follow the freshman students of the Unseen University as they get assigned various character-building fieldtrips that are in fact life-or-death struggles for everyone else involved, I find them much less abrasive in this volume than the last. Not not abrasive, but the trendline is positive – partially because most of them have gotten real character development and partially because, while all the conflicts they got tangled up still involved comically massive power differentials with them being on the wrong side of them to be sympathetic or worth rooting for, they were at least usually not settled through preordained and tension-less contests of violence. Special callout to Juniper, for a slow evolution out of just being the incarnation of the Male Gaze is prose form, and Tris, who is not a mostly non-murderous racist and sometimes a really tryhard ally instead.

Anyway, the actual reason to read this continues to be the other subplots. This volume was great for Bishop Darling and Archpope Justinian, and introduced what’s probably my favourite pair of sets of secondary characters in the entire serial – the two rival adventuring parties ostensibly working the Bishop and Archpope (note – Darling does also theoretically work for the Archpope) who keep getting sent after the same thing and spend more time fighting each other and scheming about their ostensible employers than they do actually adventuring. They’re all two-dimensional comic archetypes of high level fantasy adventurers/western gunslingers/steampunk gadgeteers on hand, and a dragon, succubus, magical assassin, and just kind of asshole mobster on the other. They’re all a bunch of absolute drama queens and I love them all so much.

The serial is clearly hip-deep in references to and in conversation with tropes that I, despite the millions of words of web serial I read a year, am basically ignorant of. This was particularly clear with the book where the students got sent into the dungeon beneath the school because, well, that’s what adventurers do (intelligent dungeons! Spontaneously generating ‘monsters’! Instances!). This had my favourite setpieece involving them in the entire story so far, but also does kind of mark the point where I’m starting to get annoyed waiting for the serial to actually do something with all the fucked up generic fantasy worldbuilding conceits instead of just occasionally nodding at them but otherwise taking them as read.

I trust that the story actually has intentions for thedissonance between end-of-book denouncements where the characters almost look at the camera and explain the lessons they learned this month and Teal massacring demons trying to surrender to her and then being comforted and supported as her friends explain that demons can’t be trusted to surrender and killing them all is really the humane thing anyway, but it’s getting to be a bit of a wait for it.

Anyway, still very much compulsively readable. This worldbuilding got much more detailed and less broad-strokes-D&D this volume, with generally good results. I basically axiomatically get bored with extended action sequences, but as far as they go the one that took up most of Book 7 was quite well done.