#(opinion stemming from my own identities tbh)

[ingo-ingoing-ingone]

Hey!

I just wanted to give an update!

I am working on the next ABYS chapter, I promise! Been poking at it as much as I can, even though life has been A Lot lately. These next chapters will also be a little shorter, which I hope is okay! :)

I hope people are still looking forward to the update lol

And a small note! I want to say this is not an issue that has happened yet, but a general little PSA. Some of my lovely friends and followers have done some gift art of my AUs, particularly ABYS!! I love it, it's so sweet, and it makes me grateful to be a writer in this fandom.

However, in case anyone who doesn't know me well wants to make anything: aside from what should be absolutely obvious, I ask that, if you're making something specifically in my incarnation of an AU (such as my take on Ghost Emmet, and my Conjoined AU) specifically for me, that you don't include any submas ships. I simply don't like any of them or the concept in general, I'm so sorry lshjgfshfglsfhg.

While I adore the thought of folks making me things, I would hate to be in the position where a gift is made for me, but includes something I very very much don't like.

I definitely don't wanna sound like. I expect to get stuff. But I also feel I'd be doing both myself and those who enjoy my works a disservice if I didn't put out this PSA. I hope that makes sense sfljghslfhg I find some of this hard to convey in a way that sounds polite, so please don't take it personally!

Thank you all and I hope to be back to posting my silly little stories shortly :D

[aspoonofsugar]

Hello! I have a question that I have if you would not mind answering. What do you think about Johan mixing up his memories with Anna/Nina? What’s that intentional or not. I am on both sides. And was Anna/Nina the unwanted one?

Hi!

I think Johan mixing up his memories with Nina was an accident. It stems from Johan's very frail sense of self coupled with Kinderheim 511 experiments imo. There Johan was experimented on and in the recording he was scared of losing his memories of Anna/Nina. It is probable those experiments ended up messing up his memories. Either those or the bullet he received from Nina, as once he grows up Johan does not remember his past. As a matter of fact he starts his journey to recover his lost memories once he finds the picture book. That awakens something in him and after that, he is shown traveling around masked as Nina, up until he reaches the Red Rose Mansion and tells his mother's potrait he now remembers everything. Except he is now convinced he is the one going through the Red Rose Mansion ordeal.

Personally, I think it was Kinderheim 511, where Johan ends up mixing up his memories. After all, he is desperate not to forget his sister there and the Kinderheim 511 massacre is the first massacre Johan orchestrates, which resembles the Red Rose Mansion one. Before that Johan had killed parental figures, in an act of revenge and hurt, after his mother's perceived betrayal at handing Nina over.

As far as Nina being the unwanted one or not... it is really not important tbh because the point is that the twins' mother was simply in no position to properly love her children. She wanted to, as she was willing to give them names. However, she was forbidden and after that she raised her twins in an act of revenge and defiance, rather than love. Case in point, she told them they would have avanged their father, did not give them names even after escaping and eventually left them behind. Johan's sense of identity when the "choice" happens is already so frail that he is unsure his mother truly can tell him apart from his sister. So, the point isn't that Vera did prefer Johan or Nina more... but rather that she was in such a deteriorated state of mind that she could not be a good mother.

This is just my opinion, though. In general Monster leaves many details up to interpretation and it is a very ambiguous story, so everyone can come up with their own interpretations.

Thank you for the ask!

[g0rechan]

Tbh it always confused me that Benietsu literally SODOMIZED Midori in one scene, but then got hissy pissy when Muchisute tried to sexually abuse Midori himself

What if she wanted Midori to herself to sexually abuse but couldn’t do anything because they were both females? Small but unlikely theory 👀

Wait, I’m pretty sure that scene was a nightmare Midori was having??? Like, it was made obvious it wasn’t happening?

I’m pretty sure Benietsu doesn’t have “voodoo powers” like the villains wiki said, cuz if she did she would be using that as part of her act and they wouldn’t have made such a big deal when they saw Masa using his powers and all.

I actually thought that part where Benietsu defends Midori was pretty interesting…

It was implied that Kanabun had r*ped Midori in one scene… I dunno if Akaza and Benietsu r*ped Midori, but it was implied that they may have m0lested her. Like I said in a past post, it was implied these three have sexually abused her at least once.

It's a bit of a reach, but I don’t think the freaks sans Muchsiute are sexually attracted to Midori. Instead, it stemmed from their limited life experiences—only involving sex, violence, and being exploited. Then, Midori, an untainted individual unfamiliar with those aspects, entered the circus. The freaks wanted to impose their erotic and grotesque lifestyle on her. From their perspective, they didn't perceive it as “overly negative”, because this all they know at this point. If that makes sense?

I'm not excusing their behavior or attempting to rationalize any of their actions. I'm only examining them as characters, as I believe they possess more depth than just being cruel.

I'm just tired of people claiming that the freaks are one-dimensional abusers and that their character designs were wasted. While it's true they have their unpleasant traits, there's a deeper complexity to consider.

I love how Suehiro Maruo crafted unique dynamics between Midori and each of the freaks, each of them displaying distinct motivations for their interactions with her.

I find Benietsu intriguing. Despite her abusive tendencies and long list of irredeemable traits, we've witnessed moments where she displayed kindness, like the scene mentioned earlier and when she complimented Midori before leaving the circus. This suggests she might fit the "jerk with a heart of gold" trope, as described on TV Tropes. It's clear that she doesn't seem to hate Midori or anything; her demeanor stems from the life she's led. Like I said though, it doesn’t make her a good person or excuses her actions.

Kanabun appears to struggle with his own gender identity and channels his insecurities by bullying Midori.

Due to his sexual obsession with her, Muchisute r*pes Midori under the belief that this is a way to express love and affection.

Again, I’m not defending them or anything, I’m only suggesting that their actions might stem from their own experiences and backgrounds rather than simply being one-dimensional as people may claim.

Bc Shoujo tsubaki isn’t just a shock ero-Guro fest, it’s core is rooted in its characters and the implications it carries.

(I’m sorry for turning this into a ramble, I’ve just been needing to get this off my chest for a while…. Ofc, this is just my opinion).

[no-passaran]

creating an identity that is completely centered around your sex life is pretty dumb imo. both identities stem from this desire to belong to a community that justifies and/or explains their sexual reality. they also stem from misconceptions that, if challenged, would likely change their viewpoint. Virginity is a made up thing that doesn’t matter at all, and wanting to not have sex and/or romance in your life isn’t inherently its own orientation. there’s plenty of straight people, gay men, lesbian women, etc. that don’t like sex, and only want romance. that doesn’t make them any less straight or gay. asexuality, or at least the way it manifests on tumblr, is the split attraction model taken to the most extreme, making sex and romance and love completely separate objects, which is insane. incels follow a similar mentality, where sex is completely separate from love and romance, sex becomes a status symbol, something to define yourself against. this isn’t to say asexuals are exactly like incels, that’s just not true, but both groups form identities around sex as a separate being from love and romance, and with those identities they find that they communities desperate for validation. im also just one dude on tumblr, and i personally think labels are stupid, at least in my own personal life. i do as i please with those who consent, and that’s enough for me. it should be enough for more people. please don’t start shit and don’t be a fool

I don't mean it in a rude way but if in 2022 you still don't understand that asexuality has little to do with what a person wants to do or chooses to do, and absolutely nothing to do with virginity, instead of what they are able to feel, that starts to be a you problem.

I understand not knowing how other people experience life differently than you (as has been the case for me too, I didn't know that people do experience sexual attraction directed at other people until I read about it by chance on a Tumblr post when I was 20 years old, I had just never thought about it much and nobody had explained it to me so I assumed wrongly based on my experiences; it seems to me you're doing the same). But you have plenty of information that's easily accessible on the internet, so you should look up what aspec organisations have to say before sending random people (do we even know each other?) opinions based on wrong definitions or facts you didn't understand.

Tbh I'm open to answering respectful questions about definitions if anyone wants to learn, but by the way this ask is phrased it doesn't seem to me that you're here to listen, only to say your opinion on my life, which you don't know anything about. I could be misjudging this since I don't know you, I don't know what context made you send me this (I don't even remember when was the last time I reblogged something about asexuality but it's been a long time), I can't read tones on a text, etc. But what do you expect me to say? I need this word, knowing that it exists and other people are like this too is the only thing that has given me the knowledge that I'm not ill and has let me refuse to go to therapy to change it the many times I've been pressured into it (even though I'm not out because, just like you, I go around saying I don't use labels and just do what I want, but when people can tell you differ from the norm that's not good enough for them).

You said it's not useful to you, well that's good for you and nobody is saying you should use it, especially when it's a word that clearly doesn't match with your experiences. But other people have other lives and other needs and sometimes you just need to communicate. I don't think many people who aren't asexual realise this, but there are a lot of things nobody ever explains because we're all just supposed to know, or situations we're supposed to understand, and not having words to communicate just makes everything more difficult for everyone involved (not just the ace person) and can even lead to dangerous situations for us.

Why can heterosexual people, gay people, or anyone else have words to describe themselves if they need to, but we can't? Are we supposed to pretend we don't exist or that it's an individual "problem" of each one of us, that nobody else is like us and we're alone?

[littlemisssquiggles]

Maybe the sudden drop of RG from CRWBY is because a huge portion of the fandom considers this shipping problematic (mainly because we don't know how much Ozpin is involved, which tbh is a fair point in my opinion)? One way or another, it is weird that this is happening now. RG has been criticized for this for years at this point. Little late to drop the ship because of this on CRWBY's part if you ask me.

Hey there Seaberry.

…Yeahhh…here’s the thing with that---a lot of the complaints that the so-called antis made against Rosegarden was denounced in the actual canon and this is inclusive of the whole “Ozpin issue”. 

Part of my main reasoning for never factoring Oz into the Rosegarden equation stemmed from the important fact that despite sharing a body with Ozpin, Ruby has always treated Oscar as his own person regardless of this. From Ruby’s perspective, she has always differentiated the two souls from each other and her relationship with either reflected that. Not once throughout the entire series has Ruby ever treated Oscar as Oz. While everyone else ultimately came to see Oscar as part of the group outside of Oz in later seasons, Ruby has always been mindful of the fact that Oscar has his own identity from the beginning and this point is emphasized by the show constantly drawing attention to the importance of Oscar’s own individuality and his fears of losing that with the impending merge.

Not to mention that the showrunners themselves already denounced the “Oz issue” back during V6 in the Lost Fable episode. 

In V6CH3, I specifically remember a part of Ozma’s backstory that highlighted him sharing a lifetime with a successor who had a family of his own.

As I recall correctly, despite sharing a body and duty to protect the world with an ancient soul---this Wizard---who I dubbed Henkle---was still able to have a life of his own with a loving wife and kids despite Ozma’s presence.

Despite sharing a body, the canon PLOT indicated that Ozma ultimately learned to live in harmony with the men he was paired with by showing one of them with his own family while Ozma looked on in the background; allowing this man to have his own life with his loved ones and never coming between that.

It is for reasons such as this why I always rolled my eyes at the antis who kept using the “Ozpin issue” in arguments against the Rosegarden pair since the show already debunked this and said it wasn’t a problem. So forgive me if the idea of the showrunners listening to these fans now all of sudden doesn’t make sense to me when they themselves denounced this issue in their own writing seasons ago.

This just makes me not understand the CRWBY showrunners even more now. Ever since newcomer CRWBY Writer---Kiersi Burkhart--- felt the need to comment about the Rosegarden moment from V7CH9 in the V7 Commentary, I’ve had a sinking feeling that the showrunners might “change” something about Rosegarden dynamic moving forward for V8. Because of all the RG moments that’s been tossed out over the seasons, I felt it odd that the one that received the most backlash from certain-certain folk in the FNDM was the one to be talked about.

And yet here we are for V8 where it is very clear that the showrunners are toying with this ship. It’s not to say that they’ve actually dropped developing the bond between Ruby and Oscar. We still received some moments with them for this season as shown during the first episode and the last episode.

As a matter of fact, I still get the vibe that the showrunners are low-key pushing the bond between Ruby and Oscar since they still frame their moments like they’ve always done in the previous seasons. However my reason for feeling as if the showrunners have toned down on the RG is because I can’t understand why they felt the need to have their hug be the only one to be interrupted.

As I said in my post---the Rosegarden reunion hug is the ONLY hug to be interrupted for this season that was said to have “many hugs”. Every other hug we got to see in perfect view but Ruby’s with Oscar was interrupted by Emerald. And what’s sad about that is the showrunners didn’t have to do that since they could’ve just as easily let Ruby hug Oscar before taking notice of Emerald entering from the back.

But that’s not what they did. They framed Ruby going into hug Oscar before having her stop right before the two got a chance to hug.

We got to see Ruby hug Penny [multiple times] and Oscar hugged by Jaune and Nora. But their hug is the one to be interrupted out of ALL the hugs for this season so far. The ONLY ONE. Really showrunners?

Why do that? Why tease the fans who like this pairing like this? Why have this hug be the only one to be interrupted from happening while every other gets to happen and be seen by the audience?

 I’m sorry this bugs me so much and what hurts about it is…as a Rosegardener, as I’ve said in the past, my reason for starting to like this ship was encouraged by the show constantly pushing Ruby and Oscar together onscreen since V5.

You pushed them together for three seasons straight and now…just to have them share a hug...no let’s interrupt that. We can’t have them hug onscreen.

And dude, what’s bothering me even more is that it’s just a hug.  It’s not like I’m asking the showrunners to make Oscar and Ruby kiss or even become a couple. It’s just a hug. One hug.

As a Rosegardening Pinehead, all I wanted was a hug between them. Just one emotionally driven hug between these two kids to cap off all the hell that the little prince suffered through on the whale by reuniting with his rose.

After EVERYTHING that Oscar has been through for this season and is going through currently regarding his fears of the Merge, the one thing I was hoping for is for him to get a warm welcoming hug from his closest friend or at least the closest thing to one he has one the hero team--the person the writers have pushed him towards for the past couple of volumes. 

And they don’t do it. Even though they teased they were gonna make them hug. I can’t believe the showrunners set up a hug between Ruby and Oscar and then they don’t do it. They teased a HUG. WHO TEASES A HUG.

It’s not even just that they didn’t do it. They framed it. Made it look like it was going to happen and then it doesn’t happen. So they teased it. I feel like the showrunners are starting to play the same games with Rosegarden that got them in trouble with BlackSun and Bumblebee and I’m sorry but I’m not liking that at all.

Don’t play games with my shipping heart CRWBY showrunners and please don’t play games with my favourite ship. Not these two. Anyone else but these two. Not my two favourite characters in this glorious mess you call an animated series [ that I still love despite how much its writing frustrates me at times]. 

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[kenbunshokus]

this is a (super late) update to this fic rec post! i was planning to just keep editing and updating that post, but it’s been so old it no longer appears on tumblr search system and all, so here we are. be ready for some old school zosans in the mix

all complete

absolute favorites will be noted with a ♡

list will be updated as i find more

story count: 30 fics

last update: jan 5th 2020

CANON-VERSE

Goings On by clarify  ♡

Zoro and Sanji understand each other, and sometimes have a very similar sense of humor. Even though they're worlds ahead of most, sometimes they can't help but to act their age.

easily one of my favorites. zoro and sanji are completely in character, being themselves and comfortable in each other’s spaces. for anyone who thinks zoro and sanji can’t get along in canon, this fic can easily prove them wrong.

Part Timer by 8ball ♡♡

Sanji really, really doesn't want to give Zoro a job at his restaurant. Zoro doesn't really even want to work there in the first place, but, well, there’s this thing with Sanji, and this thing with feelings and the whole thing is pretty damn stupid all together.

Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways.

a wonderful, heart-wrenching, roller coaster ride of a post-series fic. this fic is not just a mere fic — it’s a zosan magnum opus with guest appearances by so many other characters, lots of crew hijinks and a must-read for everyone who craves for a happy ending for these good boys.

Say It Again by 8ball

Zoro tells Sanji how he feels. And then again. And again. 

since we’re talking about 8ball i just want you to know i’d rec everything they’ve ever written, but special mention to say it again — a classic miscommunication trope fic done well where the miscommunication stems from fundamental misunderstanding of each other’s principles and views instead of just some plot-convenient coincidences. and soft zoro. god, he is soft.

The Wedding Night by cuethe-pulse (lj)

Zoro had never expected any of this.

major character death warning. don’t let the first few scenes fool you. note the warning; the last few lines were like a punch in the gut for me, except, you know, the good kind of punch. also, a quick rec of a drabble by the same author to soothe the pain after this one.

Roronoa Zoro: World’s Greatest Bug Killer by insaneidiot ♡

Sometimes, Zoro's life really sucks. He should've known better than to make fun of Sanji's bug phobia, though...

zoro’s internal monologue is hilarious  — until today, this author is still my go-to expert on zoro’s voice, especially his more sarcastic side.

Quitting’s Easy by insaneidiot

Sanji decides to quit smoking. This is not quite so easy as he thinks it will be. Also, his crewmates (excluding Robin and Nami, of course!) are assholes.

fun, fun strawhat hijinks and oblivious sanji. the crew dynamics and especially sanji’s voice are pitch perfect. there’s a hint of luffy/nami that you can easily scroll past if it’s not your thing.

I can’t stop thinking that i can’t stop thinking by hieiandshino ♡

In which Brook changes tactics and Zoro is not amused. Everyone else is, though.

holy shit is this fic hilarious. i love comedy fics that manage to slip in thoughtful observations and character study in between the hijinks, and this fic pulls that off with flying colors. 

The Walls See All by threesipsmore

Reiju hides a snail cam in her brother's room.

fun short fic from reiju’s pov. there’s never enough zosan set in whole cake island arc and this fic delivers.

Stormbird by Judin ♡

The Straw Hats' first landing in the New World is on Arashi Island, where it looks like they'll be spending a fun week attending the local festival and making new friends. Until they spot a strange pirate ship in the harbour, and Sanji starts behaving oddly. The Straw Hats become entangled with the mysterious Gently Pirates, a crew that harbour many secrets, and whose captain is a man out of Sanji's past who has the power to tear the Straw Hat crew apart. 

it cannot be overstated how wonderful this fic is, and how it could’ve fit into the canon just nicely, like a better-written one piece movie, except with zosan. not only are sanji and zoro in character, every strawhat gets a spotlight and has pitch-perfect voices. brook is especially lovely in this fic.

Unintended Consequence by itsmylifekay

A group of marines charge, Zoro slices through them, and in that instant Sanji feels his own eyes grow wide. Because there, on the arm now outstretched towards him, steel glinting in hand, is the stupid bracelet he’d given Zoro. The bastard is actually wearing it.

there’s a reason this is the most kudo-ed zosan fic on ao3 right now — it’s so soft without being ooc, and there’s a quiet undercurrent of affection laid throughout the fic that will warm you up from the insides.

Somewhere Between Sorrow and Bliss by srididdledeedee

Sanji has never cared for winter.

He can see himself, is the thing. There are bits and pieces that poke through, but it’s not all him. It’s like staring in a fractured mirror. He knows, intellectually, that the person staring back at him is himself, but his face is splintered and his shape is distorted and his body is wrong.

a fantastic character study on trans!sanji and how he comes to terms with his identity with the help of his crewmates. supportive strawhats are always a lovely addition to a zosan fic

Give In To Love by libbylune

Zoro knows better than to think about it too much, but between the rowdy festivals and ancient unexplained temples on this island, it's hard to forget about wanting Sanji.

i love how this fic puts as much focus on the boys after the confession as it does before the confession. a good case fic with its own unique island adventure and i’m always a sucker for soft!zoro

Laundry by libbylune

Dealing with Sanji makes Zoro develop a lot of opinions about clothes.

there’s absolutely nothing hotter than bi!sanji who’s completely comfortable with his gender identity and sexuality. also gay disaster zoro fumbling his words whenever sanji is around is 1) accurate 2) hilarious.

Language of Swords by HaveMyWeedCookies ♡

It took them for a while but finally, Zoro asked if Sanji wanted to hold his sword.

i love fics that explore zoro’s relationship with his craft and his swords, and adding zosan into the mix is something i didn’t know i needed. an interesting outsiders pov zosan in the pov of zoro’s swords.

Ghost of a Chance by sabershadowkat

“I know, for sure, that I didn’t expect to miss everyone so much, including you.” Sanji cut a glance at Zoro and rephrased correctly, “Especially you.”

this fic handles tropes that are usually associated with character death fics, but manages to end it with a happy ending. zoro’s devotion here is heart-wrenching.

Idiot Romance by sabershadowkat

"This has to be a joke," Sanji muttered, poking at the colored petals. Zoro couldn't have just given him flowers.

a classic  — this is literally the first zosan fic i’ve ever read — and a lovely one at that. sanji is oblivious and zoro attempts romance, not that zoro ever needed to.

festival night by thisislegit

“ANOTHER FEAT BY THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN, JORIRI.” The woman turned to Mr. Mohawk and with faux sympathy said, “Oh! Sorry, sir. Maybe next time. We can’t always beat the best, but we can do our best and that’s what matters. Do we have any other takers? ANY OTHER TAKERS READY FOR THE STRONG MAN CHALLENGE? HOW ABOUT YOU SIR? MADAM? YOU OVER THERE? ARE YOU INTERESTED?”

��What kind of shit name is Joriri,” said Zoro and Sanji in unison.

i’m an absolute sucker for fics that have zoro and sanji simply hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, comfortable in a way they couldn’t with their other crewmates, and this fic exemplifies that. just them being little shits and having fun with one another.

No Victory in Hesitation & the Past Has Its Lessons by EudaimonErisornae & vageege

Zoro has a lot of things he wants to say to Sanji, but he just needs one more day. || Zoro tries to fix a mistake he made in the past.

major character death warning. i died a little bit inside after reading this tbh. there are some devil fruits-explained time travel hijinks, but mostly it’s this looming, grim inevitability of death that’s written so pervasively throughout the fic that really got me.

Imperatives by dollcewrites

Zoro is confident in saying that Sanji is a man who doesn’t do what he’s told. Which is why, when a command accidentally slips from Zoro’s lips during foreplay, he is expecting to hear the cook’s scoff as he continues to do what he pleases.

i don’t tend to do pwp, but this isn’t just one — it’s a completely in-character piece about their relationship and dynamics.

when you say by bluewalk ♡

It's a long time in coming. Usopp can promise, but.

this fic is as much sanuso as it is zosan, and usopp here is — still very much usopp, but also a very beautiful take on his character as someone who spent a lot of time behind sanji’s back, and realizes that when he watches sanji’s back, he gets to see zoro’s, too.

a complete guide to falling in love by ThousandSunny

Sanji was trained in the Bridal Arts; this does not go unnoticed by the rest of his crew.

while the main ship is still zosan, the fic also focuses a lot on zoro and sanji’s relationship with the rest of the crew, and it’s one of those fics that really makes you realize how much of a family the strawhats is. a lovely read all around.

destructivity is a poison that run through our veins by wasteofmind

Zoro thinks that, someday, they are going to kill each other.

a dysfunctional take of their relationship. it’s fascinating in the same way a car crash is fascinating  — there’s an undercurrent of something violent, something visceral. this is one of the fics that inspired me to write migratory animals.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Ocean’s Child by 8ball  ♡

Here's the truth: Zoro couldn't swim. He fell in the water and sank like a stone because there had never been anyone to teach him how to move his arms. He forgot that if he screamed for help the water would get in his mouth, and he even opening his eyes hurt.

Here’s the other truth, the one that stays a secret: a mermaid saved him.

a fascinating retelling of the one piece canon with mermaid!sanji. it feels a lot like a love letter to the seas, and it’s mesmerizing how sanji’s mermaid backstory is seamlessly weaved into the one piece canon.

with you by Cirro

How to find your life partner in three easy steps: 1. Punch them in the face 2. Insult their cognitive abilities 3. Embarrass them so much they agree to marry you

a wholesome two-part modern au series. my personal favorite is the second part, where sanji brings zoro home to meet zeff — complete with the two of them teasing sanji in their own ways.

The Proper Reaction (or What To Do When Your Son Brings His Boyfriend Home by three_days_late

Holidays at the Baratie were always hectic, but it's nothing Zeff can't handle. Sanji's new boyfriend, on the other hand...

on the topic of meet-the-family: the only thing more fun than zoro meeting zeff is zoro meeting zeff and the entirety of baratie staff. also includes one of my favorite line about bi!sanji: “sanji loves nice girls and bad boys”.

Exclusive by cuethe-pulse

Zoro loves Sanji, Sanji loves Zoro. Zoro wants to be exclusive, so Sanji should, too. Right?

this is a circus/bakery au. yes, you read that right, and yes, it works. i went into this fic with a lot of doubts and came out very satisfied with how fleshed out everyone in this au is, and i’m forever in awe with how the author can set up an entirely separate, vivid universe with so few words.

Delivery by styx_in_the_mud

Sanji is stuck delivering pizzas when Patty is out of commission for a while. Zoro likes to order pizza after training. Both of them are sort of idiots, but Zoro can be smooth as fuck if he puts his mind to it.

a fun, in-character au with good ol’ banter and cute get-together.

The End of It All by xpiester333xx

Humans have been forced underground due to the effects of a chemical weapon that has made surface life impossible. Sanji lives in one of these underground colonies and though he dreams of bigger things his life has been mundane; spent following strict rules and obeying higher commands. Or it was, until a stranger shows up and changes everything.

the author labelled it as sci-fi au, but I personally think it’s more dystopian-like? either way, while this fic is on the long side, it manages to keep everyone in character until the very end, which is something that can’t be said for a lot of fics.

well, there we go! feel free to drop me an ask if you want to rec me fics or ask for a more specific/themed rec list; i’ll also update this post regularly !!

i also have an ao3 donutsandcoffee if you want to see my take on these dorks o/

[bigskydreaming]

Making this its own thread so as not to take over @northoftheroad​‘s - but about that scene with the memories from Nightwing Rebirth annual #1....tbh, I wasn’t terribly sad when that didn’t come back into play because I kinda hated this scene, lol. And it sucks because like, it COULD have had an entirely different vibe, but as usual, it comes down to execution, and like.....agency. I know, my favorite word, but like.

The problem I had with this scene (and my caution regarding the way Taylor’s talked up Babs’ importance to his run of Nightwing), is there’s this line between bringing other characters into Dick’s own title to lend a supporting hand or even for their own specific area of expertise....and Dick like, becoming the guest star in his own title. And for me, personally, that line tends to be most apparent when Dick stops feeling like he’s in the driver’s seat of his own stories and instead is just riding shotgun while other people make decisions that have far more to do with his life than their own.

This COULD have been a great scene, IF the decision for the memories needing to be kept and the malware studied had come from Dick himself.....much like, y’know, the memories did. If upon Dick deciding that there was a reason they still needed to exist outside and independent of him, be a safeguard or used for some purpose, Babs made the same vow of keeping them safe, like, that would have been great! That’s an expression of concern, of RESPECT for the importance, the significance of what Babs is holding in her hand there, rather than just a scientific curiosity, a puzzle to be studied.

But instead, the way it was kinda framed as just Babs knows best when the actual topic of weight wasn’t the technical specs or the scientific how/why of what was being studied, but rather SHOULD it be studied versus just destroyed....that was the problem for me, because that was absolutely, one hundred percent not Babs’ decision to make. They were Dick’s memories. He was the one left exposed by their continued existence in that form. It wasn’t just the sensitive information those memories contained, the intel on hundreds of others of Dick’s family and friends and teammates, their identities and weaknesses and all kinds of other stuff pertaining to people beyond just Dick himself, many of whom Babs has very little connection to herself, in comparison to Dick’s connection with them....and their trust in Dick having that information about them, which is not unilaterally blanket trust in others having that information by extension or proxy.....it was also just. Sensitive stuff, sensitive to Dick himself, stuff he was no doubt sensitive about. And this was just brushed off and moved past without a second glance, because the writer considered Dick’s concerns about HIS memories of secondary importance to what Babs could do with them or learn about the technology/from them.

And again, it would have been entirely different if that decision had come FROM Dick. If the scene, the issue in question had been framed around him making the executive decision on what to do about these memories, and Babs lending her aid in whatever HE decided should be done with them, including study them or keep them safe as a back-up of some kind.....there’s zero problem!

But the fact that Dick is written objecting, and then those objections brushed off as inconsequential by the writing on the exact same page like, makes it all the worse, because it demonstrates that the writer was aware, LOGISTICALLY, of various reasons why the memories shouldn’t be kept that way......but that reasoning was kept divorced from all examinations of Dick’s perspective of the situation, his own vulnerability, from any kind of other angle beyond just logistics. Like emotional. Proprietary. Even uncertainty, like ‘I don’t know how I feel about this, can we take a beat for me to get my head back on straight after everything that’s just happened to me and revisit this after I’ve had a chance to think about it,’ that would have been fine.

Anything but just.....raising the issue of ‘maybe this isn’t a good idea’ and moving past it two panels later with full speed ahead, without any further exploration from Dick’s own POV why he might not be cool with this or with his objections treated as like, a PERSONAL issue rather than simply a LOGISTICAL one.

Because that ultimately is the heart of the issue. Dick was effectively overruled as though his objection was logistical only, rationale based, and Babs’ opinion ended up carrying the more weight because her rationale was better reasoned and the logistical issues addressed by her declaration of keeping it safe.

Problem is, it was never just a matter of logistics, and this is where the writing failed the story, and the characters, by not recognizing that Dick’s objection should NOT be capable of being overruled by someone else’s logic or rationale, because there’s very little that’s MORE personal than a person’s own memories, and treating it as anything other than a personal issue that only one person had the ultimate right to make the judgment call of what to do with those memories moving forward, is taking eyes off what’s actually being talked about.

Tbh, I do consider it fairly surprising - even if I’m not sad about it - that Percy’s work here wasn’t referenced more in the Ric Grayson conclusion, because I think a ton of how that was approached was directly based on the foundation of a lot of Percy’s own takes here. This same problem reared its head again later in that same issue when the writing again had Dick raising valid concerns when he brought up the matter of his memories again, and wanted to know where they were being stored.....and again, Percy’s answer to that was to have Babs overrule Dick’s feeling this was ‘need to know’ information for him by saying you don’t need to know that.

Again, its frustrating because the writing then continued to demonstrate an awareness of the flaws in Babs’ argument here, with Dick continuing to present possibilities like “what if you’re the next target of today’s villain and thus can’t keep those memories safe any more than I could in the first place, like let’s take a second to acknowledge that you’re as much of a target as Batgirl that I am as Nightwing, and just as vulnerable to being captured and mind-probed”....its just, the writing then proceeds to effectively change the subject immediately AFTER Dick poses these questions but BEFORE any answer is actually given, almost as if to get his objections on record and logged, before like....moving on with the story as though those hugely pertinent questions were ultimately irrelevant. LOL. No. They weren’t. Its just the writer chose to frame them that way in order to keep the focus on everything as purely logistical and Dick’s logistical sense here being not even lacking, but BIASED......but with zero acknowledgment anywhere in the story that like, he had a right to that bias, that bias was real yes, but also reasonable, because those memories were HIS, lol, and every issue he had with them, about them, about what was done with them, was one hundred percent valid and should never have been subject to someone else’s veto power.

And there’s no point to having a character speak up for himself, raise issues based on his own personal feelings and rationale on things pertaining to HIM.....if you’re still going to treat everyone around him as having veto power over what he says or does or thinks on these matters. Either without any acknowledgment of that being what these other characters or doing, or basing their ‘right’ to do so on some flimsy rationale of him being too biased or emotional or subjective on the subject, as though all these other characters don’t have their own biases and emotional perspectives, and he’s no less entitled to his than they are, and he’s far MORE entitled to what decisions are made about HIM and things that are HIS, than they are.

(Also, sidebar, but I also trace a lot of the problems I have with Babs and other characters’ declarations of knowing more about Dick/knowing him better than he knows himself, like, directly to this annual and the whole scene in the Batcave-on-wheels. I believe Castelluci, the most recent Batgirl writer, has flat out said that she isn’t that familiar with Nightwing’s character, and so I think a lot of the objections I have with how she approached Dick’s character ultimately stem from the likelihood that Castelluci’s take on him was informed mostly by like, this very annual and other recent writings, with no attempt at a more diversified reading of his character before writing him.)

Anyway, point is, I kinda hated that scene, because I have a huge beef with scenes that have Dick speak up about stuff that’s about HIM first and foremost.....when the writers then proceed to steamroll right over everything he says as though its irrelevant. Like lol no. HIS VOICE SHOULD GET TO BE THE LOUDEST IN THE ROOM WHEN THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION IS HIS OWN LIFE OR THINGS DIRECTLY STEMMING FROM IT/AFFECTING IT.

This is a hugely recurrent thread in a lot of different issues with his character, with them all ultimately just spilling out of a weird refusal to keep him in the driver’s seat of his own life.

And again, it could have gone down ENTIRELY different. Every single decision and ramification from that scene could have existed just the same, without any significant plot alteration, but with 100% less problems, if the writing had just framed all those decisions and ramifications as springing from Dick’s OWN decisions, logic, wishes, rather than in OPPOSITION to them. The only thing that needed to be different, IMO, was just....keeping him and his choices, his own rationales, and his RIGHT to them, as being MOST in focus in that particular story and sequence of events.

And also again, just for the record, this has nothing to do with it being Babs in that scene and everything to do with just....the issue itself. Which is a problem for me with any and all other characters whose choices are similarly prioritized over Dick’s own decision-making process, even when the decisions are about him and his life, far more so than their own. This isn’t Babs-specific, it just tends to come up a lot with her due to the mere fact of like....how often Babs is the one in Dick’s stories or title, compared to other characters like Jason or Tim who cross over relatively less....but still usually create or raise the same problem when they do.

[thedreadvampy]

Like idk what you want from me here. If you want to engage me in a specific question about ace/aro identities, as I've said several times and nobody has ever actually done, then ask me the specific question. Don't fuck around with vague gestures at Points of Discourse and then get cross with me because I haven't answered the Exact Question you Didn't Ask But Expected Me To Intuit.

Preface: If you don't want to answer any of these because you are allo/allo and don't have a say because its not your place, say that. In fact, I'm asking these because you seem to do have opinions on things you shouldn't based off things you have said in the past.

I also want to state that I agree fully with your points about Martin- minus the blatant aphobia. Not just acephobia, arophobia as well.

1. Do you think qprs are problematic? I believe you once made a post saying roughly that qprs are just normal friendships, or something like that, that has since been deleted. What is your current opinion?

2. Are het aros lgbt?

3. Are het aces lgbt?

4. Cis aro/aces lgbt?

5. Cishet aro/aces?

6. Do the spectrums and micro identities exist? You've implied in the past they don't, in the post about how they were supposedly created from sex positivity

7. Can aros be in or desire romantic relationships?

8. Can aces have or desire sex?

9. Does the split attraction model exist and does it benefit people?

10. Can teenagers identify as aro/ace or do you think they're too young?

11. Can you be, say, an aroace lesbian, or an aroace gay, aroace bi, etc. Idk how to phrase this one but like can you be aroace and still id with another orientation?

I could send another anon detailing the aphobia in the post, because I at least am certainly not upset about Martin being sexual, rather it was the very blatant aphobia. It could have stemmed from ignorance, and if that's the case I don't mind explaining it.

Ok this is a lot of questions, some with quite involved answers, so I'm gonna answer them chunk by chunk so it's a bit more manageable, and then I might come back to some of the surrounding message. This isn't gonna be an immediate bang bang bang, but I'll try and work through them over the next couple of days.

Question 1

1. No, I don't think qprs are problematic. I don't necessarily understand them but I don't need to understand them to understand and respect that they're a thing that's important to a lot of people. I don't know what post you're referring to, but I'm surprised that you say it was deleted, because I very rarely delete posts except, occasionally, reblogs where people have flagged up misinformation or dogwhistles or which I reblogged by accident. tbh I'm the messiest online presence I'm way too lazy to delete past posts or block people even when I probably should bc I don't like to feel like I'm ~hiding evidence~. So I'm not saying you're wrong, you're probably totally right, but I'm surprised.

I'm thinking about what posts I've made that you could be thinking of, and obviously I don't remember everything I say on here bc I say A Lot and I actively post to get things out of my head so 🤷‍♀️ but I do remember making a post a while ago where I said that it was a normal expectation of friendship to have some friends close enough that you'll live with them, raise kids with them, etc, and I'm wondering if that was the post you're thinking of? I did have qprs in mind while writing that to a degree, but only because I think 'you wouldn't do this with your friends' is a very common argument people put forward about qprs and I think it's a weak argument, because many people have different definitions of friendship, and the only argument I think is needed for any sort of I Have X Emotional Relationship To This Thing is...I Have X Emotional Relationship To This Thing. Like you can't offer a universal materialist definition of the differences between romantic, queerplatonic, sexual and platonic relationships, because the boundaries are very personal and it's really an emotional and experiential difference. so if that is the post you're thinking of, I wasn't criticising The Concept Of QPRs as much as saying that I thought trying to put hard lines around What Friends Do Vs What QPPs Do was a) counterproductive when arguing with someone who thinks QPR is Just Normal Friendships bc. if they do those things with their friends then saying NO THIS IS A QPR THING just reinforces their existing belief that you're talking about the same thing as they mean by friendships and b) to me seems to set a painful expectation to young people that you can only get these kinds of close friendships occasionally and in the form of a QPR and it will be stigmatised and misunderstood (and depending on how people talk about it, is only accessible to aspec people and allo people should only expect it to come through romantic/sexual relationships), when in fact most people of most ages I know have friends with whom they can share things like housing, deep feelings, futures, finances, who they miss if they don't see for a few days, who are mutually supportive and vital to their wellbeing. I don't think that's mutually exclusive with the existence of QPRs though - like I personally don't know what the difference is between a QPR and a close friendship, but I also don't know what the difference is between a romantic relationship and a close friendship but I know there is one and I know it's not a question of What You Do but a question of How You Feel And Interact, and that's pretty hard to define in unambiguous terms.

Like generally I don't Not Think QPRs exist, and I think it's a dick move to try and tell people they're wrong about how they experience and define their relationships because???? how are you meant to know that better than the person whose relationship it is??? but I do think the way people talk about QPRs (both from the perspective of defending them and from the perspective of attacking them) is pretty rife with problems and I don't think it's invalidating the reality of QPRs to talk about where the arguments and language around them potentially falls down or has unexpected consequences.

On the other hand, I don't know if that actually is the post you're referring to - the reason I'm calling back to that is that that and a few resultant asks are the only time I remember talking about QPRs on here in the last year or so. So like, several of these questions reference past posts, which is very fair, but I do need it to be clear that, since I don't really tag anything and I don't have a great memory, I can only really speak to What I Think Now In This Context, not to what I posted in the past and what I was thinking when I posted it. Like, this isn't too deny responsibility - I reckon I'm responsible for what I post even if I don't still agree with it, which is why I don't tend to delete my own posts on purpose - but just to deny capacity, I guess? I don't really KNOW what I've posted so if you talk about it in vague terms (and I do understand that if it's been deleted there's not a lot you can do but that) I may not necessarily be responding to the part of it that's worried you, so if I'm not speaking to something specific I've said or done, it's not because I Don't Want To, I just don't necessarily know to.

I'm waffling about this because looking through your messages there's a lot of "you said X" and like. given that the intended message of the post that's kicked this off was very different to the message people have taken from it, it feels important to me to know whether if I looked at the posts you're referencing I'd be like "ah yeah I did believe that but now I believe X" or if it's more a situation of "oh right I can see how you took X from that but my thinking was more Y".

(also sometimes when people say "you made a post" they mean "you reblogged a post" and I am a compulsive discourse scroller so sometimes I reblog a random post to bookmark my place on someone's discourse blog or I accidentally longpress the reblog button while scrolling - I try to delete reblogs that I don't agree with but sometimes I miss some, all of which to say if there's a post on my blog that doesn't seem to reflect what I say in my original posts then it doesn't necessarily mean I'm a crypto-whatever so much as I'm very lazy and messy with my blog. Doesn't mean I shouldn't be held accountable for reblogs but it's useful to know if we're talking original content or reblogs bc I'm unlikely to fully accidentally make a post. but I quite often accidentally reblog stuff. I doubt this is the case with this sitch just bc of your phrasing but I want to cover my bases)

anyway tl;dr: no I don't believe that QPRs themselves are inherently problematic, nor do I think I have at any point believed that, but I do think that a lot of the language and ideas used to talk about them are based in miscommunication or absolutist ideas about relationships and can have damaging knock on effects.

[01kitty-moon]

My thoughts on the Og Sailor Moon/Sailor Moon Crystal/Eternal Part 2

I want to start with saying this-

I do enjoy both anime. I really do.

My thoughts about Sailor Moon OG anime.

First things first I LOVE 90's anime art style, so of course I love the style of OG sailor moon, it looks really good, the backgrounds are beautiful.

Artsyle is lovely. PERIOD.

The OST for the OG anime is awesome, it can be beautiful or just plain cool.

I love the first transformation OST SO MUCH.

(I don't like the others in the OG anime transformation ost though tbh.)

The other thing I love about the original is the fashion, the sheer amount of outfits is awesome and I always enjoy a show that is able to have different outfits.

Now I really like the first few episodes when it's just Usagi and Jadeite, in fact I like the first arc a little bit more in the OG simply because idk, we get to see more of the four "eite's" though I don't enjoy some of their Arc's tbh or how their characters were handled in the end.

I found their arcs would start strong and then just kinda end leaving you like??? Okaaaay.

If I'm being honest I dont enjoy the pacing or the writing for alot of the OG anime if I'm being truthful.

Like the end of season 1 in my opinion wasnt written well, in fact it felt very meh and blotchy.

Did I like the full party kill? Yeah.

But it wasnt well written.

I REALLY don't like OG Tuxedo Mask. Like during the first half of S1 I thought his snark was funny, and I enjoyed their interactions at first.

But by the second half I came to REALLY dislike him.

No wonder everyone wanted Usagi to be with 90's Seiya, OG Mamoru was an ass.

(I refer to him as Tuxedo Ass and no I dont take constructive criticism)

Also dont get me started on the moonlight knight filler crap. (That filler arc had potential to be REALLY amazing and impactful and they totally wasted it)

Also his relationship with rei is kinda.....weird. I didnt like it. (And not for shipping reasons, but because it genuinely irked me)

Now I do love that we got more episodes exploring the girls personalities and friendships, but I often times didnt enjoy how they were written as "friends?" Alot of it felt fake despite the "development" they got.

Dont get me wrong I like the OG anime in general and some episodes I think are AMAZING.

But I'd go into an arc and be really hyped for what I thought was coming, only for the outcome to be really lame or immature. The writing just felt bland and childish, but since OG is targetted more for a younger audience I do get it.

I got disappointed alot tbh ahaha.

Also if chibi moon from OG appeared I'd simply kill her, rip to OG usagi but I'm different.

(Also they made the kid feel way more incestuous than in crystal? Like this girl is 900, she isnt really a little kid though she is a young girl. Like she knows that's her dad, stop trying to fuck your dad pls)

Plus she is super annoying, always, never likable, never. (Some scenes were definetly comedic gold but as a character I wanted to set her on fire)

Prince demand isnt that great of a character and should have been set on fire right away, end of story.

This is a lazy way of writing my feelings but yeah it's what it is.

However overall it's okay. I like it.

(This is only my opinion of course pls dont attack me)

Sailor Moon Crystal

I made alot of my points when talking about the OG anime so the crystal one is short tbh.

Now I'll be honest. I truthfully enjoyed crystal most as a whole than I did the OG anime.

When it comes to the animation of season 1 and 2 I understand why people weren't fond of it.

It was wonky in many parts and the CG transformations were really ugly.

However I loved the artsyles in the still scenes.

And some backgrounds were really lovely.

Now the animation could be off, but it isnt the worst thing ever like people make it out to be.

Mamoru was great again (look I love the boy and his manga self)

While i didnt like the lack of development in the 4 "eites" the arc was okay. I kinda liked some of their arc here more than in OG, but I wish we got more of them and their story ( or at least Bi Zoisiete, I know that's OG original but it would have been cool)

Though it did feel lackluster at times, and season 1 could be off with pacing, when it comes to the other seasons however I found the pacing to be really good.

I loved the scene where she "killed" him and then herself, though I wish it had been animated better, it was great.

I also like how they touched more on her fear of being alone, and showed hints of that trauma as well as their identities meshing with their past selves.

The music is 👌 though I miss some of the OG music.

I can't tell you the real reason I love it more than the OG. I guess I just enjoyed the tone overall?

I like the more story focused version if sailor moon I guess, I felt like the fucked around too much in the OG, while Crystak they dont fuck around enough lol.

But I'd rather watch the plot centric one rather than the overly leisure OG fillers.

I liked some of the characterizations better in crystal as well, I found rei more likable (look can we admit she was a bit TOO much of a bitch in the OG? And often wasnt justified but she got away with it?)

Haruka and Michiru weren't....super likeable in the OG sometimes for me and while that can be a good thing in writing, (and ik alot of people prefer them in the OG) I immediately fell in love with them in crystal.

Also this is probably just me but I like that everyone was less boy crazy, giving way to just, easier to bond with characters.

(Being Bi/Pan-Ace and watching girl only EVER be boy crazy is really annoying tbh I just, like for them to at least have 1 character who's just kinda eh about the whole dating thing, and tbh alot of the characters came off as more bi in crystal which was lovely)

I hear alot of people complain about how they dont feel the friendship between the group the way they did in the OG but I kinda felt the opposite, and their sudden leap into being SUPER into Usagi really stems from their identities from their past lives mixing with the present.

Also just saying, if someone like usagi came into my life? I'd immediately die for her too, just saying, she's so so kind and fun, and precious like? Duh of course she's going to make those introverts fall all over her.

Also CHIBI MOON I LOVE HER! (I do not like this kid in OG, like ever, set that creature on fire pls)

But crystal chibi moon? I adore that girl.

Season 3 was great, I LOVED IT so much.

I got my lesbian's in FULL glory.

I got Sailor Bi Moon.

I got hotaru and well, better writing in that arc compared to the butchered OG version

(If u prefer the OG version that's fine this is just how I feel)

And I'm really excited for eternal, its SO beautiful, the music makes me so emotional, the animation and art is beautiful, tbh it feels more like Sailor Moon than any of the other parts. It just instantly takes me to the manga.

(My brother and I both prefer crystal tbh)

Anyways we talk have our own opinions, and this is mine (made at 3am guys I'm tired)

The manga is BEAUTIFUL and so is Crystal, but OG has it's good points too, I like them all.

From a story and writing standpoint I think Crystal is superior to Og anime.

But if you want something more lighthearted and more slice of life the OG is probably for you!

Or you can be like me and love both.

(I also prefer crystal Usagi to OG Usagi more often than not, though OG usagi is definetly relatable like 100%, but I liked that maturity in Crystal Usagi that got stronger when her memories of her past life came to her, you can tell they all kinda go through an identity crisis and have to grow up "again" which is interesting to me)

Both stories however bring up great messages and promote femininity so much I love it ahhhh sailor moon is a treasure.

Crystal made me fall in love with the story, while OG made me lowkey ship Jadeite and Usagi in the first few episodes.

(Pls dont ask, ok, just don't, that one seen was a bit too hot for me to not immediately think they should kiss)

[venxmedina]

hellllo family :~) guess who’s baaaack !! it’s chelly, with my sassy little babie venice, whom i love very much and hopefully you do, too !! she’s a fun one to go out with, will flirt with you, takes up dance studio time whenever she can, and isn’t afraid to voice her opinions. i’m so excited to get her back into the swing of things, since i am bringing her back from a smol hiatus !! like this or shoot me a message if you’d like to plot :pleading fc: :~)

— && guests may mistake me as ( camila mendes ), but really i am ( venice medina + cis female + she/her ) and my DOB is ( 3/31/1995 ). i am applying for the ( housekeeper ) position as part of the EHP and would like to live in suite ( 213 ). i should be hired because i am ( charming & witty ), but i can also be ( cunning & dramatic ) at times. personally, i like to ( go shopping, attend dance classes & practice self care ) when off the clock, but that won’t interfere with work.

okay before this gets waaaay too long lmfao here’s a TL:DR of venice, her pinterest board, and her connection page 

venice is a spoiled rich girl who mommy & daddy never really paid much attention to except when it came to succeeding in life and she responded to that by partying and being a wild child tbqh, resulting in her parents cutting her off and forcing her to take on a real job at the malnati. she’s returning after her grandfather passed, which essentially turned into just another instance of her parents controlling her life and not trusting her to take care of herself or the medina family name. she’s resentful of them bc they never rlly believed in her and instead treated her more-so as a pawn to advance their family's position which is a lil dehumanizing as a daughter and she's now determined to prove them wrong and actually make something of herself. her parents put her into ballet classes from such a young age and although most of anything they made her do has mostly been tainted now, dance is the one thing that's stuck and brings her so much joy and purpose so she still takes classes & is in search of a permanent partner to compete with.  she’s more than just a pretty lil rich girl, like she does have a heart ( kind of a big one but lowkey tho asdlfj ), but she's also got a bit of an identity crisis now that she's fully on her own and not under the influence of her parents or with the comfort of her brother, and that's ... different. kind of a cold bitch, but she’s charming and sociable and has a good heart but she’s guarded and afraid of getting hurt.

here is her pinterest board & her connection page <3 i’d especially love some hookup buds, a dance partner, childhood enemy, one night stands, fake relationships, fiesty friends, frenemies, and just about anything tbh :~)

tw: drugs & alcohol mention, neglect, death

*:･ﾟ･✧･ who am i?: the medina family fortune was founded during the gold rush era in which the family immigrated from brazil and were talented metal-workers who could turn such raw materials into works of sheer beauty. jewelry, picture frames, gold plated toilet seats and architectural elements alike - everyone in hollywood wanted something made by the medinas. their prominence never weaned, either. throughout the decades, the family fortune has amassed well beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and therefore money is barely to be considered to the medinas despite them still understanding the value of a dollar earned. given the diversity in which the wealth is spread, and the investments that it has been used to make, it is obvious that they are a family of considerable wealth making up the upper class. their high-rise in the upper east side really says it all. this was the world that venice was introduced to, and quite frankly, it was all she had ever known. her guarded building was as much as she was allowed to venture out into for many a year, where the doorman was a babysitter and mrs. winters’ dog a few floors down was a friend. of course, there were a few other kids in her building whose parents were either fond or jealous of the medinas, so until she went to school venice did get to socialize with kids her own age too. her older brother, lucca, was one of her biggest saving graces. he was one of the only people in her life that truly gave her the time of day, and as much as it pained venice to be constantly overlooked by her parents in favor of lucca, he was her best friend. for all intents and purposes, he was the only medina who made her feel like she even had a family, and if there's anyone she's more loyal to than anyone else, it'd him. but per her education, venice attended private schools in the city throughout her life, even being tutored by some of the most highly reputable and paid retired teachers in the entire state for extra attention. getting a proper education was more important to her parents than it was to venice, so she put in the minimal effort needed. it wasn’t as if she was ever going to be given a failing grade, and it wasn't as though an A on a paper was going to garner her parents' attention for long ( if at all - it was what was expected of her ). the girl knew of her influence and the power her family held from an early age. whatever she wanted, she got, and that was the precedent that had been set from infancy. whatever would get her to stop whining, that’s what she got.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ attention to detail: half of the battle for venice, though, throughout her life, was garnering her parent’s attention. her father was a proven, accomplished businessman who was often out of the state or city to tend to whatever firm needed his attention. her mother was a socialite who was more concerned with keeping up the image of a perfect household than actually tending to one. it wasn’t that there was a lack of love for her, from her parents, it was just rather that care was seldom expressed when venice so desperately needed it. she had spent more time with nannies and tutors and tennis instructors than she did her own parents, and that left a vacancy in her heart. naturally, her relationship with her brother was one that she worked on every day; they were thick as thieves and everyone knew the medina siblings. but, she couldn't follow her brother all day for the rest of her life, and as much as his love helped fill some of those voids in her heart, it wasn't always enough, either. she sought out their attention in so many different avenues. whether that be through ballet dance recitals, throwing temper tantrums if she wasn’t getting her way, leaving notes on her mother and father’s pillows … venice really tried all of it. and sure, she would occasionally get some kind of attention in return, but it was usually fleeting and uninspiring. they favored lucca in just about every aspect, and expected him to carry on the family name, line, and company so in a lot of ways - he took precedence. and this wasn’t dissimilar to the experiences of some of the people she called her friends at the time. her parents were busy people who didn’t have much time to deal with the handful of a daughter that they had.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ to be needed: this is where much of venice’s neediness has stemmed from. she truly does seek out those who are more likely to give her attention, to feed into her, even though she has been taken advantage of time and time again over the years. it’s not something she is even consciously aware of, it’s mostly just something that happens. or at least that’s how it started out. even to this day it can be difficult for venice to understand what a mutually beneficial relationship looks like, but that doesn’t mean she’s incapable of learning. for a long time, the people who wanted to be in her life also wanted access to the lavish lifestyle that follows her. this often meant that so many of venice’s ‘friendships’ were hollow, and merely existed to the benefit of the other person. it took awhile before venice started to realize that all of the trips she took people on, the random shopping sprees, the VIP bottle service, the ‘borrowed’ gucci and hermes - it was all for nothing. it wasn’t until she graduated that all of this dawned on the girl, but it did. and while she still feels that aching need to be surrounded by others, to be validated in some way, she is far more guarded now and protective of herself; she isn’t just going to be used by anyone ever again, and that lesson is one she holds very close to her heart. which she’d personally describe as a cold one if only to protect it.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ reckless abandon: but … speaking of, like so many of our favorite little rich girls, venice has always been a rebellious one. it started when she was a sixteen year old who had access to her own limo and could go wherever the hell she wanted. she had met plenty of other affluent sons and daughters of her parent’s pals by that point, and they had their own sort of ‘code’ amongst them. she started experimenting with drugs and alcohol at an early age and since it was what everyone else was doing, it allowed her to be a part of the club, and that’s what she was searching for. it warranted attention from the paparazzi, from these other so-called ‘friends’ of hers. her beach house in the hamptons was her playground every weekend during the summer and it was good she had a maid service on speed dial because after her friends were through on a sunday night, it was necessary. she'd grown to essentially need a bottle of titos if she were going out or a few bumps to get her through a night, and it was incredibly unhealthy, but it was one of those staples that made her feel better. even for a little. even in fleeting moments.

when she was graduating from her private academy and just turning 18, the need and desire to escape her family's imposing pressures and lack of care grew deeply. she knew that she wanted to escape to the west coast, and after spending far too many weekends jet-setting all over the country, the dry heat that filed the arizona air was appealing to her. she was miles away from her parent's, but still close enough to the beach and access to all the funds she could ever ask for. she was a party girl who barely attended classes and it was her family name that mostly got her through the couple of years that she even attended. she spent most of her time shopping, getting high, and drinking all night long. perhaps what was the most shocking was the relationship venice found herself in. he was a football player, older, undoubtedly gorgeous, and one of the kindness people venice had ever met ... up until meeting mason, she had basically only been surrounded by people who wanted to use her and didn't genuinely give a shit about her at the end of the day; they were in it for themselves, and mason was the exact opposite. he considered her, was far more mature than most of the people she'd ever spent time with, and she latched onto that breath of positivity and openness that was mason davis. even till this day, her relationship with mason was the longest one she'd ever found herself in, and to put it simply: she fell in love and she fell hard. some of her fondest memories were cheering him on at every game, celebrating the wins, and introducing him to anyone she could who was in the professional scene because she believed in him more than anyone else. he was unlike anyone she'd ever met before and cared for him more than she could understand; he was her first true relationship, someone who deserved to be her one and only, and while it terrified her how much she felt for him, she thought it was all reciprocal - so what was there to worry about? well, the night to worry came. and it was when mason broke up with her - supposedly, with his graduation date coming, he wanted to spare her the hurt ... but, in reality, all it did was shatter the girl's heart at twenty years old and it's never fully recovered since.

it didn't take long for venice to go off the deep end after the breakup ... being at the university of arizona was way too much, and every memory that used to bring her nothing but happiness was tainted. every ounce of personal growth that she had worked on seem to vanish overnight, and she was just angry, and hurt, and it was like all of those moments her parents made her feel like she wasn't enough - they were right. and still ... she needed home, to go home, to be surrounded by people who she was familiar with and who she knew would let her lean on them ... even if there were only a couple of people back home who'd comfort her, even if it was just lucca, she needed to go back to the city she knew like the back of her hand. even to be surrounded by people who'd pretend to care about her just for a night in her lifestyle. so she put in a transfer application to NYU, and yet again, it was her family name and pedigree that got her into the school. and attending NYU ... well it wasn't much better and when she first started at UoA. she’d hook up with anyone who she deemed interesting and the next night she was onto someone new. she was almost desperate in getting over mason in the only way she knew how ... getting under someone else. and she did a whole lot of that. everyone knew who she was on the party scene and you either hated venice or loved venice - but no matter what, you knew who she was. and that's how she survived her last two years ... making the rounds, living it up, partying and relying on her favorite substances .. it wasn't good, and it wasn't pretty, but it was what she knew best and that's what she reverted to at the time.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ riptide: anytime she could garner his parent’s attention with her reckless escapades, it was a win. that’s what she wanted. she wanted their attention, no matter what way she could get it, and there was something extremely fun in the process of getting it. but as she got older, her parents stopped caring as much. they knew venice wasn’t making healthy choices, spent too much time partying and out all night rather than studying, that she probably was crying over for something or someone, but that wasn’t what they were most concerned with. no, they were more concerned with the tabloids and the family’s reputation - that’s why they weren't paying venice any attention while she was away at NYU. they’d threaten to cut her off and that she would no longer be apart of their family if she continued to act this way in public. whether it was in a headline or on social media, she was being filmed and photographed acting out and being a truly spoiled brat which wasn’t the image that her family so desperately sought to protect.

*:･ﾟ･✧･this is growing up: it has been a true emotional rollercoaster between venice and her parents - constantly struggling to support their daughter and ‘set her on the right path’ versus venice’s ‘devil may care’ attitude. so many of her parents threats have been empty, and she had never truly thought that in all of their attempts to get her to be the picture perfect daughter that they wanted that they’d cut her off and force her to fend for herself. but, that’s exactly what happened. after graduating NYU with a degree in marketing, venice figured that her parents were get her in to one of the top agencies in the city and she would be able to live out her life with the top dogs like her father had. and for a long time, that is exactly what her parents had promised her. but then her graduation came and it was just after that she had pulled her biggest stunt and had stripped down on top of the bar at one of her parent’s fundraising events during a drunken stupor. that was truly a turning point in her relationship with her parents, considering just how badly she embarrassed them at their own fundraising event. and truly it all stemmed from that desire to be seen by them, by anyone, to be considered at all. the most they were concerned with when it came to venice was where she was going to be working and later living. they didn’t care that she was depressed, covering it up with partying and alcohol, that she wanted their love to be expressed and to feel as though she belonged to a real family. and she’s always known her life is wonderful compared to so many others, and there is guilt that comes from that, too, but still she couldn’t stop herself from acting out when she needed attention the most. and that is when her parents ultimately decided to cut her off - freeze her accounts, reposses her car, and force her to get a job that would actually put her back into the real world.

*:･ﾟ･✧･out here on my own: and really, that is how venice has ended up in chicago in the first place. the medinas are friends with the malnatis, and they agreed to take her on as an employee through the employee housing program and to ( most importantly ) get her away from mommy & daddy and out of The City. it’s the first time in her life where she’s without friends, money, or any sort of support. honestly, she feels quite abandoned by her family, as she looks at it like they got sick of dealing with her so they shipped her off elsewhere to be someone else’s problem. the resentment is there, and now more than ever venice is determined to show her parents that she doesn’t need them or their money, that she’s going to be capable of being on her own and working a medial job like being a maid without crawling back to them. sure, she’s going to hate cleaning up after people when she used to have a nanny who would tidy up her own place, as she truly has been spoiled, but she’s determined to grin and bare it before going back home. besides, so much of her life has been focused on gaining their attention, approval, to be validated by anyone, to be seen as something more than just a pretty face with a fat bank account … and while she hasn’t always helped herself to be seen in any other light, she’s consumed by the idea of doing so now. this is the first time in venice’s life where she isn’t under her parent’s thumb. where she isn’t constantly under the influence of some substance. where she isn’t doing something insanely foolish or unhealthy to try and gain the favor of someone whos approval requires chasing. she’s really just getting to live within her own skin, be herself and figure out what that looks like.

after working at the malnati for a handful of months, it was a family emergency that landed her back in new york ... her grandfather had passed, the true patriarch of the family, and that came with a lot of 'passing of the guard' within the medina family enterprise. it meant funerals, and meetings with lawyers, and memorial services, and rekindlings with her brother, and public appearances, and making statements and being interviewed for magazines, and it was then that venice had truly learned of her position in her family. while her grandfather had left her stock options in her name when he passed, and plenty for her to be able to live comfortably off of for the rest of her life, it was so written that it was contingent upon her father's disbursement of the stocks when he deemed she was so fit to handle them. so it was even in death, her family did not trust her enough to be able to handle herself. she was still considered reckless, unreliable, and unworthy of holding a stake in medina international ... while it wasn't anything new or surprising to venice, it still hurt just the same. because she'd spent the past year working on herself, away from the pressures of being a medina, separated from her family and essentially disowned by her own parents and even still, she found herself at their mercy once more. it would come at no surprise that she decided to leave it all behind her once more ... which is why she's returned to chicago, not as a guest at the malnati, but as an employee. as someone with aspirations and desires to move up in the world, once more on her own, once more with a heart she's nursing from lovers she's had to say goodbye to, once again without the support of her family, and furthermore with the wrath and persistence only a medina can procure.

*:･ﾟ･✧･it’s a new dawn: she still gives into her pleasures, whether that be sex or art or dancing, all of which she’s never been able to kick but she manages them well and enjoys them all the same. she is still a good time, someone fun to be around, and is always willing to get the party started no matter where she is. she’s kind of done it all, and while some of that has been left behind now that she’s got some different focuses in life, venice knows what makes her feel best and doesn’t want to deprive herself of that, either. she’s currently obsessed with her taking dance classes and is constantly updating her instagram followers on all that she can show them when she’s in the studio. after taking ballet classes for most of her life, she is quite good and likes to indulge in those, but her latest passion has been in salsa and hip hop. it’s not only a great workout to keep herself in shape but she likes the way she feels when she’s doing it, too. and piano lessons were big in her household, as her parents wanted her to be educated in the arts too, so she’s kept a keyboard lying around her things in case she ever feels a spark of desire to mess around on the keys.

*:･ﾟ･✧･it’s a new day: mostly, venice is a guarded gal who loves to have a good time and will absolutely give anyone a hard time when they deserve it. she’s dramatic, to a fault, and she knows it and could not care less. to quote, “i am who i am, and if you don’t like it then there’s the door.”. she’s loyal to the people that she decides she wants to have in her life, but will be very cautious about those she doesn’t trust right away, which can stem from some kind of experience of her own judgement since she does tend to operate off of preconceived notions of people until proven otherwise. and despite being crass, she can also be rather charming, and is a sociable person at her core so she will be willing to strike up conversations with whoever - but whether the conversation goes well or not is another thing. her ultimate weakness though is pretty people, as she is attracted to both men and women, and likes to engage in all kinds of relationships with anyone she thinks is attractive and interesting. so if she starts flirting with you, she has every intention on getting to know you one way or another. in truth, venice has a good heart, and it’s simply masked by a lot of vibrato and insecurity. her biggest fear is not being enough, and that’s so much of the reason why she’s never really tried to be anything. but since being cut off, and repeatedly cast aside by her family, she’s found this rejuvenated sense of desire to prove everyone wrong - that she is worth a damn, that she can work her way up the ladder and break out into the ‘real world’ on her own, that she’s enough.

also if you got this far honestly thank you asdkfalf i do not deserve you lmfao this has been a journey and if you had to suffer through all the typos i’ve likely made, i owe you <3

[jeffrey-beaumont]

daniil/artemiy

i’m gonna do these together because gay rights and also I cant shut up about pathologic (ty again ale for buying me patho 2 btw ily)

Artemiy Burakh:

How I feel about this character: i love artemiy so much he’s one of my favorites  he’s so broken but he’s so motivated to help people he just deserves happiness

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: can’t really see him with anyone other than Daniil but I could see him having mixed feelings towards Rubin cause they knew each other so long

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: artemiy, sticky and murky! theyre such a cute little family i get emotional

My unpopular opinion about this character: his in-game design is bad because he’s whitewashed even though his story is about his racial identity as a biracial man?? in patho 1 he’s even described by others to have “steppe features” but he’s still white. wheres my biracial artemiy rights

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish his friends were less racist to him LOL

Favorite friendship for this character: Artemiy/Lara they’re supportive of each other and I’m 🥺

My crossover ship: no idea but he should meet hannibal because theyre both the ripper LOL

Daniil Dankovsky:

How I feel about this character: daniil’s one of my other favorites hes such a tragic dramatic bitch. goth manwhore rights.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: other than artemiy, peter because he wants to protect him and devotes himself to the polyhedron (peter’s creation), also I like eva/daniil but its tragic asf

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: bachelor and inquisitor rivalry.. 

My unpopular opinion about this character: he is not cute and people woobify him and his actions too much instead of seeing him as a complex morally ambiguous character. also too many white kinnies project onto him

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: wish there was more room for him to realize he’s a fake bitch

Favorite friendship for this character: rubin lab buddies. yulia daniil stem lesbian/bi solidarity

My crossover ship: daniil x kira 8 eboy doctor vibes

Artemiy/Daniil

When I started shipping them: probably after p1 haruspex route

My thoughts: gay rivalry. time period clothing. murder in the streets. giving someone a beating human heart. saying you are two halves of a single whole. drunkenly asking if you believe in angels. writing letters professing your feelings. offering to share the bed. addressing each other with nicknames (my dear, oynon, emshen)

What makes me happy about them: they are strangers who click together from the moment they meet. they’re too much alike and that attracts them to each other

What makes me sad about them: ultimately they’re mortal enemies no matter how conflicted their feelings are towards each other, or how similar they are. The tragedy is that even if their feelings are not romantic, they still see each other as friends even though their ideologies go against each other

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: not a fanfic specific thing but people  exaggerate their size difference and its weirdly horny and fetishistic

Things I look for in fanfic: biracial artemiy rights

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: i cant really imagine it so they’d probably just die tbh LOL

My happily ever after for them: post story daniil joins artemiy in raising sticky and murky and all 4 of them live on the steppe in a yurt. they also probably have a residence in gorkhon where daniil has a new lab. its not as good as thanatica but for the first time he can be content instead of trying to reach his own impossible standards.

[queenofthefaces]

kyle for the character thing!!!!

Buckle up bc I’m extra af and love talking abt characters. Be aware this is like, entirely personal opinion and personal interpretation and also it’s almost 2am so LETS GO

1) sexuality hc: I’ve always really liked bi Kyle ahsjdkfk and tbh I’ve always found the idea of his attraction to other ppl really interesting

The way I characterize him is that he’s someone who’s like, typically very passive with his attraction. He’ll kind of glance at someone and think they’re attractive but he doesn’t necessarily have any strong feelings towards them or desire/drive to want to pursue anything with them. If he does want to pursue them it’s usually out of a sense of obligation or expectation—like a “well I might as well” or “this is what I’m supposed to do” kinda thing

Except Kyle DOES have exceptions—when he finds someone he feels passionately about, someone he’s emotionally and mentally invested in, it’s like 0-100 in terms of difference, bc suddenly he can’t stop thinking abt that person, how much he wants to be with them, etc. and a lot of that characterization, for me, falls in line w the specific ship I have for Kyle (which is obvious if you’ve followed me for a few but I’ll get Into That in the next section)

2) OTP: KYMAN by far my fave Kyle ship and one of my all time fave sp ships overall. I’ve always LOVED rivals/enemies to lovers ships that specifically have 1) characters who are equals 2) characters who are incredibly intimate and close w one another even if (or because of) it’s in the context of the rivalry 3) the characters have either some level of co-dependence or a need for the dynamic or one another in some way bc the relationship is fulfilling to them and bonus if 4) they’re the only ones that really understand each other

And I jus. Love that. Esp w kyman it’s so much fun taking that dynamic, the codependency and obsession, and just. Playing with it, on a storytelling/character analysis level. And then making it healthy, having them work through issues, bc the idea that “we’re both in way too deep with each other, we can either destroy each other or learn to get along” is jus 👌👌👌

And w kyman I love having Eric be Kyle’s exception. Kyle feels basically nothing towards his other s/o’s in contrast to how deeply he feels about Eric, and for Eric to have just as much depth of emotion in return. It’s fascinating and really fun esp when written from a kind of duo-redemptive story—they both start out toxic towards each other, and their relationship is toxic to other people, but they can’t bring themselves to put an end to it so they finally make it to that middle ground and come out as better peoole, together

This applies to a lot of my rivals/enemies to lovers ships but w kyman in particular there’s the added Funkiness of the childhood friends dynamic which is TASTEY like some nice sprinkles to jus add that extra Flavour. I love the concept of Kyle and Eric forming parts of their entire identities around each other from the time they were in diapers and everyone accepts that they’re always gonna he crazy for each other bc no one has the bond they do it’s so much fun

4) brotp: I should think more abt Kyle friendships tbh I don’t give those as much attention ahsjdkfkfk—tho I definitely have a soft spot for the super best friends kyle + Stan, I just have to work some development into it.

I love exploring their friendship as smth that deteriorates bc they grow apart as people, but then they realize they don’t WANT to grow apart and have to work to stay friends bc being friends isn’t as easy as it was when you were 8. It brings this really cool development that confronts Stan’s passivity towards his friends/his nihilism and Kyle’s entitlement and lack of emotional sensitivity and how they both need to make some compromises (but esp Kyle, bc I can see Stan as someone who tries very hard to not get much feedback).

In terms of Kyle being friends w other people I’m thinking it would be pretty situational. I can see Kyle getting some really eye opening perspectives from other ppl if he opens himself up to their views but that requires knocking Kyle down a few pegs lol, it’s fun to have him learn to recognize his own assumptions abt ppl and learning to value them as individuals yanno?

3) notp: honestly? Any other kyle ship. I can personally only see Kyle w Eric ahsjdkfk kyman endgame all the way. For me, a lot of other Kyle ships like, don’t make any sense, a lot in part bc I see Kyle as someone who has a lot of issues w socialization, entitlement, and selfishness along with his UNENDING OBSESSION w Eric Cartman (which also somewhat stems from those issues bc of Kyle’s sense of self identity vis a vis the rivalry)

Like, I can’t see Kyle sitting down and forming a meaningful romantic relationship w anyone else bc like, no one can provide the fulfillment, engagement, drive, and push/pull of Kyle’s relationship w Eric. Kyle would leave at the drop of a hat to confront smth Eric was doing and I don’t think he’d ever compromise with that. And someone who does compromise on that probably isn’t someone Kyle would want to be with in the long run.

I think the only ship I can see would be like, poly m4 bc that draws on pre-existing dynamics and doesn’t break or try to divy up Kyle’s attention. (Even tho like I said I don’t like Kyle w anyone else romantically)

5) 1st hc that pops in my head: my Kyle is autistic as fuck. Characterizing him as autistic gives a lot of insight into how his mind works and why he acts the way he does—a lot of his thought processes are just. What makes the most logical sense to him. It’s just that those trains of thought are on KYLES logic and that’s when he struggles to realize when he’s crossed a line or overstepped a boundary. Or how his brain is usually always “self-centered”—not in a morally negative way, just in that it’s not a natural reflect for him to remember other people.

And a ton of other things as well( including a fun hc of Kyle trying to use his autism as an excuse for being a dick, until Also Autistic Craig steps up like, no dude you’re just an asshole bc you’re not trying to do better). And bc as an autistic person, I really relate hard to Kyle to the point where if he were real I’d probably hate him bc we’d be too similar lmao; I think esp when I was a kid I acted a lot like Kyle—the self righteousness, the bossiness, the belief that my way was the only way that made sense and everyone else was just Wrong, the anger issues, etc.

It’s why I’m tough on Kyle a lot of the time, but it’s also why I love thinking abt his development, bc I know firsthand that he can mellow out, change, become a better, more wellrounded and emotionally aware person, and how he can make an effort into doing so

6) oh shit I didn’t even mean for this but obviously one way I relate to Kyle is the Above autistic hc and how I characterize him. Like I said, I acted a LOT like Kyle when I was a kid, so I know he’s an irritating little shit, but also brilliant and too thoughtful for his own good sometimes.

But another thing: I characterize Kyle as someone who is a natural leader, but hates being in official leadership positions. And this is also smth I’ve kinda written due to personal experience. But also from the way kyles often portrayed in canon—in the games, he’s always a support role, always a healer, ranged fighter, or someone who boosts and buffs allies

I see Kyle as the type of person who can easily take control in, for example, a group project situation, or when he’s hanging out with Stan and they’re only doing what Kyle wants to do bc Kyle comes up with all the ideas and Stan just goes along with them

But I can’t see Kyle as someone who’d want to be, like, student counsel president. (That’s more Wendy’s wheelhouse) Mostly bc there’s too much responsibility that it’s just exhausting, and more than that, those official positions are STIFLING. They run on someone else’s schedule and they’re creatively constructive. You can’t fully do your own thing bc you have to be constantly aware of how the group works and what the group wants. I can’t see Kyle as being happy in that position bc he’d get sick of having to conform his ideas to what other ppl want—he just wants to do his own thing.

So instead, Kyle would be more comfortable in a supporting role. Bc in a position like, for example, secretary or VP, he can still have a lot of influence, power, and knowledge, but he’s free from those restrictions that come from being the face of a group. And he’s also free from the social obligations of being a leader, esp in having to deal w other groups in like a business sort of way. AND if the group falls, Kyle won’t take as much of the blame, bc it’s probably not his fault anyways so why should everyone point fingers at him. It’s much less pressure.

(And it’s also kinda inspired by his role in the CBAA??—Cartman’s perfect in the CEO/face of the company position bc Cartman is comfortable with and relishes in the attention and social aspect of being the face/leader of a company, and Kyle can reap all the benefits of being a part of that company, including being an integral pillar of the company, w/o the deficits. If Eric and Kyle ran a company they’d work together, sure, but Eric would crumble without Kyle’s support, and Kyle would hate the stifling pressure of the head position, which makes them a perfect pair.)

(And again this is based on personal experience—I’m a natural leader. People listen to me, I can organize groups, and I’m a good mediator, but I hate when it becomes Official bc I can’t just. Do my own thing as I want to and it’s far too much to keep track of and most of it doesn’t interest me. It always irritated me when my parents tried to push me into like running for student president bc I just kept thinking abt all the work I’d have to do that I wouldn’t care abt)

7) what gives me secondhand embarrassment about Kyle? Well. Just......how much he reminds me of when I was a stupid kid. He’s such a little shit oh my god Kyle shut the fuck up YOURE NOT GHANDI. When Kyle’s being entitled and stuck up, when he thinks he’s better than other ppl, and when his own big mouth and pride are what fucks him over I’m just oh my god. Oh my GODDDDDD SHUT UPPPPP.

Mostly it’s secondhand embarrassment bc I’m jus oh my god ur an idiot—but again bc I know he has the ability to grow out of that and look back on himself with a grimace at how dumb he was ahsjdkfkfk

8) cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Definitely the latter, I love Kyle and I love when he’s happy and contented but him as a cinnamon roll kinda character feels so flat to me. I love him as a problematic fave he’s so much fun as a disaster. He’s complex—he’s tough and caring and angry and compassionate and an absolute fireball of EMOTIONS but he tries to act like he’s a logical rational person and I jus? He’s so much more fun and dynamic when he’s allowed to be messy

(Of course this is long why wouldn’t it be AHSJDKDKKFKGLGLH)

[mortaems-blog]

*     taps     mic     *     so,     uh,     is     this     thing     on     ?     hello     !     my     name’s     stevie,     i’m     twenty     (     she/they     pns,     please     )     and     i’m     writing     out     of     aest     !     [     bill     hader     vc     ]     i     like     true     crime     and     pretending     like     i     don’t     have     a     million     things     to     do     outside     of     writing     !     anyways     !     under     the     cut     you’ll     find     information     about     francesca     ramorini,     ezra     kennedy     and     percy     frazer     !     u     know     the     drill,     like     this     &     i’ll     pop     into     your     ims     either     here     or     on     disc.ord     to     plot     !

francesca  magdalene  ramorini.  vampire.  old.

full  name:  francesca  magdalene  ramorini. physical  age:  thirty-one. real  age:  six  hundred  and  seventy  seven. birthplace:  milan,  italy. birthdate:  january  sixth,  1342. nationality:  italian. species:  vampire. gender  identity:  cis  female,  she/her  pronouns. sexuality:  bisexual.

when  i  say  she’s  old,  i  mean  old.  francesca  and  her  brother,  domenico,  are  from  13th  century  milan,  where  their  family  were  originally  some  of  the  most  prolific  hunters  in  italy.  the  ramorinis  had  been  vampire  hunters  for  years  previous,  but  it  was  their  parents  who  had  really  cemented  the  reputation  as  some  of  the  best.  the  ramorinis  were  a  big  name  in  milan  anyway,  just  because  of  how  ridiculously  wealthy  they  were.  these  guys  are  fucking  loaded.  they  were  very  much  the  apex  predator  in  the  milani  aristocracy  at  the  time.  naturally,  the  whole  ‘we’re  a  bunch  of  vampire  hunters’  thing  is  very  hidden,  concealed  under  the  family’s  reputation  as  the  owners  of  what  feels  like  an  impossibly  large  international  bank  that  funded  chunks  of  the  holy  roman  empire.  with  all  that  in  mind,  francesca  grows  up  with  absolutely  nothing  but  opulence,  and  their  parents  really  allow  her  to  grow  into  her  own  woman  ---  strong,  determined,  with  a  mind  for  both  family  trades.  there  was  never  any  chance  of  her  just  sitting  round  and  being  complacent  in  the  predetermination  of  her  life  ;  she’s  always  been  headstrong,  brave,  intelligent  and  opinionated,  too  loud  for  her  own  good,  a  face  to  turn  heads.  

they  have  a  younger  brother,  too,  fredo.  (  the  name  is  very  significant.  )  as  dom  and  francesca  started  to  learn  to  hunt  themselves,  they’d  often  end  up  with  fred  tagging  along,  and  for  the  most  part  that  was  fine.  fred’s  a  bit  of  a  weirdo,  but  having  them  around  wasn’t  so  bad   ---   until  one  particular  hunt.  really,  it’s  no  one’s  fault  (  despite  a  centuries-long  running  joke  that  it  was  fred  that  got  them  there  in  the  first  place  )   ;   it’s  a  case  of  wrong  place,  wrong  time.  anyways,  francesca  and  dom  were  turned  on  that  particular  hunt  and  their  entire  world  just  kinda  spun  out,  tbh.  they  were  so  accustomed  to  seeing  vampires  and  whatnot  as  the  absolute  enemy,  nothing  more  than  a  scourge  to  be  wiped  out   ---  but  now  they  were  part  of  that  scourge.  

francesca  especially  had  a  hard  time  dealing  with  the  transition.  everything  she  knew  was  flipped  on  its  head,  a  life  she  once  looked  forward  to  reveling  in  lost  in  the  blink  of  an  eye,  the  sink  of  a  fang.  the  transition  isn’t  easy,  but  she  shoulders  it  regardless  because  it’s  just  part  of  life  now.  she  gives  up  the  life  she  was  meant  to  have  and  forges  a  new  one  ---  and  she  thinks  she’ll  hate  it,  but  it  turns  out  to  be  oddly  freeing.  she  takes  up  art,  learns  to  paint  and  sculpt  from  some  of  the  greatest  ;  she  learns  more  than  she  ever  could  as  an  aristocrat,  becomes  rather  chameleonic  about  it  all.

so,  anyways  !  she  and  dom  are  in  louisiana  now,  in  this  massive  fucking  mansion  that  they  wrangled  ;  francesca  moonlights  as  any  number  of  different  jobs.  she  teaches  a  late - night  art  class,  runs  an  adult  ballet  class  (  she  danced  with  fonteyn  in  the  40s  )  ---  she’s  become  incredibly  comfortable  in  the  life  she’s  built.  falling  into  it  all  was  easier  than  she  ever  imagined  it  could  be.

anyways,  fun  facts:  

she  dresses  so  goddamn  well.  she  looks  good  literally  all  the  time,  and  she  fuckin  KNOWS  it  /  francesca  honey  stop  wearing  expensive  tailored  suits  everywhere  ur  going  to  make  men  insecure  

won’t  ever  shut  up  about  emily  dickinson  or  georgia  o’keeffe........  #ma’am  ur  crush  is  loud  and  painful

the  hot  aunt  aunt  at  the  dinner  party  who  simultaneously  judges  ur  decisions  and  encourages  them

yet  another  ramorini  casanova  ...  are  we  surprised  yet  (  no  )

ezra  riley  kennedy.  hunter.  twenty - one.

full  name:  ezra  riley  kennedy. physical  age:  twenty-one. birthplace:  hoboken,  new  jersey. birthdate:  july  ninth,  1998. nationality:  american. species:  human. gender  identity:  non-binary,  they/them  pronouns. sexuality:  pansexual.

i  need  it  known  right  fockin  now  that  i  would  literally  die  for  ezra  .  they’re  my  FUCKING  baby  and  i  won’t  shut  up  about  it

ezra  was  born  to  two  former  hunters  who  gave  up  the  minute  they  were  pregnant.  it  wasn’t  a  choice  they  were  particularly  willing  to  make,  and  despite  swearing  that  they’d  stop  after  having  kids  they  never  really  did.  almost  immediately  after  ezra  was  born  their  parents  were  back  out  hunting  again,  leaving  the  baby  with  their  grandparents.  as  such,  ezra’s  raised  entirely  by  their  maternal  grandparents.  they  simultaneously  teach  them  their  family  history  (  an  extensive  hunting  background,  the  expectations  that  sit  heavy  on  their  shoulders.  ezra’s  expected  to  carry  on  the  family  legacy  the  minute  they  turn  eighteen,  to  learn  how  to  hunt  and  kill.  admittedly,  it’s  a  shock  to  the  system.

they’re  not  in  much  contact  with  their  parents.  they  come  home  every  so  often,  greet  their  kid  and  go  straight  to  sleep.  there’s  very  little  real  interaction  /  gets  to  the  point  where  ezra  thinks  of  them  more  as  irritating  roommates  that  come  home  late  and  eat  everything  than  actual  parents.  their  loyalty  is  to  their  grandparents,  without  a  doubt.

ezra’s  keenly  aware  that  they’ve  got  no  choice  in  their  career,  but  they  can’t  help  but  want  some  kind  of  say  in  it.  they  excel  at  stem  subjects  in  school,  more  often  found  in  science  labs  testing  hypotheses  in  their  free  time  than  anywhere  else.  they’re  left  alone  more  often  than  not,  slipping  through  school  without  much  of  a  problem  until  they’re  sixteen  and  their  parents  die  in  the  middle  of  a  hunt.  it’s  a  rude  shock  to  the  system,  having  to  bury  both  parents  at  such  a  young  age  but  they  do  it  with  tremendous  grace  and  class.  shortly  after  the  funeral,  they  drop  out  of  school  to  start  hunting.

they’re  jaded  going  into  it,  definitely.  their  only  real  image  of  hunters  is  the  one  they  were  handed  by  their  parents   ---   of  dark  circles  under  eyes,  chain  smoking,  swallowing  bourbon  like  water,  passing  out,  rinse  and  repeat.  they’re  determined  to  break  that  mold,  to  do  something  different  but  they  won’t  lie,  they  considered  it  at  first.  for  their  first  few  hunts  they  tried  to  imitate  their  parents,  and  it  didn’t  turn  out  well   ---   so,  like  everything  else,  ezra  fits  it  to themself,  and  the  rest  is  history.  they  develop  their  own  style,  and  it  works.

hoboken  is  too  small,  not  enough  for  them  so  they  pack  up  and  move  off  to  louisiana.  (  they’d  found  an  old  journal  of  their  parents’,  with  notes  alluding  to  a  wish  to  move  to  new  orleans  and  despite  not  being  close  they  figured  it  might  be  a  good  idea.  )  they’ve  been  in  nola  for  about  a  year  now,  and  they’re  growing  to  love  it.  they’ve  always  been  a  city  kid,  and  there’s  something  about  nola  just  speaks  to  them.

so,  fun  facts:

super  good  with  technology.  they  fix  shit  in  their  free  time,  &  they  build  computers  n  shit   ?????

smells  like  frangipani  and  jasmine  and  ginger.  they  smell  really  fucking  good  for  some  reason

lots  of  denim  and  leather  and  yellow  in  their  outfits.  they’ve  got  one  particular  leather  jacket  for  hunting,  but  they  kinda  started  a  collection

angelic  in  every  single  way  possible

has  a  black  cat,  named  salem.  salem’s  a  good  cat.

percy  floyd  frazer.  witch.  twenty - four.

full  name:  percy  floyd  frazer. physical  age:  twenty-four. birthplace:  amsterdam,  the  netherlands. birthdate:  february  12th,  1995. nationality:  british. species:  witch. gender  identity:  demi  male,  he/they  pronouns. sexuality:  bisexual.

percy  .......  sighs.  i  love  him  so  fuckin  much

so  !  percy  is  born  to  two  english  witches  while  they’re  on  holiday  in  amsterdam,  a  pregnancy  that  both  parties  had  been  hoping  for  ;  their  household  was  starting  to  feel  awfully  lonely,  and  a  baby  sounded  like  the  perfect  way  to  round  it  all  out.  naturally,  though,  nothing  goes  to  plan  ---  his  arrival  puts  ‘unwarranted  stress’  on  his  dad,  who  cuts  his  losses  and  runs  about  a  month  after  percy’s  birth.  bit  of  a  dick  move,  but  let’s  move  on.  his  mother,  annaliese,  doesn’t  harbour  any  real  resentment  towards  his  dad  for  leaving  ;  she’d  fallen  in  love  with  amsterdam  on  their  brief  holiday  and  was  planning  on  breaking  up  and  moving  there  anyway.  

so  !  for  his  entire  childhood,  it’s  just  percy  and  his  mom,  and  it’s  the  best  kind  of  childhood  you  could  ask  for.  he  grows  up  watching  all  the  same  movies  as  his  mom,  reading  her  books  and  just  hanging  around  her  24/7.  ngl  he  kinda  had  the  coolest  childhood   ????   his  mom  loved  to  rent  out  her  favourite  bands’  old  tour  videos  and  there’s  many  an  afternoon  where  the  two  of  them  would  sit  there  and  just  listen  to  music  together.  their  relationship  is  very  similar  to  that  of  theo  and  his  mother  from  the  goldfinch,  if  that  gives  anyone  a  frame  of  reference.

he’s  about  thirteen  when  she  finally  sits  him  down,  tells  him  about  the  magic  that  whispers  a  steady  thrum  in  his  veins.  she  tells  him  about  the  uprising,  about  the  way  magic  has  become  outlawed,  how  he   has  to  learn  to  restrain  himself.  it’s  a  lot  for  someone  so  young  to  understand,  but  he  sits  through  it  patiently,  peppering  questions  here  and  there.  he  doesn’t  seem  particularly  enthused  about  his  heritage  (  really,  who  would  )   ---   his  mother  barely  holds  back  the  tremor  in  her  voice  throughout  the  conversation.

the  more  percy  learns  about  the  restriction  of  magic,  the  more  bitter  and  jaded  he  grows  about  it  all.  he  doesn’t  hate  himself,  nor  his  mother,  hates  the  pureblood  monarchy  with  such  a  passion  it’s  almost  terrifying.  he’s  sixteen  when  he  swears  off  magic,  tries  to  quash  it  down  the  best  he  can.  he  point - blank  refuses  to  accept  that  it’s  part  of  him,  and  tries  to  find  a  passion  that  distracts  him  from  it.  that  ends  up  being  music,  and  he  takes  to  it  like  a  fish  takes  to  water.  the  minute  he  picks  up  a  guitar,  it’s  like  his  world  makes  sense.

they’ve  been  living  in  amsterdam  this  entire  time,  wasting  afternoons  in  art  galleries  and  bakeries.  percy’s  eighteen  when  he  decides  that  it’s  time  to  spread  his  wings  and  move  away  ---  his  decision  is  hardly  precise,  he  throws  a  dart  at  a  map  and  hopes  for  the  best.  it  lands  on  new  orleans,  louisiana,  and  he  just  kinda  goes  with  it.  he  doesn’t  have  much  to  pack  up:  a  single  suitcase  full  of  clothes,  another  filled  with  books  and  dvds,  and  his  guitars,  that’s  it.  both  him  and  his  mom  cry  at  the  airport,  but  it’s  happy  crying.  

so,  anyways   !   he’s  been  in  louisiana  for  six  years  now,  and  he  loves  it.  when  he  first  moved  he  worked  any  number  of  casual  jobs,  but  he’s  settled  into  one  as  a  bookseller  in  an  indie  bookshop.  he  writes  film  +  music  reviews  for  a  number  of  online  sites  as  well,  so  he’s  got  himself  a  steady  lil  income.  

some  fun  facts:

dresses  like  an  utter  e-boy  and  i  won’t  apologise  for  it  

looks  n  acts  like  an  arrogant  prick  sometimes  but  truly....... sweet,  kind,  would  do  anything  for  the  people  he  loves  (  even  if  that  number  is  small  )

totally  pretentious  about  his  tastes.  don’t  start  him,  for  the  love  of  god

perpetually  got  his  glasses  on,  perpetually  holding  an  oversized  cup  of  tea

has  a  collection  of  tiny  little  tattoos  (  they’re  all  references  to  books / movies / music  he  loves  )

i  ............  love  him  a  lot

[fannishcodex]

Only learned about Mewtwo in the Genesect movie after watching Detective Pikachu, which got me back into the fandom.

And now after watching that one too (English dub), I like to headcanon that it’s the same Mewtwo in *Mewtwo Strikes Back/**Mewtwo Returns, Genesect and the Legend Awakened, and Detective Pikachu. (This is just my opinion/theory/headcanon/plotbunny that I like.)

*Mewtwo Strikes Back includes the animated short film, Birth of Mewtwo/Uncut Origin of Mewtwo.

**I’m aware that Mewtwo Returns is a TV special, but just for the ease of writing, gonna refer to it as a movie/film. And tbh, I do consider it a movie. In any case, it is a sequel to Mewtwo Strikes Back. 

For a quick summary:

-Those scientists in the Genesect movie didn’t create Mewtwo, they are another different and separate group that captured Mewtwo for their own experiments. Mewtwo was captured by humans again at some point after the events in Mewtwo Returns. (Tying into Detective Pikachu, which shows Mewtwo getting captured by humans again, suggesting this can happen more than once.)

-Mewtwo psychically projects a voice, and that can likely be changed to sound like anything. Mewtwo has undergone a vocal evolution. Mewtwo psychically projects a more female voice in the Genesect movie after psychically projecting a more male voice before in previous movies. Eventually after Genesect, Mewtwo psychically projects a voice that is both male and female in Detective Pikachu. This could also reflect Mewtwo possibly having a different understanding of gender; and backing this up is the fact that Mewtwo is often described as a genderless pokemon. 

-Though tense with humans after getting captured for experimentation by them again, Mewtwo is still more protective of pokemon and civilian humans because of what they previously learned in Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns. Mewtwo’s character continues to develop from the events of those previous movies.

A more detailed breakdown is below:

(Tbh a personal note: I’m kinda loose with pronouns for Mewtwo in the face of new things I’ve learned of the franchise, and the franchise itself not actually being entirely firm on it either from what I’ve seen, and am leaning toward he/him and they/them for Mewtwo.)

-On Mewtwo's captivity in Genesect: It’s vague, but with wiggle room. The scientists in Genesect aren’t Mewtwo’s creators, they’re a different group of scientists/humans that captured Mewtwo, who’s been captured by humans again. This is not Mewtwo’s first time in human captivity. Further experimentation inflicted by the new scientists resulted in the mega evo transformation (which may or may not be temporary in the long run, or remain entirely too difficult to maintain for long periods of time). After that experience, Mewtwo was tense with humans again, even with Ash. Mewtwo backsliding after another traumatic experience with humans makes sense, especially if Mewtwo is in contact with other humans not long after escaping. After the conflict with Genesect-the-pokemon is resolved, Mewtwo becomes less tense with humans again. (Considering English dub: When Mewtwo says they’re glad to have met them all in the end, Mewtwo is more acknowledging the new humans and pokemon that Ash and Pikachu are with, and who were unfamiliar to Mewtwo.)

This ties into Detective Pikachu, where Mewtwo’s also captured by humans again, this time by Howard’s organization.

Given Mewtwo’s status–powerful, unique, etc.–they would probably be targeted multiple times by various human factions. How fool-proof are memory wipes, like Mewtwo used against Giovanni and Team Rocket in Mewtwo Returns? That doesn’t account for any records Team Rocket could’ve kept of Mewtwo’s existence. Not to mention that after Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo’s character development included deciding against anymore memory-erasing--which would also tie into the Genesect movie, where Mewtwo simply tells Ash and the humans/pokemon new to them to forget they were there, but doesn’t literally wipe their minds. Mewtwo orders Ash and co. to not speak of their existence, but they don’t force them with a memory wipe.

-On Mewtwo's voice in Genesect: 1) Mewtwo psychically projects a voice, which can likely change into anything. 2) Mewtwo's been undergoing a vocal evolution. 

In Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo Returns: Mewtwo psychically projects a more male voice.

In Genesect and the Legend Awakened: Mewtwo psychically projects a more female voice.

In Detective Pikachu: Mewtwo psychically projects a voice that is both male and female simultaneously.

I just like the idea of Mewtwo’s voice going on this vocal evolutionary path along with their arc. The Genesect movie even provides a good point along this path--with Genesect, Mewtwo’s arc has points for a solo male voice, a solo female voice, and then combining male and female voices in Detective Pikachu.

Interestingly, in the English dubs of these movies, all of Mewtwo’s voice actors have been different: Philip Bartlett a.k.a. Jay Goede in Mewtwo Strikes Back, Dan Green in Mewtwo Returns, Miriam Pultro in Genesect and the Legend Awakened, and Rina Hoshino & Kotaro Watanabe simultaenously in Detective Pikachu. This can be seen as part of Mewtwo’s vocal evolution; Mewtwo’s voice has changed in every movie (with more subtle differences between Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns).  

Now lately I like to really--self-indulgently maybe--headcanon Mewtwo starts experimenting with a more female voice after somehow remembering Amber/Ai at some point in between the Genesect movie and Mewtwo Returns. (And I also like to headcanon that Mewtwo’s early tendency to erase memories stems from when their memories of Amber and the other clones were erased, which was their first real encounter with memory-erasing.)

And I read this idea somewhere: that Mewtwo’s male and female voice in  Detective Pikachu also indicated a full rejection of Giovanni as a role model--one they had because of the situation they’d been born into--and I thought that was interesting, and also added the implication that Mewtwo’s more male voice in Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo Returns was at least somewhat based on Giovanni. (While Mewtwo has that male-sounding voice before Giovanni, Giovanni still could’ve influenced the sound and tone of it later--Mewtwo only has their own instinctive psychic voice before Giovanni for a little bit, they then spend a long and damaging time with Giovanni afterward.) I had also read someone say Mewtwo’s male and female voice was another way for them to explore their identity, which I also thought was neat.

-On Mewtwo’s characterization in Genesect: I've seen places say Genesect's Mewtwo is different from Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back due to being less harsh, but that's never really struck me as different, and much more like the next step in Mewtwo's arc from the previous movies, both Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns. I feel like part of Mewtwo's arc across movies has always been their character gradually becoming less harsh, and Genesect would fit this.

Mewtwo relents by the end of their first movie Mewtwo Strikes Back. In Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo softens quite a bit: Mewtwo's saving random civilian humans from a vehicular accident no matter how much they try to justify it as only out of self-interest, with the implication that they’re in denial over their own instinctive compassion, and Ash has to show them later that it’s totally fine for anyone to just want to help without any strings attached; Mewtwo is more protective of the pokemon clones and wants to give them a safe home, even if they’re not certain if what they’re doing is the best way to handle this. Mewtwo is even willing to submit to Giovanni--and what ends up being Giovanni’s torture--to protect the pokemon clones, and Mewtwo does this after saying they’d personally rather die than ever serve Giovanni again (and ends up holding to that essentially; Mewtwo submits to Giovanni’s captivity but still refuses to actually obey, and gets essentially tortured for their determined rebellion; and Giovanni seems to continue the torture more out of a desire to break Mewtwo’s spirit and assert his dominance over Mewtwo rather than try to practically control Mewtwo--like Giovanni doesn’t go one step further and more directly tell Mewtwo to literally obey or he’ll hurt the other pokemon clones). Mewtwo even avoids killing anyone and settles for erasing the memories of Giovanni and Team Rocket instead. And then Mewtwo continues to be open to listening to others, and changes their stance on erasing everyone else’s memories, and being less controlling in their desire to protect the other pokemon clones, and steps back to let everyone choose their own path; and Mewtwo is last seen overlooking a city by themselves at night. 

It just feels natural to me that Mewtwo would continue this development in their third movie appearance, Genesect, with protectiveness toward pokemon and civilian humans expanding, escalating--literally defending all pokemon and human civilians from any attacks, even from a fellow artificially-made pokemon. And omg, Mewtwo and Genesect-the-actual-pokemon. Given the idea that Mewtwo’s arc includes Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo Returns, Genesect, and Detective Pikachu, it makes so much sense to me that after Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo would reach out to the Genesect--that, and it’s just incredibly poignant to me. It really does hit me in the Feels that after all the development in Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo Returns, it builds up into Mewtwo themselves determined to save another artificially made pokemon hurt by humans, embittered by humans, and consumed by hurt and anger--and succeeding. To me, it’s just so much more satisfying to have it be the same Mewtwo from the previous movies, and it makes sense. To me, it feels like Mewtwo from the same movies.

-On Mewtwo and the characters who should know them in Genesect: It’s vague, but with wiggle room. I’m going by English dub. Pretty sure Ash was about to say “Mewtwo,” recognizing them, but Mewtwo cut him off and introduced themselves to the other humans/pokemon unfamiliar to them. Ash doesn’t really explicitly talk about Mewtwo, but shows visible concern and worry, and this could be seen as Ash wondering what could’ve happened to Mewtwo since he last saw them. Could see it as the movie never gives them a moment to really discuss things--Mewtwo is largely flying around defending everyone, as well as trying to simultaneously fight off and talk down the Genesect--until a possible moment off-screen when there could’ve been time for them to talk, after things start resolving with finding a new home for the Genesect.

Team Rocket Trio a.k.a. Jessie/James/Meowth seem to just recognize Mewtwo--and that could be from the last time they saw them in Mewtwo Returns. They then try to make a half-hearted plot to use Mewtwo as the head of a Genesect army that goes nowhere like many of their schemes often do (I do headcanon they’re in this bizarre space of being harmless but still trying to stick with Team Rocket’s agenda, but half-heartedly so). Team Rocket Trio never has direct access to Mewtwo though; Ash, Pikachu, and Mewtwo are totally unaware that Team Rocket is even in the area while the conflict with Genesect is going on. Jessie, James, and Meowth largely fumble in the background without ever meeting up with Mewtwo or Ash or Pikachu.

-On Mewtwo getting healed in Genesect flashback: Mewtwo in Genesect is healed by other pokemon, and this could tie into Detective Pikachu, the later movie. This could mark the point where Mewtwo was inspired to learn and explore healing powers, which they later use in Detective Pikachu. (And maybe even trade in the ability to temporarily mega evolve for greater healing ability.) Or it was another point to reinforce the idea--the idea to learn healing could’ve started with Ash getting revived in Mewtwo Strikes Back, when Mewtwo was healed by the pool in Mewtwo Returns. 

Just, for me, the character/personality/development of Mewtwo in Genesect feels so much like the Mewtwo I’ve watched since their first movie, and that’s like the biggest element for me. The personality of Genesect’s Mewtwo feels like the same personality of Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns; it feels like the same Mewtwo to me.

It helps that I can interpret the other stuff in the Genesect movie to accommodate this. And I like the prevalent theory/implication that Mewtwo in Detective Pikachu is the same Mewtwo from the very first pokemon movie. And I feel like Genesect would be another neat point on the arc leading up into Detective Pikachu, along with Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns. Across Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo Returns,  Genesect and the Legend Awakened, and Detective Pikachu is a picture of Mewtwo growing less harsh and more at peace with themselves and others, finding their own path, healing and developing a desire to help others instead of lashing out at others out of personal pain.

[yourprayer]

Pop Culture owns my entire heart!! Idk if you’ve answered this before but do you have explanations as to why you chose the powers you did for the losers? :)

i haven’t and you have no idea how excited i am to answer this (:

this post contains spoilers about the direction of pop culture so if u don’t wanna know don’t read this!!!!! 

+im tagging everyone on the pop culture tagslist just in case they do wanna see this and get this good info! 

okay so basically the theme i have running is that all of their powers are based in their fears, basically my weird take on the pennywise/fear based concepts of the story. there’s no pennywise in the pop culture universe, but i did really want to play around with the loser’s fears and insecurities because they’re very interesting story plots and i love studying these characters! some of them are more straightforward than others but yeah here’s the rundown;

richie - richie develops the power to turn himself invisible at will, at first with excruciating pain but over time that goes away as he gains control. i chose this power for richie because in my opinion of his characterization his greatest fear is becoming invisible, having everyone forget or not see him. he struggles endlessly with feeling ignored or unnoticed; now he can become exactly that. his secondary power is going to be astral projection. this stems from, in my characterization of him, a constant fear of being unable to be where he’s needed. i think for someone like richie it’s hard to not be there for his friends, hard to be kept away from helping someone. his projections help him be there to witness, but not to act, which to him is a little worse.

mike - mike has pyrokinesis. it’s an easy conclusion to say it stems from his fear of fire, as his family died in a fire, but in the pop culture universe it was not his parents that died, but instead it was his grandfather, and it was from a fire that mike accidentally set. he blames himself for what happened, and fears the lack of control he has over fire and over other things. coming to terms with his power is very hard for him because he sees it as a curse he deserves. 

stan - stan develops telekinesis, which is a direct manifestation of his mind power. stan is definitively the loser with the most intuition out of the group and an incredibly sharp person, but because of this he is also more acutely aware than he wants to be of the world around him and some of the shittier things it contains. it’s also an homage to the theory that stephen king wrote the losers as possibly possessing the powers of the shining.(i know matpat’s kind of annoying but tbh this video changed my life and i firmly adhere to it’s logic.) i chose telekinesis over telepathy because i wanted to lmao.

ben - ben becomes a weather manipulator, in a way that’s directly tied to his emotions. the biggest things i got out of reading ben’s sections in the book were that he was pretty devastated by his relationship with his father as a child, and that he had issues expressing his feelings in front of others. to me ben is a wonderful, kindhearted man who is always what others need him to be, but struggles immensely with being honest about what’s going on in his own heart. the idea that the weather changes as he feels makes him terrified because when people see the sky cloud over, they know exactly how he’s feeling, and he’s scared to be that open. the rapidly changing weather is also a reference to the fact that his childhood was so turbulent and things changed constantly.

bev - beverly is both clairvoyant and has psychic visions. she occasionally gets visions that are symbolic of experiences and powers the other kids are dealing with. they’re mostly for story purposes (foreshadowing and hints and whatnot) but are, as mentioned in a previous chapter, something she used to experience as a small child. i for one kind of believe these things can happen (i have a friend who’s family believed she was prophetic as a child and from what they’ve told me i think it’s true) so i included it. her clairvoyance is of a specific kind, basically she can touch people and see their thoughts/memories/intentions if she wants to. the first few times its on accident of course but once she learns control she can use it at free will. these were chosen because i believe bev approaches a lot of her trauma by burying it, and that being confronted with things prevalent from her childhood would deeply frighten her, like the sudden return of her visions. her clairvoyance upsets her because she frankly does not want to know what other people are thinking, since she spent so long in her childhood being told things like the line in the 2017 film “i know exactly what’s in those boys’ minds…” you all know what i’m gettin at.

eddie - eddie is able to manipulate plants/plant life and has extra sensory perception (esp). both are manifested mostly in plant life responding to his anger or distress, again tied to his emotions, and the esp is represented by a heightened sense of panic when danger is present. he can basically sense danger just before it’s supposed to happen, and his body gets a huge rush of adrenaline because of the sensation. this combined with his already heightened sense of general fear appears to most as an extreme panic disorder, which it basically is. there’s also a concept to do with bev’s vision in the newer chapter and the colors. when eddie has a sense that something is about to happen, it comes with a color that is tied to a person, so he knows who is in danger. all i’ll give away so far is that the bowers gang is red. this power upsets him because his biggest fear is his own fear, and the idea that it could get in the way of him being able to do anything when danger comes. the plant manipulation power is a representation of his need to grow, and his ingrained belief he’ll never be able to because of the stifling hands of his mother. he also kind of doesn’t want to grow, or face what comes with that.

bill - bill is a shapeshifter here, which is probably the power i’ll have the hardest time defending. it was largely chosen cause i thought it was cool lmao. but for bill its rooted in his desire to be the person everyone wants him to be, and the fact that that ideal person is constantly shifting and changing. georgie is alive in this au, and bill’s family life is a lot more whole. but bill feels an intense need to be strong for them, and the losers, and be the kind of man and leader they want. he is also struggling immensely with the transition from childhood to adulthood and what that means for his identity in the world. he feels himself so constantly shifting and changing out of distress and desire to be ‘the right thing’. 

the powers of the bowers gang are based on mutual fears of the group as a whole towards the bullies, and are as follows;

henry - the power to absorb energy (think kevin bacon in xmfc) because the losers all fear that any effort to overcome their suffering at his hands is futile

patrick - shadow manipulation because the losers all fear the shadowy places in life, knowing the bullies could be waiting anywhere

victor - teleportation, for a similar reason, that idea that the bullies can be anywhere and everywhere

belch - creating copies of himself (think multiple man) because to the losers it always seems like there’s just too fucking many of them 

(big thanks to hannah @reddiesetrichie  for being a great sounding board for the bullies powers, i rlly needed help picking those

anyways yeah thats the lowdown on who has what and why!!! thank u for letting me ramble about this and i hope it gets yall jazzed up for whats to come

tagslist: @s-s-stutteringbill @gazeboseddie @misssiriusblack @mythgirl96 @crackhousetozier @reddieaddict @wincestklaine @beepbeep-losers @ayyyymichele  @megelizabethvh @tapetayloe @flickerflies @ghostbustermike @i-is-gazebo @reddiesetrichie  @wyttolff @gayzier  @kaspbrak-is-our-king @mikedenbrough @28shoes @nicoperryy @kinghanscom @eddiecare @shadysandi @fyeahreddie

[vote-for-eggman]

Really? Well, I've had a very different experience anyway. The vast majority of the time I've heard someone call themselves "queer" and they've elaborated on it it's always ended up something like "demisexual" or "aromantic" or "polyamorous" all shit that, without the gay identifier (because otherwise they'd be using that) basically means straight. But they can't be straight!! God forbid!! So they make sexualities around what they like to do in bed or in relationships rather than WHO they (1)

want to do, and then call themselves queer.

aromantic i’d concede is a thing but “romanticism” is really hard to qualify which is why it (and all ace discourse) is not something i care about.

in regards to your experience, yeah, maybe. idk, again, we’re all individuals so you might have run into more people with vapid “identities” who call themselves “queer.”

The root of this and a lot of LGBT internal issues is the fact that LGBT-ness has been sensationalized. 

In short: this is both our own fault and the nature of being, at one point, disrespected by society.

In long? My opinion?

Under the cut:

LGBT people, especially younger ones, overcompensate for their sexuality and make it something more than their sexuality SOMETIMES. Personally, I think it is just a different shade of younger people’s striving to be something “MORE” than themselves. Additionally, their internal conflict with them not being able to find themselves (as pretty much all young people do) and their sensationalization of their sexuality manifests into making “gay” as their personality, rather than figuring out who they are as a person. This also creates some personality insecurities within themselves, because they are putting themselves into these arbitrary boxes, rendering them as stale, bland, and boring. I am not innocent of this. Keeping up? 

This is the root of “queer” as identity and weird obsessions with “heterophobia” (both passive aggressive behaviors), gender(?), gay politics and, god kill me with this one, “gay oppression” in the West.

Combine those issues with the fact that:

a. many gay men tend to be bombastic 

b. marriage equality is what MANY people my age grew up watching

c. LGBT were once and still ARE in areas of the country and MANY MANY MANY areas around the world, oppressed.

You get the sensationalization of LGBT. Because gay men are the “loudest” of this demographic, you get a lot of “life of the party” vibes pressured onto other LGBT people and espoused to the general public. Marriage equality feeds into the whole “oppression” thing; seeing gay people have a huge victory has people my age yearning to do something similar in some twisted vicarious manner. Hence, “slacktivism.” And LGBT people being disrespected and oppressed (ACTUALLY oppressed) in other countries is an issue we need to fix, but I feel certain people of the demographic use the pain of others (people they don’t even know in other countries or, say for example, the Orlando shooting) to aggrandize themselves. How? These are the same people who use “gay” as their personality. Which they make themselves a “holier-than-thou” position, too. This is where you get “representation” discourse, the other half of gay politics and oppression, and so on.

Kept up?

Yeah I kinda went all over the place. 

This is by no means all of LGBT people. Heck, this might just be the loud minority. I don’t think so, tbh, but regardless of the quantity, it still is a concerning amount. I don’t like being lumped in with these types.

I still consider myself a part of the community, but I’m basically a reformist at this point. We make a mockery of ourselves (and not in the cute way, lmao) and then blame others for being disrespected. Sometimes, disrespect is not warranted. But sometimes it is. Fair or not, who is to say. 

Regardless, yeah, the root of most SOCIETAL issues among LGBT people in the west stems from the internal and externals forces creating the sensationalization of the demographic.