#*as in like I don't just need them to struggle with their emotions on panel once I need to know their general mode of emotional functioning

[glitter-stained]

Diagnosing fictional characters is so so hard like why won't they just sit down in front of me and fill up a questionnaire is that too much to ask

[yumeka-sxf]

According to this tweet from Endo, today's new chapter will be the final installment of the "Henry x Martha backstory" arc...and it definitely went out on a high note! The part where Martha meets Henry's wife was absolutely heartbreaking...in particular the below page, starting with an upside down view of the scene, showing how the world is literally warping for Martha, followed by shards and shreds of her various memories with Henry, all the while the "throb, throb" of her heart is overlaying all the panels. Definitely one of Endo's best portrayals of a truly shocking moment.

It's also interesting that we never see Lucia's face, despite her having a big panel when she first appears.

Endo has done this before with other characters, Loid's parents being the other big example. We also never see their faces, despite them appearing several times during his flashback arc.

With the few examples we've had, to me it seems like Endo hides the faces of characters who 1) appear as flashbacks only and 2) who have had a significant emotional impact on the character whose memories they appear in, but at the same time, that character has since done their best to get over the painful memories associated with them. So they basically represent some past trauma for the character (even if they don't necessarily dislike them) but in the current time, they've more or less left that part of their past behind. Hence why their faces are obscured in the character's memories. This is also why I think we'll never see Loid's parents or Lucia's faces outside of flashbacks. This is just my interpretation of course, and I'm curious if there will be more examples in other characters' flashback arcs.

But back to Henry and Martha, I also liked the fact that, despite her broken heart, Martha still saw Lucia as a good person and became friends with her. Henry seems to love her as well. This actually ties back very well to what Martha tells Becky at the end of her story about how dangerous it is to latch onto preconceptions and prejudices without knowing the truth.

In Becky's simple world, she would see Lucia as the "evil seductress who stole Henry away" and Martha has to get him back. But as Martha said, things aren't always that simple and don't always adhere to our preconceived notions. Sometimes things can't end up exactly how you want or expect, so you have to be grateful for what you have and see things as they truly are, despite living with lingering regrets. In fact, this whole speech from Martha at the conclusion of her flashback was extremely deep and profound. Not many people can write both comedy and drama so well, but Endo is certainly one of them.

Also, is this Wiesel's first appearance? Still waiting for the doggy play date chapter with Wiesel, Bond, Max, and Aaron! 🐶

Since it's been so long since I read the first chapter of this arc, I couldn't remember if Martha had actually revealed the identity of her lover in her story, but makes sense that she didn't. I can imagine Becky storming into school yelling at Henderson and causing total embarrassment for all 😅 Funny that she almost guessed correctly though.

I'm surprised we never found out how Martha started working for the Blackbells, but that's an easy enough mystery to solve - she needed work after the wars were over, and being a bodyguard suited an ex-soldier. Also seems like she never told Henry her true feelings either...maybe by the time Lucia died, it was too late and they had both grown somewhat apart by then, and/or they had some additional falling outs about Martha joining the other wars, etc. It just wasn't meant to be and the message of the story was Martha coming to terms with that and being wiser for it.

In conclusion, this was a great arc that really shows Endo's range as a writer who can do both comedy and drama very well. Despite Henry and Martha being side characters, I have a feeling that the struggles they experienced will have relevance later in the series. But for now, I look forward to seeing the Forgers and other characters again (and getting back to the last major uproar of Anya telling Damian about her powers...seems like ages ago, lol). Endo will be taking a well deserved break, so the next new chapter will be on August 19th!

I also have some new posts planned in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for those as well 😀

[padfootagain]

Only an Almost (XX)

Chapter 20: Toothaches

Hi! Here is the very last chapter of this series!

Thank you all for reading, and for your reactions to this fic. I won’t lie, I’m very emotional as I say goodbye to this fic. I’ve worked on it for several months, it feels strange to let these two idiots go and live their happy lives now.

The next series I’ll post is my professor!AU, so stay tuned ;)

I hope you’ll like this chapter! Please, tell me what you think!

*************************************

Pairing: Hozier x fem!reader, friends with benefits AU

Warning: No explicit smut or nsfw content, but there are sexual themes and heavy make-out sessions (it’s a friends with benefits AU, I can’t really escape it), so 18+ only!

Summary: Andrew has been in love with you for years, and yet he has never confessed his feelings. But a night out celebrating the engagement of his best friend changes everything. However, you don't seem ready to be with him just yet. You make him an offer that he can't refuse... but will certainly regret.

Word Count : 2054

Masterlist for the series – Hozier’s Masterlist – Main Masterlist

Two years later

You placed back the panel into the hive; gently, delicately, being careful not to harm any insect that might have gotten in the way.

The buzzing sounds around you were loud, but you were used to them by now. Accompanying Andrew once a week to take care of his bees, you had grown more confident around his tiny friends. You were a real pro now. A reassuring thought for him, now that he was about to tour again. He could place their safety in your loving hands.

“Alright, that was the last one,” Andrew spoke, a happy smile on his lips.

“Good job, ladies,” you complimented the bees, making Andrew chuckle fondly at you.

“Good job indeed. And to you, too. Good job, love.”

“Thanks! I am getting good at this!”

Andrew closed the hive, and you both made your way back to your house.

Your house. Andrew still struggled to wrap his mind around the idea that you were sharing a home now, but you did. Even after ten months, he still needed to pinch himself sometimes to believe it.

He helped you out of your beekeeping clothes, and you did the same for him. Teamwork at its finest to repeat movements you were both used to by now.

“You won’t be nervous to take care of the bees alone?” Andrew asked you, voice soft and tender as he brushed a strand of your hair out of your face.

“No, don’t worry! Besides, if I need help, I’ll just call the guys at the brewery!”

“Right. Don’t hesitate to call them if you need help.”

“Don’t worry, baby… I’ll be just fine.”

He nodded, his heart doing its usual little jump at the sound of the pet name. He bent down to drop a peck on the top of your head.

“Let’s eat some of this delicious honey our tiny workers have been making!” he offered, and you enthusiastically nodded, following him through the house and inside the kitchen.

The house had changed quite a bit since you had moved in. Asides from accommodating your belongings, it had gained a few plants, some decorating items, a little bit of your warmth that mingled with his own.

Outside the sun was shining brightly, spreading its beams through the kitchen, while Andrew was cutting some fruits and you were making coffee. You kissed his lips to steal a piece of apple, making him laugh at the mischief shining in your eyes.

“Thief,” he mumbled, still a little stunned after feeling your lips on his.

You merely giggled in response, the sound as sweet as the honey he was adding to the two bowls of fresh fruits.

“I love you too, baby,” you cooed, wrapping your arms around his waist to pull him closer, mischief written all over your features.

“You’re annoying.”

“Don’t I know that already.”

“Unbelievable, that’s what you are…”

“Hmm… Don’t I know that too…”

Slowly, Andrew bent closer and closer to your lips. A fall he longed for, a dive he dreamt about still.

“Insufferable…” he mumbled against your lips, before kissing you properly, hands rising to hold your face in place, to let his fingers disappear into your hair and his thumbs spray across your cheeks.

You tasted so sweet; like the apple you had stolen, like love turned into a flavour.

“Christ… I love you so fucking much,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against yours.

He brushed his knuckles across your cheekbone, gesture infinitely sweet, desperately tender.

You ran your fingers through his hair, and he couldn’t help but lean into your touch.

“I love you too, Andy,” you whispered, your breath fanning over his face. “I love you more than anything.”

He bent lower to wrap you in his embrace, to bury his face into your neck. He inhaled deeply your perfume, until the scent was carved into his lungs. He closed his eyes, shivered as your hand slowly moved from his hair to his chest, to rest right upon his heart.

“I’m going to miss you,” he whispered into your skin.

He listened to the little gasp you let out, he wasn’t certain whether it was because of his breath across your neck or the meaning of his words.

“I’ll miss you too. God… it feels like I miss you already.”

You pulled away, after granting him another minute of the intimate embrace. You turned to the table, grabbed a bowl and a spoon, took a bite. You hummed in satisfaction.

“Our honey really is the best in the world,” you nodded, making him laugh.

“Our honey? These are my hives. That my family gifted to me…”

“We both take care of the bees! It gives me some rights on them!”

“Some rights?”

“I get 51% of the honey.”

“So… the majority of it. Even if those are my hives…”

“Because you love me.”

“Oh, I see,” he couldn’t refrain a loud laugh.

“I’m sleeping with you for two reasons: the honey, and Raine.”

“I knew it. I knew you were using me for something.”

“Of course, I’m heartless.”

“Can’t blame you though… the honey is delicious,” he added a hum of approval, as if to prove his point, while he took another bite of grapes, apples and honey.

You finished eating in silence. It was comfortable, comforting even. Warm and happy and full of love. You sat down after a couple of minutes, and your feet were touching under the table, a mingling of limbs just to make sure that you were always touching.

It was simple, domestic. Andrew caught himself staring at you, at the way the sun embraced your features and got caught in your eyelashes, pearling on their curve.

There was a deep, warm feeling bubbling in his chest, the kind he had felt before, for other women. But never to this extent, never reaching this absolute tenderness that was coursing through his veins as he looked at you. You, sharing a simple snack with him, in his kitchen. You weren’t leaving, you were home. You were his home and he was yours.

As he stared at you nipping on a grape, he was more content with his life than he had ever been.

You started humming, the melody of a song you had heard on the radio that morning, he couldn’t remember the title nor the lyrics. Still, he hummed along, and the sound seemed to make you grin.

“On a scale of ‘being happy to finally be rid of me’ to ‘on the verge of total panic’… how are you feeling about me leaving for tour tomorrow?” Andrew asked softly, his voice almost a whisper, afraid to break the warmth of the moment you were sharing together.

You blinked at him, put down your spoon in your bowl, and reached out across the table for his hand. He held it without a second thought, brushing his thumb across your knuckles.

“I’d say… a strong 5. ‘Sad that you’re leaving, but certain that we’ll make it work’.”

You offered him a reassuring smile, and he let out a long exhale.

“Are you angry against me for leaving?” he asked, but you were quick to shake your head.

“Of course not… that’s your job. And you were meant to be a musician, there is no doubt about it. I’m glad you’re doing what you love… I’ll just miss you.”

“You’ll wait for me, right?” he asked, voice quiet and vulnerable. He brushed his hair away from his face in a hurried and nervous gesture.

But you were calm, perfectly confident and serene as you answered.

“Of course. There is no need to ask that question. We’ve talked about this, we have a plan. We’ll be fine.”

The plan…

A call every day, no matter the time difference. A flight to join him in four weeks, a flight to join you again in nine. Texts whenever you woke up and before going to sleep. Updates on your books. No secrets, no lies, no attempts to hide if something didn’t feel right. And then it would start all over again after his two-weeks break, in eleven weeks. And again, and again, an unbreakable cycle for the foreseeable future. It was alright. Andrew knew he would still love you the same, even from the other side of the globe. But that was the breaking point for all his previous relationships, the distance and the missing and the loneliness that came with him.

And yet, when you tightened your hold on his hand and he focused on your eyes again, there was no trace of hesitation or doubt whatsoever there.

“You didn’t want to date me because of this, at the beginning…” he went on, but you shrugged.

“It was two years ago. I was afraid. I’m not scared anymore.”

“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

“No… I’m happy with you. I love you. I know we can do this. I have no doubt about us.”

His lips parted in a somehow shocked smile, and he had to blink to process your words.

“I have no doubt about my love for you either,” Andrew answered. “You’re right, I shouldn’t worry so much.”

You looked down at the bowl before you, it was almost empty already.

“I will burn your collection of Heaney’s books if you miss more than three phone calls, you are warned,” you joked, making him laugh again.

“How cruel! Leave Seamus out of it! He did nothing to you!”

“I don’t have a choice, I know you love him more than me!”

You were laughing, clearly joking, and yet Andrew’s expression softened.

“Now, that would be impossible. I couldn’t love anyone or anything more than I love you.”

You stared at him with an emotional smile on your lips, knowing that he was being serious, that he truly meant it… and he did. The songs he had written for you were proof. He hoped that the things he did for you every day were enough to demonstrate his feelings too.

He was surprised when you stood up, when you circled the table to stand by his side, waiting until he had pushed his chair so you could straddle his laps. You held him tightly against you, arms around his neck and face buried in his hair. He held you with the same affection, the same desperate need to show you how much he loved you.

“You don’t have to worry, Andy. I’ll wait for you,” you whispered in his ear, making his heart stumble and quicken at the same time, his breath catching in his throat. “You’re the love of my life. I want to spend all the time I have left with you.”

Andrew blinked, tightened his hold on you, tried to take in your words and their meaning and what it meant to have you confessing such feelings for him.

You pulled away as he started laughing, still sitting on his laps but frowning at his reaction.

When he looked at you, he wasn’t hiding the adoration he felt for you.

“And I was afraid I was being too cheesy…” he chuckled, making you roll your eyes.

“Eejit…” you mumbled, a fond smile on your lips still.

“I thought I was the one breaking the crazy love confessions quota in this relationship…”

“Don’t make me regret saying it!” you joked, moving closer again.

He brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, putting all of his love in his gaze and his gesture.

“I feel the same, you know?” he grew more serious again. “You’re the one for me. It was always you, my love.”

You smiled just like he did, a mirror of emotions and love and something close to relief. You rested your forehead against his, closed your eyes.

Andrew thought about the break he would have in nine weeks, about coming home to you. He thought about the next leg of touring, and the break that would follow. And he thought about coming home to you with a ring in his suitcase, and he thought about you in a white dress, about waking up with you every day, going to sleep with your hand in his every night…

When he kissed your lips again, they tasted sweet, like the future they promised.

[technically-a-kiwi]

🌌TRUEST OF TRUE ULTIMATE VERSION OF Mc FUCKIN' HAD IT OF TRUEST COSMIC AU🌌

Or Cosmic AU for short

That's right ! The final version's here ✨✨✨, it doesn't mean I'll stop posting about the AU, but I'll stop writting stuff and stories and shit, well, maybe not stories but DEFINETLY world building, it's a multiversal otherworldly fourth wall breaking self aware AU so whatever. Anyways, LET'S GOOOOOO !!!!

And now, for the moment you've been waiting for !

THE LOOOOOOORE 💯💯💯💯💯

Peppino and The Noise killed eachother and are now gods

The end ✨

Characters :

Cosmic Peppino, The Chef

Cosmic Noise, The Host

Cosmic Pepperman, self absorbed drawing

The ticket stand, a face in the void

Noisette, the little star traveler

Where are the other characters you may ask ?

THEY'RE IN THE REALM OF I-DON'T-CARENESS OKAY ?!!! They're not gone, I just litterlay don't care enough to mention them anymore okay ?! If you want to do stuff with them go ahead, but I won't, I'm DONE 👹👹👹

Now, small note, the cosmic realm holds many kinds of entity, with titles as diversed as its people. Just know that C Pep and C Noise specifically are cosmic entities and the ONLY cosmic entities of the realm, and are thus not bound by laws of physics, reality, panels, chronologie, are self award, fourth wall breakers and most importantly absolutely omnipotente.

Yeah it's ridiculously overpowered and weird for silly pizza game characters, but who cares ?! This is my AU boi !

No need to develop on Peppino much, I've already made plenty of posts about him, he's quite developed as it is. An italian creation god...thing, that bakes things into existence, C Pep is either stressed out or tired or furious, and flames up like a bonfire when emotional.

Although I gotta mention, I kind of changed his perspective on mortal beings. He does have basic respect for people, he sees them a little spects sure, but he wouldn't actively undermine them. He doesn't get upset much when something happens to populations, maybe a little "oh, that's a bummer" during tragedies, but not anything much, it's not a lovey dovey amount of care like for his kids. he just sees them as... tiny insect strangers of some sort, I hope it's clear enough.

Okay, I kind of want to develop some stuff, I don't know where else I could put this in the post anyway

C Pep is quite distant with people, he can engage in conversations sure, but he doesn't let much of anybody in, you know ? (Well, most people don't let strangers in, most saine people that is, everyone in the realm is insane anyway)

But with people he's familiar with, he's quite peachy

He considers Maurice like a little brother, he loves just hanging around, messing harmlessly with him a little, or just be here for him. C Pep enjoys his company since here Maurice is more cold than a jerk, plus they can hear from eachother when it comes to the struggles of raising a child on your own (yup there is a Maurice Jr.)

Since Peppino's a chef, he's been taking Maurice under his wing and teaches him some nice recipes.

He's a slow learner but he's progressing.

As for the constellations, he tries his best as a single father. He's a little awkward, especially when he needs to react calmly (calm and Peppino are two opposite thing on the chart) but he really tries his best to show the constellations he's here for them. Pep can relate with them on some things. He really loves them cares about them deeply. The constellations care about him just as much. It's an okay family.

Also, it's kind of awkward and I feel REALLY weird to write that, but on my earlier posts I said that he makes lots of mistakes as a parent, and to illustrate that I made him yell at Cassiopea, and suggested that it happened more than once. Now, the original plan was to show that he's terrifying when enragged and that his kids are worried about his outbursts, but instead I might of suggested that C Pep is kind of an... abuser? Okay, to set things strait, it's not the case, not at all, he loves his kids and would rip the very fabric of reality to protect them and make them happy, even if he's about to lash out at them his future self would come and stop him before he could causes any harm. It's very messed up considering that C Pep is basically an overpowered god and having defenseless beings at the mercy of his outbursts and yelling just sound sick and not at ALL what I was going for. It could have been interesting if I tried a story talking about the viscious cycle of abuse and how it caries on to the victime, since Peppino is canonically a victime of household abuse with his brother verbaly harassing him, but at this point it straines a little too far from what the AU is about. maybe I'll write something about it someday, but the chances are thin.

Okay I think that's all for Cosmic Peppino

Let's develop on Cosmic Noise !

Okay, so, Cosmic Noise here is a (not so) little chaos god, he just loves to mess around, most of his actions are for the sake of his own entertainment. He's either a very, very dumb irritating little gremlin or an absolute evil mastermind, depends on his mood. His "special ability", or should I say "quirk" is that he can summon text panels you see in earlier TV shows to make the crowd react.

I didn't draw this but sometimes he can be a helping hand in stories, giving hints to the hero's journey, but he'd NEVER physically intervene in a story to help, that's just... not like him... besides if he helps it's generaly because he wants to move the plote along, not because he's nice.

You can just feel that he wants to annoy you just by the way he's moving, interacting with people, he just floats aroud you, takes all the available space, constrains you, he just wants to put you out of your confort zone, see how much he can play until he crosses the line

And sometimes he can go pretty far to see how much you can handle before you crack

As for NNS, C Noise's TV show, it's quite a strange enviroment, the studio takes a good chunk of the cosmic realm (also fun fact, C Noise's cape is a window and a portal to NNS's studio !) it doesn't have a clear schedule. The number one rule is to be as entertaining as possible. Oh, and literaly nothing makes sense and is absurde, just like The Noise

That's the only thing I drew, but there's so much more stuff he does in the show, like news broadcasting, here's a little moodboard to give you an idea

there's stuff like extreme parcours, a hide and seek game where the contestant must find him in a random area (most of the time hostile areas), dilema games where he films people having to solve a tough dilema etc... Just as long as it's exaggerated and absurde it's good.

Also, (not a) fun fact ! C Noise can see through his cameras as if they where his eyes, and his cameras are everywhere filming 24/7. He knows all the things you keep to yourself, all the awkward and dark things you did, he saw that, and can compilate all those moments into a film if he wants, so be careful with what names you call him, he might try to prove you he's far worst than just annoying.

And now, for the cosmic duo.

Cosmic Peppino and Cosmic Noise are... quite an unique duo, per say ?

Since an image speaks a thousand words, I'll just let my doodles show how their dynamic works

Part 2 | Part 3

[winxanity-ii]

⌜I Love, Robot | Chapter 05 Chapter 05 | containment breach⌟

╰ ⌞🇨‌🇭‌🇦‌��‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇮‌🇳‌🇩‌🇪‌🇽‌⌝

❘ prev. chapter ❘༻✦༺❘ next chapter ❘

As you settled back into the captain's bridge, the crackling voice of Tyler suddenly broke through on the intercom, his words garbled and frantic. "It is a form of shutdown. Andy, the door. Fuck! He is not authorized to open the door," you could barely make out the urgency in his voice, signaling something had gone terribly wrong.

Navarro rushed over to the communication panel, her expression tense. "What's going on?" she demanded, her voice sharp with concern.

From the intercom, Tyler's voice emerged clearer this time, his frustration palpable. "We're locked in the cryo-chamber. Someone triggered a lockdown, and Andy can't override it—it needs higher clearance."

Bjorn's sneering tone followed, laced with disdain. "The piece of trash can restart the ship but can't open the fucking door to a different room?"

You rolled your eyes, unable to suppress a snarly comment. "Why would they even think Andy had the credentials for that? It's not like he's been programmed with full admin rights," you muttered, the irony of their reliance yet dismissal of Andy not lost on you.

Rain's voice then pleaded through the intercom, her tone desperate. "Y/N, can you do anything to help?"

For a moment, a wicked thought flashed through your mind: to leave the two men locked inside since, after all, Andy was just a machine and could survive without food or water. But your better instincts prevailed.

Grumbling, you grabbed your satchel filled with small tools and your tablet, capable of jailbreaking many machines and codes.

As you stood, Rain's hopeful voice carried over from the men's frustration, "Y/N can probably get them out."

Navarro, however, sounded skeptical as she joined you in preparing to leave. "I'm not sure. Honestly, if Andy can't open the door, she probably can't either. He is a Weyland-Yutani synth. We're just intruders."

Rain, undeterred, insisted, "Still, she can try..."

With a resigned sigh, you followed Navarro and Rain through the airlock onto the Romulus, leaving Kay behind on the hauler.

As you stepped through the airlock, your mind was a tumult of conflicting emotions, yet determined to resolve the situation, not just for Andy's sake but to prove that when it came to family—biological or constructed—you don't abandon them.

The station was in shambles, with evidence of damage everywhere you looked. Panels hung off the walls, sparks occasionally erupting from exposed wires.

The dim lighting gave the corridor an eerie, flickering ambiance, casting long shadows that twisted and turned as you moved.

Nearby, a large hole in the floor appeared to have been corroded by some acidic substance. The air was heavy, filled with the sharp, metallic scent of ionized air, mingling with the acrid tang of the acid.

But what caught your attention most was the damaged synthetic lying against the wall; its casing cracked open, revealing a maze of wires and circuits.

You, Navarro, and Rain rushed toward the cryo-chamber, the sounds of struggle growing louder with each step. When you arrived, you found Bjorn and Tyler trying to open the cryo-storage, their movements swift and determined.

Hooking up your tablet to the chamber door's control panel, you began to frantically input commands, trying to override the lockdown.

Your fingers flew across the screen, but each attempt was met with a denial.

Navarro, peering over your shoulder before turning to Rain, asking, "Do you have any ideas?"

"Not yet," the girl replied, her voice tinged with frustration.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, Rain turned and sprinted toward the damaged synthetic. She pushed on its port, extracting a small disc—a module that might hold the key to ending the lockdown. She quickly moved to install the extracted module into Andy, hoping it would grant him the necessary clearance.

Navarro, puzzled and anxious, called out, "What are you doing?"

"If the module works, it can transfer its authorization to Andy so he can open the door."

Meanwhile, Bjorn, still pulling at the locked door in frustration, yelled back to Rain, "It's stuck!" He then rushed to the back of the chamber to grab something to bang on the door with, his patience worn thin.

Andy, observing Bjorn's actions, cautioned, "Maybe we shouldn't touch anything, it might—"

Bjorn snapped back as he returned, wielding a piece of metal, "Shut the hell up, it's hot in here."

As you watched through the glass, a sense of unease settled in your stomach despite understanding the necessity of the module swap.

You watched as Rain retrieved the disk from the damaged synthetic before rushing over to the cryo-storage door, passing the small disk to Tyler through the narrow slot in the door. "Here. This is from the synthetics. Try putting it in Andy's module," she instructed urgently, her voice tinged with hope.

Tyler, with hurried movements, pressed down on Andy's port to insert the disk. The moment the disk clicked into place, Andy's expression contorted in discomfort. "I-It hurts me terribly," he articulated, his voice strained as if the insertion of the disk caused him physical pain.

"Just hang on, Andy," Tyler murmured, his brow furrowed in concern before turning towards the door.

Bjorn, anxious to leave the overheating room, paced back and forth. "Now let's just get out," he muttered impatiently. But as he moved, he felt something wet brush across his foot in the water accumulating from the melting ice in the cryochamber. "What was that?" he exclaimed, looking down with a mixture of disgust and alarm.

"Stay straight," Tyler advised ready to leave.

Suddenly, Andy paused, his face and hands beginning to twitch unnervingly. "T-Tyler?" he called out, his voice echoing with a mix of confusion and distress.

Tyler, who had been checking the perimeter for more emerging threats, spun around upon hearing Andy's strained voice. "Andy... Shit. Did I do something wrong?" he asked, panic rising in his voice as he saw Andy frozen in place.

The stark red emergency lights casting an ominous glow over his synthetic face, his expression a mix of pain and malfunction. It mirrored the tension gripping the room—every line of his features etched with the struggle of the conflicting commands ripping through his circuitry.

From behind the safety of the glass, you watched, your heart pounding with worry. "He's just rebooting. It takes a few minutes," you called out, trying to reassure them despite the dread filling your own chest. The image of Andy's strained face haunted you, reflecting the tension and uncertainty of the moment.

Tyler's voice echoed with concern as Bjorn's frustration manifested in a sudden splash of water, kicking up debris and sending ripples through the chamber. "What are you doing? Bjorn! Stop that shit."

"There is something in the water," Bjorn replied, his voice tight with tension.

"What is it?" Tyler demanded, scanning the murky depths.

"No idea, but it's in the water." Just as Bjorn spoke, something small and swift darted through the water, leaping onto Andy and knocking him down with surprising force. "What the hell was that!?" Bjorn yelled, his eyes wide with alarm.

"Andy!" you shouted from behind the glass, panic seizing your voice. "Bjorn, help him!'

Andy, still recovering from his reboot, slowly came back online. His systems stabilized just as Bjorn, cursing under his breath, helped him to his feet. Meanwhile, Tyler fought off the few swift, shadowy things swirling in the water.

"Come on, come on, come on! Hurry, Andy!" you urged as Andy, now regaining his functionality, touched the interface. The doors slid open just in time, allowing the trio to stumble out, escaping the watery trap.

"Come on, Bjorn! Tyler!" Navarro called out, rushing alongside you as all five of you made a desperate run for it.

Just as you all escaped, one of the creatures, however, was quick and managed to escape just as the cryo-chamber door slammed shut behind you, locking dozens of the other creatures behind it.

Your heart raced as you all sprinted towards the safety of the lab.

The sharp, muffled scream that followed turned your blood cold. Whipping your head around, the sight that greeted you halted your breath—a creature, like something out of a nightmare, had latched onto Navarro's face.

Andy stood slightly in front of you as if trying to shield you from the unfolding horror. You peeked over his shoulder, your hands trembling, as Navarro thrashed on the ground. Rain could only stand next to you in horror as everything unfolded.

Tyler and Bjorn were quick to react, their hands desperately trying to pry the creature off, but its grip was like iron.

The creature's tail was tightly wrapped around Navarro's neck, making every attempt to remove it perilous.

Tyler's voice was tense as he shouted instructions, trying to coordinate their efforts without causing further harm to Navarro. "Pull it! Pull it that way!"

"Fuck! I-I'm trying!" Bjorn's curses filled the air, his usual bravado drowned out by urgency and fear.

The creature's resilience was horrifying; it seemed to tighten its grip in response to their attempts.

The sight of Navarro, struggling and suffocating under the creature's hold, was almost too much to bear. Andy's presence was a small comfort, his large frame providing a physical barrier between you and the chaos.

The sight was unbearable—the creature's tail coiled like a vice around Navarro's neck, cutting off her air.

"Keep pulling! We have to get it off her!" Tyler barked, his voice strained with desperation. Bjorn, face set in grim determination, renewed his efforts, his hands slipping against the slick, sinewy body of the creature.

You knew if they didn't act fast, she wouldn't make it.

"Lift her up!" you commanded, stepping forward, your voice cutting through the chaos. "We need to get her to the main lab, now!"

Bjorn and Tyler exchanged a quick, frantic glance before complying. Bjorn, with a grunt of effort, scooped Navarro up, supporting her head and shoulders, while Tyler grabbed her legs.

Together, they moved quickly but carefully, carrying her down the narrow corridor toward the main science lab.

You ran ahead, clearing a path through the debris, heart pounding in your chest, every second stretching into an eternity.

Once inside the lab, they laid Navarro on the floor, her body convulsing slightly under the creature's weight. The lights flickered overhead, casting eerie shadows across the room, as if even the station itself was unsettled by the scene unfolding within its walls.

Tyler and Bjorn immediately resumed their attempts to remove the creature, but with every pull, the tail only seemed to tighten around Navarro's neck, her face growing paler, her breaths more ragged.

You could feel the panic rising in your chest as Navarro's breaths grew shorter and more desperate under the tight grip of the creature.

Rain's voice was frantic, filled with a mixture of fear and desperation. "It's suffocating her! Stop! It's suffocating her!"

You could hear the panic in her voice, mirroring the fear coursing through your own veins. "Stop, Bjorn! Stop, goddammit! It's about to kill her!" you shouted, your voice a desperate plea.

But Andy's voice cut through the din, calm and devoid of emotion, sending a chill down your spine. "I don't think that's what the creature is doing."

Both you and Rain snapped your heads toward him, taken aback by the sudden change in his tone. It was as if something in him had shifted—his voice sounded colder, more detached, almost clinical. "Andy?" Rain asked, a note of confusion and fear in her voice.

Andy didn't look up. His eyes were fixed on Navarro and the creature, observing with an unnerving intensity. "The rhythmic pulse of the creature's abdomen is in time with her breathing," he noted, squatting down to get a closer look. "This suggests it's providing her with oxygen to keep her alive, though the reason remains unknown."

Realizing something was wrong Rain blinked, her fear turning into bewilderment. "What the—Andy, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Andy blinked, tilting his head to the side, his expression blank. "I'm an N-D-255 Weyland-Yutani synth with mining and guard functions. You called me 'Andy.' That is not my name."

You cursed under your breath, frustration boiling over. "That fucking module," you muttered, running a hand through your hair and gripping it in exasperation.

You knew the module would have altered him, but this… this was something else entirely.

Rain moved forward, reaching out to remove the module from Andy's neck, but before she could make contact, his hand shot out, gripping her wrist with surprising force. "Your name is Andy," she insisted, her voice firm, trying to remind him of who he was—or who he used to be.

Andy hummed, seemingly oblivious to her plea. He looked down at his hands and arms, turning them slowly as if seeing them for the first time. "The new module has upgraded both my powers and my AI," he explained with an unsettling calmness. "I am now in the process of repairing my motor system. A much-needed upgrade."

Bjorn, panting heavily from his efforts to remove the creature, shot a glare at Andy. "That's it, I'm roasting this shit," he growled, reaching for his weapon, ready to burn the creature off Navarro.

But before he could act, Andy's voice sliced through the room like a blade, cold and commanding. "No!"

Everyone jumped, startled by the sudden sharpness in his tone. For a moment, the room fell into a tense silence, everyone's eyes on Andy. "The current will cause its tail muscle to break her neck," he stated, his voice devoid of emotion but carrying an unmistakable weight of authority.

Bjorn, his frustration boiling over, snapped back, "What the hell do you want us to do, huh? What?"

Tyler, more composed but equally desperate, asked, "Do you know how we can help her?"

Andy remained silent for a moment, his eyes scanning the creature with a clinical detachment. "My databases are unchanged. I don't know what the creature is or how it can be removed." His gaze shifted to the damaged synthetic lying on the ground nearby. "But there is possibly someone in the room who does."

Following Andy's line of sight, Rain's eyes widened in realization. She turned to Tyler, her voice urgent. "Move that synthetic up onto the table! If we can reactivate it, maybe it can help us understand what we're dealing with."

Tyler nodded, and with Bjorn's help, they quickly lifted the mangled machine onto the lab table. Rain wasted no time.

You watched as she hooked the synthetic onto the motherboard computer behind it, your heart still racing, hoping desperately that this long shot might give them the answers they needed.

The hum of the machines filled the tense silence of the lab, their lights flickering as they whirred back to life. You could feel the tension in the room, thick and suffocating, as the weight of Navarro’s fate pressing down on all of you.

Finally, the synthetic sputtered to life, its head jerking slightly as if waking from a long slumber. His eyes flickered open, blinking slowly, filled with a vacant, eerie emptiness as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

His face and uniform were in a state of disarray, covered in grime and torn in places, revealing parts of his damaged, synthetic frame beneath. His shirt was soaked with a strange liquid—likely a mix of synthetic fluids and other substances—creating a sticky, uneven coating over his torso.

His movements were jerky and uncoordinated, his limbs twitching sporadically as if they struggled to respond to his internal commands. His left arm, twisted and partially mangled, hung at an unnatural angle, further highlighting the extent of his deterioration.

A large portion of his chest was missing, exposing the internal machinery and wiring, now sparking intermittently with blue and white lights.

He seemed to be fighting against his failing systems, his face contorted in an expression that might have been pain, confusion, or both.

"Must… secure… substance Z-01," he muttered, his voice halting and mechanical, filled with a strange urgency. "Highest priority. Must… complete the mission." His eyes were wide, his gaze unfocused as he repeated the words, almost like a mantra, its programming overriding its awareness, his programming seemingly overriding his awareness of his own damaged condition.

As you observed him, it became clear that the synthetic—Officer Rook, according to his nameplate—was barely functional—a ghost of his former self, struggling against both his failing systems and the urgency of his directive.

Andy stepped forward. "It pains me to say, but you have failed your mission."

Rook turned his head sharply, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. "What? No, I…" His voice faltered, the words trailing off into a hollow silence, as if he was trying to process this new information.

You moved closer to Andy, your heart racing, a mix of fear and urgency driving your actions. "How can we help her?"

Officer Rook slowly turned to face you, his gaze steady but distant he looked up from Navarro's twitching form. "You must not help her. You must escape. Hurry away," he said, his tone eerily calm, as if stating an obvious fact.

Bjorn, still holding on to a sliver of hope, shook his head defiantly. "Nah, no. We are not leaving her," he said, his voice hard and resolute.

Rook's expression remained unchanged, his voice mechanical and emotionless. "So show mercy and kill her. Otherwise, you will all die."

Rain turned to Andy, her face a mix of confusion and horror. "What does he mean?"

Andy looked at Rook, his synthetic eyes unblinking. "What does it do to her?"

Rook's head tilted slightly, as if trying to recall something from deep within his memory banks. "The parasitoid implants a Plagiarus praepotens in her. There, it will absorb her DNA and grow out of her," he explained, the words clinical, devoid of empathy.

Andy pressed on, his voice almost a whisper. "What will grow out of her?"

Rook's gaze shifted slightly, his voice now carrying a weight of grim certainty. "Xenomorph XX121. One of our ships came into contact with the specimen here two decades ago. Only one of the USS Nostromo's crew survived and blew the creature out of the airlock. We've been looking for it ever since. The xenomorph was brought on board, presumed dead. But lack of oxygen and food has no real meaning for this perfect organism. But nothing is immortal. Obviously. It razed the station until our surviving soldiers shot it and triggered its swan song."

You glanced around the room, your eyes catching on the large hole in the wall, the metal corroded and eaten away. "Acid blood?" you asked quietly, piecing together the horrors you'd read about in old reports and the devastation around you.

Rook nodded, confirming your fears. "Sulfuric and hydrochloric acid. I sealed the station, but too late."

Bjorn's patience snapped, his face contorted in anger and fear. "We are very happy with your ship! Now get to the fucking point on how to help my damn sister!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the lab, filled with desperation.

Rook turned his gaze back to Bjorn, his expression as cold and mechanical as ever. "There's no saving her," he said bluntly. "Just save yourselves while you still have time."

Tyler's eyes were wide with desperation, refusing to accept the cold truth presented by Rook. "There must be a way," he insisted. His gaze shifted to you and then back to the androids, seeking answers where there seemed to be none.

Bjorn's frustration boiled over, his movements erratic as he turned sharply to face both Rook and Andy. "No! There's gotta be a way! I'm not leaving without my sister!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "You two are fucking androids, figure it out!"

"Calm down, Bjorn," Tyler urged, trying to steady his own nerves even as his hands shook. "But he's right—there's got to be something we can do…"

Your mind raced, scanning the lab for anything that could help. As you paced around, your foot accidentally knocked into a knocked-over canister.

You glanced down and saw the label: cryofuel. The very thing that had been the reason for prolonging the original mission.

A spark of hope ignited in your mind. "What if we use the cryofuel to freeze the root of its tail?" you suggested, the idea spilling out in a rush. "Then it might stop suffocating her."

Rook paused, his head tilting slightly as if considering the idea. "It is a possibility."

Without wasting a second, you grabbed the canister and moved quickly to Navarro. Tyler and Bjorn helped hold her still as you carefully applied a controlled spray of cryofuel at the base of the creature’s tail, aiming to freeze the root without harming Navarro.

The creature shuddered violently, its grip loosening slightly. "Now!" you shouted.

Tyler and Bjorn pulled at the same time, and with a sickening squelch, the facehugger was dislodged, falling to the ground with a thud.

Rain immediately recoiled, her voice a sharp cry of fear. "Get it away!" Tyler was quick to dispose of the creature in the large hole.

Bjorn pulled Navarro into his arms, his breath coming in quick, panicked bursts as he held her close. "It's gone. I have you," he whispered, trying to soothe her as she panted and looked around, disoriented and scared.

Rook, however, remained unshaken, his gaze fixed on Navarro. "I'm not so sure about that."

A ripple of confusion spread through the group, but Andy's expression grew serious, catching onto Rook’s meaning. "What are the odds?"

Rook's reply was matter-of-fact, as though stating the weather. "60/40 against your friend."

Rain's face twisted with confusion and fear. "The odds for what? Andy, what's he's talking about?" she demanded.

Rook's blank gaze shifted towards her, his voice coldly factual. "For the creature to finish its mission, of course."

A cold dread settled over the group. As Rain, Bjorn, Tyler, and you crowded around Navarro, checking on her condition and trying to offer comfort, you noticed Andy speaking quietly with Rook out of the corner of your eye.

Something about their exchange caught your attention—an urgency, a quiet intensity in their otherwise emotionless faces.

You broke away from the group, moving closer to hear their conversation. Just as you approached, you caught Rook’s final words to Andy, his tone unusually commanding. "...You must help them. You must help them."

The statement hung in the air, filling you with a mix of confusion and dread.

As you all headed back to the Corbelan, the events of the past few minutes weighed heavily on everyone, each step echoing with uncertainty and fear.

Andy's normally calm demeanor was gone, replaced by a focused intensity that sent a chill down your spine. His directives, altered by Rook's module, seemed to drive him toward a single, unyielding conclusion.

When the group reached the airlock leading to the hauler, you noticed Andy pause, his eyes fixed on Navarro. His posture stiffened, and his gaze was unnervingly blank, as if processing a difficult decision.

You gently touched his arm to get his attention. "Andy? What's wrong? Do you know what's happening?" you asked softly, your voice laced with concern.

Andy stared at you for a few seconds, his expression unreadable, before turning his gaze back to Navarro. "We can't take her back to the ship," he declared firmly, stepping forward to block the exit to the airlock connecting to the hauler.

Bjorn's reaction is immediate. Fear and frustration boiling over, he grabbed a large stun baton from the nearby equipment rack. "You deranged pig!" he shouted, rage filling his eyes as he prepared to charge at Andy.

You rushed between them, raising your hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, hey, calm down!" you pleaded, your voice steady despite the rising panic. "I'm sure he's got a reason. Let's see what he has to say!"

Bjorn looked at you, his eyes a storm of conflicting emotions—hurt, anger, desperation. His arm dropped slightly, but his voice was still laced with bitterness. "Y/N…" he muttered, but the hurt quickly morphed back into anger. "Fuck off! I'm not keeping my sister here! You can stay behind with your fucking boy toy all you want," he spat, his voice dripping with venom as he turned to help Navarro up.

Together, they shuffled toward the door, but Andy quickly stepped between them and the exit again, his movements deliberate and unyielding. "You must understand that there are certain choices that must be made," he said, his tone calm yet firm. "And I'm afraid you all won't make the right one if I don't step in."

Bjorn's face twisted into a feral grin, his patience gone. "I warned you—" he growled, suddenly swinging the stun baton with brutal force.

The highest voltage coursed through Andy, causing him to convulse violently before being flung several feet away, crashing against the metal wall with a heavy thud.

"No!" you screamed, rushing over to Andy with Rain right behind you. "Andy!" Your heart pounded in your chest as you reached his side, your hands fumbling for the Reboot Key, desperate to bring him back online.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Bjorn pulled Navarro through the airlock and onto the hauler. "Let's get away. Come on, come on. Come on, Tyler," he urged, his voice tight with urgency as he dragged Navarro toward the controls.

Tyler hesitated, his eyes flickering between the leaving Bjorn and Navarro, and Rain, who was still kneeling beside you next to Andy. His face was torn with indecision, his loyalty divided. "We can't leave her," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper, his gaze lingering longingly on Rain.

You could feel the weight of his choice in that moment, the pain of what it would mean to leave Rain behind.

Unfortunately, despite your efforts, Bjorn and Navarro reached the ship first.

You heard the dull thud of the airlock sealing shut, trapping you, Tyler, Rain, and Andy on the station. The cold, metallic echo reverberated through the corridor, a stark reminder of your current predicament.

Andy twitched violently from the voltage, his systems struggling to stabilize. His voice, distorted and shaky, broke the tense silence. "F-Forgive me. I have always been nothing but a burden to you. Today I can finally help you. Don't see me as a child anymore." As he finished speaking, he looked directly into your eyes, a strange mix of determination and sadness in his expression.

Then, just as quickly, his body stiffened, freezing in place as the reboot process took over.

"A-Andy?" you whispered, your voice barely audible over the sounds of the station around you. The fear of losing him gnawed at your insides, but you couldn't afford to panic—not now.

On the other side of the airlock, Bjorn watched the scene unfolding with a deep scowl. His face was set in a mixture of anger and sadness, his mind clearly made up. "Navarro, disconnect the ship!" he barked, his voice echoing in the enclosed space.

The overhead system chimed in, a calm but firm voice announcing, "Disconnection initiated. Please escape the airlock."

You glanced up, seeing the airlock doors sliding shut with a mechanical finality. Your heart pounded in your chest as you helped Andy to his feet, your mind racing for a way out of this.

"What the hell is he doing?" Tyler shouted, his voice tinged with frustration and confusion as he looked towards the sealed airlock.

Rain, her expression a mix of fear and resignation, answered quietly, "He thinks Andy will kill Navarro." Her eyes flickered with uncertainty as she tried to piece together Bjorn's reasoning.

Tyler turned his gaze toward Andy, who was still rebooting, his body rigid and his face expressionless. "What? Does he want it?" Tyler asked, trying to make sense of the chaotic situation.

Rain glanced back at Andy, who now stood upright, his eyes gazing intently at the side of your head as if lost in some internal process before he turned to face the airlock, his expression still unreadable. "I don't know," Rain whispered, her voice heavy with uncertainty.

Something deeper was at play, something all you needed to understand if any of you were going to make it out alive.

A/N: hey guys! i'm back with another update, but before i leave i want to be honest/frank. once again, i'm receiving messages/asks critiquing what i've written so far and though i'm thankful that my writing is garnering enough attetntion to even experince this, i just want to say that it's really kinda offputting that i'm being told that Andy shouldn't be written with the intent of romance. ima keep it short and cute because i could literally make an entire post about this (as a matter of fact i will do just that) but just understand that i will continue to create showcase Andy in the romantic light because he deserves it just as all the other cast does...

Tag List: @dreamsarenicer sadslasher13 ravenswife izzymae288 fairy-cores-world

[picturejasper20]

One thing i want to talk about is how Danny Phantom A Glitch in Time is pretty similar on themes and character arcs to Steven Universe Future.

In general in DP A Glitch in Time there is this whole idea of searching for a new purpose-¨emotional drive¨ as it get called in the story- in a era where Danny managed to save the day and ¨earn his happy ending¨.

You get a lot of panels of Danny just feeling unhappy with his new status quo, not because he has tons of problems, in fact he has more than he could ever dream of. It's that he feels like he isn't needed as a hero anymore since there are other people that could fight for him. He isn't ¨useful¨, or well, in the way he used to be. He feels like people don't need him to be Amity's protector.

This itself shares a lot in common with the arc that Steven goes through in Steven Universe Future. He feels like people don't need him anymore and still tries doing the same thing he raised himself to be: a ¨helper¨, someone who is defined by his role to help others. This causes Steven to feel lost in his own sense of identity and purpose in an Era that is supposed to be ¨his happy ending¨.

You can see this applied in DP A Glitch in Time with Vlad Masters too. From the start of the story he sends off these vibes that he has been aimless since post-Phantom Planet events. When he returned to his home he found that ¨he had nothing to return to¨ as in the sense nobody missed him nor cared he was dead or alive. He also became enemy number 1 considering how he tried holding the world hostage, making him lose most of the power and position he had.

What it is interesting is how Vlad tried going back in time to ¨fix his mistakes¨ by asking Clockwork to give him that chance. From the beginning of the story he admits that he did something wrong, just not what. There is this idea that he isn't interested in being in role of the ¨villain¨ anymore. The worst he does in the story is probably looking forward to keep the origin of ghost powers for himself, aside from accidentally realizing Dan during his fight against Clockwork.

Much like Steven Universe Future, you have these characters struggling to see where they could fit in this new status quo. Their character arcs involve finding a new purpose and learning more about themselves in the process.

Lets talk about Dan Phantom's role in the story. He is the main antagonist from A Glitch in Time. He absorbs Clockwork, master of time, to become more powerful, thus causing terrible time glitches for the rest of the characters. A lot of Dan Phantom's arc in the graphic novel has to do with self-destruction. Him being obsessed with ¨winning¨ and continue fighting even when the fusion with Clockwork is very unstable, is hurting him and destroying the reality at the same time.

Dan's obsession with ¨winning¨ reminds me quite a lot of Jasper from Steven Universe as well as Steven's arc in SU Future. There is a lot of repeating what the same thing over and over even when it isn't working anymore. The character themselves struggle to be something beyond the the role them or others pushed them into and they don't know what to be outside of that.

In fact, there are some panels Dan reminded me a lot of Jasper, such as when he is getting time glitched/corrupted.

Another main theme in Danny Phantom A Glitch in Time is about the characters getting second chances- the characters in case being Vlad Masters and Dan Phantom. Both characters do the terrible things they do due to their circumstances. They have certain pretty bad things that happened to them that lead them to become evil and hurt people. In addition to this, there tons of mentions of how ghosts aren't evil and they have reasons to do what they do. During the fight against Dan, Danny tries persuading him into stepping down and stopping the fight, pointing out that the timeline is getting destroyed. At one point he asks to Dan ¨why are you so angry?¨.

I want to bring up that, yes, this theme is a continuation from the main theme of The Ultimate Enemy episode from the series. But, at the same time, when reading the graphic novel i couldn't help but think about how Steven Universe has these similar ideas of looking into what motivates an antagonist and them being given a second chance to do things right. What really made me think about this more is seeing Dan Phantom, the main antagonist from the novel getting a second chance. Because in any other show, a character like Dan would probably be destroyed but this is something that wouldn't happen in Steven Universe, since it isn't so much about if someone ¨deserves¨ it or not as it is if they choose to change.

I'm not saying that Danny Phantom A Glitch in Time ¨ripped off¨ things from Steven Universe. That would be an absurd conclusion to come to. What i'm discussing here is that it is possible that the graphic novel was influenced by Steven Universe, mainly Steven Universe Future to some extent, in terms of themes and character arcs.

[royboyfanpage]

@devine-fem 's comment on my last original post, I can't believe I've never mentioned how much I love Roy Harper before, I should amend that immediately /j

I love like... everything about him. Roy Harper in the golden/silver ages? Absolute baby, I adore him. He had SO much trust in Ollie, and he was a sweetheart! He was the secretary of the Green Arrow fan club! He had a stamp collection! And even as a small child he was SO unhealthy, like my go to panel is this

Which is literally baby Roy willing to sacrifice his life to save Ollie, baby boy was going into that with FULL belief that he was going to die and he did it anyway and there's SO much I could say about that. I love Ollie, I've defended him in so many situations, but holy shit he raised a child to have issues. But little Speedy Roy was the sweetest thing!!! He wanted Ollie to pick him up ice cream!! He was just a little guy, a little fella!!

And then Snowbirds came along and obviously changed the way Roy was written, it was a major turning point for his character because it was really the comic that initially fleshed him out- before then yes obviously he did have his own distinct personality that differentiated him from the other Titans but at the same time that was VERY clearly a point in which he went from being a traditional child sidekick to being Roy. It gave him his own morals, his own struggles, and his own determination. Remember, Roy made the choice himself to get clean, he wasn't forced into it. Obviously Snowbirds has its problems, it was a PSA written in 1971, but also it was sosososososo foundational in developing who Roy is as a character.

There weren't too many comics featuring Roy between Snowbirds and Lian's birth, but they are also so interesting. I'm pretty sure it's Green Lantern (1960) #100 but also I'm rambling and I'm too drunk to fact check so I'll reblog tomorrow if I'm wrong but there's an issue where Roy goes back to Star City and you can SEE his desperation to be a hero, you can see his determination, and it's so beautifully written and in the epilogue Ollie tries to have a talk with him, tries to make amends after what happened and you'd EXPECT that Roy would take that, that it'd be water under the bridge, but Roy has his own agency and he fucking leaves!!! Because he's not ready to make up with Ollie and he has his own agency!!!

And then the second big turning point in Roy's career is when Lian is introduced, and you can SEE how much of an impact she has on him as a character! At the end of The Cheshire Contract Roy says he thinks Lian is gonna change him and he was right! She does! He goes to Ireland and meets Moira and Buttons (I think those are their names? Again, not fact checking this post) and looks after them and that's the start of his development as the "dad Titan", and he loves Lian so much!!

This panel from Rocks and Hard Places makes me SO emotional because he loves her!!! She's the most important person in his life!!! Plus his relationship with Jade is SO compelling to me, because he loves her and he'll always love her and she loves him too (even if a lot of writers have done their best to make that not the case- I love Jaderoy and I will always love Jaderoy)

And he's also generally such a good guy, I don't have the panel screenshotted and I can't remember the issue but there's that New Titans issue where Kory kills someone and she tries to justify it to Roy and he's just like "you don't need to explain it to me" and I wish his friendship was explored with her more because they had SO much potential as friends.

And then and he's SUCH a good mentor figure, like in New Titans #116 which is my go to issue for anything mentor Roy related because it's SO GOOD! He's constantly trying to wind the kids back to make sure they're okay, telling Terra II to not get too cocky, making sure Grant's okay (and the "yeah no wonder I'm in charge" panel when Grant suggests blowing Gar up is my favourite) and expressing genuine concern when Bart attacks Kyle recklessly and I WISH his relationship with Bart and Terra II had more susbstance because it's so good

Then there's the Arsenal Special which is really the comic which explains WHY he's called Arsenal!!! I've made so many posts about this comic and I love it so fucking much because he fucking takes all those guys out with only shit he can find then takes all their weapons and loads them onto himself while giving a badass monologue which, from memory, goes something like "he thinks I was was sent here to kill his daughters. Well guess what, I have a daughter too. So it all comes down to his daughters or mine. Who gets to think their daddy's a hero, or some thing that crawled out of the dirt. Get it through your head, 'cus it ain't gonna be mine". I love him. I love him so much.

Then there's Teen Titans (1996) #12-15 which I recently made a post about but it's a comic I'm SO greatful to have physical copies of because it's so fucking good for Roy stuff. There's so much on how others percieve him- I love the fab five, but they (well, the boys, Donna wasn't in it because she was mourning Robbie's death) have such a derogatory view of Roy. Like Dick's "he's good but not good enough" and Wally's view of him as not good enough to lead (which is brought up again in Titans 1999 secret files), and the constant references to Roy's addiction in that comic. Then he gets his Green Arrow inspired suit (very Red Arrow of you, late 90s) which he brings on to the Arsenal mini, and his whole fascination with the suit because his biggest dream is being good enough for Ollie, he IS way more than good enough for Ollie which was clear even from the end of Snowbirds but my boy has issues, and then Joto dies because of the explosive arrow he fires which IMO should have fucked him up more than it did but it also absolutely did fuck him up at least in that comic and in the Arsenal mini and there's probably more I could link that too but again, I'm drunk.

And then there's the Arsenal mini. Holy fuck I love the Arsenal Mini. it's so fucking good for like, all his familial relations in the Arrowfam in the late 90s. The flashbacks to Dinah and Roy during Snowbirds and Dinah's "the bravest person I ever met was the one who was flawed" speech, that panel of him resting his head on Dinah's shoulder, the fact that that entire story was fueled by his love of Lian, his talk with Connor about Ollie and how Roy never wanted to be Green Arrow he just wanted Ollie to have asked? It's so fucking beautiful and I love it. And the fact that he WAS gonna team with Vandal to save Lian, he's a father first and a hero second, but he thought about it and decided that there had to be a way to be both and he was right!!! He's so insanely good and I love him, he has a reputation of being a bad boy but he is SUCH a hero it's beautiful.

Then comes Titans '99 which I really can't do justice just talking about. He's so incredible in it it's insane. Like his father/son dynamic with Grant is so beautiful to read, he loves that boy!!! He loves that boy like he's his own flesh and blood and I will take no criticism!!! And his relationship with Donna is so painful to read in that comic because he's such a romantic and even though their relationship was gonna fail from the beginning because of the nature of it and because of Donna's reasons for it he still kept on it because he loved her!! He loves her so so much that he's willing to have his own heart broken for her and good god my boy is unwell. Plus it's the peak for Roygarth, their relationship in it is so great and their talk in issue 16 is amazing and I love it, plus Roy's genuine heartbreak at the possibility of Garth being dead just gets me. And while it's overshadowed by Outsiders, there is a lot of Dickroy potential in Titans 1999, Dick being so loving towards Lian with the "yumyumyumyum" panel in issue 1 and him generally just being one of the closest people in Roy's life, plus Roy being one of the only people who are willing to actually call Dick out on his BS and that being the thing that breaks that out of purgatory? Chefs kiss

And who would I be without mentioning Green Arrow 2001. I'm tired now so I'm not gonna talk about Archers Quest but I can't not talk about Boys Night Out because!!! He's so good in it!!! His speech to Connor that sounds SO much like a coming out acceptance speech, taking Connor to a bookshop despite his own boredom because he wants Connor to have a good time, the brotherly teasing while Connor's driving, him calling Connor out and supporting sex workers, him protecting Connor... it's the perfect issue. Anyone who hasn't, please read Green Arrow (2001) #32, it's so fucking good I promise.

And finally (and I mean finally as in I cba to talk about Red Arrow because I'm getting sleepy), Outsiders which is. So fucking good. Oh my god. Like him forming a team just to help support Dick through Donna's death, the fact that once again he's underestimated but this time Dick stands up for him, him getting shot and getting PTSD because of it (Oursiders 2003 #11 love of my life), everything that happens in this run is SO FUCKING GOOD AND I LOVE ROY HARPER!!! And for once he actually stands up for himself when he's called a junkie!!! He punches Dick in the face!!! As he fucking should king!!! And issue 45 (I think?) Is the best because it's. So good for him and Lian. His protectiveness over her, his love for her, and her being able to see when he's not okay. Beautiful outstanding and incredible.

In conclusion I LOVE Roy Harper because he's the best dad in the world, he loves everyone so much and will never stop, and he's just. Such a good person. I love him. I love him a lot.

[chimkin-samich]

HI, HAVEN'T ASKED ANYTHING IN AWHILE BUUUUTTTT

I'm making an OC comic, and I've been trying to get tips on posting, writing, formatting for the pages so on and so forth because I'm new to making comics

And since you guys actually inspired me alot, I wanted to ask a few questions for so I can have an idea of what I need to do

1. When it comes to posting each part of a comic, how many pages to you prefer to post unless you don't really care? 2. When drawing backgrounds, should I make it look more like a sketch so readers pay more attention to the characters and dialogue? 3. Over all, do you have any tips, I'm struggling and went through, like, 5 different demos of part one of chapter one😭

Ahhhh hello we’ll do our best to give you some advice ✨

1.when it comes to posting it really depends how long the comic is, if it’s only say 10 pages we split it into 3 parts of 3-4 pages if it’s way longer like Luna was with around 70 we post about 8-10 panels for 7-9 parts, with smaller comics we do space out the time a bit more, Blood and Oil we posted it once a week since it was so short and Luna we posted it almost everyday or every other day since it was really long, that’s our preference for posting but you do what works best with you!

2. For backgrounds just keep it simple! Don’t worry to much about spending so much time since ppl are focusing on characters more, you can either just leave a quick sketch or make a slightly details background and slightly blur it so it’s not so eye catching, especially if your planning a long comic, backgrounds can take up a lot of your time if you focus to much on them

3. For some advice trying and write your dialogue and descriptions before drawing! That way you have a path to follow, feral likes to write dialogue and some basic descriptions of feelings, actions and thoughts nothing super descriptive but just enough to remember and be aware of what she wants to make

If you want to be sure your dialogue flows smoothly and naturally, repeat it to urself out loud! See how it sounds when someone is actually saying it with the emotion you had in mind, or if u have someone to help, play the parts together out loud, sometimes me and feral do that to make sure it sounds write to us lol

I hope this helps! Fee free to leave questions if you have any in this post and I’ll do my best to respond to them!

[ultraericthered]

I posted before about how more extreme and cartoonishly deranged artwork like what Takahashi got around to giving him in the Battle City Finals would've aesthetically improved Yami Marik's original depiction in the manga of Yu-Gi-Oh!. But then I got to thinking: was there anything Takahashi could've done to improve it textually too?

I don't think any changes would need to carry over to anime!Yami Marik. Studio Gallop could do whatever they wanted with him: if they'd rather he be an evil shadow entity born of the Ishtar family's generational trauma and suffering and conjured up into existence by Marik's psyche in his childhood after his back got branded, he could be. He's perfect like that. But for Takahashi's version of the story, I always found that explanation to be a little too out there and full of holes (Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura are ancient souls inhabiting their respective Millennium Items, so how does Marik's split personality happen? Why don't all Millennium Item holders have dark alter egos in this case, especially Pegasus who literally replaced one of his own eyes with the Millennium Eye?), so he needed to rework the idea.

The editted panel up there reflects what I'd have done: Yami Marik's not talking about his other half and his trauma as though they're separate from him, as for all intents and purposes, he's Marik Isthar as well. I think that rather than be a split personality that Marik gained through his childhood trauma, Yami Marik should've been the original personality of Marik. That Marik as a child endured so much abuse and trauma that the psychological and emotional damage kept building up inside him until his father's punishment of Odion right in front of him just made him finally crack. He attacked his father not just to save Odion, but to then take everything out on him, stabbing him and flaying him alive and enjoying every second of the thrill it'd give him. But the weight of what he'd done would then hit so hard that it'd make him mentally black out and reconstruct an innocent, "sane" personality so as to avoid dealing with the consequences of that act, and in this state of mind, blaming the Pharaoh for it all becomes much easier for Marik. So Odion would then be trying to keep the darker nature of Marik 1 repressed, but that darker nature would always be beneath the surface subtly influencing Marik 2. Much like the character of Shinobu Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, Marik's DID is a defense mechanism to protect his daily mental state and self image, but his original personality is the one that went mad and committed murder, and he ultimately cannot erase that fact.

So then when Marik is split into two characters in the Battle City arc's back half, the struggle between the two would be one where they both share the exact same memories and carry with them the exact same trauma, but one personality responds to that past trauma by embracing the mental instability it created in him and using it as an excuse to lash out at the entire world for funsies and gratification while taking no responsibility for his actions while the other one comes around to taking accountability for everything and accepting that while he'll always carry the trauma, it's better to manage it with loved ones who care for him, let go of the hatred, and focus on who you want to be and the life you want to live in the future rather than keeping yourself stuck on the past. 'Cause that's basically what all the finalists share in common with their character arcs: burying their pasts and looking to the future (though in Atem's case, his future is intrinsically linked to his ancient past). So when Marik 2 forfeits the final duel and rejects Marik 1, it'd be Marik saying "This is the person I want to be now. I don't want to be you anymore! I rennounce you and everything you wanted to do with your life!", leading to Marik's old insane persona vanishing into the shadows, ceasing to exist. Yami Marik being a wholly natural personality who's supernaturally enhanced rather than a supernatural entity gives Marik's personal triumph that much more weight and make it even more rewarding.

Had Takashi gone that direction, Marik would've really been the Matt Engarde of the series narrative - not as strong as the main villains to directly precede him and directly followed him, but he'd still work. As it is, he does still work....just not as much when it's his alter ego.

[snugglesquiggle]

hi again! I have another question😭 do you have any tips on writing pre-existing characters? (while still adding more to the table of course.) How do you keep it in character? like how you write J or Uzi for example.

unfortunately, this is an area where my expertise is more intuitive than theoretical.

before i'd ever written a word of Hostile Takeover, i had watched murder drones a few times and read many fanfics (in addition to being moderately versed in character writing already), so i already had a decent knack for holding a character's idea-shape in my head and rotating it into new configurations.

but let me try my best.

there are two different things you need to grapple with when writing an established character. it's simple enough: you need to understand them both internally and externally. but let me explain

external understanding is easiest to recognize and for me, easiest to pull off. it's the character voice, style, and vibe. for J, it's the buzzwords and condescension, for Uzi it's the sardonic teenage lilt and the insecure grandiosity.

for this, i recommend getting the episode transcripts and reading them. copy/paste all of the lines for the character you're studying into a personal notes document, and pay attention to how their lines are constructed. what words do they use most often? how do they structure their sentences?

there are some broad spectra you can clock dialogue on right away. what sort of vocabulary do they use? is it simple or complex, formal or slang, gamer or sailor? do they speak concisely, or at rambling length? confidently or insecurely, politely or rudely, passionately or callously, convincingly or deceptively, literally or flowerily?

these are generic buckets, but even if you treat them as dichotomies, ten yes/no binaries is already enough to write a thousand subtly different characters. and i already know you can think of specific vibes i didn't list out here, because there's so many to choose from

sometimes, when i'm writing J, i feel my command of her voice slipping, and i just write her as an archetypal Articulate Dominant Lady. but to a first approximation, that is J. she's confident and she comports herself with sophistication. not every panel of a comic will or can have a character fully rendered, and not every frame of animation has them completely on-model

another thing to note here is that just how a character sounds depends on who they're talking to; J won't address Tessa the same way she addresses N, nor V the same way she addresses Uzi. so the possibilities i listed off aren't even true spectra, because a character falls differently on them in different scenes, in different moods

it's something you should consider practicing, the way musicians practice scales or artists do gesture drawing. can you write someone who sounds angry? how do you write an expert vs someone ignorant? how do you write someone talking to someone they deeply respect?

if you can get a handle on the general principles of portraying characters, it's a skill that'll generalize pretty broadly.

but don't just practice this. you'll struggle with certain emotions, certain mindsets — everyone does. what you want to do is be on the look out when you're reading and watching stuff — try to catch a writer pulling off what you struggle with, and think about how they did it

if there's a fic that captures the characters about as well as canon, don't be afraid to make a note of it, quote it somewhere where you can study it (but be sure to keep it labeled and sourced; don't plagiarize. it's for reference, not tracing). you have my permission to dissect my fics if you think it'll help you

but enough about general character writing advice. how do you practice writing specific characters? here's an exercise. take some lines of dialogue from somewhere, the more the better, and think. how could you rewrite it so that it sounds as if the character you're studying said it? what words would you have to swap around, what sounds all wrong and needs a rephrase — would they even say it all, and if not why?

all the better if you do this with multiple characters at once: then you can see side by side how their voices differ and how to distinguish them. (as well as what they have in common — sometimes it's surprising)

but speaking of distinguishing them, a great exercise is to try writing a scene that's just dialogue. not even with he said, she said tags, just the quotes. how can you make it clear who's speaking from their cadence alone? (hard mode: do this with more than two characters)

i've been pretty laser focused on dialogue so far (i suppose it might be why my dialogue is what everyone compliments), but it's far from the only thing that constitutes an external understanding of a character

body language and small scale action are key components of a character. J glares and puts her hands on her hips, Uzi balls her fists at her side, N salutes. in a sense, "body language" generalizes to the style of how they approach actions. V famously takes every excuse to crawl on the ceiling; is it really Uzi if she isn't going for style points in combat?

this depends on the medium, somewhat; the techniques for portraying character in prose are different from those of a visual medium.

people (myself included) always say the mark of good dialogue is that you can tell who's speaking without needed it attributed. rarer, in my experience, for someone to assert that you should be able to tell who's acting without a name or face. but shouldn't you?

and more importantly, what does it take to make actions characteristic? understand this, and you understand how to present characters

still, an external understanding of character is only enough to carry you through a scene or two at best. you can't effectively tell a good story if this is all you have. what we've developed so far is less a character than an aesthetic tendency.

what an external understanding gets you is a way to ornament and present words and acts so that they evoke a certain character. what it doesnt get you is the worldview and motivation that generates those words and acts

to truly write a character, you need to know what they value — no, you need to know what they're afraid of.

every character is a story. now, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. (or as i spelled it out in my last answer to an ask of yours, presentation, transition, and conclusion). so, my assertion there is a little bit misframed, because characters aren't really like this.

rather, every character is an incomplete story. beginning, middle, and to be continued. they have a backstory, their current entanglement in the plot, and the future directions they could go.

in my previous answer to you, i suggested stories should start in a state of falsehood. an example was that story of Uzi killing N, where she's thrilled at first, only to later realize she's feels kind of guilty. and i think this lens is the perfect one for understanding character arcs, and characters in general

the inciting incident to a character's life story is a problem that demands some resolution or cope to deal with, and a character is defined by how they deal with that problem. even (especially) after they're no longer dealing with the problem, those coping mechanisms remain

let me be more concrete. take Uzi for example. why is she Like That? her mom was killed by murder drones, and her dad neglects her. so she acts out in class for attention, so she comes up with a brazen scheme to win her dad's respect, so she's brash and insecure. because she's isolated, she'll never get anyone's recognition unless she fights for it

or consider Khan. he watched everything his people built be torn down, and the only way for things he cares about to survive are if he builds something protects them. why wouldn't he be obsessed with doors?

Doll's another clear case. she watched her parents be killed, so she must grasp for purpose and power by plotting revenge. but i think the important part of the trauma here isn't the injustice of it, or even the loss, but specifically the loss of control. V violently reshaped her life, nearly had the cheerleader at her mercy — and thus, the revenge plot reasserts her control.

this distinction matters, because i think when she's killing the prom court, she isn't thinking it's an unfortunate means to an end, she's relishing that for that moment, she's the one in control, and killing V represents finally returning to the way things were and are supposed to be. not morally, but a order with Doll securely, comfortably, at the top.

you can trace an interesting throughline, and imagine that before V happened, Doll enjoyed a position at the top of the pecking order, unchallengeable with Uzi and the other losers beneath her.

throughlines are why i find this reading so compelling: because how else do we explain what happens after prom, where Doll quietly ditches the priority of taking revenge on V in favor of the solver plotline?

one analysis is to parse it as, structurally, distinct. the story of Doll the Avenger has reached its conclusion; and since every character contains multitudes, you can tell a different story with the same body. Doll the Afflicted, thus, would be one with its own separate beginning, middle, and tragic end.

but isn't it more compelling to notice that one concern echoes in both stories? they're both about control. before Doll fully understood her plight, she viewed V as the thing that had torn her life out of her own control — but after taking a bullet to head, after searching for a purpose in the wastes of Copper-9, after meeting "Tessa", she comes to understand (almost) the truth: the Solver is what's threatening to take total control, and thus is her true enemy and goal. her demanding a patch to exorcise the possession is then simply a maturation of the same thing she was attempting when she subjected V to rebar-cruxifiction.

the key to this model of understanding characters is knowing that every character has a theory, a logic that defines how they view the world.

a character believes. i have a problem, that problem is this, and i have to do something, if I do that, then everything will be fine.

remember what i said about falsehoods? you can tell a lot of great stories by having the character be wrong somewhere in that core logic. maybe they're wrong about what their problem really is, wrong that their approach to solving it is the best or only solution, wrong that their approach would even work.

there's more to be said about how this theory of character informs how you should write character arcs, but i realize this is getting a bit abstract and removed from the problem of how to characterize them.

but take that model of doll, for instance. if we're right that her overriding theory of life is that being in control is the most important thing, how does that inform how she talks to other characters? one obvious consequence is she probably wouldn't care about them except insofar as she could use them.

no matter how good your formulation of a character in these terms is, you can't reduce everything to it. Doll is a cheerleader, she likes fighting with kitchen knives, she's russian. you can tie a lot of character details back to their fundamental traumas and beliefs, but there's a line to walk between insightful and boiling everything down to low effort archetype-matching

still, knowing what logic a character believes in deepest of all is huge. another way to put this is — you know how they say every character thinks they're the protagonist of their own story? a corollary of that is believing you have a life story means believing you're in a certain kind of story. it's driving a certain conclusion by certain tropes.

if you want to know what a character would do in a certain situation, look at it through their story-lens, and ask what the obvious next chapter would be. if Doll thinks she's in a story of regaining control, she tried to do whatever would give her a sense of security and superiority.

this, i think, finally brings us to the real thing i want to offer. studying a character's speech tics and mannerism can help you on the line by line level, and figuring out a character's inner philosophy can illuminate their arc and core motivation. but despite being important, i don't think either is the most important thing, structurally.

what lies between the two extremes? what marries the gap of abstraction? how do you decide the broad strokes of what a character does in a scene, in a chapter, in an arc?

the best way to think about characters, i think, is in terms of verbs

you can't understand uzi purely through the lens of seeking recognition, but you can broadly group the things she does and the ways she acts into behavior patterns.

uzi rebels against authority. uzi hacks together and into technology. uzi blushes and stammers when boys are nice to her. she broods angstily and quips sarcastically and she theorizes conspiratorially. she gets scared and needs someone on her side. she gets manic and ready to kick everyone's ass.

that's not everything, but that's a pretty expansive palette to work with, isn't it?

every one of these tendencies is contextual. to rebel, uzi needs to be confronted with authority. she can't be scared if there's nothing to be scared of. key to writing a character, then, is to look at what's going through their mind, and figure out which of their preset scripts they'll try to fall back on.

this is a place where limitations breed creativity — so it can be better if your list of verbs isn't all-encompassing, at least if you know how to get creative in how you interpret them. for instance, imagine if Uzi encountered a person that she thinks is best talked to like a hacker trying to crack a system (imagine her talking to J like this :3)

but i've been yapping for a while, and if i don't wrap this up soon my evening walk is about to become a night walk.

in summary, to understand a character:

study their dialogue and actions and try to imitate it. practice different moods, different scenarios, and keep an eye out when you're enjoying other stories for stuff you can mine and repurpose for portraying characters

once you've taken a good look at their external components, try to group them into a broad but specific verbs. think about what situations prompt what behaviors, and see if you can't collapse different behaviors into expressions of the same impulse

once you have a effective summary of a character, think deeply about what trauma or dramatic incident prompted this behavior. what must they believe about the world for their behavior to not only make sense, but seem like the only sensible way forward?

if you manage to pull all that off... well, i can't tell you if you really understand how to write that character — but you'll be doing as well as i am, at any rate

P.S.: you'll note i didn't really talk about J in this essay. consider it an exercise for the reader. if what i said made sense, if the concepts are understood, you should be able to break her down, too.

in a way, doing this for her is both easier and harder than all the others. be careful out there — my friend tried to understand J and wound up with over twenty thousand words of character study. this J shit is serious. but it was also some of the best fiction i've read, so maybe it's worth it :3

[olasketches]

i came across your "megumi has the narrative traits of a protagonist story-wise" post recently and smth u said about him needing to let go of tsumiki confused me. why does he need to? i dont think she was ever an obstacle for him at all (except rn but like. Sukuna literally planned it that way so i dont think it really counts) so i was wondering if u could elaborate on that part if u can; esp what it means 4 his character

oh but I don't think megumi needs to let go of tsumiki, quite the opposite tbh. what I said in the post you mentioned...

"the fandom often thinks of tsumiki as an obstacle in megumi's growth, which well... they're not really wrong but many stans forget that it's mostly thanks to tsumiki, megumi is the person he is today."

megumi's relationship with tsumiki is quite complicated considering we only see it through megumi's flashbacks. I think megumi's problem was that he idealised tsumiki. in his mind she was "the good one" she was the one who deserved to live and have a good life. megumi struggles with low self esteem and he doesn't really see himself as a good person, which is probably why the fandom (or from what I've seen in) thinks her death is a good thing for his development (and in a sense I agree) because he can now let go of her and the idolised version of her he had in his head (and that's the part I don't really agree with anymore).

going back to my previous post, I think it's mostly thanks to tsumiki, megumi is the person he is today. megumi doesn't think of himself as a good person, like tsumiki and yuuji (god Im repeating myself lol), but the thing all the good parts of him, all the things that make megumi so megumi and all his core beliefs are the things his sister taught him.

I often see other stans saying how megumi needs to let tsumiki go or at least the idolised version of her and be more selfish, but I personally think (and I might be totally wrong about this) that megumi needs to accept her (or part of her that lives with him) in order to accept himself.

megumi is a character who is often defined by his shadows. his curse technique is basically a "shadow". he has locked up his emotion in his shadow (or in other words repressed them). everything about his character links one way or another to his shadow, even his sister took a form of his shadow later in the manga...

but I find it interesting how when he says "I don't want to see a good person, no matter how dangerous, die." we can see a panel of tsumiki surrounded by sunflowers and sunflowers often symbolise happiness and good fortune. they also often represent hope as the very nature of sunflowers is that they always seek light.

despite the shadows that has been following megumi's whole life, I believe that at the core, he is someone who also wants to seek light. the problem is that megumi doesn't really allow himself to do that due to his trauma. he can't truly accept tsumiki because he doesn't accept that part of himself. in order to accept that part of himself, he needs to accept that he is just as capable of goodness as tsumiki and yuuji, that he is more than his trauma and shadows. that it's okay for to seek light too.

[deltastra]

My Thoughts on Tower of God Season 2 Episode 6

Finally, FUG is here!! And I believe this is the episode where we meet a certain somebody? :3

WEBTOON SPOILERS WAS TEASED BUT NOT OUTRIGHT STATED

Rating: 7/10

Summary: Music and tension was on point! However, Jinsung's face looked a bit wonky?? Maybe that's just me. I think the stiff movements while they talk is actually making the scenes feel more awkward. Either way, I really liked the pacing for this episode and I hope they COOK for the next!

You know as crazy as Yihwa was for flat out insulting Viole in front of FUG (and insulting FUG to their faces), I feel like people often miss the fact that she was angry for the whole team. She genuinely thought Viole betrayed them. While of course, her assumptions come from the fact that she was always suspicious of him to begin with, I still feel like she was just looking out for the team.

And now we are hearing Viole speak more (with emotion at least)!!! I love this older Bam voice!

Haha I love how Miseng always breaks the ice by being herself! Despite her "crybaby" personality, she genuinely helps the team ease up. The way Jinseng gave her more apples makes me ;-;.

Yea...maybe I'm just looking too deep into it? I don't know, but Jinsung's face looks a bit off??? He looks a bit too young here.

THIS is why I love Team Sweet and Sour. Like Arkraptor said, they're all defective in their own way. They cover eachother's weaknesses and provide comfort when needed. They aren't from rich or well-off families and even if one of them is, she still struggles a lot. It's just the way they're all so casual with eachother that makes me love this team so much! Found family <3.

This reveal is so well done to me. It's just told in a casual conversation. "Hey, you're very lucky. That guy who was overly friendly with you wanted to kill you all at first!". It shows how, yes, not all FUG members are insane killers. However, they cannot be trusted so easily either.

I genuinely did not like the change season 1 did at the end where Bam stands up on his own. Because it gave the impression to anime-onlies that Bam WILLINGLY joined FUG. Now this scene feels awkward. Because all of a sudden he cannot decide? This is just a nitpick and I'm sure not many people will care. But I feel like it shows how you have to be careful what you choose to change in an adaptation because it may break the immersion later down the road.

Hmm they didn't mention the memorial rings that were used to track down Bam's friends? Well it wasn't mentioned in the first season so it makes sense. I appreciate that they're still following the webtoon this time even if they have to correct some parts in order to make it flow better with season 1's changes.

Hehe Hwaryun munching while Wangnan furious. I do wish they at least showed his face properly or make him stand up in order to show his anger over Viole's situation. Sitting stiff while yelling all that feels awkward at most.

Aww I wish they showed that panel with the two of them and that glowing tower (I forgot its name whoopsie) between them! It was one of my favourite scenes :(

BAHAHAHAH IM SO SORRY BUT THAT ZOOM IN ON KARAKA WAS GENUINELY SO FUNNY AND GOOFY LOOKING. I hope season 2 part 2 has improved camera movements/zoom-ins because these look too strange. It's like the animation cannot keep up with the music.

AWWWWW VIOLE SMILING <3

Awww I wish they showed Miseng on Viole's shoulders like in the webtoon </3.

I love everything about this. Hisoka's VA voicing Urek is so good!! I love the tone of his voice which gives off a threatening vibe.

I always liked this introduction of Urek. He looks and sounds threatening, but the moment he found out that they are Regulars and not Rankers, he was willing to let them go. He isn't a "good guy" in this, but he can definitely be reasoned with. I always loved Tower of God antagonists because of how multi-layered they can be.

And this is the best reason to why Viole is stubborn/ruthless in these tests. It's not cause he's "edgy" now. He literally cannot afford to fail a single test. It's a great motive that can keep the story constantly progressing in my opinion.

YES LETS GO MY SECOND FAVOURITE VIOLE QUOTE!!! AND MAN THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD I FELT SO HYPED UP.

AND WHEN THE BEAT OF THE OST "Guardian" BY KEVIN PENKIN DROPS...GOD THIS IS SO GOOD. THE ELECTRIFYING MUSIC IS PERFECT FOR THE UREK REVEAL! I will admit, I always pictured "Bubble in the Wine Glass" for Urek's reveal but this is better!

Yea I really wished they showed us this shot, at least its in the ED!

Okay so this episode was slightly better but man, the stiffness during talking scenes was pretty obvious here... I really hope they try a bit harder for next cour. But that Urek reveal was so hype!!! I cannot wait! I hope it's episode 1 animation again!!! They have a lot of expectations given the Great Journey OP which had the fight animated for the first time. Hope for the best! P.S. I know my opinions have been very...wishy-washy. So I want to make my stance clear. I am enjoying the anime. But I also acknowledge that it's not a great adaptation. There are very obvious flaws.

[ravensvirginity]

The Issue with Beast World #5

MAJOR spoilers below the cut, just in case you wanted to go in blind

This, in my opinion is?? So lazy??

Trust me, I have plenty of issues with how they're framing Raven's lack of vengeance on doing what Gar would do, seeing as Raven's whole thing is being kind and pacifistic because she doesn't want to give into her demon side. AND of course, GAR is the character with an extensive history of getting insane and violent when he wants revenge. But I've talked a lot about how bad Raven's characterization is in this comic, and I want to talk about this moment specifically.

This, in my opinion, is representative of not only a lot of what's wrong with Raven's current writing, but of problems a lot of comics are having as a whole right now. The point of Raven's demon side has always been more of a concept; the idea of fighting against your personal demons so you don't become what you hate. Of course, it's always been somewhat literal, as Raven does literally fight against Trigon trying to control her, but never "Raven has an evil clone that's a completely separate person from her" until less than 5 years ago, and I'd say this is the most egregious example yet.

This isn't an issue with just Raven, but comics as a whole: the pretty simple concept of a character struggling with a force wearing them down mentally and trying to goad them into things they would normally never do is too complex for this shallow story. Raven needs to LITERALLY fight her evil self, to the point her evil self is a completely separate entity that can be fought physically, because there's that little nuance to the story.

This comic is only concerned with cheap emotional moments and not so epic epic action scenes. I'm sure that in the next issue, Raven and evil demon clone Raven will have an entirely physical fight with each other. Superhero comics are already a medium chock full of physically fighting villains, there's no need for this aspect of Raven's character to become a literal fight.

This is such a bad story and character choice, imo. It's so much more interesting and meaningful to have Raven fight Trigon and her demon side as a mental battle. It shows how resilient Raven is as a person, how much she believes in her pacifistic ideals and her desire to be a good person, and it's way more dramatic to see her finally give in. Raven, our friend and teammate Raven, being evil and fighting the Titans packs WAY more of a punch than Raven's evil shadow self who just showed up out of nowhere. This demon Raven could be Raven's sister and it would change nothing about the story. There's no aspect of fighting one's inner demons if the demon isn't inner and just another villain that can be fought physically.

Lastly, that demon Raven design is terrible, beyond the general terribleness of Raven's look right now. Where are the extra eyes? Red skin? Horns? Anything remotely nonhuman and body horrory? It's literally just a carbon copy of Raven with a different outfit, and I can't totally tell from just the one panel but I think she's got black eyes?? That's it??? The art is good technically but this is such a bad choice. Make her actually look like an evil demon!!!

[wellofdean]

Just breaking up this post before it just gets out of hand, but want to reply to these notes from @ironworked :

#I was reading the transcript of a panel Kripke did in 2008#he gets asked about Jo and at the end says they 'don't have any plans to bring her back'#and then: ''(audience cheers)''#then they cheer *for* Ellen#The impression I get is that a large portion of the fandom only ever cared about female characters that weren't 'a threat' to a ship#but who still were there for Dean and Sam#This show had its fumbles and mistakes and iffy stuff with female characters but I'm with Ilarual here - fandom has been significantly wors#the reactions to Mary and Amara are particularly interesting because they're pretty much exactly#the kind of nuanced female character fans *say* they want#and yet they get trashed and misrepresented regularly#funny that#Tv: Supernatural

Ugh. So gross. And to be clear, I am also with @ilarual : there is plenty of misogyny in Supernatural that's there just because it's the air we all breathe, but a lot of it is in the way if someone wants to belittle Dean in some way, they ALWAYS impugn his masculinity, and the way he is supposed to be ashamed of being the one who just wants to keep his family together, and the way he is unable to experience a tender emotion without embarrassment, or the way he can't say "I love you" so he says "I did not leave you!" and "Don't do anything stupid!" angrily instead. Or, the way Sam (soulless) and grandpa Samuel make fun of his nice house with Lisa, and he feels the need to defend himself by saying "Go ahead, call me a soccer mom!" as if the worst possible thing he could be is a feminized, domesticated man who's been tamed by a woman who reads girl magazines. THAT'S misogyny, but fellas, I think the show is attempting to point a thing out with that? All of those things are depictions of misogyny in a show that's about the way terrible patriarchal relationships fuck men up.

Dean's so-called misogyny is cartoonish and ridiculous and clearly a triggered performative response to stereotypical representations of performative femininity, because when Dean is called upon to respond to a woman as a human being, he is well able to do that, even in season 1.

Women who threaten the big ship are always hated in fandom after fandom. Personally, I loved Jo. I loved her crush on Dean, and his big brother act hiding a crush on her. I loved Amara because GOD'S SISTER? Dean's dark female soul image? The way their weird, skeevy connection resolved in mutual empathy, one caged thing to another, and also in giving each other what they most needed? Mary coming back to show Dean that his fantasy of a lost ideal family was just that? A fantasy?

Like, that is just rich storytelling and I am here for it.

I get why people didn't like Amara -- she is an antagonist and I cringed every time she touched Dean's face. She was a threat to Dean, but also? I fucking LOVED that she was there, making me super uncomfortable and fucking EATING, and against Chuck? I wanted her to win. Fuck that guy! I love the idea that a controlling author/father/god who locked his sister and feminine equal up so he could play with his boytoys and make them kill each other. I love that Amara is symbolic of nothingness as opposed to Chuck's being because I think there is a fundamental way in which we struggle to imagine ourselves, AS A CULTURE, without patriarchy.

I also get why people are mad at Mary. We love Dean! We want him to have what he wants! We want him to have fluffy mom-time to make up for all his years of pain. But, can we all just ask ourselves the important question of whether or not a grown-ass man should get what he wants at his mother's expense? Like, are mothers actual human beings with desires, needs and exigencies of their own, or are they slaves to their men and their offspring?*

*Side note: I feel like there are a lot of young people who are mad at their moms on tumblr, and yeah, not all parents live up to their responsibilities and that sucks, but yo: moms are people they make mistakes and have needs.

And, as story devices, which is what they ultimately are, Dean's weird feelings about Amara in a season that is all about Dean thinking about what his heart wants, really only supports the ship we all want to see sail. As for Mary, her death was the inciting incident and her return (and John's) was about healing by letting painful things be painful, and seeing that what you have is pretty fucking good, actually ("I have a family"), and then her second death tests Dean's commitment to holding his family together. Like, our heroes have to be put in situations so we can see their mettle! That's what stories do!

I dunno man. The other day someone I know in meatspace was like: "Oooh! I love Supernatural! Let's talk!" And I was like: "Oh! Cool! Yeah!" and then she says: "Sometimes it sucked though, especially in the later seasons, like when they brought Mary back," and I was like........."Actually, let's not talk."

[purple-chaos-clown]

Demons' Emotions & Body Language

Because why the hell not talk about something that has probably been written/talked about a hundred times before? XD I'm in the mood to write about Mephisto because my brain is occupied by thoughts of him in some way 99% of the time.

This was spurred on by once again seeing Mephisto's great teeth appreciation and it reminded me of how much I actually love looking at his facial expressions in general.

He's just so fucking good at expressing himself, lol. And then I begin to wonder...

How much of it is staged/faked/put on, how much comes natural to him? If even at all?

Did he have a period where he tested out all the different facial expressions humans tend to make in certain situations? Did he go and study them? Is it like a game for him? Knowing the Human-Emotions-101 better than even humans themselves, just to have even more power and control over his cute toys?

^Ch. 46 We know he's a little stalker gremlin, so people watching is one of his greatest hobbies - it would certainly help him out with accurately mimicking their body language.

Did he have a rough time when he first started to make contact with humans face to face? :( Because I know that even humans struggle with body language and facial expressions. Totally not looking at me, who's often laughing and smiling, simply hoping it's appropriate because I often don't fully understand what's going on. :')

Considering Mephisto is a pro at acting all human or demon (depending on which outcome he wants to reach, making certain behaviors necessary to manipulate everyone's actions) with how much time he has spent with humans and his obsession with them and their creations...

What is it like for all the demons possessing human bodies?

Amaimon seems to struggle a lot using the muscles in his face, if that side-story panel is anything to by. XD

Moving a sack of flesh can be rough, buddy. I feel you there, my resting bitch face often scares strangers and I have to always check in to make sure I don't look as dead as I feel.

Amaimon is obviously able of actually showing emotions, evident in the manga, but I think there's one he expresses more often than others: anger.

Thinking of anger... There's Satan.

^Ch. 105 Before he came into (regular) contact with Yuri he could only show anger when threatened/searching for Yuri. All other expressions seem to have been actively taught to him over a certain span of time.

Same with Rin when he was born.

^Ch. 109 Though the threatening circumstances might have triggered/amplified that little ugly burning potato's anger. :x

Looking towards Lucifer is pretty much the same, though his anger is often more of the hidden kind and not as openly expressed. Same with Mephisto though. Maybe it's their age (though their behavior doesn't exactly reflect maturity, both of them are brats in their own rights) or simply who they inherently are.

The rest of the demon kings are... definitely emotional and expressive too, which is weird because why would they feel the need to mimic human behaviors and expressions? (Might be reason for another ramble, this post is already so much longer than I intended for it to be XD)

In conclusion...

All of it makes me think that anger is the one emotion that demons might inherently feel and express, anything beyond is something they need to actively learn about over time.

Which is incredibly sad the more I think about it.

I also think most demons (possessing human bodies) have to consciously think about what kind of facial expression/body language goes along with whatever they're feeling - if they want to outwardly express them.

Do they even feel the need to do that in the first place though? And if yes, why? Considering they don't have bodies in Gehenna, it wouldn't make much sense for them to inherently have some body language if they don't have bodies that support it, would it?

And yet we've seen how feral demons can be, Rin is a prime example when he gets overwhelmed by his demon side. All snarling, showing teeth and growling and it's something I (and many other people) love incorporating in our writing all the time because feral demons and the way they threaten each other is just peak content that I desperately need to continue living. XD

[funkymbtifiction]

Aaaashhhh!! Final hours!! Thank you for all your service Charity!!

I remember a while back you said that ennea 3s often think of themselves as not being good enough to be 3s when typing themselves (or something along those lines). Also saying that if you're struggling to find your MBTI type, but are considering an extroverted type, then you're probably extroverted because most introverts wouldn't even consider potentially being extroverted, whereas the other way around is much more common. Oh and also that most ennea 6s sort of deny their 6ness when initially seeking out their type.

Do you have any other neat little bits of self typing advice along those lines? As in, any other fun little quirks in how different MBTI/ennea types end up typing themselves?

I got maybe a half an hour left in me and then I'm crashing.

Hmm. General thoughts from human interactions of late:

1s... don't seem to mistype as much as other types, but if they do, it's often their wing. There's a big difference in their stacking, the basics summed up as -- if I am the problem and need to self-examine and correct myself, it's sp-first, and if you are the problem, it's soc first.

2s... usually mistype as 4s, and will insist upon being a 4 because it appeals to them to be "creative," while thinking it's basic human kindness to be nice to people and do kind things for them all the time ("doesn't everyone do that? it doesn't make me not a 4! I am an unselfish 4!" <- super ego thinking). If your brain is full of shoulds, you are not a 4.

3s... may think that they aren't successful enough to be a 3, because they are idolizing 3s and their productivity or achievements; but there is an inner lacking and emptiness that makes them less emotional and more objective than the other heart types, less in touch with what they want to do, as separate from what others expect from them.

4s... do not comment places and go "omg, so relatable!" or "omg, you are so right about me, this is totally me!" They hate having anyone identify with them or think they understand what it's like to be a 4. They aren't going to identify with you, find anything in common with you, or allow you to think you have accurately interpreted their work. They are frustrated cores, ergo not "sweet." They can be nice, and deep, and wonderful, but they are not eager to find other 4s.

5s.... watch and learn but rarely participate. I recently saw a (likely mistyped 6) inviting 5s in an online group to come together, meet other 5s, and form a community. All the 6s mistyped as 5s eagerly took part, but the real 5s left crickets in their wake. It was funny.

6s... will argue from every possible angle and come up with the most unlikely explanation and examine it ruthlessly while insisting it's true, ask leading questions hoping to get the answer they want, and mistype as literally everything other than 6; if you tell them they are a 6, they will doubt, challenge, and question that ad naseum. They do not win arguments so much as wear down their opponent into exhaustion. I should know. I do this. :P

7s... oddly enough can mistype as 4, but they take traumatic personal experiences and instead of making that part of their eternal brokenness, they gloss over it and tell you how "strong" it made them and turn it into a personal triumph story (re-framing x 10,000). (If you do not believe me, watch the "sexual 4" on Chestnut's 4 panel, and you will see a 7 core with a 4 fix basically doing just that, ahem).

8s... do not give two f*cks. They ignore or block what annoys them unless there's a 6 fix involved like Emeka.

9s... are a lot more stubborn, moralistic, and argumentative than most of the descriptions allow for. I've seen them get on people's cases quite a few time -- so do not think that because you stand up for yourself or tell off someone online for their bad behavior or "stir things up" that it disqualifies you from being a 9. It also surprises me how loud their secondary fix (especially 6 or 4) can be, because of their tendency to merge their agenda into their second fix.

I know it's not as "fun" as maybe you were hoping, but maybe it'll be interesting / insightful nonetheless.

Sx is not about being passionate, creative, or interesting.

Sp is more "hook up culture" than sx.

Social is not about groups; it's about communication.

You can actually tell stacking from photos and from people's writing style. Although I am just learning about the former...