#. meta . › flea .

[foursaints]

barty's inscrutability is so funny just because its like. he's winning the repression olympics without even realizing by wrapping his true self away in endless untraversable turns like a conch shell. having a situationship with him is like volunteering to lock yourself in the torture labyrinth bro you are never making it out of there!! you will spend years trying to unravel his feelings and get absolutely nowhere but still constantly feel like you’re on the verge of getting there!!! (reg lived this #survivor)

but just imagine finally meeting the ONE (1) person who has ever managed to lock barty down. and it’s this tiny utterly demented blonde who dresses in lumpy estate sale cardigans and always smells a little bit like formaldehyde and mothballs and the inside of a hearse. he has the thousand-yard-stare and pop culture references of a feral child raised by coyotes because he didn’t have a single interaction with someone his own age (besides his equally strange sister) until he was like 17. he’ll cut you with zero hesitation 🔪. he's the most autistic person youve ever met in your entire life and whenever Notoriously Unattainable™️ Barty Crouch looks at him he’s like please evan let me lay down to be the ground under your feet so you never have to touch the earth again only me forever PLEASE

[unremarkablehouse]

Bed Bug Check

Do you think Scully does bed bug checks at these crappy motels? Is this part of their check in routine, Scully making Mulder help check mattresses in both rooms? I can just see them both with latex gloves and mag lights efficiently inspecting the rooms after a long trip and Mulder wondering what their game plan will be if they ever do run across a bed bug.

I feel like they’ve both been bitten by fleas and Scully uses a lotion with citronella or some natural deterrent while Mulder just keeps getting bitten and itches his ankles like the puppy that he is. Maybe Scully’s attentive hair scratches are also part of her regular lice checks on Mulder. The practicality and domesticity of them working as a team to ward off these things while traveling fascinates me.

[agnesandhilda]

say what you will about chapters 261 and 262 (and there's a lot to say about them!) but the sudden turn against kainess is curious to me because kaiser has been a bully since his introduction. kaiser's hostility to the people around him and tendency to degrade others to prop up his own self-esteem are and always have been some of his strongest character traits. and his mistreatment of ness specifically, as well as ness' simpering acceptance of it, is nothing new. I understand why the revelation that kaiser intentionally sought out someone he considered emotionally vulnerable to make into his yes-man and "dog" makes people uncomfortable, but is it surprising? was it better when kaiser was pulling ness around by the hair and and splashing drinks in his face without insight into how kaiser justifies those actions to himself? did you think ness was exempt from kaiser's hostility and desire for control?

[milevenstancyendgame]

Remember when Steve said "You're really cute when you lie?" It was obvious he knew here that Nancy wanted him to leave and that she wouldn't call him later on.

I find it interesting/strange that Nancy doesn't seem to trust him at all here. Yes, he was an asshole about Barb, but he just apologised about that and already showed that he can change.

And no, he couldn't make sense of what Nancy had said about a faceless man, but who could? Jonathan, Hopper, and Lucas were all the biggest sceptics about the supernatural stuff, but they came around eventually. Steve actually just rolled with things pretty quickly once he did get involved.

It just seems a bit odd to me that Nancy was so in love with Steve the whole time, but she just completely shut him out after he disappoints her once? It's like the moment she teams up with Jonathan, Steve is dead to her. I just think it reflects the writers still being torn between their original trope of "Girl trophy is stolen by the outcast from the stupid jock" and Joe Keery turning Steve into a great, loveable character. It makes for some inconsistencies.

[hellbleided]

flea tag dump .

. meta . › flea .

. study . › flea .

. about . › flea .

. aes . › flea .

. musings . › flea .

. skills . › flea .

. headcanon . › flea .

. thread . › flea .

. answers . › flea .

. face claim . › flea .

[angstandhappiness]

I forgot how funny this is until I see this. HAH 😂

OP's tags @ninjasmudge : #I DID NOT KNOW THIS BUT I FIND IT FUNNY#MYSTIC SELLER PUT THAT THANG DOWN YOU DONT KNOW IF HE HAS FLEAS#BUT YOU DONT HAVE TO FIGHT HIM AGAIN SO ITS NOT THE SAME AS THE OTHER BISHOPS YOU JUST GET GIVEN HIM AS A GOOD JOB#I REALISE ITS NOT THAT DEEP BC ITS PARTIALLY GAMEPLAY BUT LET ME HAVE THIS ITS FUNNY

@lamboficarus #why are my fucking tags broken i give up#i HAD a joke but god and the universe and tumblr hates me.

@recycleable-username mystic seller is definitely powerful

@daylilie #NO OP YOU’RE RIGHT#HOW DID THIS HAPPEN

@sourfires #this makes me go insane#whats the point of being god of death if some random can just snatch people from the afterlife ???????#love how the mystic seller has absolutely 0 loyalty to any gods too#bargained for who knows how long with each bishop and didnt give two shits about their deaths. slay#only cared because apparently beings are not supposed to be stuck in purgatory. according to who? i dont know!#when they give narinder to you he doesnt have the immortality trait. if i think about it too much i start foaming at the mouth

this might already be common knowledge but i found out that apparently if you choose to kill TOWW after the end battle, the mystic seller will offer narinder back to you after you defeat all the bishops for the second time.

and like, that makes sense from a game perspective, for players who didnt realise there would be any consequences for that choice, but holy shit the in-world ramifications of it are both hilarious and fucked up like 'hey i found your cat that you hate he was meowing sadly in the afterlife so i brought him back to you, give him a bath or smthn' ????

was he dead and the mystic seller just went and brought him back in case you wanted him?? were they just holding onto him in case? was he not dead at all? did the same thing that happened to the other bishops happen to him?? how?? hello?? mystic seller what is UP bro??

[oleworm]

“But this is not that king, nor is this his song.”

Aegon, inspired by this portrait of Stephen of Blois. Drawing by my friend. They also wrote some meta about it, under the cut. The quote is from The Green Knight (2021).

“His name should be “the Unfortunate.” Or, perhaps, “the Unready.”

In his behaviours, crimes and heroics, he feels like a quintessential local king. I have too little care for the ethics of feudalism to pretend that one bleached flea is more moral than another, I am not going to justify this fictional fool or any of his fellow ticks on the bodies of kingdoms.

I like his story though. The way he viciously rejects his heritage and embraces it at the same time, more Andal than Valyrian who still holds the strongest bond with the physical manifestation of Valyrian ideas, something that both upholds and discredits their predatory traditions. A king doomed by others to become a king, the one who doesn’t want to rule but grows into it to the point of giving his all. He’s ready to fight and burn among his people when they show him loyalty but turns cruel and unstable when they defy him. His future is bleak, his past is disgusting. Remember those lines in The Green Knight film? “Is this all there is?” - “What else ought there to be?” He’s not Gawain, of course. Please give me Plato’s number, I’m going to telephone him to hear his hot take on this shit.

But I find a pleasant fatalism in that he’s not only chosen by his family to play a role of a contender, those who then wash their hands of it, but also in how his story comes from a faux chronicle of events long gone, done and decided, a story that might be tweaked here and there, but will not be rewritten. It’s almost like he is aware in a fun way that he is long doomed—and tries to flee unsuccessfully, cowardly, violently even, only to be brought back into the cycle that must continue like the chains on his neck. They imply Rhaenyra is one of the prophecies, but him fleeing his destiny and fitting it so well resembles one of the many doomed kings from the old tales, the crowned blaze in the shape of a man doomed to face his grim fate no matter how far he has gone to escape it. But he is not that king. His song seems of a different breed. The unwilling and unworthy man cursed with the scourge of greatness. I think he should die in a public mass cannibalism incident.”

[metalotaku-da]

danny phantom x dc prompt ideas: weather wizard addition.

this comes to you thanks to my big story pieces comment section. i think if the phandom knew more of this characters background and i thought it was more commonly known. it would have more of a field day. same with gotham academy >.> but that is for another post.

alright weather wizard, is a flash villain and a member of the rogues.

mark mardon. is a thief and criminal who escapes from prison and fleas to his brothers house. where he believes he found his brother dead and his weather experiments. including the weather wand which he takes and starts his alias crime as weather wizard. it is hinted at in the comics he actually killed his brother and stole his work. it is believed he had a confrontation with his brother over his prison break, the argument and heightened emotions triggered mark's meta gene and he accidently killed his brother when his powers manifested. and he blocked out that memory. and it is also why he can't use his weather powers without the wand. as a mental block. because he does have powers without the wand.

later on he finds out he has a son with a cop he had relations with. it is known josh is his son because he has weather powers. mark in a fit of rage and jealousy over the his son's powers kidnaps him, with plans to DISSECT AND EXPERIMENT ON HIM TO FIND OUT HOW HIS POWERS WORK SO HE CAN GET THEM. he has a break down though over it before he can go through with it. and wishes his son had someone besides him as a father, because he deserves someone better.

other facts of note: josh was thought to be wally's kid till he got his powers. lady cop has batman's taste. her name is julie.

the rogues have strict rules against hurting kids.

weather wizard killed impulse breaking this rule. though he was tricked.

so yes phandom. here are some options i've brain stormed. please add more ideas for others to knaw on.

1: danny has escaped the fentons/and or giw. flees to central city and weather wizard finds this vivisected terrified kid. and man does it hit his guilt and crazy. this could have been his son. he was going to do this to his child. and it's his redemption/penance to protect this child to make up for his sins. could have a mental break and think he actually did this danny and danny is his son josh too. so many ways to go.

2: other rogues find him, after hearing about ww kidnapping his son and think danny is his son who escaped from his injuries and go on revenge spree for this kid in mistaken idenity. which has funny and dark ways it can go.

3: danny meets ww or his son. and hears how ww couldn't go through with it. maybe from young justice. impulse or members of the league, other rogues dealers choice. danny just dieing a little on the inside like, how come your parent could stop himself with love when he never met you, but my parents raised me and still didn't love me enough not to. the angst protentional here is so high.

4: jazz could work at the facility treating mark. her point of view from treating a person who is so much like her parents but who showed their love for their child in the end. when hers couldn't move past their goals and see their child they claimed to love. could add in she's got a de-aged danny/dannies because of it. to see what it could have been if her parents had been better. stronger. she could get feelings. (totally thinking on par with harley/joker kind of but not that dark.) where mark actually like her and cares for her. could be one-sided. and the giw find them mark breaks out cause she and or kids are in danger and saves them.

5:mix and match the above.

please add more

[sirrentxt]

Something about Luis leaning into Virgin Mary more than Jesus and God himself. Something about her being associated with holiness, hope, conversion of a sinner and motherly love.

His mother, absent; a memory, a tale, not so different from the knights and the dragons, save for the things that—Grandfather claims—carry the imprint of her fingers, the things that had the pleasure to witness the gentleness of her hand, years past. To Luis, she's family, familiar, a stranger, a ghost; a blurry figure in the eye of his mind. No pictures, no paintings, just his Grandfather's words: you have her eyes.

Luis being taught that, even if they say otherwise, God's love is conditional; but having Grandfather, more so than the Priest, be the source of information about Holy Mary. And never having Grandfather imply that her love is conditional. Luis believing that even if he's abandoned by God and His son, the Mother will be there for him.

Grandfather telling little Luis that his mom is watching over him alongside the Holy Mother. That even when mom can't watch over him, Mother Mary can, and she does, and she always will.

Her love isn’t religious, in his eyes. It’s purely motherly.

You can't love her more than Jesus did, Grandfather says to him one day, in passing. Luis thinks it a challenge, and loves her even more.

The drastic difference between God (Father; Allfather, paternal, proud, unreachable, mighty. God give me strength and God bless and God be with you. Conditional love; hate for the sinner. The one to exile, condemn, abandon) and Virgin Mary (Mother; maternal, gentle, caretaker. Present in households, a symbol of hope, protector of hearth. Unconditional love, no matter the weight of the sin, no matter what happens—watching over her children)

Luis' life, where God exists mainly in the church, in the prayer, in the concept—but Mother Mary is present, and in every house; somehow, or more so, even in his house, the house where no mother reaches out to her for strength and guidance, for protection from evil, because there is only two of them here; he and Grandfather.

In this house, she fills in the blanks.

When he's older and push comes to shove, it's not God or Jesus that he keeps close to his heart. When he thinks himself a sinner, a lost lamb, when the gifted cross no longer gleams around his neck, resting instead in a dusty drawer under ink-stained notes—it's the silhouette of Holy Mary that keeps him company, engraved on a ring he got, in a subtle reach for faith, off a man at the flea market. It's Holy Mary's image that he turns towards the wall on the nights when men pass through his sheets. It's her that sits patiently in the back of his mind, the corner of his kitchen, even though no prayer leaves his lips, other than the sinful ones he doesn't dare repeat in the light of day—they're not for the ears of the Mother, and they're not for the ears of God.

He might be His child, and still he picks Mother over Father.

pet project: meta // luis, on holy mary

[pitruli]

the reverse Aruani comic i was talking about but it's only part of the storyboard and too many thoughts

I just started wanting to picture Annie's version of the ocean dream, except i wrote the outlines at 3AM and it turned into a weird meta thing about the fourth wall somehow. and then i wanted to tell as much as possible with minimal dialogue so i was That close to illustrate all 3 seasons haha,,, I'm stopping here for now so there's only (most of) season 1 there

Just the basic idea of how reverse au Annie would act knowing about the Ocean. I put it less in a weird-forbidden-book and more as something that slipped through the censorship. It's only a mention of it, small enough to be confusing without context. And it was enough to get Annie's curiosity because everything else makes sense in this book. Except this thing. But she couldn't find a single thing about it and now she doesn't know what to think of it. (It manages to inspire Eren because, maybe it's a fictional place, but maybe it's real and that's what the scouts could find outside. so it's kinda a 'i realised we were not free' in a 'we didn't know a single thing' way)

Also jumpscare Trost arc

Trost arc was planned differently at first and i don't remember what it was haha. I just got inspired by one of Mirthle's post later where the trio fleas from the canon shot and tries to prove by themselves Eren is alright. Also thought him saluting as a Titan to prove his loyalty would be cool as hell visually so i did haha. After Trost i was supposed to rush through most of the arcs until i reached late S3. But while drawing i got quite inspired for so many details in the FT arc and HAD to draw it haha.

Silly page, just Because. I also wanted to put 'sneak peak' of the Ocean at different place throughout the comic. So the wall-like vision Annie has of it in the previous pages and there the steam after Armin's attack, that would progressively get more accurate over time. I also started to make my storytelling around her hair more apparent in the last page. Since i made her Coloss design i had the idea her let down hair was a sign she didn't know what was happening anymore after turning a shifter, and i wanted to keep that in the rest of the plot. She had her hair a mess and tied it back once she decided to go a different way

What was planned afterward was the ideas i had with Stella a while ago about Armin's betrayal happening in this arc because it really stuck in my mind. (he would also have made the salute as a sign of surrender. Oh and he talks a bit too.)

And the last page that i has planned right from the begining haha. I'm kinda upset to not have the Return to Shiganshina arc drawn yet cause i really wanna try things out in this one, but i don't have the strengh for it now. maybe i'll add it later tho-

[atopvisenyashill]

Hey! Just wanted to say that I read your post on Jaehaerys and his daughters — pretty horrific, especially in how it really isn’t that much of a stretch to see the evidence of you’re looking for it. I’d always read Jaehaerys as being a monstrous father to his daughters, especially Saera, but your commentary on Gael was particularly convincing.

I haven’t been able to read through all of your thoughts on this, but I was wondering if you noted Jaehaerys’s strange reticence to outlaw the ‘right of the first night’ (F&B, 263-265)? Gyldayn writes the passage as if Jaehaerys treats the issue dispassionately, but he also says that Jaehaerys was “sympathetic but reluctant,” “uncomfortable,” and that Jaehaerys “threw up his hands” when Septon Barth agreed with Alysanne that the practice was vile. Could tie in with your idea that Jaehaerys showed an entitlement over control of his daughters’ virginities, just as he sought to protect his vassals’ ‘right to the first night.’

Another point that stuck out to me on a first read that I didn’t know what to do with until now was Gyldayn’s assertion that “until the reign of King Jaehaerys, the ancient right to the first night had been invoked mayhaps more oft on Dragonstone than anywhere else in the Seven Kingdoms” (F&B 429). Which implies that the practice happened after the Conquest, too. The only possible perpetrators would be Aegon the Conqueror, Aenys I, Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Uncrowned, and Jaehaerys, as the only male Targaryens old enough to do so before it was outlawed at the end of 58 AC. What do you think?

Thank you for the compliment first. I do agree I think the Saera and Gael parts are the most solid, and of his children, I think they're the ones most likely to have experienced some sort of overt sexual abuse from their father. I guess if you want My Opinion and not just Meta About His Behavior, I think Jaehaerys was likely molesting Saera starting around when Alysanne starts miscarrying and is put on bedrest, and moved onto Gael after the Second Quarrel ended. I think the freaky stuff with Alyssa, Daella, and Viserra was more likely some deeply weird parenting decisions from Alysanne although I cannot stress enough that I do think there might have been like. idk the beginnings of weird behavior with those three (Viserra's drinking, wanting to marry Daella off so young, Alyssa's sex obsession) that was likely cut off before any of the girls would clock it as inappropriate due to their marriages. I also think it's likely he molested Viserys and Alicent; with Alicent it was probably very similar to the Saera and Gael stuff (and...I think it's likely both Alicent and Otto knew when Alicent walked into that room what was going to happen) and with Viserys it was more along the lines of that repeated "older Targaryen takes younger Targaryen out into Flea Bottom to get fucking and sucking" a la show Daemyra, Visaemon, and Aegond, but probably Jaehaerys (being like, old, creepy, lonely, always imagined that when Viserys was young and skinny he looked much more fem which is part of why he starts Eating His Feelings as an adult, because he feels it makes him more masculine looking, that's just me tho) got handsy and Viserys just kinda let it happen figuring it was normal, so it escalated because Viserys wasn't really fighting it.

As for Jaehaerys and prima noctus...yeah, I think it's so fucking weird and not talked about enough that he really needs to be talked around into outlawing it, and he only starts to give on this after Barth, a man, starts to speak up against it. Before that in the conversation, Alysanne and him are really going back and forth and he is not giving her any ground here. He even seems to defend it when it comes to Valyrians (of course) which I also think is nauseatingly glossed over when it comes to discussing how whack Jaehaerys is about sex and women. And people always wanna say like "oh i bet it fell out of favor post-Conquest" yeah we have no fucking evidence of that. It's the same when people are like "Baelon can't be Ulf's father Baelon would NEVER-" Baelon is a paper thin character who canonicly usurps his beloved brother's niece, you cannot say with any sort of certainty that that man wasn't up to some nefarious sex crimes just like 80% of his relatives. As a matter of fact, I have kinda wondered if the show's little brothel escapade thing is a take on this - that perhaps it was incredibly common for Targaryen men to take younger male relatives out into the villages on Dragonstone and find some newlywed maidens to molest. Especially because like, Orys is mentioned as an example of this, and he has his own last name (rather than being called a Orys Waters), so it makes me incredibly suspicious of what in the fuck Aerion Targaryen was doing and teaching his kids. I think its very likely that Maegor, Aenys, and Aegon the Uncrowned were up to heinous shit like that and it's completely glossed over by Gyldayn because it makes them look bad.

[cyber-corp]

2023: The year of all time

This felt like the first year post-COVID where things really kicked into high gear for me personally. My new year's resolution was that I would go out and have fun for once.

And had fun I did.

I did some voicework reading for a story podcast, I went to a bunch of amazing concerts (nothing beats seeing Weird Al for my birthday!), and I sorted out a bunch of RL stuff and put a neat little bow on it. Thank goodness.

But fuck all that sappy shit: Here's a small collection of things I really enjoyed this year!

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: An excellent sequel to a seemingly unfollow-uppable first film. Takes everything from ITSV, and amps it up to twenty with a stunning visual style, a sonically fitting soundtrack, and a meta-commentary on the nature of Spider-Man's character and whether they really deserve all the tragedy thrown at them.

Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe: The guys who made Pud did another show, this time with funding from the Australian Government! While stripped back in its setting, they continue to provide the same stupid bullshit that put me into laughing fits as they did with their Netflix show. Haven't they done well.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: I think when people heard about "An animated Scott Pilgrim show with the live-action cast and Edgar Wright producing", they did not expect "A proper dissection of Ramona Flowers' character and her motivations, as well as her own journey of forgiving the Evil Exes. Also lots of yaoi." Scott Pilgrim continues to dominate as the premier "guy learns not to be a shithead" franchise.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live in Accor Stadium: The Peppers prove their pertained power as performers by playing the purest psalms in their prospectus from the past 35 years (eugh, what a mouthful). Flea came out, did a 30-second handstand, waved and said hello to the moon and then got up some people littering in the crowd. Their life is more than just a read-through.

Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: I had absolutely no clue who Caroline was before I listened to this album. I now realise that she might just be the person that pop needs right now. A soaring collection of songs destined to become classics down the line, like a greatest hits compilation that doesn't exist. We're all on Caroline's island, and we ain't leaving.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk: I kept my eye on this game as it was developing, and it was absolutely worth it to see it come through in the end. Satisfying gameplay that requires you to learn how to combo to progress, an addicting artstyle inspired by Y2K, and the soundtrack. Holy fuck the soundtrack. I just can't get enuf.

Weird Al Yankovic - TUROTRSIIIVT: Man, what a title. Emu Phillips come out swinging with jokes I did not expect, and then Weird Al comes out aggressively swinging, with all the songs you don't know him for. He then did a polka melody of his parodies, did a ritual halfway through, and then ended the concert on a high note. Only the best from Strange Alfred.

Doctor Who 2023 Specials: That bastard David Tennant returning led me down the rabbit hole known as watching Doctor Who, and did it ever pay off more than these specials. A trans woman saves the day and the Doctor realises he's bi, black, and needs therapy. A magnificent close on a chapter of one of the greatest sci-fis ever, and a bright step into the future.

The Hyperfixation of the Year award goes to none other than

Homestuck, everyone's favourite webcomic! Everyone's.

And I think that's partly because I joined this website to begin with. I probably say this all the time, but leaving Reddit was probably the best decision I could have made at that time. As much as I reminisce, the communities I was in began to get a little stale. Same jokes, same shitposts, a different day. Tumblr in some strange way, is not that. It feels less like a big communal website and more like a collection of small towns spread across a large spot of land. Calm and village-like, you know?

So to all my mutuals, my followers, to the people that liked and reboggled my stinky posts, to all that offered mealworms and crickets in my askbox, thank you. "Gecko Boy" might just be a silly lil joke in the grand scheme of things, but it's a fun joke to play into.

Whatever comes next year, I know I've got the energy to keep going. Have a good 2024 everybody. <3

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 229 Review:

No reason for this image, just me enjoying Saitama's meaty thighs. That's all.

Story: Like putting lipstick on a hyena

We open with Tatsumaki taking a phone call. She's dismissive of the idea of shooting a commercial to promote the Hero Association to prospective heroes -- until she remembers Saitama talking about how he'd once been weak and agrees. Let it be noted that Tatsumaki doesn't do anything half-assed: she throws herself into the role of ambassador with such enthusiasm that she ends up trashing the studio.

She is less than impressed with what comes out of the session: a cutesy, saccharine call girl simpering in a commercial, about as true a reflection of Tatsumaki as lipstick and a pink bowtie on a spotted hyena. Fubuki, unfortunately, comes home [1] just as Tatsumaki gets hung up on. Oh, dear, there goes the roof. Looks like they'll be staying in hotels for a bit -- ar at Hero Association HQ -- while the damage is fixed.

More goings on under the cut.

I'd love to blame Amai Mask for producing the AI-edited monstrosity. But the true blame lies with McCoy. He orchestrated the campaign. The public lap it up, it conforming to an image that's palatable to see [I have A LOT to say about this but that's another post.]

Nastier-minded people would have asked, 'which organization', but so it goes when one has the benefit of the doubt

After the HA executives praise McCoy for his adroit management of the HA's image, they (especially a guy I'm calling Walrus 'stache) turn to the recruitment figures to find...

...ah, let me wind back a second. It's true that the Hero Association is always recruiting, but it's taken on additional urgency with Metal Knight having apparently thrown billions of Yen away on infrastructure and weaponry that don't work [2] and Tatsumaki being unmanageable. We return to the story...

...that...

...the ad campaign had made no difference. The Hero Association approval ratings were up, but recruitment was still on its downward slide.

What gave?

The answer comes from two other conversations happening contemporaneously. One is between a Hero Association scout and Axel, the leader of a vigilante group known as The Hunters, the other between another scout and a super-sumo champion named Raiden. In each case, the scout is sent off with a flea in their ear as the prospect in question has another engagement.

Yes, there's another hero organization in the wings, and it's hoovering up as much talent as it can find. It's even reaching out to current heroes.

We cut to a very dapper-looking Genos being asked by a very tired-looking Dr Kuseno what his intentions are, given this information and the former's feelings about the Hero Association. Genos starts to answer, but we'll have to wait for the answer as the scene switches to Saitama doing a spit-take as he sees the commercial.

Meta: Finally, some good fucking food

Everything can be faked (except truth)

Many people have already noted the jab at AI fakery inherent in 'Tatsumaki's ad,' so I won't belabour the point. I shall leave it to another post.

Alas, heroes don't grow on trees

The Hero Association's newfound desperation to find new heroes has been a long time coming. People who make good heroes are rare critters. There is not only the need for exceptional ability (even C-Class heroes are incredible), but there's also a need for willingness to serve as a hero, moral principles, and stability under very trying circumstances. Fooled by the previously buoyant numbers of applicants, leading to 55 Hero Tests being conducted as of the time Saitama and Genos applied, they've applied an 'easy-come, easy-goes' attitude to their recruits. When they should instead have recognised them as rare talent to be nurtured, even the lower-class heroes. Looks like there have been seven more Hero Tests since those two joined, and the news has not been good.

At no point does the HA appear to have had more than 600 heroes on the books: retention seems to have been a big problem. It fits in well with the executive Gobrich's frustration with the situation that support for heroes is too top-down and hasn't listened to their actual needs and concerns. Bushohige (the Bearded Worker) has made similar points -- but no one's listening to him, either!

Sekingar at least appears to have seen the light in this regard and at least appreciates that heroes, whatever their abilities, need to be used *well* rather than be treated as a disappointment for not being S-Class heroes. But he's just one person and has only recently been promoted.

And now... with the advent of actual competition, the spigot of fresh new bodies to take in and use up has largely dried up. What a to do!

Speaking of drying up

Genos is draining the very life out of Kuseno at the moment -- it reminds me of Uu and Reigen. Yes, the doctor made him a cyborg, and so on one level, he can't really complain if he's the it man when it comes to giving him upgrades. But Kuseno is all alone. The stress of worrying about Genos when the latter casually dumps horrors on him and the burden of designing upgrades (how do you God-proof a person, anyway?) is really getting to him. And he has no one to talk to, let well alone share the burden with. [3]

Try not to die of overwork, doctor! At least not before you can find Genos a new situation.

Asides

[1] Looks like Fubuki lives with Tatsumaki in the manga. Either that or she lives close by and has a key. Love to see it.

[2] Truly an eavesdropper hears no good of themselves. The manga change from Metal Knight being scolded in person to overhearing it is brilliant.

[3] In a kinder world, Kuseno would be able to call Bang to at least have a sympathetic ear (heh, and Bang had a personality transplant). Kind and ONE don't mix, at least when it comes to his fictional characters, so too bad.

[facelessxchurch]

The Faceless Symbol

NEW and OLD

[Here are the transparent versions in case someone wants to use them, you all got full permission to do so.]

The Lore

“The big one represents the Faceless Ones. All- encompassing, all-knowing. The little one is us. floating around the edge, barely intersecting. It means we’re little more than fleas, unable to even comprehend the full majesty of existence. It’s very patronising, as far as religious symbols go, and somewhat self-pitying“ -Other Dimension, Skulduggery about the Faceless symbol, “SP: Kingdom of the Wicked” p.441

The one described in the books is the primitive one that originated long ago when the Faceless Ones still roamed the earth. It's the prototype all symbols of the various branches are based on.

Both symbols above are the symbols used by Mevolent's branch of the church.

The Simple Symbol added two stars to the original design symbolizing the otherworldly nature of their Gods, showing them to be being of-the-stars. [Meta Explaination] It was designed to be easy to draw so everybody could easily sew it into their clothes, cut it into flesh and draw it on walls.

Meanwhile, the Detailed Symbol is the one used by official forces. It's embroidered in uniforms, decorated official documents and can be found ornating the churches and cathedrals as artfully curved gold casting. The magic symbols are a short prayer and praise to the Dark Gods. The pseudo arrows remind of a compass ("oh, great ancients ones guide us to victory") yet if you squint it also reminds of an aiming cross. Gotta love me some duality in symbolism~

Both symbols were designed by Mevolent himself.

EDIT: Here they are on white background so they are easier to see.

[chibivesicle]

Gokinjo Monogatari got an English release. I am just - feeling like I got my wish from 1998.

That's right, I'm alive but not very active on the meta for the time being. 2023 sped up for the second half; work got crazy busy for Q4. I worked up to Dec 18th through several weekends so yeah, needed some recharge time.

I don't know how I missed this, but thanks to watching Coleen's Manga Recs, I discovered that the one shoujo manga title that I had been wanting an English release for has finally arrived. Gokinjo Monogatari by Ai Yazawa!

I discovered Gokinjo Monogatari in '98. One of the local comic stores had the first three tankobons and I bought them based on the cover artwork alone.

It wasn't until undergrad I was able to meet a few more people and figure out more than just the name and artist. I tried to find the translation of the manga online, but was unsuccessful. I have to remind people that before scanlations, you had to buy a tankobon and hope you found the text based translation which would have the text according to page number and what panel location. I read a fair bit of Kenshin that way, but sadly, this series was not that popular with readers in the States. I've been moving my entire adult life hauling my three precious volumes of the manga hoping that someday I would first, collect volume 4-7 to complete the picture and that I'd have my matching English version. Granted, I haven't done a good job of looking for volumes 4-7 when I've been in Japan . . . or using the internet either.

As if to spite me, the follow up manga, Paradise Kiss, did get a translation in 2002 from Tokyo Pop which exists in the same universe as Gokinjo Monogatari. Note that a previous manga's characters show up at the Flea Market in Monogatari as well and Yazawa likes to keep a lot of her series tied together. Eventually, the scanlation of the series appeared and I read it around 2011. I'd only found an episode or two of the anime during the golden age of file sharing, but didn't follow through on it. I wanted to read the manga before watching the anime. In 2017, I visited the Manga Museum in Kyoto, got to see a cool display about Ribon magazine and of course they had Gokinjo Monogatari merch! I bought the file folder set and stickers! I bought the Gokinjo Monogatari UT shirt from Uniqlo featuring Ribon series. Yet each time I found more stuff, the universe got the last laugh. Japan released the collectors set with four volumes, there was a French translation, German etc and never one for English. So, you have to realize how I absolutely lost my mind when the thing I'd figured would never happen, happened! Not only was it a thing, I'd even missed the December 2023 release date -at least I didn't have to wait for a pre-order to get volume 1.

I'm happy to see that this version included some of the original color pages!

It has a few more at the end with a photo wall of Mikako's outfits. Everything about the style of this manga, I absolutely love. The fashion goes so hard even now. I get nostalgic with all of the mid-90s Japanese street fashion which has a mix of 60s mod and 70s flare. I think the series also does a good job of capturing that awkward time in your teenage life when you are trying to figure out how to act with people you are interested in. But failing to sort things out. Unlike a lot of other high school manga series, this one stands out with the much more "normal" appearance of the students. I remember picking it up and thinking that the characters looked like they could be my peers; though there is no way Mikako's outfits would pass my high school's own liberal dress code where dyed hair and piercings were permitted. Her bare midriff would get her in trouble . . . Funny how now when I look at it, this is a very unusual high school set up for a Japanese reader likely coming from a more regimented school environment with a uniform and strict dress code. I never thought about it at the time. More that I was plotting my own hair dying plans for when I moved out of the house for undergrad just like the characters had - while still in high school. I did read Parakiss back when it came out from 2002-2005; however, it never really resonated with me the same way a series that I couldn't even find a decent translation for. I started to watch Nana but couldn't get into it at all. Maybe it was my mindset or the fact that I wasn't the mood for young twenty-somethings figuring their shit out.

Yet, here I am in the winter of 2024, and I have volume 1 of the collectors edition format of Gokinjo Monogatari and I'm still loving every little bit of the story as I read it. Perhaps, Parakiss and Nana were more edgier/grittier than something like this which is why they never quite clicked with me. I wanted my fashionable shoujo drama but not over the top. I'm not sure what I'll write about it. It isn't a well known series both due to the fact it is from the 90s and that it is shoujo but perhaps I can reflect on what I was drawn to it all those years ago and what I think about it now.

[toastywarmth]

HBO’s Fred isn’t as bad as you think…

From the title, you’re probably confused, but let me explain.

I’ve seen a lot of people (rightfully so), criticising this new version of Fred, and saying he’s now a bad person.

But after analysing the first two episodes, I believe this Fred isn’t as antagonistic as people make him out to be. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a whiny brat, but when you actually look deeper into it, he didn’t do anything particularly wrong, and it’s the characters around him who give him crap for no reason.

Let’s start with his dynamic with Velma for example;

At first meeting, Fred does not give Velma the time of day and is pretty racist towards her, and is overall a jerk.

In the context of this one scene, Fred was not meant to be likeable, and it would make sense why Velma would dislike him enough, to accuse him of murder.

But...then we get the scene of them having a heart to heart, with Fred opening about his insecurities around his masculinity, and Velma sharing her experience with her mom and her hallucinations. It was a sweet moment between them, and Fred even remembered Velma’s name. This was the only scene in the first episode that I genuinely enjoyed, because it felt like the show was finally taking itself seriously instead of being meta, too bad they had to ruin it, and I’ll explain why in a moment.

After this scene, we get a scene of Velma changing her appearance to fit in, but it only works for a short while, before her classmates remember that she is still the main suspect in a murder case, and begin throwing trash at her. Fred immediately goes to Velma’s defence, though a bit passive aggressive, he was still one of the few people to believe that Velma didn’t do it. Plus, he’s a popular guy, why would he risk that by defending an outcast like Velma, if he didn’t have a smidge of belief in her.

And after both the heart to heart and him saving her from being hit by a paper cutter, Velma still had the audacity to insist that Fred murdered Brenda, even though it fundamentally makes no sense.

The body was found in Velma’s locker, the second body was found in her recycling bin. Surely, if she rubbed together two of her shrivelled, dulled, flea-sized braincells together, she would assume that the person who murdered those girls, is trying to frame her. So why would she believe that Fred (one of the few people who believes that she didn’t do it and openly defended her) be a part of the murder.

“Oh! Because he’s a rich white guy with a small dick—” I will roast you in a chicken rotisserie and feed you to my cat!

Velma is supposed to be the clever detective, yet she is clouded by her own biases, and doesn’t see the clear answers in front of her face. And the worst part is, when she did end up defending Fred, she does it by humiliating him in front of an entire courtroom.

Claiming that he couldn’t possibly cut those girls’ brains out, when he couldn’t even cut his own food, but completely forgetting that in the first episode, he threw a paper cutter with extreme precision and in doing so casually slicing off a student’s leg (yes, this is a real thing that happens the show, no it is not addressed).

Also, I hate how Velma joins in on dogpiling Fred on his body issues, even though she is aware that he struggles with his masculinity. It comes off as really mean, when Fred poured his heart out to Velma, and in return, Velma just judged him like everyone else.

The issues I stated above could’ve been fixed immediately, if they just removed the scene of their heart to heart, and the scene of Fred defending Velma. Velma would still have a reason to suspect Fred of murder, but won’t come off as too ridiculous.

Now that Velma is done, time to move on to Daphne, and her dynamic with Fred.

In their first scene together, it’s framed as Fred being a bad boyfriend. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Fred is a good boyfriend, he did planned for Brenda to be his Plan B, if things didn’t go as planned with Daphne. But Daphne is not any better, when it comes to their relationship;

For one, she sexually pressures Fred. Touching him inappropriately, then gets mad at him when he says no. And then proceeds to gossip about him behind his back, all because he doesn’t want to have sex with her.

This is played up for jokes, or seen as Daphne being justified. When in reality, this was wrong of Daphne, she shouldn’t get mad at Fred for not having sex with her, then betray his trust, by talking behind his back to Velma, a person Fred doesn’t even know personally. And the reason this pisses me off so much, because I know this would be taken more seriously if the gender roles were reversed.

Here’s a little Tumblr wisdom; it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or girl or whatever, if your significant other is pressuring you into doing sexual activities, despite your protests, they do not care for you as a person, but more as something to benefit from.

You don’t need a reason to not want to have sex, even with the person you are dating.

This isn’t the only thing that Daphne does to Fred. She doesn’t even come to his defence when he accused of murder. Their relationship is implied to be one out of convenience rather than love, but still, shouldn’t Daphne be at least concerned that her boyfriend (whom she probably known for a while) could most likely end up in jail?

Not to mention, her possibly cheating on Fred with Velma. I say possibly, because I don’t know if it was stated or implied that her and Fred broke up, and I do not have the willpower to rewatch the episodes.

So recap; Fred is a bad boyfriend, but Daphne is an even worse girlfriend. Daphne and Velma are both mega-bitches, and deserve each other.

Now for the writers themselves, who think that having a 15 year old boy being constantly sexually harassed is considered ‘comedy’.

I can forgive something like Family Guy for doing these kinds of disgusting jokes, because they are at least a original property. Fred Jones is a character that people grew up with for years, and they decided to show him in this light, without even having the decency to age him up.

We get constant scenes of random ass adults making uncomfortable jokes about this minor’s dong. We get a scene of a bunch of people photographing this HIGHSCHOOLER in a open robe, and Fred’s father is more concerned about people finding out about his penis size, rather than the fact that these adults are taking pictures of a naked minor. Everyone in this show should be in freaking arrested!

And it’s made worse, it’s made so much worse, when you see the writers of this show are purposely making Fred as infantilised as possible.

Not only do they sexualise/make sexual jokes towards a highschooler, but they did it to a highschooler who has the mannerisms of a toddler. I don’t care if it’s a joke, I am GOING to give the writers the side-eye for this.

Also, side tangent, but making Fred this clueless child-like fool, is a can of worms of itself. For those who don’t know, Fred Jones was autism-coded by the fandom for a while, and was confirmed to be canonically autistic in Mystery Incorporated. I don’t need to explain why it’s bad to make an autistic-corded character into a clueless blubbering man-child. Of course, I know that the showrunners didn’t intend to make an incredibly ableist portrayal of Fred, but that doesn’t make it better. This is why you should ALWAYS do research on the source material before making a reboot, or else you end up with shit like this, and erase actual good representation. I know I sound overly passionate about this, but as a person on the spectrum who felt seen by Fred in Mystery Incorporated, this felt like a huge betrayal for me.

In conclusion to this post, this new version of Fred is annoying, but he deserves more of your sympathy than Velma.

Velma backstabbed him, even though he defended her.

His girlfriend sexually pressures him, and then didn’t have the gull to defend him when he’s committed of murder, and then fucks off to make out with the girl who tried to bash her head in with a crowbar in the earlier episode.

Everyone is constantly sexually harassing and body-shaming him, most of which are freaking adults.

That’s the end of my post, thank you for reading.