#And I know the second headcanon contradicts actual canon

[starcurtain]

A Very Rambling Rant about Alhaitham and Aranara

Sigh. Everyone on twitter is all excited over this idea that Alhaitham can see aranara, and I don't mean to be downer but like... I kind of hate this. Not the idea of Alhaitham seeing aranara, which is very cute, very nice, yes, but more the way this kind of thing unfolds.

It's a classic example of unconfirmed material, extraneous to the actual game, getting put out on social media like it's canon: Someone tweets "ALHAITHAM CAN SEE ARANARA!!" and suddenly it's running rampant in the fandom and people are completely convinced it's canonically true, without the actual game or any confirmed story-relevant materials genuinely supporting the idea. This is exactly how misinformation gets spread. (I'm looking at you, "Jade enslaved Aventurine" Star Rail fandom brainrot.)

And it's this "bandwagon canon" that leads to constant issues in the fandom when people point out that even some widely accepted stuff is actually fanon. People are literally vicious over defending things that don't actually have any evidence in the game itself.

I really wish this fandom was better at distinguishing "This thing is factually true" and "This is a really cool idea and there might be a few hints for it! I'm going to make this my headcanon!" Watching stuff in fandom go un-fact-checked genuinely makes me terrified for people's ability to fact check real world issues sometimes!

Not to mention the way this conversation is happening is just really unpleasant too?

I saw multiple tweets with thousands of likes going around saying things like "Of course Alhaitham can still see the aranara; he has child-like wonder while Kaveh is traumatized and had to grow up too fast, so it makes sense he can't see them."

Which like... This is so gross to me? Are these people just missing the massive unfortunate implications of their own words--the idea that traumatized people can't experience wonder for the world anymore? That they're somehow broken and can't experience any child-like joy??? It's a deeply unpleasant take to me.

And not only that, it directly contradicts actual canon, because Yoimiya's entire second story quest was about a girl going through a traumatic illness that confined her to a wheelchair and led to her experiencing guilt and depression--and about helping her to see that everything that made life worth living was still there for her, and that she had never lost her wonder or will to live in the first place.

And the whole thing just smacks of a fundamental misunderstanding of why adults can't see the aranara in the first place. It's not because there's some sort of magical "You must be 18 or younger to see aranara" rule. It's because the aranara themselves choose not to be seen by adults. They protect themselves by making themselves invisible. They're not invisible by nature! Everyone can see them--when the aranara want to be seen. Conversely, this means that adults with "childlike wonder" are not just automatically seeing aranara left and right. No matter how happy and childish at heart an adult is, they will only see an aranara if the aranara personally trust them and want to be seen.

The aranara trust children because children are generally good-hearted (and also probably easy to escape from), so there is usually no need to keep themselves invisible to children, but even among children, they are invisible until they choose to be seen. (I think everyone forgot the quest where you find the child who was kidnapped by the Fatui in the forest, saved by an aranara who chose to reveal itself to her, but then she refuses to go back to the village, so you leave her at the aranara nursery--only the aranara there at the nursery choose not to reveal themselves to her because they don't know her yet.) Even with children, aranara don't just go running up on them--they're incredibly cautious creatures who only show themselves after they're sure they'll be safe. They distrust adults because adults deliberately use "growing up" as an excuse to abandon simplicity, kindness, and gentleness in order to embrace concepts that include getting ahead of others and seeking profit--two things which could be particularly dangerous for a vulnerable forest fairy population.

There's also an extremely complicated intersection between the aranara and memory, as they represent and upon "death" return to being the forest's living memory itself. Avin, the girl in Yoimiya's story quest, is a child--but still loses the ability to visit her aranara companion because her illness keeps her away from the forest so long that she simply forgets her aranara buddy ever existed. Even aranara who would love to continue playing with their human companions find themselves forgotten over and over again, because they simply don't linger in human memory well. It's a giant metaphor for how fleeting and temporary human existence is in comparison to the natural world! It's a metaphorrrrrrr.

(There's also the fact that aranara freely move between reality and dreaming--something which Sumeru's adult population only recently regained the ability to even do.)

And like... does no one remember that Yoimiya could only see the aranara because Traveler was there to introduce her to them? She doesn't just automatically see them even though she has all the childish wonder possible in her heart.

I even saw tweets saying that anyone who thinks Alhaitham doesn't have child-like wonder in his heart and wouldn't automatically be able to see aranara fundamentally misunderstands his character and I just... First, see the point above--this is already a misunderstanding of how aranara work.

Second, am I just crazy, or is there absolutely nothing about having wonder and curiosity and passion for the world around you that is confined to children? Are we really going with "Having an imagination is for kids" as our takeaway from all this?

Alhaitham absolutely is passionate! He loves Sumeru as much as Nahida does! The mysteries of the world fascinate him, and he wants to be doing nothing more than ravenously learning and taking in new information at every opportunity!

But finding wonder and joy in life's mysteries is absolutely not restricted to children!

There's nothing inherently "childish" about loving fiction and the fantastical world of books, having a vivid imagination, being passionate about learning new things, and just plain out enjoying life. I'm sorry everyone else has apparently become such miserable adults that the only way they can believe Alhaitham finds joy in the world is by assuming he must have maintained a "child-like" inner nature. Please go read more books and touch more grass and maybe you too will experience adult wonder and joy???

Alhaitham's vivid curiosity about the world isn't remotely "child-like." It's based on the same sort of philosophical obsessions that drove Plato and Aristotle to redefine human thinking. To Alhaitham, Sumeru is likely much more vivid and beautiful and full of intrigue because he is now an adult who has the ability to freely think, formulate deeper questions, and the means to pursue research into his personal passions. His teaser trailer is literally about how he took the job of the Scribe because the Scribe records truth--not child-like faith in the magic of the world, but a constant unfilled yearning to get closer and closer to what is real.

If Alhaitham can see aranara, it's because he's earned the trust of the aranara by his deeds, not because he's secretly still an innocent, sweet baby boy deep down who has chosen not to grow up. (And like, if "traumatized people don't see aranara" is really what we're going with, are we actually arguing Kaveh is the only traumatized, "grew up too soon" one here? Did everyone just forget Alhaitham is an orphan with zero surviving family members left in the world and that he spent his entire childhood friendless, at least as far as we've been shown?)

Winning the trust of the aranara is something anyone could do if they show strong enough positive traits--just basic kindness, gentleness, and patience, which I promise you, adults can have.

At the very least, if we're going to suggest Alhaitham is child-like, can't we at least point to his actual childish behaviors, such as constantly pulling Kaveh's pigtails like a schoolboy with his first crush? Throwing hands with anyone who pisses him off too much? Being a jokester who continually sends Paimon books because she picked on him for his choice of reading materials once? At least y'all could have started there... Come on, now.

Phew, this really was a whole rant, but I just needed to get that off my chest. The Hoyo fandoms on twitter are so, so bad. Like man, don't claim people are mischaracterizing someone while not even knowing the lore yourself... Sorry if that sounds harsh, but...

[cupcakeshakesnake]

HELLO UM-

Your little Harbour PotC AU gives me absolute life, just for the record. Even tho i am very very late, thank you for making it :D

There is a headcanon I got that wouldn't leave my brain after looking at your art, originating from that one conversation between Beckett and Jack where there were some implications about canon being everyone’s previous lives. Whether this is actually a part of your au or not, it got me thinking eheheh

Theoretically, (perhaps in an au of an au, if this headcanon contradicts your lore,) what if your au and canon were the same 'verse, just several hundred years later? And what if not everybody were on their second life?

We obviously have a sprinkling of supernatural stuff, so what if the secretly-a-goddess Calypso and immortally-cursed Davy Jones were the OGs that they were in the films? Like, Davy Jones maybe came back somehow (as per movie 5's end-credit scene lol) and took back the role of the Dutchman's Captian after Will went back to Shipwreck Cove. All is good.

He learned his lesson now and actually does his job of ferrying souls. As times changed, so did his ship, in some magical way. She's no longer a sailing ship, and he'll always miss that, but he doesn't mind all that much. His crew usually only stay for that 100 yr contract, so he's seen plenty of sailors come and go. Eventually, he even hires living mortals. Less people die at sea, so by the 20th century, Jones takes a mortal job as a fisherman (or whatever his job is in your au) as well.

Whether or not he knows about the whole reincarnation thing doesn't really matter; the day he employs a familiar man by the name of Bill Turner, he chalks it up to coincidence. Even if Bill has a son named William, well- it's been 200 years, perhaps it's just a really really big coincidence. Either way, it doesn't matter to him.

It's not until he's docked in a small, out-of-the-way harbour, and three troublemaking kids sneak onto the Dutchman that he finally realises. Bill's boy, on his own, is just a matter of coincidence. Those three, together? It's unmistakable. And as bothersome those three pirates were, so long ago, I'd like to think that he looks back on that age, on those people, with some kind of fondness.

(Until he discovers they can be the most INFURIATING little gremlins he's ever met in all his centuries. But he'll find that out later.)

Anyway I drew it :D Have my humble, scribbly offerings.

(I feel bad about running away with this, even as just a headcanon-of-an-au, please don't take this as a 'you should do this' lmao, it's just me adoring all of your content it makes my brain go brrr you are amazing thankyou!!!)

This is so lovely 😭😭😭

The idea of Calypso and Jones being the same ones from canon but just... having had a lot of time to chill down and have a second chance is so??? Imagine what Jones must be thinking looking at those kids... this is so bittersweet (but mostly sweet)

I'm sorry it took so long to respond, I wanted to write a proper reply expressing just how much I love this but couldn't get around to it. Hope you don't mind me posting this publicly; I need everyone else to see this as well.

[actual-changeling]

There is no gun to his head.

I don't know where that notion came from or why so many people are suddenly convinced it is true, but I rewatched the last episode and especially the final fifteen over and over again and it's not real.

So. Let's have a look at the facts, and I mean facts, as in what we see on screen and what we can generally all agree on happens—no metas, no headcanons, just pure canon.

Aziraphale and Crowley just witnessed Gabriel and Beez go off together. They are free, there are no consequences for them, they left and have no interest in returning.

This tells them two things: Any threats from hell or heaven regarding their relationship are void under the current conditions. Hell is understaffed and dealing with its own problems, and heaven is a mess in a different but equally disabling way. The second thing, or rather the consequences of the first, is that they can do the same.

Let that sink in because so many people seem to completely forget about what that scene signifies outside of being a "relationship mirror". There are no consequences when a demon and an angel go off together. In the end, they weren't stopped, everyone kinda sighed and went well, we have our own problems, so they might as well leave.

Now, when the Metatron talks to Aziraphale, that scene is fresh in his mind, it literally just happened. The threat is gone, he does not want to return to heaven in that moment because he is processing what it means for the two of them.

Then, the Metatron offers him the jackpot: Aziraphale gets to fix heaven—make a difference, as he likes to put it—and have Crowley back as an angel. Aziraphale still thinks heaven is fundamentally good and thus the best place to be; angels, the two of them, how great! All of his moral problems have been solved, and, let me stress this over and over, there is no threat.

The Metatron LITERALLY just proved to him that he won't punish angel/demon relationships—he stopped Michael from punishing them. In Aziraphale's eyes, he is the knight in shining armour, threats wouldn't even be necessary.

Additionally, and I have repeated this so many times it has become tedious, Aziraphale does not know about the second coming. He doesn't. The Metatron tells him in front of the elevator, not a second earlier.

To summarize

he has tangible proof that angel/demon relations won't be punished

the Metatron has proven himself to be an ally and trustworthy

there is no dawning apocalypse

Crowley can come back to heaven with him

In conclusion, every single one of Aziraphale's problems disappears. Threats—threats over WHAT?

Do you really think the Metatron would immediately contradict himself and destroy any tentative trust Aziraphale has? Do you think he would jeopardize the blind fearlessness he develops as soon as he mentions the Crowley part of the deal?

Everyone always calls him an evil mastermind, just to turn around and paint him as the dumbest figure imaginable. He knows what he is doing.

When Aziraphale tells Crowley about the decision he has made for them, his voice is genuinely soft. It's real joy, no hidden messages, no nothing. Have you recently re-listened to it? Because I have.

"He said I could appoint you to be an angel."

That happiness and excitement is real, it just is. I rewatched it over and over and I tried to see any hidden meanings, I really did, but he's simply happy. That's all.

Everyone is completely free to have their own theories, you can disagree with my meta thoughts all you want, that's what fandom is for!

But I am so bloody tired of getting "well, actually there was a gun to his head" on every. single. post. that I make about the final fifteen. There was no gun.

You can put one into the Metatron's hands all you like, but it is not canon. It just isn't.

[leantailean]

Izumi being Toph’s daughter could be the reason for her glasses.

No, really.

Okay just follow my crazy for a moment.

No one in Zuko’s family wears glasses, right? And Mai throws knives which requires sharp eyesight to do accurately. So why does Izumi have vision problems?

Let’s consider what probably caused Toph’s blindness. She says she was born blind, so we know it’s congenital. Her eyes appear opaque which sounds like cataracts. Toph mostly likely has congenital catatacts.

Predispositions to congenital cataracts do run in families. If Izumi inherited this condition, she would need immediate surgery to save her sight. Delaying surgery results in the eye never developing properly due to missing out on sunlight, which still results in blindness. But if Izumi’s was caught earlier, they could’ve surgically removed the cataract.

It may sound too advanced but there have been rudimentary catarcter surgies in India since 5th century BC. In ATLA they could even use bending to improve the prognosis!

If all goes well, the only long lasting side effect would be the need for corrective lenses.

Like glasses.

Hello! And thanks for the question!

This is a very interesting theory, but I believe that Izumi is Mai's daughter. She and Mai are practically look like the same person. She also resembles her grandmother.

Unfortunately I don’t know much about  hereditary eye problems, (but if happens that someone who reads it knows some factual information about it and can give some links I would be very grateful.)

I don't consider the comics and LOK to be a canon (in fact, you're talking to someone who doesn’t even consider the atla third book to be completely canon because of some terrible writing decisions or how the writers treated some of the characters in the third book, especially Zuko , Iroh and Aang, lol🤓). I like to think about LOK as of some sort of AU. And in general, I have almost no doubt that Toph and Zuko actually have a common child in LOK. Like, just look at Lin. She looks like someone from the FN. Her facial expressions, movements, her stubborn, strong personality. Do I at least doubt that Lin is Zuko's daughter? No, for me this is the canon. It's possible that Toph and Zuko got together around the time he and Mai had broken up for a while, or it's even more likely that Zuko widowed and after that he could have got into a long-term relationship with Toph. I don't want to think about Zuko being a widower, or that Mai died - I adore Mai, she's my best girl, my second favorite female ATLA character after Toph. And I LOVE maiko. But we know that in LOK Sokka died early, and Aang died quite early, so anything is possible. But, in any case, Zuko and Toph could have had a long relationship, nothing in LOK contradicts that version. As I recall, Toph mentioned that Lin's father's name was Kanto. Imagine: Zuko secretly dating a woman who doesn't want to be drawn into FN court undercover games, so he sends her love letters and sign them as "Kanto", and there is someone who reads these letters to Toph. God, I love that.

However, Izumi is definitely Mai's daughter.

But this is a very interesting theory, thanks for sharing it!

[ketchup-chup]

Not the same anon, but why do you not consider the arcobaleno trials canon? Amano wrote them

Hello! So I first wanna preface this by saying that this is no hate to anyone who enjoys the fillers. While I personally do not like the arcobaleno trial fillers I do enjoy the one focusing on the Primo Gen! And to be frank a lot of this is just my personal opinion!

Now, onto the reasons I don’t consider them canon! Which is actually quite a few reasons but I’ll just discuss the major ones.

First, Amano did not write them! In fact, the rumour that Amano approved or had any direct hand in making them is just that. A rumour. This post by boxanimal does a lot better of a job at explaining it than I ever could so I highly recommend reading that.

But essentially. At most Amano may have given the anime staff some info about the arcobaleno’s personalities (and in the Primo Gen case probably info about Daemon’s whole thing) but there is no actual evidence to point to the fact Amano wrote or gave the fillers their stamp of approval to be considered canon.

(putting the rest under a read more since it got quite long)

Second: the characterizations are awful. I'm just gonna talk about Reborn here because he's my favourite because it's the most obvious and it directly contradicts what he’s said previously. I would make the argument the fillers write him very out of character.

What I mean by this is that during Reborn’s trial he says the following to Tsuna:

“The world’s done for if you don’t clear this trial. Don’t you care about what happens to Kyoko, Haru, and your mother?” He mentions saving the world a little later on in this battle as well.

THE THING IS!!! REBORN WOULD NEVER SAY THAT TO TSUNA!! He does not want Tsuna to play the “hero”! It was never about saving the world! This directly contradicts what he tells Tsuna at the start of the Future arc!

“Don’t try to act cool, Tsuna. You’re not the hero type, are you?” “Your reasons for enduring this training, to bring everyone back to the past, or whatever- they’re not you at all.” “Your feelings were a lot more simple at the time, weren’t they?”

Reborn knows Tsuna and knows better that this type of argument/encouragement(?) would not work! Being the hero is not what Reborn wants of Tsuna!!! it's not what he's been trying to teach him or to ever use as his main source of motivation!

So yeah. The characterizations are just. Not good.

Which brings me onto my last point. Which is the most “this is just my personal opinion” of the whole thing.

I do have the belief that the fillers are a large part the reason for many of the most common misconceptions of the arcobaleno. It goes into my previous point where the characterizations are just… not that great.

I do believe it’s why the headcanon that Luce is extremely manipulative and led the other arcobaleno (purposefully) to their doom is so popular and where it initially comes from. When we just don’t see that at all in canon nor do we see any hint or sign that the other arcobaleno hold a grudge against her.

And listen! I am a Luce defender till the day I die, I will admit this!! And I do also have the headcanon as well that she was aware of their fate. But to just water it down to “she misled and lied to the others therefore she is an awful person” does such a disservice to her and the tragedy that is being a Sky arcobaleno (and by extension the "curse" of having divination powers).

There are a lot of other weird things the filler implies (like Luce being pregnant as a baby) that I also won't get into. but yeah, I am just not a big fan of all the implications you get from fillers about these characters.

So yes. This is all to say you will never see me point to the fillers or use any information from them for any discussion regarding the arcobaleno.

If you enjoy the fillers and would like to consider them when you build your headcanons I think that's totally fair and great! You just won't see that from me personally, and I just ask that people don't point to it when discussing canon!

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

#edward teach#im an adhd ed truther & this is so fucking true.#also shows how you view people w/ adhd if you’re specifically using it as an excuse to do this. (via @ourflagmeanscatboy on this post by @jaskierx)

I don't want to derail a post about racism, but I do feel like this shit needs to get talked about.

Because people will say literally the most deranged shit about Ed. I've heard the idea that he's gonna lose interest in Stede because he views people as hyperfixations floated. He's volitile and unstable (citation needed) he's messy (but he thinks pets befoul the ship and he couldn't believe he was living like this after letting Stede's cabin get covered in maybe a weeks worth of depression clutter) he needs a minder (despite constantly minding other characters). And all of that shit when pointed out as racist invariably gets explained away with "but I think he has ADHD"

And it's like, first of all that's a headcannon you have, where as his race is very much cannon. so I think even if you have the adhd headcannon, which to be clear, I do, you still need to lend more credence to the marginalized identities that are in fact cannon about him. That's not to say that these two things are contradictory it's just to say that you need to treat your headcannons about a character of color with awareness for how their race overlaps with other identities they might have and how their race might be impacting their behavior, and how projecting issues onto them, even if those issues are things you yourself struggle with, might be perceived by fans of color who are already constantly fielding racism both in fandom and in their every day lives.

but second of all, and I cannot stress this enough, yall are ableist as fuck.

Like, I simply do not know how to explain to you people that Ed losing Interest in Stede like that would not be a symptom of ADHD because treating PEOPLE like HYPERFIXATIONS is not a symptom of ADHD. If someone loses interest in you because they have adhd, and I feel like I've said this before, one of three things happened. A. they did not lose interest in you they are just forgetful and do not experience friendship decay so they think you are still friends, B. You were never a friend to begin with you were someone they exclusively did their hyperfixations with, or C. you are blaming the ADHD for something completely unrelated friendships fall apart all the time.

And it's like that example is just the most egregious. half the time when I see ADHD headcannons nobody's talking about like... Ed picking up a brand new activity on a whim, or him tattooing himself because he's experiencing the evil boredom. It's all gotta be traits contradicted by canon. And often it has to be about pain and suffering, and often it really just feels like an excuse to make up bullshit about Ed while beating the racism allegations.

and there's two enormous issues with this. The first one is that if you're gonna have a headcannon about a character you have to figure out how to apply the headcanon to that character without making up a brand new guy. Ed is in the 99th percentile in terms of executive function. His executive functioning skills are genuinely a strength for him. He can't stand mess and he keeps a clean ship, he doesn't get angry unless directly provoked. He also has a large number of shitty tattoos on his person, he stims, he's probably got some hyperactivity going on, and some emotional dis-regulation in terms of managing his disappointment and catastrophising. You have to actually look at the character and figure out what cannon things translate into ADHD and what adhd traits are contradicted by cannon and if you're just hollowing him out and putting an ablist idea of ADHD in as a stand in for a personality.

Like.. ok. My favoriate cannon ADHD rep in the world is the Percy Jackson series. Every one of those kids has adhd and dyslexia. This does not stop Annabeth from being a very functional character with a million irons in the fire who's an avid reader and a Smart Girl TM. Percy by contrast cannot focus for five seconds especially when you put a book in front of him, but he can think on his feet really well. Both of these characters are fairly realistic representations of ADHD because sometimes ADHD is severe executive dysfunction and mess and emotional dis-regulation, sometimes ADHD is having a million projects going at once in a desperate attempt to beat the evil boredom and sometimes it's being able to pick up new things with relative ease. Different people have different levels of these things, which is why in my favoriate childhood book series Rick Riordan was able to have so many different diverse characters with distinct personalities and have them all believably have ADHD.

But a lot of people who headcannon Ed as ADHD don't seem to be interested in figuring out how Ed's personality is compatible with that headcannon, they just want to hollow him out and give him every symptom ever and it's just like... oh, so that's what you think of us then. got it cool.

[beauty-and-passion]

What Makes the Perfect Gift?: A real Aside (and no stakes left)

As always, thank you for the people writing me every time there is something new SaSi-related, because I don't pay attention to Thomas' Youtube account anymore.

In this case, thank you twice, because I would've never paid attention until 2024, considering I had pretty clear plans for my holidays and they involved:

a Christmas trip with my family

a (hopefully!) New Year trip away from home (hopefully!)

But since my plans were too good, the universe decided "Fuck no" and gave me fucking Covid. So my Christmas plan blew away and here I am, slowly recovering for New Year. Thanks. Great.

So I apologize for taking quite some time to reply to comments, asks and everything else: until yesterday, I still had some fever and was unable to look at any screen without feeling even more feverish. But today I'm better, so here I am, finally watching and writing about this Aside.

I'll admit it: I was quite curious, because in the first ask, the anon told me there was a "video (?)", while the other talked about an episode. Me, being the cynical person I am, immediately thought it was Mr. Sander's new Christmas ad for his new sweaters.

But, to my joy, it was not. Glad to know that Mr. Sanders can do something SaSi-related that is not just an ad.

Honestly, this Aside is way, WAY better than the previous one. The characters' personalities are better, the interactions are better, everything is better. Even the moral and the writing of the episode are better.

Sure, there are still a few things here and there I do not like, but compared to the previous Aside, they're way less. Still, I will mention them all because of intellectual honesty and because it doesn’t make sense to ignore the bad to focus on the good only.

_______________________________

Where the fuck does everyone live?

The episode starts: Logan calls everyone, says they will do a Secret Santa and that "Janus and Remus will join us today".

First of all, I can understand why Virgil is groaning, but why Roman is groaning too? He got Janus for the Secret Santa, so he should already know Janus is joining them today. Otherwise, how was he supposed to give him his gift? By mailing it? I know it's a small inconsistency, but this is a small episode too, so there shouldn't be inconsistencies at all.

Second, Logan talks about Remus and Janus joining them, by saying that "they'll get here" and that "they came all this way to spend Christmas with us".

For me, this raises A LOT of questions because Logan uses the kind of language you would use if your aunts/grandparents come to visit you on Christmas - i.e. if someone who lives far away from you comes to your place.

But these people all live inside Thomas' mind. So how far do these two live? How does Thomas' mind works? And most importantly: is Thomas copying my headcanons about the mind and the Sides' rooms? In that case:

At least acknowledge you're taking inspiration from me, Mr. Sanders. It's not nice to steal ideas without admitting it.

When I said the mind is vast, I also explained that the Sides can move fairly quickly between planes and Janus can even jump from Unconscious to Subconscious in seconds. I also explained that Logan doesn't know how many actual planes there are in the mind, so why should he say that Janus and Remus had to come "all this way" to meet them, if he doesn't know how big "all this way" is?

If Mr. Sanders isn't inspired but he just decided now that the mind is huge (which contradicts his past idea, since he said in the past that the Sides live in rooms and every room changes according to the space Thomas is), at least offer more details about this new idea and think about them. You can't just change your canon and go with it. That's writing 101, you should already know that.

_______________________________

Janus has been replaced by his drunk doppelganger

I explained in my last post why Janus being a wine mom is funny and the reason is that it's subtle. It's not thrown in the face.

So no, Janus showing a massive wine bottle isn't funny, nor subtle. It's exactly what I meant by "thrown in your face".

And this saddens me because... do you remember his introduction? His first episodes? How suave he was? How focused he was on being this mysterious, charming, dark figure?

Ah yes, exactly like he is now: a laughing, bubbling, drunk idiot.

Seriously, does this look like the same character to you? Does this look like the same guy?

I don't know if Thomas didn't know how to handle Janus or straight-up forgot who he was supposed to be. In that case, please allow me to remind you all that Janus was supposed to be the bearer of Thomas' secrets, the embodiment of lies and (probably), the one who hides the last Side. Do you think this kind of figure should act more like a suave, mysterious guy or like a drunk idiot?

And yes, I know “alcohol funny ah ah”, but Janus is the last Side who should be a heavy drinker, considering how much self-control he needs and what kind of jobs he has.

It’s just sad to see such a character being mishandled like that, you know?

_______________________________

Patton's gift and the true Creativity

You know, people blamed Patton for giving Remus an air fryer because "it's the gift you give when you don't really know someone" and bla bla bla... but that's all bullshit and the reason is very simple: Remus is a creative force.

Yes, that's it, that's all you need. Remus is a creative force and to a creative force you can feed literally anything. It doesn't matter if it's an air fryer, a 200$ painting set or a single needle, Remus would've found a way to use all of them. Heck, Patton could've gifted him literal trash and Remus would've found a way to use that too.

Also if you notice, Remus doesn't hate the gift, on the contrary: he's extremely curious about it, he asks what he can fry inside it and when he leaves, he already has plans on how to use it. That's how Creativity works. That's how Remus works. And that proves what a great Creativity he is.

Remus truly is the best character.

_______________________________

Remus' gift and the unexpected wholesomeness

Listen, I'm not biased towards Remus... okay, maybe a little bit. But still, his gift is wholesome and here's why:

it's handmade! I mean, even if it's disgusting, he spent time making it by himself. That proves he cares about Virgil so much, to spend his time making something for him

It's handmade, which proves Remus is a creative force, because what's more creative than making something yourself?

Mr Fuzzy is probably the offspring of one of the Great Old Ones, considering it’s a monstrosity with too many eyes, no clear shape and its real name is something similar to the name of the Great Old Ones themselves

Mr Fuzzy is made with the stuff in the shower drain and that proves it's probably the offspring of Cthulhu because, you know, water

Virgil knows Remus gives a name to the stuff in his shower drain and that's like proof no. #700 they know each other very well

Remus is saving Virgil from Cthulhu, because when it wakes up, it will probably spare Virgil for taking care of its demonic offspring.

And most importantly:

M̶̨̖͈̟͕̰̠̀͑̊̓̍̒̅͠r̸̘̲̜̖͆͗̇͛͑͂́ ̶̼͎̽̓̊͗F̴̫̈́̈́̈́̔͆̀̎̈͘ụ̶̉z̵̧̢̜̖̘̩͒̎͛́͘ẑ̴̺̺͓̩̝͎͙̖̳̓̈́̇̄̈ͅy̶͕̱͔͖̿ͅ ̴̦̼͓͎͕̩̆̓́͑͠͠d̶͙͚̩͇̳̑̑͂͒̂̏͛̏̚ǫ̶̦̘̦̺̣̬͎͐ẽ̷̮̯͚͎̾̽̊̋s̴̛̟̮̻̱͕̗̼̹̭̐̐́̌̋͋̄̈́́n̶̡̢͓̺̔'̵̨̯̤̬̜͇̭̅́t̵̪͛̈̃̐͝ ̷̡̠̤̱͈̳̎͆͝͝͠ḽ̶̚i̶̯̱̙̟̼̪̭̳̹̅̎͋͋̓̊͗̇͛͌ǩ̷̪͘e̷͎̖̦̔̒̿̎ ̵͚̩̄̈́͑̑̾͆̇̒̎b̴̨̛͙͈̱̙̗̰̗̎̀̔̿̎̔͝ẽ̸̡̥̫̂̍̒̋́́̂͘̚ȋ̵̧̛͎̩̫͉̰̋͐̄̈́͊̐̀̑͜n̷̩̻͚͇̰̝̣̠̈̀g̵̺͉̔̈́̊͒̓̃̉̚͘͜ ̶̺̳͓͕͔̱͗͆̓̐̑̚͝͝d̷̬̘͚̘̬̣̭̙̼̃̏̓̾̔̌̀̍̽r̷̛̩̮̞̜̟̐͂́͘͜ͅo̸̧̢̗̝̣͙̘̟͆̀̊̃̉͌͜͠p̵̛̻̠͍̑̅̀́̈́p̷̨̡̖̙͙̥̹̥̞̓͋̈́̽̀e̶̡̳̣̟̖͐̒̾̿̐͝d̸̖͋͆̽̃̐͝

Partially related to that: I have a tiny little headcanon about Remus creating ungodly abominations and naming them like the Great Old Ones (like having a pet abomination called Shubby as reference to Shub-Niggurath). So seeing this little ball of fears and terrors made me kinda happy. What can I say? Somehow, my headcanons are always canon.

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Virgil's gift and the problems with it

As soon as Logan proved he wasn't happy with Virgil's gift, instead of adding something more like "But, really, read the newspaper", Virgil kept silent and let Janus and Remus push Logan with their "o-oh, I bet you're angry, get angry".

Was it a reference to WTIT? If it was, then it was a lame one.

Virgil is anxious, fine, but he's not an idiot. And he has a way with words. So, why didn't he say something to make it clearer that there was something in the newspaper? Honestly, when he handed it to Logan, I thought the newspaper was the wrap and that there was something inside it: why Logan didn't think the same? Am I more clever than the embodiment of logic himself?

And, again, why is Virgil such an asshole? Seriously, what if Logan threw the newspaper away? What would Virgil do, then? Show the gift anyway? Not show it? Tell Logan there was supposed to be a puzzle and make him feel guilty (which would've been a huge dick move, because it was Virgil's fault, not Logan's)? Honestly, no idea.

It's just... sad to see Virgil acting like an asshole without a reason. Virgil isn't like that.

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Logan's gift and the conceptual value of money

The mere fact Roman asked what he was supposed to do with 20$ proves that:

he's a worse Creativity than Remus

he doesn't deserve money

I already explained why you can feed anything to Creativity and Creativity would find a way to use it, so the first point is already covered.

Speaking of the second one, if I give someone money and they ask me what they should do with that, I would immediately take the money back because they clearly don't know the value of money. Money embodies basically everything and 20$ embodies everything you can buy with them.

So when you gift someone money, you don't gift them a piece of paper: you gift them a paint, a book, a toolbox, a dress, a dinner, a jewel. Gifting money means gifting all the endless possibilities enclosed in the money's value.

In other words, Logan's gift was the perfect hommage to Creativity: since you are a creative force, I give you everything you can have within this value. He literally gave Roman everything! What's more fitting for a Creativity?

The only flaw I can find in this, is that Logan and Roman are not real people, but mental representations, so they don't really need actual money. But if we consider the 20$ as a conceptual gift exactly because 20$ represents the countless possibilities they embody... then they work too.

And speaking some more about gifting money, this is truly the best gift, imho. For years people kept gifting me shitty books because "you like to read". So I had to accept stupid book after stupid book, pile them up, sell them and get the money to finally buy decent books. Instead of forcing me to do this stupid charade, they could've gifted me money straight away.

So my advice is: gift people money. Or gift cards. Or at least include a receipt, so if the other person doesn't like your gift, they can exchange it for something they like more with the same value.

Or, even simpler, just ask what the other person wants. Ask, it’s easier! Your gift won't be the most surprising thing ever, but it will surely be appreciated and used. I know, I do the same with my family every year. And, every year, the gifts are always super appreciated.

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Janus' gift and how it was the most fitting one

When I saw the smaller box inside the bigger one, I imagined three different outcomes for this:

there will be an infinite number of boxes inside other boxes and we will see Patton unwrapping them on an even smaller level until he has to unwrap them atom by atom and it will never end

in the last box there will be a wedding ring because moceit is fucking canon

in the last box there will be an actual nice gift

For a moment I really thought we would've seen a wedding ring, but it turned out Janus knows Patton better than his friends - which is not surprising, considering how they keep treating him like an idiot.

And, honestly, I don't find anything wrong with this gift. it's nice, it's funny, it comes from the heart, it's exactly what Patton likes. And it matches Janus' personality too! He appears with something big but it makes you question it, because it’s too light: you assume it's fake, he's lying, he's mocking you. But if you insist, you keep going, see "past the lie", you will find the real gift: smaller than a huge gift, but much more meaningful.

It's perfect for Janus and it's the perfect gift he could've given to Patton. Seriously, I cannot understand how Thomas manages to make the best and the worst decisions about Janus at the same time. It takes a real mastery to do that.

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Roman's gift and fuck the main plot

Okay, the bitchslap was funny... until I remembered that we probably won't get any closure about Roman mocking Janus for his name and Janus telling him he's the evil twin. All water under the bridge, I suppose. Glad to know it ended up like this, with a snap and nothing. That’s exactly what I wanted to see, not Roman growing insane, imprisoning Janus and threatening to kill him. Definitely not.

I'm not one to brag but oh gosh, I'm so happy I wrote my own take on the season 2 finale.

About the real gift: okay, Roman gave him an actual gift. That surprises me even more considering... well, POF. But hey, apparently POF is water under the bridge and it looks like WTIT is water under the bridge as well, because Roman isn't angry with Patton anymore. Wow, *so glad* to know so many stakes have been so brutally thrown on the ground like that. Great choice, definitely worth of a good writer.

Also: is this Janus really cold-blooded? Is he? Are you, weird, drunk doppelganger? I'm sorry, but every time I see this guy, I'm so confused by him almost being like the real one, I feel like I need to question him about everything.

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How to solve a problem without even trying

Oh, I absolutely *adore* how Logan just goes "Uh, I have a lot of data, hey Roman wanna help? You know, making creativity and logic cooperate? It's not like it's a big deal a cooperation between us".

Ah yes, that's exactly what I wanted to see. Not Logan rejecting creativity because he's unable to see how he can be useful to it, not Remus forcing him to deal with the creative aspect for a little while, not Logan pushing his love for art down to the point he breaks, not to see him breaking down, not to see him slowly learning how to accept creativity in his life and how he can be useful for it...

This is a very, very personal opinion so you can disagree with it, but I find it extremely insulting to see Logan just casually offering a collaboration to Roman. If you read FSS3 you know how long it took me to develop this concept of "logic, art and creativity" and how Logan managed to work alongside Roman and Remus only in episode 13. Episode fucking 13 of 18 total.

For me, this was a HUGE theme. One of the most important because, hey, we're talking about creativity and logic, two of the most important aspects of every human being. This is the essence of humanity. And these two characters both have a lot to learn, so their cooperation perfectly connects with their personal growth...

But hey, apparently that's not an important topic for Mr. Sanders, fuck all of this, let's solve the topic with one single line.

Again: don't like to brag but oh gosh, I'm so happy I wrote my own take on the season 2 finale and the season 3.

_______________________________

Nico is even denser than Thomas

"What's the message?". Seriously. What could the message ever be. Coming from the guy that, when you met him, told you you looked cute and wanted to have a chance with you. The same guy you gifted a necklace.

Clearly the message is "I want to play Scrabble with you on the weekends" and not "I love you, you fucking moron". Clearly.

I don't like to brag, but at least my Nico was much more clever than this idiot.

_______________________________

So... was it good?

It was. It was a good Aside. I even managed to watch it twice, which is a huge improvement compared to the previous one.

The Sides are better than before, they're more IC too - except for Janus, who has been replaced by this weird drunk doppelganger.

The message isn't stupid nor out of the world, but it actually serves a purpose in the story of the episode itself. And yes, I know this is the bare minimum in terms of writing, but considering the last episode, this is WAY better.

The writing is better too, except for a couple inconsistencies (like Roman groaning despite knowing the dark boys will join).

What suffers the most is the connection to the main plot. This Aside supposedly takes place after WTIT (and that other Aside), but as we can see, there are no stakes left. No huge resentment between the Core Sides, no huge resentment between Roman and Janus. Logan calmed as well, Virgil too.

In other words: we reached the same situation pre-Janus introduction. They're all there, they argue and work together and sometimes do stupid shit and sometimes they do not. The climax of the story has been flattened out, to revert to the initial situation.

Did I expect it to happen? Honestly, yes. After three years of nothing and with Thomas being clearly more interested in carefree/comedy videos, of course this would happen.

Do I expect to see drama in the season 2 finale? At this point, I would be surprised if we ever see a season 2 finale. Probably Thomas will wait forever for inspiration to strike and, in the meantime, feed us an endless number of Asides with funnier, carefree topics, so he can enjoy his time and constantly postpone the drama.

Drama requires more work, after all. Drama requires attention, focus, precision. Comedy can be made like this, with a fun video written in a couple days. Drama needs to connect threads and do it properly.

I said it three times already but trust me, it's a huge fucking relief to know my whole take of season 3 exists, because thanks to that, you can see want I mean, when I say things like "creativity and logic's cooperation is a huge topic" or when I talk about how Janus should be handled. My work is far from perfect, sure, but imho, it's better than this. And this is a personal opinion, so you can disagree as much as you want.

(Speaking of that, I scheduled for December 29th my last post about FSS3, in which I add a couple of things regarding the future of SaSi, so... just keep an eye out for that)

That doesn’t mean I am blaming Thomas for making this Aside or for enjoying comedy more than drama. That’s perfectly fine and he can do anything he wants. Heck, this Aside is good too, so I’m not blaming him for that.

The only thing that saddens me is to see how we casually reverted to the beginning, with no real stakes anymore. We’re just… here, enjoying a comedy show. Which is not inherently bad per se, because there are a ton of great comedy shows. But considering what we saw and what SaSi could’ve been… it leaves a bitter taste, to see such great potential being ignored to revert the show's possible growth.

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Danny Phantom Headcanons/World Building (Masterpost)

So I rewatched Danny Phantom within the last week (of the time of creating this) and forgot how much I love it. I'm falling back down the rabbit hole and have started to collect my own HC/world building. This is just a collection of me putting ideas together that my brain was rattling off while watching and a few wiki deep dives. This will probably change as I get more into things and read more fanon. But like. This isn't canon stuff at all and is meant more as a base of operations for any fics I'm gonna write for AO3/drabbles for Tumblr.

Content warnings: mentioned of childhood trauma, minor graphic descriptions, talk about death

---

I was into DP as a kid but was never into the fanbase and online spaces. So some of this is from me as a kid/teenager interpreting the show on my own. And sorry if it contradicts canon or is similar to what other people have said before. Genuinely most of this is from me as a kid or just me rewatching the show. I've noticed some of the things I already was thinking about in fics or in a few posts I've seen floating around.

---

Danny specific

Danny did die in The Accident, but was practically zapped back to life at the same time due to the Ghost Zone choosing him. It rewrote his DNA, so he was still a functioning human but with Ghost DNA. Unlike Vlad, whose DNA was just rewritten since he was hit with a pure blast of eco-energy. So think of it as like dying in the hospital but automatically being resuscitated but the resuscitation alters your DNA.

Danny doesn't need to sleep or eat a lot of human food often if he doesn't exhaust his human form. Human functions only apply to his human half, so if he stays in his Ghost half then he will not get tired or hungry in that form. But when he transforms back, he will feel it and need to eat or sleep off what he's done as a human.

He needs to consume/absorb ectoplasm just as much as he needs to eat food. It is more of a balance in his system between Ghost and human. So he will eat ectoplasm (normally while in ghost form but he will do it in his human form since it doesn't matter which form, unlike human food).

Danny's Haunt is Amity Park (see Ghost Haunts)

He is the Ghost Zone's core, as he was chosen by the Ghost Zone (see Ghost Cores).

His own core is an ice core.

Jazz and Danny are very close from a young age since their parents are more or less absent. She raises Danny practically, and once he gets into high school and The Accident happens he drifts because of the secret. This is why Jazz throws herself into psychology.

Danny gained Jazz's music taste over the years from exposure, so he likes different genres and doesn't really have a favorite. Jazz recently has an emo phase before The Accident, so he currently enjoys rock, alt rock, and general alt music ATM. He likes pop because that's the genre his peers are into (like Ember). He's never really had a big opinion about music, so he just listens to what is around him

Out of some of the alt rock bands, he listens to what's popular. Jazz showed him Fall Out Boy and Set It Off first to ease him into it, and he likes them.

Danny's ghostly tied item is a small rocket ship toy his parents bought him (see Ghostly tied items. Also called Ghost objects)

Danny is a trans man, but in Reality Trip he may have changed this. I might expand on this, but as a trans person I automatically saw the opportunity and after that we see him without a shirt so I made jokes about how he changed himself to be cis.

I also see him as bisexual, female preference. But he doesn't really think it's important to label his sexuality and has only really had three crushes and he's 14 when he realizes it because he gets a crush on a random guy for two seconds then moves on. He's 14 he doesn't need to have it figured out, y'know? I didn't when I was his age so it doesn't actually matter to him. He just knows he's fruity

Danny has nightmares. Bad nightmares. Nightmares of being dissected by his parents, Amity Park mobbing him for a witch hunt, his friends dying, of Dan (TUE evil Danny will be referred to as Dan) coming back. Stuff like that.

Danny is touch starved from an absent parent childhood. Don't get him wrong, they were there and showed him love and they're so proud of him. But they weren't... there. Y'know? They would give him hugs here and there but he doesn't have positive physical contact memories. So whenever his friends hug him he loves it. When they hold hands he loves it.

Danny and Tucker are close. In the way that when they were younger they'd take naps next to each other. They're platonic and people thought they were dating in middle school before Sam joined them. Sam wasn't always goth and was more opened up in middle school. But 8th grade hit and she saw Jazz go into her emo phase and she found goth and that scene understood how she felt inside (insert Sam's trauma from being in a picture perfect family and the pressure coupled up with her parents controlling her every move. And she just doesn't like pink and light colored stuff y'know). Sam also enjoys the contact, but only from her friends and mom. She loves her mom. I got off topic, but she would never actually use the photo against them. Besides, she partook in the sleep pile and still does. They just never talk about it.

He's called Daniel (aka full named) by Vlad and Lancer because it's them genuinely respecting his identity. Lancer did it to reinforce the name. The town is actually very pro-trans and accepted Danny with ease. But some people still messed up, y'know. So Lancer does his best (he cares deeply about his students)

Talking about Lancer; he noticed Danny's changes in behavior. After Danny spent a few days in the hospital for The Accident, Danny changed. He is constantly worried for Danny.

Dash and the popular kids also noticed and let up for a bit and did feel bad for him. On days he's visibly not feeling good, they don't bully him. They're not heartless. Just bullies.

The class knows he was in an ecto based accident, so they think that's why he's a bit weird and the ghosts are attracted to him. Even if others don't believe it, they just go along with it for the sake of Danny

Danny is also the Ghost King. After defeating Pariah Dark, the recrowning process starts and months later he ends up being King. Clockwork hints that this was planned from before he was born since he knows how time will go. Clockwork had made sure he got to this point.

Danny begrudgingly became king and is actually quite happy with it. The ghosts treat him slightly better and they've come to a mutual understanding with Danny.

Danny really likes space and he has a collection of space books and rocket ship models. He's been to Cape Canaveral multiple times with his family and he used to spend nights on his roof with Jazz looking at constellations. That's why when they went to camp that Sam made them watch the stars. She knew that he wanted to be an astronaut and admired the stars

Danny's ghostly obsession is protection (see Ghostly obsessions). Since he is half ghost, he isn't always having to obey his ghostly obsession. But he doesn't have a say in it. Some days he is strongly attached to it, when something triggers it or it's just one of those days. Then sometimes he has almost no connection to it. It's why sometimes he would rather not deal with everything and wants to give up his powers (or doesn't care) then turns around and is over protective. But in the end, it's protection because his subconscious recognizes he should have been protected from the accident and that no one looked after him to stop it.

Danny also never gets sick. If something's up, it's ghost related.

Being Ghost King means that he is one of the most powerful ghosts. He just is too young and inexperienced to understand and be able to use his power. We already know Dan was the most powerful, so its possible.

Have I mentioned that he is begrudgingly King, so whenever he is interrupted in his daily life for King duties, he is openly annoyed.

The ghosts fetching him will overshadow his classmates to talk to him, or Sam and Tucker, since he made it clear his human life cannot cross paths. They respect their king so after the first time of him enforcing it they just stuck to overshadowing.

Danny is 100% repelled by blood blossoms as a ghost and is only allergic as human. He will sneeze if he smells them, get rashes and hives if he touches them. If he ingests small amounts he will just get sick and poisoned, throat will swell slightly and tongue goes numb. He may have bad stomach problems. But if he eats a lot it can possibly send him into anaphylactic shock. (I have more on blood blossoms later)

Danny does have gnarly scarring on his chest and back from the Accident. It disappears into his skin as a ghost, since ghosts seem to not show injuries or death related scars on them. But as a human they're raised; some parts pink and some white. They spiderweb across his chest and back, blossoming out of his right (our left) side. He has some on the back of his neck and there's a few underneath his hair (which is thick enough to cover). There's a few scarring on his arms and hands, but they're small enough to not be noticed.

His eyes used to be fully blue, like an icey lighter blue with dark blue edges, but around the edges are little spikes of green that you can't see unless you're close and looking into them. Dash noticed it one day when he pushed Danny against a wall and commented on it. Danny called him a weirdo for looking into his eyes enough to notice.

He will get phantom pains randomly in his chest. They're from his organs being damaged from the Accident and his core sits near where his heart is when he's a ghost, so if his core is hurt then his heart aches. Vice versa.

Danny's death was horrible and every once in a while he gets flashes of it. His ghost and human half will try to fully take over and he will have the feeling shoot through him and he kinda jolts. His eyes will change slightly, just a moment of flickering.

Danny always has a pull or need to go into the Ghost Zone. It's like his DNA is calling to go home and absorb the natural energy. It is also because he is the core of the Ghost Zone (will be explained later)

I feel like Danny would have trust issues and PTSD. He'd hate sudden loud noises and sudden blinding light. It will shake him to the core because of the accident. He doesn't like thunder and lightning (the type that lights up the room and is really close and blinding. Not the distant little line in the sky ones)

I feel like he would also not have a good sense of self identity. He would feel alienated from humans AND ghosts because of how Ghosts don't treat him like normal, and how humans just aren't the same anymore and the ones who know treat him differently. Even if the ones who don't know, he just can't fully relate anymore. He also can't be close to the only two (technically) who can relate since Dani isn't around and he doesn't trust Vlad. Makes him uneasy and feel like shit constantly. (Also the fact that he doesn't feel like a guy fully and can't relate to girls anymore but has the lingering connection. Y'know, trans stuff).

Human world

A lot of this is set Post-S2 and Pre-Phanton Planet and most of S3, so Vlad is mayor but no one besides Sam, Tucker, and Jazz know for (canon) humans. Thought I'd give a timeline.

The town LOVES Phantom. After a year or two of him openly saving people, they treat him differently. The Fentons still don't like him but barely tolerate him. They'll try to capture him still and want to dissect him.

The town as a whole think the Fentons are crackjobs that shouldn't have the funding they do, but if they're managing ghost levels with Phantom then they're okay to stay. They also acknowledge that as destructive as the two parents are, they do actually help and know what they're doing

There's different types of ghost hunters in the world; theology based and science based. It depends what region you're from and your roots.

There are people like the Fentons, Men in White, and the various others we see who are science based and somewhat understand very basic ghost biology and rules because they studied it and went to school for it (or have scientist families).

Then there's theology based hunters (who would best be compared to the Winchesters in SPN) who come from lines of old school hunters. The theology hunters are just as valid because their system works (salt and iron work, holy water depends on the type). But the scientific world laughs at them because they're seen as archaic and outdated.

Blood blossoms were bred centuries ago by the original theology hunters. The legend states that a hunter received seeds from their god and was told to burry it in salt and iron inside of a graveyard. The flowers grew into blood red flowers and kept ghosts away. They were bred with a few other flowers to have them in different regions. There are no cases of allergies or being harmful to humans, even for ones that were centuries ago crossbred with flowers that are known to not be good for consumption. They seem to always be edible to humans and are grown in churches and graveyards specifically. They taste like rose and sweet, according to people who have access to them.

The town didn't believe in ghosts at first, but did halfway through S1.

Wes exists in this. I know enough about Wes to say that he just happens to be a ginger look alike to Danny and they were friends in middle school. His parents told him to stop being friends with Danny, especially post-accident. He is one of the first to realize Danny is Phantom and isn't fixed in Reality Trip since Danny thinks it's HILARIOUS. And nobody believes Wes.

Word travels quickly in this small town, like normal. So there's a giant gossip mill; being anywhere near the popular kids will give you a chance to hear just about anything and you can get about anything in there if you talk loud about. Tucker and Sam use this to their advantage sometimes. So do other students. It's great

The town loves Vlad, but think he's weird as hell. They can tell he beefs with Danny but doesn't know why.

Talking bout Vlad, his ghostly obsession is being loved. That's why he is so obsessed with Maddie Fenton. When he found out Danny was half ghost like him, he was added to the need for love. He wants Danny to love him like a father just as much as Maddie to love him as a husband. But as Maddie rejects him, he starts to shift his focus more on Danny becoming his son. He acknowledges that Danny will never want to be his kid, so that's why he creates the clones. He's a really lonely dude and his obsession is what basically corrupted him and turned him evil, from being unchecked and never balanced. If he was regulated like Danny, he would be just like Danny and less effected by it.

For the clones, Dani was actually the perfect clone because she was the only female clone. Vlad just didn't like that and so he wanted to have a perfect male one to be respectful to Danny. But he realized it later on and that's why he wanted Dani to come back and stabilize her after he lost the Perfect Clone.

The other clones weren't perfect, which led to them being barely sentient. They were ghost alive. But... they were practically hive minded.

Anyways, Dani is just out in the world stabilized now. She came back and got Dani to use his cool King powers to fix her. She still met Valerie and D-Stabalized events kinda happened but not at that time and exact. So Valerie knows about Dani and likes her. Y'know? You do.

Valerie figures out Vlad isn't a great dude, but she's gonna use his resources and just go along with his shit and kinda comes to an agreement with Vlad. Vlad does slightly care about her through proxy because of Danny.

Vlad doesn't personally care about people in Danny's life, but goddamn is he gonna by proxy care because he wants Danny to be happy. Vlad also does care about Jazz. Just not as much sadly.

Jazz is liked by the popular kids by the way. She's a bit weird, she's a Fenton. But they think she's very pretty and Jazz helps them pass classes. So who cares if she's related to the loser kid? She's older and cool in their eyes.

Jazz knows this. She's very smart. But she takes any friendship she can get.

I think I genuinely need to talk about Jack and Maddie for a second. They're not bad parents... they're just... they're not good parents. They genuinely love their kids. Jazz and Danny are the highlights of their life and they'd do anything to protect them. They just get carried away and are just too focused on their work so they became very absent and just not good parents. They never meant to be like this and they just never realized how badly it has gone. They don't realize the implications of growing up around aggressive environments are. They're not aggressive to the children, but seeing parents be aggressive in that degree to the point of making weapons will do something to kids. Even if the kids are just annoyed at this point. Jazz recognizes this and that's why she spent so much time trying to support Danny in the way she never got.

Also, the world does view Amity Park as one of the most haunted places. But they think it's more gimmick like. And since they don't have any hotels or Airbnb, no one really visits. The town made sure to not let hotels build in their town for this reason. The only thing you'll get is an Inn fifteen miles outside town limits. People do visit for ghosts. But it's not like people do for Salem or Point Pleasant.

His class over time realizes Danny is actually important to the ghosts because of small occurrences. But they don't know who he is. Eventually, they will find out one by one and be relatively chill about it in front of Danny. Only in front of Danny. Behind his back they're like oh my god he's phantom, king of ghosts. Guys what the fuc-

Ghost Zone/Ghosts

To start it off, there are different levels of ghosts. There's a hierarchy based off of power and respect. The more powerful you are, the higher you are and respected. There can be higher ghosts who aren't powerful due to respect.

There's the regular ones that we see, the Ancient ones that are canon, then there's the ghoul looking ones that are just generic and their obsession/items are fairly simple so they aren't too out there and can be controlled by others, then blob ones that are barely sentient. The blobs are usually animal souls that don't end up like Wulf or the other animal ones we've had episodes around.

Ghosts are created by extreme emotion and are fueled by human emotion and ectoplasm. Either they died with a ton of emotion or someone had too much emotion surrounding their death (that's why blobs tend to be pets that died. Or ghoul like ones had enough people shocked and upset over their death).

Their bodies run off of ectoplasm and ecto energy, which holds them together and fuels them. It allows them to conjure themselves and exist because the Ghost Zone gives it to them.

They are drawn to people who have been exposed to major ecto energy (which would be why they're drawn to Amity Park. So much exposure everywhere. So much) or heavy emotions. Which is why a lot of them feed off of them too

Ghost Cores are the metaphorical hearts and souls of ghosts. It hold their emotion and energy together. It fuels them and keeps them pulled together. If you get rid of the core/destroy it, the Ghost is completely gone. It cannot move on. It cannot reform. It's deader than dead. If you harm the core simply, they can barely keep form. They kinda become goopy and become extremely tangible. It causes their being to not keep.

There are different types of cores, as such in canon. You can have mixed cores or normal cores. Depends on your powers and your color is based off of your alignment and core.

Ghostly obsessions is what raw emotion effected the ghost. They could have had this obsession all their life, like Box Ghost loving boxes, or having to surround their death, like Danny's being protection. They are compelled by their obsession. They must follow it and are obsessed. They can be normal sometimes, but it's only when their obsession is not being challenged. That is your very being because it fuels your core with that very emotion and can give you powers.

Your ghostly tied item/ghost item is what you are tied to in the real world and you are tethered to. If it is destroyed, you are forced to move on. It isn't like the core, as that is the heart/soul. This is more like a leash that allows them to be connected to the human world and not just the Ghost Zone. Some ghosts don't know what it is or where it is. But Johnny 13 has his bike, Pandora's is her box. Danny's is a rocket replica because his parents gave it to him and he protects it. But some of them simply don't know where it is and don't care. Some have things that were buried with them or clothing they loved. They're still around because someone just hasn't destroyed or found it yet.

A blob's ghost item could be a collar or favorite toy if it was a pet. Things that are kept as memories.

A ghost haunt applies to a ghost that mainly resides in the human world, like Danny. They own that area and it is theirs. They usually do not have a lair in the Ghost Zone because they're the same thing, but on the human plane. But ghosts tend to get aggressive towards other ghosts who enter their haunt, so that's why Danny is a bit aggressive. Especially as he gets older and more in tune with being half ghost.

A ghost lair is simply just the ghost's claimed area in the Ghost Zone. Most have them and blobs and more ghoul looking ones will freely roam since they aren't powerful or "important"/high enough. They will tho, if they have a master to serve, stay with them. Laira are usually guarded and keep territorial ties to their owner, but not as strong as a haunt.

Ghosts with haunts will routinely go back into the Ghost Zone. This is for health, survival instincts, or for other reasons. Portals tend to appear more often in haunts because of this.

Ghosts need ectoplasm to survive. Simple. That's why they go in and out of the Ghost Zone a lot of they're in the human realm

The ecto weapons use ectoplasm and reverse engineers it to harm them. Reverse polarity and all. And the reason why salt/iron/holy water works on them is because it purifies and can control the energy. Plus, since they're based off of emotion, if enough people will it to work it will.

Blood blossoms effect them so well because of this. The salt and iron in the breeding mixed with the pure belief. And at some point someone started to soak the seeds in the reversed ectoplasm. But humans don't know that. They're just hardcore believers.

The Ghost zone is partially sentient. That's how it opens up portals and controls ectoplasmic levels. It is a realm made of ecto energy and ectoplasm in the end, so it makes sense. It was crated because human souls needed a limbo between reincarnation (hell/heaven doesn't actually exist in my version. Just a limbo and a few other realms that will be mentioned later). The Ghost Zone needs a core to keep it all together, and it tends to choose a ghost to be it's core. But it chooses very carefully and can move the core to a new ghost if it senses danger. Self preservation.

The Zone chose Danny because it knew it could trust Danny. Which is why Danny is destined to be inherently the most powerful. And the Ghost Zone can loosely be understood by the ancient ones, like Clockwork and Observers. And now Danny.

Every Ghost can speak Ghost Speak. It is an old language that Latin is based off of loosely. Humans cannot understand it. Some have loosely learned it and have trained to understand it. But it's very difficult since they don't have the right vocal chords. Or... have them. Ghosts don't actually have them.

Ghosts can switch freely between whatever human language they speak and then ghost. While speaking to other ghosts, especially in the Ghost zone, they speak in ghost speak. That's how they all understand each other and not have to learn a new human language. It's quite literally in their brain hardwired. It's the ectoplasm and ghost zone doing it. Plus the Ghost zone likes to slightly give mind them so it needs them to know it.

Death day is when they died. It's normally not that pleasant of a day because they can feel how they died throughout the day. Some relive it as a death echo if they're on the human plane, then some just have flashbacks. Some just relive the pain. Normally they like to be alone. But some will be with others. They are literally reliving their deaths because their energy is all jazzed and upset. It's a horrible reminder.

Death days are treated like sad birthdays. So it'll be a truce for that specific ghost and normally the others will give them things to make them feel better. Like... small gifts or words of encouragement. Or if they know their obsession, something to do with it.

Death echoes are not fun. There are a few ghosts who are always trapped in them and have to be released, those are normally weaker ghosts who don't have enough energy to move to the zone so they're trapped. But the stronger ones will leave an echo of energy at their death; which means that if they're on the human plane when death day comes they will reunite with the echo and be stuck in it until the time of death. They will not be themselves, but the fragment of the bit leading up to their death. A literal ghost of themselves being forced in a loop of their death. Think about yelling down a large tunnel and it echoes forever, except when you go back a year later you're forced to keep doing it until the original one is due at the same time.

The final echo will actually physically effect them as they're let go of the echo (for that year). The effects will disappear. (So for example, Danny for the whole day if he's in Amity Park will be stuck as a translucent almost non sentient, not knowing what's going on around him, replay of the Accident. Whoever is there will watch it happen again and again, but only him and not the others, until it comes time for his death and he comes out looking burn and electrocuted. Then it'll disappear and he'll be normal. No memory of the day besides the pain of the last one)

The Ghost zone can't really stop the echo unless they're inside the ghost zone. It contains them and protects them, so that's why they will leave their haunts or just go back for the day.

There is actual royalty, which is the Ghost King and and his court. The king can marry and have a queen. There can be ghost queen as rulers if a girl wings the crown. It just so happens the last two/three have been guys. Whoever rule's full title is king/queen ruler then their partner is king/queen consort. There can be two kings or two queens this way, and it's even gender wise. Yippee. Princes/princesses are children and do not actually hold any right to the thrown unless their ruler turns it over or they overthrow. It's a formality and political status out of respect. It barely happens.

The Ghost King is earned by right of conquest. So Danny challenging Pariah Dark and winning meant that he stripped Pariah of his crown and title. Everyone involved could lay claim if Danny does not take the crown and challenge Danny. And if someone does challenge Danny, then the ghosts will be able to access whether or not they actually do have the right or should be allowed.

Vlad actually challenged the right, but most of the ghosts knew Vlad was a bad option and vetoed him before Danny even knew what was going on. Vlad knew exactly what was happening and that's why he wanted to awaken him. He just... didn't plan out the events that unfolded.

But how normally the crowning works is that the crown would return to the Ghost Zone, and the Zone would present it to one of the Ancients. Whoever defeated the previous king will automatically receive title of Prince (which Danny didn't know but the others knew). The Ancient will then send out lesser ghosts or allies of the newly titled Prince to announce their new right. They will be brought to a coronation ceremony where they will accept or decline.

If they accept, they will be bound to the title and they will gain new powers literally and metaphorically. They will gain the King's Keep as a new lair. And they will be diplomatically/politically responsible for the new era

The King's court is mostly appointed with the exception of the higher ranking ghosts. They have a right to be on there.

The Ghost King is what people precieve as Satan/Lucifer/the Devil actually. But in the sake of continuity, they're just summoning the Ghost King by that name. Y'know. Only the religious folk call him by religious titles. Same dude.

This ties into the fact that the Ghost King and other ghosts can be summoned. Anything having to do with king/Satan/devil summonings the Ghost Zone will literally route to the Ghost King. Most "powerful ghost/demon" ones will more than likely be a powerful ghost, but the ghost zone will put the king in there also. If someone isn't specific in the summoning, they'll get someone with a related obsession to their goal or just a lower level generic ghost (probably a ghoul like one).

Which means Danny will be summoned from time to time. He can easily get back since it's a portal that can't be seen besides the summoned. Silly stuff tbh. People don't do it too much, but it's often enough to make him have a system for it.

Half Ghosts only have two natural cases and one unnatural. Dani isn't considered a true half ghost by the ghosts since she is a clone. They don't see her as anything other than a clone of Danny who is now her own person. They treat Danny and Vlad the same.

The term Halfa is the term for being half ghost, and most ghosts don't necessarily mean it in a mean way since it's just their slang term for half ghost. But some do use it in a mean way (the ones who don't like humans and hate the idea that two powerful ghosts are half human. Some ghosts are just dicks and use the term blob in the same way)

Since Danny doesn't talk about half ghosts to other ghosts a lot, he doesn't use the term. Sam and Tucker were confused when he first said it and looked a bit concerned. He explained what it means and they just nodded slowly. His friends personally don't like it, but just don't use it unless talking to ghosts.

A lot of the more powerful ghosts don't like it when the humans call them anything besides ghost or ectos, especially when they're called ghoulies. When they're called ghoulies they see it as being deemed the same as lower powered and they get offended.

Don't ask a ghost how they died. You don't need to ask exactly what their obsession is; if you can figure it out you can be like "oh this is it." But asking directly is a bit weird and rude. And don't ask them directly what their ghostly tied item is. Usually it's personal. C'mon guys. You wouldn't ask someone their deepest personal trauma. Why would you do that to them??

Also, it should be obvious that not all ghosts are evil. But a lot of them are just mean spirited or the emotions that made them aren't nice so they just... yeah. They can be good and nice people obviously. They just don't tend to be all the time

Also, Christmas truce came from three kings ago. Pariah Dark's full reign when he wasn't locked up caused a pause, but when he was locked up it continued.

Other

There's other realms, like the dream realm and the area outside of time that Clockwork lives in.

The Observers also live in the area outside of time, but do follow the main continuity of time. They do not care about the other continuities or timelines. The timelines exist but aren't the main one, so they don't really matter. Just branches that fizzle out after a bit. The Observers' job, along with Clockwork, is to protect the main one. Think kinda like TVA except like... you obey a realm and not some man playing god. And they don't just cut off the timelines. They just redirect the main one and let the others naturally fizzle out

There are Ghosts of __, like how we have the ghost of time and dreams. They're powerful and are important for the Infinite Realms to exist. Clockwork knows where to find them if needed, as he is one. Nocturn is kinda just an asshole and Clockwork keeps him in check. He knew Nocturn wouldn't win so he let the guy have his fun and then kinda reprimanded him on the side

Dan also exists outside of time now. Clockwork lets him outside the thermos sometimes and has put a blocker on his powers so he can't use them. Dan says it's inhumane and Clockwork hits him with a "maybe don't kill a ton of people and ruin the timeline. Ever thought of that?" (Obviously not exact words). It works. Dan is just glad to be out of that thermos.

Dan also really wants to meet Dani. Clockwork shows her story to him, and even though Dan doesn't have his human side he is interested in her and want to know more.

I just really want Dan to eventually get some humanity back and Clockwork is a manipulative ass, so he would use Dani as a tactic.

[faksyan]

12/16/19 :3

ooohh boyy that got really long. lots of mgs rambles under the cut. thanks for the ask!!! very slight nsfw mention in the second one, nothing major.

12) the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I'll be honest I'm actually still familiar with some of the games only on surface-level (fake fan I know), and I don't think I have anyone like that from those I know well.

Well, Paz, but I talked about her a bit in the last ask already. She is full of rage and loneliness and gets just a glimpse of real affection and friendship and I find a lot of these themes very compelling. And I guess all the women in general, because fandom spaces usually gravitate towards men, and with mgs it's even less surprising. I really, really like Eva in Snake Eater, but that's mostly due to my own interpretation rather than the writing. I feel like her understanding of love must be really interesting as someone who was taught to pretend/actually feel on some level love on command, and I also think it's interesting that she was the one The Boss opened to. I really wish so many mgs women's traits weren't so tightly linked with romance, man. Quiet is also so cool, but she too suffers from being reduced to just that.

I really like The Boss, she's such a interesting contradiction - cold and strict, but also full of love for the while world and ready to give everything she has to make it just that much better. I would love to see in more detail things about her and Sorrow, an actual game with her as a protagonist would be awesome. Strangelove's tapes in pw are absolutely fascinating as well, the one where she's talking to Joy's ai almost made me cry, and she generally has some pretty interesting take on some things. I really liked the part where she talks about how ai would be an amalgamation of people's consciousness rather than of individual's in the future, because that put into words part of why I hate ai-generated images and text that people call art.

16) you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Well, I can get people liking anything on account of different tastes, so this is more about popular takes I don't really get because of how different my reading of canon is, I guess? Like the idea of bbkaz being abusive to a point where Kaz was having a horrible terrible time every day at every corner. I've seen it in some fics, and kind of get where people go with it, but I think Kaz "almost blew himself up with a grenade so he wouldn't be taken prisoner" Miller would rather die than be treated like shit. He would blow up their shared tent if it ever came to it ya feel me. He is too proud and too impulsive and too much of everything. They respected and listened to each other and I'd say a lot of their issues were kind of more subtle? in a way. What they had definitely wasn't healthy in many aspects, but it was in ways where they both could ignore/didn't feel it was that bad at the moment, that type of thing.

I read through almost the entirety of ocelhira tag on ao3, and i could write a whole list of stuff about them that I personally see differently as that part of the fandom. I'm very picky when it comes to them, in no way those are bad, and I've /seen/ them being executed in a way I enjoyed, I just don't really get them. The main things I don't really see are, as follows:

That they hate each other (next to zero basis of that before the ending of v, and even this can be argued about.)

They would punch each other on the first meeting or shortly after (never seen either of them as people who would resort to violence in a more business-like setting. because that's how I see them approach what they have. Ocelot mainly uses violence in specific scenarios like interrogations and is good at controlling his emotions. Kaz is impulsive but he is a businessman to the bone. Maybe he'd punch Ocelot at some point but definitely not early on. I feel like the main instigator of random CQC is Snake after all, and without him they would figure things out differently.)

They would fuck on the first meeting or shortly after (Ocelot is weird about intimacy and doesn't trust anyone and is a spy who's probably never had friends or lovers, in any meaningful sence of the words. Also he's on aroace spectrum to me. I don't think Kaz would have sex with a person he genuinely despises even if he found them appealing, out of sheer stubbornness. If he hates a person he hates them, same reason why I don't think bbkaz would work in any way past v. Even if Kaz tried to hook up with Ocelot in the beginning, he would probably kill him for a mere insinuation. Give me the intricate details of getting to know a person and figuring shit out, they had nine whole years.)

There's probably more, but this is getting like. super long sorry my bad. And sorry so much of it is about ships, the platonic tags are barren as a desert I gotta write and draw some myself✌️

19) you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Vocelot a bit maybe (not necessarily romantic or sexual) because the whole concept of them having a close relationship could go a very fucked-up route (like a bit more than the average mgs level). Not really ashamed, that's why I like it, it has a sort of a Hannigram feel to it. Even in case where they genuinely care about each other, there are still some weird power dynamics and mind games and codependency. I just generally find ideas of brainwashing really unsettling.

Also I really like Huey as a character. am I allowed to say that. am I getting fed to the bears. I can and will elaborate at some point, I just really like characters who are unredeemable impossible hypocrites (hey, that's part of why I'm a Kaz Miller fan) and Huey is just. vastly misunderstood when it comes to what caused him to spiral, none of which helps his case but it's INTERESTING. Instead he's just being reduced to a punching bag without taking a look at what exactly led up to it all. Grantedly, I don't think Kojima thought about it that deeply at all, but it came out as a vivid critique of how society and especially military treats men who are disabled/not "masculine" enough/can't stand up for themselves. to me. and I like that.

[dingoat]

hi sorry I haven't gotten around to your ask yet I'm working on it, BUT I'm tossing the favorite SWTOR oc question back your way (and also whether they're following canon or doing their own thing).

I'd also love to know if you have any particular bothan headcanons you like a lot.

Hi hi!! Don't worry at all, please take your time with your response! We're all here for fun and interactions, not pressure, right? And thankyou for asking!!!

Now, part one is easy, haha. Ahuska is hands down my number one best favourite SWTOR OC, even if she appears somewhat differently in game than in my imagination. She's my main toon, the only one actually up to speed with game content, the only one with passable gear, lots of fun pets and mounts and outfits, and is currently working on polishing up her Mojo Dojo Copero Dream House.

(I absolutely need to draw her as her proper bothan self in this outfit!)

BUT, where she matters to me even more than that is in her story/RP, and here things diverge... quite a lot, hahaha. Very very originally she was just a toon that I made to PVP alongside my husband with (I actually did think of her as a bothan right from the start), but when I found myself hungry for RP I fleshed her out a little to join a RP guild in game which is where her life really started (particularly owing to @koboldgirl and the exceptional times we've had writing together). The group's premise was a Mandalorian clan rebuilding itself after all the Zakuul business, but despite that vague timeframe her story never really touched on swtor events or canon characters (the toon is an Imperial Agent but she is not REMOTELY an Agent, even as much as I love the IA storyline). Over time I made a bunch of wonderful friends in the swtor community and Ahuska's story has intercepted a few others here and there, and from that perspective keeping the timeline vague/unimportant and away from key canon characters/moments has really helped with being able to have her interact with others without contradicting their own things they have going on. I think engaging with other characters/writers is what motivates me more than anything and I get a tonne of joy in seeing/considering/plotting how they might interact!

(Read more for things getting weird and werewolfy.)

Now, Ahuska also took a deep dive into an AU with @askshivanulegacy that started as a halloween drabble challenge and has somehow become literal years of very intense worldbuilding and fiction and words can't describe how much I love this story, hahaha. It's still very much Ahuska, and very much swtor, it's just... swtor if the Empire managed to perfect a weird-science-sith-alchemy-intelligence-conditioning combo to create a very star-warsy version of werewolves (and were-any-other-critter). The first generation were designed to be secret soldiers/weapons, but the project failed and Ahuska is the sole survivor, going on a wonderful journey of self liberation and learning what truly makes a monster. The second generation (and all subsequent) came from Intel refining the technology and utilising it as an extra toolset for the most elite of elite Cipher agents, which is where almost all the rest of the cast comes from. Naturally there's a lot of divergence from canon here by the very nature of things, but funnily we also lean on a lot more canon swtor story beats, particularly when we look ahead to the KotFE and beyond time period.

I have so much love for every iteration of Ahuska, honestly, and I know I've mentioned it here and there but she really truly did play a huge role in pulling me out of a pretty grim place, not only helping me rediscover a lot of creativity but also helping to restore my trust and faith in people in general. She's led me to people who are now my absolute dearest friends, which in turn has taken me quite literally, physically across this humble planet we live on. I genuinely believe sharing stories is a massive part of what makes us human and I get very sentimental when I consider what a significant place this silly little bothan holds in my heart <3

Now, it's getting late for me, haha, so I will probably visit the second part of your ask in another post, but I love that as a question! >3 Once again ty for sending this and I can't wait to hear about yours!

[canonically47]

my queer hcs for 2023 TDI reboot characters <3

hello all! after watching all the way through to episode four of the second season, i realized my old hcs kind of contradict canon, and they've changed drastically based on that.

here are my new and updated headcanons, how much of them is canon, and why i hc them this way!

headcanons:

bowie: gay (canon), cisgender, he/him

raj: gay (canon), transgender ftm, he/him

wayne: aroace, cisgender, he/him

caleb: straight, cisgender, he/him

zee: panromantic demiaroace, non-binary, they/them

ripper: straight, cisgender, he/him

chase: straight, cisgender, he/him

damien: biromantic demisexual, transgender ftm, he/him

scary girl: aroace, agender, it/she (it/itself preference)

julia: lesbian, cisgender, she/her

MK: lesbian, non-binary, they/she (they/them preference)

axel: bisexual, transgender mtf, she/her

nichelle: lesbian, transgender mtf, she/her

priya: bisexual, cisgender, she/her

millie: unlabelled, cisgender, she/her

emma: aromantic sapphic, cisgender, she/her

details such as reasonings, closeness to canon etc.:

bowie: canonically gay. there's not much to say about him. i don't see a bit of transness in him, but he is definitely a strong ally.

raj: canonicaly gay. also not much to say; i just think he's... a bit cooler than gender.

wayne: he's just like me fr!! well the aromantic part but! he is so much like me!!!

caleb: funnily enough, i hced him as gay before this season. now i have changed my ways; i'm actually rooting for him and priya to get together. look at that dynamic!

zee: zee is beyond gender and sexuality. they like everyone, but they only feel attracted to people sexually and romantically when they know them on a deeper level. i also am debating whether or not i like them and damien together atm, so that's cool :3

ripper: my man! his romance with axel this season is great so far, and i cannot for the life of me believe i am saying this. he's such a guy, and has proven himself better this season. just look at he!

chase: yeah fuck this guy that's all

damien: similarly to zee, sexual attraction only comes to my man if he knows the person. i feel like this is pretty in-character. i also hc him as biromantic, but he probably fears romantic interactions equally for each gender, for which he's questioned his sexuality multiple times and thought he might even be aromantic. i feel like this hc also appeals to both priyamien and dwayne shippers so you're welcome /hj

scary girl: it just is this way you're welcome

julia: look at her dynamic with MK. and then get back to me if you can't see it. /j

MK: same as above! i love mkulia <3

axel: heLLOOO have you LOOKED at her. she is bisexual but a DISASTER bisexual at that!!! i hc that before realizing her feelings for ripper she was helplessly in love with nichelle and just gazed at her from afar like... oh my god pretty girlfailure... must kiss... which is kinda the reason she fell for ripper too, SHE LIKES HER MEN, WOMEN AND ANYTHING BEYOND DUMB AS A ROCK!!!

nichelle: not much to say just. her!

priya: even before this season i could not for the life of me ship her with anyone, i settled for just heterosexual, but NOW i can see why. NOW... there's caleb. and i like where their relationship is going. seeing both caleb and priya so in love is hilarious and adorable. i still think she would be good with a girl, maybe not necessarrily one on the cast but. A girl

millie: she is so?? confused?? what the fuck is going on?????? like she likes people but also. not?? is that a thing????? what????????????

emma: she's just like me fr. she thought she wanted a man that treats her right GIRL NO! she doesn't want a man PERIOD!

and finally, pairings:

bowie x raj. do i need to add anything?

zee x damien. hear me out.

zee x emma but like... not romantically, not platonically, but a secret third thing

mk x julia. MKULIAERS WHERE YALL AT!!!

ripper x axel. i fucking adore them.

caleb x priya. the slowburn can and will be so real with these two.

[thesummerstorms]

Camp Half-Blood Numbers Over Time

Okay, I was originally doing this to figure out my own headcanons and confirm what I had figured out before, but I thought it might be useful to actual PJO fic writers or something.

So here's a quick reference post of the number of demigods in CHB through out the first series (not HoO or TOA) with screenshots of the relevant text evidence. Everything from The Last Olympian & "Son of Magic" is under a cut because there were more quotes to pull and things got long.

Beginning of the Lightning Thief: 100+ Campers attend CHB in the summer

(mentioned in BOTL as a contrast)

Begining of Battle of the Labyrinth: ~80 Campers left in attendance at CHB

Number of Campers dead in actual BOTL: 2+

(Lee Fletcher & Castor are confirmed dead, but more deaths are implied by the phrases "among the dead" and "there were too many goodbyes" which would be odd if only referring to two deaths)

Number of Campers Dead between Battle of the Labyrinth & Battle of Manhattan: ~1+ Beckendorf dies on screen. It's implied that there are demigods on raids and missions spread throughout the country, and we don't know the results of those.

Number of New Campers between BOTL & TLO: 0.

Number of Campers @ Battle of Manhattan: 40 before the Ares Cabin showed up.

45+ after Ares Cabin arrived. (Chris, 3 specific Ares kids, Clarisse + an unknown number of "cabin mates)

Kids left at Camp during the B.o.M.: 0 (it's unknown if the difference between the number from BOTL and those at Manhattan is due entirely to losses during the Battle of the Labyrinth or other previous skirmishes/missions.

Some of the missing numbers might be kids who chose not to fight, kids were sent home for being to young/unable to fight, kids who deserted, kids who were on other missions and couldn't make it back in time, etc.)

Campers Dead On-Screen in the B.o.M.: ~5-6 (Silena Beauregard, Ares kid eaten by Drakon, Apollo kid eaten by hellhound, Michael Yew, Apollo kid under shroud, possibly that Ares kid whose armor was destroyed by acid given what the acid did to Silena through her helmet)

Possible Off-Screen Deaths: ??? Many???

It's mentioned that some CHB demigods disappeared during the fighting.

Many are too injured to keep fighting and could have died from their wounds since only 16 Campers out of 45+ are in fighting shape on the final day of the Battle.

The Apollo cabin likely had more than three losses since they were referred to in the plural even when Michael had sent Kayla and Austin to lay traps and the one had already been killed by the hellhound, even though the only other named Apollo kid is Will. However, the exact numbers are unknown.

While Apollo went from having the second most number of kids to only having three kids at the start of at least TOA (possibly HOO? I don't remember enough to search for that) we don't know how many were lost here, how many were lost in other skirmishes, how many defected, or how many aged out after the War or left for other reasons.

Deaths During the B.o.M. per Alabaster: 16

Technically he said this was CHB 's losses total, but someone already disproved the possibility of this including the Hunters, Satyrs, centaurs, or nature spirits so we can infer it is mostly likely meant to be the number of demigods.

I don't love Son of Magic as a source for several reasons including narrator bias. Plus we know the "hundreds" of causalities can't be all TA demigods based on CHB's prior numbers and the run down the other poster did on the on screen ration of monsters to demigods in the TA.

But this is canon and isn't directly contradicted elsewhere, so do with it what you will.

New Campers who arrived after the B.O.M.:

??? Many, compared to the previous few summer's number of "new enrollments", but exact numbers are unspecified.

Son of Magic also states that some former defectors rejoined camp under an amnesty, though it's never brought up anywhere else and no numbers are given. It does seem strange that it's never a point of contention, honestly.

Ending Figures?

Because of the vagueness of the descriptions of the number of defectors and new kids, we don't end up with an updated total number of Campers. (There may be evidence in HOO but that's another post.)

Personally I would interpret it as still slightly under the enrollment during TLT. It's also going to be a really interesting dynamic because so many of the "replacement" numbers missed the war entirely but are going to be walking into a Camp that is dealing with its aftermath.

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

For character ask game: Gabe-1,2,14,18,20

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Aaah it's so difficult to put it into words. I generally really like characters who are "normal" and achieve everything because of their dreams, motivation and hard work and Gabe is literally "just some guy", he's our best look into Shuriki era Avalor and literally, his whole story and character development could have not happened if not for one decision made not even by him, that we didn't even see in the show (him being made Elena's guard) and then if he didn't PUT HIS WHOLE HEART INTO IT!!!

And it's just that, I love how he changed throughout the show, how we see more sides of him and outside of that first promotion, everything that happens to him he has to work for (and tbf he probably had to do something meaningful to become Elena's guard too). He has big ambitions and a big heart which is literally the best combination.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hmm maybe how he never gives up? He might not believe in himself, he might be beaten or humiliated, it might seem hopeless, but he'll always stand up and fight for what he believes in.

And my second favourite thing is definitely how much he loves his friends and family <3

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Guard uniforms

Zbbdhzhs okay no, I have this one half-serious headcanon that Gabe is actually very knowledgeable in fashion, he just always wears the uniform because it's just the most comfortable given that he's almost always on duty when we see him. And it would probably be easier if I knew anything about fashion

But okay I tried putting together a little visualization!

So I definitely think that Gabe's personal style is definitely very simple and as much as he cares about looking well put together, he doesn't care all that much about what he wears, so what he has in To Queen or not to Queen I think is actually pretty realistic. But if I was to design him a casual outfit I'd say that he takes a lot of inspiration from Antonio Agama, since he's such a great fan of his, so he definitely goes for the "adventurer" vibes. So high boots with tucked in pants, a simple shirt with rolled up sleeves, except I'd give him a neckline more similar to Naomi's and an ascot, like Mateo's except maybe tied more loosely (he bonds with Mateo by going ascot shopping together.) As for colors I'd put him in warm, earthy tones - browns, beige, red, maybe some khaki, and navy for more elegant occasions (yes, because of his uniform)

And I know that's not what the question was about but I also started thinking about his style in the sense of modern fashion.

I think he'd still dress in a kind of military-but-casual style, he wants his clothes to be practical first and foremost. I allowed myself to give him a bit more accessories, since again, he's not flashy but a watch is just a useful thing to have. The paracord bracelet I imagine was a gift from some friend who thought that he should accessorize more XD and he wears it because hey, you never know when you might need a piece of rope. Also Gabe strikes me as the type to always be warm, so it's t-shirts for him for the majority of the year, but he'd look great in a biker jacket, you can't convince me otherwise. (Bonus not included: given how big of a fan of Antonio Agama, he definitely owned an Indiana Jones type of hat at some point and thought it made him look so cool. He still wears it sometimes when he's out of town with his closest friends and it kind of grew into an iconic part of his wardrobe between them.)

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

His friendship with Elena! Cause really, it's so diverse, since it's so full of contradictions and they're basically opposites in many aspects, but through all of this they just care for each other so much and it's just- A

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Ricoooooo

I'll be sharing my "Gabe and Rico are friends" propaganda until the day I die, I fully believe they are friends and in fact have been almost since the beginning of Gabe's time in the guard (okay, so maybe they weren't that close pre The Curse of El Guapo, but I still think they were at least work friends and definitely became closer with time, you can pry their friendship from my cold dead fingers)

Thank you so much for sending this ask!! As you know, I love talking about Gabe zbsggs

Ask game

[bedlamsbard]

so howard is a fun guy, right? and my question is actually fairly broad so you may do whatever you want with it! What are some assumptions/headcanons/crumbs of lore we've gotten about howard stark that you've taken and played with, and what is something you desperately wish we could learn? Welp, that's two questions.

Howard Stark is such an absolute weirdo and I love him; he's one of the few characters where I want to unironically study him like a bug, because the MCU made some very interesting decisions with the way he's introduced in IM1 and IM2, and then later how he's portrayed in CATFA, CATWS, Ant-Man, and CACW, with a nod to Agent Carter, because a lot of the worldbuilding of AC is, across the board, incompatible with the main saga. (Oh...I forgot he was in Endgame, too.)

The big thing about Howard Stark that makes him such a a weirdo is that he spends fifty years lying about the most important part of his life. Like, that sounds extreme, but that's what he does: IM1 sets up that he was the founder of Stark Industries and ran it until he died in 1991 (the December 16, 1991 date of his death is probably the only consistent date in the MCU). There's just that one odd comment that Obadiah Stane makes in IM1 to Tony: "For thirty years I've been holding you up -- I built this company from nothing!"

Howard died in 1991. (Tony was 21.) IM1 takes place in 2008. That's not thirty years, that's seventeen years.

In IM2 (2011 or 2010), Nick Fury reveals to Tony that Howard Stark was one of the founders of SHIELD, which CATWS bears out, and later in Ant-Man we see Howard with Peggy in the Triskelion in 1989 in the opening flashback with Hank Pym. In Endgame we see him at Camp Lehigh in SHIELD's secret base. In 1991 he's on his way to Washington DC -- Tony (in CACW) makes the assumption he's going to the Pentagon, but it's much more likely he's going to the Triskelion, which is also in DC. (Howard never contradicts him when Tony says the Pentagon.) I don't think we have a movie-canon job title for Howard's role at SHIELD, but it was probably something along the lines of Head of SHIELD Science.

Tony Stark never knows any of this -- the most we know that he knows is that Howard worked for SHIELD at one point in time, but not his entire life. Unless I'm mistaken, it is never made public knowledge that Howard Stark was a SHIELD founder and employee for almost half a century. Howard probably had almost nothing to do with Stark Industries except the public-facing parts, including the Expo; Obadiah Stane ran SI as his own private kingdom until Howard died and Tony took over. (It is also possible that Obadiah didn't know what Howard was doing with SHIELD, just that Howard wasn't involved in SI.) There's a non-zero chance that Maria Stark didn't know much or anything about SHIELD, either.

Here's where we get a little more conspiracy theory: I don't think it was ever public knowledge that Howard Stark was in the SSR, and the official story for what he was doing in the Second World War was that he was involved in the Manhattan Project. Now, I realize saying "Howard Stark didn't actually work on the atomic bomb" comes very close to Howard Stark apologism, but I am a Known Howard Stark Apologist, and I'm not saying it just to say it, especially since "Howard Stark worked on the atomic bomb" is on-the-screen canon from IM1 and IM2.

I don't think Howard had time to work on the atomic bomb during WWII.

This is the point where you have to throw Agent Carter's log of what Howard was doing during the war out the window, because it contradicts what's heavily implied by CATFA: that Howard was with the SSR during the entire course of the war, doing hands-on work first with Project Rebirth and later deconstructing Hydra's weapons work. You can fudge what he was doing from 1941-1943 if you really want to, but we know that from June 1943 to March 1945 he was with the SSR in Europe, because we see him there. We know he's in the SSR and taking orders directly from Phillips; he's a civilian contractor and not enlisted military, but we know he's in the upper echelons of the SSR's European division because he literally has a seat at the table in CATFA. If he had anything to do with the Manhattan Project, it was either in the very, very early stages before he got involved with the SSR or because SI supplied some of the components for the bomb, but Howard clearly was not in Los Alamos with Robert Oppenheimer for the vast majority of the war. (Also, the Manhattan Project was so secretive that I don't think he could have been simultaneously involved in it and the SSR; it almost has to have been one or the other, and we know he was in the SSR.)

It is just barely possible that after VE-Day (May 1945) he went to the Manhattan Project and was there for the summer of 1945 during the Trinity test, but it makes more sense for Howard to have still been working with the SSR on Hydra cleanup at the time. If he had minimal involvement with the Manhattan Project at some stage (probably before he went to the SSR), then he could truthfully say he had worked on the atomic bomb and even after it went public, it's still classified enough that that can serve as cover for his time in the SSR, which remained highly secretive after the end of the war.

"But everyone knows that Howard was a friend of Captain America's!" No, everyone -- or rather, Tony Stark -- knows that Howard was obsessed with Captain America; it was not public knowledge that they were actually friends or even that they knew each other personally. It's not in any of the news articles from IM1 or IM2 that Howard Stark worked with Captain America; we only have Tony's anecdotal evidence that Howard talked about Captain America all the time. And there's a very good chance that Tony didn't realize that Howard actually personally knew Steve Rogers, which definitely changes the way he perceives Howard talking about him. "My dad was obsessed with this guy he never met and/or only met in passing" is very different than "My dad was obsessed with the memory of his dead close friend."

I also think we know the exact moment when Tony actually processes that Howard and Steve knew each other personally, because it's in CACW:

look at Tony's FACE

(I'm obsessed with this CACW scene, there are like ten layers of things going on here, but that's for another time.)

I'm not surprised Tony's got extremely mixed feelings about his father! He spends most of the saga finding out that Howard was leading a secret life for longer than Tony was alive and there are or were quite a number of people who knew Howard much better than Tony ever did, and not even in the normal way your parents' friends and contemporaries know them better than their kids do. Because Howard Stark was an absolute weirdo.

[acorrespondence]

@freekicks Oh man I have lots; so many that I’m making this a new post so I don’t clog up that poor person’s replies with 50 messages, haha! Basically, it’s an expansion on the idea that everyone has headcanons/canon details that are absolutely integral to their enjoyment of the story and any transformative works based on it (hard), and headcanons/canon details that they’re fond of but could still get pretty much unaltered enjoyment out of a fic that contradicts them (soft). Obviously all these are just opinions and what I get out of the story isn’t and shouldn’t have to be the same as what anyone else gets out of it.

One thing that sort of falls in the middle of the headcanon/canon divide is Raylan’s age when his mother died. The show contradicts itself on this point several times, and so it’s sort of fungible. I personally find the idea that Raylan’s mother died when he was very young, like younger than Loretta, while it may serve the parallels between them, to be much less compelling than the idea that she died later. It’s just so much more… boring for a character whose mother died when he was ten or so to have a gross misrepresentation of who she was as a person in his mental image of her. It’s much more compelling to me if he held onto that despite direct evidence to the contrary that he was old enough to understand. Of course he’d forget the hatchet story if it happened when he was eight. If it happened when he was eighteen, that opens up a much realer possibility that he just straight up repressed it, which is fascinating. Also, I don’t think it makes sense if he grew up with Helen in the house for the second half of his life there. To me that doesn’t really jive with their current relationship. (And on a less story-driven note, I am fascinated by the idea that, if Raylan’s mother died when he was thirty, he might not have attended her funeral. Because part of him knew it would challenge the version of her he had to remember in order to maintain his black and white perception of the world.)

Obviously, the mine and what it represents is a necessary component (though the time and place less so—my Old Guard au places them in the miners’ strikes of the 30s, and I’ve read a wonderful fic where the mine in question was on a different planet entirely. However, it does have to be placed in Harlan, or whatever approximation of Harlan fits the broader setting). The boys and their relationships with their daddies is another nonnegotiable for me. Specifically, the way they grew up; different times and causes of death for Bo and Arlo can work just as well. If Raylan and Boyd don’t meet until they’re established adults, that immediately kills my interest. Their rich history is so integral to why I’m drawn to the ship in the first place. It’s a hard sell for me to have Boyd leave or Raylan stay directly after the mine, but I’ve been known to make an exception if the story is compelling enough and doesn’t sacrifice characterization.

I think Boyd’s criminal history is important, though the nature of it less so. And even more important is the fact that Boyd never really makes it big as a criminal—making him some kind of fief lord of crime makes him much less interesting to me. His plans only succeed inasmuch as he always manages to survive their unraveling. I think it’s important that he’s spent time incarcerated. I’m not a huge fan of stories where they meet again outside of Harlan and never go back, it takes away the central tension between them and the place that made them that Raylan so struggles with and Boyd embraces so wholly, which for me is a really interesting part of their relationship, this dichotomy. I also don’t care for stories that give them a ton of good friends outside each other, or casual friends who actually know them and hang out with them—they’re too big of assholes for that. Of course, this doesn’t include the characters they’re close with in canon; I love Raylan and Rachel’s friendship, in particular, and their understanding of each other despite their vast superficial differences is fascinating. I guess I should say instead that I don’t buy either of them having typical friendships, period. They’re just too weird and fucked up for that. They trauma bonded at nineteen and it continues to be one of the most important relationships in either of their lives. Winona puts up with Raylan’s relational weirdness for love; no one is doing that for their drinking buddy. So they may have close friendships, but they don’t look the way you’d expect.

I’d never make their relationship uncomplicatedly sweet and unfraught, or sand down the kind of feral edges of it, and I don’t think they’d be much for traditional PDA—I just love the way in canon the physical (and otherwise) manifestations of their intimacy are so outside of what’s expected from buddies OR lovers. In the same vein, I don’t love it when Raylan goes crazy with the terms of endearment, because he doesn’t use them much with his love interests in canon. I have him use them with the girls in heavy heart more as verbal tics he picked up after spending too much time around Boyd, who LOVES to use them, plus I think he models at least some of his displays of parental affection after Helen, who canonically calls him “honey”. I’m fine with Boyd throwing endearments around liberally; I just don’t do it in my own fics because I love the way in canon he twists Raylan’s name itself into almost an endearment. He just can’t stop saying it every other sentence, so why would he give up the chance to say it by replacing it with another word? Plus, it fits in with how weird they are about each other in general.

More broadly, I have never really enjoyed full aus (based on any story) that don’t try to approximate at least the broader beats of place and history from canon, but I really really love stories that manage it. I respect authors who can sort of map canon onto a completely different stage, like the space au mentioned above, so much. I hope that I manage that at least somewhat with catching bullets.

That’s all the big ones I can think of at the moment, though I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten (most of the rest fall more under ic-ness vs ooc-ness, which is harder to articulate; “what makes them themselves?” is a much more difficult question). Ultimately, I think probably a lot of these come across through cross-referencing both of my WIPs—basically, if it shows up in both, there’s a very good chance it’s a nonnegotiable for me, and if it changes between the two, then I can obviously live without it.

[padfootastic]

Okay okay okay I was that anon from earlier and I can’t believe I finally have a reason to rant about Harry and Teddy because those two mean so much to me. Like my favourite relationship in HP is Harry & Ron and Harry & Teddy in joint first place because those two are the ones that bring so much feels like asdfghjkl

Also sorry for the length - I have so much to say and I'm not even covering half of it

Teddy saved Harry after the war - that is 100% canonical fact.

He’s also one of the only people Harry feels comfortable opening up to - Harry is so closed up and hates being vulnerable around anyone but with Teddy he feels safe and I headcanon that little Teddy has actually witnessed or heard his PTSD-induced behaviour (I know that the epilogue directly contradicts this but I hc that Andromeda dies when Teddy’s around one so he lives with Harry) and instead of feeling like closing up, Harry just lets Teddy hug him because his love for his godson is stronger than his own feelings. 

When I think of Harry and Teddy, this is what comes to mind: https://www.tumblr.com/headcanonsandmore/175266513519/8th-year-harry-r-u-sure-u-dont-wanna-see-these-16

Harry loves showing off his godson so much. Everyone in the Ministry knows that the only way to get Auror Trainee (and then Auror and Head Auror) Potter to talk is to just barely hint at his godson and then you’ll be subject to a 10 hour lecture of a very enthusiastical and highly animated Harry showing off the new 1432956 photographs he had taken that week (yes he carries a photo album that is magically charmed to fit in his pocket that is filled to the brim with Teddy’s baby photos and yes he still carries it around even when Teddy is in his twenties)

Harry and Teddy shamelessly love each other and they both love the other more than anyone else and it’s so obvious to everyone around 

One thing I love about those two is Teddy mirrors Harry so much that even their names are the same:

First name: Constant, vowel, double constant, y

Middle Name: Their father’s name 

And then their last name 

Fresh out of the war, 17 year old Harry the day after the Battle of Hogwarts: I’ve only known my godson, a ball of sunshine, actual angel who can do no wrong and my entire will to live, Teddy Lupin for one minute but if anything ever happens to him I will kill everyone in the Wizarding World and then myself

OR

Harry Potter: *inner monologue* angst angst angst inner demons darkness death generic emo stuff

Baby Teddy Lupin: *smiles at him for one (1) second*

Harry Potter: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️✨✨✨✨✨

No but the next day he brings home bags of parenting books because he’s so worried like inside his head is like ‘I can’t be as good of a godfather as Sirius I’m too messed up and broken and have too many horrible coping mechanisms the last thing I want is too end up like me’ and then Ron smacks him because Teddy has been clinging onto him for the past three hours and refuses to let go

The first time Harry smiled/laughed after the war was because of Teddy and I will die on this hill

As a diehard Hinny shipper one of my favourite parts of HP is when Harry turns into Shakespeare whenever he describes Ginny and I 100% believe that his inner poet comes out whenever Teddy is within ten feet of him

I can just imagine that during an Auror meeting, you have a war-hardened, no nonsense, ‘youngest head auror of all time’ Head Auror Potter having this aura of don’t mess with me as he almost coldly goes over the last raid, and all of the aurors (even the ones older than him) are just stuck in place, partly due to fear, partly due to respect and then Kingsley comes in with this tiny ball of sunshine that is Teddy and all of a sudden his face just lights up and calls for a break and everyone thinks that they’re dreaming when they see the formidable head auror happily nodding along as Teddy shows off his new pet rock

Teddy has never seen Harry’s auror persona - Harry knows that even Ron and Hermione get spooked when he’s in the zone (not to forget the Death Eaters that are absolutely terrified of his cold fury and ruthlessness during interrogations) so he makes sure that Teddy knows nothing about what he’s like when he’s at work. Teddy knows a lot about Harry’s school life and he knows how important he was to the war and Voldemort’s defeat but sometimes he can’t help but wonder why everyone is so scared of the man that cries with him whenever they watch The Lion King

Speaking of Disney, Bambi is James, Sirius and Harry’s favourite movie (RIP James and Sirius you would’ve loved Bambi II) - little Harry never knew why he liked the movie so much until Prisoner of Azkaban where he had that epiphany like ‘oh’

Also also speaking of Disney, ‘Baby Mine’ and ‘You’ll Be In My Heart’ are so Harry and Teddy coded I can’t even (around 6 years ago I made a HP playlist and I had those songs for Harry and Teddy because they just encapsulate those boys so well)

In one of my super old WIPs I wrote that Harry is more than just Teddy’s godfather, he’s his father, brother and best friend and I think that speaks for itself - like they have a band that no one can ever even comprehend because they understand each other so much on every level and I feel like Harry’s closer to Teddy than his own bio kids, not in the favouritism/love level but more of a ‘Harry can tell him things that he can’t tell his children because he’s just their dad but to Teddy he’s more than that’

I wrote a (completely horrible and I can’t believe I actually published that on the internet) fic where Harry was Teddy’s first word and then the next words were ‘luv u’ because Teddy aged 0 - 10 is head empty only immeasurable love for Harry (10+ is the same but he pretends that he’s more of a grown up)

Harry comes into Official Ministry/Hogwarts business with a beaming Teddy protectively held in his arms and when the stuffy Ministry Heads/Professors give him looks he’s like ‘he asked for uppies - what did you expect? For me to deny his uppies … like a monster’ and no one would say anything because 1) you would incur the wrath of Harry Potter and would be on his blacklist until his dying breath and 2) Edward Remus Lupin is the poster child for cuteness who has done no wrong ever and anyone who has something against him literally has no soul

You’d think that being raised with Dudley (and knowing Malfoy), Harry would be against needlessly spoiling a child but Harry ‘I wanted to buy a solid gold cauldron when I was 11’ Potter is the son of James ‘if I don’t get my newborn a dozen sets of £1000000 blankets, I would actually die’ and the godson of Sirius ‘I know I’m on the run and homeless and starving and currently in the middle of a revenge plot 12 years in the making with over a dozen dementors and highly trained aurors and wizards on my tail but my godson needs a broom and only the best of the best that has literally just come out a month ago will do’ Black so if he wants to spoil Teddy then he’s spoiling his kid dammit

Harry James ‘I’ve-been-wearing-the-same-shirt-for-seven-years’ Potter definitely buys enough shoes for a less than 15 month old Teddy that will make a Kardashian jealous

Ron, catching Harry brooding: what’s wrong, mate?

Harry: I only told Teddy that I love him twenty times today when it’s usually twenty-five. What if he thinks I hate him????

Ron: *completely done*

But Teddy never ends up spoiled. He’s just an adorable ball of sunshine that’s polite to everyone and has the sweetest smile and personality and everyone loves him (he also uses his cuteness by pretending to be sleepy to get Harry out of public appearances and social situations)

No no but like imagine the Gryffindor class of ‘91 meeting up at a pub for old times’ sake and everyone’s expecting the sassy little angst ball that was the Harry Potter they shared a dorm with/went to school with only to find him playing ‘here comes the train’ as he spoon feeds Teddy his lunch 

I can’t think of a nickname Harry would call Teddy (like Sirius’ pup or prongslet) but I do think that he always refers to him as ‘my godson’ more than his actual name because he’s just so damn proud of having someone as perfect as him as his family

Okay okay so my favourite of all time fanfic trope is the next gen kids travelling back to OOTP and meeting their parents/those who died and I’ve only ever read one where it was just Harry and Teddy so I wrote a WIP of a non-shipping/genfic with Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys (w/ Fred because I refuse to let him die) and Neville (because I love him) with a six year old Teddy travelling back to OOTP and everyone from the Marauder’s Era and earlier are just blown away with Harry and Teddy’s relationship because he literally is as obsessed with his godson as much as Sirius is with his - and Teddy literally refuses to leave Harry’s side

And at one point Older!Harry and Sirius get into a half playful half serious fight over who’s godson is the best and it includes embarrassing baby stories, childhood anecdotes and Older!Harry’s ever present baby album whilst younger!Harry and Teddy are just red faced (and pink haired) over the entire thing and everyone else watches in amusement. Then Teddy’s all like ‘someone is disagreeing with Harry I must defend my godfather’s honour’ (the same mindset that results in Teddy arguing with Snape over how Harry’s the best godfather ever and the potion master's a meanie who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as him as Sirius, Ron and Neville cheer him on in the sidelines (Teddy doesn't actually say that last part but he thinks it really hard so he hopes that it was conveyed)) so this tiny little sunshine theatre kid in all his itty bitty glory stands in front of Harry and reams into Sirius about how Harry’s his godfather and his godfather’s always right about everything and Sirius is just struggling to hold in his laughter which makes Teddy think it’s an attack on his height so he asks Harry to carry him so that he can continue his very important points

okay okay okay anon i’m just gonna say it: i am absolutely in love with your brain and this ask and just. i want all your ideas. please give me more i’m begging.

i’m posting this w/o much commentary bc i don’t want to run the risk of this languishing in my drafts bc i’m an idiot but just!!!’ yes!!!! to everything u said!!! teddy is absolutely harry’s salvation and he unapologetically loves and adores his godfather and they have the sweetest most envious relationship and it’s just. good.