#But i can certainly argue in its favor

[sparkly-sediment]

do you have thought about. polyteam (minus spyscout. FUCK spyscott)Who the shit is scott

why yes I do! I think these gorillas wake the jungle with their monkeyfucking!

Why the Tf2 mercs could actually be a polyteam

I believe polyteam minus interfamilial relations (ew!) is a biological destiny derived from primitive social systems and is a result of homo sapiens’ evolution

Early modern humans banded together in polyamorous groups of roughly 10-15 people and those groups likely had open sexual relationships (supported by fossil records and the habits of our closest relatives the apes!!)

🦧 🦍 ❤️❤️😩💦🧬

These groups would work together to survive and share tasks such as hunting, foraging, building tools and shelter, and even grooming!!

They also had sex with each other!

Intimacy improves the relationships within a group and builds trust. Yk how some people enjoy a/b/o? Minus the hierarchy and m-preg thing (unless… do you think Medic would??) yes Early Modern Humans were like that!!! most likely with the current scientific understanding of homo behavior and evolution

So, the tf2 mercs being one big band of men living together and fighting together is already canon. It makes biologically sense to make them be freaky!! T O T A L L Y how science works! Medic def agrees I’m sure!!

And, with Scout and Spy being related, it still works. In contemporary hunter/gatherer societies children have upwards of 10-14 primary caregivers! Scout could either be fathered by 8 men of bodied by 8 men. Either way, it would work out alright.

As a means of unifying the group, strengthening bonds, and coping with the gravel wars, these guys could totally circle jerk. More likely, however, is passing one another around like a blunt and they all get ripped

(not literally tho, i prophesize they take prep rather seriously) (fingers up their butts) (monkey sounds)

[icarusredwings]

Thinking about Autistic Asexual Charles and how many times Hank, his unofficial caregiver just stands here like "Jesus christ Charles you're going to 'play chess' with Erik AGAIN? This is like.. the 5th time this week." And Charles, with the most smug expression just says "What can I say, Hank? I like chess. And I always win."

Only to see the look of concern on Hanks face as he's like "Well.. alright.. it's your life I guess."

And while yes, he could very easily just read his mind, he's learning that, that's quite rude to do so without invitation.

The thing is, though, Charles is a massive flirt, and honestly, I think it should be taken with a grain of salt. My man is a master of persuasion and has actively learned how to tell people what they want to hear to get his way when growing up, so now, as an adult, it seems charming and flirtatious. And yes, some of it IS flirtatious, but it's not the "What a lovely dress that is." Rather him just looking at Erik and saying "Precisely." With a smug smirk and heart eyes.

Certian words are for certain people. Hank gets certainly and exactly. Erik gets precisely and "Why, of course, my old friend."

This being said I love the idea of Hank coming to tell him that a student tattled on oppisite gendered students together in their room at night and Charles is like "okkaayy...?? And?"

Hank just rolls his eyes and is like "Charles-" and Charles is like, "OH- oh right. Gosh, I keep forgetting.." then rolls his own eyes. "Teenagers.."

Also, I love thinking about how Erik is so confused and so flustard by how WEIRD Charles flirts. He can be over here complimenting a ladies hair and buying drinks for her only to turn to Erik the moment they ask if he has anyone at home with a smooth "Not yet."

And Erik stands there like "???!!?? Does he mean me or her?" Only for Charles to lowkey abandon the woman and come to Erik like "I wanna go home now. Its boring here."

"Won't you be more bored in your massive mansion?"

"Not with you Magnus. I can't afford to be bored of you."

*Magnus brain malfuction Error code g a y ??!!?*

Charles just smirks that small shit eating grin he does and goes "Come now, Someone's gotta keep an eye on you and unfortunately Satan himself favors me."

Like WHAT is this poetry?? SIR!!!?? Romantic mother fucker.

"And I want a grilled cheese."

Magneto??? More like malewife.

Funny enough, they get there, and nothing happens. Charles gets his grilled cheese. They theoretically argue over how the perfect grilled cheese would be made, and Charles goes to bed. Erik leaves, afraid of what Charles might see in his head if he stays.

He's so afraid of ruining their friendship with these "sinful" thoughts but Charles waves him goodbye through the window just before he drives away- And Erik cant sleep that night.

Dozens of spare rooms. And none are big enough to keep his feelings behind locked doors, so he drives home. Stares at his ceiling. Wishing he'd only gather the courage to ask to stay..

[genericpuff]

With LO being done, a mass layoff apparently happening recently, and high profile creators like that of Bugtopia bailing from them, do you think Webtoons is gonna last much longer?

So I had heard about the layoff through the grapevine (as in, pals that I know who are aware of the situation) but honestly, I don't think this is the end of Webtoons as an app... I think this is definitely an end of a version of Webtoons that we were all familiar with as both creators and readers. I've been noticing this shift over the past couple years and now it seems to be coming to a head, a status quo shift from Webtoons being an earnest "anyone can find success with us" community of readers and indie creators to just another enshittified corporate platform that's only interested in churning out content to keep up its bottom line.

Before I continue, obligatory reminder that I am not an Originals creator, just a former Canvas creator and avid webcomic reader. None of this post is to accuse Webtoons of foul play or spread misinformation, these are simply my opinions based on my own experiences with the app and its staff, research that I've done into Webtoons' practices and history as a company, and firsthand + secondhand accounts of experiences on the backend from various Originals creators who have willingly spoken up on the matter. Take the following dissection and rant about Webtoons with mountains of salt.

The biggest sign of this shift I've seen has definitely gotta be the reduction of greenlit Canvas series in favor of imported Korean series. Now I will say there was a time that there genuinely were too many greenlit series, back when they used to do their launch weeks, and I think scaling that back isn't necessarily a bad thing to prevent oversaturation, but oversaturation is still very much happening, it's just through imported series now.

Though I will say a counter argument to this is that Webtoons' own audience has a habit of believing that EVERY piece of work needs to be read and kept up with. This is surely a side effect of Webtoons going from being a smaller platform with only a few select Originals series to suddenly launching hundreds more over the course of the last couple years, there WAS a time you could genuinely keep up with most of the series on the platform if you wanted, but now that's no longer possible, and while some would argue that's a flaw, I'd argue that greenlighting so many series isn't necessarily an invitation for you to read them all, it's just to buff up their library with more choices for those who are more particular about what they read. Do you enjoy isekai but don't like the one about the girl being reborn into her favorite medieval romance book? Well there are 50 other isekais set in medieval times for you to choose from.

That said, the ratio of greenlit Canvas series : Korean imports definitely feels like it's skewed more towards the latter over the past couple years, as we're now seeing them simply opt to import and translate series from their Naver platform. Some people don't really care or notice the difference, and there's certainly lots to be said about the popularity of many Korean works, but many other readers are now feeling iced out by the platform's sudden shift in art styles and storytelling tropes because Korean webtoons and manwhas do generally aim for a different audience than what a lot of veteran Webtoon users are used to. Plus from the creator side of things, it's undoubtedly making the playing grounds feel uneven where greenlit Canvas series now have to compete with the webtoons from overseas that are made in studios with teams of people and seem to also be paid far better than what NA creators are being paid. Webtoons already severely limits what series they choose to advertise and that's only gotten worse over the years with the ongoing oversaturation of the app's library.

That's only regarding quantity though, as there's surely lots to be said about how a lot of the higher quality stories are ones here made in North America, and a lot of that I feel has to do with the benefit of them being comics written in English by people who natively speak English. Unlike Korean manwha/webtoons, they don't have to go through the process of translation and localization which can unfortunately cause an otherwise well written manwha to lose its subtleties and specific writing choices due to rushed or poor translating (people who read scanlations of manga and manwha or who even just watch dubbed vs. subbed anime can certainly attest to this.)

With all that in mind, my own personal theory (*again, this is my opinion and tinfoil hat suspicions, not fact) is that Webtoons/Naver has essentially been outsourcing to North America to build up their app through titles like Lore Olympus, and now that that audience has been built, they seem to be bringing in their Korean series to benefit off that audience while reducing the amount of NA Canvas series they greenlight, particularly their most popular genres like Romance, Fantasy, and Action. How much they'll benefit, I can't say for certain, considering this is a company that has been operating in the red for years and IIRC they even practically admit to this in their IPO proposal (it's actually really funny to read if you're familiar with legal jargon and Webtoons as a company)

Fact of the matter though is that despite Webtoons building up that audience through legacy NA titles, they seem to have forgotten one fundamental thing - most of the people in that audience just don't seem to be interested in the content they're now trying to sell. Credit where credit is due, the aggressive marketing campaign surrounding Lore Olympus for the last 5 years did a great job at pulling in new people to the app, many of whom never read webtoons before. In all its flaws, Lore Olympus is very beginner friendly for people who are new to Webtoons, with guilty pleasure romance writing that a lot of NA readers enjoy nowadays and an art style that was very unique at the time.

But out of all those people who were attracted to the app through series like LO, how many do you think are reading Korean manwha? I don't have the numbers to back up this argument 🧂🧂🧂 but I personally doubt it's very many if all the complaints about Webtoons becoming 'samey' over the years is anything to go off of (right alongside the complaints of LO being marketed way too much lmao)

So no, I don't think Webtoons as a company is going anywhere. They've made it this long operating at a loss, mostly in part to their parent company Naver injecting them with funds (and for anyone unaware, Naver is essentially the Google of Korea, they're a massive tech company that owns Webtoons as a separate venture, not too different from Google owning Youtube in a sense) and now they're turning to public funding.

I do think Webtoons as we know it is dying and changing, for better and for worse however you may define it, and regardless of which way it goes, it's going to come with the consequential shift in both audience and creators that such a transformation brings. I was there when it happened to Tapas, I was there when it happened to DeviantArt, and now we're seeing it in real time with Webtoons all over again. Whether or not they rise from the ashes reborn anew or simply fester like a dying animal, that remains to be seen, but considering this is the same company that's currently exploiting and underpaying creators to keep their bottom line afloat, developing AI tools, and running an app that's held together with staples and glue and doesn't even have tagging implemented, I'm not holding my breath for the best case scenario. The company and its app may live on but the Webtoons that we knew for years is long gone and may never return again.

And that's my many cents on that.

[still-searching-for-something]

I can't understand how people say with a straight face that 'antizionism' isn't antisemitism in 99% of cases. Seriously. I can only think of two circumstances in which it isn't antisemitic.

You're an anarchist calling for the dissolution of all nation-states, including Israel and Palestine. That's not antisemitic. Extreme, and naive and stupid, yeah, but not antisemitic.

You're a frum Jew like Satmar, who believes Israel is religiously premature but not something which should be destroyed immediately. This position wouldn't even really be antizionism, though, more non-Zionism.

If neither of the above applies to you, and you advocate for the destruction of the Jewish state, you're an antisemite, full stop. Seriously. If you disagree with Israel's actions, that's one thing. I certainly don't agree with everything in Israel's past or present.

But it's obscene to argue it's somehow so evil, such a blight on the world, that nothing short of its complete and immediate dissolution is justified. Especially because antizionists never argue in favor of the dissolution of other states with even worse human rights records--how could Israel seriously warrant destruction but not North Korea? Eritrea? Russia? Palestine, for that matter?

The fact is, Israel is the only modern-nation state with a whole-ass transnational movement dedicated to it's complete and wholesale destruction. Even in the case of other nation-states which have their right to exist questioned or denied, like Taiwan, Ukraine, Kosovo, or Somaliland, to call for the destruction of these states is generally viewed as racist and beyond the pale.

Well, maybe not for Somaliland. 'Anti colonialist' leftists who so passionately fight for Palestine miraculously don't care when the political issue in question is outside of the West, or doesn't involve Jews.

But I digress. The point of this post is, when they hold up 'Antizionism is not antisemitism!' as a shield to automatically absolve themselves of any antisemitism accusations before repeating blood libel, it's just not true. Antizionism IS antisemitism. Calling for the destruction of Poland is anti-Polish. The destruction of Mexico, anti-Mexican.

But calling for the destruction of Israel? Cute, trendy and not antisemitic at all, you Zionist pig! :D

[littjara-mirrorlake]

A similarity between green, red, and black on the color pie that I really appreciate, and that people often overlook, is an implicit trust in the self.

We see this most clearly in red and black, which center upon the self and personal needs or desires. Red is all about pursuing freedom, allowing yourself to feel your emotions, and acting upon them. To red, the opinions of others are a hindrance at best and a life-stealing prison at worst. Black is often about holding onto and prioritizing yourself, even when the world tries to force you not to. In extreme cases, it believes you are the only person you can trust in a cutthroat world that tries to bring you down. These are the two colors most often maligned in a society that favors the collective status quo over the needs of the individual, and conformity over diversity.

Green is often placed in opposition to these two "rebellious" colors as a preserver of the status quo. Almost every description of green philosophy includes some variation of the word "tradition" and an assumption that the color innately opposes change and progress. At worst it's characterized as a staunch traditionalist with a stagnant worldview who lashes out against progress of any kind, and sure, that can certainly be one extreme manifestation of green's flaws but it's by no means universal or inherent to the color.

Far more fundamental to green's philosophy is the idea that strength, power, and capability come foremost from within. It is, I'd argue, the core of green's worldview. Others' wisdom may guide you to unlock these things, and you can't separate your own power from that of the community around you, but it's still ultimately your job to discover what you are capable of. The path to victory is never walked alone, but only you can truly know yourself, in the end; only you can give yourself the strength you need to succeed.

And there lays green's unlikely overlap with red and black--its faith in the ultimate power of the self. (There are certainly other similarities, but this is an important one.) It's less evident in green because the "self" aspect of red and black is so often defined in opposition to others, while green is far more community-minded, but an underlying fierce faith in self-knowledge remains.

White and blue believe that true direction comes from beyond the self, whether that's from established morals or empirical research. Meanwhile, green, red, and black all insist that you are enough already; you alone know yourself, your needs, and your capabilities best. Embrace it.

[franciskirkland-deleted]

APH South Italy/Romano Headcanons 🇮🇹

(SFW, Spamano/RomaSpa centric)

He wears a lot of jewelry, but it's classy never flashy. Several rings, one of which is engraved with an 'A' for Antonio. Usually wearing at least a solid gold chain and a crucifix.

He's very Catholic, in a uniquely Italian way (iykyk i cannot elaborate)

He smokes like a chimney, high quality cigars and cheap cigarettes. If you ask him to put it out he will blow it right at you. This is on top of heavy cologne (Versace Eros) so you can smell him from a mile away.

Certified Short King™, maybe around 5'7? I can see him with almost any sort of physique, that being said I don't think he's a twink, he at least has some wiry strength. He's lean but solidly built, maybe even has some pudge esp as he ages?

He's very warm toned. His skin is a light olive, not pale yet not quite bronze. He tans well but isn't tan all year round. Honestly he probably uses tanning beds during winter lmao

He's got a fair amount of body hair and often leaves his shirts unbuttoned to display this, intentionally or not. He's a sharp dresser when out in public, but at home he sits around in sweat stained tanks and boxers.

He loves his red wine, and apertifs. Grappa or Sambuca for something a stronger. Doesn't mind the taste of hard liquor at all. Definitely holds his alcohol better than his brother or Antonio.

Loves sailing and yachting, leisure sports. Has a bit of a gambling habit. Not to a destructive point, just in good fun.

When he's in a good mood he hums to himself and you might even catch him singing if he thinks he's alone.

Dances to Dean Martin in the kitchen with Antonio. He actually likes cooking together. Normally he'd be the type of person to hate others in his space while doing something, but Toni is an equally talented chef so he allows it.

Makes a big pot of sauce and polpette on Sundays. Italians will know. Eats wayyyy too much meat than is healthy. You can pry his salumi out of his cold dead hands.

He's sensitive and not always rational - the type to make mountains out of molehills and deflect real issues with humour. Explosive temper. Born to argue. Quick to throw insults (and hands). Just as quick to forgive and forget. If he holds a grudge you really fucked up.

If he likes you, he'll tease you and call you names. If he doesn't, he won't bother to talk to you much. He likes to fuck with people to an extent but has little patience for unnecessary conversation.

He can be extremely condescending; and to Tonio exclusively, extremely sweet. He's a smooth talker and romantic when he feels like it, laying on the pet names and sweet nothings, especially when he wants something in return.

He's honest and loyal, but generally a very private person. It's difficult to earn his trust and get on his good side but once you have it you're one of the lucky few. He's hospitable and generous and often does that for show. Loves to give meaningful and lavish gifts. If he cares about someone not only will they be spoiled in a material sense, but he'll do favors for them to make their life easier.

(note: this might be controversial re; accuracy but i don't actually have beef with his canon human name. 'lovino isn't a real name' well yes and no. it's not common or representative. but there's so much variety in italian naming that it certainly could be a first name. according to forebears there are 259 ppl named lovino on record but only 9 are in italy lol. or u could just call him ~romano~ which is a more popular human first name. i kinda like lovino, its unique.)

[romanticizingmurder]

I think the idea of Lestat as Marius's favorite is kind of overblown? Marius certainly loves Lestat, and I think Armand believes or at least worries about Marius favoring him:

So it's not like I don't get where this comes from.

But I'd argue he treats Lestat nearly identically (in terms of big events, he's obviously not out here macking on him).

He hears Armand crying and seeks him out and brings him home.

He sees and hears Lestat seeking him out and finds him and brings him home.

And I see a lot of people follow Armand's logic and then go "but he doesn't rescue Armand from the cult but he forgives Lestat talking about The Parents". The thing is. I don't think this is good comparison to Armand and the cult. For whatever reason, I can come up with a few ideas, I don't think Marius was truly that upset nor really expected Lestat to keep the secret. He doesn't have the visceral reaction to it that he does to Armand accepting the cult (not blaming Armand here, not saying blaming Armand is good).

But we do actually see Marius react to Lestat doing something unexcuably stupid. And what happens? When Lestat fully betrays all advice given to him by everyone and lets his body be taken over? Not only does Marius refuse to help him, he even makes sure Lestat sees him refusing to help - at least when he went to watch Armand with the cult, he didn't reveal himself and make the rejection clear:

Marius has, and you can come up with any number of reasons as to why this is and it's not the point of this post, a habit of essentially ghosting people when he reaches a certain level of emotion. He leaves Pandora, he doesn't try to unbrainwash Armand, and he refuses to directly help Lestat.

It's also worth noting that in both Armand and Lestat's case, he doesn't help them but he also doesn't particularly hinder them. By the time he's recovered enough to check on Armand and find him killing innocents, Marius doesn't actually try to interfere despite his horror at it - nor does he try to destroy Lestat's body before Lestat has a chance to recover it.

I think the idea that Marius treats Lestat measurably better than Armand largely just focuses on his and Lestat's relationship in its very early stages, when the wider picture shows Marius still in his same patterns with Lestat as he was with Armand and Pandora. Which is to say: I don't think Lestat is Marius's golden boy or his favorite, I don't think he treats Armand worse than Lestat.

(I might even go so far as to say I suspect if you actually compared Awful Things done by them, Marius is willing to completely ignore and forgive significantly more of Armand's past post-reunion than he is of anyone else, at least as seen in how he treats them)

[mountmultimuses]

My Top 10 Favorite Godzilla Designs

I used to say that Millennium Godzilla was my favorite design for the character, but that might not be the case anymore. I still love it, but after thinking about for a good long time, I have found that there are designs that I like better. And I finally narrowed down my top 10 favorites. So here it is. My Top 10 Favorite Godzilla Designs

#10. Earth Goji

By far the most unique design on this list. With his tree-bark-like skin and leaf-like dorsal plates, I wasn't sure to add this design on my list as I felt Goji looked best when he looked reptilian. However, the more I look at it, the more this design begins to grab me. Something else that works in this Goji's favor is that he is ABSOLUTELY GIGANTIC!!! Seriously! This big guy got up to 318 meters tall! THAT'S 1043 FEET! I never got the chance to see this series, but I can at least say that its design for Godzilla is one of the best.

#9. Shin Goji

This design for Godzilla is ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY! It looks like the charred remains of a creature that got caught in an explosion that is somehow still alive. The crazy jagged teeth, the tiny, beady eyes, the purple atomic power, even the splitting jaw is great, in my opinion. The only things going against this design is tail seems a little too long sometimes and the arms are super scrawny. It's a bit distracting, I won't lie. Still, Shin Goji is TERRIFYING, and that alone got him on this list.

#8. Singular Point Goji

I didn't like this design at first. I felt it was a little too odd looking. However, I eventually saw the pictures of the S.H. Monsterarts figure of Singular Point Goji, and found that it did have a certain charm. My only real gripes are the placement of the fangs and that the way the mouth looks from certain angles seems a bit inorganic, if that makes sense. I have not heard a lot of good things about the series, but at the very least the design for Goji is solid, and definitely good looking enough for this list.

#7. MireGoji

Godzilla had a few different designs during the Millennium Era. This design is called MireGoji, and it comes from Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs Megaguirus (though it varied slightly in both films.) There's plenty to love about MireGoji. One is the colors. This is one of the few Godzillas that is green instead of gray. Not only that, but the pinkish purple dorsal plates are striking. It's very eye catching. Another great thing is all the jagged elements. The jagged teeth, jagged scales, and jagged plates gives this Godzilla an edgy look. The only real downside is the size. MireGoji is one the smallest Gojis on this list at only 50 meters tall. Sure, you can argue that 50 meters is the original Godzilla's authentic height, but personally, I like Godzilla in the height neighborhood of 100 to 120 meters. Still the MireGoji design has its charms, and a special place in my heart.

#6. KiryuGoji

KiryuGoji, featured in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Tokyo SOS, is a lot like MireGoji, but with a few differences. The jagged elements are a bit more streamlined, he's back to being dark gray with silver plates, and he has a wolf-like face. In my opinion, it has pretty much everything going for it. Again, the one thing it's got going against it is the size at only 50 meters. But aside from that, KiryuGoji is fantastic.

#5. IDW Goji

The only Godzilla design on this list that isn't from a movie or show. Illustrated by the remarkably talented Matt Frank, IDW Goji has everything KiryuGoji has going for it, only this time, he's a whomping 100 meters tall. Something about this streamline design and grayish green color really works. It certainly helps that this Godzilla is one of the more powerful versions of the character. IDW Goji is like the perfect blend of the two Millennium Gojis on this list, and definitely my favorite illustrated version of the character.

#4. Monsterverse Goji

More specifically, his design in 2019 and 2021. It's big, it's menacing, and it looks like it could be an actual animal. I also love the skin and the addition of visible gills, making this Goji stand out that much more. There are only two major problems I have with this design For one thing, the head's a bit too small. I know Godzilla has never had a particularly large noggin, but it's hard not to point out. The other is that I wish he had more teeth, and that those teeth were bigger and more noticeable. Still, this design works, warts and all. Monsterverse Goji is a force to be reckoned with, and I look forward to seeing more of him in future movies.

#3. Gemstone Goji

This design is brilliant, in my opinion. It's like a perfect blend of Heisei Goji and Monsterverse Goji. Sometimes the skin looks less like scales and more like lumpy, gray warts. It's not bad, but it is hard to ignore sometimes. Most of the time, however, it's not a problem, and this Goji definitely fits with the narrative Gemstone is creating. If they make more media with this design, I'm game.

#2. Heisei Goji

You can't go wrong with what is, arguably, the most recognizable design Godzilla has ever had. Some even consider this the definitive design for Godzilla, and I can't say I disagree. Most days, you hear the word "Godzilla," and Hesei Goji comes to mind, especially his look in Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla, AKA "MogeGoji," with his enormous size, expressive eyes, two rows of teeth, and bulging muscles. My only two drawbacks is that sometimes the shoulders are a bit too slim, and sometimes the legs seem a little too massive. It's not a deal breaker, mind you, but it can be distracting from time to time. Still, the Heisei era does have, arguably, the most consistent and recognizable design, and it's definitely makes the top 2.

#1. Final Goji

I have thought about this for a good, long time, and I think I can safely say that Godzilla's design in Godzilla: Final Wars is my personal favorite. The red eyes, the teeth, the longer ears, the slim yet powerful build, it all works. Sometimes the tail length seems a little inconsistent, no doubt due to the fact that they used three different suits for the movie, but other than that, it's perfect. Is he as powerful-looking as Heisei Goji? Not really. Is he as imposing as Monsterverse Goji? No. But something about this design strikes a near-perfect balance for me. Not only that, but Godzilla's personality in this film is great. Godzilla feels like a battle-hardened rōnin warrior with a chip on his shoulder. And now that I think about it, this Goji might be the most powerful aside from Earth Goji. He goes through the whole movie beating the other kaiju left and right without even breaking a sweat. He's unstoppable. If they made a whole film series with Final Goji and all the other monsters in Final Wars, I would absolutely LOVE it. So yeah, after a lot of thinking, Final Wars Godzilla is my favorite Godzilla.

[utilitycaster]

its crazy as someone whose on the fringes of CR but is In with the silt verses to see the whole "should we kill the gods debate" going on.

like over here in silt verses world we Need to kill the gods because protestors are getting spontaneously sacrificed to the police god in the street and there's a sacrificial draft for everyone who doesnt have a contract with specific major international corporations (and even That wont save you because The Bureaucracy Has Some Problems). if you go to a fucking KFC theres a non-zero chance you get ritually sacrificed to The Chitterling.

and people want to kill the CR gods for [checks notes] being people and not omnipotent/omniscient entities that get you a Red Ryder BB Gun for christmas? wild. wild wild wild.

So. Agreed that like. If you want a show that's like "you can, should, and indeed have an obligation to kill the gods" go listen to the Silt Verses. Also! Those gods are explicitly the creations of people! That's kind of the horror of it; that people created gods to achieve things and the gods must feed (and if you abandon a god but don't kill it, it effectively becomes like nuclear waste).

I don't want to simplify the gods down to not getting people enough presents - my previous post was very much intended for an audience up on the lore because the gods have certainly done a number of things - but the people set on killing the gods are just...not open to any nuance despite clamoring for it. There is zero attempt to extend anything but bad faith. They see a god show up in mortal form with children and consistently argue in favor of not destroying a city and are like wow what a fucked up arrogant bitch. The arguments for killing the gods ignore that at every step of the way mortals were involved. If the gods don't personally step in and kiss every bit of their blorbo better the gods are awful, callous, and heartless. If the gods do step in they're meddling. If the gods say you shouldn't kill a city because they're children they're arrogant; if they say you should because the people are adults then they're heartless murderers.

My personal belief is that if there is no circumstance under which someone will approve of you, it is a waste of time to try to appeal to them.

(The wildest thing to me? They do keep acting like destroying one city is destroying all of the world when we know that like, the world was honestly doing pretty well like a millennium later until the Loser Obsessed With God Killing started ruining things. The actor playing the goddess of nature in the miniseries said in commentary that the perspective he's bringing to the destruction of Aeor is "I'm voting to destroy it on behalf of literally all other life on this planet." Like, the vibe is very much that of the trolley problem - there is no outcome in which no one undeserving dies. There isn't. These people just. do not accept that any solution in which the gods aren't eradicated is not automatically the worst one. Like that's it in the end. I don't think there's anything the gods can do that will make them not hate them, and if I were a creator, I'd be like well I'm not going to bother with those people because they're not fucking listening.)

[coraniaid]

🔥 about tara

OK, so for the record I like Tara a lot. She's definitely in my top ten favorite characters. I am still in the early stages of a (painfully slow) Season 4 rewatch, and one of the things keeping me going is the thought I will get to see Tara again soon.

I think Tara's death is very sad and I can understand why Amber Benson felt poorly treated by the way it was handled (especially with the stupid gimmick of adding Tara to the opening credits just for that episode). On balance -- and especially given the context arround her introduction and her relationship with Willow -- I think that it was probably a fairly significant mistake from a writing perspective for at least a couple of reasons. (It's not really a good look to kill off half of your show's groundbreaking lesbian couple, whatever the context, and the writers didn't really seem to have any sort of coherent plan for what to do with Willow afterwards.)

But it kind of irks me when I see it described as an obvious case of the Bury Your Gays trope because ... it really isn't?

Tara doesn't die because she's gay: she doesn't die shortly after coming out, she isn't targeted because she's a lesbian; she isn't, in fact, targeted directly at all. Her death is basically just a stupid random accident. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Neither is Tara treated as more expendable by the narrative because she's a lesbian. By the time Tara dies, Buffy (and the Angel spin-off) had already killed off (among other recurring and at least occasionally sympathetic characters) Jenny Calendar, Kendra, Larry, Doyle, Forrest, Joyce and Darla. By the time both shows end the writers will have also killed off Jonathan, Anya, Cordelia, Fred and Wesley. Buffy isn't quite a show where Anyone Can Die, but certainly it's one where anyone can die if they're not in the Core Four (and if they're not vampires Buffy has slept with, in which case they can die for a little bit but they'll get over it).

And nor is there some sense that Tara's death affects the rest of the group any less than any of the others on the above list. On the contrary, other than Joyce, who is the protagonist of the show's actual mother and had been a presence in the show for almost twice as long as Tara was, she gets mourned for longer and by more people than anyone else on that previous list. (Xander and Willow's supposed childhood friend Jesse gets mourned so little I couldn't even bring myself to add him to the list.)

Yes, the show is far from perfect. It definitely is, at various times, racist, sexist and homophobic, often in ways that cannot at all be dimissed as the show being a product of its time. I think you could certainly argue that Tara was a victim of the show's persistent narrative misogyny (Willow's first girlfriend, Giles's first girlfriend on the show, and both of Xander's girlfriends die, but neither Oz nor Riley die and neither Angel or Spike die in a way that matters).

But Tara's death isn't automatically an example of the Bury You Gays trope just because she dies and was a lesbian. Even though, as I said, it was a probably the wrong decision for the character and the show and I wish it hadn't happened.

--

Oh, also, a bonus hot take:

In a hypothetical Season 7 where Tara survived, I really don't think I can see her relationship with Willow lasting long. The show sort of forgets about it in favor of advancing the subplot in which Willow becomes a magic addict after her Evil Friend Amy takes her to see a drug dealer and then forces her to relapse, but .... Willow's supposed magic addiction isn't why she and Tara broke up. They broke up because Willow was messing with Tara's memories and consent, well before she'd ever met Rack or de-ratted Amy. Willow hadn't actually done anything to address the things that made her take Tara for granted and consider herself entitled to mess with her mind with magic at all. She'd been sad about the relationship ending, sure, and Tara missed Willow, but ... Willow was absolutely the same person who did this to Tara.

The show doesn't bother to address the actual reason she and Tara broke up, preferring the cheap shock death just when they'd gotten back together again. But after a while I think Tara would have realized this, and without the shock of losing Tara in the first place I think Willow would find it very hard not to fall back into her old habits. Habits which have nothing to do with Amy's supposed malign influence. After all, Willow was trying to use magic to change her best friend's mental state without his consent as early as Lovers Walk, a full year before she ever met Tara. And when she and Oz broke up that same season she very quickly started talking about wishing she had a way to "make [him] trust me". This is much more a part of who Willow is than any addiction to evil magic.

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

M4A1, Kalina, UMP45, and RPK-16 reacting to their Pilot!S/O going into battle (either taking off or already in flight and passing them over head) with two MG T-Dolls duct taped to the side of their helicopter as the rest of the Echelon rode in like normal. And, to top the ridiculousness off, moments later the Sangvis radio coms erupt in total confusion and gunfire.

Sangvis T-Doll: I think we were hit by (S/O’s callsign)’s group!

Other Sangvis T-Doll: Well, how can you tell?

Sangvis T-Doll: I saw the duct tape on the wing.

(GFL) M4A1, Kalina, UMP45, RPK-16 with a pilot S/O

AR-Team was deployed into the field to take a vital objective that would help swing the battle into Griffin's favor.

To no one's surprise, the area was heavily guarded by Sangvis T-Dolls, and they were currently pinned down.

The Commander had ordered for a strafing run, which S/O was able to help out with.

[Commander's Voice] "Stand by for air support, watch out for friendly fire."

(M4A1) "Understood. Everyone, take cover!"

M16A1 and RO635 immediately hopped behind a barricade while ST AR-15 had to drag M4 SOPMOD II behind with her.

(ST AR-15) "I thought I overheard S/O was being equipped with low-ground runs, guess I was right."

(M16A1) "Explains why they couldn't drop us off like usual."

(M4A1) "We've taken care of as much anti-air as we could, hopefully they won't-"

(SOPMOD) "Uh, what's that?"

They watched as the helicopter arrived, but with two Griffin T-Dolls hanging precariously off the side.

The sound of machine gun fire echoed throughout the air as it rained down on the enemy's position forcing them to scatter.

M4A1, ST AR-15, and RO635 looked terribly confused, their eyes squinting and jaws slightly wide open.

SOPMOD was laughing and cheering them on while M16A1 simply raised an eyebrow.

(RO635) "I do not think that is safe for anyone."

(M4A1) "...I'm going to have a talk with them later. We're advancing."

M4A1 shakes her head, thinking that was probably one of the stupidest things she had witnessed.

But whatever, it worked. They were too busy to criticize.

(Kalina) "HAHA! IT'S WORKING!"

(S/O) "Works like a charm, Kalina! Pulling back now!"

Kalina smirks as she taps against the tactical display, looking closely at what remained.

Thanks to her idea, the enemy was in complete disarray and confusion, letting the rest of the Echelons move in no problem.

(Commander) "...Kalina."

(Kalina) "Yes, sir?"

(Commander) "Why are two of our T-Dolls hanging off the side of our Black Hawk?"

(Kalina) "Well, we wanted to save ammo and confuse the enemy. Besides, some of the girls were wanting to get some action, and we made a compromise! Great idea, right?-"

(Commander) "GET THEM THE HELL OFF BEFORE I THROW YOU ON THERE!"

(Kalina) "Y-YES SIR!"

After the operation, the Commander scolded Kalina, the T-Dolls who were strapped on, and S/O.

UMP45 watches in mild disbelief as she sees the T-Dolls soar into battle, letting loose their bullets upon the enemy.

(UMP45) "Well, that's certainly a way to catch the enemy's attention."

(HK416) "And a stupid one."

(UMP9) "Maybe that's why it's working so well?"

(G11) "As long as it works, hm?"

(UMP45) "Yeah, guess we can't argue with results."

UMP45 shrugs and thinks its hilarious that S/O did that, but she hopes that when they get picked up, they won't have to ride with the other T-Dolls back to base.

That was a long ride back, and hanging off the sides like that for that long would be a pain.

Plus, they were a Black Ops group. They weren't exactly supposed to have anyone else besides them here to begin with.

16 can't help but giggle at seeing the insanity that just flew overhead.

(RPK-16) "That's...quite the interesting tactic to use."

(AK-15) "The Commander did not approve that, did they?"

(AK-12) "Must be S/O."

(AN-94) "I am amazed they found T-Dolls to go along with their plan."

(RPK-16) "I for one welcome it! Unorthodox combat is our specialty after all."

16 smiles as she watches S/O fly off from the AO, wondering how that felt.

She wouldn't want to do that herself, but she's definitely curious as to what sprung that up.

Was that human ingenuity, or stupidity at work here?

[ghoulsbeard]

The nervous mite of an envoy stuck himself to Sev's side for some blight-fucked reason or other, certainly not for the company. Through each of the meetings and partings that night— Bodahn's son, tactics, treaties, Zevran's gashed arm— he could not shake the flaming bastard. At supper, the boy gawked at the rising swath of moons and stars and let his soup go cold.

"Eat," Sev barked at him, and snapped fingers in his face. "We march three leagues tomorrow."

"I've never..." he flung up a hairy hand, grinning at the skies. "It doesn't end?"

Poor little fledgling, Sev could hear in Morrigan's voice. Couldn't be much older than Jowan. "Go sail the Boeric and find out."

Laughter from the crowd at the fire; a lute being tuned. Leliana was in the mood for music. The boy began peering round, this way and that, about as obvious as the horns on an ogre. "Um. Are we alone?"

"We're encamped, man. No one's alone."

That got him a wry little smile. "Feels like home. A bit."

"You can reminisce with Surana. Tell me what you want."

He didn't like that, did he. He really was too young; young enough that Sev didn't know him by sight, he must've just harrowed a year or two ago. If he thought long enough he'd place a name to the narrow, fine-boned face. Patch of black fuzz over his lip. Cowlick. Someone had done his haircut with a pair of dull scissors.

The boy quailed under close examination. He'd taken to hiding behind his soup bowl as he gulped the cabbage, cold. "I don't want any, ah, favors. I don't mean— I'm sorry, I had to—"

"What d'you want from me that you can't have got for the last four bleeding Bride-forsaken hours?"

"Nothing, I swear! I had it... somewhere...." He was rummaging through his robes. Sewn a pocket in the lining, then. Good lad. "He told me to be careful about it. Don’t let no one see."

The letter was written on the back of a tincture for rashvine, in Niall's crabbed, scratching hand. Faint grids of charcoal behind the words.

A chuisle, it said at the first.

He folded it carefully along its creases to ration out later, one phrase at a time. "Thank you," he forced up, for this shivering boy who'd taken such a kind, stupid risk. "Conall, was it?"

"Colm," the boy said, breathing over his hands before he shoved them in his armpits against the night wind. "Where can I sleep?"

"Anywhere east of the creek." But don't be a wretch to the lad. The night was fair, he ought to practice holding the shape— he'd sleep in his fur. "See that tent— there? Beside the bard."

"The little one?"

"Hands off the bottles. They're poison. The blanket's yours." Young Theirin was ambling over, arguing with the dog. "Oi. Warden! Our envoy needs a proper coat."

The boy Colm was looking at him like Liathari in the warden camp: big eyes like stars. Circlers were a sorry lot. He ought to know, he'd gone barmy over an illegible letter. "Talk to Surana. She's archmage here. She'll see you sorted."

"I know," said Colm, through chattering teeth. "I saw her in the tower. Demons. And miracles." He leaned in, shivering hard. "I volunteered."

[co-mixed]

Fantastic Four by John Byrne 

This run is considered to be one of the must-reads, so well, I read it. And the whole thing left a weird aftertaste. Very similar to the one you have after learning more about its creator. Yes, one could be a good artist and a decent writer without being a good human. 

But we’re here to focus on content, not the creator, and that’s what I’m going to do. 

What it feels like

I jumped into this run right after Lee/Kirby, skipping most of the stuff in the middle. So it was a new take on the team right off the bat. Byrne focuses on the human sides of the FF a little more than the original run does. The structure of the stories also changes from a day at the Baxter Building -> a villain appears -> the villain is defeated. We start getting multiple chapters or issues in every arc, and it makes them more complex. 

In fact, complexity is certainly something that appears and grows from the 1970s to the 1980s. That’s true for most comics. 

But then there is the how it’s done and the what is done. And while one is a huge leap forward, the other is very controversial. I couldn’t find any explanations for some of the storylines aside from the idea hat (you know, when you get a hat, throw random ideas in it and start pulling.) Because of that, the stories seem disjointed. They connect to one another but it’s hard to say what exactly was the writer implying. Unfortunately, the more we know about the writer in question, the less chances we have left to misinterpret it into something more digestible. 

It’s not like that (or it shouldn’t be)

Byrne leans into the white savior trope. Every time the characters encounter racism, it feels ingenuine. Especially when blond blue-eyed Johnny jumps in to save Wyatt. This same feeling I got from Roy Thomas’s apartheid issue (FF #119) and it doesn’t get better. Yeah, we can argue that this is the 80’s but that trope is in no hurry to disappear. 

When it comes to political takes, Byrne’s are controversial, to say the least. I wrote a whole longread, complaining about the bizarre Latverian arc, in which the FF organized two coups in a row first bringing democracy to the people of the country, and then, handing it back to Doom. It’s all disguised into a lesser of two evils issue but it won’t sit well with anyone who’s familiar with autocratic regimes. 

Barely moving forward

Byrne also shakes up the character dynamics. But was any of it for the better? At times, he presents a more acceptable version of Reed. He is still an easily hooked, eager scientist who can neglect his family in favor of his work. But he’s not an absolutely intolerable garbage human anymore. He is also the least interesting character of the bunch because aside from science and condescending explanations, he doesn’t have much going on. He becomes more observant though, even noticing the change in Johnny when he starts dating Alicia (and I later will circle back to that absolute eww moment.)

While all that is true, Reed is also shown to be racist against Skrulls during his trial. His statements are what any racist would say. Verbatim.

It almost feels like Byrne himself is interested less in Reed and more in other members of the team. 

Women of Marvel

A lot of attention goes to Sue, Frankie Raye, and She-Hulk. And here I’d have to give Byrne some props. They are shown as competent and as strong (or potentially as strong) as their male counterparts. It’s suggested that Sue is actually the strongest member of the team, and it’s a very reasonable statement too. She stops being a quiet voice in the back and even reflects on that.

Unfortunately, I have to retract the props immediately because there is a weird violence kink that accompanies all the development. Like Alicia being badly beaten up by Annihilus, Sue being tortured by Mephisto, She-Hulk being photographed and then verbally assaulted by an editor. This is a repeated offense with Byrne's writing. 

Then, of course, there is the arc with Sue’s miscarriage and the one with Malice. Now the first one might not rub everyone the right way, but I think it’s something that made the 80s comics relatable - human issues that heroes face. And in this case, it’s one that comes not as a result of her superhero life but of her being exposed to cosmic rays. She doesn’t immediately forget it either, this arc echoes through the following issues and while I don’t know whether the portrayal is at all genuine, it’s there and that’s quite innovative. 

Go ask Malice

Malice is another Sue-centric concept, it’s her evil alter-ego that’s brought forth by a villain.

And here I have an issue because maybe instead of Psycho-Man - a hate-based villain (which was a mediocre concept all around) it could’ve been a manifestation of her grief and exhaustion with his behavior.

This could have (and should have been) an internal family matter for the FF with Sue confronting and possibly blaming Reed and Reed finally acknowledging how crappy he’s been and changing for the better. 

Sure this doesn’t have the scale of the whole NYC in a hate-fueled frenzy but it does have just the right tone for a family. While we’re at it, Byrne doesn’t have the best track record with tackling racism or bigotry issues so again, that would’ve been much better. 

Even if the concept itself was interesting, Byrne’s execution fumbled it completely. Sue’s hate is a twisted form of her love. And when it comes to Reed, Malice actually addressed all the reasonable points. He really has done every single thing she’d accused him of, and he proceeds to do them again. So really, he doesn’t learn anything from this whole ordeal. 

It’s even worse that Sue attacks him later, again, with reasonable demands of revenge on Psycho-Man, and Reed tries to dismiss her to focus on ‘more important stuff.’

I’d say the right thing to do would be to allow She-Hulk to immediately side with Sue because that’s what any woman would do no questions asked. Ideally, Johnny should have done the same – he was raised by Sue after all. On the other side, his only male role models are Reed (ew no thanks) and Ben (ew no thanks.)

When they finally face the villain, Byrne goes back to his favorite tools - torturing Sue. The torture isn’t physical but Sue keeps seeing an exaggerated version of Reed who blames her for everything and treats her like garbage. Shockingly, he’s not that different from the real Reed. 

I don’t have to be too negative here because, in the end, Sue does defeat the villain, punish him, and save Reed. She even changes her monicker to Invisible Woman (and that’s the name we know her by now). But again, some very odd decisions preceded that positive outcome. 

This arc is pretty sad to read because psychological manipulation and violation of a person’s psyche is a big deal. This could have been a groundbreaking arc. But instead, it gets cringey at times and doesn’t do the characters justice.

...And others

Like I said, Sue isn’t the only lady who gets to stand in the spotlight. I quite liked the character of Frankie (before she fell in love with Galactus for like 3 panels). She has quite a story, having a power she couldn’t access and a phobia connected to said power. With a little more development (I’m talking modern-day standards) she could’ve been a way more compelling character. But ultimately everything worked out pretty well, especially after her over-eagerness to resolve everything with brute force paid off when she became the herald of Galactus. 

She-Hulk is always a joy to encounter, and she takes over the Thing’s spot on the team for a while after the Secret Wars. She has a cute romance with Wyatt and that’s probably one of the most adorable things in this run. Because, you know, all the other romances are getting a hit. 

But not everything is as well as it may seem. As soon as Byrne’s done torturing Sue, he proceeds to torture She-Hulk.

What about love? 

Byrne delivers us one of the most unnecessary romance stories ever, and I’m saying this as someone who’s seen Scott fall in love with Jean’s clone, Gambit making out with Storm every chance he gets (I still ship it), Wanda and Cap, even Batman and Batgirl (and that was a new low).

So Johnny and Alicia. What was that about?

I could see that happening if she hadn’t been Ben’s very serious girlfriend: there are very reasonable elements in this story that reflect the schism in their relationship. They are both growing out of it and it makes perfect sense since Alicia is younger than Ben. In fact, she’d described as just a couple of years older than Johnny who in the beginning was in high school so… best not to think about it at all. Why are old comics like that (heavy sigh). 

Either way, before they break up, Ben stays on another planet and contemplates his relationship with Alicia, deciding that they should break up. Alicia comes to the same conclusion and bonds with Johnny over tragedies and danger. 

Here’s the thing though (for this, imagine me with a cup of tea and my glasses on). Johnny has known Ben his whole life and he has to have more decency than to start a relationship with someone who hasn’t yet broken up with Ben. The same can be said about Alicia but I hardly can hold this against her, since she is friends with them all but she still isn’t (at that time) tied to them that strongly. So yeah, I can see her do that and feel justified. 

But in general, what is this whole thing about? It’s a story that doesn’t do anything but portray both characters in the worst light. And it would’ve made sense had it been the endgame. But it wasn’t, we all know that. So I’m going to take it as a temporary insanity thing and push into that ‘We don’t talk about…’ drawer where things like Connor (Angel’s son), Xavier’s crush on Jean, and the whole Avengers 200 thing go to die. 

Another thing that goes into the same drawer is the origin of Sue and Reed’s relationship (I’m guessing pre-retcon). I’m not going to comment on that because I hate Reed enough as it is. There’s just nowhere for the hate to grow.  

Moving on

There’s also Franklin and he is growing, he’s 5 now and he… becomes an adult, puts blocks on his powers, goes back to being a kid, defeats Mephisto, and sees prophetic dreams about impending Doom. Not necessarily of the doctor variety. 

I have nothing to say about Franklin just yet, except that he looks like a very short adult rather than a 5 y/o. And that’s the creepy trend that plagues the comics of the 80's. 

Same old story

I feel like Byrne simultaneously tried to bring something new to the story and burn (or Byrne!) everything just to watch the flames.

And yet so many conflicts remained the same! Johnny goes through a weird love triangle just to end up with Alicia. The Thing is stuck in the same I-wanna-be-human-I-don’t-wanna-be-human vicious circle and I’m starting to wonder if they’re even planning on giving that up. We covered Reed already, and Sue is the only one who has some new stuff going on. But she is enough to make the run interesting.

As the run nears its end, there is an issue that reminded me more of Nocenti’s style (which I don’t know who started in the comics but she definitely perfected it), that focuses on Johnny dealing with his own impact on humans. It started out interesting with the boy burning himself to be like Human Torch, but then Beyonder showed up and instead of a psychological journey (as Nocenti probably would’ve done) we get a Deus ex-Machina solution.

Was it worth it? 

I write the following with a clear understanding that I was ready to give up at least thrice during this read-through. 

I would say that there are several arcs that deserve attention: the rewritten origin of Doom (that still doesn’t explain how we’re supposed to view him as a necessary evil rather than a terrible dictator), Galactus stories, Negative Zone travels, Sue telling off Reed, and so on. So if you’re thinking of reading the run, I’d say do. 

Keep in mind that there are trigger warnings, such as racism, violence against women, and miscarriage. Byrne's run is… a lot. If you feel too disgusted, better skip it. 

At the end of the day, we're really talking about this whole thing from today’s perspective. That means we all know the red flags in writing just as well as we do which tropes are harmful and why. 

We also realize that there are more ways to look at an issue than through the eyes of a stereotypical protagonist of the era. In the 80s comics were still becoming the art form we know and love today, and narrative mistakes were made. It’s easier to follow the story if you note them but don’t focus on them. Without that, they’ll be just a bunch of outdated narratives and harmful stereotypes.

[theboombutton]

Spoilers Ahead

OK let's talk about the lore implications of The Magnus Protocol episode 4's statement.

Timeframe

The Mannheim School was founded in 1741-1742; and the Royal Court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778. This gives us a roughly 35-year timeframe within which which our violinist could have made his initial carriage journey to Germany - barring timeline differences.

This absolutely destroys my theory that the Fears arrived here from the TMA universe, found a universe without Fear, and broke through in East Germany during the Cold War. This episode firmly establishes that there were Fears in the Protocolverse in the late 18th century, and that they were well-established at the time - established enough to have a guy giving out cursed artifacts in the woods of Baden.

Were they the Archiverse Fears, that just happened to arrive earlier than I thought? Were they Protocolverse Fears? Were they Fears from yet another universe, escaped from their own Fearpocalypse?

The Fears

So this is a really fascinating statement because it seems to marry our old friend TMA Slaughter Classic, with whatever the fuck Ink5oul was doing in TMAGP episode 2, with just a mention of the Archivist-associated power to elicit an unintended confession.

The Slaughter connection I'm sure I won't have to argue - it's straight out of TMA. In fact, it's so straight-out-of-TMA that to me it suggests that this is almost certainly the Archiverse's The Slaughter. If we were dealing with an artifact of a different universe's Fear of violence, I wouldn't expect it to be so connected to music. There's nothing about music that inherently connects it to horrific violence, and yet Bardwell jumps out of a carriage and dashes his skull on the rocks because of what seems an awful lot like the Piper's Song. Violin Audrey Two goes full Grifter's Bone when it's unable to get blood.

The interesting part though is that these incidents are the exception to the rule of the violin's favor. At first it seems happy to make small, flesh wound mutilations of its player, which doesn't sound like the Slaughter at all. Yes, he moves on to serial killing, but it's a very methodical, planned kind of violence - not at all what I'd expect from the Archiverse Slaughter. And the theme of an artist mutilating themselves in service of their art seems very similar to Daria in Protocol episode 2.

Of course, the art connection might just be a coincidence. There is a disproportionate amount of art about art and artists, just because it's high on the list of things artists tend to think about. It's the same reason there's not a whole lot of art about septic tank maintenance*.

I doubt it, though.

Here's my working theory: I think there are at least two universes' Fears at work here, and there wasn't enough room in the Fear-Space for two full sets of entities to represent and feed on essentially the same fears. So they got smooshed together.

The Archiverse Slaughter got smooshed with a close equivalent - a fear that included Archiverse-style violence, yes, but also included a significant element of self-harm, and was culturally wrapped up with artistic performance in the same way that the Archiverse Slaughter was wrapped up with the sound, but not always the performance, of music. The Smooshed Slaughter teeters between its aspects, showing one face or the other depending upon the situation.

OK but what was with the Archivist powers?

idk tbh. I can think of two theories, neither of which I find particularly compelling:

The guy in the woods wasn't actually an avatar. Instead, he was a Salesa type, a distributor of supernatural trinkets. He had some kind of artifact of the Eye on him that gave him archivist compulsion powers.

All of the Archiverse Entities were changed by their time under the rule of the Eye, so being strongly-enough touched by an Archiverse Fear gives you mild Eye Powers for free.

Augustus

Yes I know everyone thinks this is Jonah, and I admit there is a good chance it is Jonah. But I don't like it, and I hold out hope that it isn't.

Personally, I like the idea that the Fears were specifically attached to the voices that told the stories in TMA, in which case Jonah wouldn't have been dragged along; but, if it was based purely on the physical presence of the people in the top room of the Panopticon, then yes, Jonah could have been brought along. To our knowledge nobody ever went after Jonah's body down in the labyrinth, so his eyes would presumably have been left alive in Elias's head for like, the whole episode.

I still hold out hope that Augustus is an Archivist-equivalent from another universe that also went Fearpocalypse and also released its Fears to the multiverse. While I'm pretty certain we're dealing with two sets of Fears here, possibly combined into one set of Smooshed Fears, I'm not at all certain that the non-Archiverse Fears are originally from the Protocolverse.

Conclusion

It's 3 AM and I have to go to bed. I think I've properly scheduled this to post an hour after the episode drops; if I'm wrong about the episode timing and accidentally spoil someone, I'm very sorry.

---

* yes I know there's septic tank dive fetish photos, I said "not a whole lot" not "none whatsoever."

[warsamongthestars]

There's several reasons I separate TBB and TCWs Bad Batch. Quite a few of them are micro, cos I'm analytical as hell and the little details set me off.

How bout two big things? Two, in your face, things.

First one isn't so bad. "There's two different shows by two different writing and two different broadcasters, they're going to have obvious canonical differences based on the paperwork and contracts alone, but because it still irrevocably alters the story and characters, no matter where that alteration came from, it is still two different canons that aren't going to fit nicely if at all."

Okay maybe it is complicated, but that's real world shit for you. Clone Wars was a Cartoon Network production, the recent stuff has been Disney--and frankly, Cartoon Network has better quality and taste (HELL YEAH STEVEN UNIVERSE!)

THe second one goes into the show. Some proper in-story analysis, to tell you were the break is at.

The Bad Batch arrived on Anaxes after dealing with an Insurrection on Yalbec Prime. They brag about it, they talk about it, its important to their introduction. Its important enough that a lot of fanfics and fanstuff talk about how it happened.

It was an insurrection. Insurrections are defined as "An uprising against an authority or government".

And they didn't describe just any group conducting an insurrection--they describe Yalbecs, so the inhabitants of Yalbec Prime. And then they describing killing the Queen of the Yalbecs, so the primary ruler of Yalbec Prime, planet of Yalbecs. Of which Tech comes in to say, that hte stinger of the queen is a Delicacy on some planets.

... Do you know how nasty of a picture that paints?

Based only on the simplest information given and what we know; because they're Republic Troopers--we can assume that Yalbec Prime was a Republic world. (We weren't told otherwise, so the assumption must be the most correct answer at this time.)

So, the Yalbecs were rebelling. (Because why would they attack the inhabitants unless they were the insurrection being put down?)

Using this minimum information.

THe Yalbecs and their queen, were rebelling against Republic Authority (we don't know if it was in favor of the Seppratists, it could be that they wanted Neutrality too).

If we can assume the reason, its probably because folks eat their damn Queen (a very good reason to rebel if you rely on a ant or bee like hierarchy and the queen is also your mother--given the implications that yalbecs are insectoids and that there were queen pheromones).

The Bad Batch are called in to put down the Insurrection, which we can assume they did, based on the fact that they're alive and intact.

... So.

The TBB Show wants to tell me that... The Bad Batch don't want to follow orders to eliminate insurrectionists and that's why they left the Empire?

Based on the above, they absolutely would follow those orders. Enthusiastically, with bragging rights.

One could make the argument that ECho set them straight, and that'd be a good story and start. TBBshow didn't do that, and regulated Echo to the bitching corner and then just kicked him out entirely--so you might have that idea, but the Show certainly didn't.

The darker argument is that the TBB would put down a society of insectoids, but not humanoids--and that... leaves a rather nasty set of implications, given the multi-sentient species of the Galaxy. I'd love to think that's not the case, but if TBBshow insists it, then we have to take it as the case for the Batch on the TBBshow.

When you're writing, what you show or say to or for the audience will be taken as fact by the audience for the show played. While we can give interpretation and imagination for things you don't say, it will always come down to what you've Shown and what've you Told, and what the conflict between the two is.

If you don't show it, or don't talk about it, and don't leave room for interpretation, then it didn't happen.

( One can argue that the TBB show does leave room... Via the holes its poked in itself. I've never seen so many pockets filled with absolutely nothing. )

And when you show contradiction without just cause, you risk breaking the flow of the story, and thus breaking the suspension of disbelief... And that's when the Audience enmass starts leaving and cursing.

While you cannot predict who's suspension is broken at any given time, what you can control is the flow of the story and its beats.

What is said and what is shown, are important, because Theatre / TV show stories are entirely made by what is Said and what is Shown.

Lastly, as for "What is canon".

... The TBB Show has different writers to the Clone Wars, which in turn had different writers from the Star Wars Prequel Films, which in turn had different writers for the Original Star Wars.

Of course none of it but the OG is canon.

Its all just an Argument about what enhances the story of your personal Canon and who is telling the story.

[dreemurr-skelememer]

Greetings Kia!

To give a broad context, I have been a fan of UTMV since 2020. Even though I certainly have a certain level of difficulty in the English language, I will try to express myself in a cohesive and clear way.

As I previously expressed, I have been an active fan of the UTMV community since 2020 when the new Ink!Sans design was made available to the public. The design itself was simply wonderful in my eyes, whose unfamiliar with the original source, so I ventured into the community and simply loved the creativity contained here. So I decided to make my home on this place and have been present ever since

Therefore, something that caught my attention in the design of Ink!Sans was its clear inspiration from Japanese culture, and as a Japanese person with a Latin American nationality, I loved this detail that was so obvious to everyone's eyes (I say this due to the amount of comments in the original post recognizing Ink!Sans as one of Japanese origin). So I recognized this character as an Asian 'person' ever since, due to his *literal* East Asian origins (Although it might have been because of my self-identity, i still have concrete proofs to why he's such).

But recently I have observed a certain flow of people who refuse to recognize and draw Ink in this previously mentioned way, when I say about refusal' I really do mean it that way, one day I was meet with an 'I don't care' when explaining this matter to someone on this community. There are also 'redesigns' people made of his new design that completly erases this aspect to replace for 'French' ones.

I do understand that people can have their own headcanons and such, but going as far to erase that part of his character just really rubs me the wrong way.

Other than that, i've also witnessed cases of people who, after discovering that Ink has French nationality, try to argue that this rules out the fact that he's Asian, or worse, that he's*less* of an Asian because of that.

As an appreciator of cultures and human ethnic diversity, I'm extremly aware that having this line of thinking shows how stupid a person is since Asian people can live outside of Asia. But as a second generational immigrant of Japanese parents, this level of thinking really does affect my own self indentity, putting in mind how often Asian immigrants are considered outsiders because of their race (when they're living outside of Asia of course).

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or rather too emotional for the matter, putting in mind how this is all about a silly skeleton boy. But this distorted vision on what makes someone 'more' and 'less' of an Asian really does affect me, since it already happened in real life. You don't need to answear my plea but i just wanted someone to talk too about problems in Fandom.

Take care!

i completely see and understand where you're coming from, anon!

it really is a bit of a problem, there's a lot of issues in the fandom when it comes to race and it really sucks to see erasure like this

thank you for telling me your thoughts abt this anon <:) i hear and see you.

it's so frustrating to have your representation be erased simply in favor of factors that don't make sense. you deserve to be seen even in little ways!