#I just think their dynamic would be interesting

[raleighrador]

This is a post that occasionally blazes like neon in my memory.

This is both a very interesting perspective shift - that I think I would be challenging to write and fun to read - but it also (to my mind) illustrates something fascinating about a lot of fanon portrayals of the Jedi.

Many “pro” Jedi stories and posts (by which I mean the loosely homogenous set of ideas that posits the Jedi were not in need of serious reform, mostly did everything ok/well, and that Anakin specifically just didn’t quite get what they were putting down) play with the idea of “found family”. Many stories linger on how Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had a father/son dynamic and hence the intensity of their feelings.

A lot of these stories use this lens of “family” to illustrate the best aspects of the Jedi.

What OP illustrates - and what I think a lot of “pro” Jedi and Jedi “critical” posters and writers miss when they speak past each other - is that the entire frame of reference of “family”, “parent”, “sibling” would be almost entirely foreign and alien and inexplicable to the Jedi. By design. By careful maintenance of their internal culture.

Anakin cast his relationships in familial terms because he - like almost every person in history - understood family as the basic building block, the essential language, of relationships. Obi-Wan mimicked that out of affection for Anakin, used language he knew Anakin would understand even if he himself did not, but I highly doubt he ever even thought about “brother” or “father” as a category until he met and started raising Anakin.

And none of the other Jedi did either.

Can you imagine how weird that is? How genuinely alien? It runs counter to the most basic instincts of humans, almost all mammals, and many other animals.

Writers projecting “found family” dynamics should do so and enjoy them and I’m happy for you because this is all made up mental Lego that we can play with as we choose.

But you are (in my mind) totally misunderstanding what the Jedi are and just how alien (in the literary as opposed to literal sense) their culture is.

Even people who seem to be most positive about the Jedi are only able to do so by recasting them in terms that we - humans in the real world - understand but that would be totally lost on the Jedi themselves.

tired of jedi characters comparing their relationship to their master with a parent-child dynamic. they dont KNOW that dynamic!

give me more jedi comparing a non-jedi's familial relationship to that of an apprentice and a master - at least that would make sense!

jedi going "yeah, an adult who guides and protects you and you're supposed to listen to them? yeah thats a master- oh, your mom is like that too? neat :)"

more jedi not really understanding non-jedi family dynamics. more jedi being horrified at the concept of someone being rejected or mistreated by their parent, because "why did they choose to have you then???"

there's a lot of interesting parallels between master-padawan dynamics and parental/familial dynamics. i just want to see more of the comparison going the other way.

[joequiinn]

The Dos & Don'ts of Fake Dating | E.M. x reader | epilogue

[chap seventeen] | [all chapters here]

Story Summary: You propose a crazy idea to the resident freak of Hawkins, Eddie Munson. But maybe he was even crazier for agreeing to it…

notes & tropes: fem reader, slooow burn, faking dating, opposites attract, bratty rich bitch reader, super minor revenge plot, dysfunctional family dynamics, idiots-to-lovers, smut & nsfw themes

a/n: Well, we've finally made it, everyone, and I'm feeling emotional about it. This epilogue is just a lil something I thought up while I was considering what the future would hold for Eddie and ice princess, and I love it dearly.

wc: 3.2k

Epilogue

September 1985

I want to be somewhere big and interesting. New York, L.A.… fuck, even Florida for all I care, I just want out of Hawkins, out of this town.” “Then I guess we’ll be those high school sweethearts that run off to L.A. together after graduation, huh?” “Oh, I’m sure.”

September 1987

Eddie should’ve been home by now. You’d memorized his work schedule within his first week of starting at VIP Records, so you knew his shift always ended at 6pm on Tuesdays - so where the hell was he? It was nearly 8:30, and you’d been getting more and more antsy as the minutes ticked by, worrying over what could possibly be delaying him like this.

So much had happened in the two years since you and Eddie began dating back in Hawkins - your world had changed so much that sometimes you felt like a completely different person. It started with some big things, like reintroducing Eddie to your parents and begging them to start fresh with him - though your father resolved to never show any warmth to your boyfriend, at least your mother was kinder.

You decide that you wouldn’t be going to college following graduation, instead wanting to take a year to work, which was yet another thing your father didn’t warm to. Somewhere amidst that decision and the subsequent string of arguments that followed, you found yourself spending more nights with Eddie and Wayne than you did with your own parents, until one day you realized you had informally moved into the Munson home. So, by the end of summer ‘86, you were out of your parents’ house and working full-time to save up for whatever may come next (and to pay rent, despite Wayne’s insistence that it was entirely unnecessary).

You weren’t sure who proposed the idea first, but you and Eddie had decided one day that you were going to move out to California. Initially, this was just some fantasy for the two of you, something to give you hope that you’d hightail it out of Hawkins one day, but over time that fantasy started to look more and more real until finally you agreed that maybe the idea wasn’t half bad at all.

So, you began to set aside more cash, began to look into neighborhoods and cities around Los Angeles, began to tell everyone that the two of you would be leaving town soon enough. No one really believed you at first - all your friends were in support of the idea, but they didn’t think it was particularly realistic. And when you mentioned it on one of the very rare occasions you saw your parents anymore, your father had the gall to laugh right in your face. That, of course, only bolstered your resolve to get the hell out of Indiana, and a lot of your freetime was slowly consumed with library visits to figure out how exactly to make this move happen.

You and Eddie finally made the leap a few months back, spending a couple weeks road tripping your way across the country, finally arriving in Los Angeles with only your most important earthly belongings and little else. Leaving Hawkins had been harder than you expected - leaving Wayne being the hardest - but you found California to be utterly refreshing, to fit you almost like a glove.

After living out of a hotel for a while, you found this cozy little apartment down in Long Beach, and you’d been content ever since; sure, it wasn’t perfect and the neighborhood wasn’t impressive, but it was your space, and that made it just right for you and Eddie. You both got jobs to hold you over for a while, you started visiting bars and venues, hell, you even found a stray cat that you quickly adopted without a second thought.

You’d been leaving the dollar theater after seeing a re-release of Labyrinth when the little calico found you - something about the film, and David Bowie, had totally mesmerized you when it came out the year prior, and Eddie was happy to take you to the special showing that night. So, when this cat approached you curiously and began weaving playfully between Eddie’s ankles, you were both immediately smitten. You named the cat Sir Didymus only to discover it was female a few weeks later, but it suited her rascally personality just fine, and thus her name stuck.

And now here you were, five months into your new California life and driving yourself crazy over where the hell Eddie was and why he was late to return home.

You called the record store and asked if maybe he was working late and forgot to mention it, but his coworker informed you that Eddie clocked out right on schedule; he mentioned that Eddie seemed eager to leave, but didn’t have any further information for you. On the one hand, it made you worry that something had happened, but on the other, you were annoyed that he had possibly made plans without telling you, as unlikely as that may be.

You’d tried to think of all the places in town that he could have gone to, but nothing seemed particularly viable - he wouldn’t have gone to a show without you, wouldn’t have gone to the store without you, wouldn’t have gone anywhere without you. Not unless he was keeping some kind of secret, but you couldn’t fathom what that might be.

Considering that today was your birthday, you had originally thought maybe he was making a special stop to get you flowers or a cake or a last minute gift; it was so like Eddie to do that, even after you insisted he didn’t need to get you anything at all. But once 7 o’clock hit, and then 7:30, and then 8pm, you began to doubt this original line of thought and assume the worst instead. 

Decidedly, a few minutes past 8, you’d thrown on one of Eddie’s sweaters and your shoes, and made the short trek down to the convenience store on the corner - the two of you were in there practically every day, so maybe one of the employees had seen him. The familiar night clerks greeted you, but when you asked about Eddie’s whereabouts, they didn’t have a clue, which made your worries grow even more. As if to put your mind at ease, they gave you a free 6-pack and said they’d call you if they saw him.

You returned back to the apartment to Sir Didymus crying for dinner, which made you realize you forgot to set out food for her earlier. Cursing to yourself, you filled her bowl and began to pace nervously, trying to consider where the hell Eddie could be. Did you forget about a show that he had previously mentioned? Or was he hit by a fucking truck? Maybe he got caught up chatting with a customer like he was one to do, or maybe he got fucking mugged. All possibilities were on the table, and you hated each and every one of them for causing you such worry and distress.

Prying open a window, you crawled onto the fire escape and lit a cigarette, hands shaky with anxiety as you pressed it to your lips. The night was relatively quiet for your neighborhood, which wasn’t saying much - there were always cars cruising up and down the road, music blasting from a nearby bar, and people constantly arguing in alleyways and backyards. But the noise was soothing in its way, reminding you that the world was constantly in motion and that Eddie was probably just caught up in it all.

Sir Didymus came to sit beside you, meowing as if she, too, was wondering where the hell Eddie was and why he wasn’t back home. You considered throwing on some clothes to go searching for him, but aside from the bar and the convenience store, there was nowhere in the area that he would be; moments like these made you wish you two hadn’t sold your car, because it would’ve been really convenient to have right about now.

Each time you heard tires screeching or saw headlights shining down the road, you craned your neck to get a better look, but it was never Eddie. You’d already nervously polished off two cigarettes and were lighting up a third; Sir Didymus had retired to sleeping on the pile of blankets that she commandeered within a few days of moving in.

As you were caught up in your anxious thoughts, you thought you’d heard metal music from somewhere nearby, muffled and far off, but it caused your ears to perk; when you realized that it was specifically a Dio song playing, you immediately shot to your feet, clambering back through the window while dropping your cigarette into the ashtray.

Without bothering to slip on shoes, you rushed out onto the breezeway connecting all the little apartments in your complex, gripping the rails as you tried to find the source of the music, which was obviously louder from this side of the building. The street in front of your complex was crowded with cars, so if the music was Eddie’s, he must have had to park way down the block; eventually, the music stopped, and you became more anxious by the second.

When finally you spotted Eddie walking up the sidewalk towards the gate, you all but rushed down the stairs to meet him halfway; Eddie smiled largely, clearly not able to make out your concern under the flickering lights illuminating the path. A glare grew in your eyes as you realized he looked just fine; in fact, it seemed he stopped by the store, if the grocery bag in his hand was anything to go on. He held up his arms to greet you, but before he could get a word out, you hissed while jabbing him in the chest.

“Where the hell have you been?” Your eyes were alight with panicked concern, and you didn’t realize until that moment that you were on the verge of relieved tears. You swallowed, determined to hold them back, “It’s almost 9 o’clock, Eddie, I was worried out of my fucking mind.”

Eddie’s face fell, arms drooping at his sides; he didn’t expect you to have gotten so worked up over him not returning on time. He thought he could surprise you, that he could do something nice for your birthday, but the utter panic in your expression told him otherwise. He dipped his head down towards yours, hoping that he could sooth all the stress that had bubbled up inside you.

“I should’ve called--”

“No shit.”

Eddie clenched his jaw a little, taking a breath - he wasn’t about to get upset with you, he wouldn’t let himself, “Let’s go upstairs, okay?”

The impulsive side of you wanted to argue with him right here and now, wanted to grill him about why he didn’t come home and what he was doing. The more patient part of you, however, held back, shaky breaths heaving in your chest as you nodded with a twisted expression. You spun around on your heels and marched up the stairs, crossing your arms with a scowl; Sir Didymus sat just outside your open door, curiously waiting for you both.

Following just a step behind you, Eddie sighed to himself as he took in your rigid posture, realizing that he should’ve thought this through - after all, since your move to Long Beach, the two of you were essentially attached at the hip, doing absolutely any and everything together. Of course you would worry when he didn’t come home, when he didn’t call or give you a heads up - but, again, he’d just been hoping to surprise you, and hadn’t considered that a few hours would get you as stressed as you were now.

Back in the apartment, you took large strides towards the open window and retrieved your cigarette from the ashtray. To calm yourself down, you began to pace, watching as Eddie closed the door behind him and waited there a moment as if to collect his thoughts; when he turned to face you, you quickly looked away and took a deep drag.

“God, Eddie, I’m trying not to be mad, okay, I was just so worried and I thought maybe there was something you were keeping from me or that maybe you were in an accident or even dead in a fucking ditch, and I know it’s ridiculous to get so worked up over only a few hours but--”

“You can be mad.” He interrupted the inevitable rambling that was about to commence.

You had always struggled to express emotions considering the household you grew up in, so these past two years with Eddie had been a learning experience for you, which led to your feelings often spilling over when they became overwhelming. You shot him a confused look, still struggling to this day with the idea that it was okay to feel something; you bit your tongue so that you wouldn’t keep babbling, trying to collect your thoughts.

“I should’ve told you where I was,” Eddie started, walking the short distance from the front door to the kitchen, gently dropping the grocery bag atop the counter, “but I wanted to surprise you.”

You laughed smally, feeling stupid for getting so worried over seemingly nothing. Shaking your head, you took a deep drag from the cigarette and turned to face the window, eyes unfocused as you looked around. You dropped your head, beginning to feel more and more stupid the more that you thought about it; you could hear Eddie coming up slowly behind you.

“Get out of your head,” He instructed gently, to which you laughed again, “You’re probably already kicking yourself, am I right? As if you did something wrong?”

You narrowed your eyes at his reflection in the window - fuck, he knew you too well. Slowly, you turned to face him again, but you kept your gaze on the floor. Eddie took another couple steps closer, waiting for you to eventually look up at him.

“I’m sorry, princess.” He said simply, and the pet name nearly caused you to smile fondly; even after all this time, it stuck, and you figured it wasn’t going anywhere. You could tell in his voice that Eddie saw you resisting to grin, “I should’ve called, I just got caught up in the surprise.”

The corner of your mouth pulled up, and you looked at Eddie carefully through your lashes; his smile was gentle and sweet, eyes far more adoring than you thought you really deserved. Swallowing your trepidation, you asked smally, “What surprise?”

Eddie’s smile grew larger as he cocked his head, “Your dual birthday-anniversary surprise.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, relief slowly relaxing your shoulders as you took a final small inhale of the cigarette before tossing it out the window, “My birthday is not our real anniversary and you know it.”

You smiled fondly at the memory of meeting each other at that picnic table behind the football field, at the crazy fake dating scheme you had that ultimately led you to where you were now. It felt like a lifetime again that senior year happened, and yet it still felt as if it was only yesterday.

“So maybe we have two anniversaries.” Eddie teased fondly, his eyes taking you in as if you were still a breath of fresh air to him. Under those soft, adoring eyes, you could feel your ears growing hot even still.

You sighed affectionately with a shake of your head, crossing your arms as a gust of wind came up through the window; being near the beach, the air was always unexpectedly cold at night. As you took in the always pleasant sight of Eddie, you realized he had a bandage just above his collarbone, which caused your brow to furrow with concern as you looked between it and his face.

“What happened?” You asked, closing the gap between you two so you could worry over whatever the hell was on his neck; you wondered if maybe he nicked himself shaving, but the bandage seemed far too large for that. Did he hurt himself at work?

As you reached for the bandage, Eddie laughed, capturing your wrists in his hands before you could touch his neck. You met his eyes with confusion, to which he simply shook his head.

“That’s the surprise.”

Your expression deadpanned, “You getting hurt is the surprise? Geez, babe, how romantic.”

Eddie laughed again, fondly rolling his eyes, “Not hurt in the way that you think.”

Clearly enjoying your confusion, Eddie released your grip and reached for the bandage, hissing a little as he tried to gently peel it off. Your jaw dropped in both surprise and confusion at the injury beneath it, not prepared for what it would be.

It was a tattoo, though that wasn’t the surprising part, considering that Eddie was slowly becoming covered in them. No, what took you aback was that the tattoo was quite clearly your lips, done in a shade almost identical to the lipstick color you’d been trying just the day before. You stared dumbly at it, as if you couldn’t quite compute it, as if you didn’t quite think it was real.

When you finally managed to draw your gaze back up to Eddie’s face, he was smiling from ear-to-ear, eyes twinkling with clear delight at your stunned expression. You opened and closed your mouth a couple of times as you tried to find your voice again, eyes rapidly looking back and forth from the tattoo to his face and back again.

“You… got a tattoo for me?” Your tone was one of disbelief; saying it out loud made the moment more real, and suddenly your throat felt tight as if you could cry.

Eddie nodded with pride, “You like it?”

You stared at the replica of your lips, recalling the evening prior when you’d been testing out make-up samples that you’d gotten from work. Eddie always enjoyed watching you apply make-up, and of course lipstick was his favorite part; when he commented on a shade that he seemed particularly fond of, you leaned over and planted a loud, silly kiss at the base of his neck.

Considering that you crawled out of bed hours before him to get to your shift at the make-up counter, you didn’t see whether or not he’d ever cleaned the lipstick off; evidently, he must have worn it like a badge of pride all day until he could finally get down to the tattoo parlor and make it permanent.

Shaking yourself from your reverie, you looked at Eddie lovingly, your eyes a little more wet; god, you’d gotten so much more emotional since he entered your life, it was nearly ridiculous. Or maybe you’d just become more vulnerable, far less skilled at holding back when it was just the two of you alone.

You cupped his cheeks gently, being extra careful not to go near the fresh tattoo, “God, I love you.”

The smile he gave you was dazzling, mesmerizing even, “I love you, princess.”

You drew his lips down to yours, resting your forehead gently to his; Eddie hummed contently, whispering a tender “happy birthday” against your lips before kissing you fiercely.

.

.

addt. a/n: I'll try to keep this short and sweet. Thank you to everyone who has read this fic and watched it grow, to those that have been commenting and messaging with each update, and to all the incredibly fic writers I've met through this story! And, of course, a HUGE THANK YOU to my dear @eddiernunson for being so invested - you've helped me developed so many ideas, and it's truly warmed my heart to see someone else love the ice princess as much as I do <3 If anyone would like to be tagged in any future outings these two may have in store, please let me know!

@3rd-conchord @a-queen-blr @adelalaaa @adversary713 @avalon-wolf

@costellation-hunter @daisy-munson @daisyridleyss @damon-loves-pie @damp4eddie

@dreamerjj @eddiernunson @feralgoblinbabe @frogtape @fromasgardandback

@fckyeahlames @graciehams @kellsck @kthomps914 @littlexdeaths

@lotrefcp @love-anonymous-writer @marrowfrog00 @maskofmirrors @mewchiili

@miaajaade @miss-celestial-being @mmmunson @moonisu @munsonssweets

@no-bueno-writer @nxrdamp @ollieolive @rach5ive @sapphire4082

@sav12321 @seatbacksandtraytables @sheneedsrocknroll92 @steeldaisies @stormgrl19

@teethvenom @tvserie-s-world @twihard28 @urlivingdeadgirl @v1per1ne

@wefracturedmotivation @welcometohellsock @whats-my-question @xxsxdghxstxx

[katakosmos]

i’m here to yap about age gap rosekiller, what’s the dynamic like? is barty a brat or does evan just adore spilling in him sorry spoiling him. who made the first move to start the affair? was barty on a mission to get evan?

it's time to reveal all the thoughts i've been gatekeeping 🫣

barty crouch jr (26), the only son of the most caring and affectionate woman in the universe, needs a job. yes, his parents give him money every month, and yes, they even let him live in their basement (he chose it, his mother had offered him a real room), but he finally (his father's words) wants to become independent. and then, he heard some interesting stories about the very rich husband of one of his mother's pilates friends.

evan rosier (43) is married and rich (he owns a business). he's satisfied with his life and, also, happy. a good man, honest and self-confident. oops i forgot to say that he frequently cheats on his wife with his young, beautiful and sexy assistants. yes, sometimes they're dumb and can't do their job... but i mean, look at them! the eyes, the lips, the hips, the– well. he loves women, he thinks women are the best thing on the planet.

barty tries to work at his dad's office, and he finds out that he hates working. he also discovers that, if he bats his eyelashes and bites his lip, his dad's rich, straight coworkers will pay him for some little... services. he gets the hang of it.

when evan meets barty for the first time, he has just fired his 3rd assistant of the month. it's not the first time evan has seen him near his offices: leaning against the wall across the street, smoking. but it's the first time they've spoken. barty asks to work for him: the job interview takes place in a nearby cafeteria, and it lasts a only few minutes. barty eats a dessert, gets cream on the corner of his mouth, and as soon as he licks it off evan is on another planet.

barty is hired, obviously.

the first time they have sex is in evan's office a few months later. barty falls to his knees, slides under the desk and accidentally gives evan a blowjob. two days later, evan asks barty to stay a little longer. barty tells him that, however, if evan wants to fuck him he will have to pay. after all, he's working overtime.

evan would like to refuse, but he physically can't.

and that's how it starts :))

[wyllaztopia]

I'm very interested in ink and dreams dynamic now! It's like a god and their believer, then? Can we know more about them? And maybe another doodle? I love your art ówò uwu

to think that an outsider could be lead to believe that dream would be the one admiring ink for taking him in after he got out from being a stone figure-

surprisingly, ink is the one who feels strongly about dream - his view of him as a 'lord' fails in a religious sense and more of an artistic perspective (like when you admire an art piece so much that you call it heavenly)

however, ink is still ink - if dream isn't doing much, he still gets bored of him, hence why dream never really gets too attached to ink despite being one of his closest friends

that's not to say dream holds no form of affection towards ink. if anything, he holds him in high regard - just not enough to fully trust him

still, ink has no ill intention towards dream. he's willing to support the guardian in every step of his journey and see him flourish as a character

and by 'dream comforting ink' - even ink has his low moments where he doesn't feel much and gets into a state of apathy and purposelessness. dream tends to act as his beacon of hope in these moments, even if it won't amount to much

[dreamerdrop]

Oh God, yeah. During the war, Julian is basically going full into survival mode. He's pulling away from people, he's keeping his mouth shut, he's basically letting himself turn into a hollow shell that just looks like him because everything is so exhausting and he doesn't really... have it in him to be himself anymore.

I feel like I personally give kind of a pass to most of the characters on DS9 being jerks about Julian being obviously autistic for the sole reason that... one of the things I like about DS9 is that they're all pretty messed up in one way or another. Miles is allergic to voicing emotions and sentiments out loud (despite Keiko's best efforts, but she's also not great at it herself), Jadzia is shown constantly to have a REALLY inappropriate and poorly timed sense of humour, Kira is... Kira, and her issues mean that Julian's issues basically rub against each other like sandpaper.

Garak is interesting in how his dynamic intersects with Julian being autistic though. Garak seems to delight in Julian doing things like being blunt, infodumping, etc. Garak is someone who would drive ME a little nuts IRL because his specific brand of enigmatic behaviour would wreak hell on my lack of self esteem and inability to trust my judgement...

But for Julian, it seems to be a huge part of the draw. I think, in part, it's because Garak does seem to recognise when he's pushed too far and then, in his own weird way, often... relents a little.

Like in Cardassians, on the shuttlecraft. Julian basically says, very bluntly, "Garak stop talking in riddles this is serious and I don't want to play games anymore" and Garak immediately goes "alright fine here I'll talk as plainly as I am comfortable with".

Or, in an odd way, the scene on the Defiant during... season 6? Where Garak is basically insulting Julian over his augmented status. That scene is a little rough, even with the knowledge that this is effectively flirting for Garak, but. There's something in it that actually stands out to me as Garak trying to relent a little.

Specifically, his comment about Julian being a Vulcan. Julian is sensitive about his augmented status. Garak knows this. Garak insults him over it, and then towards the end of that little spat, saying "you're not genetically engineered, you're a vulcan", it kind of... reads as like, Garak trying to steer the conversation back to something playful, something that isn't actually attacking Julian.

(And there's obviously a lot to be said for how Julian is somewhat smiling to himself at the end of that scene.)

I think there's something similar to that in his dynamic with the others. I don't think any of them really have particularly good social skills, honestly. Jadzia comes closest but her levels of extroversion and enthusiasm mean she's often putting her foot in her mouth too. (... oh that's why she and Julian make good friends, they both have the party autism.)

Thing is, I think if Julian ever actually said to any of them "hey that actually kind of upsets me could we not" and they realized he meant it, they would apologize and mean it, but because everyone on that station is messed up and lacking in social skills, they all kind of constantly end up battering against each other with poorly timed jokes and insensitive remarks and dismissal of trauma and none of them ever figure out how to address any of it.

Narratively, though, Julian's trauma gets brushed over more than almost anyone else's, and that DOES piss me off about the writing. Even before we get to the augmentation aspect (which is taken seriously as traumatic for exactly ONE episode), a lot of the time Julian's issues just... get kind of tossed to one side.

Character wise, I think Julian is the type to focus on other people's issues so he doesn't have to acknowledge his own, but the way the show itself often ignores those issues does REALLY grate on me.

Julian Bashir walks a very fine, maddening line between “self-loathing imposter syndrome who knows almost everyone who speaks to him for more than a minute finds him insufferable” and “incredibly self assured and annoyingly arrogant to the point of a minor god complex”.

He knows he’s attractive, he thinks he’s charming as all hell, he knows he’s the smartest person in the room (while also being acutely aware he’s going to put his foot in his mouth any second now), and he just swings wildly between “I don’t deserve anything I have, none of this is mine, my life is not my own, I am a monster” and “HELL YEAH LOOK HOW COOL AND SMART I AM GUYS ARE YOU LOOKING ARE YOU LOOKING”.

And then there’s episodes that reveal that underneath that annoying arrogance, at the very core of who he is, he really, really just wants to help people, and if he fucks that up he WILL take it personally and hold himself responsible even if there’s no way he could have known and like. Can you imagine what his first patient death was like for him. Can you imagine what a fucking nightmare his brain must be 24/7.

He is somehow as inherently self assured as he is in need of constant validation for his ego because you can SEE him break a little when that ego fails him, even a little, and it’s just.

He’s very fun to write. I hate him. (I love him so much, but oh my god.)

[psychotrenny]

It's funny to me how Armoured Core 6 spawned like an entire sub-section of Mecha fiction that isn't even based around the game's actual overall content but rather an exaggerated form of some very specific dynamics and ideas that crop up. And like the extent to which this sub-section "really" exists is kinda debatable, being something you only see in like short-form erotic fiction posted on Social Media and Fan-Fiction websites. But it's "real" enough to spawn a whole backlash to it which is also funny because of the stubborn refusal to recognise this fiction as like its own thing

And I'm not saying that this whole sub-section is "good" or that you have to respect it or that it's a thoughtful and compelling reflection of broader Mecha fiction. It's certainly reasonable to dislike this style of Mecha fiction. But you have to at least realise that this sort of thing is it's own style and stop criticising it as just a failed attempt of something more mainstream. Like I'll often see indignant cries of "Do these people even watch Robot shows? How can they call themselves Mecha fans?" and like yeah I'm sure a lot of people who enjoy this form of Erotic Mecha fiction only engage in that specific form of Mecha; which may make them fans of something you don't like but it's stupid to call them "fake fans". And there's also people who do very much engage with and enjoy other works of Mecha fiction but are obviously going to take a very different tone when talking about such erotic Mecha fiction in contrast to Gundam or something. They are very different takes on the same broad idea; interest in one doesn't automatically include interest in the other but that doesn't make them mutually exclusive either

I think an obvious illustrations of this is the whole "Imagine if a Mech Pilot was just a normal guy" post that was going around. To fans of the broader Mecha genre, both Super and Real robot, this comes off as a pretty inane thing to say. It's a common enough idea even among the most well known and successful properties; hardly something you have to "imagine" because most genre fans would have outright seen it. Not to mention the fact that most "proper" mech pilots are just ordinary human soldiers who have been trained for a special job. Like it's not a novel idea in the slightest. But within the specific context of (loosely) Armoured Core 6 inspired erotic Mecha fiction it takes on a whole new meaning. In such fiction your average pilot is some sort of lobotomised cyborg puppygirl, with the simultaneous transhuman and subhuman status of the pilot being a consistently major thematic aspect of the sub-genre. In that context, it would be pretty weird and fucked up for an ordinary guy to be caught in the middle of all that

Which isn't something you need to find interesting or compelling as a Mecha fan. It's perfectly understandable to reject this sub-genre and its ideas as stupid or obnoxious or whatever. But that rejection has to be a conscious act, not a reflexive outburst about how it's different from your preferred form of Mecha fiction. If you're going to criticise this sub-genre of Mecha then the criticisms need to be on its own terms; around what it's actually trying to achieve. You're missing the point entirely if you main criticism of horny mech posts is their failure to understand the themes of Mobile Suit Gundam.

[argumate]

I was watching Greed, a heavy handed satire of a British high street retail fashion mogul who commits all the cardinal sins of capitalism (leveraged buyouts, foreign sweatshops, being a generally unpleasant man to his employees) and gets mauled to death as a result, and I think like most movies of this genre it points out some genuine issues with society (some people live in absurd luxury while others struggle and die simply due to their place in the world) then completely fumbles the remedy, suggesting that apolitical actions by individuals can fix what is fundamentally a political collective action problem.

it's common to believe that paying too little for something is the root of all evil, but paying too little is only possible in the first place in a society that does not provide basic guarantees of living standards to its occupants; when people are free to reject a bad offer without starving then it's much harder to them pay too little, as they can just walk away.

if as a society we care about tax shelters, we can simply tax them! it's not difficult, we simply don't do this because enough of the political elite have a vested interest in maintaining them; only collective action can solve this.

so much of what passes for social activism ends up being expressed as "tell me what I have to buy -- or not buy -- to solve this problem", as if every issue can be fixed by the adjustment of consumer preferences alone.

part of the fable that we've spun since the 1980s is that collective political action is no longer necessary, and as declining participation in politics leads to diminished returns that might be a self-reinforcing dynamic.

but it would be very difficult to make a movie that challenges this without coming across as genuinely subversive or even dangerous.

[sepublic]

I think there’s a lot of implications to Evelyn that people ignore in favor of making her into their white everyman’s Manic Pixie Dream Girl instead of like, an actual character with motives who came to the human world for a reason.

There’s the very obvious implication that she made the archway in Gravesfield??? The one that uses Titan’s Blood to open a temporary portal each time? And there’s another archway located by her house; I dunno if Evelyn made it herself, or if she had parents who were just never shown because they’re not too important to the story.

Evelyn obviously would’ve been a child when she visited Gravesfield as well, because there’s no way the writers would have her romance with Caleb begin if only one of them was a minor. So that points to her being a kid prodigy, which is something you can see in her descendants Eda and Lilith (Yes, Lilith as well; She’s very skilled herself and even figured out Glyph combos, it’s just that she’s being compared to Eda constantly and let her inferiority complex downplay herself).

But how did Evelyn even get to the human realm in the first place if the other archway hadn’t been built? Did she just magically connect hers to a pre-existing human archway?

We know Eclipse Lake exists, it’s how Philip entered the Boiling Isles, and others in the Demon Realm knew of it. Plenty of witches speculated on how a permanent portal to and from the human realm worked; So interdimensional travel was already a field that wild witches in the Deadwardian Era were interested in.

Portals in this show are two-way, so Evelyn must’ve entered Eclipse Lake, emerged somewhere in what would be known in the present as the Connecticut area, and then wandered until she came across some humans… And alas, she came across some of the worst humans to ever exist, RIP.

She made Flapjack, and Palismen you create don’t awaken until you state your wish. If Flapjack resonated with Hunter for sharing Caleb’s wish, then he must’ve resonated with Caleb for sharing Evelyn’s wish; To decide her own future. Flapjack himself is introduced trying to leave and go places, despite people telling him to stay put.

Caleb is someone for whom that wish came in leaving his ‘home’ in Gravesfield, he’d already moved there from someplace else prior! When Evelyn is established to be someone skilled in interdimensional travel, is there not an obvious connection to be made between this and her shared dynamic in Caleb, and the Palisman who resonated with both?

Did Evelyn live with her parents? Was she by herself as a kid? When a teenage Eda runs to the human realm to escape her complicated relationship with her parents, is it the same as her ancestor? The Boiling Isles was never perfect (but the coven system was an objective downgrade), and Dana even mentioned it herself at one point. Its people are just as humans as humans, and so just as capable of being messy and flawed and even cruel. The Coven Heads were willing to fuse their realm with ours under the expectation they'd be treated like royalty for it.

Like Gus, did Evelyn find human detritus and become interested this way? Like Luz, did Evelyn hope she could escape her problems in one world by finding another? I wonder what magic Evelyn liked? Probably stuff to do with portals (Eda uses them in the first episode), teleportation, warping space, etc.

With all this in mind, with Evelyn already being established as someone who can create portal devices, Philip’s tendency to plagiarize and take credit, his inability to make a second portal without using the first one as a base, and the portal itself being found right by Evelyn’s home and archway…

What if Evelyn made the portal, with Caleb’s help. It does change the context of these notes in Philip’s journal, if they’re transcribed from those of Evelyn, a wild witch who revered the Titan and her way of life.

Evelyn went through Eclipse Lake, traveled until she found Gravesfield; Evelyn posed as a human and trusted Caleb after seeing how he and Flapjack got along. Evelyn built a working archway and when Gravesfield suspected a witch in their presence —possibly due to her experiments— they went on a hunt for her.

Evelyn revealed her identity to Caleb and Philip, and brought the former to her world, possibly as a test run or to celebrate its completion, before bringing him back to Gravesfield. Evelyn and Caleb would meet in secret for their own safety, communicating via rebuses, as Caleb stayed in Gravesfield until Philip was old enough to take care of himself, and/or even changed his mind and went along!

But he didn’t, and if Philip tried to do something about the archway, Evelyn still had Eclipse Lake. She might’ve even made the Portal by this point and that’s how Philip has notes on it prior to reuniting with Caleb. So Caleb moved to her home (possibly after Evelyn showed up in his house using the Portal), and Philip eventually found the Eclipse Lake portal. But in those subsequent 5+ years, Evelyn used the Titan’s right eye to create a new portal, that would use a little bit of Titan’s Blood as a battery but not deplete it with each use.

Evelyn and Caleb programmed this portal to open in his childhood home where Caleb expected Philip to be, because he still hoped to have his brother with him and always had. Evelyn agreed to let this happen despite Philip clearly wanting her dead, even if he was not going to get Caleb implicated and killed to do so.

But Philip decided to cross that line, because at some point Evelyn and Caleb had a child, and knowing he was related to a mixed child pissed him off so bad. He pretended to be accepting, even as Evelyn and Caleb revealed a Portal and their plan to go back to him anyhow. Despite this, he attempted to murder Evelyn and/or Caleb anyway. Caleb died, and the Portal was damaged, but Evelyn chased off Philip. He eventually went back for Caleb’s body and stole it, and attempted to replicate the Portal that Evelyn and Caleb had showed off, believing he’d broken it beyond repair.

Evelyn decided she wanted nothing else to do with the human realm and buried the Portal; Maybe she left the option for anyone else who was still interested. Which gets me to another point, that maybe Evelyn made a grave mistake in accessing the human world, but let’s be real the onus is always on those who act in bad faith, not someone who acted in good faith and had that taken advantage of. But in the long, long run, even longer than 400 years, past the ending of the series…

Gus is not the first, but he might be more successful than Evelyn, and succeed where she failed. He’s a witch who was also fascinated in the human world, and now he’s cultivating a Human-Demon Realm Exchange Program, so both worlds can get to know each other, so people from both worlds can find new places. Because Evelyn’s portal was reclaimed by her ancestor, who did need it after all; And it led to Luz finding the isles, to Vee finding Gravesfield.

Luz and Vee were also taken advantage of to commit genocide, but Luz helped stop it. She helped right a great wrong in freeing the Collector and giving the Titan’s son a friend; Evelyn was a wild witch, so she would’ve respected the Titan, and did use his right eye to create the Portal. During that time, the Titan was also able to peer into both the human and demon realms, though he wouldn’t have had much reason to care about the human realm for a while.

(And if the Archivists ever return; There’s a Collector who could be very helpful in resolving that threat, who was freed thanks to the butterfly effect of Evelyn’s actions.)

So in the long run, perhaps centuries after the show ends? Maybe Evelyn did good after all. There’s a lot our worlds could learn from each other, and perhaps healing magic would’ve helped someone like Manny; If not him, others down the line. Plant magic could also be very helpful. The Collector was able to create a second Portal to establish more permanent contact through Caleb’s old home, as Evelyn intended. Not to mention the work of her descendants she had from meeting Caleb! And Gus is helping more Calebs and Evelyns find homes, just as Evelyn helped Caleb, Luz, and Vee.

[stackslip]

so after a second watch, the thing with arcane s2 so far is that near all the plot beats are really good and exactly what i wanted, but they also almost all desperately needed more buildup. it's like we're missing 10-15 extra minutes an episode for the scenes that would really flesh out a lot of the characters' motives for the choices they make and to build up the world! it's so painfully obvious that they're craming in plot bc they're missing a season or have cut time per ep, and as a result while im ecstatic at a lot of the developments v few of them feel earned!

vi choosing to become an enforcer, her agonizing feelings re jinx in particular feel like they're missing. we should have seen the moment cait chose to use the vents to target the undercity and others' reaction to this, especially vi. it's great to see the hole silco left, but we needed to see the underground falling apart in something that's not a shiny league amv. we needed to see the kid spend more time with jinx for her choice to defend jinx to hit harder. we needed to see more of jinx's suicidality and her voices disappearing. i would have been so grateful to see mel trying to do more to rally to counter her mother's influence and being foiled at every turn. more hints of ambessa's manipulation too! would have loved to see ekko and his peers rescuing undercity people and dealing with the aftermath of the war there directly!

and like tbc i think they v clearly considered what they did have the time with and chose to trim or cut off near anything that wasnt a super cool fight scene or important plot beats. the ACTUAL beats are near all a win to me tbh! i am ecstatic about cait's character arc, her using the vents made me gasp; the mel and ambessa situation is sooooo fascinating and fucked up; i love the revelation about hextech poisoning the ground; sevika and jinx dealing with the gaping wound of silco's death is so good; viktor's ominous messiah arc is hitting for me; i loooooved cait hitting vi and vi just breaking down.

in terms of missteps, i wish ekko didnt feel like he's just being explained plot at (i like his dynamic with jayce so far tho), i think vi of all the characters suffered by far the most of the sacrificed time to make her choices and words mame proper sense, caitvi kiss felt far more like they had to kiss before they broke up but in context did not work, and made me roll my eyes so hard, we did not need a five minute cait angst montage, i did not care for how "league" the zaunite chembarons felt instead of an organic part of zaun like they did in s1, half the songs are a complete miss to me, etc etc

i dont think the season is a loss and again im interested in the actual beats, and tbh i kinda feel sorry for fortiche and the writing team bc it's obvious that this is less like, active clumsiness on their part or shite writing and far more that time was a deeply limited resource for the story they wanted to tell and they had to make choices. you could argue if it would have been better to drop some plot threads entirely and focus more deeply on others but imo it wouldnt work for a series like arcane where the cast' actions have such massive ramifications on each other so. i get it. it's just really unfortunate considering how tightly written s1's tragedy was

[bleue-flora]

[post]

@wildissylupus I hope it's okay if I respond to you in a post, I was going to comment back but it was getting too long (to no one's surprise) lol. :) <3

I mean yes and no, I’m pretty sure in canon there are far more references to the actual date and time than ccs saying otherwise, whether that’s Techno talking about spending three months in prison, Sam in Daedalus taking note of the days, Dream talking about being in prison for almost a year, or even Tommy and Tubbo talking about how it’d been a wild couple years in the finale. There are also the dates preset for the festivals and wars and such that are referenced in lore. Additionally, I am of the opinion that unless it is agreed upon by the majority of the ccs involved that the timeline is different, then it is not. So, it doesn't matter if cc!Tommy said Exile lasted longer, it's not recognized across the board. This is important because every character is affected from these things. It looks far different if your character doesn't make it to visit Tommy in his 11 day Exile than letting him stay exiled for weeks and not checking in. The same goes for age, as again I'd imagine you'd act different around a 13 year old or 40 year old rather than a 20 year old. Age changes dynamics in the same way that time does. George not visiting Dream in 11 months versus years of Dream being imprisoned is very different.

And you may be saying - well didn't you bring up age recently? - Yes, I did, [here] and the reason for this was two things, the first being limbo time dilation (that I was researching for my fic, Musical Chairs) which is confirmed canon by multiple events, and a poster I noticed recently in the Las Nevadas lore [seen here & here], for Quacktiy's 28th birthday, suggesting he is 7 years older than he is in real life. This is interesting because I believe it is the first time that in lore we have information about age vs ccs just saying things on the side. Begging the question whether we are to think everyone is 7 years older, only some characters are, or whether Quackity is just advertising to be older than he is. None of which are particularly satisfying conclusions to be honest.

Anyways, there really is no great reason to think that time was different, especially as it becomes problematic to other people's lore and events, and I don't remember an in canon reference to it being different, unlike Quackity's bday poster within his actual lore. However even if things like Exile were longer, than I think it's most reasonable to say everything is longer so the ratios and percentages I determined comparing the time frames would stay the same regardless. So for example: if Exile was a month long instead of 11 days, then Dream was in prison for 28.5 months or 856 days, or 2 years and 4.5 months, meaning Exile is still only 3.5% of Dream's incarceration.

(And yea, 11 days does seem pretty short but it really was just from December 5th to December 16th when he leaves. One of the reasons I think it might feel longer than it is, is perhaps because he streams everyday, so the influx of hours of content makes it seem longer.)

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Okay here we go

Does Stanfraud's eye still bleeds, like when Bill was possessing Ford or doesn't because of his bigger connection to Ford's body?

Is Stanfraud an uncle/big brother figure to Soos, like Stanley is his dad figure? Does Bill even care about him even a little😢

I know that the main focus of this au is on Bill, but since Stanley didn't try to pretend to be Ford, how did Stanley's and Filbrick's first meeting went after the whole "getting kicked out" thing"? Especially since both Stan and Ford were definitely broke at the time

You mentioned that Bill still has access to a little portion of his powers, what are they exactly?

Anyway your au is genuinely awesome and seeing it on my dash is always a huge treat 💛💛💛

Okay the first question I really want to answer because I’ve been thinking about this:

— His eye definitely bleeds on occasion. Even though he is far more connected to Ford’s body here, he’s still a demon possessing a host. He shouldn’t be there. There’s some outer force keeping him trapped. So I have thought about the fact there would probably be some lasting impacts on the body due to possession exposure for so long, such as the eye bleeding becoming a regular problem and gradual loss of vision in that eye. There may also be other physical impacts, but I’ll work on those when I manage to get down an official design for him.

— Great News! He is like Soos’ weird uncle! That may be where he learned to be somewhat decent around kids, honestly. He absolutely tried to mess with him at first, make jabs, tell him the date of his death, attempt to drive him to madness just a little (this is why Stan had to get rid of the last handyman), but Soos proved to be incorruptible and took all of Stanfraud’s weirdness in stride. Bill does end up caring about him. He goes as far as to liking their conversations. Soos keeps up with his chaos! Even Bill isn’t sure what’s going on in that head of his (when he gets his own body back he’s going to find out).

— Though Bill is the main focus of the plot-change, the other aspects are equally as important and so I’m glad they also have people’s interest! Their first meeting is… tense, to say the least. If Filbrick has any regrets, which I think I’ll leave up to interpretation, he’s far too stubborn a man to show them, and would rather dig himself further into a hole than admit he made a mistake. Stan desperately just wants to ignore all the scathing comments and get this little reunion over with, until Filbrick makes a comment about Ford, then Stan snaps. You can insult him, he probably deserves it, but not his brother. Sure, they may not be his brother right now, but the intent is there, and that’s what counts.

It cuts everything short, with Stan grabbing Fraud and telling him they’re leaving (He doesn’t complain).

With Filbrick, I do kind of want to explore their dynamic over the years while he’s still alive, especially with Stan, but also with how he’d treat ‘Ford’ and his odder behaviour. I don’t want to just make Filbrick a one-dimensional character though, as I think there’s a lot to be said about the cycle of abuse and parental projection so. While the AU may be based around the question ‘what if Bill got stuck possessing Ford?’ The answers it has lead me down a lot of different paths to explore — such as this!

— The powers he has access too lessen over time, but currently he is somewhat capable of seeing potential future outcomes (ciphervoyance), pyrokinesis, telekinesis, faster healing factor and teleportation. Note that all of these are in a much weaker state and drain Ford’s body and by extension Bill heavily — especially teleportation. Doing that once can cause him to pass out, so it’s more of an emergency thing, most his abilities are honestly. Too much focus is required.

And I’m so happy to be a little treat on your dash!! I hope you enjoy all this just as much!

[impactrueno]

I saw your twt about holding back on telling stories with serious and deep tones and it reminded me of an issue I had a while back. Im a south park fan and I loved reading deep analysis of the characters. and south park being south park, people dont take it seriously and think its just funny so it doesnt deserve deep analysis like other forms of media. I always came across comments saying "its not that deep" or "doing all of that for south park" and I used to hate that so much because why are you commenting that under the authors post? In media there is like a "spectrum" of how deep you are in it as a fan, and it doesn't make you less of a fan if you like to binge watch the show when you feel like it because its funny. Someone who makes fan fiction and psychoanalyses the characters doesnt make them a better fan than you. I hate "it's not deep" because it is that deep to me, I enjoy it, but it dismisses critical thinking and discourages deep discussions about our interests. I want to learn more about the turning point for eric cartman and the friendship dynamics between the main 4. I want to read psychoanalysis of the characters and understand why they do the things they do. I loved reading fan fics with an author that understood how the characters work and put them in situations while making it believable. Whether the content was deep and serious or lighthearted and silly. I don't see those as cringe at all. What I see as cringe is trying to downplay someones time and effort. you dont care for it. cool, just dont make it our problem.

I believe in recent years, this cringe and its not that deep mentality is linked to media literacy/reading comprehension issues. On top of the fact, that fandoms right now has been "normalized", so alot of mean and rude kids and adults are in this space not having a mature and respectful conversation and discussions, as well as zero fandom etiquette. (I understand the past wasnt this magical respectful place but this behaviour has increased compared to past years).

Please don't worry about making deep content, its super fun and there will be fans of what you write/draw that will definitely be into it.

GOSH anon you are absolutely right. cringe culture has done some serious damage to people's creativity and freedom of expression. doing things in earnest is now cringe to so many people (specifically that 18-21 age where they think they're better than everyone else and everything is cringe to them, image is everything) and they actually give you shit for it?? it's crazy. the most harmless thing in the world. whenever my hey arnold comics would leave my target audience on instagram i would get the meanest comments for no fucking reason, because i was taking hey arnold "seriously" (nevermind that hey arnold is probably the nicktoon with the most emotional depth and moments besides ginger but i digress) but hey at least i'm not the one losing my marbles over some random cartoon comic on the internet.

i think rudeness in general has been too normalized not just in fandom, but in social media in general. it's sad. the only thing you can do about it is be kind as much as you can to counterbalance it. i'd like to think that rubs off on people just like how being rude rubbed off on them.

i said that thing about holding back because i'm admittedly too hard on myself sometimes. no one is calling me cringe or making fun of me for what i do, thankfully, people have been super cool and supportive. and it means a lot to me because i'm very earnest about everything i create, even when i try to hold back. i literally cannot help being myself. it's all i know how to do. i'm just glad i was able to grow a platform where i'm free to be openly passionate about the things i like, talk about them and why i like them, the little things that i find fascinating, the emotions they make me feel, all of that shit is awesome and i wish more people did that.

[pomefioredove]

Hi, I saw that the requests were closed, but I wanted to share with you one of my thoughts, maybe even an idea. This looks more like an AU, but let's imagine that Maleanor is alive and her son brings his partner to meet her. How do you think she would react to the fact that her son's partner is a human? Considering that she hates humans, it would hardly be a happy meeting, but for the sake of her son, I think she would try to find a compromise. Of course, on my part, this would be a romanticization of the character, but I would like to think that after some time, she will treat her son's partner like her own child.

I think more about the logistics of malleyuu than I'd care to admit. even without Maleanor in the picture, there are many influential nobles and senators(?) in Briar Valley who would surely be opposed to Malleus choosing a human

while fae/human relationships aren't "forbidden" or even that uncommon at this point in history from what we know about Sebek, this is the future king of Briar Valley we're talking about. I can't imagine that having a human queen/king/monarch etc after thousands of years of a pure fae lineage wouldn't be a problem. at least for some. it would cause considerable unrest amongst the older fae, and most of the senate would object to it. but Malleus is... Malleus. it's an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, and would cause political unrest no matter what. even if Yuu is perfect, even if Lilia takes their side, even if Malleus throws a temper tantrum that kicks off overblot 2.0...

tradition in a place like Briar Valley is... kind of important. in canon it's stated over and over again that Briar Valley is extremely old-fashioned and traditional, to the point where basic technology isn't available to most of the population (can I assume that most don't have electricity or running water, too?). I wouldn't be surprised if there's some ancient laws preventing humans marrying into the royal bloodline that would have to be overturned just so malleyuu could happen

I'm sure not everyone would have a problem with it, like I said, fae/human marriages aren't a taboo (thank god), but there will be a lot of fae who would. not only is Yuu non-royal, a commoner, but also a human, and a human who can't perform magic. not only will Yuu die long, long before Malleus does, but there's a chance their children, if they're able to have them, won't inherit any magic (is this a problem? well, not to me, and not to malleyuu, but to the senate and people of Briar Valley, I cannot doubt it would be)

but like I said, Malleus is Malleus. he's like a toddler, stubborn and selfish, he loves his toys and doesn't want to share them. if he truly falls in love with Yuu, and they love him back, there's surely nothing anyone could do to prevent him from marrying them. I dare say he'd sooner step down as heir to the throne than to give them up. he'd at least threaten to

this is like, period-drama type civil unrest. marie antoinette type civil unrest. the political and social ramifications of malleyuu are the most interesting part of their dynamic to me tbh!

as for Maleanor? I love her. and she would 100% be against malleyuu for the listed reasons. unstoppable force vs immovable object, again. but she also loves her son, and I do think she would warm up to Yuu eventually, just... with that lingering sense of dread

[vapolis]

I really want to meet merc's partner in the story and learn more about them. so many opportunities for angst... but also I can't see merc leaving anybody for them at this point. and I can't imagine this meeting not being a huge pile of misery for both parties. merc is all fucked up and broken and so so different, they have a new life with new people in it and leaving this life behind is not really an option right now. if they meet it will probably hurt this person a lot. like a lot. meeting merc already hurts enough, but seeing what they are rn makes it worse. and merc doesn't even know shit. they don't remember anything. and then it hurts them in turn. and I don't even know if remembering would make it all better or worse.

I really like merc. and I'd like them to remember at least something from their past. at least some bits. to remember what and who they were. I don't know if it would help them, but I think they deserve it. and as much as I am a sucker for orla, I really want merc to be respected more. to be more than a tool. to be a person, whose opinion matters, whose life matters, whose feeling matter. I want them to be loved and wanted, I want someone to care for them, to listen to them, to actually listen to them. merc deserves so fucking much and I would give them the world I swear, I love them so much, none of these people deserve them. most of them wouldn't really care if merc went and died and I hate them for it deeply.

also I really need merc to cry, that's a carnal desire of mine. sex is good but my god this bitch (affectionate) needs to let it all out. too bad there's no one willing to listen to them and crying on the bathroom floor is a mood but not when you have to go and kill someone for orla right after. I don't know if there will be a happy ending for this game but oh god I need it. I would kill for a happier and more mentally stable merc I swear. I know I'm not treating them good either by making them romance jax and orla (and that's with their dog x mistress dynamic going on. god have mercy) but still. I have hopes. I don't know if I am a fool for having them but god. I need things to be good. at some point.

I'm so so sorry for this wall of text but I swear I can't make it better and neither can I express my thoughts coherently. but I just love merc. yeah. thanks.

the meeting/reveal of their former partner will certainly be interesting! I don't want to spoil anything but I think it'll be as confusing and angst inducing as possible.

them remembering stuff however... I'm not sure if that would be good or bad for them but how things are rn I'd say merc remembering more would send them spiraling. more than they already are.

orla and merc are complicated as fuck but probably my fave dynamic and the scenes I'm writing for chapter 5 are already soooo. a little further going into the direction of orla acknowledging merc as someone beyond a tool to wield.

and I think I've answered an ask about whether the ROs would care if merc dies and vaguely rmr saying yes... they're not as indifferent to merc as it feels and we're also only on chapter 5. so lots of moments that bring ros and merc closer are still to happen!

I'm personally excited for things to pick up a little more now and one or two of the things you describe are yet to happen :)

[bicheetopuff]

i think that if you're going to have an extreme height difference with bkdk....... izuku should be the one to get taller sorry.

I just think one for all, even though it's gone now, definitely altered his dna in some way. he should bulk up and get larger because of it

katsuki may be strong and muscular because he works out, but both his parents are kinda scrawny.

bigger izuku.... bigger arms to hold more of his students.......

with the way katsuki is so anime love interest coded and with the amount of CANON times izuku has just grabbed him or picked him up i think horikoshi should lean into it (JOKING)

In all seriousness. I like that they're the same height a lot. they can take turns resting their heads on each other's shoulders. take turns being little/big spoon. they can hold each other while they cry. things like that.

they're just. the type of couple that takes turns with things like that. i can't like. see katsuki always being the big spoon or izuku always being the one who needs to be held.

I enjoy seeing taller Izuku if there’s a height difference, but I ultimately just like how they are in canon. I like to see them as equals, I don’t like big height differences or power dynamics or anything that would suggest that one has authority over the other.

I do agree though, OFA making Izuku grow more would make a lot of sense, and I think it’d be kinda funny if he’s suddenly towering over Katsuki as adults. We didn’t get to see them stand next to each other as adults, so it’s possible.

[dreamwreaver]

I was curious about the playbill and checked out a few pages people posted about it and... Wow. They had barely made any efforts to make Vaggie actually interesting. Yet again. Like, her bio is just about her job and her duty to Charlie and... That's pretty much it. No hobbies, no interests, not even a favorite food. It might as well be blank because the bio didn't give me anything I didn't already know about her. Charlie had also referred Vaggie as her girlfriend, making it twice now that she calls her that (once in the show and another in the playbill) which is just what Vaggie is reduced to and it's not even obvious to like most of the viewers. Even as much as the bio likes to say she's proud of her job, where's her direct involvement of it? The poster Charlie and Alastor made didn't even include her at all and it's so goddamn sad she's a third wheel at her own workplace when it comes to those two. The playbill just confirmed my suspicions that she's mostly left out in handling the hotel. She's in a higher position than Alastor and that man is shown doing more than what his job description entails and he's also out doodling with her girlfriend. And in those doodles, Alastor and Charlie had more chemistry than Vaggie and Charlie ever did in the entire course of their relationship in the show and that's depressing.

Not sure if this is my rambley or not but you're preaching to the choir either way Nonnie. While I don't think she would do this legit because the entire internet would cancel her for it (again) it would be the absolute funniest thing if Viv planned to make Charlastor endgame and part of how they set out to narratively accomplish their destined fate was to make the current relationship kind of lackluster by comparison.

I mean, we do know in an attempt to showcase Charlie's bisexuality she was going to have crushes on men AND women before ultimately ending up with a woman. And given the rampant biphobia not just in Hazbin but fandom overall she could want to establish a queer ship that does pass for straight. I'll say this once and I'll say it a million times. Charlastor invalidates neither Charlie's bisexuality, nor Alastor's asexuality. And given how much chemistry the two already have, it's kind of... irritating? I guess, how little Charlie and Vaggie's relationship seems to matter to the narrative. Especially when it feels like Charlie and Alastor's does, more so than the "they're the main main characters of course their dynamic is important" element.

Of slightly more importance to me, however, is the fact that the playbill confirms Lucifer is STILL hung up on Lilith. He misses his wife, and I am just petty enough to take major satisfaction from it