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tadpolesonalgae · 1 year ago

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Amarantha x f!reader x human!Feyre: Persuasion[*] - Part 1

A/N: took me a while to figure out how to get this one to work smoothly but dear gods it’s really sunk its teeth into me…

(This has the same dynamic as The High Queen’s Courtesan[***])

Summary: Amarantha has learned over the decades sometimes it pays off to listen to your fucked up fantasies. Especially when they involve cruelly manipulating others to her will. And you’re always happy to be her obedient little whore.

Warnings: pussy eating basically, masochism.

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“You’re looking a little peaky there, Fey.”

Her head whips up from where she’s curled up on her pitiful patch of hay. She scuttles back, as if she can blend into the darkness and hide from your looming presence. You stroll forward nonchalantly, stopping a little way in front of her, crouching down. “Do you mind if I call you Fey? It’s such an effort to string out your full name.”

Her eyes flit desperately over your shoulder, scanning throughout the cell for someone. Grey-blue finally settles on your own, and you give her a placating smile. “Well?”

She doesn’t bother with flattery—though you suppose that would have been nice. “What do you want?”

Your brow dips at her hoarse voice, your eyes dipping to the bone protruding from the skin in her arm. “That looks nasty,” you drawl softly, ��waiting for little Lulu to come help you?” She can’t disguise the shock that passes over her features, but tries. The attempt is so poor you burst into laughter. “Please, who else is going to help you? My Queen is keeping Tammy very occupied, so unless you somehow managed to bag a friend here of all places, Lucien’s the only one left.”

Her brow narrows, words a little more hateful than last time. “What do you want?”

You sigh, pouting out your lower lip, then a smile raises your mouth. “Stand up, spin around, and I’ll decide.” She scowls, staying firmly put. You tilt your head to one side, “I’m not here to hurt you, Fey.” You shuffle closer, settling beside her on the hay. She looks slightly surprised at the act. “I’ll admit I have ulterior motives to offering you help, but I’m sure you’re already well acquainted with the ways of Under The Mountain.”

Her blue-grey eyes stare into you keenly—sharp.

“Who are you?” She asks, prying for information. A smile lifts the edges of your mouth as you lean a little closer to her, nothing her human senses will detect. “Before Prythian, I can be a number of things. Fae call me her courtesan, her partner, or even her lover, and I suppose I am—to her Court.” You lean into her, a conspiratorial spark in your eyes, “but between you and I?” She’s pulled closer, as if lured in by the promise of a secret. “When her bedroom doors close, and she sheds those finely made gowns of hers? Definitely her whore.”

Feyre raises her brows in shock, taking a moment to comprehend your confession. “Is that common?” She hedges.

“To have multiple partners? Or for two females to be involved with one another?” You ask, watching her closely.

“The latter.”

You shrug casually, “arguably, no. I can’t recall a single period in all of Prythian’s history that a female has ruled, let alone taken another female as her lover.” Your eyes slide over her sweat slicked skin, to the bone protruding from the torn and bloody flesh. “I can fix that for you, if you’d like.”

Her eyes narrow in suspicion—smart girl. “In return for what?”

You make a show of thinking, tapping your finger over your lips, drawing her attention. Then a beaming smile graces your face. “I want you to kiss me.” Her eyes nearly pop out of her skull, cheeks flushing. She looks angry, you realise. “Are you not agreeable to that? I would have thought you’d delight in a chance to be healed for so little?”

“For a kiss? So you and your conniving friends can laugh at the silly human girl who dared set her mouth on a high Fae?”

Your thighs squeeze together at her wording, scent shifting though she won’t be able to detect it. “I do not have any friends in this court. I have my Queen and she is all I need.”

“Is this her way of mocking me? Sending her whore down to try and seduce me?” Your gaze is fixated on her mouth.

“It was my idea, actually. And one that took a lot of persuading on my part.” You offer her a sweet smile, “I have a certain amount of sway with her, so I would suggest you use that to your advantage, Feyre.”

She watches you silently, debating. “Just one kiss?” Excitement sparks in your chest, and you nod. Her eyes pierce into you, “where?” A sultry smile lifts your lips. “On my mouth…but you’re free to kiss some other places, should you like?” Heat crawls across her skin at your bold statement. “The mouth is fine,” she mutters, hurriedly.

You perk up, moving to be in front of her, slotting between her legs.

Feyre shifts uncomfortably, back pressing against the wall as you cage her in. You lean closer, but she stops you, pressing a hand to your upper arm. “Why a kiss? If it’s not meant to be mocking?”

“I’ve already told you I’m her whore. How else do you think I would take payment? In the all the gold you have falling from your pockets?”

“No, but—”

“Then in taking you to bed with me?”

“No, but—”

“Then there is nothing else to be said. The bargain is waiting, Fey, and our time is limited.” Her cheeks flush with indignation, but she concedes, albeit resentfully. “Fine.”

Despite her attempt at a cool demeanour, you can hear the pounding of her heart, the terror and excitement thrumming beneath her skin. She swallows, and her eyes flutter shut, bringing herself to your mouth. A feline grin plays on your lips, before you’re pressing her against the wall, one hand cupping her jaw as you bring her against yourself.

Power crackles in the air, at the same time your tongue sweeps into her mouth. The bone snaps back into place, skin healing perfectly over it, not a scar or mark to be found. Her eyes fly wide open, and she bites down in pain, teeth sinking into your tongue in shock. You hiss, pulling back, and she meets your gaze fearfully.

Then your head goes quiet. You can taste the metallic tang of blood in your mouth, but it’s different when you see the red liquid smearing her lips, mixing wonderfully with her saliva. You want to put your own teeth in her lips, bite down ever so carefully, canines piercing her delicate skin. A shiver runs down your spine, but you force yourself to pull away, tapping her arm as you go. “There you go. All patched up.”

You hold out your hands for her to take. She eyes them suspiciously, but slides her own into them. When she stands, her vision goes wonky, overtaken with dizziness as she stumbles. Your arms loop beneath her shoulders, easily supporting her as she collapses against you, momentarily floored by weakness.

One arms snakes around her waist as the other hooks over the nape of her neck, pulling her hair from her pale face. “Hey,” you murmur, “you feeling better?” She grunts, and makes to pull away from you, but you tighten your hold on her. She manages a glare, but that’s all.

How horribly weak humans are.

“Come on,” you soothe, hand rubbing her back, feeling every notch of her spine, “let’s get you somewhere nicer, hm?” She hardly has the strength to protest as you winnow her out of the cell, taking her directly to your own chambers.

————

It takes a few hours to get her cleaned to a suitable level, one that wouldn’t make your Queen hurl her back into the dungeons before the fun even gets a chance to start.

You’ve managed to get her into a new change of clothes without her snapping or trying to claw at you—she didn’t faint either, which was impressive.

“How do the clothes feel? Not too loose?” Her frame is worryingly slight, save for the muscle lining her arms and legs. “They’re fine,” she replies, keeping her distance, despite how close you’d grown from aiding her in the bath. Though she hadn’t protested as much as you had expected. Maybe she was already warming up to you.

The thought sends a shiver of pleasure down your spine.

You walk over to her, inspecting her features for the smallest ounce of dirt, but could find none. “You’re looking much better now, Fey.” You smile, turning away from her to fetch some cosmetics. When you return, she’s moved to your bed, standing awkwardly at its side. You pause, taking in her sloping shoulders; the purple smudges beneath her eyes.

Setting the objects down, you walk over to her side.

She startles, flinching when your hand wraps gently around her wrist. You forget how awful human hearing is, though you suppose you’re quiet even by your own kind’s standards.

“How are you feeling?” You inquire, softly, thumb soothing over the pulse point of her inner wrist. Her eyes have softened the tiniest amount, her wariness thawing with every note of concern you scatter about her. “I’m fine,” she says, but her words are rough—tired. You smile sweetly, and guide her to the side of your mattress, pulling the covers back.

“Why don’t you have a good night’s sleep for once, hm?”

Her legs tremble with the effort of not collapsing down, crawling beneath the invitingly clean sheets. “And don’t worry, I’ll be right at your side. Not even the Attor is allowed in my chambers.” She stiffens at the mention of your Queen’s favoured beast, but melts beneath your touch, crawling into the bed as you settle at her other side.

“Is your room entirely off limits, then?” She mumbles, eyes already closed before the fae lights douse with a flick of your hand. You tuck her into your side carefully, “the only other soul who can enter my chambers is the High Queen herself, though I believe she’s preoccupied with Rhysie tonight.” You stroke her hair gently, arms keeping her close, “she won’t be visiting me, sadly. So get some rest, Fey. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

————

As far as you can tell, she sleeps soundly, not once waking. Though you know you have to arouse her—get her cleaned and fed so she won’t tire too quickly when the night comes.

A knock sounds at the double doors, and her eyes immediately crack open.

You groan, pushing up from the encompassing warmth of the covers, swinging your bare legs over the edge of the plush mattress. You can guess who it is well enough by the laziness that exudes in the tendrils of darkness that swish beneath the door, illuminated by the flame in the corridor.

You turn the handle, opening the door, just wide enough for him to be able to spot the human in your bed should he care to—

Yep.

Violet eyes flick back to yours, something dancing in their indigo depths but it’s gone before you can place it. “Good morning, Rhysie,” you croon from your doorway. “Have plenty of fun last night?”

He offers you a lazy smile that’s edged with fury—something’s straining him. Whether it’s the affairs of Amarantha’s inner Court, or some other information, you don’t care. All that matters is poking and prodding at his rough exterior. “Speaking of our Lady.” You shoot him a disapproving glare. He should be addressing her as High Queen, you’re the only one with that privilege—in front of her, at least. “She’s demanding your presence in her chambers.”

“We’re seeing her this evening?” You prod. Why would she summon you now when you’re already going later? Unless she’s displeased with Rhys, and sending him as a messenger because she wants you to make up for it—

You swallow, heat building between your thighs at the prospect.

Rhysand’s brow narrows, glaring down at you with that lethal grace he possesses. “She gave no such indication of those plans.” His mouth quirks into a dark grin, “I’m afraid you’re on your own to satisfy her tonight. She seems rather…frustrated. I’d be careful not to tread on her toes.” He croons, hands slipping into his pockets.

You dip your head a little, peering up at him as you press closer to the door—closer to him. “Actually, the human will be joining us this evening, Rhysand.”

The only indication of his surprise is how his eyes flick over your shoulder again, or try to, seeing as you’ve brought the door to, a little more. It vanishes quickly though, masked beneath cool indifference. “You think Amarantha will stand for having filth in her bed?” He drawls, and you can practically scent Feyre’s embarrassment. Neither of you bothering to lower your voices.

“Be nice, Rhys,” you drawl, watching him carefully. There’s something about him. It’s nothing outright, but something’s amiss. “Are you jealous she might be forgetting about you, hm? I can put in a good word for you, if you’d like?” Your lips lift into a smirk, but he doesn’t fall for it.

“As her favoured pet?” He croons, and heat traces down your spine at the demeaning tone. “Careful, Rhysand. You’re giving me half a mind to drag you in here and not look back.” His eyes spark with dark delight, stepping closer, so he’s a breath away from the barrier preventing him from entering your chambers.

“It’s been a while since she’s let us play together, hasn’t it?” He drawls, and your back curves as you lean toward him. You shift toward his touch as he raises a single hand—you allow him to grip your throat. “Surely you’d enjoy tonight more with another power present, hm?” He purrs, hand tightening around your neck as you flush with pleasure.

“Why don’t you go crawling to our Queen and ask her? Put in a good word, as you said?” His mouth brushes over your lips as you push against him, but he holds firm. A soft growl drags from your throat, but you’re familiar with his games. “What do you want, High Lord?”

He smirks—that damn smirk of his. “Good to see you’re well acquainted with my preferred methods.” You scowl, but keep pushing into his dominating hold, needing more. He gives you precisely that when he pulls you closer, bodies flushing tight together as you step over the threshold of the door.

“What I want, is for the little, half-decent Entertainment we have down here to not be rendered immobile before her next trial.” His mouth brushes over your own and you push onto your tiptoes, chasing more. “It’s been rather dull as of late, wouldn’t you agree? And with such interesting trials… It would be a shame to have her wiped out in an evening because you’re too greedy to share her with the rest of the Court.”

You consider. It’s a reasonable request. After a while, you can see how plain dancers would bore the feared High Lord of the Night Court. How he would be thirsting for more bloodshed.

“And what will you give me, Rhysand? I rather like the idea of ruining her over the course of a few hours.” You push closer, breasts dragging over his chest as your hands glide up his finery. “That she would be defeated by my cunt rather than a deadly wyrm, or a nonsensical—” You cut yourself off before you reveal the second trial.

Sure, you’re her favoured whore, but she’d flay you permanently immobile should you spoil her fun. Not so immobile she would be unable to use you, though…

Rhys cocks a brow, “a nonsensical…what? Do tell.” His hand braces your waist, slipping down over the swell of your ass, his fingers gliding between your legs. You huff a laugh, “tell me what you’ll do for me, first, Rhysie. My Lady won’t like being gentle with her.”

His fingers slip away from your heat, raising to the base of your spine. “How about I lock us up in one of those dungeons of hers, huh? Just you and me? See what havoc I can wreak on your sensitive skin?” You suck in air between your teeth, pupils dilating as you stare up at him.

“Like what?” You breathe, fingers dancing over the lapels of his jacket, pressing tighter against him.

“What would you like?” He drawls, thumb scraping over your skin at the same time a talon drags against your shield. “Want me to chain you up while I fuck you? Break into your mind and torture you there?” You shiver in his arms, pleasure melting your senses.

“I want you to whip my back raw,” you growl softly, thighs pressing together at the idea alone—the sting of the leather in his skilled hands. “Give me that, and she’ll last the night.” No need to mention you know Amarantha will savour watching Feyre suffer through the trials. She’ll much prefer dragging out her pain rather than ending it so prematurely.

He offers you a feline grin, one that has your hairs standing on end as he drags the tip of his finger up the ridge of your spine. “I’ll flay you until bone gleams white in the flame light.” You shiver at the dark promise, thighs pressing together.

“It’s a deal.”

————

“Remind me why I’m allowing this scheme of yours, whore?”

You smile giddily at her as she strolls toward her bed, almost utterly naked save for the scrap of fabric clinging to her hips, moving to gather the dress that lays before you.

“Because it’s not every day a human challenges you—you should make the most of it, in every way.” You offer, looking up at her with that gleam in your eye as she crosses her arms, plumping her tits. You swallow, nipples peaking through the sheer night robe you’re still adorned in.

“Did Rhys mention we had a tumble this morning?” She drawls, eyes cold and hard as she stares down at you.

You shift on the bed, tucking your knees further beneath you before you shake your head, “no, my Queen.” She hums, arms unfolding slowly—teasingly, as she drags one open palm down her front. You lick your lips, following her direction with your eyes.

“He was very…thorough, in his fucking.” Her fingers hook on the band of her underwear, and a flick of her eyes has you shifting forward, until you’re directly before her. You bite your lip as she peels away the garment from her wet heat, creamy strands of arousal slicking the fabric to her hot cunt. “I thought you might like this small meal.”

You’re vaguely aware of your head nodding, though your eyes are fixated on her, wishing to run your tongue through her centre, taste both of them together.

She peels her underwear off carefully before instructing you to lie back on the bed. You follow, mindlessly.

Your head goes quiet as she loops your feet through the legs slots, dragging them up steadily until you feel the fabric press between your thighs. A soft whimper escapes your throat as you imagine the mess she’s just created—the mix of Rhys’ come with your Queen’s release, now pressing flush against your heat.

The High Queen doesn’t stop there, though.

She elegantly swings a leg over your head as she turns around, settling herself down on your mouth, finally mounting her throne. You moan beneath her, arms already wrapping over her hips to pull her tighter against you.

“Get me cleaned up, will you?” She drawls, hands palming your breasts lightly, thumbing at your nipples before snaking lower. “I can’t very well hold Court with someone else’s release dripping down my thighs.”

You whine as her hand slips between your spread legs, fingers pressing the fabric deeper, rubbing over your entrance, brushing over your clit. She winds her hips, dragging them over you as your tongue laps at her, scooping up the release that’s still coating her cunt.

————

When you at last return to your chambers, Feyre is still sprawled across your bed, laying flat on her stomach, arms and legs stretched wide. Your lips quirk up at the edges.

You walk to her side, “Fey.”

She stirs, eyes cracking open, jolting as she takes you in, stood over her previously sleeping body. “Rise and shine,” you tease, folding your arms over your chest. “Or maybe just rise, since there’s definitely no shining being done. Not down here, at least.”

Her eyes are wary as she looks up at you, observing keenly.

“Sleep well?”

She peers toward the door, then returns her gaze to you. “Where did you go?”

You quirk a brow, before sighing and sitting at the edge of the mattress. She shuffles away, back pressing against the headboard as she brings her knees to her front. “The High Queen called for me,” you explain, meeting her eyes. “I’d assumed Rhys would preoccupy her all morning, but I guess she wanted more today.”

Feyre looks positively disgusted.

You smile, shaking your head. “I’m guessing that look is directed at Amarantha, and not the idea of coupling with a female.” You lean closer to her, pressing against her knees as you watch her steadily. “Since I know you have no opposition to the latter.”

On cue, her eyes dip down to your mouth, your lips quirking as she hastily removes her gaze, flitting back upward.

“Speaking of…” you drawl softly, locking onto the blue-grey of her. You set one hand atop her knee, letting her know you’d seen the traitorous dip of her attention. “…I think you also might want a little more today.” You can feel how her body tenses. Despite not being able to detect the shift in your scent, she innately knows something has changed.

She pulls her legs closer to her body, pressing tighter to the headboard. “You don’t find me ugly…as a human?” Indeed, that’s definitely a spark of self consciousness you can spy beneath her rough exterior. You suppose anyone can wish for beauty, no matter their misfortunes.

“I’ve never once looked at a female and thought she was ugly. Unattractive perhaps, but she would have to be truly vile for me to cast her as ugly, Feyre.” She shifts beneath your touch, managing to hold eye contact—impressive.

“You don‘t…? Amarantha—”

“Is my High Queen. Choose your next words very carefully.” You warn, nails tightening over her knee lightly. “Even in my chambers, the walls still belong to her, as this entire mountain does.” She takes you in with surprising steadiness. You can see why Rhys believes she’ll survive the next task, at least. Maybe even…

You don’t allow yourself to consider it.

“She’s cruel. And twisted. How can you serve her?” Her words are tight; clipped. Verging on hateful. You suppose that’s understandable.

“Do you deny her beauty?”

“Not on her exterior. The way all High Fae are.” Your lips lift into a feline grin. “You find me beautiful? What about Rhysand? He’s equally cruel and twisted, if not more. I’d say I’m the least worrisome of the three.”

“I believe you’re all rotten to the core.”

“Some would argue the same could be said for you. Giving a false name in your stead to escape torture? A huntress raised on brutality and bloodshed? What do you have to say against those claims, Feyre?” You drawl, an edge to your voice.

She stiffens, “I know who I am. I know what I’ve done. And I do not believe myself to be rotten.”

“Neither do it. About myself or you.” You lean closer to her, sharing breath as you stare down at her. “You must understand the nature of things hidden beneath the crust of the earth. We are not always as we seem.”

She has nothing to say to that. Simple watches you carefully, with those predator’s eyes of hers.

“I’m sure you heard,” you begin, “that I will be bringing you to her chambers tonight.” The colour drains from her skin, making her appear paler than she already is, even given a good night’s sleep and a hearty meal.

“No…” she breathes.

“I can offer two options. Either you go in there sober, and catalogue everything you see, use the opportunity to learn more about her, perhaps glean the nature of future trails.” Her eyes flick to you, startled. “Or…I can offer you oblivion. Drink a glass of our wine before we leave. You will not remember a thing. As if it never happened.”

Her hands are trembling.

“You have until tonight to decide.”

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Taglist: @myheartfollower @tcris2020

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mangora · 8 months ago

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So I haven’t been fulfilling my obligations as resident Scike enjoyer recently and I finally have a night with no coursework due, so here’s a meta analysis post about my interpretations of Scott and Mike’s characters, primarily as told through their relationship with one another. This isn’t necessarily accurate, some of these are definitely reaches or headcanons with little basis in reality, it’s not like a serious essay; this is just for fun since I find their relationship (or I guess, my idea of their relationship) fascinating 👍

So, naturally we start with episode one, where we’re introduced to Scott and Mike as well as the other generation two characters. Scott, off the bat, is unfriendly and untrusting; even before Jo says anything, he eyes her with malcontent. Scott looks at Mike with a seemingly annoyed expression when he’s introduced next. Mike, in contrast to Scott, is smiling and taking in the view. Scott notices immediately when Zoey nudges him and stares at her arm; I don’t think this demonstrates any sort of feelings for Mike on Scott’s part, yet at least, but rather it seems to display his social awareness. He’s already trying to gauge both Mike and Zoey’s personalities and dynamic— he could also be judging them, or a mix of that and the aforementioned gauging. Regardless, Scott’s already shown to be suspicious of others.

Meanwhile, Mike’s shown to form an attachment right away, specifically to Zoey. Their very minor interaction causes him to smile and espouse that the view is beautiful, though he’s obviously regarding her. This causes him to let his guard down, along with Zoey, which leaves both susceptible to being shoved out of the way by Lightning. Take note of this, as Mike’s desire to form stable relationships becomes a hallmark of his character. The dichotomy between Scott being untrusting when he should be and Mike being trusting when he shouldn’t be will become a running theme as well.

The next time we see them both is after the intro, when Scott refuses to help Cameron and calls him a “spaz”. This is contrasted with Mike being too kind with Zoey when they should be helping Staci out of the water, which causes him to be pulled underwater by her and could have led to them both drowning. This not only aligns with our theme of trust vs lack thereof, but also Mike’s goodwill vs Scott’s lack thereof again. It seems that what Scott needs, Mike supplies to a harmful excess; however, as we will touch on later, both of these incidents with Mike only occurred when there was another person there (Zoey) who he sought to impress or bond with. Right now all of these exist in an unjoined microcosm, but once again, scenes like this repeat throughout the season.

Another scene worth noting is Mike’s confessional directly after. Mike’s already attached himself to Zoey, admiring her kindness and immediately jumping to the idea of a relationship with her. We’ve already established that Mike wants human connection, but here we also see the added element of insecurity; he already fears rejection for his “quirk”, which we will later discover is his DID (called “Multiple Personality Disorder” in the show; I am not fucking calling it that). He doesn’t state it to the audience yet, showing that maybe he’s not as trusting with people who he can’t directly connect with; even though he probably knows that he will inevitably be outed to them, for lack of a better term. Since he’s insecure about this, and because he says he hopes his “condition doesn’t ruin anything for [him] again”, we can draw the reasonable conclusion that Mike’s probably been rejected for his DID before, whether by potential romantic interests or by his peers more generally (with the added context of season five this could also be referring to how Mal got the system sent to jail, but honestly I’m not sure if the writers planned that far in advance so we’re not really gonna talk about it). It could also be possible that one of Mike’s motives for joining the show, besides the money, was to make friends or find a partner in a new group of people who didn’t know this detail of his life, and to do that by hiding his DID. Once again, this will seem like less of a reach as we continue to see this pattern unfold; it’s good to establish now the idea that Mike is heavily concerned with interpersonal relationships and self-image so we can continue compounding on that thesis as we go on.

Next time we see either Mike or Scott is on the beach. Staci is talking about her family and Mike is obviously ignoring her in favor of looking at Zoey. This shows that while Mike is nice, he might not view everyone as an equal opportunity for human connection; he gets attached to Zoey instantly and regards her above everyone else, quick to establish a clear-cut and intense relationship in his mind with someone he barely knows. When Zoey even implies that they could become friends, he appears overjoyed. He’s so excited, and for what? Put a pin in this.

Our focus shifts back to Scott briefly in the team formation scene before the first challenge. Scott and Lightning smile at each other (or maybe generally? It’s unclear if Scott’s looking at him) as they’re put on the same team. His smile fades when Brick shouts “Sir, yes sir!”, but rather than looking maybe annoyed or angry, he looks uncharacteristically concerned. His smile returns when B shoves Brick, then changes to annoyance when B’s put on his team. There are two major explanations for this. The first and most likely is that Scott’s scoping out his teammates and competition; he’s happy that Lightning’s on his team because he’s not very smart, then concerned and happy again when Brick’s put on the other team because he’s loyal and physically capable, and then he’s upset that B’s on his team because B’s intelligent and looks (is?) strong/fast. However, on the other hand, Scott’s expressions seem oddly earnest, especially considering how he behaves throughout the rest of the series. Maybe he’s secretly glad that Lightning’s here because he enjoys his company. Something that really caught my eye was Scott’s concern for Brick. Brick’s obviously military (likely due to family circumstances), and in season five, we learn that Scott’s dad is ex-military. Scott might be slightly worried because he knows what the military is like, or what military parents are like. We’ll talk more about Scott’s potential home situation later, but I dunno, something about him in this scene seems weirdly tame considering how he is normally; he seems oddly worried and not about the right people, like all things considered it would be best for his plan if his team was weak but he seems constantly annoyed by the additions of people like Dakota and Sam.

Skipping over more of Scott being annoyed at people and Mike being anxious, when the teams get their names, Mike is the first to ask about the references to chemical waste. Though he’s very likely one of many to notice this, the fact he asked first and without hesitation shows that he’s both worried and quick to observe things. He continues to appear concerned by the growling of the “monster”, but seems to hold back from showing this, staying still with a worried expression. He might be trying to keep it cool to protect his image; or, maybe he’s trying to keep others from worrying as well, considering that Cameron’s already freaking out. When it gets closer, he holds Zoey in his arms. He has an urge to protect those he cares about, even if he has little reason to care about them yet.

Later, during the actual challenge, while Jo and Anne Maria are outwardly annoyed by Brick, Mike tries to politely state that this isn’t working. This is the point at which Chester fronts; we learn later that Chester most commonly fronts to deal with frustrating situations. Mike himself cannot express frustration for whatever reason, likely because he’s afraid to. Meanwhile, Scott does his first confessional, where he states that he has a plan that’s sure to take down B (and implied to take down everyone else as well). Scott’s overly confident and expresses frustration with the gleeful notion that all will be handled eventually. Shortly after, Scott smiles as he and the other Toxic Rats overtake the Mutant Maggots; this is odd, as we will later find out that Scott wants his team to lose. This could be an example of him trying not to play his cards too early, but later it becomes apparent that Scott’s quick to snap when he’s upset. Was he perhaps earnestly excited to win as a team and had trouble masking that as well? Perchance (I can just say perchance, because it’s my meta post, and I do what I want).

It’s worth mentioning now that we’ve covered episode one that Mike and Scott have somewhat inconsistent characterizations; as the series goes on, Mike is more prone to show annoyance or outbursts of fear, while Scott rarely shows genuine happiness when his plans aren’t working out. This could be a result of changing writers, a lack of ideas for one or both of them, or simply them changing and adapting to the game. Make of that what you will; I’ll try to explain things to the best of my ability and puzzle them together in a cohesive analysis, but shit’s a bit wonky.

In episode two, we finally hear Scott’s plan: he’s intent on making his team lose the challenges to “lull the other team into a false sense of security, then pick them off one by one”. This is an interesting concept, considering how fucking stupid it is: if Scott loses most or all of his team and the Maggots continue working together, that security will become real, they will dominate him and any allies he might form (which he does not seem intent to do), and he will lose near immediately unless he’s already planning on how to split them up, assuming any of them would fall for his tricks. However, Scott himself is a little dumb, so this is fitting. He’s so unwilling to work with other people that he seems to have tricked himself into thinking that he can do anything by himself and manipulate people with no outside help. This is unrealistic, and gives the viewer a perfect insight into Scott’s antisocial and bleak worldview. He’s so unwilling to trust people that he hasn’t even figured out how to fake a relationship with any of them for his own benefit.

In the scene where the teams are walking to the Bay of Dismay, Zoey and Mike have their first proper conversation, and it is approximately thirteen seconds long. Zoey brings up Total Warriors Two, and Mike is pleased that she knows about it. He states that if she likes kickboxing as well, he might have to marry her. First of all, film-enjoyer and kickboxer Mike real as fuck; but more importantly, this is another example of Mike attaching himself to Zoey incredibly quickly and incredibly closely. He’s desperate to be liked by her, desperate to be inseparable from her even. Unlike Scott who’s pushing everyone away without a plan, he’s seemingly nudging closer to someone without a plan or a concern for her actual, well, personality. I don’t think this is manipulative or weird at all, to be clear; and Zoey was likely trying to relate to him because he also clearly enjoys his company. It’s just endlessly intriguing how he’s already endeared herself to her.

Once the game actually begins and the Maggots are asked which one of them wet their pants, Mike’s the one to pipe up with surprise, almost making fun of the person in question. Knowing that Mike’s afraid of his own secrets being revealed in this challenge, this clues us in that, while Mike might not have bad intentions, he does partake in judging (and depending on how you interpret his words, shaming) people for their own secrets. He might, to a degree, lack social knowledge (“this might make the person uncomfortable” etc.), empathy, or both. In this right, he’s somewhat selfish. Throughout the season, actually, he continues to show inklings of selfishness, even if they aren’t born out of malice.

After this, the Rats are dunked into the water. Scott’s bitten and dragged out of the stands by Fang, and his team does nothing to rescue him. This upsets Scott, who then refuses to do the rest of the challenge. While this might be part of his plan to lose, it seems that Scott was genuinely upset and offended; he expected his team to help him when he would never do the same for them. More selfishness. Anne Maria seconds Scott, and Mike’s quick to join her since he’s worried about his own secrets being discovered— something that he insists to them isn’t true. I don’t have to explain this, I don’t think; Mike and Scott are alike in their selfish desires for preservation. The thing is that Mike backs down after Jo becomes upset with him, while Scott carries on. So Mike does care about avoiding conflict and being invulnerable to his whole team, but with Zoey specifically, he needs to be liked; not just regarded with neutrality, which appears to be his goal with other people; and he is afraid of being judged, or seen in a negative light.

During the challenge, Scott attempts sabotage for the first time, which fails. He tries to keep the rat from B, and is outwardly antagonistic towards him, which could have easily been used against him. This is another action that Scott seems to take strategically, but barely considers the consequences of. He just needs to be mean, apparently; he can’t control the urge to sabotage or insult, even when it would hurt him.

In the same challenge, Cameron catches Svetlana fronting, and asks Mike about it, which he denies entirely. The Maggots win, which Scott, again, seems genuinely upset about. This is where I’m laying out my theory officially that Scott takes these losses personally but is convincing himself that they’re sacrifices, rather than him genuinely not caring because it’s part of his plan. Maybe he knows that he could be on the chopping block every time and is bracing himself; maybe he enjoys winning each individual challenge for a sense of glory but won’t admit it to himself because it doesn’t work with this bullshit Lone Wolf plan he has. Either way, this brings us to episode three.

In episode three, Sam flings his breakfast into Scott’s face. Instead of pretending it’s okay, Scott throws a spoon at Sam. He then calls him a wimp for complaining about his food. Aside from this being another example of Scott being unable to mask his feelings for the greater good, this leads into the point of Scott’s home life. Total Drama as a series is full of bits that are normal in its cartoon universe, but are disturbing or terrifying taken in a real-world context; look no further than the season’s baseline concept of “we put teenagers on a nuclear island”. Scott living on a dirt farm is one of these things; having to eat dirt is bad in a literal context, and worse when adding the idea of it being a metaphor for not having food to eat. Scott is, quite literally, dirt poor; we’ll talk more about his audition tape later, but in it, we also see that Scott’s house is infested with rats and in a state of complete disarray. In season five, we learn that his father is ex-military and his mother’s a waitress; and since they own a farm, they did or do have two jobs. Scott’s also generally a country boy stereotype, and country folk aren’t exactly known for being well-off. We can almost guarantee that he grew up in a rough economic situation, and has ways of coping with or appreciating it while still working fervently to escape it. Take that for what you will.

Following this scene, Mike admits to the audience that he has DID with a shameful tone. He rushes to explain that he tries to control his alters, as if he needs to or should, but that they don’t listen to him. Mike not only lacks control, but is also attempting to control genuine other people, all for them inconveniencing him and making him worry about being judged. This is another point at which we must acknowledge that Mike is selfish, but also selfish with a sympathetic purpose; he doesn’t want to be judged, and doesn’t want to be alone. When confronted by Jo about Svetlana, he lies and says she’s a character, but fails to actually mimic Svetlana. He’s either a bad actor, doesn’t know Svetlana that well, or both.

During the first half of the challenge, Scott shouts at Lightning to shut his mouth, once again showing how hard it is for him to hide his true feelings. Meanwhile, Mike helps Zoey up a ledge instead of helping himself, showing that he knows when to actually be selfless as long as it benefits someone he cares about. Once again, we go back to Scott as the Rats win the challenge; and Scott is visibly and audibly upset. He doesn’t bother hiding it now, so why would he before? Another point for the “Scott is genuinely excited to win/mad about losing” theory. When his team is mad at him for picking the bad snow fort, Scott acknowledges that this is bad, but rationalizes that it’s part of the plan. Dude, he has no fucking idea how this plan is going to work, does he?

Now we get to the point where Mike finally acknowledges Scott, and tells Zoey to watch out because Mike thinks he’s “psycho”. Mike is the first person to bring up how Scott’s acting irrationally or untrustworthy verbally; and considering they aren’t on the same team, that means Mike must have been, at some point, watching him. As we mentioned earlier, he’s observant, and will bring something up either if he feels it’ll be uncontroversial or if he’s very concerned. Before Scott’s other team caught onto him, Mike did, and before they became cautious or seriously concerned, Mike did. Why? Does Mike have experience picking out these types of people? Was Mike, for some reason, interested in Scott either out of fear or admiration, and therefore paid closer attention to him than anybody else? Mike’s not a very strategic person in the game, but he is a bit strategic and wary socially, especially if he’s afraid of the other person not liking him. Did Mike view Scott as a threat? Maybe something more? Why? Did he recognize Scott’s selfish or secretive behaviors, maybe in himself? These are all, certainly, questions. Perchance.

In his scene with Dawn in the snow fort, Scott argues with her about how he’s not going to listen to the snowball, and says he’s full of negative energy; this causes a snowball to explode in his face. Scott’s unwilling to listen to others, even if it spells his own downfall. After this, Dawn claims that Scott wasn’t held enough as a child, which he stops to think about and is shown to be greatly uncomfortable with in the confessional. Dawn has previously been accurate about the home lives of other players (Zoey and Dakota), so we can assume she’s right. In which case, this is “Scott has a bad home life: part two”. Scott’s parents, at some point, did not meet his emotional needs; whether this was just in early childhood or whether it stayed consistent is unclear, but it’s likely that some of his behavioral issues would have been addressed earlier if his parents were attentive following his most formative years. Because his parents didn’t show him enough affection, he likely turned to either methods of garnering attention elsewhere or through other means, diverted that attention towards desiring victory and/or control for his own self satisfaction divorced from the opinions of other people, and/or a mix of both. We can also reasonably assume that Scott’s poor home life could go beyond simply emotional unfulfillment, since Scott seems worried at the notion of her knowing that, and likely wouldn’t be as concerned if he had nothing else to hide.

Dawn later seems to compliment Scott, calling him a “beetle whisperer”. He turns up his nose and leaves. This could be because he finds the notion of beetle whispering ridiculous, but I just like to think that Scott’s not used to getting compliments and doesn’t know how to react. Just because that’s kinda more wholesome and Dott’s kinda baller.

At this point, B melts the Maggots’ fort, and Jo asks Mike to do the “Svetlana thing”. Under pressure, Mike begins to panic a bit, unsure of how to escape the lie he’s found himself in, almost confessing; Cameron helps Svetlana front, saving him from this situation, and Jo regards Svetlana positively. This is just important to me divorced from Scike because not enough of you talk about Jolana. Moving on, Scott notices B melting the Maggots’ fort and momentarily panics, before melting the Rats’ fort instead and blaming B; while Scott has committed sabotage and swayed the team vote before, this is the first time his sabotage has actively caused the team to lose. You’d figure he’d be celebrating, but we don’t see that. After the loss, Mike goes to the confessional and worries about Vito showing up; we can assume that Vito is the hardest to control and/or would lend the most to affecting Mike’s social life, hence why he states that the situation has gotten worse and seems so on-edge. Scott’s finally gaining control in the game, while Mike appears to be losing it. Scott convinces his team to vote for B, and lies without a problem; Scott, it seems, is good at lying through his words, but has a hard time controlling how he emotes physically. Mike is the same; when he lies or hides information, his voice and face/actions don’t seem to mirror the stories he puts together on the fly. Mike’s not a malicious liar, he in fact has every reason to lie about his condition, if you consider lies of omission to be lies at all; but if you do, he is, in fact, a liar, and it takes one to know one. My Mutual Understanding clownery is all coming together.

In episode four, we mostly see extra examples of previous behavior from Scott: annoyance at his teammates (mainly Sam), selfishness and a lack of consideration for others (not helping Sam up and not caring when his teammates go missing), and being oddly happy over success when he shouldn’t be (excited to find the key). At this point, I began considering the possibility that Scott only likes losing when he’s in control of the loss. To fail when he’s trying to succeed obviously frustrates him, but to fail when he’s trying to fail is a success at failing. In less words, it's the need for power and control, again. Maybe he likes to win sometimes for entertainment, or a sense of accomplishment; he might just do it because he can sometimes. In which case, Scott’s a bit more unpredictable than first thought; he does things largely with one goal in mind, but can push that goal off or come up with other shorter term objectives whenever he feels like it. He’s consistently driven, but the thing he’s driving towards is subject to fluctuate when he gets bored or competitive or wants to feel in control.

On the Maggot side, Mike and company are obviously unhappy with and wary of Jo, but none of them say anything. Mike does, however, tell Cameron that he did a good job. It’s possible that after the last episode, when the two worked together along with Zoey to get up the hill, Mike has started seeing Cameron as another potential friend, as he rarely interacted with Cameron before, and we know they will continue to interact more in future episodes. Zoey says he’s “always encouraging Cameron”, implying that he does this off-screen as well, since (correct me if I’m wrong) this is the first time Mike has directly encouraged Cameron specifically. Mike says that Zoey’s all he thinks about when he’s in control, then laughs nervously, as if he’s afraid this joke is too personal or unrelatable or odd. When Zoey goes missing, Mike notices immediately, and begins to panic; the person he’s most attached to here, his only real friend right now, has just left him alone, and the anxiety is all-consuming. He’s worried about her, and probably also scared of being left alone with the rest of the team, who he’s not as close to. I’m going to draw the line here and say that I think Mike might have social anxiety, just in my personal opinion as someone who also has social anxiety. He’s hyper-aware, afraid of what others think of him, and heavily attached with one or two people. He’s also, apparently, very loyal and protective. He abandons the rest of the group to find Zoey despite the challenge, and is relentless when looking for her in a way that no one else in the challenge has been or will be later.

When Brick goes missing, Mike is concerned for him, as are Cameron and Anne Maria; it’s unclear whether this is because they care for him, they’re scared of missing as well, or a mixture of the two. When Anne Maria stands up to Jo for having a bad attitude, Mike also finds the courage to join her. Having someone who’ll agree with him or make the first move once again gives him a sense of confidence to voice his opinion and, assuming he had Brick in mind like Anne Maria, defend the people he (possibly) cares about without as much fear. Shortly after, he injures himself looking for Zoey; once again, he puts those he cares about above himself, but himself over the layman.

After Vito fronts for a while, Mike suddenly takes over when he hears Zoey cry out for help and attempts to save her instead of winning. His care for others (Zoey specifically but he could generally be concerned for everyone considering the state of affairs [big spider]) triumphs his need for victory, which again lends credence to the theory that he’s on Total Drama for social reasons more so than monetary ones. In the meantime, Scott’s unabashedly upset about winning the challenge, but again, appears concerned for Brick when he begins crying. When Brick’s switched to the Toxic Rats, Mike, Cameron, and Anne Maria are visibly shocked and upset, showing that they probably did genuinely care for him, making it more possible that loyalty to Brick factored into him standing up to Jo earlier.

In episode five, we start with Scott having a nightmare about a shark (Fang). He’s soon woken up by Brick’s alarm clock, though he’s not grateful for this; in fact, he begins punching the alarm clock as a demonstration of what he’s going to do to Brick later. Is it possible, then, that Scott would rather live in a nightmare, a place of strife and fear, than in a reality where he’s experienced a harmless transgression? Per freaking chance. Shortly after, Scott begins stealing from other players to frame Brick. It’s unclear whether this is because he’s mad at Brick for the alarm clock incident, or whether he recognizes Brick as a weak link on the team. Either way, this is probably the most premeditation we’ve seen from Scott, as his plan continues to develop throughout the episode, versus how he normally takes an action right after coming up with it to immediate success or failure.

During the challenge, Scott tells Brick to prove his loyalty to the team. There are many reasons he might have done this. One is because it’s simply fun to him; he might like seeing Brick squirm. Another is to gauge his actual loyalty and scope out his strengths/weaknesses to exploit them later. Once again, this could be a combination of the two; Scott doesn’t think highly of Brick, but he seems amused by him being a “doofus”. And after this, we see another instance of Scott ragging on someone (Sam) for being bad at the game despite that working to his advantage. It’s probably another instance of hubris: something along the lines of “I could do better than that; I won’t, but I could”.

Back to Mike, we see an example of him outright lying. Once again, I don’t blame him or necessarily think this makes him a bad person, but he is outwardly dishonest with Zoey when he claims that he just “gets so deep into character that he [doesn’t] know what [he’s doing]”. He promises to stop playing characters if Zoey wants him to, even though he can’t do that, and tells her she’s the most amazing girl in the world. His love for Zoey triumphs over his logic and planning for the future. He’s so desperate to be loved by her that he doesn’t even consider how to make that happen. This is similar to how Scott’s hatred for people or situations trumps his ability to consider consequences, as seen in episode three especially but also throughout the series. Both of them, despite trying to remain calculated and in control, are often so blinded by their emotions that they act or speak on a whim.

It’s at this point that I must inform you that I forgot that Scott accused Brick of stealing while he was underwater, making that his motivation for sending Brick down there. However, I do stand by the point that Scott’s also a bit of a sadistic little freak and just likes being mean, because he is. Sailing along, I also find it interesting how Scott has to whittle when he starts getting bored; another addition to the point that he’s impulsive at times. And returning to Mike, Dawn claims that Mike “likes her a lot” and “it’s all over his aura”. And now it’s at this point that I am becoming increasingly aware that Mike’s kind of just Zoey’s plus-one in terms of characterization and this post is pointless in that right, but I’ll be damned if I don’t stretch his actions thin enough to give him an actual personality, and then do the same for Scott, and then make them yaoi out. Mike’s a person that cares so deeply for people that it permeates his aura, the very essence of his being; his priority is to love people (Zoey) and be loved by people (Zoey).

When Scott finds out that his team got the better boat, despite wanting to lose, he doesn’t miss the opportunity to call them “suckers”. Once again, Scott’s goal is glossed over in favor of being a huge bitch to others. This reminded me of how, similar to how Mike’s a lover and wants to be loved, Scott’s a hater, and I think he might want to be hated. When you think about it, Scott hasn’t done a single kind thing to anyone on the island. He’s never upset when people dislike him, and takes every opportunity to be mean or sarcastic. When he does display a positive emotion, he never tells anyone or joins them in expressing it. Scott seemingly detests having positive relationships, perhaps because he’s simply annoyed and inconvenienced by them, but also perhaps because he’s afraid of losing them or feeling like he’s at the whims of another person’s emotions and wills. And in the end, as we know, Scott’s negative relationships will be his downfall, just like how Mike’s unwillingness to break his positive relationships will be his (as well as, y’know, Scott meddling). While it’s probably unintentional, they’re pretty decent foils for one another.

We get another Scott lore drop when he says that he’s been shooting kitchen rats with his Pappy since he was six. I’m not sure what to make of this really, I just think it’s kind of fucked up to have your kid shoot rats but like I also didn’t grow up in a hunting area so maybe that’s normal and not psychologically damaging. Later, Dawn tells Scott not to fire anymore goals, and he does anyways, to her annoyance. Scott has to know Dawn is suspicious of him, but he can’t resist pissing her off. See, he needs to make people mad; maybe he does this often, maybe he just wants to be on someone’s mind even if it's negative. He eventually tries to get smart about it and he does get her voted off later, but like, hello. This fucking guy. Even though Scott dislikes Dawn, however, he stops Jo and Anne Maria from hurting her after he frames her for stealing. Either he revels in her misery, or he secretly cares about her a bit; this is supported by the fact that she was the only person he didn’t talk about voting off his team in episode four. Anyways, back to Scott being stupid, he openly brags about his knock-off idols as well, when that’s super suspicious; like he really needed to rub salt in the wound that badly. Dawn even refers to him as soulless and sociopathic, and she’s not wrong. He’s so unconcerned with the wellbeing of others, as well as himself. It seems that nothing truly matters to him in the long term, so long as he continues meeting his short term victories in pursuit of what I believe to be an excuse rather than an actual reason. I think that rather than calculating his actions beforehand, Scott acts and creates a justification later, or a justification he can routinely add to. It seems that Scott might’ve picked the Rats because they were close and therefore easy targets. It would make more sense than his actual “plan”. He hurts people and tries to convince himself that he knows why when he probably doesn’t, which is awful but also somewhat tragic. He might not have a real sense of priorities or identity, but tricks himself into thinking otherwise to, once again, give himself more control. Does this make sense? Whatever, we’re like 5763 words in, it doesn't matter anymore.

Back to party sciking, in episode six, we see the formation of Team Men with Scott, Brick, and Lightning (and later, Sam). Scott’s finally making allies, and he doesn’t seem too upset about it. I think this might clue us into the idea that Scott does want positive relationships, but maybe doesn’t consciously understand that. He doesn’t fight Brick or Lightning on this when he normally would. Later, before the challenge, Mike tries to compliment Zoey, and in the confessional, she tells him to pick a side. And I feel like if you twist that enough we can get into bisexual territory, but I digress. Mike’s upset at his alters for ruining his relationship with Zoey, and while that’s true, he totally forgets to take into account that his alters are also people who also deserve access to the body. It’s more important to Mike that he gets what he wants rather than his alters get what they want, and above all, it's important that he maintains a firm grasp on his life with little to no interference. But he doesn’t seem aware of the fact that his alters are people. It’s almost like the personhood of someone can be diminished in service of his goals, and that he can cognitively distance himself from his actions if they become too (for lack of a better word) scary for him. This might sound familiar because it’s kind of what Scott does as well. They both hurt people in order to get what they want, it’s just that Mike’s unaware that he hurts people but aware of what he wants while Scott’s aware that he hurts people but unaware of exactly what he wants.

Zoey talks to Mike again, excited to dress a model, and despite the fact that he’s never shown an interest in fashion, Mike smiles. This is because Zoey’s giving him positive attention again. Mf is a bit of a lapdog to be honest. Scott would probably like someone like that, who’s loyal to a fault. The vision is visioning. Anyways, Mike catches a frog, not much to add but he does do that. Fang tries to catch Scott, and Scott notices and catches him with his own trap. He’s observant. Like Mike. They observe each other. Gay style. Scott also grins when Brick proposes a plan and creates an explosive. While Scott’s probably excited to see it blow up in his face, I like to think Scott also admires him a bit, adding to the idea that he secretly likes some aspects of his peers and just won’t express it. Mike tells Anne Maria that the maggot looks bad, which is slightly uncharacteristic of him but okay. He and Anne Maria were friendly before; maybe he’s trying to pull back in service of making Zoey feel better. He’s kind of destroying this sort-of friendship because he likes Zoey so much. Adding to this, he appears excited when Zoey says she wants to dress the maggot. He appears nervous when Jo argues with Anne Maria as well; whether this is because he still cares about Anne Maria despite everything or because he’s afraid of conflict/Jo is unclear.

It’s at this point that Scott begins manipulating Zoey. Just put a pin in that. Scott and Mike stand next to each other, if that’s anything? They also move similarly, like they’re subconsciously mimicking each other. Do you understand how difficult it is to write about Scike when it's episode six and the most they’ve actually interacted is standing near each other and looking in the same direction? Scott’s impressed by Sam, which is nice; he actually admires something about someone. I think being around people who he subconsciously wants to be friends with is making him slightly more willing to play the game and be nice to people in his own way. He even looks concerned when the yeti throws Sam, and again when the Maggots lose, like he doesn’t want to vote anyone out.

IT’S FREAKING TEAM SWAP TIME BABY THEY’RE ON THE SAME TEAM WAHOO!! Mike is immediately concerned, the most concerned out of the maggots. This is in part due to him approaching Zoey, but don’t forget, Mike thinks Scott’s off, he notices the things that he does and the way he behaves. Oh BABY he needs to save his friends from this guy, I smell a hero complex brewing.

In episode seven, the teams go into the mines. About eight minutes in, Mike finds a hat and excitedly explains that he’s always wanted one, to which Scott makes fun of him for being a “hat loving loser”. This is an uncharacteristically lame insult, which makes me think that Scott already has a distaste for Mike and is looking for any reason to insult him; this is probably because he knows that Mike’s onto him, and he doesn’t enjoy the mortifying ideal of being known. And it’ll ruin his plan or whatever. Later in the challenge, when Manitoba and Cameron are separated from Anne Maria, Zoey, and Scott, Scott tries to pin the split on Mike to get him booted. We can assume that Scott sees Mike as the biggest threat on his new team.

Later, Mike carries Cameron on his back to safety, and says that he hopes Zoey’s okay, despite him also being exposed to radiation. He thanks Cameron for coming back from him and calls him a friend. He’s just, so loyal to them, I don’t think I can say that enough. His friends mean so much to him. And I think Scott could see that and relate to it a bit, because instead of continuing to badger him, he suggests they lose the packs and find Anne Maria. The two of them, along with Zoey and Cameron, all look annoyed at Chris for not helping them, and Scott follows Mike as he leads the team to Anne Maria. I think it’s interesting that Scott stays with them even as the situation becomes life-threatening, and he even shares their surprise when the other team grabs their statue. The two of them run together to grab the statue and they both look happy to find it, even though Scott supposedly wants to lose. Maybe in this life threatening situation, they found an odd sort of comfort in and appreciation for one another, just for a brief moment. And despite knowing what Scott’s like, Mike trusts him with the statue as he runs off to save Zoey and Cameron, putting his own life in danger. This was obviously a mistake, as Scott throws it out, but for a second, it seemed like Scott was happy for him, when it was just him and Mike.

So Mike starts literally fucking dying defending his friends. Away from Scike, back to Mike prime, he’s about to be killed by the moles, has every chance to run for himself, and his radiation poisoning is getting worse by the second. But he still stayed behind to defend them. The situation got so dangerous that he even tried to tell Zoey about his DID, before Brick saved them. And that’s just??? SO fucking bananas holy shit. He cares about them so much, I dunno what to say. That’s his defining character trait and his fatal flaw, defending others; and it works even better juxtaposed with Scott, who’s defining trait and fatal flaw is only caring about himself. Foaming at the freaking MOUTH dude. He’s got issues, sure, but man he’s so sweet, love him. After this he’s the first person to confront Chris about this not being about the statues, but rather the mine; he’s more than likely upset that Chris put his friends in danger, especially for these ulterior motives. He’s so upset on their behalf, not even his own, that he stands up to the man who almost got him killed.

After this ordeal, Cameron confronts Mike about having DID. In his fear, Mike’s quick to ask who told him that. He’s afraid, first and foremost, that other people know and are talking about him; afraid that this has made him somehow unlikable or unlovable. At the mention of being able to control it, he’s overjoyed, and immediately agrees to help get rid of Scott. Scott’s the first person outside of Mike’s system who he’s been willing to genuinely disadvantage for his own goals. So Mike does not like Scott. But I feel like it’s an oddly intimate dislike. He dislikes him so personally, understands him so thoroughly with such disdain, for such little personal transgressions, that he’s willing to throw him under the bus to regain control over his situation. That’s special in a way, Scott’s the only person Mike would do that to. And considering how Scott treats everyone with hate as a way to cover his actual wants for human connection, and he hates Mike more than anyone else on the team, I feel like it’s safe to say they have strong mutual negative feelings in a way neither of them have experienced before. In a weird way, right now, with Mike having a sway over the team, he’s kind of more in control than he’s ever been. I can’t explain it, but the way they hurt each other goes beyond average contempt to me. In real life, yes, you shouldn’t hate someone that you have romantic feelings for; but I think something like this in fiction blurs the lines with intensity in regard for one another. It’s a blending of concepts. Lois it insists upon itself, but in a fun and intriguing way. I love when characters hate each other with the intensity and obsession that other characters love each other with.

It’s 2:40 AM and I just hit my pen so I could really lock in for these last two episodes before Mike’s eliminated but idk if it’s going to work.

In episode eight, we start off with the teams on the rafts. Scott comes up looking anxious about getting eaten by a shark, and Mike returns the expression, and says that the shark will never find them. This could be Mike comforting himself or comforting Zoey and Cameron, but do you know what it could also be? Comforting Scott. The person he’s responding to. Mike and Scott don’t like each other, but Scott still came to Mike first, and Mike still had it in him not to shame or ignore him. Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Absolutely.

At this point, Cameron explains to the audience what causes each of Mike’s alters to front: Vito fronts when the body is shirtless, Svetlana fronts when there’s a physical challenge, Chester fronts when frustrated, and Manitoba fronts when the body’s wearing a hat. I’m not sure what to make of Manitoba’s trigger(?), but the others make it apparent that Mike isn’t able to handle or is rarely able to handle physical challenges, frustration, or being shirtless by himself. And this is where I should talk about Mike’s trauma, probably. I’m not going to get too into things here because I’m not an expert on DID and also it could be mildly upsetting, but DID develops due to repeated early childhood trauma and different alters may be better equipped to handle certain feelings, tasks, relationships, or memories than others. Mike had to have experienced this repeated trauma and it likely had some sort of physical component, considering Vito’s triggered by the removal of the shirt and he mentions in his character bio that he doesn’t have any good childhood memories besides maybe riding his bike. This, as well as the rejection we discussed earlier, explains a lot about Mike’s personality unfortunately. He’s used to being hurt, and seeks control, stability, and love for that reason. He’s loyal and quick to form attachments because he probably didn’t/doesn’t have any at home. And he’s self-preserving and protective and aware of his surroundings because of this as well, because he has to be. We don’t know exactly what happened in Mike’s life, though there is an “Uncle Vinny” in his character bio (mentioned by Vito) and it is possible that Chester is an introject of an older relative. Regardless, it doesn’t matter. I would like to return to Scott for a moment, and renew the topic of his home life. We’ve discussed how Scott’s family probably isn’t well off, doesn’t show him enough affection, and likely never disciplined him in a way that stuck considering how he behaves. And his father encouraging him to kill rats for him doesn’t sound great either. Like Mike, it would make sense for Scott to have an unstable/unhealthy home life, and for that to translate in his characters. He also needs power over other people, he pushes away people and refuses to make friends, he has patterns of violence, and he’s fast to learn what makes people tick.

Back to the scene, Zoey starts by complimenting Mike, which he’s excited about (need for approval, ok). However, he becomes nervous when she says it feels like he’s hiding from her. Then when Dakota starts mutating, Mike is the first to diffuse the situation by stating that her hair is growing back. He also leads the charge in pulling the sign out of the raft. After Dakota throws out the sign, Mike also says that they have to get in the water instead. When Scott reminds him about the shark and tries to refuse, Mike shoves him into the water, annoyed. It’s sort of fascinating how much more dominating Mike is in this episode compared to others. Maybe almost dying (or rather, almost losing his friends) in the mine changed him. Or maybe he has more confidence now that he’s the strongest person in his friend group and he doesn’t care what Scott thinks of him, evident by him forcing Scott into the water when he never would’ve done that to someone else. Mike, again, tells the team to stay quiet to avoid provoking the kraken. Man is going off this episode. He’s instantly annoyed when Scott starts freaking out over the shark, he’s so done dealing with this man that he can’t handle it and Chester takes over. Dude they’re soooo in hate. <3 After this, Scott is irate over his team winning, more than he’s ever been before. His feelings are so strong that he’s focusing extra hard on this faux-goal to destroy his own team. Mike’s also upset because the challenge is dangerous, “even by [Chris’] standards”, probably because the last challenge was also ridiculously dangerous and he’s worried about a repeat.

While Mike and Cameron go ahead to win the challenge at Mike’s behest, Scott talks to Zoey. He knows that Mike has a secret just by watching them, and lets Zoey in on this to manipulate her. After this, Mike and Cameron tell Zoey that Scott’s bad news in return, and she claims that he still has a heart. Mike is saddened by the fact that Zoey trusts Scott more than him, and I just think that’s such a…thing to happen. In trying to keep Zoey close by hiding his DID, he just pushed her away more, towards someone who’s so similar to him yet so different as well. We find out from Cameron that Mike fronts when Zoey’s in danger, because he cares about her that much. Scott also steals the team’s compass from Mike and frames him for losing it, blaming him if they come in last, but he fails when Dakota clears the forest of thorns. Scott keeps losing to someone who should be so easy to beat and who represents everything that he hates: kindness, loyalty, and people who stand up to him. Meanwhile, Mike’s alters are becoming increasingly hard to control, and he’s still unwilling to admit to having DID, afraid this will dissolve the relationship that’s already crumbling due to him not revealing it; he’s stuck in an Ouroboros of fear. Scott, immediately after this, seems to be mocking Mike, loudly saying to Zoey, “Would I lie to you?” Scott just knows how to push this guy’s buttons in the perfect way to piss him off.

When Scott loses the challenge for them, Mike’s probably the most upset we’ve ever heard him, at least in my opinion. He doesn’t hesitate to let Scott know that he fucked up and that Mike thinks he’s full of shit. Mike tries to get Zoey to vote for Scott, done with this charade; Scott feels the same about playing around like this, and gets Cameron to admit that Mike has DID— but he doesn’t want Mike out yet, he wants to toy with him some more. You can see the horror in his face when Scott pulls out the idol. In order for Dakota to go home, it couldn’t have just been Zoey to vote for her, and Mike and Cameron voted for Scott, and Dakota probably didn’t vote for herself. Scott had to have either voted with her, or voted for himself for fun; but irregardless, he didn’t vote for Mike, even though he’s clearly Scott’s biggest target. He doesn’t just want Mike out, but wants to use him first, something we haven’t seen before. And yes, this is because Scott’s a bad person, and taking advantage of his weaknesses; but having his weaknesses known and used by someone would be a sort of ideal scenario for Mike, despite also being his literal nightmare. He doesn’t have to hide from Scott at all, Scott’s probably the only person that Mike can fully be mad at and confront about that anger. Which is very fucked up, but also oddly close, I guess. It’s a unique relationship, it’s interesting to me. The mortifying yet somewhat comforting ideal of being known going both ways. Toxic yaoi. Hate as an allegory for love. Y’know, the usual.

The toxic yaoi continues in episode nine baby, we freaking made it. The first line that catches my eye (or ear I guess) is “Multiple Mike thinks he’s a ladies man, what a loser”. First of all, reeks of gay thoughts and unaware jealousy; but second of all, notice how Scott and Mike continuously get more and more openly aggressive with one another. They’re falling into a routine with it, almost.

This is where Scott introduces the deal— AKA, starts blackmailing Mike to help him win the challenge. Mike’s incredibly upset, and even considers telling Zoey about his DID, but is ultimately still too afraid. He’d rather be used than be abandoned. During the challenge, Mike tries to quip back at Scott for telling him to look in the broom closet, but retracts it when Scott threatens to tell Zoey. He tries to look tough to Scott, but fails. And when Zoey’s in trouble, Scott refuses to let him help her, in favor of making him go through the trash. Like with everyone, Scott likes to see Mike squirm, but I think he’s best at it with Mike, and the most enthusiastic about it too.

I’d also like to mention here that Mike just kind of gives up and lets Scott pick him up and carry him. Just saying idk you know when you just pick up some guy who you hate instead of making him actually fight for you or run in front of you or whatever. Mike also snarks Scott when his car doesn’t work, which, ok, go off King. Mike finally stands up for himself to help Zoey, the desire to protect her stronger than his fear, but Scott remembers how to trigger Vito to front and uses this to his advantage.

So, at this point, Vito gets clobbered and Mike has the fight with his alters, and it’s soooo bad, it’s so bad dude. They’re all fighting for control as if the moral isn’t that they should work together, it’s ridiculous, but I guess it also makes sense for Mike to be pushed to this considering everything? Glossing over this, anyways, Mike finally comes clean to Zoey and explains that he didn’t want Zoey to think badly of him. And I know everyone hates this scene, I hate this scene, “multiples just means there’s more Mike to —” yeah yeah yeah yeah fuck off idc that’s not how it works. But at least I think it does help draw a final parallel between Mike’s relationships with Zoey and Scott along with Scott eliminating him. Mike’s able to pursue his loving relationship with Zoey through her finding out about his closest secret, and Mike and Scott similarly are able to freely insult each other and develop this toxic almost-codependent-but-Scott’s-way-worse relationship because they also know each other, they know they’re hiding something and they’re familiar with each other’s personalities because hate drives them to look so deeply into each other. Mike gains Zoey and loses his dynamic with Scott, and vice versa, back and forth. These relationships can’t coexist, both because they’re so polarizing but also so similar in their intensity.

I didn’t watch the entirety of episodes ten through thirteen because it’s 4 AM and this is a Scike post, a 9274 word Scike post. But I did scrub through them and I would like to throw out there the Icarus imagery in episode ten when Zoey burns Scott for what he did to Mike, like Scott got too close to the sun or too in over his head, and Mike was his ultimate downfall. I’m also just going to skitter on past the “Mike makes fun of Scott while he’s in the trauma chair” because what the fuck. What was that.

The relationship between Mike and Scott in canon is, admittedly, less significant in canon than it is in my head, and less well-written and intriguing than I pretend it is, and it’s not healthy, and no matter how I spin it they never actually made up or understood each other in a major tangible way. But I think they should have. I think having them be characters who begrudgingly understand each other and care for each other in a way they don’t acknowledge or even recognize would give them some much-needed depth and maybe consistency. Scott in canon has no close relationships, and the two that Mike has weren’t necessarily great throughout the season even though I like to think that they are. It would be good for them. Adding a few more layers to each of them would explain a lot about their goals, their mannerisms, the contradictions in their personalities; it would make them both more sympathetic and relatable, into some maladjusted teenagers looking for an outlet rather than just a good guy and a bad guy who hate each other.

In conclusion, this post didn’t make much sense, and it was kind of a waste of time. But it was fun to think about these guys, and I could fix them, and also they’re more toxic in canon than first thought but I’m not necessarily complaining, because what’s a character without conflict and what’s a story without a theme? I didn’t edit or organize it, this was more or less my notes from rewatching the first nine episodes of ROTI. I’m aware it was super repetitive and rambly but I don’t have the time or energy to clean it up so, make of them what you will. Maybe this gave you a new perspective on Mike and Scott, maybe it didn’t, I dunno, I’m indifferent now, perchance. Like and subscribe for more Party Sciking. I need them to hold hands and wear the get along shirt and go to therapy. This ended up being more or less 9,738 words. Hope everything’s right in this, let me know your thoughts but please don’t tell me if you hate it. Goodnight Miami.

#alex’s td rambles #total drama #td scike #throws this to you. i don't remember half of what i wrote here #take a shot every time i say control or trust or power or annoy or smile or love or #cw abuse mentions #just in case #also i hope i got the psych stuff right i promise i did research #cw toxic relationship

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crystalelemental · 7 months ago

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With the Abyssal portions defeated, time for the final thoughts on Nexomon Extinction.

The Abyssals are exactly what I wanted out of the Tyrants.

My biggest complaint story-wise for this game was that the Tyrants themselves really didn't matter much. There's a thousand-year war among the Tyrants going on, that pushed humanity so far that one Guild leader created a cult to revive Omnicron, and their successor created artificial dragons to hunt Tyrants, an artificial Tyrant to command them, and then another, bigger one when that plan failed. But despite how significant this war was...all of the Tyrants we meet are pretty inconsequential, and most are associated with a human who does most of the talking and planning to begin with. I understand that this game is the human errors side of thing after the last game's presentation of the threat of Nexomon, but it's still kinda rough to go through all these story segments with the Tyrants not producing anything substantial. You get to postgame where you can hunt them down, and they're all a pain in the ass to find, with nothing drawing me to them.

The Abyssals, though? This is what I wanted. A thousand years ago, the first Abyssal arrived. And their first act? Killing Hilda. Another is stated to have made an attempt on Eliza's life. These are a much more pressing, salient threat. Sure, Tyrants destroyed cities, but we've never seen them do anything. The Abyssals have personal connection.

Despite their power, the Abyssals are odd in that they never aimed to become Sovereign of Monsters, and they seem immune to Solus' influence as the current Queen. What's presented is a pretty interesting mystery that builds up more questions than it feels like it wants to answer. What's the deal with these weird engravings? Why are Abyssals so weird? Apparently each is born with a clear goal from its creator, but this creator is unknown to them, and their specific goals are incredibly simplistic, with no known overarching goal. They're super unusual.

By gameplay, the Precursor Island is really fun. It might be an odd comparison, but it reminds me of the bonus dungeon of Ib a bit. There's a central location, and your goal is running around everywhere to collect the things you need to progress, solving puzzles that sometime intertwine a bit. It's a really fun system, finding each of the Abyssals and solving their puzzles. The only annoying ones were the flying one (Inominox) and the electric one (Volcel). The rest was really fun. Even the weird maze puzzle was fairly clever, though the final solution was a little...obvious but still hard to figure out the hint.

I think what really sells me on the Abyssals...well, two things. The smaller one is design. The Abyssals are just really cool concepts. Venefelis shows up and is immediately incredible, being super imposing but kinda goofy, and stated outright that he shouldn't be strong enough to pull off the nonsense he has. Kroma is my absolute favorite, and she's set up as super imposing given her drive is killing Eliza, only for Venefelis to rant about how incompetent Kroma is for being the only one of them to fail in her mission. Then there's Screaming Fire Velociraptor, who is hilarious in concept. And Inominox, who is such a coward that it won't face anyone with more than one Nexomon, and that one Nexomon needs to be weak to Flying. Or the soup for Volcel. There's Caelesa, who ran across the world, and was attacked by the Guild for little reason other than paranoia, since she hurt no one in her efforts. There's Pluvian, whose entire goal was to show up, scream, and then get killed by the Guild for no clear reason. There's Rotrimus, who you try to order around, and initially agrees, but is intercepted by the force of their creator bending its will back to refusing your call. It's a really interesting and dynamic group, that apparently has no clear association. Many of them insist they worked alone. They had a creator, but they themselves don't even think of themselves as a unified group. Only Venefelis seems to confirm that they have association.

The other is that this group is delightfully aligned to the themes of the game. Nexomon Extinction has two general themes I can identify. The first is a bit more obvious and repeatedly stated: second chances. The children of Omnicron refer to their support as their redemption, the entire plot is Deena attempting to grant a second chance at saving the world, your resolution of the central conflict is trading the destruction of your direct enemy into granting them a second chance at life. There's an ongoing importance to the idea of getting a second shot at things...but a second shot isn't necessarily going to mean doing better. The former hero comments that your actions amount to the same thing she did, and despite the failures of the dragons, Amelie's second chance is doubling down on a decision that worked out poorly. This leads into the second theme, and the one I like a lot better: the limits of personal agency.

The former hero is a good lens for this one. Repeatedly throughout this game, their actions are referred to as if it was a huge mistake. They themselves talk about it as a mistake. Deena outright calls it stupid decision made by her moronic friends. Even Ulzar, who is more sympathetic to the situation, talks about it as if it were a mistake, if an understandable one. Absolutely everyone treats their actions as something that led to the present problem, and thus was the wrong decision.

But...we were there. Omnicron was going to completely destroy the world. You can argue that the destruction of his soul in the netherworld wasn't necessary, and that was the mistake. But it's well known that he'll come back time and again; it'd be pushing the problem out to the next generation. And Omnicron could follow through. When you fail to destroy him in the Netherworld, Omnicron devastates an area so badly that entire maps are wiped out of reality. This was done in hours. Omnicron tells you outright he could've annihilated the planet in a day, but he stopped solely to challenge his rival, the strongest human, as a matter of pride. This wasn't an idle threat. It was an active, immediate devastation looming on the horizon.

Faced with that, what choice did you really have? Yes, there was a technically a choice. But who could choose the alternative? When humanity is faced with its destruction through the war of the Tyrants, yes, you had a choice to make those dragons or not. But faced with the destruction of multiple cities and further looming threat, what choice did you have? When those failed, you had the choice to stop. But then the destruction of the Tyrants continue unabated. Who would choose to stop? Vados embodies this. He's a creation of Amelie, born to hunt Tyrants to protect humanity. The thing about Vados is that he has agency and beliefs of his own. When told to destroy Petram in spite of the Laterians interfering, he refuses to harm humans. But we know that will happen anyway. We're told repeatedly that the Tyrants will continue to rise, until Vados has destroyed so much that the world is inhospitable to humans as well. He has his own agency, his own desire to protect humanity and protect the world. But he'll betray that through his own actions, regardless of what he wants. He was made to hunt Tyrants, and so he shall, til the end of days. The only way to avert this is to refuse to fight every Tyrant, to refuse to wage this absolute crusade. And that's the only choice he cannot make. He doesn't get a choice.

The Abyssals continue this theme. Like Vados, the Abyssals are created for a singular purpose. They are born with a goal, and that is all they have. They have their own personalities, but few of them seem interested in the specifics of what's going on. Kroma doesn't seem particularly interested in killing Eliza, she just has to. Pluvian doesn't seem to function as a willing sacrifice, but she does it anyway because that's her goal. Regardless of what they want, they will carry out their goal.

Unlike Vados, though, they have no overarching philosophy. Nothing that specifically guides their actions beyond the immediate. Caelesa runs around the world, but she doesn't seem to understand why. So when their goal is accomplished, despite getting a second chance at life...none of them know what to do with it. So they just sit around, completely docile, until you strike them down again. What other choice did they have? They never knew what they were aiming to do in the first place.

Except for Venefelis. The first Abyssal. At first, he had no idea what his point was. He had a goal, carried it out, and got sealed within the woods forever. Not ideal, but mission accomplished. Then 300 years later, another entity like him appears, carrying out a similarly short-sighted goal. Then 200 years later, another. And another 100 years after that. They appear faster and faster, until we get two within ten years. And as the only one to really survive, even if just as a spirit...you recognize the pattern. After all, Venefelis understands Caelesa's goal better than she understands it herself. She thinks it was just running, but Venefelis identifies it as a scouting mission. You know there's a grander design here; a purpose. But you can't figure out what. Because no one will tell you. You creator, the one guiding your motions, won't speak to you.

What else can you do but try to divine their intent? With nothing else to go off of, you watch their actions, and notice only one thing stands out. Kroma failed, and following that, no other Abyssals were created. Maybe your creator quit. Maybe it's because of Kroma. You don't know that, but what else could it be? You don't understand your purpose, but you desperately want to understand it; to know why you're still here. What choice do you have but to force a second chance on her? To enforce your creator's will, regardless of what she'd want? What choice does she have but to obey?

The twisted thing is, there really is nothing else for them. Rotramus shows this definitively. When you attempt to issue a command, he thinks about it, and passively decides sure, I'll help. It's not the resounding success of an authority check commanding its allegiance. It's someone making a choice, as if it has nothing better to do and no reason to argue. But its creator's will forces it to refuse. Even with its goal accomplished, and no reason to refuse, they interfere, denying your freedom. Quite literally, you have no other choice.

Everything that happens in this arc is driven by Venefelis' desires. His agency, his desire to understand his creator, drives everything forward. No one else even understands why they're here. They didn't have much choice either way. He brought them back, gave them a second chance they had no use for. But what else could he have done? To see what he wanted done, all he could do was solve Kroma's failure by pushing her into another attempt. And it wouldn't have even worked. It was entirely for nothing. But what can you do but try? You technically have a choice. You finished your goal, you could just let it all rest. But faced with the dread of an eternity devoid of purpose, who would choose any different?

Despite how many open-ended threads there are, and how many mysteries we're left with, this does feel like a self-contained story. We don't know what the point is. We don't know what it means. But neither did they. And the result of that ignorance, that impossibility, is they existed unable to live for themselves, and no second chance could get them to defy that fate. Which really resonates with me. I loved this side story a lot, and these open questions have really gotten me interested in the sequel game. I've heard they officially announced its existence but not a release date or any details. I can be patient. But I'm really invested in this one. They really hit a sweet spot here.

#nexomon extinction

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queerwritersingerdramaqueen · 7 months ago

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HEAR ME OUT

I like a reverse AU as much as the next person but the way it gets done sometimes is so out of character so I'm gonna just throw my two cents out into the void for anyone to draw inspiration from because I don't have the motivation to write it myself right now!

So, starting with the ones that get reversed a lot: Hank and Connor

Connor is obviously younger than Hank, so make him a newly assigned lieutenant who is trying to live up to his position of power. Being Connor, he's unsure, he questions himself a bit, he's scared of messing up as someone with power over others. Portraying him with Hank's personality just doesn't fit if you ask me, Connor's not that guy.

Now, due to Connor being a great but still new Lieutenant, who better for Fowler (or maybe Amanda if you want to get deep in a reverse AU) to partner him with than an Android that's basically perfect. which is not to say he should be optimistic and cheery as he is in some depictions. He can still be a stone-cold bitch or a sarcastic prick but less in the vein of "I hate everyone around me" and more in the "You're a bitch, you don't deserve my kindness" sort of way. AND HE CAN HAVE THIS ATTITUDE WITH HANK TO BEGIN WITH BUT I HONESTLY THINK HE'D BE MORE INTIGUED BY ANDROIDS AS MYSTERYS THEN GENUINELY HATE THEM, YOU CAN PRY THAT IDEA FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS.

I'd also like to make a point that, whether Cole is a character in the story (as a brother or a kid from a case) who is present to make Connor sad, HE *CLAP* CAN *CLAP* STILL *CLAP* REACT *CLAP* LIKE *CLAP* CONNOR. He doesn't have to become Hank's mirror image after Cole's death, he can grieve in his own way. And even if you do chose to make him take the same route, he doesn't have to act like Hank when he's sober! (this is coming from a place of frustration that Connor just... wouldn't be cold towards everyone for no reason and it annoys me that he is in some fics)

Hank as an Android would be gruff and straight to the point because he is a "machine." He's designed to be no-nonsense, straight to the point and probably annoyed by Connor's persistent Empathy (similar to how Connor can be during some playthrough's of the game). The absolute key to this portrayal would be emphasising that Hank acts like this because he is programmed to. Cyberlife has to have a reason for making Hank the way he would be so please, jump on the nuance of why Hank would be such a sullen, apathetic android and the implications that has for him to achieve deviancy. He's not meant to be nice to the people he works for, he's meant to do a job.

Now for the icing, how does this reverse dynamic work in context of the plot?

Connor needs someone steady and secure to fall back on lest he succumb to the pressures of the position he's in. Hank's blunt, maybe sometimes rude way of getting to the point is exactly what Connor would need to stay afloat. He needs someone who can be tough and give it to him straight when he's doubting himself. In regards to their cases, yes, he has a very "Hank" way of responding to the android actions (i.e. shooting Chloe, Hunting down the Traci's) in that he takes an empathetic approach towards the Andorids but less from a "they look human and it's disturbing" standpoint and more from a "deviants are alive" standpoint from the get go. He shows empathy towards the Traci that was killed in the Eden club, he tries to understand why deviancy is occurring, he defends Hank against anti-android people.

(And please feel free to fight me on that point, I've seen one playthrough and have a general idea of Hank's reactions to deviancy based on fanfic and whatnot. I'm not an expert on how Hank reacts and I want input)

And here's my favourite part, Hank deviating with Connor's help. It is Connor's humanity and empathy that really intrigues me on this part. When people portray him with Hank's characteristics, he comes off really angry and Hank deviates from a position of "I care about this kid, I have to look after him." And while this is *chef's kiss* it's not the only possible way for Connor to influence his deviancy. His general kindness to people around him, his resilience, his empathy, his humanity can influence how Hank starts seeing the world around him. (I guess that it just really bugs me that Hank only seems to really deviate for Connor when there are so many more facets that can make Hank the purveyor of his own deviance, with Connor giving him the nudge)

Just like in canon where Android Connor helps Human Hank find purpose in his life again, Human Connor can help Android Hank realise he is more than a machine, that he's alive.

In conclusion, stop making Connor into Hank! (I obviously can't stop you but food for thought.)

I'll come back at some point with other characters.

#detroit: become human #hank anderson #connor rk800 #dbh hank #dbh connor #so many thoughts

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favouritefi · 11 months ago

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I love your Terror catboy AU, it’s a funky combination of adorable drawings and Victorianesque pseudoscientific hierarchies. However, it made me wonder about catgirls/doggirls; if you’re happy to answer, how do you see the intersection of gender and hybridity playing out in this universe?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION i have a lot of thots on this bc the whole "angel in the house" image of the ideal (middle class) victorian woman is such a fun concept to play with more under cut

ok so what im about to say rn really only applies to middle class and upper class women in this au as those are the main characters in the terror if we get into the lower classes its a more complicated and nuanced story.

anyway in victorian times women were expected to be chaperoned everywhere by an older woman such as a female relative or female servant lest she be corrupted by the ills of the world and by men etc. this is where cat/doggirls come in. its expected that if you have a daughter then you goooootta adopt a companion or two for her both to show off your status and to ensure that your daughter has a friend / chaperone / mentor / moral compass for life. so in cat/dogpeople households the cat/dogboys usually go off to whatever institution their bloodline is associated with and cat/doggirls usually become companions for the wives and daughters of the men employed by those institutions. its very different from human family structures because the expectation here is that your child will not stay with your household, youre making children knowing that they will likely not belong to you regardless of whether they are male or female and that you might never see them again once theyre adopted and they need to be adopted or else its a failure on you and your bloodline. (grim i know) this system is also why each generation of cat/dogpeople tends to be fairly large, little and hodgson and irving all have an overabundance of siblings and cousins many of whom theyve never met in their life.

interestingly, cat/doggirls are actually more valued amongst these families than cat/dogboys because cat/dogboys can only be sent off to the institution the bloodline is associated with whereas cat/doggirls can be sent off to any upper/middle class household regardless of association and it would still be considered respectable AND it creates new relationships between human families that the human owners might find beneficial (kind of like how marriage was historically the exchange of women to strengthen political ties between families). this means that excess cat/dogboy sons are often disappointing to the parents - edward little is one of these. all 3 of his elder brothers had already left for the navy so he grew up playing w his sisters and getting dolled up in their dresses and being told that oh he'd make such a pretty girl and pretty bride oh if only he'd been born a girl etc. totally doesnt fuck him up.

speaking of fucked up theres hickey and his whole situation w sophia. having a catboy as a companion for an upper class girl is a big no-no and only happened because [insert hickey backstory here that is too long and really should have its own post]. no body approves of this but sophia loves him so very much and they were inseparable up until they were separated when sophia went to tasmania with the franklins and hickey was abandoned to the streets against both his and sophias will. sophia refused to adopt a new more appropriate companion in tasmania and after the franklins returned to england she tried to find him but couldnt and assumed he died. then when it seems like the ships are lost and jane starts campaigning for a rescue mission suddenly hickey shows up and for a few blissful years they are together again. he is older and quieter and has scars he wont explain, but hes still hickey and sophia still loves him. and then sir john comes back and fucks all of that up again.

sorry this was meant to be about gender dynamics in my deranged catboy au but i got distracted by hickey (as per usual)

#hope this answers some things #it might also raise more questions #which i probably have answers to #bc i think way too much about this au #Purror and Erebark

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seventeenlovesthree · 3 months ago

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I know you wrote, you have a ton of projects till the end of the year, but! I saw Ruki/Jeri in your poll and would you care share your two cents about them girls? Only if you have time. I loved them since Ruki was teaching Jeri to play the digimon card game 🥺 I think they are my fave f/f ship in digimon

First things first: You can ALWAYS drop messages in my ask box, I'm always happy and up to discuss and share my own meta about ships and characters!

While my personal favourite f/f ship in Digimon overall will always be Sora/Mimi, I can actually draw some parallels between their dynamics, particularly when it comes to the similarities between Sora and Ruki - I'll try to keep this as short as possible, but the main aspect here is: Both Sora and Ruki have incredible soft spots for Mimi and Juri respectively and thus break through the initial trope(s) you associate with them. You would not expect the more introverted tomboy (who start off actively rejecting typical femininity) to care so much, be so protective of and overall get along so well with the supposed girly-girl at first glance, would you? While Sora is having more of a big sister vibe going on towards the other/younger characters, it's less likely for someone like Ruki, who used to push everyone away and wasn't even seen interacting with girls prior to meeting Juri.

You would expect her to look down on "card game newbies" the same way she used to ridicule Takato and Jenrya for being "too soft" - luckily for Juri, Ruki had already started contemplating her approaches and view points and, probably for the first time ever, seemed to feel some kind of pride in being able to teach someone. It's interesting how she just... Immediately feels drawn to Juri, how softly she talks to and smiles at her and has all the patience in the world for her. Sometimes I feel like some scenes/moments didn't make it into the final product, because Ruki's softness increases a lot faster during the midpoint of the series (and it's really a shame because the more the cast grows, the less you see individual interactions between certain characters). Either way, looking at how she treats Juri, it's no surprise that, aside from mimicking Takato's card slash pose, Juri also copies Ruki's initial card holding pose. Juri is admiring Ruki greatly and through the course of the series, whenever possible, she does cling to her - whereas Ruki is there to protect and comfort her, but without EVER belittling her. She knows Juri isn't weak, but worries for her for very understandable reasons after the loss of Leomon.

Tamers overall has a very interesting framing theme when it comes to Ruki, her reltionship to her family (mostly influenced by female figures) and to Renamon - as mentioned, she is initially rejecting feminity due to a difficult relationship with her mother. Not only does she not want to be "like her" (a model obsessed with beauty and not having time for family anyway), but she's also obviously rebelling, lashing out due a sense of having to prove herself and displaying strength. We know she longs for the attention of her father and can assume that there is underlying trauma of feeling rejected as a daughter that causes her to bottle up. She appears incredibly detached and/or lashes out when others show her affection, which is why she is initially still tough towards all the boys around her. But she improves almost all her relationships upon accepting Renamon more and more as an equal partner and friend, culminating in their Matrix evolution to Sakuyamon, which definitely represents the beginning of Ruki being able to embrace her own sense of femininity. One might argue that there are also potentially romantic undertones in how her behaviour changes towards Takato and Ryo (which, as we know, is a typical trope in media to portray boyish girls becoming more feminine). But I'd really like to add that the first human character that brought out her gentle side was Juri. And thus, my verdict is - Ruki wouldn't even have gotten that far if it hadn't been for Juri contributing to her soft side coming to the surface. (Renamon still has the biggest impact here and despite being proof of Digimon having no gender, Renamon is still associated with the female gender and thus being another female influence.)

There is... A lot of wlw subtext here in my opinion (the RenaRuki subtext in particular is INSANE, if you think about it), but unfortunately, Digimon has never dared to cross that line officially. I do see the appeal in people shipping Ruki with the aforementioned Ryo and Takato (though I personally feel like the former is a little forced, disruptive of the group dynamics and also a bit too stereotypical - the latter is somewhat difficult when you see Juri as semi-official love interest for Takato, it makes the whole thing a little messy). But in my opinion, it would have been nice to at least show the girls being important to each other. Because they absolutely are, even if my memory on the final Tamers episodes is a bit rusty.

#my two cents #meta #ruki makino #juri katou #rika nonaka #jeri kato #personal

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luckycharms1701 · 4 months ago

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Girl, I demand you answer all the Mikey ask questions. I need to know!

ask and ye shall receive!! 🫡

1. which mikey is your favorite version? i think the thing i like the most about bay mikey is how what you see is what you get. he is so open about who he is. i struggle to understand social cues, so someone who says what they mean and means what they say is invaluable to me

2. do you have any mikey merch? i forgot! besides what i put in yorshie’s ask, i also have two mikey stickers! i haven’t stuck them to anything though. they’re precious to me

3. is there an iteration you think could have handled him better? what would you have changed? my beloved mikey can be funny without being creepy or dumb. see “Pepperoni!” see the ‘eat humans with ranch dressing’ bit. see the part where he and raph trick casey into attacking splinter. i think they did a lot better in OOTS with the creepy part, but instead of creepy they made him oblivious. and that’s not mikey, not to me. anyway. stepping back off the soapbox

4. what headcanons do you have? outside of pizza, his favorite food is burgers. he loves the warmth of the sun but has trouble sitting still to sunbathe. he can’t sleep until he knows his family is all safe

5. something the fandom gets wrong about him that only you truly get /lh man i am running out of things to talk about for this question lol hmmm. so the brothers are all a little codependent and all need each other. but i think mikey needs his brothers the most out of the four

6. do you have any mikey-centric fic recommendations? (including any your wrote!)

want this forever by des

sparkle by turtlecleric

sweeter than cake by thejudiciousneurotic

these were all birthday presents for me, and they are all sooooo good squee!!!

also trufflemacandcheese just started this amazing story and i can’t recommend it enough

7. what’s your favorite dynamic of him and his brothers? what makes it your favorite? i love rise donnie and mikey so much. the complete trust. the way they just hang out all the time. they play off each other and get into all kinds of shenanigans, it’s so good!

8. what’s your favorite dynamic of him and any other character? what makes it your favorite? i think his relationship with casey in rise is my favorite. they are foils of each other, and i love the way they antagonize each other. however, from what i’ve seen, i think i’m going to be a huge fan of leatherhead and mikey in 2012

9. do you have your own design/version of mikey? show ‘em off! i don’t! but i do have a few favorites!!! as you know, i’m a huge fan of your Brotherhood mikey, and i love @gornackeaterofworlds’ Butterfly Effect mikey, and @truffle-draws-turtles’ rise mikey design!

10. favorite alter ego of mikey’s? (turtle titan, turflytle, dr delicate touch, etc) i think the thing i like most about dr. positive is that he’s not very effective. but he still tries. that’s so important

11. favorite outfits of his?

enough said

12. what kind of music do you think mikey would listen to? i wish i knew enough about the other iterations to talk about their music tastes. someday 😤 in the meantime i talked about bay and rise here

13. what’s something about mikey that nobody seems to talk about that should be talked about more? the times when he gets serious. he’s a silly little guy, but he does know when it’s okay to be silly and when to be serious

#if you want more it’s at the top of my ask game tag!!#hooo sorry this took a while i was up way too late and my brain is mush #hi tychou!!!!!! 👋💖🫂#thank you for asking uvu #talking tag #ask game

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teddybeartoji · 7 months ago

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mickey !!! mickey !!!!! bonking my head against yours so gently <3333 i’m here with more selfship questions…… the train never stops

first of all!!! mickeyshoko…… i neeeed to know the Lore pls. ALSOOOO what are some ways you express your love for one another??? :3 since it’s not an established relationship exactly (from what i understand!!) i was also wondering how either of you would respond if someone asked if you were dating LMAO… i’m just imagining stsg making bets with each other over it. they’re silly.

AND THEN. mickzai. the kitties of all time. i’d love to know more abt the general dynamic!!! and how you got together!!!!! and also what petnames you call each other :3 bc i feel like dazai would be….. insufferable. genuinely. you need to muzzle him i think.

OK THAT’S ALL here r flowers for you 💐💐 i hope you’re having a cozy day so far!!! and that you’re resting lots and eating lots :3 ilyily <3

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARIIIII I'M GIGGLING SO BAD RNNNN

misho oh misho..... i still don't have a proper name for us (how ironic lmao)(it's almost like i don't really know what we are huh). anwayyy i like to show my love through acts of service!!!!!! she works so hard so i try to make her life a little easier yk? i spend a lot of time at her place (we're practicaly roomies at this point) and i like to make her coffee in the mornings!!!!!! and at night when she comes home after a long, tiring day i draw her a bath and i was her hair!!!!!!!!! she can just soak and relax while i sit on the edge of the tub and scratch her scalp i'm pretty sure i've heard her purr actually. she usually just peeks at me very lazily with the tiniest little smirks. mm she kinda makes me feel dizzy i won't even lie. she's so effortlessly charming in her own way you know? also to add to the "no lines to cross" thing - nudity is also just very normal. as in there's no shame and no embarrassment, i literally sometimes help to dry her off bc she likes to be a little dramatic and act even more tired (she IS actually that tired but she's trying to make a joke out of it).

and she shows it through physical touch!!!!! hugging from behind as i make the coffee, playing with my hair, sitting on my lap, hands on the waist, kisses on the corners of my lips (???????????????i'm so unwell). and then she always laughs at the little lipstick smudge before wiping it off. anyway all of those things could come off as very relationship-like right???? but no. we're friends. definitely just friends. we both want to dissect each other. as friends.

the dating thing!!!!!! what a good question lmao i think we'd just laugh it off really easily actually. i just go "hmmmm i don't know... are we?" and then we stare at each other and then she just squeezes my thigh with a smile????????????? nothing normal is happening here honestly i think even stsg are a little weirded out hahahshasha even they (by they i mean suguru bc satoru is genuinely stupid sometimes<3) can't figure us out

and not to make myself lose it even more but..... utahime.............. she's not safe from us either lmao. we both have pretty strong gazes i think and we simply can't keep our hands to ourselves. fleeting touches and keen eyes... we like to tease utahime a little. but only in a good FRIENDLY way. we love her she's sooooooo cute.

btw can you tell i'm typing this out just as it comes like the lore is just writing itself at this point. it also seems that i'm making mickeyshoko sound like some predators:333 like yea so what if we're kind of freaks ok it's fun don't judge. blood is cool. humans are cool. we just wanna learn more.

(=◑ᆽ◑=)ฅ(ටᆽට=) this is mizai hehehe. also yes. i rebranded. hehehehehhee anyway. two kitties!!!!!!! two dysfunctional kitties lmao

ok but mizai feels like a we-knew-each-other-when-we-were-kids-but-then-we-didn't-see-each-other-for-years-and-now-we-met-again-but-it's-not-weird-ok-it-is-but-only-a-litte-it's-just-that-the-surpressed-feelings-are-threatening-to-spill-and-that's-a-little-scary

and we have another No Label relationship on our hands fuuuuckk.... anywho. he's coping with this better than i am. no matter how much i shove him around and tease and joke, he flusters me way too easily. it's annoying. and i wanna hate it. but i can't bc it feels so good to link pinkies with him. he's super clingy - he's constantly resting his head on my shoulder, loosely wrapping his arms around my waist, tugging on my sleeves when he wants attention. he boops my nose and pretends to count my freckles.

the tender moments aside, this is still very much a partners-in-crime thing too!!!!!! and i mean that quite literally lmao. we both have authority issues so good luck to anyone who's trying to boss us around; we've definitely also done some schenanigans - stolen some things here and there bc why not, broken into places, trespassing etcetc. it's not even necessarily for the thrill of it, most of the times he's just showing me quiet places where we can just sit with each other. he likes to rest his head on my lap and then talk my ears off. sometimes he falls asleep and i refuse to wake him bc he needs the rest. i kiss his forehead and hope (me when i lie) that he didn't feel it (he did). but yeah the overall dynamic is pretty much just skk i won't even lie. bickering and teasing, petty fights over nothing just bc he likes to rile me up - it's all way too familiar.

he doesn't bring it up though bc he doesn't really know how. he wants more of it but he doesn't know how to ask for it. how to really ask for it. so he'll take whatever he can get and he'll try to push me to give him more because he's greedy!!!! and i will fold and i will, in fact, give him everything soon enough.

he fucking breaks into my apartment all the time btw. and when i offer to idk... give him a key he just goes "eeh, no need." ?????????? idk he's weird. (i like it when he comes over but i won't tell him that)(he'd be way too smug i can't allow that)

when i first got into bsd i didn't really like the bella nickname but honestly... it has grown on me. but yeah overall he uses literallllyyyy every possible nickname that pops into his head i kinda hate him (me when my pants are on fire)(yk bc.. liar liar pants on fire)(whatever). now that i'm thinking abt it i feel like another name he'd call me is just Kitty ????? not in a discord kitten kind of way though he just genuinely sees me as a cat. and he thinks it's funny. and cute (i like the name smhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

o wait i didn't even finish the meeting story. he disappeared into thin air at the ripe age of 15 hmmmmmm but he found his way back into my life three years later and then we were inseparable again yayy (there is definitely some angst hidden away in here lmaoo pls i'm scared of angst i don't wanna think abt it)(i wouldn't know how to ask about the missing years)(it sucks)

OKEEEEEEE THIS WAS A BIG RAMBLEEE I HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING HEHEHEHEHE it really is so fucking fun to delve into these holy fucking shit. like i'm learning things abt myself too lmaoo

YAYAAA OKAY ARIIII THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THE QUESTIONS I LOVE YOU SOSOSO BAD I HOPE YOUR DAY IS GOING WELL AND I HOPE YOU SLEPT WELL AND I JUST NEED YOU TO BE WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR MORE ABT YOUR SELFSHIPS TOO I AM ALWAYS READY TO LEARN MORE!!!!! MWAH MWAH MWAH MY FAVOURITE LITTLE IRIS<33333333

#THIS GOT SOOOOOO LLONG HELLOOO???#anyway #btw ari.... idk how well u remember the vampire au shoko.... but i think that dynamic is just literally us #like we're just so curious abt each other #and so open #nothing is weird (although to others EVERYTHING IS WEIRD)#we don't mind #and the mizai kittens hehehehe super evil laughter #we take naps together all the time btw #just like cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#it's just a pile of Cat hehehehe #I LOVE YOUUUUUUU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#DRINK TEA AND EAT!!!!!!!!#I HOPE THE SUN IS WARMING YOU UP!!!!!!!!!!!#YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!!!!#ari <3 #friends!!#misho #mizai

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guitarmasterx7 · 6 months ago

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Thots on all the members and their dynamics?

good ask, i've been mentally chewing on it for a number of days. this list won't include the past two co-hosts jsyk

chris - the absolute goat, THE oney player. i find his overall dynamic shifting to either counter guests or match their energy really interesting. i enjoy that he seems to play more of a straight man around the sillier guys (cory and adam namely), and it's sweet how much he cracks up over zach's and cory's jokes. when he feels the need to play the role of 'the silly one' he can be kinda overbearing, i appreciate his humor much more when it's unforced. he's very indigo, fuchsia and cyan colored to me

zach - THE funnyman, he's undeniably the highlight of whatever video he's in and i'm here for it. he's got great chemistry with chris and lyle, he works off both of them the best. he can definitely overshadow the others jokes, but i wouldn't say i dislike the dynamics he brings to the table regardless. i'm also a huge fan of his political/pop culture trivia, it's like taking a peak into his brain. he's the colors of autumn; orange, red, brown AND green, what more could you want?

tomar - i'll be honest i'm not as autistic about this guy but i really appreciate how he responds to scenarios. he's like the backbone of the lets plays he's in, he's got the straight man charm without being completely dismissive of jokes. it is still really funny when he's oblivious to joke setups tho i feel like those are the best moments. he's one of those guys you can introduce to anybody and have them get along no matter how different their personalities are. also his voice acting is fucking stellar. he's THE coolest tones of purple ever, and he's got that emerald association to him

lyle - he makes me feel fucking crazy. his humor can come off as disconnected from the others, but i appreciate how he rolls with his own jokes and how willing he is to "yes and" literally any scenario. he builds off the others well without drawing attention away from conversations or gameplay, he's the perfect balance of silly jokester and straight man when it's called for. fits in like a goddamn chameleon that motherfucker. extremely red coded, with hints of green and silver. (a royal purple is in there if you squint!)

cory - i'm in the 1% of people who enjoy the FUCK outta cory, maybe even moreso since he became a regular. i love seeing how his scatterbrain connects dots that don't align, and it's really endearing when he infodumps about sonic or whatever else. he isn't given enough credit for the times in recent years where he catches himself during a tangent, and actually steers the conversation back to something relevant. people talk about him as if he's a contestant on a reality show who's about to be voted off. he's fun, and he radiates a mix of indigo, hot pink and orangey yellow colors

adam - swedish motherfucker who i hate(love). his life fascinates me, it's surreal that he's an actual human being who exists. i love how he makes cory seem normal in comparison to him lmfao. chris acts more mature around him and i fuck with it heavy as a longstanding oneyfan. i think fondly about the time during a now deleted runescape stream he addressed a group of fans as fags (which caused chris to delete the entire video). it can be hard to watch the videos where he's paired up with cory, but sometimes i do need pure brain slop. he's all the primaries, red yellow and blue.

niall - fucking LOVE this guy. wish he had more self esteem, he always pairs well with the others due to their friendship and i think frequently about his living situations between ireland, sleepycabin and rooming with adam. i am really looking forward to whatever content him and adam are cooking up. he's a forest green with some maroon and pinkish purples thrown in.

dave - less on my radar than the others but he's really funny, i appreciate seeing him around more regularly. i LOVE the chemistry between him, jeff, cory and adam. he's my favorite unironic fortniter. you know the classic colors of skittles? he's all of those, specifically the yellow ones. also like, neon green when paired with black.

#ask #oney plays #long post #not tagging this #feel free to ask abt whoever i missed

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emperorbubblegum · 1 year ago

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This is gonna be another long-ish spoiler post for F/SR, so don't click if you haven't learned Rider's True Name yet

Also slight spoilers for Fate/Extra CCC Foxtail and maybe Shimousa but those are old enough that I doubt people care

I really need to hear the opinion of someone who doesn't know much about Fate play Samurai Remnant. I feel like most of us where able to guess a lot of the new Servants based off connections they had to pre-established ones. Rider's probably one of two exceptions because her reveal is supposed to be this huge "what the fuck" moment - and it is, but I feel like that mostly hinges on the player knowing Fate's version of Minomoto-no-Raikou.

Ushi Gozen has been teased for years. Raikou's always been one of the many Servants that mentions how her Berserker Saint Graph isn't the only one we might aee of her (edit 1: I didn't play FGO when it first released so I didn't know this, but apparently Ushi actually shows up in the same event Raikou's introduced in). In Foxtail, we see her used as a prarallel to Suzuka, since both have connections to Oni. The most prominent tease is in Shimousa, where we actually see Ushi Gozen appear, but with the same design as Raikou for budget reasons I guess (edit 2: No we don't, that's just Raikou, but she has the Rider class so I misremembered her there as Ushi Gozen). And now she's actually here! She gets her own game! And she looks...

Girl what the fuck happened to you

I really like both of her designs to be honest. She's one of the few Servants to be wearing actual samurai armor, and she's the first to wear the helmet too I'm pretty sure. Then after Saber kicks the shit out of her, the armor falls apart and we see that she's in a much worse state than any of us expected. Her hair's cut short, her eyes are dead with noticeable bags, her skin's paler than it was before, and she barely looks like she's eaten anything. Those last two could also be said about Raikou (Raita for the love of god learn to draw human women properly) but on Rider they're noticeably worse. Also she seems crazier than her Berserker form, albeit a different kind of crazy.

When we fight her the second time in Chapter 5, she shows up with these awesome robot-like spider legs reminiscent of what Ushi-oni are usually described with. She doesn't look human because her humanity was seemingly beaten out of her. Raikou tends to suffer from what I like to call "the Altera Problem", where if used right she can be a really genuine and badass character, but 90% of the time she's used for jokes and to get people's dicks hard. However in things like Foxtail, or Shimousa (which is even more apparent in the manga), or Heian-Kyo we get to see her for how she really is, which is A) terrifying and B) a hero worthy of going down as one of humanity's best. Rider is only that first one. No jokes, no big tits, just pure unadulturated "you're gonna die" energy.

Rider's the first Servant we ever see in Samurai Remnant. She's the first one Iori encounters, leveling his house in the prologue and acting as the tutorial boss to show the player "hey you can't fucking take these guys on", and in the teaser trailer (which shows that scene) she's one of three Servants who are actually shown to us - the other two being SR's Saber and everyone's favorite bisexual dimension hopper, Musashi. I could write a whole other post about Shousetsu and Iori (maybe I will who knows) but Rider follows their dynamic. She's a strong parallel to Saber. Fuck she basically is Saber if they didn't have people like Ototachibana-Hime and Iori to keep them grounded.

All of the new Servants are super cool (with the exception of Caster that bitch ass nerd), but I think Rider's possibly the coolest. I mean, I've been wanting Samson since I got into Fate and you haven't seen me make any real posts about him because Minamoto-no-Raikou, one of my least favorite Servants, has got me in a vicegrip. I don't know if she's my favorite, but I'll definitely be saving for if she ever comes into FGO

#fate series #fate samurai remnant #fsr #fsr rider #fate samurai remnant spoilers #fsr spoilers

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e-vay · 1 year ago

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Evay QA Bulk Post 1

I’m working through my inbox but don’t want to drown y’all’s feed in my asks so I’m grouping as many together as I can. Q&A below:

MISC SONIC ASKS

Thank you so very much! I was trying to really combine both Amy and Sonic’s aesthetics. Amy is classy and design oriented so I wanted to keep that feel, but I wanted to show how their home would evolve once she and Sonic start living together. Sonic’s never canonically had a house, but he travels so much that I headcanon that he’s constantly collecting trinkets and souvenirs from all the places he’s visited. So I wanted to give them a very “worldly” design style. If you’re familiar with Uncharted 4, I picture Sonic and Amy’s house being very much like Nate and Elena’s beach house.

I love interior design and architecture but I’m not great at drawing it (yet). Once I improve I want to do a full layout of their house for my stories (and the future Shadora Fortress).

I really enjoyed the movies and I’m excited for the third! I hope they give Shadow a voice that’s deep and delicious and doesn’t sound like a sniveling villain. I don’t like it when they cast him with a very generic evil voice, I prefer it when he’s got depth. Honestly I’d be happy if they stuck with Ian Hanlin, he’s perfect to me.

For the record, I absolutely love that game. Some of my favorite memories involve me and my best friend playing it. He ABSOLUTELY is an avid gun collector. I love seeing the memes of Shadow just rambling off about gun details. BUT HE KEEPS THAT CRAP LOCKED UP IN A SAFE AND UNLOADED AT ALL TIMES!!!!

At least for my stories he isn’t one to actually threaten to harm anybody for wanting to date his kids. He dealt with that enough trying to be with Aurora. But you can bet he won’t think anybody’s worthy to date his kids lol

First of all, I am ALWAYS down for Sonic singing his feelings. Like that is my #1 favorite thing in every story. Whenever he breaks out the guitar/lute I’m like “HELL YEAH LET’S DO THIS”

Secondly, that SONG omg!!! I’d never heard it before but wow 😭 I couldn’t love it more. I completely agree and thank you so much for sharing with me!

That is so funny that you say that. It was not my intention to make human Sonic look like RCS but honestly he is my favorite Sonic at this point so maybe it came out subliminally! Also I think Roger is just so damn handsome so I will take that as a compliment lol!

SHIPPING ASKS

I do ship them but I don’t know about them having kids. I don’t really know those characters well enough to write family members for them and I wouldn’t want to do it wrong. Thank you!

I’m fine with any of your ships as long as it’s not with relatives. And as long as you keep my characters “in character” then that’s fine.

Interesting! 🤔 I haven’t heard that pairing before but hey I’m certainly not going to tell you that you can’t ship them together.

I loved Amy the minute I saw her so just from a superficial level I was like “These two are too cute together!” But I really fell in love with them when their story evolved and we got to see their dynamism in the games outside of just a cute little pink sprite in Sonic CD. And Sonic X really sealed the deal haha So many romantic moments between them in that show, God bless.

Sonic and Amy were just making out, not anything more. Orbot and Cubot aren’t accustomed to seeing that so that’s why they reacted that way.

I don’t have any plans on that at the moment. I like that universe and I especially loved how Sonic acted around her in it, but idk if I’ll make a comic about it. But I can never say never!

PERSONAL ASKS

I’m sorry to have worried you, but honestly I was okay while I was away. I went through a lot of major life events and I had lost my drawing mojo and was fighting to get it back. But now it’s back with a vengeance!

I plan on doing both. I know several amazing parents who do a wonderful job raising their kids and still follow their passion.

Thank you so much! I’m self-taught, but I’ve researched a lot of tutorials and references to help me improve over my life. The number one thing people need to study if they want to do comics or animations or anything is ANATOMY! You don’t have to take an anatomy class (I didn’t), but look up references and tutorials to learn how the spine works, how the muscles work, proportions, etc. Even if your characters don’t fall into the typical human form, you still need to understand skeletal structure and muscles.

I’m not an avid listener but I do like some if her songs :)

I’m in the process of assembling that. There’s a lot so it’s taking time lol

WILL YOU CONTINUE HHNF?

Yes I’m going to continue HHNF

AURORA ASKS

Thank you! Yes that’s pretty accurate. Their family is all about honesty and telling the truth, but younger Aurora doesn’t like to share all the details with Sonic because he’s so reactive with her and will quickly try to fix whatever the problem is and Aurora wants to learn to fix it herself. Amy is more willing to just listen to Aurora and offer advice if Aurora asks for it. Amy WANTS to beat up whoever is upsetting her daughter but she also knows the importance of learning how to fight for yourself so she wants Aurora to feel empowered to do that.

Thank you! I hope you’re having a great day too! I think Amy is better at TALKING through feelings and Sonic’s better at the overall cheering up way of handling things. So as long as there’s nothing terribly awful bothering Aurora and she’s just feeling a little down, he’ll find ways to make her laugh. Sometimes that means walking in unexpectedly in a costume to shock her or dragging her out of the room to have a musical jam session together.

Sonic’s also known to give people flowers when they’re sad in canon (he does this regularly in the games and in Sonic X), so he’ll bring her bright, colorful flowers to make her smile.

In my AU, Eggman has already kind of peaked by the time of Boom!Baby. He’s softened a lot and isn’t interested so much in world domination as he just wants attention lol. Having Sage and becoming a father further helped me justify that with my AU.

He's also particularly sentimental towards Aurora since he helped deliver her, so he doesn’t really fight the team anymore. He is more like a constant pain in their sides mucking things up.

Sonic team is busy fighting other, newer foes in my AU.

Their biggest challenge is going to be the Time Travel comic that I haven’t completed yet. It’s hardest because not only will lives be put on the line, but it also touches on trust and when to let go. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more detailed answer yet but I don’t want to spoil the plot! And thank you so much!

MISC ASKS RELATED TO MY AU

Yes I just need to draw them. There are so many dang Sonic characters hahaha

It’s VERY important to Aurora for her parents to give their blessing, so Shadow will honor that and ask them for it. I already know how and when he’s going to do it, but I can’t spoil it for you yet! 😉

They’ve had three litters. I headcanon that back in the day hedgehogs used to have litters (2 or more kids) all the time but that became less and less common in modern day. But I also headcanon that as the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow was engineered to be able to… multiply effectively. So even though they’ve only been pregnant 3 times, they keep having triplets or twins.

I do consider the First Kiss comic canon to my AU. But it happened a while before My Gal, maybe like a year or so before. Give them time to stew on that kiss hehehe

They just wanted to make a life change. The stars just happened to align at the same time haha

All the kids’ names are supposed to be based on their personalities or powers. Most Sonic characters are named that way, so I don’t know if it’s canon for Mobian parents to sense what their kid’s powers will be or not. Aurora has dreams that sometimes give her premonitions so she had inklings to what their kids might be like so she and Shadow could brainstorm ideas based on that. Also a lot of their names are outer-space-related or at least outer-space-adjacent and that was because Shadow’s a space man lol So he had influence in that.

Sonic wants all his descendants named Sonic II so he’s no help lol.

Thanks, I’m happy you like it!

There are 3 litters. The first litter has the triplets Piper, Zane and Nova. The second litter was born almost a year and a half later and has the twins Aster and Blitz. The third litter was immediately after and that has the triplets Cinder, Diamond and Boon. All this information is listed in their character reference post.

In the beginning the family mostly just stuck to ordering online and getting home deliveries lol. But if they do have to do a grocery store run it’s a full family event. The kids all ride on Shadow (see this post). Their house has two fridges to accommodate for all the mouths to feed!

Their life certainly isn’t boring anymore 😂 It’s exhausting but they’re happy (also there are 8 kids haha!)

Thank you so much, it’s good to be back!

Aurora definitely would have asked him about this, but at least in my stories Sonic became an orphan at a young age and I don’t have him with any siblings.

I’ve had another person ask me who I picture Sonic’s parents as and I do plan on drawing a reference of them, but they’ll be unique to my stories. They won’t be from any other Sonic media.

I don’t draw Aleena, Manic and Sonia because of a couple reasons. I never watched Sonic Underground so I don’t have the allegiance/nostalgia that a lot of people have to that show. Also for my own preference, I don’t like the idea of Sonic being born to royalty. It doesn’t suit him, in my opinion. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect people who have that as a part of their canon and it doesn’t mean I have any bad feelings towards the Underground characters. I just don’t draw them. I grew up on the games and later Sonic X and Sonic Boom so my stories revolve around what I know.

It’s funny that you mention that ship because I only just learned about it from Starrjoy’s P!AU comic. Again I didn’t watch Sonic Underground so I don’t know who Bernadette is, but sure I’m down for Sonic having two moms. Families come in all shapes and sizes, so as long as they’re a loving parent or parents then I support it.

They love all their grandkids and they love spending time with them, but I think in their older age Sonic and Amy go off on more adventures again. They never stopped adventuring, but they settled down a bit while raising Aurora. Now they’re relishing a second wind and they’re frequently going on worldly explorations.

But they always make sure to attend any events the kids are involved with and are always home on Sundays for family dinner. Sunday night is dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s! <— I have them always having dinner at their house on Sundays even before Aurora and Shadow have kids

To be honest, I never felt like they needed more. I had a comic where they discussed it hypothetically, but they’re content with just having the one kid. (Don’t worry, just because they’re not having kids does NOT mean they aren’t… active 😈 They’re very VERY much so!). I am okay with fan stories where people give Aurora siblings and there’s a fic I’m reading right now that involves Sonic and Amy having a whoopsie baby way late in life and adult Aurora is having to deal with that and I love it lol. But just for my own writing, it’s a single-child household.

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Thank you all for the questions!

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