#I mean you know she does because he inherited it. but we haven't actually seen it as far as I can remember

[givehimthemedicine]

in case you thought I was making it up about Joyce being the source of the head cradling hugs

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

in an interview a while back, vivzie compared stella to beatrice horseman from bojack horseman. if you haven't seen it, beatrice's childhood AND adult life were awful but at the exact same time it's also very clear that nothing about it justified how she treated her son bojack - much like how bojack's own abusive childhood didn't justify the way he treated people. it just explained it.

we'll have to wait and see if viv can actually pull this off (signs point to 'no' atm tbh) but stella being written with this particular comparison explicitly in mind is giving me a little hope she'll at least try.

Hey, Anon! Thanks for the ask!

I’m really glad you brought this up because I had actually been planning a post comparing Beatrice and Stella because I find it kind of fascinating that the writers say Stella is similar to Beatrice Horseman. Because so far they’re really, really, really not.

In fact, the way Stella and Beatrice are introduced and developed as characters are inverses of each other. (Explanation below)

Beatrice is introduced to us as being unambiguously the one in the wrong—she’s so ridiculously abusive towards Bojack, her own son, that it sometime crosses over into pure black comedy. Bojack is clearly the wronged party here, as he was a literal child. He depended on Beatrice for everything and was met with abuse.

Even when Beatrice’s abuse becomes so over-the-top that it’s almost comedic, the audience still understands she’s in the wrong. We understand even though it’s played for black comedy, Bojack was clearly very negatively affected by the abuse, and that her treatment of him was horrific.

During the flashbacks to Bojack’s childhood in earlier episodes, the audience has no further details or information as to why Beatrice would act this way, (not that there’s any excuse regardless) so it seems like there’s not a lot of depth to Beatrice because of this. Season 1 Beatrice Horseman is a very flat character.

But after season 1, the writers of Bojack Horseman continue to develop Beatrice. In the beginning of season 2, we learn that Beatrice is aware of her abuse and how it affected Bojack and, in her own messed up way, tries to apologize to him. She acknowledges that she is a deeply flawed person, and acknowledges her own part in Bojack’s terrible upbringing.

We learn that she regrets the way she acted, that she thinks of herself as being broken, and she sadly admits that Bojack inherited this broken-ness from her.

NONE of this makes the abuse okay for course, but we’re given more insight into her as a person. As Bojack Horseman progresses, the audience is continually given more and more information about Beatrice that explains her in depth. We learn why she acted the way she did, how she coped (and failed to cope) with the intense trauma from her childhood, and how everything that happened to her affected her behavior and outlook on life, and how that in-turn affected Bojack.

The writers develop her from being a flat character to one with depth, one that feels like a real person.

In contrast, the VERY first thing we learn about Stella, before we know anything about her personality, or how she usually talks, or what her relationships are like, is that Stolas cheated on her. She is literally introduced to us as someone who has just been wronged, and presumably, hurt by her husband’s cheating on her.

I don’t think it’s unfair to assume that audiences immediately understand why Stella acts the way she does around Stolas in season 1. Being cheated on sucks. It’s a breech of trust, and extremely hurtful.

Unlike Beatrice, Stella is introduced to us as the wronged party.

Again, that doesn’t mean her actions are warranted or should be excused, but it’s very easy to understand why she is acting the way she is.

Due to this, while Stella still starts as a relatively flat character to b/c we don’t know much about her (other than how she acts directly after being cheated on) she has a lot of potential. The writers could have gone in lots of different directions in her character development.

So naturally, in the first episode of season 2 of Helluva Boss, we learn that Stella strangled puppies as a young child, was always mean to Stolas all the time even before he cheated on her, loves “tormenting” Stolas, and is physically abusive. We learn that since she was a young child she’s always been terrible and evil.

Any potential for some further depth to be added to Stella at the beginning of season 2 is fucking steamrolled by this writing decision.

Since S2E1, The Circus, Stella has been written consistently as being mean, rude, vindictive, and stupid. The audience has been given no further information on her, other than that she has brother who is smarter and than her, and that we should hate her for standing in the way of Stolas and Blitzø’s relationship.

Due to all of this, I have absolutely no idea how HB’s writers could possibly develop Stella to be even 1/8th as nuanced or “real” as Beatrice.

At this point, I think it’s too little too late for Stella’s backstory. Why would I care about her upbringing now? What important bit of information could the writers possibly give us about her past that would make her behavior understandable, or develop her character further??

I’m not saying it’s IMPOSSIBLE. But I can’t think of anything they could do to build upon Stella’s character after they already cemented her so firmly as a one-dimensional villain.

So. To summarize (TLDR)

Beatrice Horseman started out flat, and was developed over time until she felt like a fully realized person.

Stella started out flat, but with the potential to be developed into a more nuanced character.

Instead of being developed more gradually, like Beatrice, starting in season 2, Stella was written to be as evil as possible in all her appearances.

Due to this, the writers have made it incredibly difficult to go back and give Stella a backstory that will matter or explain her behavior in any meaningful way.

[spyxfamilyanalysis]

Do you think donovan has something to do w project apple? The one that makes Anya can read minds, and if he does do you think he experimented w his children? Or Demetrius is born that weird

Well, I think there might be misunderstanding about the name of the Project. Project Apple is experimented on animals like Bond Forger, to make them useful with special abilities, for Bond's case is predicting the near future. But of course, there are still some limitations: the future can be altered, it is not fixed, as can be seen in Spy x Family episode 13-16, when Anya reading Bond's future predictions and changed it before Twilight was in danger.

And if you are asking what project Anya is experimented, is actually "nameless". Throughout the series and manga, the name of the project is currently unknown, and I, myself, am not sure if the Tatsuya-san will reveal it... Yet somehow, the Internet "said?" that there are the same name? That confused me???

Anyway, this hypothesis about Anya and Donovan has gone wild ever since, so let me explain.

We haven't known much about Demetrius, the only time he appeared was when Damian called him to meet their Father, which can be found in this scene (Chapter 37)

To know more about chapter 37 -> link (it's not that I'm lazy, this post already analyze full so idk what to add...)

About the scars, here are my predictions:

Maybe he really is related to the Project, since the mark of the stiches are pretty close to Anya's. And some are suspected that the ornaments on Anya's head could be a way to hide her scars from the experiments, or I think they are literally just accessories for her hair, like when she was small.

About the scientists, some said that after Anya escaped, the only "laboratory rat" managed to survive, they may be working on animals, like Bond, after that, as "hope" for science to save "world peace". And Donovan could be either an experiment like Anya, testing some sort of weird stuff on himself, or someone like the scientists who just got injured from, like idk, being attacked by his "laboratory animals". And I think that the chances of him being injured from war is very low, because he is the one to start war between Ostania and Westalis.

Are there any chances of Demetrius inherit the intelligence from Donovan? I think no. It's definitely not from the crazy ideas of his own father thinking of war, Ostania and Westalis are currently in the period of the Cold war, where there are no need for weapons, yet politicians are in a tense period, with the risk of war breaking out. True that his intelligence might be genetically inherited, but I can assure that both Damian and Demetrius may know nothing about what he was planning. So, uh, yeah, Demetrius is just that weird, and he is an introvert. You can tell how short his lines are when he was on the phone.

Off-and-bonus topic: I am very suspicious about their mother, Melinda. She first appeared officially in chapter 65, and the bus hijack incident of the Red Circus Arc. When Damian spoke about Donovan, her expression changed completely, as if she hated him deeply and want him gone from her sight. This could mean that she might know about what he was hiding, and probably she has an obsession to Damian, her sweet son~(?)

Look, she is so sus for hell sure. >:( But I'm not sure whether or not she is evil? Even Loid is aware of her now...

Also, take a very close look at the dialogue after the hijack (Chap 75):

She truly loves Damian, yet what we didn't realize that, his brother, Demetrius was not even mentioned in her interior monologue(?)/ mind. We also know that she calls Damian as a curse...: "I never should have come here... If only he'd died in the hijacking...", "If only I weren't burdened with this child...", "How he disgusts me...". At first when this chapter was out, I read this part and thought "he" that she mentioned was Donovan, and now, re-reading this, she was mentioning Damian. And I have no idea if she cares Demetrius more than Damian, or is it the opposite?

And finally, I bet she is hiding something from Damian... I mean, when Anya was mind-reading her, she was a bit scared. A scary obsession to Damian terrifyingly... maybe something about Donovan and the war between the 2 nations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Message from the author (me): This is a very interesting topic! After I received your question, it took me several days to give you my answer which I think is most suitable and accurate, I do hope it is the answer you are looking for. Truly sorry for the long-time response, I was working with my final exams, so I can't answer you immediately.

Anyway, thank you for waiting and taking your time reading!🥰🥰🥰

[project-sekai-facts]

Are there any characters in-game that are notably really good/bad cooks? I know that Toya almost poisoned Rui in Never Give Up Cooking but idk about the rest

Also ty for posting all of these cool fun facts daily! They make my day

Yeah so as you said Toya is abysmal at cooking but he does get lessons from KAITO towards the end of Never Give Up Cooking! and is able to make significant improvement to his cupcakes. According to KAMIKOU FESTIVAL!, he's good at preparing and serving candyfloss.

VBS!Miku also cannot cook for shit (a trait she probably inherited from Toya) and is also given lessons by VBS!KAITO. VBS!Len receives lessons too, but I don't recall it being stated that he was a bad cook beforehand. Oh yeah goes without saying but VBS KAITO and MEIKO are good cooks.

Honami is canonically a good cook. She's part of home economics club and cooks meals for Kanade often. In the 2021 Valentine's voicelines it is mentioned that she taught Saki how to make sweets. An can also cook, as well as prepare coffee and tea, because she works at the cafe. It's also mentioned that Kohane can bake in multiple seasonal menu voicelines.

Airi can cook as demonstrated in Operation♡Secret Valentine! and she is also a member of tea ceremony club. She helps Saki and Emu bake cakes and other sweet treats in the aforementioned event.

Honami and Emu also cooked a BBQ in Let's Have the Absolute Best Summer!.

Akito, Shiho, Haruka and Mizuki can all make chocolate, as shown in The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!?.

The 2023 White Day voicelines mention that Rui has made appliances for baking specific sweets, meaning that he probably has knowledge of how to make these by hand in the first place. Meanwhile the 2022 White Day voicelines reveal that the base forms of Len and KAITO can bake.

It's mentioned that Mafuyu can cook in the Mirage of Lights event story.

Ena's speciality is listed as "picking the best ingredients for cooking" in her official bio, so presumably she can cook.

Actually, all of Leo/need has some cooking proficiency. 4koma #10 reveals that they can all make apple pies.

And finally, Shizuku can cook as well. She also mentions that she can make chocolates in her 2021 Valentine's voiceline.

And for some assumptions

I don't think Kanade can cook. She can make instant foods but I don't know if she can cook actual meals. We do know that the reason she has pot noodles is because it saves her time, so maybe she can cook and just has priorities. She can be seen helping out Honami in her wedding card come to think of it, so she probably can cook.

Idk about Tsukasa and Nene. It's probably mentioned somewhere but I haven't read every card story.

I still don't trust WxS' island cooking.

Someone in the Wonderland SEKAI can cook. that or they have a magic oven/fridge like in cartoons (always a possibility with the Wonderland SEKAI)

p.s no problem! glad to hear that

[samhatch]

Things I would put in my ACOTAR fixit fic:

Stone Heart

ABOUT: When I first read ACOTAR, I thought this was unique to Tamlin. I don't recall it being said in the first book that it was related to Amarantha's curse, so I thought this was just something about Tamlin's past that we would learn later.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE: I'd really like to take this in a Howl's Moving Castle or Odin direction, that Tamlin had to sacrifice his heart in order to gain a powerful ability. I would make that his shapeshifting ability. Making this ability something he gained on his own, rather than something he inherited, would be so much more interesting! It would also mean that his true "high lord beast form" is something we still haven't seen, and is an ultimate form even Tamlin is afraid of using. This would also mean that when Feyre gains abilities from all the high lords, she does not gain the ability to shapeshift, which could solve some plot issues down the road. Also, also: this would mean that his heart is stone forever, and cannot be healed by breaking the curse. He made a faerie deal, and those can be unforgiving.

2. Feyre's Mother

ABOUT This line from the book has always stood out to me: “Didn’t … ,” Tamlin interrupted, his deep voice surprisingly gentle, “didn’t your mother tell you anything about us?” I prodded the table with my forefinger, digging my short nails into the wood. “My mother didn’t have the time to tell me stories.” I could reveal that part of my past, at least. Lucien, for once, didn’t laugh. After a rather stilted pause, Tamlin asked, “How did she die?” When I lifted my brows, he added a bit more softly, “I didn’t see signs of an older woman in your house.” (Page 79-80.) WHAT I WOULD CHANGE I want to make Feyre's mother fae. Specifically a Selkie, that Papa Archeron would have kidnapped on one of his sea voyages when he was young. He hid her cape that allowed her to transform back into a seal, and she was forced to marry him and have his children. Because she was in human form when she had her daughters, they would all be 100% human, and not fae, despite having a fae mother. This also explains why Feyre's mother was so bitter and disconnected from her family. She only ever wanted to go back to the ocean. But eventually she died of heartbreak and homesickness. This is also why Feyre is so hung up on her promise to her mother, even though she wasn't treated very well: it was a fae contract and unbreakable, without Feyre ever realizing it. I think it's also possible that one of her mother's relatives (or maybe Tamlin, since she would have been one of his subjects) would have cursed Papa Archeron for not returning her to the ocean, and that's why all of his fortunes changed so drastically and suddenly. It wasn't until Tamlin lifted that curse that her father was able to make money again. (I also like the idea that her father is genuinely a savvy businessman who was cursed to make bad deals, and all the riches he earns after the curse is lifted were earned by him and not just cash that Tamlin magically threw at him.)

3. Illiteracy

ABOUT Feyre being illiterate is important to her character as a human, so I wouldn't change that, but I would change how she gains literacy in the second book. WHAT I WOULD CHANGE This might be cheating, but I would just have her gain literacy after the high lords give a piece of themselves to resurrect her. Give her pieces of their knowledge about each court as well, and it helps bridge the uncomfortable age gaps, fast tracks her literacy, and gives her important strategic knowledge of the whole of Prythian. This way, her becoming a leader feels more legitimate, and that it's a position she could actually command with genuine competence. Is it cheating? maybe. Would it change her character completely? probably. But no more so than her character already changed form book 1 to book 2 I think.

4, The Trials

ABOUT I know this was some folks' favorite part of the book, but for me it was the opposite lol! The first half felt whimsical and magical, and the second half felt rushed, anticlimactic, and disjointed. To this day, I don't understand why Amarantha made a deal with Feyre, when she'd already won! There was no benefit to this deal for Amarantha, she could have captured and tortured Feyre to her heart's content. It's lazy writing, honestly. WHAT I WOULD CHANGE Amarantha needs something from Feyre that she can't get on her own. I don't know what that is yet, but I'll figure it out (maybe it's her mother's selkie coat for some reason, or maybe there's magic protecting Feyre that prevents Amarantha from killing her outright, so she puts her in a no-win-scenario aka: the trials.) I would also change the trials. I hate the worm. It felt so lazy to me, like a Dune worm? Really? If there is actual faerie-lore to back this up, I'll accept it, but it just felt like SJM was throwing in the kitchen sink of sci-fi cliche's. I would nix the worm completely, and redo the trials. The only trial I liked was the one where she had to read, because it felt like there was actual build up to that in the books, and the cost of losing being her friend's life rather than her own felt like the stakes were really high. Too bad she only won by cheating. :/ I would craft the trials in a way that force Feyre to think outside the box, and really understand the fae's love for wordplay and cleverness. Here's how I would construct the trials: 1. A Hunting Trial - where Feyre has to hunt a mythical beast. She thinks it's going to be a terrifying monster, but isn't prepared for it to be a pucca that looks like her mother. Trauma ensues! :D 2. The Riddles Trial - I wouldn't change anything about this! It forces Feyre to come to terms with her stubbornness and unwillingness to accept Tamlin's help when he first offered to teach her to read. 3. Embracing Tamlin - keeping the inspiration from the Ballad of Tam Lin, Feyre needs to hold onto Tamlin while Rhys reaches into his mind and forces Tamlin to take all kinds of terrifying shapes that hurt Feyre. Feyre never lets go, and passes the trial despite all the harm it causes her. Feyre passes the trials, but at the cost of her life, and Tamlin has to hold her dead body, knowing that his shapeshifting killed her. :'(

I'll reblog this and add to it as I get more ideas! Let me know what you think! I'll write out an actual fic at some point, but I feel like I need to finish reading the first three books to do it justice.

[horizon-verizon]

I hate it when people compare Aemond to Visenya and Daemon to Maegor the cruel ?! It's supposed to be the other way around ! Daemon is Visenya and Aemond is Maegor ! Fucking hell ! (At least if we want to compare I mean. Book or series)

Also, this delirium of saying that Aemond is an anti-hero... So these people certainly haven't read the books, but even in the series, Aemond does not tick any of the anti-hero boxes.

Aemond is a villain. That's all. Having him kill Lucerys by accident on the show doesn't change that fact, it just makes him look like a jerk.

In episode 8, we see him literally enjoying the decapitation of Vaemond, when we have never seen such an expression (of pleasure, let's not lie) on Daemon's face when he was killing people. Simply because Daemon doesn't find it funny to kill people, nor does he kill them for fun.

Also, Aemond remains, series or book, a misogine and blood purist. What Daemon, book or series is not.

So, I'd like to know how people's brains work to call Aemond an anti-hero...

There's nothing really "good" about this guy except his mother (so arguable and only if you stan or approve of her) and the fact that he rides Vhagar. And before others crow about how this is supposed to make him thematically paralleled to Visenya, may I point out that it is Daemon who has Visenya's sword, Dark Sister. Given to him when he became a knight at 16 by Jaehaerys I (yes, that misogynist prick of a King). You know....the sword that is more symbolic of familial protection than a dragon that only owes its allegiance to whoever rides it (not a bad or inferior thing, just need to point out how swords have the symbolism of political and emotional loyalty that accentuate familial love and bonds when we note their signifier of royalty and feudal protections, whilst dragons have a broader, more varied character).

And Dark Sister has a long history of loyal, loving supporters of Targ heirs and rulers: Daemon, Brynden Rivers, Baelon (after Aemond dies, in revenge mission), Visenya....come on now! Jaehaerys I even wields it when he is reclaiming his birthright. Plus, swords culturally carry so much history

Aemond is like Visenya in that he enables the wrong candidate to be/maintain being the King, but Daemon is like Visenya in that he has done and will do whatever it takes to support their person above all, through extreme violence. Daemon takes after most of the best or admirable of Visenya. (The brutality unfortunately is also inherited and shared with Aemond)

Do we remember how Visenya told Aenys I to burn down the Holy Sept? How she definitely reveled in burning Dorne after Rhaenys' death? What sort of passion for a relative/lives does Aemond canonically display? How she made a point to Aegon I about him needing a personal guard by being quick with her sword and cutting his cheek after he wouldn't listen? The same guy who didn't go to King's Landing to rescue his mother and sister after Rhaenyra took it despite saying he would?

But by being raised by Alicent (who would have despised Visenya and her "witchery" and just by being a confident, proactive woman) how the hell would Aemond care for Visenya, the figure, at all?

As for Daemon being Maegor....Maegor openly killed people who did not deserve it.

Vaemond? Deserved.

The "criminals" of KL? Dicier, admittedly. It's not like Daemon would care to take a breath to discern who is merely accused and who actually did those crimes. Mirrors how Visenya was willing to murder anyone in the Sept along with that High Septon.

Rhea Royce's death? He def would have done it, but as for did he do it? Plausible deniability (it didn't happen at all): she took 9 days to die (not his MO of quick deaths) and he was at the Stepstones for all of it. Horse riding is dangerous as hell, Rhea would be surrounded by people in her hunting retinue, servants, etc so there were witnesses, Daemon could've had her killed long ago when they were still married and even had it done through an assassin when Rhaenyra had her first period and was marriageable but didn't (instead marrying Laena, too), and if he did send an assassin why did this person leave Rhea to linger at all? Why would a good assassin just let Rhea longer for 9 days (why would Daemon not hire a good one if he were going down that route? Even if he didn't have the funds to hire a VERY good killer, if he was dedicated to having her killed, it'd have to be a proper job or he'd be accused easily, so again, he'd like to find one of the better skilled assassins, which is expensive)? And why wouldn't Daemon hire a good killer?!

Laenor? If not Corlys (and why not, but that's a separate discussion), then Rhaenys, who has known Daemon and lived close to him for years, thinks he didn't do it he didn't. Neither stupid nor unobservant, this one. Passionate about her family as well. She would have never let Daemon get away with it.

*12/15/24 EDITED* Well, Daemon had a child killed officially and some believe that he was actually gunning for either Aemond or Aegon bc Aemond killed Luke and Aegon was actually Rhaenyra's rival in the sense that he declared himself king (but after Aegon died, then Aemond might become a bigger threat, so to me it makes more sense for him to try to kill Aemond if he actually didn't intend to kill off the kids...which I think he LIKELY did, as B&C state clearly they were instructed to get the male kids of Helaena so obviously Daemon is vile (unless you're one to believe Mysaria botched the orders but why would she if she had to gain power through Daemon & Rhaenyra? bc she thought that killing off the green kids would lower the amount of rivals, idk, fishy). And either way, he is responsible for those kids' deaths.

But people also try to use this as reason to state that he would have deifnitely killed off the greens' kids if Rhaenyra had ascended as if Daemon has the same lack of restraint as Aemond. I agree on them having similar enough lack of morals, but the former has much more restraint. why does this matter? Because people who overstan Aemond tend to do the same fact-erasing they accuse Daemon stans or others--ignore facts about their fav bc they think he's attractive to them or genuinely have bigoted principles or both. And they imply daemon has a certain sort of lack of restraint that consistently endanggers or holds back Rhaenyra and their family partly bc they conflate show!Daemon with bk!Daemon. So they assume that Daemon is a dud for Rhaenyra the entire Dance bc of this one morally heinous, emotion-driven act and try to say Aemond did all of what he did during the Dance and before for his family, when that has always been Daemon, not Aemond.

Daemon does this not-so-smart plan for revenge for a pain caused to his family/murder (one of the few he makes in the small period right before and later during the entire Dance bc of said emotion leading him). Aemond murders a kid for revenge, but HE was the one endangering said kid's brother when he could have left the scene or never been down in teh dragon lairs at all or if there had been better guards--once more, Luke was defending himself, Aemond--when he killed Luke--was not and was responding to a outright claim of his lack of macsulinity from one of Borros' less pretty daughters. Again, this does not mean Daemon is the morally upstanding, this is to say the two child murders did not come from that similar motivations. Hate Daemon rightfully, just don't try to say that he had killed those kids "from nowhere" (twisted, but not "from nowhere" as if Aemond and the greens were not responsible for a great wrong to make him respond in a violent way), that Aemond is morally exempt in his motivations, or that Daemon would have gone out of his way to kill off the greens or at most tt their youngest children if Rhaenyra had more or less safely ascended and could make the rules over how those kids lived at court and beyond herself). *END OF EDIT*

[dailycass-cain]

Detective Comics #1077 brought the Cass back. So how'd she do in this outing? Well, here are my thoughts on the issue...

So the Cass section is pretty early in the issue itself within the second scene and is pretty fascinating with several layers. #1 in that Selina recruited Cass off-panel.

I mean it probably wasn't hard. "Hey Cass you wanna save Batman?" "Yeah."

Bam.

Easy peasy.

I'm just gonna overlook the nonsense that is "Gotham War", and not overthink or mock that any further to this. It's just simple characterizations of two characters with a similar need: Bruce getting freed.

However, this leads me to my #2 interesting thing that occurs on the page. Eiko Hasigawa has beef with Cass.

Like, there's an out-of-issue story we missed here. Cause Cass/Eiko never met physically until this issue at least to my knowledge.

What I am aware of is the growing disdain another Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, had for Eiko toward the end of Genevieve Valentine's Catwoman run (#35-46).

I am not aware if Steph hyped negatively Eiko to Cass. I think it's the safest bet.

However, my gut tells me an "unseen" story. Because, A.) Eiko knows Cass. B.) We know already Cass has met Selina off-panel and gotten an "art" love because of it. So it's reasonable to think Cass has met several of those who worked/allied with Selina closely.

Regardless of my theories, the moment is a nice hype package to remind us how deadly Cass is and interestingly how much she is acting like her biological mom here in manner and appearance.

I get why Cass is in gameface mode. Gotham is in hell given it's Tuesday and she has to showcase this side of her. Even when there's a Lian Harper nearby to "lighten" the mood.

I do find it intriguing how much Cass inherits stuff on her actual mom's side here. From clothing choices to looks. She literally is a Little Wu-San here. I am curious why writer Ram V gives her hostilities with Eiko when a Cheshire is in the same room.

Given Shiva/Cheshire's histories in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey legendary run. But I can see why because again the feud is making me ponder more so on the "what" than the easily simplistic "why" we've seen already.

I really do dig seeing Cass unmasked in this issue as it elevates her into the run and artist Jason Shawn Alexander draws a VERY mature-looking Cass here.

And that leaves us with the final "chilling" twist of who Cass will be teaming up with here. Someone, now I wonder if we'll get our SECOND mention or showing of Batgirl Vol. 1 as Cass will be teaming with Mr. Freeze for her part in this mission.

Also, I do love the little bit of fathering Jim Gordon does here during this scene. He knows what Freeze is capable of (both currently in this run and of the past).

Cass? We don't see her reaction, just one panel of her agreeing which is just so Cass.

Her mindset is completely different than Gordon's. Will she trust Freeze? I guess we'll see where Ram V goes with this. Again, I find this all fascinating the bits he's put here.

You can easily see this plan all going to hell, yet also there's a "chance" this plan might work. I guess it'll all depend on who betrays who.

Again, the bits sprinkled are just stories I want to read more of, along with how the current story is going to progress.

It's all quite engaging and has me on the edge of my seat.

Anyway, #1077 of Detective Comics is yet another refreshing thrilling piece to the puzzle of this run. It feels so darn unpredictable about where it will go.

Not to mention however briefly we've seen Cass sure carries a presence about her in this run. That fills me with glee on where this will go next.

So those who haven't checked on this Tec run yet please do so as what began back in September has been an excellent jumping-back point for this run.

[lover-of-mine]

In the book her first husband is John and yes it's a true love match. He is exactly as portrayed as the book as is her personality. They had a quite beautiful life together. She loves him. Michael meets her on the wedding day and falls in love instantly. He becomes their third wheel. In fact it's when Michael and Francesca are on a walk John passed away. He had a headache and didn't go. She has no child so Michael inherited the title but she is still running stuff because he leaves out of guilt for loving her. Eventually she will have to give up the title when he marries. When he finally returns it's shown where Francesca had grown. She's actually the only female lead who even understands sex and what she wants. It's really the most steamy book. Michael also is the love of her life to in a different context then John. It's honestly really beautifully told. It doesn't diminish either Michael or John in Francescas life.

So here's my take. In gender bending Michael. Either the story has to change where Francesca has a child. Or they become a throuple. Because we already know it's established males inherit. The point or the original story was Michael did. The female version will not.

I will say her story and Benedicts were my favorite. I'm curious how they play this one with Francesca because they might have opened a way for me to keep both John and "Michael" in her life. But I love how they wrote Benedicts because it leaves open the space for Sophie. I don't want them to change Sophie!!!

The only change really was that in the original Michael fell right away. I think they did it opposite just so everyone would realize Francesca can love a girl. But there really are only 2 alternatives to the story. Either Francesca has a male heir before John dies. Or they all have an understanding.

Thank you for the rundown 🫶🫶🫶 okay, I have questions. From my understanding, her love with John is more of the gentle type, comforting thing, but they introduced Michaela with the idea of love Violet described earlier, so the idea here is that she gets both the calm one and the explosive one? And I've seen some people mad about the change because her story is about motherhood? And obviously, with a genderbending of the love interest, she can't have a child with her, so that's the conflict I've seen people mad about about missing, is that really what it is? Because I feel like if they keep John dying, they can very much maintain that level of conflict by having him die while she's pregnant and finding comfort and companionship in Michaela while waiting to find out if the child is a boy or a girl, and things evolving to the Bridgerton explosive romance. I do think the trouple idea is interesting, and Benedict's plot does help the idea of said understanding existing, so also a way, but I feel like that would change the nature of her story, but again, haven't read the books so I'm not sure. But I think you're right, if they go with John dying and then make her get with Michaela, without negating the love she felt for John (because I've seen people already claiming she never loved John and I'm just *deep sigh*) she would be incredible rep. Also because people get crushes? It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want to, and I think that's an interesting point to be made too. But I am very curious about her story and how it will evolve for sure.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Trickster: an Ethari theory

I've had yea many Ethari headcanons, and I hope I live to have yea many more. Most of them are probably wrong, or incomplete at best. But boy are they fun.

I love to wonder what Ethari will really be like in canon when we get to know him for more than 3 minutes, but whoever he really is on his own, he will have an effect on Runaan , Rayla, and everyone who loves him, because they love him.

The first headcanon I can remember having for "Tinker" was that he could be like Leonardo da Vinci: a genius, creative, surrounded by beautiful ideas given shape by his hands, but also capable of creating deadly weapons, enchantments, and devices with equal beauty, and perhaps not really seeing where the line between them was. It was fun, but Ethari has ended up far softer than my headcanon, and I love and support him in his softness!

After a nice string of Ethari headcanons, this year I've started poking at the Trickster archetype and seeing if it applies to him. And I think it absolutely does!

Tricksters often seem like Chaos. But they're not. They're just Difference. "Chaos" is subjective. Like the "divergent" in "neurodivergent." Who says? Divergent from what, exactly? Perspective matters, and Tricksters have a very broad take on things which allows them to think outside any box people might try to invite them into.

My enjoyment of Loki has brought all kinds of ideas to my dash with the arrival of the Loki show. I've got a copy of the Edda, and I highlighted the hell out of it a couple of years ago as I searched for the roots of Loki's origin story. (It's truly fascinating reading and the symbolic language hidden inside their poetry is dazzlingly amazing and I'm super using it sometime just so you know)

Loki is a Trickster, and he's far from alone in myth and legend. Anansi, Coyote, and Sun Wukong are some you may have heard of. Aaravos is another, of course. Tricksters can be called upon to lend aid and wisdom when the rules don't have an answer for some extraordinary circumstance which the Trickster's people find themselves in. But that's not because they are truly outside the rule of order. They are actually a part of it. They are the catch-all for when the everyday ordinary rules fail people, and something "unthinkable"--in the literal sense--might just hold the answer.

This post crossed my dash today, and something finally clicked in my head, and all of this coalesced from what felt like separate places. But they're not separate, not anymore! Serotonin, baby. It's basically upped my headcanon to a full-blown theory.

What caught my eye was an answer to why Ethari's clothing is so determinedly asymmetrical, compared to Runaan's specifically, but Moonshadows in general. It's because of this:

Long protective sleeves below patterns on shoulders. A high collar paired with a bright and noticeable swoop around the neck. Fine detailing and graceful taste. Asymmetrical tunic point on the left, below broad strappy leather. Knee high boots with stylish protective gaiters.

And let's not forget the curling horns! In some comics, Loki has a broken horn. So does Ethari.

Yes, there is a lot of similarity here, but I'm not focused so much on the visuals as the reason they were chosen. Feel free to consider other aspects of Ethari's personality and how they might be similar to certain parts of Loki's. I did! But I wouldn't be me if I didn't go deeper than that.

My favorite book in the universe (so far) is Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion, and one of the many reasons why is because of her pantheon. It holds five gods, represented by a hand: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, and Bastard. The first four all have their roles and places. The Bastard--the thumb--inherits everything else. He is the god of all things that do not belong to any other gods, and that includes self-sacrificing vengeance and queerness. He is a Trickster, and his influence on Cazaril's life is far deeper than at first glance. Chaos has its place. It belongs, and so do the Tricksters who engender it. God, I love this book. Please read it if you haven't. Bujold's work is amazing.

If you've seen or read any version of MDZS/Untamed, you know that Wei WuXian is a trickster. Competent and badass in battle, but playful and teasing to the point where sometimes even he isn't sure what he truly wants, he can bring a massive amount of power and focus when he wants to. It's always a matter of "but is it important to me?"

I love WWX so much. The Trickster vibe is very apparent in his character, and in a way you just don't get in Western media. We see him on his own, and we see him with family and loved ones. And he's always feeling something so intensely! He's driven by his emotions, for good or ill. He vibes with chaos, and he will create it if it doesn't exist yet. But he will also create family from nothing, and that's something you don't see enough of! WWX is a Trickster with an emotional preference for joy.

In TDP, Ethari doesn't have a lot of lore yet. It's being Moonshadowed because spoilers for future seasons, and I respect that. The longer the wait for S4, the more ideas I will just amuse myself with in the meantime--and yeah, this is one of them, so what? :))) But we do know a little about him.

He loves music. He loves to read. He leaves his mark on things in swirly form. He works very hard, even through headaches, because what he's doing is that important to him, even though he would much rather be making jewelry. He loves taking the time to polish rough stones into brilliant jewels, and he adores big pretty flowers and had them at his wedding.

Ethari has a temper, but he also loves puns. The weapons he crafts are exquisite: "light, elegant, strong, and clever." And he knew darn well that Runaan was trying to flirt with him, but why return a sentiment he may or may not feel yet when he can play with the overly earnest assassin just a little bit first?

Okay, just... A "simple craftsman" deciding that it's going to be fun to toy for a bit with a broody assassin's feelings? Would you risk that? Ethari got balls the size of the moon, and a brain to match. When he has to make weaponry, he does not half-ass it. Ethari's stabby creations nearly have a life of their own. His creations are literally called "trick weapons." This elf is a lot, okay. And it's possible that he doesn't even know how "a lot" he is. Yet.

We're meeting Ethari after he's found something that is, in fact, genuinely important to him: Runaan, and Rayla, and Laindrin too. Ethari has found a relatively stable place to settle and find a role to adopt. I say adopt, though, because making weaponry for his loved ones is not what he grew up wanting to do. It's what he had to do to keep them safe, once he found a place to bestow his heart.

But in the show, Ethari has lost his family, one by one. First Lain and Tiadrin, ghosted. Then Runaan, supposedly fallen on his mission. Then Rayla, ghosted for abandoning Runaan. He and Rayla have reconnected now, but the rest of his family is still out of his reach. If Rayla has indeed told him, by S4, what she learned at the Moonhenge in TTM, then Ethari may parallel Rayla's journey to seek answers. But even if he doesn't know yet, and gets pulled into some other story arc first, we will be seeing Ethari without his family.

Remember the ATLA episode "Zuko Alone"? Consider: "Ethari Alone."

Ethari has chosen, for love, to fit himself into a box that wasn't of his own making. And now that box has broken. His family doesn't need him to be their craftsman anymore. Perhaps others will need him to be other things to them. Or perhaps he will know that his family does need him, but to be far more than just a maker of pretty swords. A rescuer, perhaps. A healer, a guide? An avenger?

A trickster. Capable of taking many shapes, because he understands them all. Ethari works with form and function. If he needs to transform himself, he will.

That's what Tricksters do. It's delightfully queer and delightfully neurodivergent. Ancient peoples accepted and revered the different among them and actively sought their help with things they themselves struggled with.

Tricksters are Difference. Sometimes that manifests as chaos, sometimes as genius. But if you do not love and appreciate your chaos, it will absolutely turn on you. Wei Wuxian did. Loki certainly has, many times. Perhaps Aaravos is doing so as well.

I cannot wait to see what Ethari does with his difference. I have something very specific that I hope he goes and breaks.

All this from a picture of Tom Hiddleston in his Avengers 1 Loki costume? Yeah. Because Ethari was designed to wear asymmetrical clothing, in a Moonshadow culture that prides itself on balance. Sure, there are some other Moonshadows who wear this or that asymmetrical item, and I do love to see it. But Ethari has the most asymmetrical lines of them all. The meta glee I feel knowing that Moonshadow elves are designed to hold many layers of meaning in their appearances--that the writers, creators, and character designers just flexed with them--is truly a delight.

Ethari is asymmetrical. The full and practical application of that is a glass casket, and I hope it becomes a gift that keeps on giving, because boy do I want to keep receiving it. But right now, I'm genuinely seeing evidence of the Trickster archetype in him. And I really hope it gets to come out and play.

[rjalker]

another attempted anonymous review from another transphobe that I deleted because they're all cowards who refuse to sign with a name:

this is the most unreadable tripe i've ever seen in my entire fucking life. i'm convinced this is a joke because any other option would be too much to bear. please get a job

it's so god damn funny when people use "get a job" as an insult as though I don't literally have a job, as though I haven't written this fic in my free time on the days I worked since today is my first day off since I started writing it, lol.......

someone's mad about neopronouns being casually used :)

here's the fic.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14051075/1/Adrien-adopts-a-cat

"Adrien" adopts a cat at some point between "Origins" and "Bubbler" or whatever the real first chronological episode of this show is, fuck if I know because it doesn't matter because there may as well not be any timeline at all for how little anything changes.

The point is, it's after Origins, but before the show actually starts. Because I'll redeem the character, but not after all that shit in canon. Nope. We are cutting the bullshit off at the source.

"Adrien" and pretty much all the other not-evil characters in this are gonna be trans because I'm trans and I said so. A lot of them are also going to use neopronouns because I use neopronouns and I say so :) you can't stop me :)

I have "Adrien" in quotation marks because ne is now going by the name Pandora, which I picked as a too-fucking-subtle-to-actually-be-a-reference-but-I-don't-care reference to Elva from The Inheritance Cycle.

Beause Elva was meant to be shielded, isntead she was forced to be a shield.

Pandora either means all-gifted, or all-giving. Adrien Agreste in canon is all-gifted because the world is handed to him on a silver platter without him ever having to do anything to earn it. We're told he's "perfect" despite him being an objectively horrible person, and anything he does, the writers praise him for and want us to praise him for, even when he's literally trying to kill a Black girl in a fit of jealousy-induced rage.

Pandora is all-giving because ne is going to realize over the course of the fic that the way ne was raised is horrible, and so is the fact that riv father is a fucking billionaire with access to technology that could save billions of lives, but he never does anything with it except exploit people and drive them further into poverty.

By the end of the fic, Pandora will be firmly on the side of the "kill the rich" crowd, and will literally be doing everything ne can (which it turns out is a lot) to put right what riv family has done wrong. Starting with literally just handing cash to people who need it.

[doubleshotofsomething]

Come Into My Life

This is my entry for @nekoannie-chan​‘s writing challenge. Congratulations on 500followers :D! Thank you so much for letting me participate!

This is a series. The remaining parts will be posted throughout the day. It is a Thor fanfic with a song prompt “Entra en mi Vida” (its a beautiful song, i highly recommend).

Song Prompt: Entra en mi Vida by Sin Bandera 

Warnings: swearing, like a lot of it. Mentions of human experimentation. that’s it?? Also, people are idiots here, folks. bare with me.

Summary: You live in a world where soulmates don’t exist. Like, at all. All that meant to be, fate has chosen nonsense? Not real. Literal, actual, from-the-TV-screen fairytale. So... why is the God of Thunder convinced that you’re his?

Part One: Entra en mi vida, te abro la puerta

"So—" You clear your throat, throwing yourself onto the only empty seat, "—all jokes aside, guys. What the fuck!"

Everyone blinks at you, drinks in their hands and confusion all over their faces.

You stare back at them, completely dismissing the new sets of eyes staring at you. "No, seriously, like what the fuck?" You reiterate. "Like, no guys, this fuck needs an answer. What the fuck."

"Are we supposed to know what this fuck is?" Ghost asks, the first among the group of five to surpass her confusion. "Because I have a what the fuck for that what the fuck."

You reach over to grab her drink and she – having been used to your antics after three years of friendship – moves it closer for you to grab. You take a sip, let the taste of her chamomile tea settle on your tongue, blanch and give it back.

"So, you know how the Avengers got their asses whipped after they pulled a deadbeat dad, right?" You make grabby hands towards Hope's drink, and she – just like Ghost – pushes it over to you.

"Careful," she grimaces, "it has a kick to it."

"So did Thanos," You mumble as you take a sip of her drink. The espresso sits heavily on your tongue and you swear you can feel it stain your teeth. "What the actual fuck, Hope? What is this? And why does it not have sugar?"

She chooses to roll her eyes at you and mimic the remaining two new faces by staying quiet. Her eyes narrow at you in warning.

"Don't get a tude with me, missy—" You wag your finger at her, “—you're the one that MIA'd for five years without a return address and pissed off the Feds. Like, seriously, what the fuck guys? We had plans and everything! Why the fuck would you leave me alone for that long? You know how I get when I'm not forced to socialise!"

Ghost snorts. "Don't be a baby."

Pouting, because you’re very mature, you feign a sniffle and stick your tongue out at her. "Weeeeeh."

The dude with the annoyingly short blond hair snorts, consequently gaining your attention, and tries to hide his smile with his cup.

"You're new," you narrow your eyes at him. "Why are you new? And why do you look like the dude that owes me 12K for wrecking my car?"

"Oh my god—" Ghost grumbles in the background, "—not this again."

"I have bills and crippling debts and things that need to be paid for, Ghost!"

"You're a trust fund baby, you shithead!" She argues. "You don't know what crippling debt looks like!"

"You don't know that! My investment portfolio has been crumbling since the stock market crashed last year due to the recession."

Sam grins cheekily at you. "You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

Huffing and puffing, all you can say is. "Let's go back to the what the fuck that needs to be discussed." You glare at him pointedly, "then maybe, we can discuss why you're still here and why you came back from ashes."

"I know you missed me, cupcake." The evil bastard reaches over and pinches your cheek.

"I miss dancing on your grave," You try to swat his hand away, "now, thanks to your selfishness, I need a new dance floor. Very rude of you to not stay dead."

"You're adorable."

"As I was whatting the fucks," You turn back to Hope and Ghost, "when the fuck did my life become Thor versus Thanos, and why am I the Thor without the hammer to fight Thanos?"

"Is that your what the fuck?"  Ghost frowns.

It's her turn to get glared at. "Don't act like you haven't seen the footage. You know exactly how badly Thor got yeeted off his high horse. I'm only regretful that Captain Wrecking Ball wasn't knocked off his."

"You know he's over here, right?" Hope, ever the oblivious one to your obvious jabs, points at the dude that wrecked your car.

"Yeah, unlike my car and the check he has yet to hand over but hey—" lifting up the cup of espresso, you grin at her "—when life gives you lemons."

"I'm still confused and offended about the Thanos reference." Sam, the gift from the bad side of Pandora's box, begins. "What do we have to do with your life?"

"What does pulling a deadbeat dad mean?" The other new dude asks, his face is both the definition of confused and annoyed. "And what does it have to do with the Avengers?"

You frown. "Now I'm confused—"

"Oh no—" Ghost grimaces.

"—Why do you look like the dude from Gossip Girl but also like the dude on the UN's wanted poster of 20something?" You turn to Sam for assistance. "Doesn't he look like that old geezer from the museum?"

Sam grins, leans back in his seat to take a proper look at the manbun dude. Your table is the round one placed at the corner – the irony – and, until recently, it has always been occupied by the four of you. That was before they decided to ghost you for half a decade.

 "Now that you mention it—"

"Oh, fuck off." Manbun snaps at Sam, and you swear you've never fallen in love faster in your entire life than you have in that moment.

Your grin is wide and shit-eating as you put the cup down. You extend your hand to Manbun and wiggle your freshly painted — somehow chapped – fingers.

"I'd tell you my name but it's better if you just called me sweetheart," You’re still grinning. "What's your sign and what time can you pick me up?"

He blinks at you, still confused, and frowns at your hand. Slowly, because you’re a patient girl, you lean over and pry his left hand away from his cup. You place your palm in his and wrap your fingers around each other.

"I'd ask for your name but I think I'll settle for calling you babe," You shake his hand, and then place it back on the cup. "Or hun. I'd call you handsome, but that's too tacky and we—” You point between the both of you, " – don't do tacky."

You sit back in your seat and glance at Sam. "Well... Most of the time anyway."

At this, the rest of your life flashes you a grin. "How does eight o'clock sound?"

"It sounds like a recipe for disaster." Ghost cuts in, narrowing her eyes at you. "Back off, shithead. You've hurt enough of my coworkers"

Jaw dropping and shock feigning, you gasp. "How is that my fault?"

"Is that joke?" Ghost frowns, "because I feel like it's a joke. Three incidences with the analysts and five tech support team make it look like a joke."

You scoff at that. "Look, if your little back up boys can't handle the essence of a real woman, then that's not my fault." Confidently – and silently annoyed – you also add. "Plus, I actually did SHIELD, or whatever ridiculous name you're calling the remake of a failed organisation, a favour. If your boys behind the boys in spandex can't handle being told off by a 'mouse' as they call us, then they shouldn't be behind the dude that wrecked my car.

 "But now that I've said that out loud—" You pause, "—I finally understand why the Avengers are so bad at their job. I mean, with such poor support systems, it's no wonder boy blue and red uses cars as a landing mechanism. It's almost as if he's never heard of a parachute."

There's a pregnant pause as you pretend to ponder the situation. The new dude with the blond hair has visibly turned red and is shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Manbun has a very permanent looking frown smeared all over his face and you’re pretty sure you've just ruined whatever chances you had of giving him children. And Sam, because he's Sam and is patiently waiting his turn to roast you, has the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

Ghost pretends to scowl at you, even though you’re pretty sure she's already drawing up the schematics for the pedestal she's about to build for you. Hope, because she's Hope and has first-hand experience of dealing with spoilt little brats that use creative antics to slowly drive people away, decides to use that exact moment to sigh and expose you.

"Hey sweetheart," she begins in that voice of betrayal. "Can you, like, not be an antisocial, territorial pain in the ass for five minutes and be nice? Stop trying to get our guests to leave with your little mind games, yeah?"

You blink at her. Once, twice. Because the betrayal always takes a few moments to sink in.

"They're not mind games." You retort. "Boy Blue over there did wreck my car. He used it to cushion his fall, because apparently the super-secret organisation that harbours entitled idiots doesn't invest in parachutes."

"But you don't even need that 12K—"

"I didn't ask for the 12k. I just simply pointed out that his reckless behaviour is very costly for those who suffer for it."

"Okay, guys—" Ghost tries to interject, but it's too late. The fire has already started, and Hope and you have never been on the same page when it comes to anything involving the Avengers.

"You're being unreasonable now. You, of all people, should understand that some things are out of our control."

"That doesn't excuse or make the damage done alright. The ruining of people’s livelihoods isn’t a necessary evil for your super heroe'ing righteousness." You point out, eyes narrowed, and teeth bared. "I, of all people, don't understand your defence. Because I don't use the lab that made me as an excuse to get away with the bad shit I do to people. Whether intentionally or not."

"Really? Because you weren't singing that same song when you cashed in on all that HYDRA inheritance."

"I am not the people that made me and it's not like I'm vacationing the money away. Or have you forgotten about that harbour I had to fix because your boyfriend decided to grow a few sizes?"

"Oh, how could I forget? It's not like you rub it in his face every time he tries to so much as even say hi to you."

"People should be held accountable for their actions. Excuse me for exercising my fifth amendment because I don't think communicating with the guy that turned your dad into a fugitive by siding with the anti-accords gang is cool!"

"That accords was messed and you know it!"

“Yeah, but I didn’t go around trying to be a vigilante about it!”

"Just admit that your stance for the accords is only because you need the government's protection against ex-Hydra agents."

She hit a cord and she knows it. "You're treading on very thin ice, Hope."

 "Scared they might come back and finish what they started? Now that Pierce and Rumlow are gone, there's nothing stopping them from finishing what they started, is there?"

"You know," You sigh, reaching for Ghost's drink and taking a sip. "At least, I don't have to abduct a man from his home, nearly ruin his chances at freedom, risk his life numerous times for my personal gain, just cause I have a theory about my mom's whereabouts. And then—" You let out a condescending laugh at the thought, "—have the audacity to look him in the eye and call it love. Because, ya know, turning a guy into a science experiment and berating him for doing what he thought was right is so romantic."

She's turning red. You can see it before it actually happens and there is a sick sense of pleasure coursing through your veins at the thought. At the fact that you’re the one pressing all the buttons.

Boy, are you fucked up.

"Damn." Sam mumbles, then chortles, then belts out a laugh. "Shit. Who pissed in your gourmet breakfast?"

"People," You scowl at him. “Fucking people. Because, now call me a bitch if you insist, I don't remember telling management to sign a deal with SHIELD."

"What the fuck?" Ghost, ever so caring, contributes to your bewilderment and pissy mood.

You nod frantically at her. "Exactly! What the fuck! Do you see why I needed you guys so bad? Like, it's like the creation of the Strike Force all over again!"

"Hold on—" Captain Damage Ball cuts in. "—I'm confused. What exactly is going on and what does SHIELD have to do with it?"

"Oh boy. Germany, here we go again—"

"Don't be an asshole, shithead."

 --

 When SHIELD fell and Black Widow released all those classified documents to the public, your existence was made known to the public. It turned out that running a terrorist cell inside a super-secret organisation wasn't the only thing Pierce had hidden from the world. You were.

You were supposed to be an experiment. Another volunteer, like the Twins, for Hydra's ultimate plan. Another Bucky Barnes, but without the constant torture to keep you mindless and loyal.

 You were supposed to be the next generation. The Rumlow that wouldn't need force and violence to get the job done. That was the requirement. Those were the orders. That's what you were supposed to be.

Instead, somewhere deep in the dark, cold corners of an abandoned Hydra lab, the inhumane attempt of creating Winter Soldiers through 'natural means' had taken place.

The surrogates were all volunteers, the scientist claimed.

The procedure was necessary for the mission, the doctor explained.

This is the only way forward, the master mind behind that plan argued.

Rumlow took care of the agents himself. Pierce burned down that lab himself. And, out of all the children born, you were the only one that lived longer than the rest. The others were unfortunate enough to be experimented on, before Rumlow found out.

Not knowing who to trust, Pierce kept you hidden from the world and Hydra. He never hid the truth from you, nor did Rumlow. They knew that, at some point, those that knew about the lab would eventually find you, and you needed to be prepared for when they did.

When SHIELD fell, the paper trail that led to your existence was small – miniscule, even – but it was there. Sam found it, but he kept you a secret as well until you were ready for the whole world to know.

But the world wasn't waiting for you to be ready. It wasn't that patient, nor kind. Because, with everything out in the open, chaos ensued, and you were still – at the end of the day – the next generation. All those assets couldn't remain frozen forever and all those lives that were ruined by Hydra couldn't remain unaided.

So, you had to step out and – begrudgingly – announce your existence to the world. Put a huge target on your back and claim the inheritance that Pierce had unwittingly left you.

"I'm gonna go piss off alot of bad people—" You had said to Sam over the phone, right before your News Interview. "What do you think I should start with?"

He wasn't having any of it. "Did you just wait for me to leave the country so you could do something stupid?"

"Of course not, I'm not you—" You scoffed, checking your outfit again. "—I hired a hacker to fake a series of cyber-attacks. Then I asked that girl, you know – the one that could walk through walls, to freak a bunch of people out. So, you know, it could be an Avenger level threat, but not the kind that needed Captain Spandex, so they'd send you. Then I scheduled the interview for the night of the supposed attack, because I knew you'd be gone—"

"Are you kidding me, Y/N— Clint, turn this thing around now!"

"—So, I was thinking I show up on stage and say 'the law says I can take all those assets and I'm gonna use them to do the exact opposite of what my ex-bosses would've wanted'. How does that sound?"

"Do me a favour. Don't move. I wanna kill you myself."

You grinned. "I knew you'd love it."

--

Next Part

TAGS: @nekoannie-chan​ , @thorfanficwriter​

[riseandshinelittleblossom]

Hoping for Home Ch. 1 ~ Consequences

Summary: Sixteen years ago Libby Scott was supposed to become Queen of Cordonia, but Fate had other plans.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the TRR characters, they own me.

Song rec for this Chapter: “Consequences” by Camila Cabello

Taglist: @fullbeaumonty @cocomaxley @leelee10898 @speedyoperarascalparty @hopefulmoonobject @katurrade @indiacater @choiceswreckedme @ritachacha @noey718-blog @carabeth @daniv2278 @cosigottahavefaith @ao719

    Libby groaned as she rolled over in bed, slapping her alarm. Setting her feet on the floor with a grumble, she wiped her face before heading down the hallway to flip on the other bedroom lights.

     “School. Up. Now.” She commanded loudly, rounding the corner and plodding to the kitchen.

    Just as she was taking her first sweet sip of coffee, her daughter entered the kitchen. “Morning!” Emma sang as she opened the fridge, her blue eyes shining and bright blonde hair flying like a halo around her.

   Libby paused to observe the young girl, wondering for the millionth time if her ungodly cheer at this early hour was a trait she had somehow inherited from her father. If the man Libby was thinking of really was Emma's father.

   “Where's your brother?” Libby asked, gulping the warm liquid in her mug.

   “You know Will. I haven't seen him yet.” Emma responded, pouring herself a tall glass of orange juice.

   Libby rolled her eyes. “William! I'm coming with the wooden spoon if I don't see you in five minutes!” She hollered. After a few beats she heard the grumblings of her teenage son as he shuffled about getting ready for school. He definitely took after her in the morning.

   Still, she contemplated as she propped herself in his doorjamb, there were things about him that reminded her of both of the men she'd left behind so many years ago.

    He had the blue eyes, which both men shared and the broad shoulders. His hair was a shade of dark, dirty blonde somewhere between them both.

   Libby sighed. “You've got your last final today huh?”

  Will nodded as he tied his sneaker. “I'm not worried. It's history.”

   “Even if history is your favorite subject, don't blow this off. Will, I'm serious. If you don't get an A they're going to hold you back. Do you really wanna stay behind while Emma becomes a junior?”

   “Okay, Mom. I know how important it is. And this time I really did study,alright?”

   Libby nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

   “Don't forget you both owe me a shift at the shop after school.” She told her daughter.

   Emma nodded. Will walked into the kitchen taking a gulp of his sister's oj as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

  “Come on. We're gonna be late.” He said grabbing the keys to their shared car.

   Emma rolled her eyes. “I've been waiting on you ya know. Bye Mom. Love you.”

  “Yeah love ya mom.” Will kissed his mother's cheek.

  “I love you both. Seat belts and drive safe!” She called as the teenagers bounded out the door.

       Drake turned down the long, dirt driveway towards the farm. It was smaller than his mother's, but he could definitely tell they'd been expanding since his last trip here.

  After unloading the horses from the trailer and sorting out the finer points of his delivery to Mr. Sawyer, he climbed back into the truck.

   “Hey Dad?” asked the young girl in the passenger's seat.

   Drake quirked an eyebrow as he pulled onto the main road.

   “Can we find a coffee shop? Like a real one. Not a roadside diner. I really want to get a chai tea.”

   “Chai tea? What even is that?” He scoffed, but the fourteen-year-old batted her lashes, undeterred.

   “Alright fine. We'll get checked in at the hotel and I'll ask the attendant about where to get chai tea.”

      The girl at the front desk had pointed Drake and McKenzie to a small place called The Nook. They pushed inside the tiny shop and Drake jammed his hands in his pockets, surveying the cozy surroundings as Mack stepped up to order.

    The boy behind the counter seemed nice enough, but Drake eyed him carefully taking note that he'd placed his hand close to McKenzie's on the counter as he leaned in to talk to her.

     He'd been paying so much attention to his daughter flirting with the cashier that he hadn't noticed the woman walking through the shop, pausing at each table to make sure the patrons we're satisfied. Then he heard her laugh.It was a deep, pristine sound. The kind of laugh that was real and came straight from someone's belly and Drake was certain that he'd heard it before.

    Like a swirling vortex the memories from years long since passed flooded over him. Ballrooms and waltzes and all of the fixtures of the royal court that Drake hated from his old life back in Cordonia raced to the forefront of his mind as he spun on his heels to find the source.

   And just like that, there she was, wearing the same smile that could light up a room almost seventeen years ago. It was like no time had passed for her at all and he felt his jaw go slack as he stared at her.

    “L-Libby? Libby Scott as I live and breathe.” Drake heard the words fall from his lips before his mind even registered that he'd said them.

****************************

           Libby heard someone call her name and she froze in place, recognizing the smooth, even voice instantly.

   She flipped her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder as she turned in the direction of the voice.

   “Drake Walker? Is that you?” She flashed him a smile, crossing the floor to embrace her old friend. Internally she was screaming.

    “How the hell are you? It's been a long time.”

     “I’ll say. 16 years is a very long time. What are you doing in Georgia?” Drake asked.

    “Oh I um...this is home now. This is my coffee shop.” Libby told him, gesturing around the room.

    “No kidding? It's a nice place, Scott. Not quite my scene, but it's nice. No offense.”

   “Same ole Drake. I guess some things never change huh?” She laughed.

   “Guess not. I- I only came in because my daughter,” Drake began pointing toward McKenzie. “begged for a...some kind of tea.”

   “Daughter? The girl my son, Will is practically drooling over right now?”

   Drake whipped his head around to see a blonde, blue- eyed girl slap the cashier's arm. He smiled again at McKenzie before following the other girl into the back.

   “That's your boy?” He continued to watch as Libby's son reemerged, a stack of paper coffee cups in his hand as he began to restock them. Drake edged closer to the counter, surveying the teenager in earnest.

    “Drake he's not...it's not what you think..” Libby tried to lie. Her old friend didn't take his eyes off of her son as he replied, “It's not? Because I think I'm looking at the heir to the Cordonian crown, Scott. Tell me I'm wrong.”

   His brown eyes met hers in an intense stare as she bit her lower lip.

    “Tell me that's not Liam's son.”

    “He might be.” She whispered.

   “Might be? What the hell does that mean?” Drake's tone was hushed but harsh as McKenzie stepped up to them. She handed her father his black coffee with a smile.

    “Ready to go?” She asked.

    “Uh, actually, Mack, thi-this is Libby Scott. She's an old friend of mine from back home. Lib, this is my daughter McKenzie.”

   “Nice to meet you Ms. Scott. You're from Cordonia too?”

  “New York, actually. But I lived in Cordonia for a time many, many moons ago.”

  “Listen I've got to get her settled, but can I...can we talk? Like really talk? Me and Mack are in town for a few days. Maybe we can..get some food or something?” Drake asked, still sneaking glances back at Will.

  Libby gulped, her eyes fixing on anything but him. For so long she had worried that this day would come. She took a deep breath knowing she could no longer run from her past.

   “I'd love to.” She lied.

   “Mom!” Emma called from behind the counter. “Will won't take the trash out..”

  Libby sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I'm coming.”

    Drake's eyes went wide as he watched the exchange. “Scott, I thought you said you had a son.”

   She gave him a sorrowful glance, knowing this was a lot for him to digest. “I do. Will is my son.” She pointed first at the boy, then at the blonde girl from earlier.

  “Emma is my daughter. They're-”

  “Twins. Twins run in the Rhys family.” Drake mumbled.

   “ Listen I have to handle these ingrates,” Libby joked, trying to lighten the mood. “we close at 5. Would you and McKenzie like to meet us here? I'll cook you guys something special at my house.”

   “We'll be here because you and I-” Drake motioned between the two of them.

  “I'll explain everything, Drake. I promise.”

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

Oh that's true, shimmer may have different purities. Now that I think about it, since shimmer most probably comes from flowers that Rio is fed - it may not even be necessary that only Silco produces it.

Sevika's arm moves even w/o shimmer, but it's really jerky, like in this scene. I think she just uses minimal amount of shimmer necessary to keep her arm functioning smoothly day to day. That's why she has whole power up mechanisms especially designed for fighting. Because even if slowly that thing is poisoning her. Imo. she knows what she's playing with.

Pink and teal with shimmer always make me think of Rio's tummy.

And the fact that you noticed chemtech was already there made me rewatch parts of first episodes.

This is what I find in first episode:

It makes me think how much of structures set in by Vander has Silco inherited? Like we see mostly Vander from Vi's and rest of the kids idealised point of view, and mostly in Last Drop, but this exchange at Benzo's shop is very ambiguous?

Like what does Benzo mean by 'My guys are still rounding up this months collections?'. Like that sounds like a 'mafia protection tax'. Is Vander just roleplaying coming in with the loot to keep appearance and he & Benzon just run the underground together?

Did Silco inherit the proto-chembarons and the first suit was developed before he even inherited the last drop by Renni and Smeech?

Like all dates in Council Archives for Caitlyn and Vi are blocked out. Since in 'In plain sight case' that 'PRESS RELEASE' is REJECTED BY ORDER OF CAPTAIN MARCUS - Marcus is still a captain, not a sheriff.

Which makes me wonder if Marcus followed in Greyson's footsteps and took her place under Silco, how much Caitlyn was following in his footsteps? Like was he also an 'idealising enforcers and Piltover' man before the story started, seeing inconsistencies in Greyson's files and trying to prove it to her/council. Same path Caitlyn took just thankfully with Vi.

We'll probably only know once Warwick comes around. But having both Caitlyn and Vi both idealise their mentors Greyson & Vander while seeing issues with Marcus & Silco may be very interesting - plot direction - if actually both pairs weren't that different.

Like imo. the people who have the clearest view of what was the underground before and after Silco took his reign is Sevika and Viktor. Jinx and Ekko are both too traumatised in different ways and were children when that took place. And imo. that is why Viktor has nearly no screen time with any other character relevant to the plot topside, because it may be that Vander to Silco transition wasn't that much of a drastic change for the undercity. It may have been an exchange of one mob boss to another for most citizens.

Also I think the plot will examine more of what was the undercity and how it changed, because we get this foreshadowing? if it is foreshadowing that is:

Because isn't that the council or academy building?

I mean these two could stand there for all eternity trying to figure it out, Caitlyn has not yet been to the undercity and Jayce has been there several years ago to the lanes only. This is their whole season 1 character arcs - the learning curve how the system works: one on personal level and the other on systemic one. Right?

That's why I think this learning how Piltover - undercity relation works will be continued till the end of the show. Characters are only there to explore it from different perspectives. And Jinx is there to push the plot forward since we haven't seen all of it yet. I mean that's how I'd structure it as a writer, but I'm not that interested in character drama for drama's sake.

Also since now there was the whole parallel between Jayce & Jinx with 'we need to make weapons' influenced respectively by system/people around them, I wonder if there will be similar parallel between Viktor & Ekko next season just about something else. Because for now we've only seen Heimerdinger seeing the 'nice' side of Ekko's commune, the image he sees is pretty utopian - but what about when/if firelights need to fight. Like for now the hoverboard is an ingenious safe gadget for kids to play around treehouse, not a tool Ekko and firelights use to protect themselves and fight for Zaun. I don't want to be the person to say it about the old grampa, but we've seen him be super supportive of Jayce. He even relinquished making 200th Progress Day speech of his career - the sacrifice - and allowed Jayce to do it instead at council's suggestion, but that lasts until he deems something unsafe and Jayce doesn't step out of the line he set. So idk, bombing his city of progress main building may be eh... he doesn't even know Marcus and the rest of enforcers are dead. And Ekko saw it.

Like Heimerdinger goes to the undercity - feels unwelcome and just decides to go back without doing anything, then finds probably the only person in the undercity that makes him feel welcome and still a good person. That doesn't feel like confronting the issue of the undercity for him. The issue is, Ekko is not a cute gifted kid from the undercity living in a treehouse - he's a fighter for his community that makes difficult decisions and takes actions against the enforcers. Heimerdinger is not just nice scientist - councilor, at least doesn't feel like that, he's a person that time and again blocks giving technology into dangerous hands. What are these dangerous hands that Jayce & Viktor have to spend a decade to build in safeguards against misuse, we never learn. But obviously hexgates and the council aren't those hands, 'coz he's happy with the hexgates.

So idk, if mining and artificer tools are too dangerous to be given away to everyone, I'm really skeptical with how Heimerdinger will view hoverboards that are used for fighting. By the firelights 'gang', which name he also didn't hear because he was already off the council by that point.

But it may not be the case, Arcane is such a complex show because it relies on keeping track of all the scenes for each character and what they know/don't know.

Arcane plotlines / Shimmer & Chemtech - Zaun's national exports

So this is continuation of Arcane plotlines / Fissures, illness & mines . Shimmer & Chemtech are one of few - aside from cheap labour - quality products of Zaun's economic situation. We get to know one of Zaun's native tech's shimmer and it's development really well, but very little about chemtech. And then we also see shimmer no. 2 or some other substance - the orange one.

It's good to remember that no tech in this story is good/bad - it's always how one uses it. Shimmer is best example - it can save someone from brink of death and destroy someone else.

While political-economic subjects are not at the forefront of season 1 - imo. it's only because most characters have not exchange any information about what they know, and most - mainly Caitlyn - even don't know what they don't know.

So we need to trust our eyes and go to our main source of reliable information broken-dreamer turned mob-dad Silco and his export enterprise. This is what brings him and Jayce together in the end to arrange Zaun's independence. Unsuccessfully, but hey - season 2 goals.

Shimmer was developed by Singed, most probably while attempting to ease pain of countless surgeries of his daughter as her body was failing from being poisoned by chemical spill. Likely somewhere between Viktor's first flashback and him joining Silco - her body failed completely or she was completely transformed into automaton. One way or another shimmer was developed too late to save Orianna as she was.

Shimmer has many qualities - eases pain, literally and symbolically, of people of the undercity. But we know from Sevika's arm that it's not clear cut case if you succumb to shimmer addiction and/or how quickly. Anyway Caitlyn the ex-enforcer is on the Grand Conspiracy case to bring the proof to Marcus, so she wants to find culprit responsible for all the misery of the undercity.

Then uses shimmer to save Vi from her wounds. Irony, right?

I'm just going to assume it's not shimmer that causes the undercity's misery, shimmer overuse is the symptom.

Anyway from the 2nd act intro song - Dirty Little Animals - we get more shimmer info:

Such a lovely way to burn burn burn I never felt like this before I think I might just want some more (...) It makes your blood run hot It makes your spit taste sweet It makes you feel more alive Than you have ever been Throw it into your mouth Gets stuck between your teeth Why would you die up there When you can live underneath (...) Novicane Never same Giving local luck But when you go under you will never go back up

Novocaine works by blocking the nerves in your body from sending pain signals to your brain. / google It's good to remember that from Council Archives and from the show we learn that a lot of people sympathise with Silco's vision of independent Zaun. Not only Babbette and Jericho kind of only not answer Vi questions - everyone knows Powder became Jinx, just Vi quest is less important than Silco's goal. Babbette life is better ie.

But more importantly Silco has more sway than the chembarons in ordinary people working for their mob enterprise (from CRIMINAL PROFILE - WORK IN PROGRESS "CHROSS")

NE: Chross? What do you want to know? (...) ENFORCER: Did you know that he's from Piltover? NE: He may come from up here, but he's a citizen of the nation of Zaun. ENFORCER The what? NE: An independent nation. If we don't get the luxuries of living under you, why should we be ENFORCERed by your laws? Should we not make our own? A government that works for us instead of against us?! (...) ENFORCER: Someone else. His boss? NE: I ain't telling you EXPLETIVE.

Remember, loyalty. Shimmer became Silco's export product - through Piltover's Hexgates. Where? To Noxus most likely. Or Ionia. Both? Since there are bribes involved - we already know that's it's not easy to smuggle illegal things out of Hexgates. For Silco that is or the undercity. Right?

But then the tragedy struck all the underhanded hexgates exports, Jinx herself.

And well that gets Jayce and Viktor called in like two schoolboys into the council meeting, Jayce being recommended to protect the safety of Piltover as new councilor.

The wine must flow, among other things.

And Jayce conscientiously sets on this security task like a man who never stepped a foot out of his lab and understood the system... or on path to fix Piltover's security in another way than closing Hexgates, by tightening security of the Hexgates. Which as we'll learn in the same episode is as if he closed Hexgates.

See Silco exploited the loose Hexgate security to benefit of his own goal - Nation of Zaun, but there are more important people and institutions benefitting passively or actively from lack of security. Because tightening of security leads to this:

I love two well three things about this scene. Well four. Five:

1. Heimerdinger may appear uncorrupt but one doesn't need to engage in active acts of corruption to benefit from it. It really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things if you take bribe to the hand or through an institution, right? I mean Academy is his crowning project of the city that is the bastion of enlightenment.

2. Amara is harmless btw. that's why enforcer went knocking at her door. Imo. Amara is the main export trader of Zauns other good - chemtech. This is where shipment manifestos pointed.

3. Councilor Salo and Hoskel have this little friendly trade with Noxus, they ship them wine - and Noxus ships them spirits. And also the two of them always vote together. 'Coz they hate each other... oh Jayce.

4. Mel wins this convo with Jayce and get's eveything she wants.

5. From now onwards - Jayce, without realising it (until going to the undercity), has become the most economically powerful lobbyist in position of power. Thanks to Hexgates illegal trade. Haha. Irony.

This is the reason all of them vote out Heimerdinger from the council, and this is the reason why while screaming objections they still vote for the peace deal and independent Zaun.

Personal Hexgates profits > profits from the undercity, well Personal Hexgates profits trump everything for the council.

Fictional mechanics of politics are just as strange as real world politics. Right?

Anyway, now for less well known of Zaun's products - Chemtech.

We only hear about it from Caitlyn's files, and of course Vi doesn't take her on her little revenge ride - just her not-brother. Because Caitlyn would recognise those suits as belonging and developed for Renni and immediately know they are not one off as stolen by her files suggested (in plain sight / council archives). Also would know that missing children were involved and some child experiments - I mean a hospital. Well we'll know more since Marcus led this case so who knows whose mess he was covering up, but the jist and more is in Arcane plotlines / Fissures, illness & mines :

ENFORCER The chemicals… What did they do? BGW I don't know. ENFORCER Was it shimmer? BGW Not like any shimmer I'd seen before. ENFORCER How was it different? BGW It powered their machines. ENFORCER These illegal experiments. BGW...Yes. ENFORCER And did you ever catch a glimpse of who was running things? BGW She wore a suit- UNKNOWN Officer, stop the recording.

Chemtech will probably be one of the main storylines in season 2. This is root of Caitlyn's Grand Conspiracy, this is what she needs to solve, not Shimmer.

We also know from lore that Warwick hunts down chembarons, Ekko as well, Viktor kind of has a big issue with them, and most other characters from Zaun do. So I can only assume it's a storyline.

We also know chemtech is made from sump toxins, probably distilled. But then was engineered on human subjects?

Anyway Silco's aim to built up Nation of Zaun has gifted him - his own corrupt version of council. The chembarons, but he can control them much better - just with force and a little scare. All that to say, Renni is one of them:

And she has her mechendise frozen at the border, what is it?

I assume chemtech.

Because funny enough chemtech has been acquired from Zaun by Noxus as weapons of mass destruction in Ionia. So few possible links:

1. Mel by accident helped her brother to export through harmless Amara chemical weapons from Zaun. Her brother is dead for it, just Ambessa doesn't know why he died. Or does know.

2. The man with a grudge against Medarda clan can by lore only be : Urgot - who ends up in Zaun (if he hasn't already) or Darius - who takes whole Noxian honour seriously and lost his lover/co-warrior when she left Noxian army after seeing the devastation chemtech created. Both are executioners, lol.

Oh and we know something somewhere makes sense for Jayce and Silco.

Funny detail from Caitlyn's council archives, Silco asked Chross's (another chembaron from Piltover) hitman to leave old Progress Day pins on every hit. That self-made man just keeps on giving with his salt against Piltover. And honorable mention, imo,. Shimmer 2.0 - the orange one (lime green may be chemtech) Singed manage to complete to finally revived Vander... er... Warwick. We know these two substance don't point to Silco - that's why they're in "it's the firelights" grenade Jinx makes. I think.

And that these two neutralise each other? Maybe.

But since Singed researches substances from flowers, I think it may be plausible that another person stumbled on the same properties - one who also researches flowers/plants and comes from similar place - Sky Young. Other posts by me - Arcane meta analysis posts - mostly politics, tech and character parallels.

[sugarsculls]

Ok so I haven't watched s3 yet but I've seen some screencaps and there's a scene where Zarkon says "my fellow galra king Alfor has destroyed or home" or something like that and in the crowd there seem to be galteans?? Am I mistaken? Because more galteans make the possibility of galtean-human Keith greater and that's so exciting to me

ok so I agreed but I had to go back just to make sure, ya know? Anyway I did and??? The family right there is so obviously mixed. They don’t look full galra whatsoever. (Also while we’re at it can we look at the markings those Alteans have??? Do those mean something??? I want to know the truth??? Maybe they’re also mixed?)

One thing I’ve noticed about what we’ve seen thus far of fullblooded galra is that they’re either hairless and look reptilian, or they look furry (sometimes both) and usually have markings or very specific and unique facial features. Also, about half, maybe more, of the pure blooded Galra we’ve seen haven’t had irises or pupils, just pure golden eyes. Maybe it’s a result of quintessence? Mixed galra tend to have hair, actual eye colors, and no markings sometimes if they’re Galtean. (Lotor, presumably Acxa) These guys in the back don’t necessarily look galtean (though we don’t know for sure) but they’re definitely mixed race. Not that features can’t jump and some may be more dominant than others, they definitely can, but they are probably not full galra. Maybe 3/4 galra and 1/4 altean or some other sort of alien race.

I definitely think mixed race aliens are very common, but not necessarily within the Galra Empire, at least not within high ranking officials. Let’s look at how Throk spoke about Lotor and his generals.

Something that’s interesting here to me: “half-br**ds (that’s a slur, since aliens are coded as races here and not species) at best.” Which means, it’s very well possible some of Lotor’s generals barely have any Galra in them. If I had to choose, I think Ezor would be the one who has the least amount of galra heritage, considering her markings, abilities, colors, and overall look don’t seem Galra at all. In fact the only galra traits I can think of are the yellow eyes and the butterfly ears (that’s what I call them anyway, with the pointed earlobe). Which means it’s more than just biracial, but mixed race aliens with multiple heritages exist. Just like real life.

I think Zethrid may be the best example of what someone who is half galra would look like. I think she may have more galra heritage in her than other alien species. I’m beginning to wonder myself if Lotor is even blood related to Zarkon (I know it’s dumb but for all we know he was artificially created with quintessence, or maybe he’s been a druid all this time, who even knows) because the way he looks screams that he has more Altean, maybe even human, genes in him than Galran. 

Anyway my point is, when you look at what we’ve been given (and despite the fact that while we have been told multiple times that there are female galra officers, isn’t the fact that we haven’t seen any kinda fishy?) it’s just not possible for Keith to be half galra, especially with that scene with Hunk in season 2 where he asks Keith how Galra he was, and Keith responds that he doesn’t know. Keith having a Galtean mother makes most sense because at the end of the day unless they experimented on him as a baby or put a spell on him that physically changed his appearance to look exactly like a human’s, there’s no way Keith could be half Galra.

I really do think he’s galtean-human, because it’s what makes sense. Keith would have inherited galra traits. He’d look like Lotor, with fangs, purple or blue or gray skin, yellow eyes, etc...unless he actually does. That’s where his Altean heritage comes into play. Maybe his Altean genes are subconsciously making him shapeshift to fit in with his environment, and the Keith we see now isn’t what he really looks like. 

I don’t think asking Keith how galra he was was any coincidence. I do think his mother is at the most half galra. Maybe he’s not galtean at all, maybe Keith is 3 / 4 human and only 1/4 galra! We just don’t know but if Lotor and his generals are meant to be biracial “at best” there is no way Keith can be half galra.

Idk I know I’m taking this too seriously and I’m looking way into it. It’s almost 1 am but I can go on and on about this theory. I really do believe in galtean Keith. If Keith is half galra, then I expect some amazing explanation as to how they were able to physically change his appearance to make it so that he looked fully human. Magic or science I don’t care but it would need to be a damn good explanation. I can’t buy that human genes are so dominant they overpower galran genes to the point of not leaving a single trace of anything otherworldly behind.

[rndyounghowze]

Broadway Theatre of Pitman Gives US Sanctuary with The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Pitman, NJ

By Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

Broadway Theatre of Pitman really rang a bell with me in their production of Hunchback of Notre Dame. This musical with music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by Peter Parnell was directed by John Stephan and gave us sanctuary for the night.

All Quasimodo ever wanted was one day out in the normal world. But his adopted Father Dom Frollo forbids it. But on the Festival of Fools he ventures out and meets a lovely Gypsy girl named Esmeralda. After seeing the world she opens up for him can he ever venture back in?

Direction and Choreography by John Stephan brought his usual flair for brilliant character work and expansive dance choreography. You can tell that Stephan puts his heart and soul in everything. The dance numbers did not disappoint. You had the huge stage stealing tentpoles that make us celebrate and the small intimate choreography that steals your heart.

Now for character work I have say that I don't know whether my criticism here is an acting choice, a script problem, or a director choice. I found it a strange choice for Quasimodo to talk in a lisp while speaking to some people and dropping it to sing beautifully or talk to other people. It's not the problem of his angelic singing voice that melts my soul like butter it's the problem that it rings unauthentic for a person with a speech disability to suddenly be able to sing.

Also I don't know why but there seemed to be more questions left unanswered by Quasimodo's disability than not. Such as if he is a bit deaf why can he hear things said behind him? And if he's reading lips why isn't he looking at people's faces? This is most likely a problem that production inherited from the script but characters with disabilities deserve to have that extra work done to provide great representation for the community of a differently abled audience. Oh I understand that realism is out the window in a play where he's talking to gargoyles. However you can't rest on your laurels just looking "infirm" you have to make sure your performance does not seem unauthentic to who the musical says Quasimodo is.

Other than my questions about Quasimodo (played by Will K. Carey) this guy is what Dana called "scary good" and has a wicked talent about him. He brings a sincerity to the character that I haven't seen in a long time. He makes us immediately feel like this character is someone that we know.

Although I feel that the villainous character of Frollo became bastardized by the musical adaptation our onstage Frollo (played by CJ Kish) did not disappoint in his performance. Because this new framing had him seeming more misguided than evil he was able to show a good man gone wrong. We are watching a journey of a Godly man turning into a monster.

Phoebus (played by Justin Boyd) cut a dashing figure in a cape and sword. Dana informed me I should mention that he was very handsome. I will say that we both agree that his voice was as smooth as silk and rich as cream. And his chemistry with Esmeralda was very nice.

Esmeralda (played by Shannon Q. Harkins) had that instantly approachable quality without seeming too vulnerable. She became my handhold into the musical. Her reactions and views of the world became mine. She gave the character sensuality without making her an object. No matter how other people objectified her she carried the character like a human being.

I respect anyone who can turn a cartwheel and still sing in tune and Clopin (played by Matthew Robertson) delivers. I especially love his performance in the Court of Miracles number. Instead of a Punchinello type character we get a true leader of the Romani.

I need to give a special shout out to the Jarema brothers: CJ Jarema and Andrew Jarema. I had a hard time counting all the roles they played in the course of two acts. I do know their hard work tired me out!

Krystina Hawkinson first wowed Dana and I in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we really loved seeing her again last night! We feel we got a really good sense of her range and talent in this show.

The minute I heard that choir I had chills up and down my spine. There are so many things that you can do with a stationary choir that you can't do with an ensemble and this show has both a choir AND an ensemble of storytellers! You can fill the entire house with the magic of the human voice and for a show about a famous Cathedral you have a huge atmosphere to create! Dana and I were divided. She thinks we could have had the choir doing something more than just sitting there. They could have been part of the action more. I believe they were just perfect and I wish that the story teller ensemble had just stayed still and joined the choir. Be sure to go and tell us what you think.

Then you hear this orchestra under the musical Direction of Jack Hill that sounds as soft as heaven one moment and as firey as gates of hell the next. The orchestra made good use of strings and percussion to sound much bigger than it was.

Set Design by David DeWeil never disappoints! I loved the expansiveness of the set which stood almost as monolithic as the great cathedral herself. However I couldn't help but notice that some of the wagons buckled and swayed as actors walked on them. If they're going to hold the weight of actors then it should support them without the audience thinking about why it's moving on its own. I say this out of love because it's beautiful.

Lighting Design by Shawn McGovern really kept a dark and dismal atmosphere throughout. I noticed that he played really heavily with light and shadow and rich shades of purple. Probably the best lighting design I've seen at Pitman in a while.

Costume Design by Thom Sirkot played with the ideas of clean and ragged. You could tell what classof society characters were by their clean white robes, their dirty smocks, or their garish colorful dresses. However onstage costume changes at the beginning seemed a little too awkward but that might have been the complex nature of them. I am sure that most nights they work like a charm.

I was so glad to see fight choreography onstage in South Jersey that finally made sense! And this past stage armorer appreciates the work of fight director Rocco Barbera in this show. But it's not without it's problems. If you're going to do dazzling sword work then don't take actors acting at full speed and make them go through fight choreography that runs at half speed. Actually let the swords hit each other. Also make sure the actors are actually moving like they want to hit something. But it was the best sword choreography I've seen in three years. If I wasn't such a stickler I would say it was the best in six.

Of course the stage was graced with hair and wig Design by John Rattacasa. I have to confess that I'm such a fan of Mr. Rattacasa that anytime I see good hair onstage I go "that's an original masterpiece by John"! And I often start bragging about wigs that aren't his. John wigged the entire female ensemble in this show and if you can't tell it's because he's just... that...good! He's my theatre good luck charm for a reason!

Before I go I have a "behind the scenes" moment for you. At intermission an usher came to our row and announced that no one should be using their cellphones. Dana was able to whisper to her that we were reviewing the show and were invited. People often ask us why we don’t just show up to show unannounced and uninvited. This is why.

There are a lot of rules for theatre reviewers and they're all about making sure the venue, the reviewer, and the audience have the best experience ever. Normally we are invited to a press night at BTOP but in this instance it was not possible in which this case means we come in whenever schedules allow. Press nights are important to make sure that reviewers don't hinder someone's fun in the course of their duties. I would love to see press openings standardized all over South Jersey

You have more chances to see this show if you haven't already seen it. Even though it's not a favorite libretto of mine the cast has several ovation worthy moments. It's really worth it.