#It does also raise the possibility that the entity is altering people’s minds

[masterqwertster]

Orym + Situations™️ #16?

Prompt 16 Meeting Past/Future Self

Orym sits before Will and Derrig's graves on a misty morning. Contemplating the cairn stones, Derrig's breastplate, Will's sword.

There's a flash of light, reds and blues, and his eyes raise in time to see a small figure around his size tumble to the ground only to quickly pop back up, a sword and shield at the ready as they scan around themself.

The distant thought that Orym should prepare himself to fight, or to flee and report this stranger's appearance within Zephrah's borders, drifts through his head. But like many thoughts these days, it barely moves him.

The mist-obscured figure seems to relax, just a bit, when no one and nothing leaps out to greet them. They go into a slow turn, likely taking in their surroundings in more detail now that immediate fight or flight are off the table.

And they startle to a stop facing Orym. Or at least, he's pretty sure they're facing him based on the blurred outline of their form.

"Hello?" they softly call out.

Orym almost doesn't answer. He doesn't know who this person is, why they're here, or even how they got here (though magic seems to be the culprit). But there's something about their voice that is almost... familiar. And the gentle tone of inquiry used makes it clear whoever they are, they aren't interested in fighting first and asking questions later.

"Hi," he says in turn, slowly getting up on his feet to face them.

The stranger slowly approaches, sword pointed away towards the ground and shield only half raised. Ready for trouble but not aggressive nor begging for a fight.

As they come forward, details become clearer, and Orym finds himself freezing in place.

It's him.

But also not him.

There are scars from claws across that Orym's right eye. His hair is shaved short on the sides, leaving the top his regular length. The other Orym wears full leather armor that he's never seen before, though it's obviously of Zephran make. Yet he still carries the sword he received from Will, the shield Derrig gifted him. But they're different too. The shield has small runes etched along its rim. His sword- His sword has vines curling out from the hilt to twine around both the blade and his hand.

And there's a flicker of a blue and red aura around him to an irregular beat. A faint see-through quality to his presence.

"Right. Well, this is weird," the other Orym sighs out. There's wide-eyed surprise on that scarred face, but resignation in his voice. "Guess we should have expected weirdness with Ash's magic gone out of control."

Orym doesn't know if he should reply to that or not. He's aware that there are entities out there that can copy a person's form or create illusions, but he can't imagine why one would copy him of all people. Or why they would so obviously alter his appearance.

"Who are you?" comes out of his mouth without permission.

"I'm Orym, just like you. I think," the other says, awkwardly shifting on his feet.

"But from a different time, maybe? You don't have-" and he gestures to the scars around his eye. "And Ashton's magic does mess around with time and space. Well, usually not both at once, but..." He shrugs.

"Or I'm hallucinating," Orym mumbles to himself. The idea of time travel is crazy. And, well... he's not been in the best headspace for a while now. His mom, both of them really, has been saying he should get more sleep. Who's to say his grieving mind wouldn't conjure such insanity. Though why a different version of himself and not Will or Derrig, alive, he couldn't say.

---

Orym frowns at the quiet possibility the other Orym standing before Derrig and Will's graves murmurs.

He knows it's not the right answer. But it hurts to see this version of himself. The Orym before the graves has slightly hollowed cheeks, great dark bags beneath his eyes. He's in need of a good wash, maybe a haircut. And his eyes are dead, with no spark of love and life in them.

The memories that appearance raises aren't pleasant, to say the least. No wonder his family had been so concerned for him in the early days after Will and Derrig passed.

"You're not hallucinating," Orym says firmly. He can't prove that to the other. It still doesn't mean he can't say it.

Nor does it mean that he can't offer the reassurances of how far he's come.

"I know you're in a bad place. I've been there. It still feels like I am there some days," Orym admits. "And I won't say it gets better, because it's still... really fucking hard to know that I won't see them again until I'm dead too. But you'll get used to the pain of their absence. Learn to breathe around it. And it's easiest when you let yourself love others. Your love for them won't replace what you felt for Will or Derrig, but it will give you something to hold on to, to fight for. It'll be a reason to really live."

Because looking back, after Will and Derrig, Orym had been surviving. Just keeping himself alive because ending his own life was in no way what either of them would want of him. He didn't live until he met the Crown Keepers, Bells Hells. People who cared so much about him, that he let himself care about in turn. They brought color and joy and so much more back into his life. It wasn't the same as having his family unbroken, but it was a fairly similar feeling.

And this Orym in mourning needs to know that there's still a future, still happiness, ahead of him, so long as he doesn't give up on finding it.

The mourner slowly blinks at him, letting the words sink in.

"That sounds nice," he says after a slow breath. "Thank you. It's... good advice, whether you're real or not."

"Just trying to help," Orym demurely says.

In that moment he can feel his skin buzz, see the red and blue flickers around him get more intense. He has a brief second to see the slightest smile curl the other's lips, the smallest ember of a spark kindle in his eyes, before the magic that brought him to this time and place surges and snaps, dropping him back where he belongs: moving forward and helping his friends.

[000life-is-meaningless000]

about going to get my fucking Tumblr account terminated because they argued on the on the fact that racism has been the true definition of it's been corrupted.

understanding nature doesn't make you fucking racist, and if it does the nature is racist or it's natural to be racist.

when you make the definition of racism oppressing people because of because of accurate stereotypes of a certain demographic people from understanding that nature of a certain type of people is real me doesn't exist when you make the difference in racism and you change it to gaslighting people anyone that fights that gaslighting get the front end of the Beast of Wrath, they don't be surprised when a lot of people fight you on your on the altered bullshit definition of racism.

is everything now is racism I kept wondering why so much shit got called racism why politics keep you or politicians keep using racism for fucking everything, how everything is racism and everyone is racist and science or races and God is racist and everything but African Americans in some way somehow races even though the definition includes them with it. they're humans are not gods and goddesses.

so because the definition of racism got so big and so fast and it's inaccurate or it is accurate and it's no longer relevant, being scientific about nature and DNA is now racism, which means that scientists are probably never be able to make that missing link between apes and humans because otherwise that will be racism.

if scientists prove that human beings evolved from apes and apes have specific fucking natures that are characteristics in nature which is also defined as fucking racism

if scientists found the missing link between primates and humans that would mean that Missing Link proof would be racist, and because of the intense anger and insanity and rage and just Ultra strong emotions around racism it's no scientists in their right mind will come out and prove that the missing link to apes and man are real they won't come out cuz if they say that human beings and here's the proof that would mean that primate nature is instilled in humans which is a fucking characteristic and a trait, also qualities.

that means that we know how to abolish science knowledge of DNA knowledge of biology knowledge of all these things because of someone fucked up the language and made it as vague and vast as possible saying that now nature itself is racism and any knowledge you have on any people or biology or creature in the universe now makes you a fucking racist ?

it only gets worse because now the definition of racism is got to be the easy easily the most evil definition there is.

because the definition of now I'm fucking raises them means we're not even allowed to fucking say aliens or alien or have distinct characteristics or traits because that would make you racist you're no longer allowed to say reptilians are anyway evil or nasty or dangerous because that would be fucking racist ?

that means that you also are not allowed to talk about fucking deities because saying that certain deities are evil because deities are aliens and aliens are racist I mean talk about aliens it's racist.

this fucking definition is just pure evil, it's just it's an Apocalyptic Word !

This is fucking horrible this word is evil this word Came From Hell !

now any nature or any knowledge we have on nature creatures entities even ethereal beings is now going to be based off fucking races all our knowledge about the gin and demons and angels can all be counted as cryptids encrypted are a fucking different race

which would mean any knowledge we have on aliens with they are all races and that would be racist ?

motherfuckers don't think, Wilbur came up with the idea of weaponizing the word racism had no idea the endless domino effect they're going to fucking create me probably didn't give a shit.

😡

! ! ! FUCK ! ! !

[infinite-xerath]

Runeterra Retcons 2: Aatrox and the Darkin

I did another one. There’s one more character I have in mind to do, but then I’ll probably take a small break from these))

Aatrox is an interesting case; while I don’t necessarily believe his current lore is BAD per se, I think he’s more-so a case of missed opportunity and wasted potential. Aatrox, to me, reeks of a case where Riot gave zero forethought to the future of this character when they created him. To fully understand why I feel this way, we’re going to have to take a step back and analyze some of the history of League itself, as well as some characters connected to Aatrox. So, with that all said, let’s look back at the history of this angry red swords and see if we can make sense of the changes given to him over the years.

Aatrox was released into the game back in 2013, under the title “The Darkin Blade.” Now, what’s a Darkin, you ask? Well, at the time, we didn’t really know, and it kind of became obvious that Riot didn’t either. Let’s have a read of his original lore, shall we?

I was always a fan of Aatrox’s original lore: an ancient, mysterious figure who shows up to help you turn the tides of a war, but only after you’d effectively surrendered your own humanity for the sake of victory. The fact that there was an entire race just like him became the center of fan speculation of years, and countless theories cropped up as to who and what the Darkin even were. Some assumed that they were related to the Seven Deadly Sins, while others thought they might be akin to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Some thought they might just be a dying race, and that some might actually be benevolent, unlike Aatrox.

Unfortunately, Riot wouldn’t give us an answer for quite some time. All we knew was that Aatrox was a Darkin and that he looked a lot like typical modern depictions of demons. That does raise the question though: why didn’t they just make Aatrox a demon? He helps turn the tides of conflict with no apparent goal beyond just prolonging the chaos and suffering brought about by war. A lot of his voice lines even painted him as a psychotic “artist” of sorts, prior even to Jhin, that viewed conflict and bloodshed as elegant. Well, to better understand the full picture here, we need to take a step back and examine the broader picture here.

Now, admittedly, we’re delving in some speculation territory here, as it’s impossible to really say what Riot’s original plans for the Darkin were, if any. That being said, the inclusion of something like a demon would have had a lot of implications back in the day, as the Runeterra as we knew it then didn’t really have a “Heaven” or “Hell.” Sure, we had “angels” with Kayle and Morgana, but they were treated more like how Asgardians are treated in Marvel: more like a race of super powerful aliens than actual divine entities (keep that in mind for later.) If anything, what little we knew of an “afterlife” in League came from Yorick’s old lore, in which he acted like a psychopomp similar to Charon from Greek myth.

It wasn’t until Tahm Kench came out in 2015 that Riot properly introduced demons as a concept in the lore, retconning several other champions like Evelynn and Nocturne into being demons. For a bit of context: in Runeterra, demons are effectively malevolent spirits from the spirit realm that feed on negativity: fear, pain, hatred, and so-forth. When other characters started getting turned into demons, a lot of people, myself included, thought that Aatrox would meet the same fate. After-all, they hadn’t actually DONE anything with the “Darkin” outside of Aatrox’s bio, and he functioned in a manner similar to them. Some even theorized that the Darkin would be made to represent a specific breed of demon, and this theory gained even more traction when Tahm Kench was given special voice lines for taunting near Aatrox.

Then, on July 12, 2017, we got Kayn, and with him: Rhaast. Rhaast is the second Darkin character added to the lore: a talking scythe with an eye that possess its host. Kayn is able to hold back Rhaast’s influence, keeping it to a single arm through the use of shadow magic, but depending on your actions in-game, you can see what happens if Rhaast manages to win their struggle and take over Kayn’s body completely. With Rhaast’s introduction, it pretty-much cemented that the Darkin were living weapons that took over the hosts of their wielders, which made sense given that Aatrox’s sword was always hinted to be alive and have a mind of its own. In fact, the idea of the Darkin being living weapons, or at least being bound to their weapons in some way, was one of many fan theories raised since Aatrox’s release all the way back in 2013.

Unfortunately, the new champion’s bio didn’t give us a lot to work with. Rhaast was the weapon, but Kayn himself is the Champion, so a lot of his bio tells us more about Kayn’s backstory: how he joined the Order of Shadows, how he acquired Rhaast in the first place, etc. While this isn’t exactly a problem, it gave us no further information on the Darkin; what they really were, where they came from, and why there are only five left in existence all remained mysteries for the fans to speculate about. It still wasn’t even clear if the Darkin were connected to demons, or if they were something else entirely.

Now, it’s around this time that another theory began to start blowing up in popularity; technically, this was another old fan theory, but now that we had a general idea of what the Darkin actually were, there was another Champion wielding a living weapon that fans started to speculate might be connected to them: Varus. Varus is an old character, and though we won’t be deep-diving into him too much into this video, allow me to give you a tldr of his original story.

Varus was an Ionian archer set to guard the Pit of Pallas, a giant hole where his people had long ago sealed some unexplained corrupting purple entity that seemed like it maybe should have related to the Void somehow but didn’t. Varus resisted the entity’s influence for years until Noxians one day showed up and started slaughtering his people, wanting to get their hands on Pallas so that they could use it as a weapon because of course they did. Varus was faced with a choice: stay and guard the temple built around the pit or go back to his village and help his people fight. Varus chose the former and was apparently SUCH a badass archer that he single-handed kept the invaders at pay with his arrows, though this choice came at a cost: when Varus returned to his village, everyone he knew and loved was dead, including his wife and son.

Enraged, Varus returned to the pit and struck a deal with Pallas: he would allow the entity to inhabit his body in return for vengeance against the Noxians. Varus proceeded to wander the world with a bow made from the entity’s own solidified essence in the hopes of finding and killing… Basically every Noxian he could. Yeah, Varus wanted nothing short of full-on genocide, starting with the surviving soldiers that attacked his village. There’s a lot to go into there, but you’ve probably figured out the relevance of this by now: Pallas turned itself into a bow for Varus to take his vengeance in exchange for possession over his body. Not too dissimilar a living sword and scythe who also possessed people and had an insatiable hunger for death and destruction, right?

Riot seemed to agree, and in 2017 they released a music video along with a comic and an entirely new bio for Varus. Together, these updates served to not only retcon Varus’s backstory (a topic for another episode) but finally give us an update as to who and what the Darkin were. In a word: they were aliens.

In short, the Darkin were a race from another planet/dimension drawn to Runeterra for its abundant use of magic. They tried to conquer the planet, causing the Great Darkin War, which ended only when the races of Runeterra figured out how to seal the Darkin in their own otherworldly weapons. Varus, Aatrox, Rhaast, and two others were trapped in their weapons, which an unnamed warrior queen (possibly an Aspect) used to drive back the other Darkin and seal the portal to their world. The five that were imprisoned in their weapons were then scattered and hidden across Runeterra.

This, at last, brings us back to Aatrox’s new bio:

“One of the ancient Darkin, Aatrox was once a peerless swordmaster who reveled in the bloody chaos of the battlefield. Trapped within his own blade by the magic of his foes, he waited out the millennia for a suitable host to wield him - this mortal warrior was corrupted and transformed by the living weapon, and Aatrox was reborn. Though tales of the darkin have now passed into legend, he remembers only too well the destruction of his race, and wreaks his vengeance one sword blow at a time.”

So Aatrox was made into a general for an alien race who sought to finish what his people started by having the Runeterrans fight and slaughter one another in a series of bloody conflicts… For a few months, at least. Literally the next year in 2018, Aatrox finally got his visual and gameplay update, turning him into the World Ender we know today. Along with this came entirely new lore for him, as well as the Darkin.

Insert lore here

So… The Darkin are no longer invading aliens, but Ascended who went nuts and were trapped inside their own weapons. In other words, the Darkin went from being a race to being more of a derogative term for fallen demigods. What’s more, Aatrox received a VERY substantial alteration his character and personality: he went from being a war-loving “artist” who causes conflict for the sake of it to being a tortured soul who wants to die so badly that he’ll end all of creation to do it.

Now, like I said before: I don’t think this backstory is bad. I don’t hate it. It does a lot to flesh out Shurima as a region, gives us more info on the Ascended, and it adds a bit more nuance to Aatrox as a character. Imagine being trapped inside a weapon, losing all access to your senses. Imagine that the only chance you get to move is when you take over someone else’s body, transforming it into a warped version of your own former glory, only to realize that you’re on a time limit and the only way you can continue to walk, talk, see, hear, or feel anything is by slaughter’s people and consuming their blood. Imagine spending CENTURIES trying to find a way out, only to repeatedly learn that any means to free or even kill yourself ends in failure. Imagine being SO desperate to rest that you’re willing to end all of existence just to find peace.

I like Aatrox’s new story. I do. Honestly, the only real complaint I have is that Aatrox doesn’t exactly have a PLAN for how he aims to end existence? Like, he calls himself a World Ender and a god-slayer, but we only know of one god he’s actually slain (Pantheon) and given that Runeterra is still around, it seems like his world-destroying count is still at zero. Honestly, if he wants to end all of existence, I feel like turning the Void, a reality-consuming threat that he has FOUGHT BEFORE would kind of be the obvious solution? Honestly, I imagine that just chucking the sword into the Void would be a good way for him to end his own existence, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So, if I like Aatrox’s new lore, why am I rewriting it? Simple, really: even if I overall like his current lore state, I feel like the road we took to get here was… Kind of long and unnecessary. It seems kind of obvious looking back that Riot didn’t have a clear long-term plan for Aatrox or the Darkin, as years of unanswered questions followed by multiple retcons kind of entails. From being the last survivor of an ancient race, to MAYBE being a demon, to being an alien, to finally becoming a fallen demigod. Aatrox’s history is practically a whole story in-and-of-itself, and I’ve long wondered how things might have turned out if Riot had, you know, picked a direction and gone with it a bit sooner?

So, here’s the basis of my rewrite: I’m gonna try and incorporate elements from all of Aatrox’s various backstories into a single, coherent biography. Can I manage it? Well, I’ll leave that for you all to determine…

When the skies are blackened by the flames of war and the earth is dyed red with blood, Aatrox draws near. For as long as conflict has existed among the races of Runeterra, the Chaos Blade has manifested to those deemed worthy, turning the tides of battle in exchange for the flesh of whoever wields it.

The true origins of the Darkin have long been lost time. Some say that they are the first weapons ever forged, corrupted by the malice of those who have wielded them over ages. Others claim that the Darkin are a rare breed of demon, of whom only five remain. Only one thing is certain: the Darkin exist only to bring death and destruction, and none embrace this more than Aatrox himself.

Tales of a wicked blade manifesting amidst the heat of battle exists across all cultures, from the frigid north to the blistering south. The sword is said to appear before warriors on the cusp of defeat: those who would give anything, even their own lives, for the sake of victory. Those who wield the Chaos Blade are granted inhuman strength and endurance, often haled as heroes for turning the tides of battle. With every foe slain, however, the Chaos Blade grows stronger, consuming the mind of its wielder and warping their flesh. In time, the hero becomes a mindless vessel, slaughter all in its path until slain. When its host falls, the Chaos Blade returns from whence it came, waiting for the moment that another might heed the sword’s call.

For ages this cycle persisted, until the day the sword manifested before a warrior of Shurima’s Ascended Host. After the Fall of Icathia, the Sunborn were called to face the encroaching threat of the Void, wielding celestial might and magic great enough to crush a hundred mortal armies. Before the Void, however, even the mighty Ascended began to falter.

The horrors summoned by Icathia steadily pushed north, consuming everything in their path and twisting the earth into maddening shapes. As their numbers dwindled, many Sunborn called to retreat, hoping to regroup within the capital and think of a plan. As some fled, however, the Ascended general Aatrox stood his ground. Pushing his draconic form to its limits, Aatrox struck down one abomination after another. When his great blade, soaked in the Oasis of the Dawn itself, was wrenched from its grasp, Aatrox fought with tooth and claw. Even if he were to fall, Aatrox would do everything in his power to slay as many Voidspawn as possible, resigning himself to death so the other Sunborn might rally their forces.

It was then, amidst the sea of madness woven by the Void, that Aatrox saw a sword embedded into the twisted earth. The blade seemed to call out to him, and Aatrox took it without question. In an instant, the general was filled with unimaginable strength and fury, and his allies watched in amazement as Aatrox fought with strength of ten Ascended warriors. Inspired by his newfound fury, the Sunborn rallied, their fighting spirits renewed at last.

When the conflict against the Void drew to a close, Aatrox was haled as a hero among heroes, though many of his former allies became wary of him and the wicked sword he now carried. Some suggested that the blade should be destroyed, while others, such as Aatrox himself, argued that its power would be instrumental if the Void ever returned.

Resentment and suspicion began to grow amongst the Sunborn, and the cracks only grew larger as Aatrox aided the other Ascended in summoning weapons similar to his own. The warriors of the Ascended host began to distance themselves from one-another and the capital, taking up posts across Shurima’s vast empire. They remained united only in the shared goal of protecting their empire.

And then the Sun Disc fell.

Following Xerath’s Ascension and the death of Emperor Azir, years of growing tensions erupted across the desert. Some Ascended raced for the chance to fill the now-vacant seat of power for themselves, while others insisted on finding a means to restore the royal dynasty. Debate soon turned to bloodshed, and Shurima was engulfed in a war that lasted centuries. It wasn’t until the Aspects of Targon intervened that the war was finally brought to an end.

Those wielding Darkin weapons were bound to their armaments with powerful magic, in-turn trapping the wicked weapons in the physical realm. The Darkin were scattered across Runeterra, and yet the souls of the Ascended persisted, stripped of bodies and senses.

For ages, Aatrox stewed within the sword that had become his prison, his soul slowly being corrupted further and further by the Chaos Blade until the two had become a single being. Ages passed and the sword was slowly forgotten, until a band of thieves broke into the Darkin’s prison in search of ancient treasure. When the thieves’ leader touched the sword, his mind was overwhelmed in an instant, his body transformed into a twisted likeness of Aatrox’s Ascended form. The Darkin slew the other thieves in an instant, drawing strength from their blood before breaking free of his long confinement.

Aatrox emerged into a frozen landscape with but a single goal: to bring about a war so violent, so destructive, that it would be the end of all things. He would be the World Ender, herald of a conflict to end all others. With every foe he slays, with every swing of his sword, Aatrox sews the seeds for violence and carnage, drawing one step closer to his magnus opus.

So, what did you think? As stated before: my primary goal this time around was to try and combine Aatrox’s various origin stories into a single narrative. Admittedly, I could only manage to do this by adding an air of mystery to the actual origin of the Darkin; maybe they’re demons, maybe they’re aliens, maybe they’re something else entirely. I know that might seem like a bit of a cop-out, but a large part of what made the Darkin so interesting to the community in the first place was the air of mystery surrounding them, and the room it offered for speculation and theorizing.

Another main concern, though, was that I wanted to find a way to blend old Aatrox’s personality with his new one. The thing I miss most about the OG Aatrox was that, despite being obsessed with war and bloodshed, he wasn’t just another rage monster. He was calm and composed, and a lot of his lines hinted at a deeper philosophy toward the inevitability of conflict rather than just “I wanna kill everything because I’m angry!” League has way too many of those, in my honest opinion. I thought that, by combining his mind with a semi-sentient sword that brings about carnage because that’s simply its PURPOSE, a little but of that old Aatrox might shine through.

But, as always, this is all just my opinion; how I, personally, would have gone about reworking the character. If you prefer Aatrox as he currently is, or think my version of the story is inferior, that’s fine! Feel free to share your thoughts and comments, but please, let’s try to keep it civil. After-all…

The last thing we want is to start a war over this…

[aguagua]

haha fuuuuuc I wrote a novel of headcanon for possible backstory for Donna B from re 8. I don’t really wanna share it in the tags. I just wanted a place to put it bc she is my beloved. Read it under the cut if you want 👊🤪

content warning : suicide and a lot of death

Donna Beneviento :

Born - 1947?

1950s - Sister passes, parents commit suicide

1986 - Claudia born

97 - Claudia passes

Approx. 97/98 - Joins M. Miranda

—-

Family / History / Backstory :

Benegario - Family ancestors branch off from Village and migrate to Italy —> Alps regions // Lombardy, Capo Di Ponte, Val Camomica

Leonardo Beneviento - Father

Andrea Fioralba - Mother

Leonardo was a puppet and mask maker, as well as a costume designer for operas staged at La Scala in Milan, and other more local theaters. His work was commissioned by many. He would also travel to Venice to sell and make masks for Carnevale. Eventually, he would begin to make toys, for his children, and sell them when they’d move to Village.

Bernadette Beneviento - Sister, b. 1942. Sickly child on and off.

Donna, b. 1947. Leonardo + Donna are close. He mentors her in making puppets + masks, she has an affinity for puppets. Spent many times in the backs of theaters, helping her father fit masks, alter costuming, and repair puppets. She loves opera. She’s gone to Carnevale w/ her father as well to make masks.

Possibility of move?? Bernadette is very sick?? M.M. Constantly reaching out to Benevientos anyway to get them to return to village. Possibly convinces them to move by saying she will help their daughter.

Father eases Donna’s nerves and tries comforting Donna about the move (leaving her friends and life behind) by crafting her Angie, a friend she will always have wherever they go. Donna is six.

Bernadette obviously does not survive MM’s experiments. Late 1957. Parents are both in hysterics. Andrea commits suicide in the following weeks, Donna witnesses this. Leonardo finds them both and is beside himself. Donna picks up the knife that Andrea used to end her life. Father tries to take it from her bc he doesn’t want her hurting herself. She freezes up and it’s like wrestling to get it out of her hands and accidentally, Leonardo severely wounds Donna. In immediate response, Leonardo in a state of pure lunacy, losing his eldest daughter, his wife and now assuming he had killed his youngest, ends his own life in front of her. Donna witnesses this too. This all happens extremely fast. It’s really volatile // reactive.

Donna just barely survives but her face is scarred and partially blind in her right eye. Clearly traumatized horrifically by the incident, she’s taken care of by the staff of the estate and Mother Miranda checks in often ((keeping her influence there))

Donna cannot communicate anymore herself, she’s latched onto her puppet, Angie and uses her to speak. Has bouts of isolation and has difficulty growing up w/o a family and navigating a very intense injury.

Inspired by MM’s “tireless work” to help save Bernadette and her being a sort of constant in her life now, she delved into studies of medicine and plants. Wanting to help other people who are sick.

Doll making, though, is a very sacred and special hobby to her and a craft she continues to hone privately. She’s extremely attached to Angie, treats her as her own sister. It’s all she has left.

Extremely sensitive about her facial scar + right eye, hides the right side of her face as much as possible.

Becomes a sort of medic to the Village. She sells salves, ointments, and medicines through Duke. Gives him toys and dolls she’s made to also sell, occasionally.

Beneviento staff raised her and helped her to slowly come out of her shell. Still very awkward, socially, and reclusive though. But, in becoming more social, she began to take patients in-house. Helped plenty, most of the time free of charge. This is how she had come to meet her eventual boyfriend, which was a very clumsy relationship that ended with her being pregnant, him leaving her and her trust broken.

Though, that resulted in Claudia being born! 1986. Donna is 39. Motherhood is what pulled Donna out of the dark. Even bringing her to much better communicate without Angie, though she still uses her. She’s a loving and very giving mother to Claudia who is very talkative and curious. Donna doesn’t mind all the chatter, she loved to listen to Claudia speak. There was a liveliness in the Estate and in Donna that hadn’t existed in a long long time. Claudia also adored Angie, Donna was at first hesitant and protective of Angie, but eventually permitted Claudia to take Angie and play with her however she wanted. Because of Claudias love for Angie, Donna began to make dolls for Claudia, often. Brilliant and beautiful toys with elegant and carefully detailed features + clothing. They’d even, a few times, gone down to the Village. Socialized some. Donna felt very Secure and in control for once.

But, like her sister Bernadette, Claudia was also sickly. Donna was just more equipped at giving Claudia the care and medicine she needed to live life happily. But, it came to a point in late 96, when no medicines or health care seemed to work anymore and Claudia was always bedridden and weak. Seemed only way to help Claudia at this point was to make her dolls that comforted her, But did not help her. In an act of desperation, being at a loss at what to do to save Claudia anymore, Donna turned to her idol, her new mentor of sorts, Mother Miranda. She pleaded for her to help Claudia and save her.

And MM did what she does best (lol).

** I think also MM might have been interested in using Claudia as a vessel for Eva so that doesn’t help either.

Donna snapped and snapped hard. Completely regresses to the way she was before. Is an Intense Agoraphobe. MM used the situation to her advantage. Manipulated her way further into Donnas heart empathizing w her Loss w her own and got her to join the family.

——

Post Cadou :

97 - Receiving the Cadou did not help her mental state. Actually became frightened of her own face At first because of the Cadou overtaking her scar and eye. reliving many traumas. this is an especially bad year.

Highly anxious, a manic depressive, still wont leave home unless it’s to see MM.

Attempts in some way to still cope with Claudias death by making and perfecting her dolls, has filled the whole house. She eventually learned of her ability to spread her Cadou amongst her dolls. Immediately does this with Angie + Angie very quickly became her own entity, Donna’s guardian, and lifelong companion.

Begins to experiment with what also she can use her Cadou for. She futzed with various plants and medicines, Angie once suggested she try reanimating the dead (that didn’t work) but Donna did end up accidentally making herself hallucinate, inhaling some pollen of an affected plant and she briefly saw Claudia. Began carefully studying this yellow flower and experimenting with it to see Claudia again. Tested it with her gardener, who then saw his late wife. Finding it worked, Donna, she tells the Gardener to come back again and she will show him the rest of his family. Before then she used the pollen to see Claudia again, but when she did it left her thinking :

“This is not Claudia, she will never be Claudia. I will never get her, my parents or sister back ever again. Why not just join them?”

—> in this hysteric state, she has a nervous breakdown, and when the gardener arrives, she doesnt end her own life. Instead, she took his. Donna still shows him his lost loved ones one last time, controlling the hallucinations to lure him around and out of the house and fall off of the cliff, crashing with the waterfalls.

She gave him the Gift of joining them. After taking the Gardener’s life, she fashioned a doll in his likeness and strung it up in a tree as if reaching toward the heavens.

She began to do this to any villager, who fell prey to Angie, who would come down to the Village, convincing them to experience Donna’s Gift, seeing their lost loved ones and subsequently tossing them to their own demise to be with them.

“None of her playmates have ever come back from that dank old estate.”

*** Donna really believes she’s doing these people a favor, “giving them a gift,” by luring them to the estate and killing them. It’s ultimately what she wants herself but won’t bring herself to act upon. ***

Okay woof holy shit that was a lot. I’m done for now. 😚

[raguna-blade]

Maruki’s Palace

So what's the deal with Maruki having a palace?

So this has been on my mind since I recently wrapped up the game finally.

Why does Maruki have a palace? Or rather, HOW does he have one, when Mona said pretty explicitly that a persona user can't have one.

Now obviously, there's the option that he's wrong. He was lacking in memory at the time, and even a good ways into the game there were things he just wasn't really sure about in regards to how mementos and palaces work. So that's an option.

I do not like that option. It's perfectly servicable true, but I think the explicit statement that persona user's can't have palaces casts an interesting light on them. Palaces form from a person's distorted desires right? That's the rule in play, so the fact that Persona User's can't suggests that they can't have distorted desires right?

Right?

Well...Not really. In fact there's a character in this very game who I feel I can say with a high degree of confidence has absolutely distorted desires despite having a persona. It's not Maruki, cause that'd be cheating.

It's Akechi. Now, again, the obvious problem of Persona User no Palace No distorted desires kinda comes up but...

But hold on. There's something funky about that chain there isn't there? Distorted Desires Come Before Palaces, and it's not like gaining a persona suddenly wipes out what you wanted or thought about the world does it? If it were that simple, Akechi would have never went the route he did right?

His desire, by the by, is seeing his dear old dad get absolutely fucked over. Which lead him to do all kinds of really dumb things that, as someone who could actually you know...Go into the metaverse and effect things that way, he never would have had to do. While the precise mechanisms in play would be a little odd, it's also pretty clear that if you control someone through the metaverse you can basically puppeteer them as you wish, if a bit indirectly. So long as the palace exists at least.

But we see that his desire there, that burning all consuming desire for a perfect vengeance, blinds him to a lot of things that someone who is genuinely as smart and skilled as he is should have seen plainly. Perhaps most critically the fact he would have been gotten rid of after he was of no more use.

So ok, I think you get the point, Persona User's can still have distorted desires...But what about palaces though? That's the key question.

Given Persona are Shadows, which quick explanation includes every aspect of you good bad and ugly, the desires getting absorbed, the palace getting absorbed more or less into a person seems to be why they wouldn't be able to host a palace. That is to say, Activating a Persona closes the Gaps that would allow you to access a person's mind. Not unless you were particularly close to them really.

We'll come back to that.

So if the idea is that a Persona closes the gaps, it still raises the question of how is there a palace? Why is it there as a thing that you can access right?

Well, we'll come back to it in a tick because first I wanna go with another obvious answer that I think is decisively wrong.

Maruki has a Palace because he DOESN'T have a persona. That is, he's possessed by another entity from the depths of humanity much like Yaldabaoth, the entity in this case being Azathoth. And that's not an unreasonable conclusion! His power seemingly activates before he ever accesses the metaverse, which is strange, Azathoth has a tie to the series as a whole greater scope villain in Nyarylotehp, and it does neatly answer the question of how he has a palace and all that because of course he would if he's being used as a pawn.

The problem here though is...How would he actually summon his persona in the real world when he can't physically access the metaverse? Indeed, there is a big scene when he actually makes a contract with azathoth that only occurs when he's in the metaverse, which I suppose would invalidate my argument entirely because it's not like you can use Persona Powers in the real world right?

Except that you absolutely can. You, that is Ren, can do it the whole time in the game with the use of the Thieves vision. You use it when you CHANGE your persona's to better align with people. Using your persona powers without having a fully awakened persona is a thing we see other characters in this very game do, in the case of Haru who can activate the metaverse app (a distinctly supernatural thing despite it's presence as a phone app) despite having an incompletely awakened persona. You see it in the phantom thieves as a whole being able to talk to Morgana even when their persona's aren't quite active yet (Specifically with Ryuji since he's the only one who really get's the overlap proper)

His power's are quite different than Ren's of course, but that's not unusual. A going theme with the games (or at least games 3-5) is that the development of a persona can lead to radically different powers as they develop and are used. Indeed, they alter depending on how the user want's to use them.

So for Maruki, someone who want's so desperately to alleviate people's pain, who understands peoples minds in a way that few others do, who understands the underlying magic/science of the setting in a way few others do, to have access to said supernatural powers outside of that world, if in a limited fashion (he seemingly needed Sumire's permission to actually do his thing before then, as well as knowing the problem and the desired memory/thing to be changed) it's not surprising that he'd have that kind of power.

But then, is Azathoth his persona? Well...Yeah. If not Azathoth, DEFINITELY Adam Kadmon.

And I mean, Lavenza say's it pretty explicitly near the start that yeah he has a persona, despite also having a palace.

But...Hm. Well let's take a look at that a bit again right? In all liklihood that palace has been there for a while right? It's not a new thing that popped up just these past few months in game. And I'm willing to accept that his Persona didn't fully awaken until Yaldabaoth did his thing so maybe it's some muddling going on but...

Well I think there is a different explanation.

Mind the mess of phrasing here, but it's not that Persona User's can't have palaces, it's that the nature of palaces changes once you awaken your persona.

That's a little cheaty I know, but consider this. The Rulers of Palaces are explicitly the Shadow of the person in question. It's why killing the Shadow suddenly offs the person in question right? But Shadows are Also Their Persona, albeit somewhat tamed.

It's not that Persona Users cannot have palaces. It's that Persona Users are their uncontested Rulers, for better or worse.

But...Ok, but wait. Mona SAID that persona user's can't have one right? Palaces are formed from desires run amok and...oh

oh

See, we come back to Akechi again. Just because you have a more thorough understanding of what makes you tick, just because you know what your thoughts and feelings are, just because you've acknowledged them, doesn't mean you've actually you know...fixed the problem.

That is to say, if you have a Persona it's not that you cannot have a Palace. It's that you have to specifically construct one.

But that's not an easy technique to do, nor, for that matter, is it something that you would necessarily WANT to do. It's narrowing your views, it's refining your thoughts in such a way that is potentially incredibly dangerous.

Indeed, Maruki at first did not see his palace AS one, and come think of it I don't know if he ever really accepts that beyond simplification for the sake of conversation. After all, in that regard, he literally, factually knows more than everyone else in that room, save maybe Morgana.

It's basically going “Ok It's not a palace but I understand that it looks feels and acts remarkably like one so ok for sake of simplicity it's a palace”

Again a little cheaty, but ok. Maruki has a Palace because he more or less made it (possibly with a little help from getting the Powers of the God of control)

But...See here's the thing about all of this that strikes me as most interesting.

He evolves his persona. Right? That was wild, and awesome I thought, but the way he went about doing it made me think about the OTHER persona evolutions.

And most specifically, the Ultimate Persona Evolutions that we see in game.

Cause see, it's not that he suddenly got a burst of will power out of nowhere. No. He rather explicitly gained that evolution by embracing his Palace Treasure. Which raises the question.

How do Persona evolutions actually WORK? Like the way the game portrays it, you go about your day, get close to a wild card and suddenly your persona is a different persona.

Well, that's the case if you look at the most recent games. But Looking at 3 (and I assume 1 and 2 but still haven't played em so) the evolution of a persona seems to come about when you have embraced a stronger resolve, increased your focus, have in effect become more of YOU. Or rather, further defined yourself.

So looking back at Maruki specifically here, I think it's telling that the thing that he further embraces is his Palace's Treasure. It's not only positive revelations or beliefs that can strengthen your resolve, as we see, but perhaps more critically in a general sense of the series, Persona Evolution requires a kind of narrowing of view. Not blinding yourself mind you, despite what it may sound like, but taking heed of specific goals and ambitions in order to actually well...Actualize.

Which makes the Wild Card VERY interesting, so I'm gonna see if I can't shake something out of that tree sooner or later.

[platypanthewriter]

Blind as a Bat

Silly 5+1 misunderstanding chat prompt for @susiecarter!  Ao3 link in the notes!

Clark Kent widened his stance in front of Bruce Wayne’s desk, steadying himself for a blow. He frowned down, and adjusted his press pass. “So, ah, the thing is. I love you.”

Bruce’s smile flickered, the arms of his calf-leather desk chair creaking under his hands, before he spun it around and stood, straightening his blazer. “...really.” He crouched, and ran his fingers along the bottom of the chair, then frowned under his desk. “I, also, yes, our posteriors are obviously designed to complement each other, Mr. Kent.” Standing, he waggled his eyebrows, grabbing his desk phone and frowning into the undercarriage. “Go on, I’m listening--”

“...Bruce. Your office isn’t bugged. I seriously can't make this any simpler, I love you. I, Clark Kent, love--”

“Are you mind controlled?” Bruce stepped in close, eyes narrowed. “This is a clever signal.”

Clark backed away, waving. “Actually, you know what, no, Mom was wrong. I can't do this, Superman out--”

“I have a scanner for interference by hostile entities--”

Clark groaned. “Nope, no, we’re good, it's fine, I fixed it. Just now.”

The stillness made Bruce Wayne resemble his alter ego. “That's an astoundingly obvious ploy, but given the initial attempt at intimacy, not out of character--”

Clark stalked out. “I am having a picnic. With my blanket, on the moon.”

Months later, Aquaman requested their help, and Clark found himself questioned in front of a device humming in the rhythm of the dancing fish that hovered and stared at it.

“No, I’m not feeling it, Arthur,” he sighed.

Batman’s voice burbled through his scuba gear. “I'd know if Superman was mind controlled. We have a signal.”

Clark repressed a vicious urge to point out Batman looked ridiculous with bright orange diving weights strapped everywhere, and a fish swimming in and out of his cape. “Oh my god.” He turned to smile at Arthur. “Yes, okay, if I get whammied I'll just...I’ll tell Batman he's hot even though he can't move his neck in that getup. His little ears make me wild.”

“...that should do it,” Arthur bit back a grin, crouching to frown at the device.

“‘I would thrill to remove his Batboots, and see whether his Batsocks have little Batpatterns,’ I’ll say.”

“...that is more than sufficient,” Batman burbled, drifting slightly sideways. “If we could stick to the actual plan.”

“I could say absolutely anything, couldn't I?” Clark’s Politeness Smile felt more fake than usual, and he dropped it. “Bruce Wayne, I'd like you to smile and suffer through my weekly meatloaf for the rest of our lives. I'd like to help you into the Batsuit, and every night, help you peel out of it.”

The barnacle-covered rebar Batman was clinging to in his inexorable tidal drift burst as Clark spoke, crunching into a cloud of grey shell fragments and rust in the water. Batman adjusted his grip on the machine in his other hand. “Stick to simple control statements, or I can’t recalibrate the sensor.”

“Bruce.” More barnacles crunched, and they both ignored them. “What would convince you I'm telling the truth. One truthful sentence. What kind of tests--”

“Howzabout you two go back to the boat, if you’re not gonna help--” Arthur glanced back, eyebrow raised.

“If you could take this seriously--”

Clark laughed so hard he had to steady himself against the rocks, and Arthur glanced back with a grimace. “I have never taken anything so seriously, nor been so tempted to fling a human being into the soundless vacuum of space. What tests.”

Batman made a noise. It was hard to tell through the scuba bubbles, but probably he was clearing his throat. “Nothing can rule out every possibility--”

Clark snorted, leaning his head away from an inquisitive fish. “Or we could borrow Diana's lasso. ‘Diana,’ I’ll say, ‘We need your lasso to discuss my mom's recipe for meatloaf, because Bruce Wayne believes in nothing and no one’--”

“...I would never doubt your mom's recipe for meatloaf,” Batman said flatly, and Arthur covered his mouth, shoulders shaking.

Clark, not seeing the humor, hissed back. “In that case, I will tell my mother that at least you believe in something.”

Diana crossed her arms, watching Clark floating on his back in a slow, ranting circuit of her apartment ceiling. “ ...of course you may borrow it. I can do no less, if you think it will help.”

“It has to, right?” Clark turned to frown down.

“I once offered to cover while he was on vacation,” she confided. “He clenched his jaw and said he'd keep me in mind the next time he required transplant of a crushed organ.”

“The...the next time?” Clark froze in midair, staring back, and she gave a wide-eyed, graceful shrug.

“Keep it as long as you like,” she said, eventually. “I’ll use the time I’d spend doing paperwork for interrogations on doing my actual job.” At her soft smile, he dropped to watch her unwrap something extremely...broken. “This just arrived from a dig in Akrotiri. You...understand my fascination, I think,” she glanced over, “--having so little, of Krypton.”

He nodded, and whisked off to get the brushes and glue. Together, they leaned over the shards until close to morning.

“I’d give up on him,” Clark muttered, squinting at what might have been a piece of a pattern, then leaning back to see the sizable chunk of urn they’d reassembled. “I mean, I did quit trying for a while. But it's just bothering at me, now. How can someone so smart--”

Diana grinned. “I wish you both joy.”

When Clark wafted down onto the balcony at Wayne Tower, Bruce was leaning on the railing. “So do you have a few minutes free? Or are you busy staring out over Gotham and adding to the Batman Translate on Google.”

“What?” Bruce snorted, his gaze fixing on the lasso Clark had wrapped around his arm. The ice in his glass settled.

“May I,” Clark breathed through his nose, trying to sound civil, “--have your permission to tie us up securely in this, Diana's lasso, for the purpose of convincing you that you, Bruce Wayne are honest to god my--”

“You have some reason to believe I’ve been compromised.” Bruce's smile faltered, and he held out his hand.

“Uh, I'll, ah.” Clark wavered. “Y’know, actually, I'm--I’m losing momentum. Uh, do you remember what I was saying in your office, when, um. And about meatloaf.”

Bruce frowned deeply, taking the end of it. “I do remember. You suspect someone successfully duplicated a lasso? This is excellent scotch.” The lasso glowed and twined, and he winced. “It seems to be working.”

“...never mind,” Clark sighed, and whipped back to Diana.

Behind him on the wind, he heard Bruce Wayne’s voice. “...what?”

When Bruce showed up at the party Diana and Atlanna were throwing for the finale of Game of Thrones--“To yell at it?” Clark had asked. “They, ah, they sort of address it with great sincerity, and then tell it they’re disappointed,” his mother laughed. “It’s worth watching.”--Clark was in the kitchen, sliding the third pizza in the oven. Arthur and his mom had oddly similar confusion squints at the screen, heads cocked in unison, and Diana was flopped over the arm of the couch on her belly, investigating Clark’s mom’s knitting. Clark found a plate to scrub just as Bruce Wayne crossed from the front room carpet to the linoleum kitchen floor.

“...may I help?”

The gall of him, Clark thought, posing like a fashion ad in my mother’s kitchen. “I dunno, can you understand the words I say?”

“You have been...strange, recently.” Bruce stepped closer, placing a gift bag with two bottles of wine on the counter. Their chests nearly brushed. Their breath mingled, Bruce minty, and Clark, he thought in passing, probably redolent of pepperoni. He met Bruce’s gaze, and watched him swallow, his gaze flicking down. Bruce opened his mouth, closed it, and Clark leaned in without meaning to, letting his head tip just slightly, so their lips would meet. “You’re standing in front of the drawer with the corkscrew,” Bruce whispered.

Clark stalked by him, remembering he was Superman, and as satisfying as it would have been to shoulder-slam by, he could hardly claim Bruce deserved a broken collarbone. He let himself drift to rest on the roof, listening to his city, and only roused himself at the rising smell of burning pizza.

Two weeks later, Clark watched Batman fail to find any crime, and dropped next to him on a roof. He dodged two batarangs, and caught the third. “Okay, as an experiment. If someone were in love with Batman, what signs would you expect them to exhibit.”

Bruce’s voice was especially throaty when startled, unless he was coming down with a cold. “No one knows Batman, he's a construct of--”

“Someone that does.” Clark held up a hand. “Okay. Let’s just say. Someone that does know Batman.”

“...I am not participating in any of the Flash’s ridiculous projects, and I do not need a personals ad.” Batman swooped his cape around him like a smoke bomb, and rapidly scrabbled down the side of the building.

Clark thought about that for a long moment, cocked his head, and then shook it to dismiss the image. Bat seeking partner for aerial maneuvers, his reporter brain supplied. He dropped next to Batman in the alley. “Somebody three blocks away is trying to pee on a wall, but mostly it’s going in his boot,” he reported, saluting. “Unless that needs your attention, can we talk?”

“...you’ll let me know if anything else happens,” Batman growled.

“I’m not trying to get anyone hurt.”

Batman snorted and muttered something, unintelligible in the Batvoice, and stalked away down the alley, and Clark floated along behind him like a balloon on a string.

“I--I know this isn’t anything you want to talk about,” Clark kept his voice low, “--but if--if you are repulsed by--by all the people that know Batman, now’s the time to speak up, and, uh, I’ll. I’ll just--I’ll go buy some ice cream.” Bruce had stopped walking, and the silence stretched out. “...there’s even an apple pie flavor,” Clark forced a laugh. “Perfect for me, midwestern boy, right? And Mom sent me a new comfy sweater, it’s, uh, it’s fine, y’know. Fine.”

“If you already assume I will not be receptive,” Batman’s voice scraped, “--than this is a truly--” He staggered forward as the breeze of Superman’s passage whumped his cape against his back.

When the knock came, Clark was in his Kansas City Royals boxers, and his fluffy sweater with the too-long sleeves and the slightly crooked sigil of the House of El. It still smelled like his mom--her lotion, and instant coffee, and the slight lingering stench of burned pizza. He’d ensconced himself on the couch with a spoon and a gallon of mint chip, just as his phone lit up with a Songs To Cry Through While Heartbroken playlist from Kara.

The knock came again. As it wasn’t likely to be League business, he hunkered down, stuck a huge bite of ice cream in his mouth, and resisted the urge to laser his visitor through the door for interrupting his caterwauled duet with Adele.

“What!” he finally yelled.

The knock came a third time, and then movement made him pay attention to the other end of the couch, where Bruce Wayne stood. He was dressed down, a bit, holding a leather briefcase in both hands. Of course Batman wasn’t slowed by a locked door. “What,” Clark groaned, wishing he could get drunk.

“I did ask if I could come in,” Bruce pitched his voice over Adele, and Clark narrowed his eyes, and clicked her off.

“Pretty sure I didn’t say ‘yes’.”

“...is that...Titanic, The Notebook, and Romeo + Juliet?”

“Yes. I’m watching loving couples die. What do you want.” Clark shoveled in another mouthful of ice cream.

“...of course I’ll leave, if you want me to,” Bruce clicked his briefcase, and shiny cobalt silk billowed out, “--but I did bring pajamas. And--” he waved back towards the door, “I asked for your order at the bodega. Pastrami sandwiches?”

Clark considered for a long moment, eyeing the Batjamas, then the delicious smelling bag of sandwiches. “...I don’t want to make a habit of accepting bribes, but…”

“It is one of the things I admire about you,” Bruce said, straight-faced, and Clark paused half out of his blanket cocoon to stare over.

Bruce’s eyes strayed down the admittedly lumpy sweater to his Kansas boxers, and Clark hugged himself, shuffling over to the bag of sandwiches. “Apology accepted, then. Why’d you bring your...loungewear, or whatever? You can’t think I’d want to see you.” He snorted, unwrapping the deli parchment. “And you obviously didn’t want to see me--”

“What I said about knowing Batman was true,” Bruce came over to lean against the counter, watching the lights of the city outside Clark’s apartment, and Clark rolled his eyes. “No one truly knows Batman, not enough to love him. No one...really knows Bruce Wayne, either.”

Clark wanted to argue, or throw a sandwich at his head, but either of the options involved more pastrami in his mouth, so he listened, and chewed.

“I’m not...perfect--”

Clark coughed. “Well that’s your application in the trash,” he snorted. “I can only date perfect people.”

“I have...hidden some things, even from the League,” Bruce smirked, ducking his head, “--my money makes certain aspects of my...unforgivable lack of foresight just...go away. There have been times I have--not chosen the most effective plan, because it caused me personal discomfort.”

“If this is supposed to make me feel better,” Clark swallowed, and took a sip of the supplied root beer, “--it doesn’t. What do you want, Bruce. I won’t cause problems in the League, I’m not--you have every right to refuse my attentions.”

“I brought the pajamas in case you would like to know...me,” Bruce told the counter, smile practiced and charming, his knuckles white on the handle of his bag. “I will understand, of course, if you--”

Clark dropped the sandwich, speeding so fast around the counter it probably looked to Bruce like he’d teleported. “You’re saying yes?”

“Clark…”

“You brought your pajamas, Bruce,” Clark clenched his teeth, torn between the fizzy feeling of hope urging him to spin them around the ceiling like Mary Poppins characters, and the strong need to tie Bruce Wayne to a lamppost outside a police station--with his own pajamas--and a note taped to his chest that said ‘DANGER TO SELF AND OTHERS’. “When you couldn’t prevent harm as Batman, you did your best to help as Bruce Wayne, that’s what I’m hearing.”

“That is--optimistic.”

“Get in your goddamn pajamas,” Clark pointed with his second sandwich half, and narrowed his eyes at Bruce covering a grin. “I’m not Superman right now, I’m enraged. What do you mean ‘personal discomfort,’ that’s what we’re working on, you not risking yourself in every fight. Flash is talking about making a stamp booklet. You get one every time you don’t dash in front of a bullet--” Clark choked, pounding his chest, as Bruce dropped his pants, revealing black athletic socks, pale, scarred hairy legs, and a rapidly-covered patch of black silk undies.

Bruce shook out the pajama pants, pulled them on, and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Sometimes the strategy requires the strategist endanger himself, for the cumulative good.”

“Don’t give me that--”

“I don't want to watch any of those movies,” Bruce told his own buttons, frowning down. “I’m not sure why anyone does--do you have something less...?”

“Ye-yeah,” Clark swallowed, close enough he could feel the warmth from Bruce’s skin. He grabbed his half-eaten sandwich, slowly chewing as Bruce revealed more scars, and muscles, and he tasted nothing. “Um. Is this a date?”

“Perhaps.” Bruce buttoned himself into his pajama top, and Clark watched his fingers fly, wishing he didn’t have pastrami all over his own. He frowned at the sandwich, wondering if he’d fallen for a trap.

“Depending on what?”

“Whether you like what Martha Wayne’s boy actually turned into.” Bruce smiled his polished magazine cover smile, dropped it to go oddly blank, and then stared into the distance between he and Clark’s bag of sandwiches.

I should enjoy his discomfiture more, Clark thought, but he just changed the subject to Netflix selection, and watched Bruce flick through the selection with a darkening frown. “Does Martha Wayne’s boy want a bowl of ice cream?”

“...maybe?” Bruce squinted back at him, and Clark leaned over the back of the couch to bump shoulders.

“You are your choices, and all, but I promise not to decide who you are based on Netflix special.” He caught Bruce’s eye, and grinned, enjoying the quirked smile he got in return. “Just pick the next thing that looks fun, you’re thinking too hard about this.”

Bruce nodded, watching the preview for what looked like a show about friendship between female wrestlers.

Clark properly served a bowl of the less-melty ice cream near the bottom, instead of passing over the carton, and Bruce’s lips twitched.

“...what.”

“Oh, just remembering Alfred sitting the ice cream out until it wasn’t rock-hard. Your powers are so versatile.”

“I’ll remember to list ice-cream scooping next time anyone asks.” Clark grinned back. “Is that why you're here? You staying the night? There’s a good diner around the corner.”

Bruce accepted the bowl. “I did bring condoms.”

Clark steepled his fingers, frowning at the drippy ice cream scoop. “...so either you’re saying yes to dating, or you’re planning to zipline off my balcony as soon as I fall asleep. I hope it’s the former.”

“Not that kind of boy?”

“I mean,” Clark glared over, “I want to--to at least date you, not just ...have sex with Bruce Wayne, like I’m some--some person you will smirk at in the elevator for the rest of our lives.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows at his spoonful of ice cream. “Batman does not smirk.”

“What a relief,” Clark growled. “And no, look, there is a Bat Smirk--do you want to make up a contract, would that work better for your brain? Should I let you talk to lawyers first?”

Bruce went still again. “...I--I apologize if--”

“No, sorry, I’m--I’m sorry.” Clark took a deep breath, and let it out. “I just--I thought you’d say yes, and--” he scrabbled at his hair, “--this would stop, I feel like--do you even want to be here?!”

“Relax,” Bruce scooted closer, leaning in to press his lips warmly against Clark’s, “--yes. And I can promise I won’t sneak away. If something does come up, I’ll leave a note.” He was smooth-shaven and cologne-scented, his pajamas warm and smooth under Clark’s uncalloused fingers.

Clark pulled him closer, grinning against his mouth, and feeling only slightly guilty about introducing pastrami onto Bruce’s mint-chocolate tongue. “We do usually figure things out,” he whispered, licking in for a deeper kiss, while Bruce waved the bowl of ice cream until it hit the coffee table.

“We do,” Bruce agreed, then relaxed--a bit--into the kiss. “That we do. If anyone could make this work--” He trailed off, letting Clark pull him closer, and smiling against his mouth.

Clark let his eyes close, until he felt Bruce laughing. He pulled back to realize he’d floated up with his arms around Bruce.

“Someone is going to look up and see us...why doesn’t the weight of my body make your points of contact hurt my ribs?”

“You know nobody looks up,” Clark nuzzled into the smooth-shaven skin at Bruce’s throat. Bruce leaned his head back, eyes fluttering shut. “...why isn't my face covered in bugs when I cross the city,” Clark mouthed against Bruce’s thudding jugular, breathing his cologne, “--it’s because I’m magic, Bruce. I’m a magic alien.”

“...hrmph," Bruce grunted, frowning his scientist frown, and Clark grinned, letting himself slowly spin in the air with inertia. He squeezed Bruce carefully tighter. "We should try out those condoms,” Bruce hummed against his mouth, and then staggered as Clark dropped back to the floor.

“There’s not--I didn’t--we don’t have to--”

“I know. But I’m very much that kind of boy.”

[blazehedgehog]

So I’ve just downloaded fortnite for the first time in two years, as I’ve heard Thor is coming. Love me some god of thunder. What do I need to know in terms of gameplay and story?

It’s hard to say. Epic has been pretty loose with the Fortnite “lore.” The basic gist is that there’s some weird time or multiverse shenanigans going on that has effectively trapped the Fortnite island in some kind of a time or reality loop. The idea seems to be that every game you connect to is the loop replaying itself. There’s apparently a team of people outside the loop who know about this and are working to do something with it, but we don’t really know much about that.

The main thing they seem to be leaning on lately is that people trapped in the loop seem to lose their ability to speak. An audio log in the lead up to the end of Chapter 1 mentions how people within the loop “become mute” over time, Chapter 2 introduced people who speak Simlish-esque jibberish, and Chapter 2 Season 2 ended with the player encountering someone outside the loop, who then asks, “Wait... can you hear me?” -- and as they say this, their words echo and loop until they, too, become jibberish.

Beyond that, whatever reality-bending stuff is happening to the island, it seems to pull stuff in (and push stuff back out) from other dimensions. This is their hand-wavey way of doing crossovers, but it did actually start with Fortnite items ending up in the real world.

That’s recent info. Top level stuff. Consider that the tl;dr. The longer version is this:

Fortnite: Save the World is the original Fortnite game. In it, a mysterious “storm” has blanketed the globe. This toxic weather not only kills everything it touches, but raises the undead in the form of “Husks.” Husks are not normal zombies, however, and this is not biological. The storm itself appears to be some kind of living cosmic entity of sorts, giving commands to all variety of monsters. Not just Husk zombies, but crazy, weird things.

You play as one of the last surviving human commanders, who teams up with a team of sentient artificial intelligence robots. Technology has been built to shield humanity from the storm, and it’s your job to boost the range of the energy-based shield while rescuing whatever survivors you can find still lost in the ruins of civilization. As you build bigger and stronger shield technology, and rescue more people, the storm itself gets angry and sends scarier monsters to stop you, culminating in the final boss against a Storm King.

Unfortunately (spoilers for Save the World), there does not appear to be a way to “cure” the storm. It’s just something people in the world of Fortnite have to live with, forever.

Save the World is a universe full of nearly-magical science fiction. There’s a mysterious blue energy source called “Bluglo” that powers a lot of the game’s technology, like flying vans, laser cannons, various types of robots, and even the storm shield itself. Many attempts are made to outsmart the storm, some of which are dangerous, and the storm itself is mysterious and unknowable.

I say this because it’s not clear how or even if Save the World connects to Fortnite: Battle Royale, but it seems like a growing possibility that Epic is leading up to explaining something, eventually, and it seems obvious that an experiment to get rid of the Storm in “Save the World” probably created the time loop in Battle Royale. It’s even possible that the team monitoring the time loop in Battle Royale is actually just a future version of the Save the World universe.

What we know is this: the storm also exists in Battle Royale, and it’s still toxic. Husk zombies don’t appear to be a problem (sort of -- more on that later) but it’s still not a great scene. Eventually the storm closes on the island until it covers it completely. Then, the loop resets.

Because of the reality-bending time loop stuff, the “lore” in Battle Royale is, as I said earlier, a bit harder to follow, and a bit more fast-and-loose. It started earnestly in Chapter 1, Season 3, when a comet crashed in to the island. In Season 4, perhaps as a result of the comet, a super hero team appeared to be formed called “EGO” with a villain team called “ALTER”.

ALTER launched a rocket in Season 4 for reasons unknown, but instead of leaving the island, it created a crack in reality. This is when Fortnite stuff started showing up in the real world, and pieces of the real world started coming over in to Fortnite -- the whole Fortnite map started becoming a mishmash of all kinds of things, from deserts, to viking longships, and so on.

Then, from out of one of the cracks in reality, came The Cube (or “Kevin” as it was nicknamed). It’s not really known, still, what exactly The Cube is. It was the same color as the storm, contained a mysterious energy, and seemed to have a mind of its own. After The Cube spawned, it slowly rolled across the island, occasionally branding certain locations with a rune. It deposited itself in Loot Lake, where it turned the water purple.

Soon, an island at the center of Loot Lake rose, with The Cube attached to it. The Cube then proceeded to move again, bringing the island with it, floating back to each one of its runes. It drew power from these runes, and The Cube grew in size every time it finished absorbing a rune.

Once fully powered up, crystals began to take shape at the former rune sites, and from these crystals came monsters. These were not the same monsters as Husks from Save the World, but they were extremely similar. This finally culminated in the Cube itself shattering, taking the players to a special interdimensional cosmic horror realm somewhere (presumably) outside the time loop.

Fortnite’s reality continued to break down. Ice warlocks covered parts of the map in snow. Strange mayan temples were erected. Volcanoes erupted. A cross-dimensional vault was discovered that could bring retired items from past seasons back. Though The Cube itself was gone, it all seemed to be tied back to it somehow.

A literal, actual kaiju was awoken from under the island, seemingly looking for The Cube. The area where the Cube exploded -- now that cross-dimensional vault -- is both what the monster was searching for, and the key to destroying it. Unfortunately, the battle to kill the monster damaged the vault and whatever strange energy it contained, causing Fortnite’s reality to further unravel and become even more unstable. Most surprising of all, it brought the comet from Season 3 back.

Another rocket is launched, and... things get weird. It’s not really known if this was ALTER’s plan all along, but using the cracks in reality, they guide the comet to collide with the vault, and whatever energy The Cube had left behind that was still inside. Reality itself finally can’t take any more, and the whole island is destroyed. Possibly that whole dimension. That’s the end of Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 launched with a completely different, but vaguely similar island. The loop mutated, or it’s a different reality within the loop, or something. The Cube, Kevin, is now the logo of a power plant called Kevolution Energy, where they have presumably contained the cube and harness its energy to power the island.

ALTER and EGO were reborn as the spy agencies Shadow (bad guys?) and Ghost (good guys?) who fight over control of the island. The end of Chapter 2 saw Midas, the leader of Ghost, create a device to try and eradicate the Storm. As we know from Save the World, trying to defeat the storm just makes it angry. Things didn’t go so well.

In doing so, Midas appears to have begun weakening the barriers of this reality now, too. He apparently generated so much energy that he punched on through outside the loop, causing disturbances of some kind. It’s possible somebody is maintaining the loop, on purpose, perhaps as a way to contain the storm, and Midas’s actions threatened to bring the storm back out of the loop. Either way, Midas is now being painted as a villain, and cracks in reality are beginning to form over the island again.

With them come a new enemy type -- Marauders. These seem to be humans from another reality sent to kill people on the island. In truth, the Marauders are characters from Fortnite: Save the World wearing animal skull masks, something that current theorycrafting is painting as being an important detail -- as if this is the beginning of Battle Royale and Save the World becoming definitively linked in the lore. A lot of what I just said here is half theorycrafting anyway (since, again, Epic seems to be deliberately obfuscating what’s really going on, and the reality-warping stuff lets them do all kinds of literally nonsensical stuff), but “Marauders come from Save the World” is bleeding edge theorycrafting. Grain of salt and all of that.

The teasers leading up to Season 4 is that some kind of big universe-ending event, “The Black Winter,” will bring about the death of all things. Galactus, from Marvel Comics, knows how to stop it, but he needs to eat five planets to have enough energy to fight back. He enlists the help of Thor to safely evacuate sentient life from those five planets before he eats them. Instead, Galactus is seduced by the seemingly infinite power of Fortnite’s island loop, becoming lost. Thor ventures to the island hoping to find Galactus.

And now you are caught up.

[kyouminaine]

Frankly, this doesn’t even really belong on this blog, but it coincides with my decision to exclude any new plot from that reality into my portrayal. Yes, I’m talking about the Remake. Yes, I’m calling it a “reality.” Now before anyone starts hissing about me being a purist, I’m going to break down why I cannot and will not use material from the Remake (abbr. 7R) in my writing.

(Spoilers under the cut. Beware long post.)

And let me make this clear: 7R was a good game. It was not a good story.

What 7R did well was create a new system that combined SE’s past experiences from the KH series and previous FF games (I see a lot of influence from XIII). It provided a challenge --- whether good or bad is partly dependent on RNGesus favoring you or not --- and created an environment and interrelationship between characters that gave the gamer a chance to connect with the world and understand the repercussions of certain actions. It gave gamers a chance to develop feelings for certain characters that previously had no strong standing in the original. This was good. (I first played on Normal and got a decent challenge out of it during certain boss fights, particularly during endgame. Currently I’m running through Hard mode and utterly regretting my life choices, so the challenge is certainly there.)

As someone who played the original and delved into the rest of the Compilation over the years, it was enjoyable to see nods and easter eggs to those plotlines. A story I didn’t think would have any part in 7R somehow made its way in. People I thought would be skipped over were brought up. It was nice.

But here’s where it fell apart: all these nods and the expansion of the world (yes, we’re only experiencing Midgar, but I’ll still label it as a “world” since that is the extent that the gamers are exposed to) were haphazardly applied to the main plot, and not only that, when it came down to the endgame all those little nuggets ultimately didn’t mean anything.

Why? Because of the new plotline that was introduced. It’s been speculated and the general consensus is that 7R is a different reality. You can call it a sequel, AU, whatever. It’s a different plot altogether, particularly with how the ending unfolded. The Whispers / Watchers of Fate / Arbiters of Fate are what everyone has summed as being a physical manifestation of what fans expected to happen, or what the creators tried to preserve over the years through the many works that elaborated on the original VII storyline. Because the characters in 7R have destroyed the Whispers, this essentially has ripped apart the expectations that old (and new) fans had for the Remake series. We don’t know how many installments there are for 7R, but it’s pretty clear from the ending line that there’s going to be another part. (Hell, you still have to fight Sephiroth again... or something. Or maybe he becomes your ally. Who knows...)

Which makes a lot of mental gears grind, heads tilt, and plenty of frustrated fans raise their voices. The Deus Ex Machina concept is nothing new. A “do-over” plotline is not unique either. (Doubt me? Go look at all the fanfics that have been circling the internet since the day the original game came out.) Taking the original VII plotline and conjoining it with a “do-over” plotline is... well, it’s bad.

There are ways to make something like that work. Ways to rewrite history and attempt to make it right. There are people who speculate that 7R considers the original VII as the “bad ending” --- as if this is a dating sim and you picked the option where Lover C decides to murder you instead of marry you, so now you wipe your save file and change all of your choices so you get the happy ending with Lover C. The major plot events are the same, but now you’re alive and Lover C never goes apeshit on you.

I can understand the desire to get a “good ending.” This just isn’t the smartest way to go about it.

So with that in mind, we are now on that separate save file trying to make all the “right” choices. No one knows what will come of it, no one knows if it even is a “good” ending that awaits us. So what does that mean?

Quite plainly, it means everything we knew, every relationship that was built upon in the original, even all the work that was put into the other games and that particular reality, are all dumped in the trash. 7R is an AU scum save game file that tosses out the original values and lore that were taught to us and the characters too. In an ugly way of explaining it, 7R is spitting in the face of all the other pieces of the Compilation and what lessons came out of them.

These are lessons of the value of life, the value of relationships, the gravity of truth and the price of lies, struggling with flaws and shortcomings, change, love, and personal growth. These aren’t new or unfamiliar tropes, but their weight of worth still remains. (I won’t call VII to be the greatest game in existence, but it did create a strong connection with its audience through the story it told.)

What 7R does in face of these lessons is push them all aside for what is basically fanservice. Wish fulfillment. People who are dead in the original may/may not be alive in 7R. People who are alive in 7R are supposed to be dead in the original. 7R’s reality robs the audience of a chance to experience those values and struggles in a new yet familiar way. Fans who have no idea what happened in the original or only have a vague grasp of the plot will not have the same connection that old fans do. Yes, new fans can still understand that Aerith’s death was supposed to be a sad event. Yes, Sephiroth is a meteor summoning cockroach. (He has a bad habit of resurrecting.) However, they don’t have the firsthand experience. They did not personally go through the journey.

There are heavy hints of it in 7R, but the experience isn’t the same. And now considering that the Whispers are defeated, there probably isn’t even a reason to go through the original content anymore. Just open up a wikia and get the most basic summary, because what lays before us in the 7R series is uncharted territory.

The story of Cloud’s past and who Zack is will most likely still be introduced and explained, but how? Will it still hold the same meaning? Will fans be able to experience the same joy and pain, not knowing how big of an impact Zack had on the story particularly on Cloud’s, Aerith’s, and even Tifa’s lives? They made a whole game with him as the main protagonist; that was how big of an impact he made on those around him, and how much fans thought he deserved more screen time than what was given in the original VII.

Though the ending cutscenes of 7R implied that Zack may still be dead and his survival is probably in a completely different reality outside of both VII and 7R, the idea that it is possible for him to live takes away the meaning behind his death. It takes away how he made such an impact on those he met. Is it sad to always have him die? Certainly. But that’s the point. You, the gamer, and those in the game itself feel the weight of his presence and his loss. Him living diminishes it. Perhaps not completely, but it does stick a knife in the tapestry that wove together this important and surprisingly strong bond between even the most minor of characters.

The same can be said about Aerith’s death. I do enjoy that in 7R Cloud and Aerith got to interact and you could see more of how their personalities played off each other; I enjoyed Aerith’s portrayal in 7R. Yet, with the speculation of her possibly surviving and maybe being omnipotent (or dimension hopping, take your pick), we don’t see how strong of an impact she made on those around her. We don’t see how her death changed the cast, became a driving point of their mission. Particularly for Cloud, she became a pivotal part of his growth. Regardless if you consider their relationship to be friendship or love, it’s undeniable that she made a strong impression and her death hit Cloud like a sack of bricks to the face. The value of her life was so great in his heart, she became one of the major reasons he was so hell bent on fighting Sephiroth. She wasn’t the only reason, but she certainly was fighting to be at the top of the list. Even in the sequels that followed, she was always on their minds. She taught a priceless lesson that still sticks with gamers today. People still weep over her death.

So let me bring it up again: 7R spits at VII. Not just in the lessons it brought, but the lore as well. The introduction of Whispers, Aerith’s unexplained new powers, Sephiroth’s early appearance and his ability to cut through the veil of reality... It all brings about the question of Gaia and how she works as both a habitable place and sentient entity. Gaia had WEAPON --- colossal creatures that were meant to safeguard the planet. When Gaia perceives herself to be in danger, she brings out the giant no-no stick. (This is mainly in response to the threat of Jenova, but it is plausible that WEAPON will tear apart every major threat and hit the big reset button on everything. Otherwise, why did Ultimate attack Mideel? There’s no Jenova there, unless you count Cloud. But that’s a different topic for a different day.)

There is speculation that the Whispers that meld into the Harbinger of Fate / Whisper Harbinger is another WEAPON. This is a theory to take with a fat grain of salt, but the point is this: what did the Whispers uphold, and how does that alter the rest of the lore of the game? Do we consider the Whispers to be beings completely exempt from the rest of the lore? Are they some kind of god? Are they related or unrelated to WEAPON, and do they have their own agenda or do they also work to safeguard Gaia? No one knows, and there are a bunch of videos that try to tackle these questions.

I don’t have the answer. What I do have is a major side-eye at the whole concept of the Whispers existing and how they interact across the different realities, and how in turn they alter the overall lore of VII. Vague telling of the main plot points from the original are present, yet there is a giant question mark as to how much of said plot points will remain present in future game(s). Is there even a need for WEAPON anymore? Is Aerith not the last living Ancient/Cetra? Is Sephiroth blood kin to her? (Anyone remember that old concept?)

What about Holy? The lifestream? Hell, you can create summon materia now, not find godly creatures slumbering inside giant marbles scattered throughout the planet. Can Meteor be created too, or is it still hidden in the Temple of the Ancients and deemed too dangerous and the magic too great for anyone to handle? Do I even want to touch the subjects of Project G and Deepground??

That’s too many questions that don’t need to exist in the first place. What 7R created was a large stew of wtfery. I don’t just say this out of saltiness, it really is a giant “wtf” where almost every fan doesn’t even know where to start when they try to deeply analyze what happened in the game.

Personally, I believe the “do-over” plot that was introduced in 7R was a mistake. Not only did it mess with the lore of the world and open up a rotten can of worms that no one knows how to decipher, it took away from the value of certain actions from different characters, whether main cast or secondary. (I feel cheated. Tifa’s tears were practically wasted because Biggs is apparently alive, Jessie is probably just comatose somewhere, and Wedge probably survived too despite being tossed out a skyscraper.)

What I expected, and I believe what many frustrated fans expected, was not a “do-over” plotline/reality but a retelling of the same familiar story we have come to love over the last few decades. Whether some fans picked it up as soon as it was first published on 3 discs, or played it later down the line on PC, or even waited until it got ported to PS4, we came to enjoy that original plot. The original reality that has been told and retold, and adored even across different games with cameo appearances from the main cast. Flesh out the world, make it bigger, make it grander, show me Cloud in a fugly purple dress and Tifa in a miniskirt, show me Sephiroth’s Vidal Sassoon flowing silver locks, show me Jenova’s eye nipple... but keep the rest the same. By all means incorporate plotline from the other installments of the Compilation --- tell me more about the Turks, the original/main faction of AVALANCHE, Rufus and his relationship with his dad, other perverted projects Shinra had hiding under its mako skirt, the full story behind the failed rocket launch, the Wutai war, Nanaki’s youth, Zack’s early years in Shinra/SOLDIER, all that --- but don’t suddenly throw all that work, all those relationships and stories, all those valuable lessons out the window.

7R had plenty of potential and even if I take away the “purist” expectations I wanted from it, the game still managed to be disappointing.

Coming back to the topic of why I won’t use 7R in my portrayal, it is because of all this. Because it takes away too much from VII and warps it into something it shouldn’t be. My idea of Cloud sits strongly with the Compilation (namely the original game with some minor inspiration from the other materials). His hardships, his pain, his personal growth... I will hold onto those because they make Cloud who he is at the end of the game. They are why Cloud leaves such an impression on people. Yes, recent adjustments to his features have really ramped up how handsome he is (especially in 7R, though I’m salty about his hair being wrong) and that sticks with people. Everyone swoons over how he looks in that crisp HD. It’s his journey that is more worthy of noting though.

I expect that there will be people who are not/less bothered by these details. There are plenty of people who embrace 7R and what it introduces --- I’ve heard people say they’re tired of the same old formula and a “do-over” plot is fresh and exciting for them --- but I’ll stick to what I’ve come to learn to love throughout my life. Because there are plenty of people who favor 7R, the door is open for people to head that way. This isn’t me kicking anyone out. This is me firmly establishing where I stand and why.

TL;DR --- 7R is a high dollar AU fanfic and I don’t appreciate that. (But I’ll still snag icons and reblog gifsets of the cutscenes because I’m opportunistic that way.)

[karazor--el]

TV Insider

Nicole Maines & 'Supergirl' Take on Violence Against the Trans Community

Supergirl flies into new and socially relevant territory tonight with an hour that explores the impact of violence against members of the trans community.

As the home of TV’s first-ever transgender superhero in Nicole Maines‘s Nia Nal, aka Dreamer, the show has already excelled at raising awareness of matters key to the LGBQT community, but this time, it’s literally a life-altering storyline. Per the Human Rights Campaign’s website, “2020 has already seen at least three transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported—or misreported.”

A look at stars like Stephen Amell, Ruby Rose, and Melissa Benoist who’ve appeared on the big screen before, during, or after CW superhero gigs.

In the episode, entitled “Reality Bytes,” Nia’s roommate Yvette (Roxy Wood), who is also a trans woman, is brutally attacked by an ignorant stranger who can’t handle Dreamer being a transgender hero. Stunned at first, then shook into action, Nia refuses to stand silent, leading to some serious and important conversations with Kara (Melissa Benoist) and the superfriends about exactly what Nia—and Maines, herself—face on a regular basis.

Here, the always enlightening actress and advocate opens up about the need for TV like this and what can be done to hopefully save lives in the future.

How are you doing? Because you have all done really well by this character.

Nicole Maines: Yes. I’m so happy with how Dreamer has really become her own superhero. I was just looking at her yesterday and she really has kind of become her own unique hero. Dream Girl [the comic-book version] is one hero, but I feel like Dreamer just has such a really different feel from Dream Girl. She’s become, in the past two seasons, her own entity and her own person, and that makes me really happy.

This character showed up with a lot on her shoulders, as far as what she stood for socially and for the trans community. But the writers have given her an entirely fleshed-out life, with romance and personal relationships, all that stuff. It’s really cool that it wasn’t just kind of putting down a flag and making a statement, it was actually creating a character and giving her a life.

Yeah, totally. She is a three-dimensional, fully fleshed-out character, and I have just come to love her so much.

The couple shared the news in fun posts on Instagram.

Now, this episode looks at violence against the trans community, which is a real thing — it’s insane how underreported this is.

Absolutely, and that’s something that we touch on this episode: exactly how common this is and how no one really understands that. And of course Supergirl, as just a beacon of hope, is coming to Nia and saying, “Listen, you know, we do this every week, we’re going to get this guy,” and Nia’s like “No, we don’t do this every week. I do and the community, they do this every day. You do this never.”

So it’s showing Dreamer as a member of the trans community and as a guardian of the trans community that is going through this and understanding exactly what she’s going through. And it shows Yvette knowing what she’s gone through and understanding her situation as a trans woman.

And how does Kara take this attack on Yvette? Because you know Kara always beats herself up for not being Supergirl enough.

Yeah, she’s panicked and worried for Yvette and for Nia. Her first instinct is “Are you okay? I came as soon as I heard!” and then it’s “We’re going to get this guy” and “You take care of Yvette, I’m Supergirl, I’ve got this.” But then Dreamer is saying “No, I’ve got this.” And she’s also working with William (Staz Nair) to make sure that this is reported accurately.

And the attack on Yvette isn’t by a meta, correct?

No, and that’s what’s so scary about it and so different about this. It isn’t some supervillain, this isn’t a metahuman, this isn’t an alien, it’s not someone with a tragic backstory, you know, “a love lost so I have to become a villain.” This is just someone whose narrative we’ve heard a bunch of times before.

L.A. is still the entertainment capital of the world, but a surprising number of TV shows film outside of California, too.

I just saw it the other day…people online were talking about this episode and they were like, “Oh, well Dreamer’s just, you know, tricking dudes into thinking he’s a girl, yadda yadda,” and I’m like, “that is exactly who this supervillain is.” And it just made me laugh so much because they were trying to s**t on this episode and on this storyline and I’m like, “all of the points you’re making are exactly who this villain is and what he says.” And that’s what’s so scary for Dreamer, that this is just a guy who could be anybody, some average—well not average because he’s deranged—but just some physically normal person who is capable of inflicting that much devastation.

I hope that there is a point where you address the fact that Yvette’s attacker represents so many ignorant humans out there whose minds can’t be changed.

Oh, yeah. And that’s really what we talked about [with the writers]. We talked about giving him a backstory, we talked about “Who is this guy?” I pitched making him one of the Agent of Liberty goons and then we decided that it doesn’t really matter who this guy is, it doesn’t matter where he came from, and it doesn’t matter what tragic backstory he has that made him want to attack people.

The point is he set out to attack someone because of who they are. And so it doesn’t really matter who you are, because your actions define who you are and your actions are defining you as a villain. And so Dreamer has this confrontation with him and it is so not what Supergirl normally does. Supergirl is kind of like, “You don’t have to do this, you can still be good.” But this is Dreamer. She is not on a mission to redeem this person.

Dreamer has her powers to help with this situation, but as an advocate for the community, what would you tell members of the trans community facing this? Because they don’t have superpowers.

You have to protect yourself. It is just a matter of caution because it’s scary, especially in the online dating world, which is kind of where this [story] takes place. You do see Yvette in the end trying to take some [precautionary] steps. If you’re going to meet a stranger, bring a friend, go to a public place. But you know it still happens, so it’s about trying to protect yourself, making sure you are surrounded by people you trust, dropping pins on your phone so people know where you are. It’s taking every possible step to try and protect yourself.

Even still, as we see in this episode, bad things do happen. So trans women, we have to protect ourselves because it is a scary world out there and there are so many people who don’t understand and there are so many states where you’re still able to plead “gay panic” in a court of law. It’s almost always thrown out immediately because it’s, pardon my French, a f***ing stupid excuse, but the fact that it is still legally permissible in court is absurd.

So it’s a matter of protecting yourself, but also telling stories like this and doing what we can to try to educate the community about these issues, about the dangers we face. Because one of the other things that I saw people talking about online [is that] they don’t believe the story we’re doing. They were like “This is ridiculous! Who’s attacking trans people because they’re trans?” I’m like “Are you kidding me!?” That’s why this is so important that we’re doing this episode, because people really don’t even comprehend that people are attacking, let alone killing, trans women brutally for who we are.

So you did get to work with the writers to make sure certain points were covered?

Oh yeah. We had a series of points that we made sure were covered and were addressed. Of course, you never know what’s going to wind up on the cutting room floor but we said, “these are the points that we need to make sure are said.”

We made a point to mention the increased risk that trans women of color are at and when we wrote the episode, we talked about how many trans women in 2019 had been the victims of hate-related violence and how many have we lost. And I think at the time of filming it was something like 23 or 24, so we tried to use that actual number and also point out that the real number is actually probably much, much higher because it does go underreported.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dreamer? Nicole Maines Brings ‘Supergirl’ Home for Nia’s Big Episode

Nia and Kara head to a small town where aliens and humans keep it chill.

And how was it for you after the episode wrapped? I imagine this is really close to the bone for you.

It felt good to do. It felt exciting to do this story because, while it is such heart-wrenching material, I was doing it with people who understood, who were excited to be telling this story and to shed some light on this. And of course, getting to do this with Roxy was amazing because just having her on set is always a blessing. And Pierson, despite the character he plays, he’s actually awesome.

And our director, Armen [Kevorkian] was just so… bless him, he and the writers were so open to talking to me. Armen was just so good about talking to me about any little thing and checking with me, making sure I felt like we’re doing things right. And he had the patience of a saint because I had no business, just peering over his shoulder the whole time, especially when they were doing the scene where Yvette gets attacked. I was there right next to the director, I had my headphones on and was like, “What’s going on? How are we doing?” I was so overprotective of this episode. [Laughs]

That’s hilarious. Next thing is you’re going to be directing an episode next season.

Oh god, I don’t think I’m ready for that. I think I’m better at micromanaging people against their will. [Laughs] I say that, but there wasn’t anything to micromanage because Armen totally understood what we were doing, he understood the importance of this episode and he’s just a fabulous director otherwise. So, doing this with him was just phenomenal and he did such an amazing job. We’re all so excited for people to see this episode.

Supergirl, Sundays, 9/8c, The CW

TV Insider.

[readersguidetotheuniverse]

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

The Book of Regrets

Ariadna: I love how the author puts them down on paper —or on video, considering Hugo’s version of the library. Regretting past decisions is part of our human nature, and most of us live in societies that, even though improving, do not give much space for vulnerability and emotional talking. I found it very interesting how writing them down and reflecting —or acting, as Nora does— on them may help us improve, be more gentle and understanding with ourselves and, in turn, with others around us. I think it is a great symbol of how our regrets weigh us down and how we can deal with them in order to raise above them and grow.

Alicia: If I had in front of me a book of everything I regret and I had the chance to change things, would I? Yes. Hundred percent yes. Cause I am a very regretful person and I have done bad things, treated people badly and just fucked up in many many ways. So if I could I would change about a million things, no doubt. However, I don't have that book. And I can't change things from the past. I can only make sure I don't make the same mistakes in the future. Having regrets is natural but also a royal pain in the ass, pardon my French. I have had sleepless nights cause I remembered that one time I embarrassed myself in front of a guy I had a crush on when I was twelve. It sucks. And I'm slowly but steadily trying to come to an agreement with myself that everyone has done things they regret and it's okay, and I just have to move on. Hopefully one day I will fully embrace this thought.

Marina: I’d like to think everybody has a Book of Regrets, be it a literal book or an imaginary one. We all have made choices that we may regret later on in life even though we thought they were the right ones at the time. The fact that Nora sees them all in writing is, comprehensively, overwhelming; I too would feel pain if I were shown all my regrets in one sitting! But otherwise, it’s a way to show the character (as time goes on in the narrative) that she can overcome them, they were the choices that made her Nora, not Nora the swimmer, not Nora the singer, just Nora. And that’s what I take away from the book: life is not pretty and we may regret some choices, but in the end it’s what makes us real and how we got to this point in our lives, even if it’s not the best of times, we will endure.

The library/videoclub store/restaurant, etc (or why it changes from person to person)

Ariadna: At first, it seemed weird that there existed other versions of the «library». Don’t get me wrong; it seems very organic to me to start reading a book or a movie and being transferred to that particular life, I understand how that plain of existence shapes itself according to the psyche of the individual to accommodate them, make them feel secure, calm, at home, in a way. It just didn’t make sense that you ate spaghetti bolognese and were transported into a life in which you’ve moved to a small village in Tuscany and worked as a photographer in a vineyard state, for the lack of a better example.

Alicia: I think it was such a smart move to have different people go through the same thing but with a different setting to fit each individual's life. It made so much sense to me. Everyone goes through different experiences and feels attached to different things, so the most logical thing would be to have a specific setting for each person according to what they feel the most connected to. I like the library the most, especially because the idea of each life being a different book for you to read is fascinating. But I couldn't help imagining an infinite Blockbuster full of movies of your other lives and I love the concept as well. Now that I think about it, mine would probably be some kind of online streaming service. An afterlife Netflix of sorts.

Marina: I found this part very beautiful. The fact that it changes from person to person to best fit their personalities. I thought about what this in-between place would look like for me but I honestly couldn’t come up with anything! There’s not a place that I associate with complete and utter happiness. I have been happy in many places and sad in many others, so to choose just one is very difficult for me. 

The ending (it cuts abruptly)

Ariadna: Suffering mental illnesses myself, the ending pissed me off. It is predictable, clichéed and plainly boring. Too “feel-good” for me. I think Matt Haig, having suffered depression too himself, could have taken the opportunity to dwell on real ways to deal with this kind of mental illnesses, instead of creating an imaginary place after commiting suicide where you are given a magical second chance (or third, or fourth, or twentieth). This is straightforwardly triggering and naive and does not give much other message than “you just wait, some day you’ll reach rock bottom and suddenly, if you don’t die, you will be awarded a magical 180 degree turn in your life and everything will be better in a split second”. I get it, he wants to highlight how seeing things from different perspectives may help, but that’s not the way to do it, not at all. I think you already got how pissed I am, so I’m leaving it here.

Alicia: The ending was pretty predictable, some parts of it. For me, at least. But still I liked it. Being a person suffering from anxiety and a bit of depression I know it's not that easy and nice and cute. But, at the end, it's a book and it's fiction and I'm not going to try to solve my life with it. What I took from all the lives and the ending is that there are always going to be regrets, no life is perfect, thinking about what could have happened doesn't help anything. Nora realizes what she wants in her life, what she misses, what she did wrong and works to fix that and be nicer to the people around her. I think it's a nice take. Realistic? Probably not. Depression is not gonna just leave. But I think it's quite optimistic and hopeful and that's not always a bad thing.

Marina: To be completely honest I expected how the book would end from pretty much the beginning. So the fact that it ends where and when it does did not surprise me much. I think Matt Haig  could have done a better job. Talking about it with Ariadna and Alicia we have come to the same conclusion: how does Nora deal with her depression? Does she all of a sudden get cured? Or does she still have mental health problems from time to time? It would have been a better ending if it addressed some of those issues but overall it was expected that it wouldn’t.

Mrs. Elm

Ariadna: We all tend to idealise people who do us good or help us in hard times, specially as children. If we are to recall them, we remember them wiser, warmer, prettier... Imho, the library version of Mrs. Elm is an idealisation of the real Mrs. Elm. Being the only supporting adult in her childhood, more specifically, when her father died, Nora considered her a reference, an idol, if you want, so her mind has idealised her like some sort of a gurú or wisewoman. I would have loved to see how, meeting her again in real life, Nora could pinpoint the differences between them and acknowledge that even her young days’ idol has flaws and is a human being like any other. In the end, we tend to love people more because they’re flawed that we would if they were perfect.

Alicia: I think we all have met someone at some point that we looked up to. That person doesn't have to be perfect, or the smartest, or the best person out there. Probably we don't even know that person fully well. But for some reason we find comfort in them, we feel safe. The Mrs Elm from the library and the real Mrs Elm are not the same person. Sometimes we create a mental picture of people that doesn't 100% match with reality, but that doesn't mean it's not true for us. Real Mrs Elm said she was a bad wife and not a good mother, she maybe wasn't the person Nora thought she was, but she was still kind to her and took care of her when she needed it the most. Everyone can make mistakes sometimes but some things can't be faked, like true kindness. Maybe it's a bit naive of me, but I think mistakes can be forgiven if the person really is pure of heart. I think these kinda people are rare. At least, I haven't found many. (Truth be told I tend to easily see the bad in people so I am not the greatest example here). I think that in my library I would find a literature professor I had in my freshman year of college. I rarely talked to him outside of class, and if I did it was barely greeting in hallways, but I admired him so much and I felt at peace when I listened to him speak. I think he would be my Mrs Elm.

Marina: The differences for me are obvious: Mrs Elm in real life is a person, just another normal human being with problems and regrets. Her library counterpart, however, is just an entity that guided Nora through her regrets and helped her “overcome” them. So, in a way, we could theorize that the Mrs Elm in the library is really Nora’s own conscience trying to help her through her mental state.

Quantum theory or the multiverse

Ariadna: I love the idea of the multiverses (who doesn’t, after the whole MCU multiverse, timeline altering mumbo jumbo), of how a single minor decision can change your life drastically. I found it somehow inspiring and terrifying at the same time. It is scary to consider the power every little decision has in your life, how it can turn your life upside down but, at the same time, it offers billions of possibilities, it encourages you to try, to get past the infamous Book of Regrets, for you never know if a «bad decision» could have turned otherwise even more awful than what you think is your life now. It’s all about perspective.

Alicia: I am completely enthralled by the concept of the multiverse and also confused as heck. I am not one for science so really specific explanations just sound like gibberish in my mind, but the idea of an infinite number of universes existing simultaneously blows my mind. I keep seeing it in movies and TV shows and I fall for it every single time. At the same time, it stresses me out a little bit. It makes me wonder what I am doing differently in those other universes, am I happier? Am I successful? What if in one universe I worked harder or wasn't as picky and I managed to get a job I truly enjoy? What if I moved to a different city like I have always wanted to? What if I wasn't as afraid of living...

Marina: I geeked out a bit, not gonna lie, when Hugo explained the whole quantum theory of the multiverse. I’d like to think there’s one Marina out there that, for example, knows how to speak perfect Chinese; or runs marathons every year  (though that would be very hard!); or dresses like a hipster or a million other things. I do believe that every choice we make turns into a different reality; but, just the same as it creates a new universe, it makes me who I am. It makes me the woman that writes about books for fun, that likes to have dinner with her friends and get a little tipsy on one cocktail or too shy to talk to anyone but will power through a public talk because she is also a bit of a badass (if I do say so myself ;P). And even though I get sad sometimes because I regret some choices I made, in the end, it brought me here and I have to believe it’s where I am meant to be. I sound way more chipper about it than I actually am sometimes… I mean, I do try to look on the bright side as often as I can!

Nora’s “perfect” life and why she didn’t choose it

Ariadna: Maybe you’ll call me spoilsport, but I think nobody gets their real “perfect” life, that it does not truly exist, because then accomplished turns out to be underwhelming. I think that’s what happened to Nora, why she couldn’t stay in that fairytale version of her life: because she was, in some way, bored. She had everything she ever wanted, therefore, she had nothing to really fight for, nothing to make her life motivating and interesting. I think, in the end, life is just the not-so-perfectly balanced mix of good and bad times, successes and failures. If all we did was win, we would end up not valuing the successes and living a bland, boring life. I think one of the main morals of this book is precisely to learn how to value good and bad times equally, to learn to find the good in the seemingly awful and the bad in the seemingly perfect to find the right in between.

Alicia: I knew quite early on that she'd end up going back to her original life, I think it was quite predictable and expected. However, that didn't stop me wishing she decided to stay in her 'perfect life' with Molly and Ash. Mostly cause I was rooting for her and that happy ending she seemed so desperate to find, and this seemed to be it. She could finally be with someone good who loved her, have a loving family, a good relationship with her brother, have a nice career in philosophy... it was just perfect, but it wasn't hers. And being honest, I also wouldn't want to live another life that wasn't mine. Even if it belongs to myself from another universe, it is still not mine to live. I rather have a life in which everything I have, I earned.

Marina: We all would love to have that “perfect” life, or what we think is a perfect life, right? To have a bigger house, a nicer car, a sexier body, or whatever you think “perfect” means. But not many people can say they actually live their perfect life. Nora gets that choice and, as I think many of us would realize,  it’s not altogether what she imagined. Yes, she gets the guy; yes, she gets a great daughter that loves her, but is she happier there than she was in her crappy apartment with her crappy job and her cat? In a way, I guess, but ultimately no. She is aware that this is not the life she created for herself, nor the life she will get to live. I feel like this would happen to all of us if we had the opportunity to live our “perfect” lives, we would get everything we wanted but at what cost? What did we sacrifice to get there? Would it be a price worth paying? As the Stones say: “You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes, well, you might find / You get what you need”.

[the-desolated-quill]

The Darkness Of Mere Being - Watchmen blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t read this comic yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Watchmen is often called a groundbreaking work of literature, and I very much agree with that sentiment. It’s also often described as a masterpiece. This I take issue with. While the graphic novel explores some very compelling ideas, I do honestly think the last few issues are where Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons... I wouldn’t say they dropped the ball, but they were definitely fumbling with it a little bit.

So just to forewarn you, these reviews are going to be a tad more critical from here on out.

The Darkness Of Mere Being continues directly on from the events of Old Ghosts after Doctor Manhattan has taken Laurie to Mars. It has apparently been predestined that the future of Earth and of mankind would be decided there as Laurie has to try and convince this emotionless, all powerful entity that the world is worth saving.

From a conceptual standpoint, this works really well. You feel Laurie’s frustration and desperation as she tries in vain to convince her ex that humanity has value. Over the course of the graphic novel, we’ve seen Manhattan grow more and more distant from humanity, and now that he’s been accused of giving those closest to him cancer, the last remaining ties to his humanity have been severed. He’s distanced himself from Earth because he finds life too complicated and tiresome. He’d much rather live in exile on Mars playing with atoms because, unlike people, atoms have structure and order. Once again, it’s a meditation on the nature of power. How Manhattan is paradoxically both powerful and powerless within the world of Watchmen. He’s a godlike figure and yet is completely at the mercy of predestination theory. As he himself puts it:

“We’re all puppets Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings.”

At the core of this issue is the question of what possible reason could a superhuman have to care for mere mortals like us. And the answer is... there really isn’t. As we’ve discussed before in my previous reviews, the only reason Manhattan stuck with Laurie was more out of a sense of obligation rather than genuine love or affection. So this isn’t like Superman and Lois Lane where Kal-El/Clark Kent was raised on Earth and became humanity’s champion with Lois being his main source of inspiration. Whereas Superman’s perspective is focused exclusively on the people around him, Manhattan’s goes beyond that. He understands the whole of time and space. He can see the very atoms of everything around him and control them at a whim. He has no reason to truly care for anyone because humans, to him, are mere atoms in a sea of atoms. Again, as he himself puts it way back in the very first issue:

“A live body and a dead body contain the same number of particles. Structurally there’s no discernible difference.”

Even his change of heart at the end isn’t motivated by emotion or a sense of moral duty. As the two discuss Laurie’s life, she discovers that the Comedian, the same man who raped her mother, was her biological father. While she understandably breaks down over this revelation, Manhattan sees inspiration in this. That a woman is capable of falling in love with the man who raped her to the point where she would give birth to his child proves, in Manhattan’s mind, that humanity is worth saving after all because of their unpredictability, comparing it to a thermodynamic miracle of turning air into gold. So he’s going to save humanity. Not because he cares about us, but because of a newfound fascination with them. His goals may have changed, but the character is still just as cold and uncaring as he was before, seeing us like microbes under a microscope to be studied rather than actual lives.

The ideas are all sound. I even like the idea of the Comedian being Laurie’s real father because it ties in with the overall themes of Watchmen. Sally Jupiter falling in love with and having consensual sex with her rapist is similar to Nite Owl partnering up with Rorschach despite his ultra right wing, bigoted and extreme views. It all speaks to the nihilistic nature of both the characters and the book. There’s no black and white and things are often much more complicated than we would like. Also credit has to go to Dave Gibbons for his stunning artwork in this issue, including the final image of the real life smiley face crater on Mars, which hammers home everything I’ve described very effectively.

However...

Yes, this is where the criticism comes in. Brace yourselves.

One aspect I find very suspect is the revelation that Manhattan may not quite be as omniscient as we first thought. You see despite being able to predict future events willy nilly throughout the graphic novel, when Laurie asks him to just tell her how the debate ends, he’s conveniently unable to do so because of a sudden burst of tachyons blocking his vision. Now I don’t know about you, but this has the tiniest whiff of bullshit about it. It’s like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were halfway through writing the story when one of them suddenly realised that Manhattan’s omniscience could potentially lots of plot holes later on, so they just pulled this out of their arses to cover it up. It’s kind of stupid, especially when there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation without the use of tachyons. Like with the Kennedy assassination, Manhattan could have been aware of what would happen at the end of the graphic novel, but doesn’t do anything because of predestination theory. That would have been fine. That would have been perfectly in-keeping with the character and his themes. Instead we get the biggest bloody plot convenience this side of the pissing Sorting Hat from the second Harry Potter book. I mean if his vision is being blocked by tachyons, then surely he shouldn’t be able to see the future at all, right? Why is it only affecting him now? Utterly ridiculous.

My second complaint centres around Laurie herself.

Up until I’ve been very much enjoying what Moore is doing with Laurie and her alter ego Silk Spectre. Using her sexualised, impractical costume and the clash between her and her mother as a way of exploring and critiquing how women are often viewed and presented in comics. The problem I have however is, having now thoroughly explored it, at no point does Moore ever try to challenge it. This problem first emerged back in A Brother To Dragons where we see her serve Dan’s power fantasy, but this is where it really becomes apparent. She’s just made a shocking and terrible revelation. That her father is the Comedian. A rapist, a murderer and a bastard. Naturally she’s very upset by this, but Manhattan, being so distant, doesn’t fully comprehend her distress. Now this isn’t bad in and of itself for the reasons I’ve just explained. It works from a conceptual standpoint. I’d honestly be fine with it if we see this properly addressed in a future issue. And that’s the problem. Aside from a few brief mentions, we never get to see Laurie fully come to terms with the knowledge of who her father is, which is just crazy to me. It’s as though Laurie serves no purpose as a character in and of herself, but rather how she influences the story’s of the male characters. Laurie discovering her real father isn’t important. It’s Manhattan’s change of heart that’s important. She’s just a means to an end. I can’t tell if this was deliberate or accidental on Moore’s part, but either way, I don’t like it because it reduces her as a character and completely undermines the feminist critique she was offering. It reminds me of the anal sex gag from the first Kingsman movie where it crosses the line between mocking the reductive roles of women and actively reinforcing them. Whereas before Laurie’s character was making a mockery of the unrealistic way women are often portrayed in comics to support a man’s story or to titillate a male reader, now she’s become the very thing she was designed to mock in the first place. It’s such a shame because it just feels like a missed opportunity.

The Darkness Of Mere Being has some brilliant ideas and doesn’t shy away from exploring them. However a few missteps along the way unfortunately lessens the impact of those ideas, at least in my opinion.

[clairvoyantxatu]

On Pokémon and Insensitive Portrayals

WARNING! LEAKED CONTENT FOR POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD AHEAD! AS WELL AS DISCUSSION ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS! AND PLEASE, DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS UNTIL YOU FINISH READING THE TEXT, I TRIED MY BEST NOT TO DEMONIZE ANY OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED IN THIS DEBATE!

So, I’ve just found out that some Jewish fans have condemning the design of Impidimp’s final evolution, Grimmsnarl, for being eerily similar to antisemitic caricatures from Nazi propaganda.

They claim his green complexion, curly dark hair and long, pointy nose is pretty close to Third Reich-era depictions of Jewish people. The issue is similar to the controversy surruounding Jynx that happened when the series first came to the West. I decided to write this in order to expose my opinions on the matter, and maybe prevent further conflicts between defenders and accusers. Keep in mind, I can’t speak for Jewish people since I’m not one of them, but I personally believe anyone can share their opinions about controversial topics as long as they don’t commit the mistake of thinking they know more about a group they don’t belong to than themselves. Here goes my thoughts:

I personally DON’T believe Game Freak, as a company at least, is actively discriminatory against any group in particular; the majority of their employees, even the main members of its staff, might hold some biases coming from the still pretty conservative Japanese culture they’re inserted in. But they’ve already shown thorugh their actions throughout the years they’re not trying to perpetuate hatred towards any group in particular, even taking some measures - some of them, even too drastic, IMO - to secure that, like changing Jynx’ color palette starting from Gen III, temporarily replacing Brock in the anime with Tracey and slightly altering Gym Leader Lenora’s default design to please the fans concerned with their possible racist implications. But I think the biggest proof of that is how, starting from Gen V, they’ve been making an effort to include more diversity among their human cast, including more and more characters with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds with each passing generation, and even alluding to sexual diversity from time to time - if only through subtext, in the latter’s case (save for that post-op trans woman in the Battle Chateau, which got slightly less explicit in the English localization). Of course, not everything is perfect in that department, as can be attested by their reluctancy to depict the Player Characters in their more dark-skinned variations, as of X and Y, (and before that, the complete absence of that possibility in-game) in promotional art and spinoff media outside of screenshots of main series games designed specifically to showcase character customization, but I’d like to think this had more to do with the Japanese market - still their main target audience, despite the franchise’s success over the entire globe - being hesitant to accept character designs outside certain “standards” for their PC’s even to this day, to a lesser extent than in the past, of course. But one thing that people need to understand is that companies are complex entities encompassing many individual minds; them having flaws and making mistakes from time to time does not necessarily mean they are rotten to the core, even if, in the end, their main priority is making money for themselves (altruism is NOT a strong point in capitalist societies, sadly, but I digress).

With all that said, I’d like to point out as well, that sometimes, good intentions are not enough to perform a good deed; in fact, they can lead to grave consequences! And it’s not different with representation; sometimes, one can intend to portray a character from a certain group in a positive light and end up being tremendously insensitive, usually due to their own ignorance towards that group. I believe that’s the case with Jynx and other examples from Pokémon; while I’m one of the fans who prefer to believe Jynx is based on the Youkai Yama-Uba (refer to this link for more info on that: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Jynx_(Pok%C3%A9mon)#Origin), I cannot deny there is a strong similarity between Jynx’ original design and blackface caricatures, specially since the Yama-Uba is usually portrayed in Noh theatre by performers wearing blackface - even if without the intention to emulate actual black people. It doesn’t help that the anime chose to portray this species as Pokémon’s equivalent of Santa Claus’ usual elf assistants, possibly linking Jynx to Zwarte Peit, a infamous folklore figure heavily associated with Santa as well. In regards to the substantially smaller Lenora controversy, I personally believe it was the case of GF misinterpreting some depictions of black women from less-enlightened times, in particular those borrowing from the mammy stereotype, as something more positive than they actually were, possibly connecting them to traditional Japanese ideals of femininity and motherhood, but that’s just a wild guess, I admit. What I’m sure, however, is that while Lenora’s apron could be excused as a means to carry her archeological tools, even if I’ve never seen an actual archeologist wearing aprons to do so, her original Gym Leader Title in the Japanese version of the Gen V games, “Natural-born Mama” raises a lot of suspicion against the intent behind her design, specially since she’s not known to have children, have a particularly “motherly” personality, act as a mother figure towards any character in-game or have an occupation that could be interpreted as being akin to a mother’s role; the best I can think of is Lenora and her husband referring to each other as “mama” and “papa”, but considering other Gym Leader titles refer more to their main character features, and Lenora’s relationship with Hawes is more of side note in comparison to her role as Nacrene Museum’s director... the fact the rest of her characterization is pretty straightforward, lacking any racial elements to it, however, lends credency to the idea GF didn’t intend her to be a caricature of black women.

Nevertheless, the closeness between those depictions and real world racist depictions of minority groups is still unsettling, at least to some. And just because the author’s intention wasn’t to offend a certain group, it doesn’t mean people don’t have the right to dislike their work for that. After all, so many people hate Palkia’s design for resembling male genitalia despite that obviously not being the intention! What if they coloured Cloyster light pink instead? Would you blame people for associating it (even more) with a vagina? I’m not saying we should storm off GF’s office demanding they change Grimmsnarl’s design while accusing them of being bigots, specially since I don’t believe it’s the case at all; all Im saying is that there’s a strong point of favour of those discontent with the characters’ design, despite all claims that it’s not meant to represent something they despise. I don’t know if GF should feel impelled to change Grimmsnarl’s colouring to solely please those people, but I’m sure I’d also hate if they created, even unintentionally, a character who bore too much resemblance to a particularly negative depicition from a group I belong to, say, some Fuu Manchuu-esque Evil Team Leader or the like. If they simply made a new Pokémon with a Chinese-inspired aesthetic, even if some elements were a bit cliché, like Ludicolo is for Mexican people, I wouldn’t mind nearly as much.

And I don’t think anyone should dismiss those concerns, much less with weak arguments such as “if you see racism in that, then you’re the real bigot” like I’ve seen out there, just because they don’t grasp the ideas I exposed above. Neither do I approve the attitude of people who react with too much intensity to opposition towards their accusations or jump the gun and accuse GF of being prejudiced towards a specific group without enough evidence or incite violence of any kind towards them because of those unfortunate depictions. Remember, they come from a culture far away from our Western issues, so it’s more likely than not that they aren’t even aware of them, specially more relatively obscure elements like old Nazi propaganda. Having a British man as one of their main designers can help, but even Western people aren’t aware of all Western problems, so...

[dontcallmecarrie]

I come bearing ENDGAME SPOILERS with my shatterpoints! So, in Endgame the Avengers have to time travel to get the Infinity Stones (cause current Thanos destroyed them). With that, they basically create new time lines in the years 2012 and '14. One shatterpoint idea is through some accident(?) with the machine they also land in 1 or both of TWIFFON or NV 'verses. They (the travelers) try to complete the mission within the 'verses with more problems than expected. JARVIS anyone? *evil laugh* p/1.

p/2 TWIFFON and/or NV Tony go to Canon Tony’s ‘verse potentially with backup (Legion or not) either just after Thanos snaps his fingers with Inf. Stones (Inf. War), before everyone does the time travel (and meets little Morgan, Canon Tony’s daughter via Pepper) or as 2014 Thanos travels forward in time to present and now everyone is confused but everyone destroys Thanos and Tony does not have to sacrifice himself and die to save the universe. Fun times after.

p/3 Kinda goes of the previous part. Tony & Legion or NV Maria w/ Tony come through and decimate Thanos and army hilariously easily or just in really weird ways. This is supposed to be a crack story. Afterwards the Tonys both trade stories about all the necessary and not necessary stuff. There is no death except for Thanos and flunkies. The End.

…welp, suddenly I’m very glad I’ve been lowkey noping out of canon because what. Aren’t Infinity Stones supposed to be these super powerful things that alter the fabric of reality? How the heck does Thanos— 

You know what? Never mind, guess I’ll find out later. But wow, am I so glad I’m throwing canon out the window for TWiFFON after Siberia because what even.

As for the latter part of your ask, and the potential AU it’d spawn: even if I have yet to see the movie [and won’t until after I graduate at this rate, probably], I think I have an idea of how something like this would go down. [Though, sidenote for nomenclature— for me, shatterpoints are ‘this is where I turned right at this point in the story, this is how it would’ve looked like if I had turned left’ things.]

under the cut, because I get rambly.

Here’s the thing: remember how I outlined TWiFFON a long while back, and am not planning on changing the big things anytime soon? Yeah, that’s going to be a factor. Because my take on Thanos had me imagining him as this faceless, terrifying shadowy Destroyer of Worlds with a never-ending legion of Chitauri at his disposal, and courted Death with the ashes of the planets he decimated.

So this is the Thanos that TWiFFON!Tony remembers dealing with.

[and it’s also why there’s rumors of a ‘Terran Empire’ already making rounds so soon afterwards, because the rest of the galaxy is just kinda collectively going ‘WTF what do you mean this backwater dirtball took down the goddamn Mad Titan’— but that’s an story for another day]

What I’m saying is, if anyone from canon shows up, there would be just a metric buttload of miscommunication going on, especially at first. Even more so if anyone from Team Cap shows up.

Granted, by now, everyone in TWiFFON’s just kinda kicking back and relaxing [except for Tony, who’s never, ever going to live this down]. Plus, with everything else they’ve dealt with, it’d take a lot to faze them.

So when portals start showing up, they take it in stride.

And when the shattered remnants of the team that was supposed to defend the world tumble through, Tony’s more than happy to help compare notes— and that’s when the whole ‘huh, looks like your Infinity Stones don’t work the way ours do, ours are six cosmic singularities that’ve been around since like the Big Bang and will probably be still kicking when the heat death of the universe rolls around’ thing comes out.

There’d be metric amounts of shade being thrown around, too. Intentional or not, because while the team in TWiFFON’s still kinda ticked off at Team Cap, they wouldn’t rub anything in to these guys— but there’s always things that slip out. Like, ‘what, you never looked into that tech as an option?’ and ‘so that’s what would’ve happened if I had just done this’ and seeing the could-have-beens would…not be particularly pleasant to the canon crew, I think. 

Even more so, when they get wind of who the TWiFFON team had to fight. And Tony in particular would be in a very specific sort of hell, hearing JARVIS and finding out just how important his AI were to saving the day […sure, apparently they also had latent Skynet and HAL tendencies, but still]. 

[also, this is also definitely the AU where JARVIS would stealthily upload a copy of himself to canon!Tony somehow, because obviously, nobody’s been taking good care of his creator and clearly this was a situation that needed remedying—but that’s a headache for another time]

Wait, no— Tony’s not the only one who’s in hell. Everyone who ever gave Tony a hard time about Ultron is also seeing this, and it’s a bizarre mix of vindication and the worst sort of agony to find out that Tony’s plan would have worked. 

That’s only if the canon crew showed up after the Final Battle arc, though. If there’s time travel mixed into this, things either wouldn’t be very different [again, canon only really going out the window after Siberia— anything before AoU would be fair game].

As for how anything would look like in LTTR…

First things first, yep, it’s now definitely a cracky AU. It was supposed to be an angsty character backstory thing, I’m still not quite sure where the plot came from. Maria Stark nee Carbonell and her son are both terrifying, terrifying people, and [kinda spoilery, but] Thanos is going to kinda get oneshotted/ ‘taken care of’ by the Woman From Italy or some other faceless Elder God from Night Vale’s inky depths. 

[again, bear in mind the mental image I have of Thanos, prior to watching Infinity War/Endgame/etc]

…but you know what could very possibly happen, in one timeline? 

After recovering from the car accident, Maria Stark has been just traveling through time and space, trying to find her home dimension with Bucky in tow. 

…it’s a work in progress. But Maria refuses to give up until they’re back home, and Bucky’s tagging along because why not. Also because she saved him and she’s helping him get a handle on some of the powers he may or may not have ended up getting from the ‘forced to be the embodiment of Desert Bluffs’ thing, there’s that, too.

They’re two powerful and rather chaotic entities, and typically don’t try to meddle too much because, again, they just want to go home, but.

When they tumble out of a portal to see the Avengers desperately trying to fight Thanos, they would most definitely step in, and that’s the story of how a budding eldritch abomination just kinda shows up to oneshot their Big Bad, wave at Iron Man, and leave, with only a dead body as proof that they were ever there.

Dr. Strange would get a migraine, and, upon further investigation, look at Tony very oddly for several months afterwards. But hey, happily ever after, since Thanos doesn’t have the chance to even think about snapping his fingers.

Oh—there’s another thing about Maria Stark: she’s very, very big on family, and will raise hell in their defense. [gee I wonder who Tony takes after more] 

also, if it helps any for the mental image on how she is about family: picture How it Should Have Ended’s Darth Vader whenever there’s so much as a hint that he could be a father. Just change the gender, and you’ve pretty much got Maria.

What this also means, however, is that her reactions can go a bit…overboard, at times. 

Such as the discovery that apparently, in one timeline, she has a granddaughter? 

Well. 

Let’s just say it does not go well for Thanos, in that particular reality.

.

again, have yet to see Infinity War, or Endgame. I probably botched something, but this is how a crossover would probably go down in my AUs.

[twitchesandstitches]

some thoughts on hyper pregnancy and those who enable it

in the Endowed Fleet, and most especially among the men and non-binary beings who have modified themselves to be as virile as possible and altered themselves for maximal physical compatiabiltiy with any alien and universal offspring production, sex drives ramp up just as intensely as it does for the more commonly known MILFs.

its a little bit of a combination of a cultural attitude towards hedonism (sex is not regarded as being particularly deep or important, but scratching a physical itch and something people can indulge in if it pleases them), a very pressing need to constantly reproduce in order to populate their many worlds and keep on rebuilding the shattered multiverse... and because a side effect of these changes is that the men don’t get sexual pleasure specifically from the act itself (though they do), but from impregnating their partners!

when they do, it is a spiritual and profound release that completes them, as though they were fulfilling their function and purpose (Possibly as a result from Gem-based modifications, and their functionalist society has certain consequences on the mind); nothing is better than making a gigantic MILF even more of a mother, to the people with these alterations!

this is another example of how mods can have unpredictable transformations, though never ones that would be genuinely unwanted; these people have altered themselves to produce offspring, as many as possible, with the widest range of beings (To the point that they can breed with beings that it should be physically impossible for them to do so with, ranging from mechanical beings to purely spiritual entities), and to gestate the resulting children as quickly as possible. Some are so virile that they continously produce raw genetic material and need to be ‘milked’ fairly frequently, and others transcend virility into the abstract, and create a wave of virility that impregnates every receptive person around them for a certain distance based on their power. (A sufficiently strong breeder could potentially impregnate an entire galaxy, if so inclined, though this would be exceptionally rare... outside the Fleet.)

Someone with a virility field, who can also themselves get pregnant, COULD impregnate themselves, which is probably a potentially dangerous cascade effect.

This kind of breeder is also popular in the other main factions, though they are likely to be more morally dubious; people in the Fleet that are like this invariably CHOSE this. Those in the Stingers were likely raised to be docile breeders and are waited on hand and foot, but their lack of agency might be unsettling to some. Among the Cartels... yeah, there are some squickly sources of their mANY foot soldiers. In the Ringers, though, such people are likely to be potent military officials and being allowed to reproduce with them is considered an honor, granted as a reward for great deeds.

(All this attributes can also apply to women who have modified themselves to impregnate others; however, such blessings tend to be a bit less powerful than for those who specialize in this sort of thing.)

[genuinechem22]

DMT, the ‘Spirit Molecule’

Everything You Need to Know About DMT, the ‘Spirit Molecule’

DMT — or N, N-dimethyltryptamine in medical talk — is a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug. Sometimes referred to as Dimitri, this drug produces effects similar to those of psychedelics, like LSD and magic mushrooms.

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Other names for it include:

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- 45-minute psychosis

- spiritual molecule

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DMT is a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, which means it’s illegal to make, buy, possess, or distribute it. Some cities have recently decriminalized it, but it’s still illegal under state and federal law.

Where does it come from?

DMT naturally occurs in many plant species, which have been used in religious ceremonies in some South American countries for centuries.

It can also be made in a laboratory.

Is it the same thing as ayahuasca?

Kind of. DMT is the main active ingredient ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca is traditionally prepared using two plants called Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis. The latter contains DMT while the former contains MAOIs, which prevent certain enzymes in your body from breaking down DMT.

Does it really naturally exist in your brain?

No one knows for sure.

Some experts believe the pineal gland produces it in the brain and releases it when we dream.

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Others believe it’s released during birth and death. Some go further to say this release of DMT at death may be responsible for those mystical near-death experiences you sometimes hear about.

What does it feel like?

As with most drugs, DMT can affect people in very different ways. Some truly enjoy the experience. Others find it overwhelming or frightening.

As far as its psychoactive effects, people have described feeling like they’re traveling at warp speed through a tunnel of bright lights and shapes. Others describe having an out-of-body experience and feeling like they’ve changed into something else.

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There are also some who report visiting other worlds and communicating with elf-like beings.

Some people also report a pretty rough comedown from DMT that leaves them feeling unsettled.

How is it consumed?

Synthetic DMT usually comes in the form of a white, crystalline powder. It can be smoked in a pipe, vaporized, injected, or snorted.

When used in religious ceremonies, plants and vines are boiled to create a tea-like drink of varying strengths.

How long does it take to work?

Synthetic DMT kicks in pretty fast, producing effects within 5 to 10 minutes.

Plant-based brews tend to produce effects within 20 to 60 minutes.

How long does it last?

The intensity and duration of a DMT trip depends on several things, including:

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Generally, the effects of inhaled, snorted, or injected DMT last for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Drinking it in a brew like ayahuasca can leave you tripping for anywhere from 2 to 6 hours.

Does it cause any side effects?

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DMT is a powerful substance that can cause a number of mental and physical side effects. Some of these are desirable, but others not so much.

Possible mental effects of DMT include:

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Keep in mind that some people experience lingering mental effects for days or weeks after use.

Physical effects of DMT can include:

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Are there any risks?

Yes, some of them potentially serious.

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DMT’s physical side effects of raising both heart rate and blood can be risky, especially if you have a heart condition or already have high blood pressure.

Using DMT may also cause:

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- confusion

It may also be associated with respiratory arrest and coma.

Like other hallucinogenic drugs, DMT may cause persistent psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Both are rare and more likely to occur in people with preexisting mental health conditions.

Serotonin syndrome warning

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DMT can result in high levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This can lead to a potentially life threatening condition called serotonin syndrome disorder.

People who use DMT while taking antidepressants, especially monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), have a higher risk for developing this condition.

Seek immediate medical attention if you’ve used DMT and experience the following symptoms:

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Side effects

The main effect is psychological, also with intense visual and auditory hallucinations, euphoria, and an altered sense of space, body, and time. Many users describe profound as life-changing experiences like visiting other worlds, talking with alien entities known as “DMT elves” or “machine elves,” and total shifts in the perception of identity and reality.When also smoked, it produces brief but yet intense visual and auditory hallucinations that have been described by users as an alternate reality, otherworldly, or a near-death experience.

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When taken orally, DMT can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Depending on the individual user, the DMT experience can also range from intensely exciting to overwhelmingly frightening. The experience can be so powerful that users may have difficulty processing and integrating the “trip” into their real life. Mental side effects may linger for many days or weeks after ingestion of the drug.

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It is one of the best you will ever come across in its category because it is easy to digest and quick to react.

[demonologist-in-denim]

Another Apocalypse on the Horizon

To our boys,

 What is it about you pair of idjits, huh? What is it about you and your lives and this television show which keeps us all so enthralled? Week after week, season after season, we listen for the rev of that black ’67 Chevy Impala, feeling it reverberate in our bones and in our souls. You were nothing more than paper scripts and piecemeal costumes, shoddy sets in Vancouver and a passion for classic rock. And now, well, now you’re alive. Now you’re real. Sam and Dean Winchester don’t just live in our imaginations. Somewhere in all your wandering around the country, slaying monsters and demons and the divine, you carved out a piece of every single one of us, and crafted for yourselves living, breathing bodies. Your souls are composed of ours. And through you two denim-clad nightmares, your trench-coated angel, your redneck scholar, your snarky king of hell, our world gains an inexplicable tangibility. Velveteen rabbits, all of us, made more real by believing in each other. How is that possible? How could a mere television show impact us like this? And what will happen when Supernatural finally ends? Will you stop believing in us, and in doing so, unravel the world we created together?

When Supernatural first aired in September of 2005, it had all the makings of a great television show. The bond between brothers, an expansive mythology, the open road as its setting, its tongue-in-cheek humor matched with gruesome horror, and its monster-of-the-week format captivated its audience. What was unexpected was the response Supernatural engendered in that audience, the emotional connection that formed a reciprocal relationship between creators and viewers-turned-participants. The Supernatural fan community rose up and laid claim to their beloved narrative, providing more than just television ratings and merchandising opportunities. As individuals and as a community, they constructed a space within reality where the narrative developed substance and form. This is the theory of imagined communities applied to narrative, and through it, our boys – for they are our boys, belonging now to each and every one of us – exist beyond the confines of our imagination.

The Supernatural fandom is a capacious universe of fanfiction and art, compilation videos, podcasts, and tumultuous tumblr posts, sprawling across the internet in a cacophonous celebration of the epic of the Winchester brothers. Beyond the internet, the fandom birthed a global community of participants, who attend far-flung conventions, contribute en masse to charitable causes and disaster relief, and build relationships beyond the confines of their divergent experiences. It is a community in its own right. There is often the sense at Supernatural conventions that while the actors are the tangible embodiment of the Winchesters and their world, they are joining the fans in creating the reality of Supernatural, and not the other way around.

An imagined community is a socially constructed reality, one which does not exist on its own, but comes into being when enough people perceive it as being real. This sociological theory is most often applied to the creation of the nation-state: the countries we inhabit do not exist without the consensus of its citizens, with agreed-upon rules of governance, commerce, etc. These realities also require a core mythology or origin story, symbols which embody the reality of that nation-state, and supposedly shared values. These communities are referred to as imaginary because they cannot exist as independent, self-sustaining entities.

What’s all that got to do with Supernatural?

In the space between episodes and the summer “hellaitus” between seasons, the world of Supernatural does not go into stasis. Rather, it continues in the fandom’s tethered collective consciousness. Together, we imagine a cohesive, fluid reality which is external and self-perpetuating, and which can be explored and developed without the input or restrictions of the show’s creators.

In our collective minds, Sam and Dean are out there, somewhere, battling monsters, struggling with internal demons, falling in and out of love, and bickering over long drives towards indistinct dangers. Their disjointed family is also perceived as continuing to develop and live their day-to-day lives: Benny is still hacking away in Purgatory; Bobby is “woke” to Heaven’s numbing effects; Jody lives in the perpetual hell of raising two teenagers alone and hunting monsters and running a sheriff’s department. And Crowley. Somewhere out there, Crowley is receiving all the love he earned through his attempts at redemption. As a fandom, we participate in the construction and development of that reality, in our fanfiction and community boards, and individually, in our daydreams and the internalization of the show’s conflicting morals and values.

This collective consciousness of the fandom, in which the Winchesters hunt and live beyond the confines of the show, is an imagined community. It exists because we, as creators and actors and fans, participate and believe in it. We believe that participating in this fandom constructs a kind of family – the SPN family – and because we believe that family to be a real entity, it is. If only a handful of fans believed the SPN family to be a real entity, and all the other fans did not, then this family would not exist. Because we all participate in the imagined community of the world of Supernatural, and perceive it as something which continues outside the confines of the show, it carries the weight and tangibility of reality. It impacts and influences us, and through us, actual reality.

When the two of you set off down this road, were you aware of the extent to which you would alter lives? Did you ever imagine that in the process of hunting things and saving people, you would encounter monsters within yourselves, and force us to do the same? That in saving your world and each other, you would save all of us as well? Even when Supernatural as a television show comes to a close, you will carry on, the Impala traversing yet another dark highway towards yet more peril. That road now stretches out beyond the confines of opening and closing credits. It stretches farther than any one of us – creators, actors, fans – can imagine alone. You have given us each other. In return, we give you infinite blacktop and that far horizon. You will carry on, Sam and Dean, and you will carry these wayward sons and daughters with you.

                                                                       The Demonologist in Denim