#So I realise as I post this that this trio only really exists in my brain so it may seem weird but

[dutifullyswagwizard]

Pirate Princess ╰(*°▽°*)╯✨

Here's the rest of the doodles also yeah I cut Link out of the close up oopsie, I guess.

[dadbastiandisaster]

First of all, thank you all so much for the nice reblogs on the Claude Headcanons, post, second of all

✨🌸 Hannah and the Triplets Headcanons 🌸✨

Hannah is the only Demon in the show I imagine as being very old and very powerful. She could kill Sebastian and Claude with both hands tied behind her back and it wouldn’t even be difficult for her. I also think she is a fallen Angel, unlike all the other Kuro Demons who I headcanon as humans who went to Hell

Conversely, the Triplets are all fairly young, only a couple of hundred years old, and especially individually they are fairly weak

I read on someone’s headcanons (possibly @eemoo1o-animoo) that they were one Demon broken into three, which I think is really cool, so I guess my other idea would be that they were a human soul that either as punishment or just be happenstance got broken into three

My personal headcanon is Demons can’t have kids, they just start existing, so the Triplets aren’t technically siblings, they just popped into existence in roughly the same region of Hell and have been together ever since.

Hannah saved their lives in Hell and they will now do pretty much whatever she says. They were also the first of instance of Hannah just being like ‘I’m your mum now deal with it’ (I’m electing to ignore all the weird shit about Hannah’s boobs - remember, Marie Kondo approach to canon)

She didn’t realise that what she felt for Luka was maternal love, and not hunger for his soul, and she does feel sorrow that she killed him. She had mostly taken contracts with less than pleasant humans that she was always more than happy to dispatch, so she’d never really spent much time around children.

She both wants to protect Alois from Claude for Luka’s sake, and because she felt she lost her chance to raise a child in Luka and so she sought out Alois.

She’d definitely try, but I honestly don’t know if Hannah would do a vastly better job than Claude. Other than anything else, since she barely talks to Alois, so she doesn’t really know him all that well, and he is a very different person to Luka

Also she’s approximately a bajillion years old so she definitely has 0 moral compass, even less of one than Claude or Sebastian.

The Triplets sometimes switch their partings around and pretend to be each other to fuck with Claude. Problem is, Claude doesn’t care which is which as long as things get done, so like, nobody’s winning

I think the Triplets do the ridiculous Cockney accents as a joke.

When they speak to others, they have to speak in turn. They will not speak individually. No one knows why.

Unlike sort of Claude and definitely Sebastian, Hannah has no issues reconciling her maternal feelings with her being a Demon. As previously mentioned, she is a bajillion years old and could probably kill people with her mind so she has absolutely nothing to prove. Also she has experienced all the murder and bloodshed one could ever hope to and maternal love is something relatively new to her.

Basically Hannah is mum and she’s a cool lady who can stab things and she is unfathomably old and powerful with no concept of puny human morals

Hannah is she/her and I think the Triplets are of the ‘whatever pronouns make the joke land’ persuasion.

The Triplets will obviously always side with Hannah, especially if it screws over Claude (Claude is a dick to them because he doesn’t want to deal with them and also he makes them do chores) but they really don’t have much in the way of personal stakes in the whole thing so they’re kind of just vibing

The Triplets don’t like Alois, but in an annoying younger brother way. Plus he stabbed Hannah’s eye out, so they have mild beef with him for that. It’s just as well because combined their forces of chaos would simply be too strong.

It would be cool if they were the Demons of threes, or trios. Since 3 is such a significant number, maybe it has a number, and maybe that’s why the human whose soul they were mad from was split?

Much like Claude, they do what Hannah tells them to but they’re not especially house proud.

Sebastian Michaelis, who lives at the Phantomhive manor & cleans 10,000 floors each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

Much like Claude, they just do not get why Sebastian puts so much effort in. Frankly, they think it’s weird.

They definitely fuck about when no-one’s looking

Actually entranced by light switches.

Pretended to be repelled by crosses to Alois until Hannah told them to stop.

Tldr: the Trancy Manor is chaos as well

Might make more of these at some point, but rsi is hitting to so here we are. Hope you enjoyed

[prideraiised]

RUBY HEADCANON: THE CHAMPION THAT NEVER WAS

Alright as promised. Ruby lore headcanon time. If he's going to exist I gotta have this written down (sorry to Victor who is one of my main trio and doesn't have lore written down) So to TL;DR it for the general audience. Ruby's vibe is 'Protagonist that is desperately trying to not be the protagonist anymore'. He did the standard ORAS protag route up until team Aqua/Magma were dealt with and finally broke down the under the stress and revelation that he doesn't even like battling and hard u-turned at the final leg of his journey into contests.

I don't know if I have the spoons to make a big long artsy post like I always do soooooo I dunno we're just gonna word vomit for a bit here. First off like I said, Ruby is Normans son! He's the protag. He follows the main story up until the defeat of team magma/aqua.

Ruby was somebody born with all the talent in the world, more than any other Pokemon muse on this blog. It frankly isn't even close. He takes after his father in everyway and even managed to pick some things up from 'Uncle Steven' through osmosis. By all metrics he should have been a champion. He intended to be as well, he was the son of a gym leader, after all. He'd inherited everything he needed and more, it was only natural he'd take on the role.

It wasn't until he first set off and really started to battle for himself that he became familiar with his discomfort with violence and seeing his Pokemon getting hurt. He didn't like it, actually, somewhere deep down he hated it. What was he supposed to do though? He was the son of a gym leader, he had an obligation to make use of all his talent and follow in his fathers footsteps.

But the battles only got more intense, and the danger only escalated. Even for a regular trainer it would be tough but he wasn't a regular trainer. He was the guy that people were keeping an eye on. The Champion held him in high regard as a challenger, not only that but he was embroiled with Team Magma and Aqua, and eventually he was the one who faced off against the Primal legends.

After that he realised that he just couldn't do it anymore. He was more talented than anybody who had come before him and anybody that would likely come after him as a trainer, but it didn't matter. He just wasn't cut out for it. All the talent in the world couldn't stop him from hating battle. An ironic gift for something he loathed.

So , after Groundon and Kyogre, he called up Lisia to take her up on her earlier offer to sponsor him in his Contest debut. In that too, he had talent. He was met with scorn, in a lot of circles. 'Whats the gym leaders kid doing coordinating?' 'is he trying to mock us or something...?'

'Isn't he supposed to be the next champion'

He never forgot that comparison. In the end though, those open critiques fell to the wayside, merely a quiet whisper. He found his stride in contests. Nobody needed to get hurt, nobody needed to fight. He enjoyed the spotlight, enjoyed showing off the team he loved so much. And so , within that spotlight is where he made his home.

A champion that never was.

[azquine]

My thoughts on Clone High

I hadn't even realised season 2 was out until recently, but having watched it here are my in depth thoughts on the revival as a whole and what I think made the show pale in comparison to the original.

(Read more placed because its a LONG post with some spoilers)

The most fundamental issue is that this is a revival of a parody, but the saterised genre no longer exists in the same form. You don't really get your Dawson Creeks coming out anymore, not the same types of frivilous episodic overacted melodrama. Now teen shows are more serialised gritty and underacted, the drama coming more from the weight of the plot. Something more like Riverdale where characters will out of nowhere die, become victims of crime, or form serious mental health issues or addictions. Newer audiences do not understand the tropes and story beats being used in the same way, but in order to parody the newer types of teen drama the entire shows format would have to fundamentally change in a way that the style of the show might not be able to survive. It would possibly have to lean more into the angsty aspects of being displaced in time, the more serious implications of the science ficion premise and the governmental influence. Perhaps it could have riffed off of Stranger Things.

Beyond the fundamental nature of the show, the thing that the revival misses most in my opinion is direction and cohesion. As absurdist as the original was, it had a singular driving plot throught that carried through every episode, a clear maintained tight set of dynamics. Abe likes Cleo, Joan likes Abe, Cleo likes whoever is most benificial to her and is opposed to Joan, JFK pursues whatever he is attracted to or repelled from in that moment, Ghandi is similarly impulsive but acts as a compliment to Abe rather than an adversity like JFK. These remain largely unchanged thought the season, it is the status quo that the absurdity inevitably returns to.

The revival by contrast feels far more sporadic and untethered. Plot beats are resolved too quickly, no matter how interesting or how dislikable they are, which means minimal risk for the showrunners, but also minimal investment or interst. The larger cast means that the dynamics arent as tight and grounding either, despite that being the core of the show itself. Oh, Joan and JFK are together, Wait, JFK and Harriet, Wait, Joan and Abe, Oh, now Confucious and Harriet, oh, now Joan and Harriet, no wait, Abe likes Joan again and the fact that Abe ever liked Cleo and JFK was with Joan is never mentioned and has no affect on the characters or plot. Frankly, Cleo and Frida, as well as the trio dynamic of scudworth, butlertron, and Candide, was one of the few things i was invested in. Because they were consistant driving forces for narrative to arise from.

Its not like the new characters couldn't work. but Frida and Candide was one of the few additions that felt like they weren't retreading already existing character traits.

An appearance obesssed rich kid? thats basically Cleo, and the goofball part is easily something that could be found in abundance with Ghandi and JFK.

A perfectionist whose activism is mostly superficial to promote her image? a lot of that could be found already with Joan in her contrast with Cleo, so leaning more into the academic overacheiver could really have been for the better.

Topher, despite being on all the promos, is barely even part of the cast. He's only a smidge more notable than Van Gogh or Marie Curie were in the original. Even when Joan is part of his group he barely factors into the narrative.

A chill artsy kid who cares more about how their art is percieved than themselves? Thats kind of interesting in juxtaposition of the rest of the cast. Shes everything Cleo doesn't want to be, everything that Joan secretly isn't. But until she began dating Cleo she felt like she was vaguely drifting alongside the cast rather than being a part of it.

A representation of the board of shadowy figures who more directly challenges Scudworth? That's cool, that brings new motivation to his character.

If each character had a simple goal that remained consistant and affected the other characters, like the original, the show could have been great. But really, what does Confucius actually want? How does Frida's artistic passion affect the rest of the cast? And how do you actually describe Harriet other than 'nice' and perfectionistic? In fact, what do Cleo, JFK, Abe, and Joan even want consistantly? How do they even relate to one another anymore? The new cast almost seem to act more as wedges between the originals than additions.

Its such a shame, and this show frustrates me so much because i can see what it could have been! And I love that image of it, but I think that it had either been about 15 years too late to achieve what the writers wanted, and too inconvenient to make the risky changes that could have allowed the show to sustain itself in the present day.

[leonawriter]

In my last ideas/prompt post I was all "If I were going to write this out fully, I'd not just get into where Aoko is, but involve her directly" and like... yeah.

It's easy to things of Situations to put Kaito and Hakuba in, because for one thing, Hakuba already knows about Kid, so there's none of that "how does he react" drama to think of, and for another... the tension is definitely there in a way that easily translates into "and yeah, the UST exists and they're hormonal teenagers so something is bound to happen at some point."

Plus, it's just. Well, it's fun!

But then my mind unfailingly goes "But Aoko." Because I loved Kaito/Aoko first and I can't imagine a world where Kaito loves Aoko less (and even if it's not romantic, I like seeing him still have something special with her).

It's things like "Aoko has noticed that her best friend and crush is acting weird with their favourite detective friend, and actually, isn't that a lot like how he treats her? Doesn't Kaito look like he's more comfortable around Hakuba than he is around Aoko? Does... does Kaito not like Aoko anymore... or did he even at all..."

And it's things like "Kaitou Kid got hurt and sure Hakuba knows, but all Aoko knows is that he's taking a few days slacking off from school, and if he takes any longer to feel better she's going to start worrying and she's going to be the only one of the three who doesn't know what's going on."

It's... "Lately, Aoko's been feeling weirdly left out, like Kaito and Hakuba-kun have something they're sharing that Aoko isn't part of, but that can't be true, right? After all, Aoko knows Kaito best. Or... she thought she did."

Aoko has so many insecurities. We see Kaito tell her in "Kaito's Busy Day" that, "Who'd want to go out with an ugly girl like you?" and she just goes "I... know that... but..." which really. Ow!

So I guess that for one thing, I want to keep the aspects of the (canon) ship that I've always loved, but I also see this girl who's been made to feel (possibly by Kaito's own tsundere "won't admit what I feel" issues) like she's not attractive, and... have her realise that this isn't the case at all, and Kaito really does care about and love her, that his feelings for Hakuba don't make his feelings for her any less for them.

I also... love the idea of seeing Kaito having to go from being over the moon because the detective who's been chasing him is his now, to realising that the boat's been rocked and the status quo has changed, and he has to choose between either being honest with Aoko about at least his feelings for her - or losing her entirely, and realising what that'd do to him.

Funnily enough, I feel like they work as a trio ship because they even each other out, and they feel like the kind of people where as long as they're communicating clearly, if one is gone or if there's a problem, they can talk it out with the others and sort it out. And unlike some ships with more than two people, I kinda see Aoko as the only one with issues about seeing her significant other with someone else sometimes, and I feel like that'd ease off over time.

[travichughes]

You're literally so cool. Love this blog. I wanna hear about your Vic and Travis thoughts all day. How are the storyline for them in season 6 compared to the others, in your own opinion?

first of all, thank you!! i always think this fandom needs more travic stans hahah. but sorry this is going to be a long ass post because i have so much to talk about. also spoilers for the season finale

honestly, i dont have very nice things to say about travic together in season 6. i mean, they barely had anything, right? 6x01-6x03 were honestly their best episodes. vic being there for his anxiety, the humour, the soft, and then it all went downhill when eli showed up.

i think they really missed an opportunity when travis leaked the crisis one call to have them fight. vic had just told she could take over crisis one and the breach of HIPAA could have meant crisis one would have shut down, so that would have been a good storyline to navigate. i really thought they were going to fight and it was going to be rough, bit instead, we got not even a full episode of vic being slightly bad at him.

and now 6x08. the worst episode in the season for me. i spent that entire week spiralling about travis getting injured and then travic actually talking about what happened, but instead, vic and theo talked it out and then we got that god-awful trio hug which was the only travic hug we got this season!?!?!!? i was left so disappointed by that episode. it was the start of them diminishing travic and making it look like vic didn't need travis as long as she had theo. and that really hurt lmao. honestly i could go on a whole separate rant about 6x08 so i will restrain myself and move on.

everything was just meh until 6x12, a few cute soft moments dotted around (as usual) and finally, they got their first full scene since 6x06 where travis woke up from a nightmare and vic rushed into the room. instead of leaving like she could have, she came in and talked to him to make sure he was okay. let me also add this was the first time we had seen their house since season 5 so it was so glorious. i loved that scene and i just wish they gave us more relating to that. i would have loved to see travis have another nightmare and it be revealed that it was his third or something that week, and have vic just stay in his room for the rest of his night? apparently that was too much to ask LMAO

6x13... well i'm headcanoning that vic was calling travis to rant about the argument she and theo had had... and travis was uh, doing it with eli. my eyes still hurt from that

and then 6x14... what a glorious episode. i think it was the best episode of the season for them as a friendship, tied with 6x01 and 6x03. they were chaotic together, but when travis needed it, vic gave a pep-talk, and it was glorious. vc always knows exactly what to say to travis which is just so great because they they know each other more than anyone else. I'm glad it was vic talking to travis about this and not someone else.

6x15 as a whole doesnt exist to me ad the end scene of travis pushing vic aside to go say hi to cHaOs KaTe simply doesnt exist <3

6x16 and 6x17 were honestly just frustrating. vic and theo were clearly having issues, and they weren't having them in secret! you could have cut the tension in 6x15 with a knife but noooo, travis was just blind, apparently. the end of 6x17 with vic crying in her car outside of beckett's house broke my heart because she was losing theo, and she was probably just feeling really lonely and realising that she could turn into beckett and have no one to notice that she was gone, or that she was hurting. i would have paid good money for a travic scene there - travis pulling himself away from the celebrations to check where vic was and then them having a long convo about what was happening, etc...

for 6x18 i once again convinced myself that travis was gonna get injured and vic was going to have a whole crisis over the fact that she was breaking up with theo and quite possibly losing her best friend - which would have been a good callback to 6x08. instead, they were fine (thank god, but also... not?) i was honestly left a little disappointed as we didn't get any of our soft moments like we did in the finale, but yeah, thank god they're both fine. travis is gonna kill theo when he finds out that he made out with cHaOs KaTe.

also... how they kind of just made travic seem one-sided? how vic was unmistakably there EVERY SINGLE TIME when he needed support for his anxiety or whatever else, but when vic needed someone, and when she was visibly struggling, travis wasn't there? i know this show and i know that they probably had convos off screen, but the lack of support from travis to vic on screen really gave the impression to me that they weren't talking. so it showed us vic cared, but travis didn't. that's why this season to me has been my least favourite travic season, but as a whole it still beats season 5 because that was a godawful season.

individually, didnt care for the mayor storyline really after vic stopped being his campaign manager. i still hate eli so i wish they would break up and travic can just live together forever. next season, since travis probably thinks he's responsible for the death of dixon, and how he kept saying that jack saved his life, i'd lose to see him struggling with survivor's guilt - something that vic also probably struggled with post-pipeline explosion. travis is overdue for a mental health storyline so it would be the perfect time for one.

i'm also a little disappointed they didnt go down the route of travis being triggered about theo being his captain. there was so much opportunity there for feelings about theo leading him, vic and the team after he was responsible for michael's death, but no. travis was literally one of the only people to be happy that he was captain and even supported him! yikes

and for vic, she didnt really get anything until 6x06, but i loved how in 6x05 they kinda dabbled into her self-doubt because she really didn't think dixon would do something as low as leak travis's past arrest. i'm also annoyed that it took them until 6x11 again to even talk about vic taking over crisis one and what he was doing to do that.

as for her relationship with theo, thank god that's over. i swear they were doing a slowburn breakup LMAOOOO yeah, theo turned into someone vic didn't recognise and thank god she finally realised that it want good for her, but as i touched on earlier, travis not noticing the pain he was putting her through angered me beyond words. next season for her i would love to see her have a proper mental health storyline and i would love to see her adventures with leading crisis one

well, there's probably a lot more but that's all i have to say currently. i would love to discuss with you as well, feel free to dm me on here or on twitter/insta (travichughes on both) and thanks for reading this long ass rant. i really love travic and i hope they get what they deserve next season.

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

Let's Rank the Animaniacs segments!

The order won't surprise you too much if you've followed me for a while or have seen a few of my Animaniacs-related posts (although my opinions on some segments have changed), but I figured it would be fun to rank them anyway (plus it relates to something I wanted to say regarding the characters, but I'll save that for the end). Sub series like Wheel of Morality and Dot's Poetry Corner don't count.

Segments I actively dislike

Worst - Katie Ka-Boom

"lol teenage girls amiright?" No. Shut up. This isn't funny. Her catchphrase is dumb (“I’m not overreacting, I’m a teenager!”) and honestly her parents suck too (“Teenagers should be locked away until they’re 30.”) This is easily the most mean-spirited segment on the show, it reeks of bitterness.

The Hip Hippos

The fat jokes suck and both hippos are boring characters with no real goal or motivation; but they are a genuinely wholesome couple and the idea of out of touch high class people being the stars of a segment is at the very least a good idea, they just botched the execution.

Chicken Boo

The Chicken Boo segments are an okay joke told too many times in the exact same way.

Buttons and Mindy

This segment is too mean spirited and is basically the same segment every time but I'm ranking them higher than Boo because Buttons and Mindy, as characters, are adorable and actually have personalities, unlike Boo (I'm aware Boo being like that is the point, but still).

Segments that are...OK

Mime Time

I think The Mime being such a bland character actually improves these bumpers. I don't feel too bad when he gets hurt because we barely know him and his bumpers are brief, so we don't see him suffer for too long. Although I do think the slapstick is kinda just...fine.

The Flame

These are little boring. I feel like the Warners do a better job with educational segments. These segments pretty much just exist to teach US history, but in a more tame yet in your face about how great they want kids to think America is way than when Warner segments would.

Randy Beaman Kid/Colin

It sure is...a bumper.

The Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths

This might be the weirdest premise of any Animaniacs segment, and that's saying a lot. It's alright.

Good Idea Bad Idea

Easily the best non-sub series bumper for sure...but it's still just a bumper.

Starbox and Cindy

This segment is kind of like Buttons and Mindy but since the protagonist is a bad person, his pain can actually be funny. It's also kind of like Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain if they didn't turn an iconic double act into an unremarkable trio. Hearing Cindy ramble about random stuff in the background is both cute and funny (I'll admit the Gnome probably should be higher because it's more of an original idea...but Cindy's adorable so I'm putting this higher lol).

Goodfeathers

I didn't like their first segment, but a lot of their later ones are OK, even though many over-rely on the whole "and then the Goodfeathers get hurt" bit. They're not much more than a (now dated) reference, and I think the writers realised this eventually because they clearly gave up on them at one point. They get no segments in season 3, only one in season 4, in season 5 they just get cameos and bumpers, and they show up really late compared to everyone else in Wakko's Wish. Pesto's the only standout character here to me, I don't really care for Squit or Bobby.

Minerva Mink

I like how she loves to wallow in self pity about how hard her life is yet is incredibly vain, manipulative and loves to be ruder than she needs to be. She's not a saint, but that's funny! I would've put her segments in the next tier if not for 1-the fact that she only has two segments so she never got to reach her full potential as a character and 2-the sheer amount of perv-pandering...which happens to be the reason why she only has two segments.

Segments I like!

Rita and Runt

Their segments can be hit or miss, but I think the bad ones aren't bad enough and the good ones are good enough to warrant them being this high. Rita and Runt are both likeable characters, their segments aren't the funniest but they have a lot of heart. Not gonna lie Rita's probably the best singer on the show.

Slappy Squirrel

She's basically what would happen if a Looney Tunes character ever actually grew to be old. She solves modern day problems with old school cartoon solutions, she's great!

Pinky and the Brain

In truth, if it weren't for their spin off series and the Animaniacs reboot these guys would probably be under Slappy. I've dedicated at least four long posts to these two I'm not going into further detail lol.

Best - Yakko, Wakko, and Dot

Chaotic good puppy children live out every kid's fantasy of fighting back against adults who mistreat them or others, what's not to like? I like that out of all the characters (aside from Slappy) they're the best homage to classic cartoons, between their designs and the fact that they often have entire segments that are homages to classic cartoons, like "The Girl with the Googily Goop", "The Warner's Vault" or "Yakko Amakko". Plus the Warners have one of the least formulaic segments on the show so that helps-great songs, cute sibling/family shenanigans, fun parodies, and just a whole bunch of zany chaos!

In all seriousness, the main reason I made this post is because a couple times I've seen people post/tweet something along the lines of "real Animaniacs fans like all/most segments" or "a true Animaniacs fan should like *blah blah blah* segments" and I just wanted to say...no.

If you only watch the show for the Warners, or just Slappy, or both Pinky and the Brain and Starbox and Cindy, or just Rita and Runt, Hip Hippos and Mime Time, or even literally only for Katie Kaboom, that's valid.

There's no quota for which segments you have to like. If you're a fan, you're a fan, no one else gets to decide that.

[cuntycassandra]

Breaking down Hunter and Omega’s relationship. Pt 2.

We’re back at it, here with the second post in this father-daughter-space-duo series! You guys responded to the first post better then I expected in all honesty! I didn’t think my insights were viewed as so important lmao. I don’t really think much introduction is needed here, the post itself is very self explanatory.

(Pasted paragraph: I would just like to add a disclaimer here. I am, in no way whatsoever, slating the other batchers for having differing relationships with Omega. I absolutely adore everything single one of the boys, and I think they all have wonderful and unique interrelations with her. Although I may point out these different approaches in comparison to Hunter’s, I am not stating these engages are wrong, just different is all!

I’m going to separate this into a little series- covering each episode in a separate post, which I’ll have tagged as the series progresses. Once I’ve tackled these two, as they’re my favourites, I’m going to move on to each individual Batcher and perhaps a few other dynamics such and Hunter and Crosshair, or Wrecker and Omega! Let me know what you guys would like to see!)

(Thank you to this weeks proof-reader: @treasureofmy-heart 💛)

Cut and Run: S1/E2

We kick off this episode with Hunter walking in on Echo inspecting Omega and Wrecker fast asleep on the floor. His face is very relaxed and he clearly finds it very sweet that her childlike curiosity has tired her out. His line, “ha, well this is a first,” while holding a strong gaze in Omega’s direction, suggests that she’s been exploring for quite some time, unleashing her endearing juvenile inquisition in the batchers presence. Hunter continues to claim she’s curious, using the same lighthearted tone he has always used in her regard, sparing the conversation in the medical wing on Kamino. This continues to confirm his gentle approach and concern towards the young clone.

When Echo confronts him over the situation at hand, it’s evident that Hunter hasn’t actually thought about what he’s going to do with Omega, yet by the look of quizzicality on his face. I personally took this as a sign that his initial thoughts were always “we’re going to lay low with her, look after her, while keeping everybody else safe.” It’s clear here that Echo has differing ideas that Hunter hadn’t even began to consider, and I think that’s what perplexes him in this moment. He needs to consider everybody.

The kid is up and awake! (Let the havoc commence aha.) Omega’s reaction to sunlight and dirt is definitely one of my favourite developmental moments of hers, it really sets in place that this little girl may have been an intelligent medical assistant, but she lacks experience, and still needs a guiding hand to help her through this new world she’s never endured before. I’d like to point out that it is, in fact, Hunter who stops to watch Omega’s reactions, and his FACE when she’s playing in the dirt! I’ve never seen such a parental smile on a man so stoic! I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot, but he is so endeared by her! She’s a breath of fresh air in Hunter’s very toxically routined life, and I love that for both of them. When they finally reach Cut’s land, Hunter is the one to pull her back, despite the fact she had to run between Echo and Tech to get to him. And upon Suu and Cut’s arrival, I actually didn’t realise that Omega creeps behind Hunter, most likely because these are strangers she doesn’t know and she feels she needs the protection. This confirms a clear bond between them has already began to flesh out.

There isn’t too much to say about the introduction and inhibitor chip discussion, as Omega spends a decent amount of that time exploring Cut and Suu’s house, but I will just say that it’s a nice touch that she ends up back at Hunter’s side when her part of the conversation is needed, she always seems physically drawn to him. Which brings me to my next point. Upon Shaeeah and Jek’s arrival, Omega once again creeps behind Hunter out of fear, only deciding to approach when formally addressed to do so. *Sigh*, and when Shaeeah pulls Omega out to play, and she halts to ask for Hunter’s permission, which is clearly given through a series of comforting smiles, is a plain indication of a trusted child-parental relationship. I must admit, Hunter’s face is pretty hilarious when everybody practically calls him out on his parental role- it’s just “why are you all staring at me..?” Because you’re acting like a dad, my dude.

Okay! Down to Cut and Hunter’s discussion. It’s a nice touch that Hunter is the first one outside to watch Omega play, swiftly followed by Cut, who, rightfully so, questions her existence. Although instead of explaining Omega’s origin (and by that I just mean that she’s a medical assistant clone from Kamino), he states that it doesn’t matter what the Kaminoans created her for, because she’s with them now, and to be with them she doesn’t need a purpose, she’s just a kid and should be allowed to act like one. Cut goes ahead to tease him over the ins and outs of raising a child, but to Hunter it was a no-brainer, Kamino wasn’t safe, so she was coming with them, as I’ve said previously, he saw NO negotiations. And as Cut says, “I (you) have to do what’s best for them.” This adds sentiment to the narrative of Hunter’s commanding role within the squad and Omega specifically.

So I’m shifting ahead slightly to the ball incident, and I have a LOT to say about this scene. First of all, it’s clearly evident that Hunter is the first to leave the house, along with Cut and Suu following closely behind. Associating this trio together is purposeful on the animators part in my opinion, they intentionally exclusively had Hunter leave with the other parents in the situation, isolating him specifically with that role in Omega’s life. When he finally reaches her, we see the protective hand come straight out to guard her against the Nexu, a typical trait they’ve established between them.

Now we move on to the confrontation. This is the first time Hunter raises his voice at Omega, and immediately she turns herself away from him, curling into her shoulder and making herself small. Omega is going through a lot of emotions right here, she’s afraid, anxious, and she’s being forced to deal with the fact that for the first time, Hunter is mad at her, for something she didn’t even intend to do wrong. Whereas from Hunter’s perspective, he hasn’t acknowledged she’s already in a bit of a state, and instead feels the need to immediately lecture her for her mistakes….although this lasts all but thirty seconds. Upon Cut’s attempts to diffuse the situation by having him pull Hunter away and reiterating that “she’s (Omegas) not a soldier”, his face immediately softens, he forgot for a moment, but now he realises and instantly the features are set in a regretful frown, he clearly feels awful and misrepresented. Hunter continues to observe Cut’s behaviour as he comforts Omega, who seems to take to the attention like a kicked puppy, lip trembling, eyes shaky, shoulders hunched, and I honestly think as Cut carries her away- is the exact moment Hunter realises he isn’t good enough for Omega. (I’ll further out on this in a moment)

I only want to briefly touch upon Omega’s gunners nest scene because I don’t think it has too much impact on her relationship with Hunter, however I would like to address the symbolism. I personally see the removal of her headpiece and the addition of her bangs as a new beginning, attaining the contrasting yellow light of Salucemi in comparison to Kamino, where she would’ve been given her jewel. Considering the episode’s outcome, Omega is no longer the tightly held, quivering little girl from Kamino, and instead she brings a slight unruliness to her aura, a little cheeky, definitely her brother’s sister. Still a sweetheart of course, but with a matter of confidence and boisterous behaviour to her. She seems to bounce out of her sadness quite easily here, as she seems suddenly awkward- yet curious- over Tech’s plan later on.

Furthering out into my previous point about Hunter believing Omega deserved much better in comparison to what he could provide: his conversation with Suu. “Protecting them is what we do.” The realisation on his face when she says this, it’s so…raw, something he’s taking time to comprehend. He heeds her words because he knows she and Cut are experienced in this field, they are better suited for Omega than he and the boys are, he believes he isn’t good enough for her, and this is projected when he insists ‘Mega leave with the family of four. Although Suu questions his sincerity, and he does indeed dodge the straightforward answer, this is what Hunter anticipates is best for Omega. He’s putting her needs above his happiness, no matter the heartache.

Moving along slightly, as Omega and Hunter spend a short period of time away from each other during the ship impoundment, I briefly wanted to touch upon the tone of Hunter’s voice when he learns Omega is on route to their position…by herself in a heavily armed spaceport. His eyes widen in a moment of fear, his voice is suddenly strained, he is struck with another raw emotion, something he frankly can’t obtain right now, and it’s let out in a minor threat towards his brothers- “if something happens to her-“ a clearly indication of worry.

This next point absolutely breaks my heart, the poor dears, both of them. Upon Omega’s arrival, Hunter is left to explain his forced proposal that she should leave Salucemi with Cut and Suu. As usual he completes his little ritual of taking her shoulders and crouching to her level, although this time he can’t quite look her in the eyes, a clear sign of regret and guilt, because he doesn’t want to give her away, he knows deep down she belongs with them, but he doesn’t believe he has what it takes to raise and protect her. The way Omega’s eyes crumple really catches me here, she’s being left, again… All this kid has ever known her entire life has either been abandonment, abuse or isolation, and she’s being passed on to strangers by the only people she’s ever been able to trust, and not only is it clearly breaking her heart, but she’s taking it personally, she thinks she’s at fault, much like Hunter does. Her line: “but, I want to stay with you.” compressed with the quivering tone and her precious accent really aides her desperation here, it conveys her in an adequate and very precise way.

Starting a brief new point to split these up slightly: I bring us to the continuous glances shared between them. Omega consistently looks over her shoulder to Hunter, she doesn’t want her eyes to leave him for one moment, she’s savouring his face, his details, for the very last time. And equally, Hunter is letting go of something he doesn’t want to leave behind, he likes the kid, to the point where his own self depreciation and doubt have been forced ahead in order to protect her, he can’t risk anything at this point. I’d also like to quickly mention how beautifully Omega’s eyes are animated, they intel so much, those precious little doe irises hold such story to them.

Moving on to a little jump cut enduring the batch’s escape and Omega’s return: Hunter’s tone of voice when addressing Wrecker is so pained, and his facials match it perfectly “she’s not com-“ it’s almost as though he’s biting back the urge to sprint headfirst into the gunfire if only to catch up to the little clone before it’s too late.

However, seeing as she’s managed to find her own way back that wouldn’t be exactly necessary. I think it’s a nice point that Hunter is the one to rush to Omega’s aide after she is grabbed by the trooper (flowing a brief flash of concern crossing his face), although Wrecker might’ve been closer, it’s a nice hint to their subtle closer bond. He, once again, crouches to her level although an unnecessary step in the situation, and I see this as another nod to their familiarised dependancy.

Finally, my last point for this episode, is their final conversation within the last few minutes. It’s faint, but the fact that the other batchers are all busying themselves in the cockpit, leaving Omega and Hunter to chat privately, is a very distinct use of separation. It also should be noted that Omega is the one to approach Hunter, this shows a decent level of not only maturity on her part, but trust between them as family, she trusts both him and herself enough to advance on a delicate situation, we even see her hesitate slightly, before pushing forward with a slip of confidence, and that takes a lot of gut from a little kid. She stands her ground, but with compliment. She very much reminds me of Hunter himself in the brig, assertive yet respectful. And speaking of Hunter, his face is just absolutely guilt-ridden when talking to her, because he too made the mistake of attempting to give her away, no matter how much good he thought it would do them both. While Omega is admitting she has a lot to learn in regards to safety and tactility, Hunter is suggesting he has a lot to learn about raising a child and providing the necessary care for her. It’s a brave moment for both of them, to be honest and open, and yet its received extremely well on both ends.

“If this is where you want to be…then this is where you’ll stay.” The admiration in his voice, the admiration in her eyes! They absolutely adore one another, and it melts my heart every time it’s displayed!

I hope you liked my analysis of Hunter and Omega’s relationship in episode two of The Bad Batch! Of course, I’d love to discuss these two with anybody who might be interested, so please feel free to drop me an ask or a DM, and if you’re captivated enough I’d totally recommend looking out for my future posts on the topic!

As always, much love to our ‘Megs and Hunter, thank you for reading! 💛

Part One: Aftermath

[frauleinandry]

okay, here’s my follow-up to this post. I had a lot of minor gripes with the third semester. so, what would I do differently? well, the big change I’d make is that I’d slap on half a month, and add an extra palace. who’s palace? well, you’ll find out later on in the post, though it probably won’t be a surprise.

under a cut, because it is  l o n g

... before I get into that however, let’s rewind a bit and talk about kasumi/sumire. like I said in my previous post, while I thought maruki was integrated well into the pre-existing persona 5 narrative, kasumi... kinda wasn’t. to some degree, it was probably intentional - there was meant to be something off about her - but in the end, it just meant half of sumire’s screen time wasn’t even really her, and the rest of it we got was compressed into such a small amount of time, its impact got watered down.

to fix this, I’d blend kasumi into the persona 5 story a bit more, and show some cracks in maruki’s actualisation pre-third semester. to do that, I’d have her accompany the rest of the phantom thieves down to the bottom of mementos (assuming you’ve met the requirements for the third semester, of course). after shido’s change of heart, kasumi notices that the public reaction is... really bloody odd. after all, she’s been worried that the general populace would grow too reliant on the phantom thieves, but then they pull off their biggest heist yet, and the public don’t react at all. realising something’s fishy, she goes to leblanc, and upon hearing they plan to steal the public’s heart, offers to join them.

that means just you get to use akechi for a palace pre-third semester, you get to use kasumi too - even if neither of them are really themselves. cinematic parallels, go! admittedly, I wouldn’t involve her much in the plot, outside of maybe being unusually rattled by the prisoners in mementos (after all... even if she doesn’t consciously realise it, sumire’s also given up on her life too). this is really the culmination of the thieves’ character arcs after all, not hers.

on that note... when the phantom thieves get banished to the velvet room and regain their spirits of rebellion after joker finishes chatting to them, kasumi... doesn’t. joker can’t get through to her, and it’s implied maruki’s actualisation has temporarily worn off, and she’s far too depressed to rally herself for the final boss. no fear, though - igor assures the phantom thieves that if they stop yaldabaoth and separate mementos from the real world, she should reappear in reality.

from that moment, things go as they do in canon... until we hit the third semester! the very start would be the same, with the phantom thieves under maruki’s spell and akechi going to joker, but instead of kasumi noticing the odaiba palace in the real world, she notices one located at her gymnasium. hmm, I wonder who that could belong too?!

yeah - before we get to maruki’s palace, we clear sumire’s first (not that they know who’s it is, at the time). It would be a stage/auditorium/theatre of some sort, and something would be really off about it. firstly, the palace ruler is missing, and despite it being a traditional theatre, there’s a lot of weird, machine-like tentacles infesting the place...

I don’t have too many ideas about the gameplay mechanics of the place, other than that you’re restricted to the royal trio for the whole thing, and you can only explore so much of the palace at once before the next section is cordoned off until the next day. Akechi, who wants to get this over and done with, insists they visit it daily until they clear it, as he’s weirded out by what’s happened to reality. so, no breaks - the palace is meant to feel a bit gruelling after all.

before each palace visit, joker automatically visits the phantom thieves and hints to them that things aren’t as they seen as in canon (except without wasting a whole day wandering around with no fast travel, folks). In the evenings, we also gets snapshots of how maruki’s reality has changed things for maxed out confidants (aka takemi’s reputation was never smeared, takase-kun never died, etc, etc). 

as akechi, kasumi, and joker explore the palace, we get plenty of royal trio interaction, and more plot-relevantly, a mysterious voice warns them to turn back whenever they progress, as what’s laying ahead will only hurt them. as they get closer to the treasure, kasumi gets more and more unsettled, but she refuses to falter like she did with yaldaboath. eventually, they reach the treasure, and shadow sumire appears. there’s something wrong with her though - she appears ghostly and insubstantial, as a part (but only a part of her), is cendrillon. shadow sumire then puts on a performance of the car accident that killed the real kasumi, and sumire snaps out of her actualisation, and as in canon, freaks the fuck out.

shadow sumire then offers her a choice - forget about this place, and she’ll return to being kasumi soon, or change her heart, and be the person who got their sister killed forever. despite joker and akechi’s best efforts, sumire decides to protect her shadow/treasure instead, as she can’t go back to being the person she once was.

things are a bit tense between akechi and joker, but they’re determined to go ahead with the heist anyway - akechi points out azathoth’s tentacles, and comes up with the theory that whoever altered sumire’s mind is the one responsible for the current weirdness. you then fight sumire, and upon winning against her she faints, and her shadow/cendrillon goes berserk, and beats joker/akechi. of course, that’s the point that the rest of the phantom thieves reappear, and help you kick ass!

afterwards, they give sumire a pep-talk - even though things are difficult, she still has a future waiting for her. everyone then wonders what the hell is going on - morgana turned into a human, and makoto, futaba, and haru’s family members have all come back from the dead (and haven’t disappeared just because they snapped out of the actualisation). akechi point blank asks sumire what happened to her, and she points up, just as maruki enters her palace.

maruki reveals he’s responsible for everything, and explains his plans. the phantom thieves call him out, as it was their struggles that made them better people, but then maruki points to sumire, and highlights that not everyone is strong enough to deal with their pain. he states that sumire probably wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for his actualisation, something that sumire confirms. while the phantom thieves quiet down a bit at that, akechi’s undeterred, and wants to challenge maruki. maruki sadly admits he thought that might be the case, but asks for them to think on things for a bit, as if they undo his reality, everyone will suffer - the hurt will regain their wounds, and the dead will return to their graves. 

everyone meets up at leblanc the next day (wakaba saying hello to them all, just as a bit of an extra punch in the guts), and the mood is pretty grim. akechi calls them all out for falling for maruki’s blatant manipulation, and haru curtly points out it’s his fault half of them are in this situation. akechi then gives her and a vague apology - he doesn’t exactly feel bad about killing kunikazu since he was an asshole, but does regret robbing haru of her agency. she... kind of accepts it, knowing its the best she’s gonna get, and he does the same for futaba.

ryuji then brings things back on track - while maruki’s got good intentions, what he’s doing is still fucked up. yusuke agrees, and points out that you can’t have good without the bad. makoto objects at this point - while she doesn’t disagree with them, they’re not the only ones affected by this. fighting against maruki would be akin to murdering her father all over again, while simultaneously dooming sae to a job that treats her like shit. futaba then brings up what sumire said, about how becoming kasumi saved her life, and admits without the change of heart she might have wanted something like that for herself.

everyone’s VERY torn, but then lavenza in her butterfly appears, and tells them to meet in shujin the next day. this goes practically the same as it does in canon, with lavenza revealing maruki’s reality will become permanent if they don’t change his heart by the end of february. sumire then appears, and apologises for eavesdropping, and reveals the location of his place - odaiba, where she first entered the metaverse. after some discussion, the phantom thieves decide to change maruki’s heart, as ultimately, a world where everyone’s brainwashed isn’t much of a world. sumire’s both a bit shocked and envious that despite everything, they’re still pushing ahead. ryuji laughs, and says that’s what a phantom thief does. sumire then asks to go to maruki’s palace with them, and reluctantly, the thieves agree.

they meet maruki in the auditorium, and reject his reality. he accepts that they’ll have to fight after all, even if he isn’t pleased by it, but then notices sumire and is shocked by her presence. he offers to ‘fix her’ again, but sumire says no. she admits she’s not as strong as the thieves, but she wants to be, and that means no more running away from her problems - she has to accept who she really is. this reignites her will of rebellion, and unlocks her second persona, vanadis. they then leave the palace after that, and morgana recommends spending some time stocking up on supplies/etc, before they go back in again.

from here, things are basically the same as the canon third semester, but with a few minor tweaks. all the third awakenings happen automatically (maybe with a with the occasional day spaced between them, to give the player some freedom and to allow them to kickstart sumire’s confidant), and sumire unlocks hers at confidant rank 10. 

I’d also throw in a couple more scenes where the phantoms thieves interact with sumire/akechi. perhaps they have a welcoming party for sumire, after reaching the part in the palace you need to go to mementos to unlock? sumire gets told about the phantom thieves’ adventures, and we get some banter between the team. afterwards, joker has a quiet chat with akechi, who’s a bit surprised the phantom thieves have been so cordial with him. akechi then reiterates that he still doesn’t understand them at all, but admits that working in a team isn’t so bad after all, and that’s what unlocks his tier three persona (instead of, y’know, only unlocking it for the final boss battle where rebellion blade is entirely useless). 

after that, I’d keep most of the game the same, up until 2/2 (which is 22/2 or something instead). instead of joker being alone when maruki arrives, I’d have all the phantom thieves be there, so this time, when he drops the bombshell that akechi’s been dead all along, everyone hears it. he then gives them until the evening to make up their mind. akechi’s still insistent they go after maruki as he’s tired of being a puppet, and storms off, with morgana suggesting the player makes sure he’s alright. 

during this time, you can walk about leblanc and talk to the other phantom thieves, to get their full opinions about what’s going to happen to akechi. sumire would be pretty upset, as while she’s got the impression he wasn’t a great person, he was still a friend. ryuji and yusuke think the situation is absolute bullshit, while makoto agrees that it’s horrible, but commends akechi for making the right decision. haru admits that despite the fact that she doesn’t really forgive akechi for what he did to her, that doesn’t mean she wants him to die, and futaba agrees with her, especially since akechi was clearly trying to be a better person. 

in the end, you talk to akechi, and get the choice whether to change maruki’s heart or not. if you chose no, akechi is pissed, and you get the bad ending where everyone’s ostentatiously happy. if you chose yes, joker and akechi confront maruki together, and give him the calling card.

the final confrontation with maruki is the same, but when his reality is destroyed, time resets back to christmas, with sae asking the joker to turn themselves in. akechi doesn’t appear this time, though. things then basically go the same as in vanilla persona 5, except when the phantom thieves gather in leblanc, sumire and morgana join them. (after all, joker going to prison doesn’t really have much emotional impact if he’s only there for like... two weeks).

things then go the same as in canon, with most of the thieves moving away from the shibuya area for one reason or another, but instead of joker riding the train back home with morgana, they go on the roadtrip like in the original persona 5, as one final hurrah.

[dreamsmpmybeloved]

PHANTOMMY HCS

So I realised that I have a Completely Different interpretation to Phantommy then like,,, Every other post I've seen, so I thought I'd write 'em down

(Very Long Details Below)

He still goes by Tommy and actually gets Offended when people try to use different names for him.

He's heavily associated with red and can (Occasionally) give out said red, which results in different effects

Unlike ghostbur, who really only has one Stable state, Tommy fluctuates between Three states quite often. There's no pattern or time limit, nor is there a certain trigger that brings on these states, its mostly just random and unpredictable.

STATE ONE: L'mantom

-Dresses in the L'manberg uniform he wore, and has a constant arrow in his chest and a scar along his back that bleeds into his clothes (Similar to Ghostbur's) His hair is short and fluffy, and is styled similarly to how Wilbur styled his hair in the first war.

-In this state he's consistently happy, energetic, hopeful and extremely loyal to L'manberg. He still believes it exists as it did Pre-election and any attempts to tell him otherwise are immediately forgotten.

-He's Literally blind to the truth. He sees everything, but he sees the server how it was back before the election. So instead of seeing the huge crater, he sees L'manberg.

-He sees Tubbo and all of the other former citizens of L'manberg in their uniforms, and anyone who wasn't involved in the war Or wasn't in the server at that point he can't see at all. They're literally invisible.

-He can still Hear them, but he has no concept of who they are and will consistently forget.

-In this state, if he hands out red to people, they gain the ability to see the world like Tommy does.

-He hands out red by reaching into his open wound and literally pulling the red out of him.

-It's not so much era specific, it's more like you see the server in the period in which you have the most happy memories.

-Meaning that most off the L'manberg citizens see the Original L'manberg.

-Phil sees the server how he Imagines what the server Used to be like based on Wilbur's descriptions in his letters

-Techno and Ranboo both see the crater as it is, but while it stops there for Ranboo, Techno also sees his home as it was when Tommy was living with him. (So the cobblestone tower and doghouse are still there ect ect)

-The red lasts for 24 hours and then wears off on it's own, and though people can See the past as they want it, it's not Real so any attempts to interact with it fall flat.

STATE TWO: Exileinnit

-Dresses in an antic empire uniform, only extremely worn and torn. Frequently seen with a green bandana and compass. His eyes are a dark red, and he has bright red scars on exposed skin, as well as plasters. His hair is longer and styled in a loose plait, similar to Techno's. He also has a friendship necklace on a wristband.

-In this state he's mostly quiet, but can get extremely angry. He's violent and cold towards pretty much everyone, with a few exceptions.

-The only people he talks to directly are Dream, Techno and Ranboo. Towards Dream it's mostly confused, lost and sad, towards Techno he's loud and energetic and jokey, and towards Ranboo he's more subdued and careful.

-He hates being alone, but left with anyone who Aren't the people he talks to he becomes increasingly angry and unpredictable.

-In this state, he doesn't actually Hand Out red. Moreso, you feel the effect of red if you look into his eyes.

-When someone looks into his eyes, they're compelled to either say Some truth, a confession or a secret they've been hiding. It's like a momentary truth spell, and the longer they look in his eyes the longer it lasts.

-(So if they only briefly look in his eyes they may only be compelled to say One thing, but if they maintain eye contact for longer, it could last for up to an hour.)

Some Fun Truths people reveal

Phil: I feel like I failed as a father

Tubbo: I'm terrified that someone will take my new home from me

Ghostbur: I remember everything (You can pry the hc that Ghostbur actually remembers Everything and just pretends not to from my cold, dead hands)

Ranboo: I killed Tommy (LMAO JUST KIDDING RANBOO NEVER MAKES EYE CONTACT WITH ANYONE)

STATE THREE: Prisoninnit

-Dresses in prisoners clothes, and wears a mask Identical to Dream's. Has shorter hair in a small ponytail and red gloves. pretty much covers As Much Skin as possible.

-In this state he's paranoid, and in a constant state of panic. He feels trapped in small spaces and in the dark, and he flinches at loud noises and anyone wearing armour or holding weapons. He only relaxes slightly around Tubbo, but is still constantly wary of others and often accuses them of working with (or even Being) Dream.

-Red pretty much Leaks out of him in this state uncontrollably, it often stains his clothes and crawls up his skin (similar to the red vines of the egg)

-In this state, touching Tommy will cause the red to activate, so he avoids contact as much as possible.

-If someone activates the red, they're Transported back to the Most Traumatic Moment they have and are forced to relive it. Everything feels Exactly the same and Incredibly real and no matter what they do they can't stop the moment from happening again.

-(So for Tubbo it's his execution, for Phil it's killing Wilbur ect ect)

-This version of Tommy is actually Aware that he's dead.

In all three states, using red has it's drawbacks for Tommy

-In state one he'll become blind until the red wears off

-In state two, he'll be unable to speak for around an hour after the original reaction (I's longer depending on how long the red is in use)

-In state three, he'll become deaf for a short period of time, and the only thing he can hear is music discs, which play when certain people are nearby

(Cat plays when Tubbo is near, Mellohi plays when Ranboo is near, Wait plays when Techno is near, Ward plays when Sam is near an 13 plays when Dream is near)

These are all kinda based on the Age ol' classic Trio, Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil

[moved-to-void-kissed]

💫 + aqua?? (i know nothing about kh but would love to!!)

-sea

Sea, my friend, thank you very much for this - I hope that my answer is alright!!

(source: this post by pandapup)

send me a 💫 and I’ll tell you something about my F/O’s source or character! - so, since there is just so much I could talk about here, I think I'm going to try and just use this as an opportunity to explain who Aqua is and what she does.

..it got long because I basically ended up accidentally summarising the entirety of Birth By Sleep and all its unfortunate events because this game is not really a happy one, so let's go under the readmore.

Aqua is introduced as a Keyblade wielder training to become a Keyblade Master alongside her two fellow apprentices and close friends, Terra and Ventus. Her style of fighting is based around her incredible magical prowess, whereas the other two focus on powerful physical strength and fast agile strikes respectively. I have not actually played or watched a playthrough of Birth By Sleep, the game this takes place in, before, so my memory of the actual story details is a bit hazy.

The three are apprentices to Master Eraqus, the current overseer of the Land of Departure, which is the world they live and train in. It's a special neutral world that exists between the realms of light and darkness, but Eraqus' teaching is very much of the opinion that light is absolute and any and all traces of darkness must always be extinguished completely.

After she and Terra take their Mark of Mastery exam together, Aqua passes the exam and is made a Keyblade Master, but Terra is failed because he "could not control his inner darkness" despite the fact Eraqus' old friend and fellow Master Xehanort was very clearly tampering with the exam. This (and various other bits of meddling from Xehanort) leads Terra to leave the world, and Ventus chasing after him, leading Aqua to have to chase after them both and bring them back.

The trio end up travelling across a variety of Disney worlds at slightly different times and orders, and the end of their collective rollercoaster of their journey brings them to the Keyblade Graveyard, the site of an ancient war over light. By this time they have all realised that Master Xehanort is the antagonist, and try to defeat him - Terra's final boss fight is Xehanort himself, while Ventus' is Vanitas (the "dark half" of him that was pulled out into a separate entity by Xehanort), and Aqua's is the recombined form of Vanitas possessing Ventus while Ven is trying to break free inside his heart.

Unfortunately, Aqua is the only one to make it out of those battles properly - Terra ends up being possessed by Xehanort so he can make use of a younger body, while Ventus' heart is fractured after Vanitas is purged, and is forced to take refuge in another's heart that reached out to him (namely that of Sora), so his body ends up sleeping. Aqua brings Ven to the remains of the Land of Departure, since it had been previously destroyed by Xehanort, sealing him away and transforming the world into a twisted castle called Castle Oblivion to keep him safe. At this point, she takes up Master Eraqus' Keyblade, which remained after he had been previously taken down by Xehanort after trying to kill Ventus and subsequently fighting with Terra.

She then sets out to find Terra-Xehanort, and battles him to try and free Terra from being possessed. Unfortunately, this doesn't work, and she ends up having to sacrifice both her glider and her armour that protects her from darkness, as well as her own Keyblade, to prevent him from falling into the realm of darkness - an underworld kind of place filled to the brim with Heartless and the remains of worlds that they have consumed and overrun with darkness. This means that she ends up falling in there instead, with only her flawed Master's former Keyblade as a means of defense, while over ten years pass in the realm of light.

..That's where Birth By Sleep leaves off, and that's right before my self-insert comes in, and I've also written a lot here, so I'm going to leave it here for now if that's alright. I hope that this answer is okay, and thank you very much again for sending this in ^-^

[blushing-starker]

You've already made so many boards for me (or tagged me in ones I didn't explicitly ask for but then I realised I needed them.) But here're some - disconnected - thoughts/prompts/ideas to take or leave: Mafia Boss Peter; Winterironspider; canon-compliant Peter missing Tony after Endgame; Spiderstrange trying to keep their relationship a secret from Tony; and honestly sometimes I'm just down for a classic, any Spideychelle in your brilliant head?

Look at you, hitting me with drama, whump, romance and the funnies! Listen, I will continue making moodboards for you, Katie and one very non trashy @trashystarker . Apart from Raf, Laney, Bee and Mabel, you guys are the ones that interact the most no matter what the hell I post. (I appreciate all of you of course, but some people are there even when i hastily throw together some pics and textures into a melting pot.)

No, but truly, thanks dear. Mafia Peter is so good! But how do I make it angsty? Well, how about mafia boss Peter missing Tony after endgame and counting on Bucky, one half of his heart, to pull him through? They suffer as lovers and then Stephen comes along, tentatively because Tony had only sacrificed himself, had only worked out this plan after the doctor told him it was the singular strategy capable of pulling them through this. The spider and soldier don't blame him, can't even consider the possibility since its not his fault. Tony wouldn't have done what he did if the overall threat hadn't existed. His death lies with Thanos, not Stephen.

(Cue them falling in love, but anywayyyyyy)

Lets get to some happy aspects! Tony survives. So does Peter. Thanks to Strange. If the man's cloak hadn't yanked him away from Thanos' grip, Mr Stark would have mourned for him all over again. And yeah, technically the cape can't be controlled but uh, he needs an excuse to follow the sorcerer around for a few weeks, ok?

It's not Peter's fault the guy is witty and clever and cunning and a brilliant strategist and oh my god he can help him figure out why his wrists hurt and tell whether it's a fever or a cold and he's flying! Without the webs thanks to the cape! Look, Mr Strange! And can the universe stop dumping him into awkward situations with men so handsome? He has a hard time catching the drool from his mouth. Their intelligence is already a turn on, he can't handle all of this.

Strange finds it endearing, lips inching upwards into something resembling a smile. And the second he does that, the cape whirls around, nearly drops Peter into an experiment and begins clapping excitedly like Stark's daughter when he showed her some magic tricks. He needs to get rid of that cape.

(Mr Strange? Are you alright, you look a bit pale? Or it could be the light? Oh hey! Now you're red! That's good, right? Maybe you touched something weird. I don't see anything on your face, but it's the only area that could be affected since you wore the gloves for the experiment. Hold on, let me take a closer look. It's really dim in this closet. Why did the cape bring us here? Is it taking us to the antidote? Mr Strange, you're getting really red now.

Peter, I highly doubt you need to be this close, I'm fine. I'll be fine once we get out of this infernal-

Was that the door closing? On a room labelled, magic properties weakened inside?

... Yes, that was the door.

Guess we're gonna have to be close now, huh?

Remind me to A) never help Stark with a project again, no matter whether the world hangs in the balance and to B) rip that cloak apart.

You can't do that! Doctor Weird is nice!

I'm sorry, Doctor what?)

Spideychelle, spideychelle.

She calls him her itsy bitsy spider constantly. Like, that's his contact name.

Ned is grumpy because I was here first. But then he sees how cute they are and admits that fine. She can have Wednesday and Thursday. Mr Stark has Saturdays and Tuesdays. He has Monday and Friday. Peter has Sunday off. Sometimes.

Peter crafts gifts using his webs, intricate flowers and careful handwriting on her window so the light hits just right and she can read the messages on the floor thanks to the shadows. If her favorite jacket, the one in ffh, continues ripping on the side, a web immediately flies to hold it together. It's the new rage in the school.

For the first few weeks, it's a bit hesitant. And then she says fuck it, gently pushes him to the floor, climbs on top and naps away. May finds them snoring, legs entangled and limbs askew. Peter holds her as gently as possible like that, careful with the superstrength and she makes sure to never put too much pressure on his chest so it doesn't remind him of the vulture or the weight of a building caving in his ribcage.

They go to Halloween as a trio. Ned may be jealous every once in a while but he's a good bro so instead of going as a pair with Peter, he finds costumes that go well with one more person.

They kiss and it's not electric. Not fireworks. It's the fizzle stars they light up in front of Mj's house, warmth shared in a puppy pile, soft sweaters and even softer curls. It's nice, makes him content and never overwhelmed. It's perfect, really. Romance doesn't have to be an uncontrollable inferno. It can be this too, a slow but steady fire keeping him alive 365 days a year.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Give me... (Cinder Fall edition)

Been writing these on RWBY Amino (ShadowQueenAnime) , basically me saying what I'd like to have seen in Canon from different characters. And thought why not post them here 2?

This is my Cinder one (felt appropriate) based on my own headcannons.

Give me Cinder, who did odd jobs to help her family. Who's first strive for power wasn't out of greed, but because the strong are untouchable and if Cinder wanted anything it was for all of them to be safe.

Give me Cinder, who's mother kissed her head and wiped the dirt from her cheeks. A widowed housekeeper for a rich family living in their grimey basement. She takes Cinder to a shrine and tells stories of a woman, their saviour she tells her young girl. A woman locked away who reached ultimate power. It's Cinder's favourite story and that makes her mother smile.

Give me Cinder, who bites her toungue and bowed her head to the Atlas huntsman who laughed and taunted her. One day she promises she'll be the one laughing, her mother chuckles and brushes her hair but doesn't object. She's always had high hopes for her little girl.

Give me Cinder, who grabs a boys hand from where it reached into her pocket and tosses him to the ground. He screams for mercy and she let's him go, he's an orphan as is the younger girl clinging to his leg. Roman and Neo, something about them make Cinder smile.

Give me Cinder, who becomes friends with both of them. Who laughs and pickpockets rich folk and scoffs when Roman calls her a professional. That's what he's gonna be, no doubt about it and Neo will stick by him but Cinder's not sure what she wants to be. She wants to be more than a petty theif.

Give me Cinder, who gifts Roman his trademark hat. Her mother sewed it and she sighed her name inside, the stitching isn't the best but it's shiny and new. Every good theif needs a cool hat and Roman says he'll never take it off. He tackles her into a hug and she pushes him off.

Give me Cinder, who gets into an argument with with the duo. It escalates to the point none of them remember the reason, insults are thrown that sting like ice and they part ways. Cinder feels terrible and wants to apologise, beg for forgiveness but a nasty part of her shuts her up, she'll only apologise if they do first.

Give me Cinder, who spends her days cleaning, selling glass when her mother falls ill. She saves up for medicine and takes care of her, doing anything and everything but it's not enough. Cinder's never felt more powerless in her life, she's scared alone crying by the shrine and begging the saviour for help.

Give me Cinder, who promises to do anything the woman wants to save her mother and doesn't see the smirk underneath. She hugs her mother who's sickness is treated and thanks the woman over and over. But the woman had a price and Cinder has little choice, her mother hugs her tight and kisses her head as her daughter vanishes.

Give me Cinder, who joins Salem out of protecting her mother. Who Salem entices and makes sure to grow her lust for power. She'll be worthy one day, she thinks as tells Cinder a new story. The story of the maidens.

Give me Cinder, who continues to grow under Salem's care and the darkness inside her grows as well. She gets sent out on tasks to test her loyalty and follow Salem's orders and if she fails well Cinder's seen Salem's magic first hand.

Give me Cinder, who goes to the mob to get them to help her get dust and is reunited with Roman and Neo. Neo tackles her to the ground before rapidly signing what they've been up too and Roman laughs, no malice is in the air as if their past encounter never happened. They've all grown up and their paths are once again intertwined. "I see your still wearing the hat, surprised it can fit your giant head."

Give me Cinder, who's found some light in her life but is still under Salem's thumb. She always had a quick temper but she's more darker than before, and there's bruising and scars covering her body. Roman and Neo can never get through to her than maybe being with Salem isn't the best choice but Cinder's in too deep.

Give me Cinder, who looks Amber on the eye as she takes the rest of her power. How the exhilaration of her new power wears off in seconds when the situation hits her. She's killed someone... Without remorse and for what... Salem brands her name Cinder Fall and she hates and loves how it fits. Roman is at her side, Neo not far behind as she sobs the loss of life into their arms.

Give me Cinder, who murdered Ozpin out of fear more than anything else. How she whispered an apology that would never be heard and ran away, because as strong as he was she was never afraid of him. Knowing he'd come back comforts her a bit but she pushes the thought aside.

Give me Cinder, who does care for Mercury and Emerald but she doesn't love them. She cares when they get hurt, applauds them for their achievements but that's all. She hates how Emerald looks at her with adoration, it doesn't make her happy to know she simply picked them up as tools for her goals. She hasn't realised yet that those goals aren't her's.

Give me Cinder, who watches Beacon fall apart and knows its her doing. A nasty part of her is laughing and she's starting to get afraid of it, she wonders what her mother thinks... If she even saw all this. She hears a different voice to her own and thinks she's losing it Salem chuckles and ruffles her hair in a way that once felt find but now it puts her on edge.

Give me Cinder, who argues with Roman who tells her she should get away Salem. She's changed, she's hurting and she's his friend and all he wants is to help her. But she's afraid, she's in too deep and that turns into rage... Until he gets swallowed by a grimm that's promptly destroyed. There's nothing of him that remains, and nothing hurts more. It's all her fault.

Give me Cinder, who's arm and eye are destroyed and she's repaired with grimm. She's strong, makes her arm respect her and tries not to think about how it feels so wrong. Roman's gone, the last thing she ever said was that she hated him and that makes her arm coil around her neck. She forces herself to push down the feelings so she's let go but the tears keep coming. Pyrrha is the voice in her head helping her calm down and she appreciates it but Cinder remarks that she wished the other hated her.

Give me, Cinder who buries her grief and directs all her negative feelings at Ruby. She can't feel pain, can't feel sadness or her grimm arm will attack her for her weakness. She ignores Pyrrha who reprimands her for calling her pain a weakness. She can't handle it, slowly losing her grip on reality and almost snaps back at Salem... Almost.

Give me, Cinder at Heavan who taunts Jaune and makes him attack her. Because she's starting to see just how much of a monster she is, Salem will never let her go...that she's certain. But if she were to fall in battle... And if not it'll get Pyrrha to stop being so kind. She throws a spear at Weiss, but something inside her makes her aim hit her side rather than her chest. Cinder blames Pyrrha but it wasn't her, her grimm arm twitches but stays still for now.

Give me Cinder, who pulls herself up from the icy depths of the water, cursing her existence and crumbling to the ground. Not even her power works and she really wishes that she had just drowned. She's stopped ignoring Pyrrha, she's stuck with her and it's her fault anyway... That and a selfish part of her craves the comfort, the other sets her back onto her feet and Cinder smiles sadly as she steals some clothes from a nearby market...she did afterall learn from the best.

Give me Cinder, who drinks at a nearby bar and hears news about team RWBY. She wonders if there's any point in hunting them, but she knows Salem well enough to know the other knows she isn't gone. Finding them, getting the relic might get her back in her good graces... The idea doesn't tempt her anymore, she sought power and it got her here... Lost in grief with a grimm arm and a missing eye , a run away with no home and sat hiding in a shady bar.

Give me Cinder, who reunites with Neo and freezes at the sight of her hat... His hat. Somehow Neo doesn't blame her and that makes her mad, she taunts her with every insult under the sun because she has to be mad... She has to fight her... Neo simply holds her as she breaks down. Everything feels too much and she just wants to be alone but Neo gives a look that says she ain't going anyway.

Give me Cinder, who makes a half hearted plan to get the relic because if she finds out how to defeat Salem... The thought makes her tingle, afraid but determined and Neo holds back a chuckle, somehow Cinder looks years younger when the trio first met.

Give me Cinder Fall who was moulded into a tool and is falling apart from all the pain.

Give me Cinder Fall who has a backstory that explains how she became this way. Give her motivation, how she wanted to help her mother and a cunning witch answered the call.

Give me Cinder Fall who is worth being a villian (not saying she isn't I just gotta end this dramatically) , tragic or otherwise.

This our Cinder Fall.

[the-hidden-writer]

An Odd Family Tree

A series of snippets from the lives of the FitzSimmons family, set post 7x13. Also, the series of events that lead up to the birth of their grandson.

Available to read on AO3 and FF.net.

Comments make my day!

Chapter 26: Ever After

“So please, just tell me once and for all… who did I name my son after?”

Jemma turned to Fitz for help, she truly didn’t know what to say, but her husband was still frozen in his place, his mouth moving but not quite managing to form words.

So it was up to her, then. She took a deep breath- if she was going to tell her daughter the truth, then she might as well tell her everything rather than insult her intelligence.

“Alya, d-darling, do you remember the mission we told you about? The one where we were sent to the future to save the world from getting torn apart?”

Alya was quiet for a few moments before she replied. “I remember.”

“Well,” Jemma continued, her voice sounding as heavy as her heart felt in the unusually tense kitchen, “do you remember how we got back to the present?”

“Something to do with Uncle Enoch, right?” Alya questioned skeptically. She only had very vague memories of Uncle Enoch, but there were plenty of pictures showing the pair together. What she definitely couldn’t remember was him being a robot. He’d always just felt like a part of the family.

“Y-Yeah.” Fitz affirmed. “It is. B-But in order to get us home, h-he-”

“He needed backup.” Jemma said, and Fitz shot her a grateful look. “And so an… um, ally we’d made in the future offered to help. We all thought it was a suicide mission, but we think he ended up getting sucked in by the tiny piece of the monolith that was near him. He came back to our time and timeline too.”

“You never mentioned bringing someone back from the future with you! That’s a huge change to history.”

“We know!” Fitz exclaimed.

“We didn’t mean to.” Said Jemma. “But he came back with us and tried to help us.”

“Tried?” Alya questioned.

“He got shot and had to have emergency surgery.”

Fitz gasped and snapped his attention towards Jemma. “He got shot?! You never told me- oh no…”

Alya looked between them, her face darkening with concern. “Who was he, Mum?”

Jemma continued to purposefully ignore her. “Even after he got shot, none of us really had time for him. We treated him so horribly. I always thought that I did better than the others, but just now I realised that it felt more like an act back then. Like I was obliged to be nice to him. B-But I shouldn’t have…”

She choked back a sob then, and Fitz quickly rushed to her side to comfort her.

Alya couldn’t find it in herself to find sympathy. She glared at them, the same question reflected in her expression.

“You know, he told me once about his family.” Fitz said whilst rubbing Jemma’s back. “He was a… a slave, I think. All humans were in that future. He told me that his mum had been murdered in front of him when he was just nine-” his voice cracked at his own words- “and his dad was sent to die.”

Alya opened her mouth to say something, but Fitz didn’t let her.

“B-But that’s how he learned to survive!” He said, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. “He came back, started a whole company and was super rich and- and we left him…”

He covered his face with his hands and Jemma gently pried them off his face to kiss his cheek.

“He chose to stay behind.” Jemma reassured. “Without him, we wouldn’t be here, and this timeline might not even exist.”

“What was his name?” Alya whispered again, her skin a sickly pale hue.

Jemma and Fitz shared a look of devastation, because there was no going back or even going forward without revealing the inevitable. The silence in that moment was thick and heavy. It felt like no words would ever be able to cut through it.

Luckily, no words were needed. From outside, Deke’s sudden loud burst of giggles could be heard over Owen’s playful shout of exasperation.

Jemma’s head turned towards the window, though her vision was too blurred with both age and tears for her to focus it properly.

She smiled a wobbly smile.

“His name was Deke.”

Both Fitz and Jemma’s hearts broke at Alya’s cry of anguish. They watched her fall to her knees as she covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her shock. They both had strong instincts to comfort her, she needed it more than they did after all, but neither of them could find it within themselves to do so.

They felt like they didn’t deserve it.

“I-I thought you might have looked into the future or something.” She sobbed. “Not- not this! Not from that future!”

In-sync as always, Fitz and Jemma’s parental instincts broke them out of their guilty stupors and they hurried to their daughter to help her back to her feet.

“He was a hero.” Jemma said as she brushed the dirt off her daughter. “And trust me, once we’d brought him back he was genuinely the sweetest man I’ve ever known.”

Fitz let out a small scoff… that turned into a broken laugh… that melted into a sob.

“You said you left him.” Alya said, wiping away her tears with her sleeve almost childishly. “Where? Why didn’t you go back for him?”

“Our final mission.” Fitz supplied, knowing that his wife’s memories of those final moments of that mission were hazy. “In order to get us back to our timeline from the screwed up one and take all those chronicoms back with us, someone needed to activate the quantum device from the other end.”

Alya gasped with sudden understanding.

“Deke volunteered.”

“That drawer.” Stated Alya. “That’s-”

“All we could find left of him on the Zephyr once it was all over.” Jemma answered. “That tape we used the walkman with is all him. He stole the songs, but that was his voice.”

“I… I don’t believe…”

Her parents didn’t need to be prompted into wrapping her into their arms. They did so, and Alya let them hold her as she shook and cried and mourned.

“Why are you sad?”

The trio turned their heads towards the owner of the little voice, who was standing in the doorway where Alya had caught them. He was fidgeting with his t-shirt again, his brown spiky hair was all tousled and full of mud, and his face was full of such genuine concern that made it look strange upon such a small child’s face.

“Oh, my little monkey.” Alya called, sniffling. “Come here.”

She immediately knelt down and opened her arms out for a confused Deke to run into. Her hands closed around him like a trap that wasn’t going to let go of its prey any time soon. And everyone was fine with that.

“I’m so, so proud of you.” Alya’s voice was muffled by the fact that her face was buried into Deke’s bony chest.

“We love you very much, sweetie.” Jemma said, planting a kiss on Deke’s free hand. “More than you can ever know.”

Fitz ruffled his already messy hair. “Seriously, you’re the best, Baby Deke.”

“I’m not a baby!” Deke stuck his tongue out at his grandad, satisfied that his family wasn’t sad anymore. “Stop saying baby!”

“You’re right.” Jemma said warmly.

Fitz smiled, linking hands with his wife. “You’re our big Deke now.”

The pair noticed that Alya squeezed their grandson tighter. They shared a knowing look.

Deke grinned widely, the gaps in his teeth becoming more clear. There was an air of innocence around him that neither Jemma nor Fitz had ever gotten the chance to see before.

“Thanks Bobo, thanks Nana. You’re the best too.”

~-.-~

Leo and Jemma Fitz-Simmons had thought that they’d gotten their happy ending the very second Alya was born. It had been the happiest day of their lives, despite the team being missing, because they were finally a family.

But since they’d completed the mission that they’d been preparing for years, it had felt like something was still missing. They’d lost Enoch. They’d lost Deke.

They didn’t really have time for mourning back then. They had to set up proper lives for themselves. Raise a daughter and actually live normal lives. Still, that void left by those losses felt like it could never be filled.

At least, that was the case until Fitz stumbled upon Owen Shaw.

Meeting Owen brought them hope. He brought the chance of healing the open wound, of mending something that was permanently broken. Or, in their case, permanently stuck in a disastrous reality that he never should have been in.

It had taken many, many years, but Deke Shaw was finally born and with him that void had started to close. Slowly but surely.

The couple had known since his birth that they would have to tell Alya the truth at some point, but time passed quickly and they didn’t know how to proceed. They grew older and older, but so did Deke.

Alya was angry at first, as any mother would be. But after a lot of explaining, she understood. They gave her the power of telling Owen if she wanted to, and she decided against it. For as much as the memory of Deke influenced her son, she wanted him to be his own person.

Or at least, that’s what she told her parents. But they knew her well enough to know that she was just trying to distance him from the orphaned slave as much as she could for the benefit of her own mental health.

Yet, perhaps for some unrelated reason, the rift that had formed between Owen and Deke began to close. Owen grew closer to his son and by some miracle began to treat him in such a kind way that would never be associated with the boisterous Owen Shaw.

Alya herself had grown almost inseparable with her son. She comfortably changed her job to a part-time position in order to be able to spend more time with him. This extra time allowed her to take him to a dietitian to help improve his physical health. Though his ribs were still visible, he was no longer underweight, and that in itself was a huge achievement to Alya.

She’d also grown a lot closer to her parents. Though for a while they’d been distant due to work demands, they ended up visiting a lot more often and having little adventures in the garden. She knew that they needed support, and she wouldn’t hesitate to give it to them. They were her everything. As was Deke.

Deke, as all children do, grew up too fast. One day he was a mischievous five-year-old, the next he was a mischievous nine-year-old. He was considered a genius in his school and did end up moving up a class. Since he still struggled with making friends though, he fell to his grandparents. He never failed to make them laugh, and would boast to his classmates about how cool his Nana and Bobo were. That they used to be spies!

And FitzSimmons? Well, time passed for them too. Also too quickly. They renovated the Deke Drawer into the Deke Shelf. A shelf in a display cabinet filled with little trinkets in the living room, there for all to see.

They knew that, however much time they had left, they didn’t want to spend it keeping secrets or worrying over loose ends. They’d long since dismantled their lab and all prototypes and equipment within it. Their consciences were free. They were free.

Fitz grew his fabulous grey beard to a ridiculously long length. Jemma convinced him to trim it. This was the sort of adventure they liked now, the sort that involved only laughs and no danger or SHIELD or loss.

And they were happy. They’d had to wait half a century for it, but the universe had gifted them with uninterrupted happiness.

This was their true happy ending.

There will be 2 epilogue chapters following this. Thank you for reading!

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante: "Men have been taught by society that they are superior to us"

Named after a paranormal device used to contact ghosts, Canadian post-metalcore trio Spiritbox have been hailed by fans and critics alike as one of the best new bands to watch in 2021. Arriving on the scene back in 2017, Spiritbox found themselves spiralling into greater success following the release of their 2020 single Holy Roller – its Midsommar-style music video has over 2 million views and counting.

Now signed to Rise Records, Spiritbox are in the midst of recording their highly-anticipated debut album, and vocalist Courtney LaPlante has started a brand new podcast Good For A Girl. The podcast is an inside look at the realities and challenges of being a woman in the music industry, with a sharp focus on the male-dominated world that is the metal scene. LaPlante was in metal band Iwrestledabearonce before starting Spiritbox, and on the podcast she speaks to other women who are claiming their space within the business, like musicians, Radio DJs, record executives and more.

In conversation with the Spiritbox leader, we learn about her industry life lessons, her experience with ultra-sexist record labels, and the state of the band's upcoming new record.

When and why did you come up with the idea for the Good For A Girl podcast?

“I came up with it because I was trying to figure out something to offer our patrons on our Patreon page. It’s also an excuse for me to hang out with other women, as I live on an island in Canada so I haven’t really come across many women in the industry, and I haven’t on my travels either. It was a way for me to learn from them and I got such a great reaction from our patrons too. Plus, every musician in the industry during the pandemic has made a podcast. I didn’t even think of doing it as I didn’t wanna clog up the radio waves, but then I thought about it more, and realised that one like this was missing.

“It’s an escapism thing, too. I thought that it would be important for other people, not just women, to listen to us and humanise us. I think people forget that women are 50 percent of the population of the world, so there’s not really an excuse to be so out of touch with us being actual, real, multi-faceted people.”

Is this why Good For A Girl is important to you?

“Yes because that’s all of us. It’s a thing [as women] we all hear. Like, ‘Yeah you’re good...for a girl.’ The only people that we put in a different class are children. Like, ‘He’s a really good guitar player for a 5 year old’.”

Working in the music industry, what would you say has been the most important thing you’ve learnt and what has been the biggest surprise?

“I’ve biggest thing I’ve learnt is to really advocate for yourself and to not be so caught up in being worried about pleasing people. Because honestly when it comes down to it, if it’s not an authentic thing and you’re just trying to make sure everyone’s getting along, it always bites you in the ass in the end. I’d much rather someone think I’m a bitch and not want to work with me, rather than me work with them under a condition that I’m not really doing what I want to do.

“And a big surprise for me has been the amount of amazing women behind the scenes. That there’s all these women working out there that are there for me, that I didn’t even know existed.”

In metal especially, there usually seems to be a community of individuals who tend to react negatively to anything they define as “woke”, like women-led, political, etc. What has been the reaction to the podcast so far, and have you experienced any of this backlash?

“A little bit, but that’s what is so interesting about it. Sometimes you get so worked up about people being negative towards what you’re doing, or being frustrated because they’re clearly not understanding what you’re saying. Then you look at it and it’s the same people that are the loudest, so it’s really not that many people. I’ll go through and think, ‘Look at these mean comments’, and then I’ll be like, wait a second, this the same three guys, commenting the same stuff over and over.

“And then the day before International Women’s Day, I wrote a piece for Kerrang!, and it’s so ironic if you read it, because the article is basically me just explaining some of my negative experiences. The article is not really speaking to men, it's speaking to other women, specifically white women about how we need to actually hold ourselves accountable to have all women to be a part of feminism, and not just post infographics on our Instagram to make us feel woke and superior. We have to actually protect each other and have some intersectionality in our feminism. But the comments are literally just guys saying that I’m making up my experiences. They are there to invalidate my experiences, and it’s so ironic because there are no women in there going, ‘Wait a second, don’t paint all women the same way, we aren’t all a bunch of performative-wokeness ladies!'"

Would you say it's similar to being classed as a “female-fronted” band, as opposed to being known for your genre?

“Yeah, it’s so bizarre. And also, there’s the other side to it, the swing of the pendulum is that guys will think they are complimenting you by saying, ‘I hate all female metal vocalists they are all horrible and they suck, but you’re good. All the other ones are all slutty whores, but I like that you wear a turtleneck.’ I’m literally butt naked in three of our music videos. Just because you chose not to sexualise me in that capacity, doesn’t mean that I’m not a sexual being.

“And it’s so interesting because if I am doing what I want, and maybe another time I dress more revealing because I think that’s fucking awesome, then those people are gonna feel betrayed in some way because through seeing you like a flat one-dimensional being, they think you can’t be both.

“But I think we can all be both professional and sexy. Just like a guy can be very responsible and non-sexual and then when he chooses to be objectified he can take his shirt off and choose whether to be objectified or not, where he feels comfortable.”

What are you aiming to change through your work on your podcast, if anything?

“I want to change the music industry and hold all these people accountable that have been gatekeeping it. Every success that a metal band has helps the rest of us. The women, or those who identify as women, or even non-binary people who are moving forward and succeeding helps all of us because it makes our voice bigger. I just want to keep growing and dominating so I can start to make a change from the inside.

“Like when we were going around to labels, there were so many labels that were so sexist, and they didn't even realise they were being sexist because they don’t understand it. So it feels so great to prove all those record labels wrong, and then actually get to revisit working with them and tell them why I chose not to work with them. Because worse case scenario it’ll make me feel I got to be like ‘fuck you’, and then best case scenario it helps change their behaviour."

What happened at those record labels?

“One time when we were shopping the band around two years ago, this label felt completely comfortable in saying, ‘Oh you know what, this band is cool but we already signed a girl metal band and it didn’t do very well.’ And I was like, ‘You also signed a 100 shitty guy metal bands that didn’t do very well, are you gonna not sign any more bands with men in them?’

“My manager said to me, ‘You know this is great, these people are making themselves loud and clear to us, and we know that we never need to entertain working with them. I’m happy they are being vocally misogynistic and sexist because we don’t have to waste our time.’”

In your first episode of the podcast you said men usually look at women in bands as “gimmicks”. What needs to change to get men to stop viewing women in this way?

“I think one of the things that need to change is that we just need metal to become a more diverse group of listeners. I was watching an old Metallica concert, and I looked out, it was during the Black album phase, and half the crowd was women. And if you look at heavy music, if you look at Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin, half the crowd is women. And I feel like metal, if I’m just going off my own listenership, the 50 percent has really moved away from women and metal has become a very monolithic group of listeners. It’s straight white men. And there’s nothing wrong with those people listening to it, but I always feel that when a music genre has a very narrow scope of listeners, it usually has lasting problems on the genre for its staying power, because I don’t think you can really succeed in making lasting music if you’re not creating it for all different types of people.

“But I think it’s changing. I think metal is becoming more diverse and therefore the genre itself will become better and stronger, because I think that diversity creates better art. I really truly believe that, so I think that the pendulum is swinging back. Because that was the heyday of metal music; there were more people that listened to it. I feel now it's lost its way sometimes, but I think it's finding it again. I think metal really is becoming more powerful and good.

“That’s a long winded way of explaining why we’re looked at as a gimmick, but basically it’s because there's not a lot of us. And for some reason a lot of people only see the identity first when they see someone who looks different to them.”

You also mention that there’s a pattern of men or “haters” putting women down through belittling them or patronising them, etc. What do you think is the intention behind this?

“I think the reason why they do that is because men have been taught by society that they are superior to us, and they don’t really have a lot of evidence to dispute that because that's what most of us have been brought up thinking. And I think that as a musician, especially as a lead singer, you are like the ringleader, you are the commander in chief of the whole show, and that's generally a masculine trait, at least that’s what we’re taught.

“My experiences are just like everyone’s else's, and when people are like, ‘What's it like? [being a woman]’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know, it’s the same as your job or any job, there’s a lot of stuff that's annoying and some stuff that's actually physically dangerous, and you’re actually in danger. And it frustrates me so much when people are surprised at that like, ‘Oh really? I didn’t know that you had been assaulted by a guy?’ and I’m like, ‘Have you ever met a human woman? Literally all of us have been.’ The math isn’t added up guys, all of us have had something bad happen to us but somehow none of you have done it.

“If I found that my whole demographic was doing some horrible thing, my first thought would not be, ‘Well, I don’t do it’, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, we gotta figure this shit out.’ I think it’s getting better though, I think not my generation but the next one, Gen Z, they are more humanist, I think they don’t see categories of people as much, they see you as human and then your sub category.”

So what can we expect in your later episodes of the podcast?

“Well in my first couple of episodes I’m talking to people that are more like myself,  frontwomen, such as Caity [Babbs from SiriusXM] who is an amazing radio host and like a leader. I talked to Booka [Nile] from Make Them Suffer, who’s very much in front of the scene. And soon I’ll be talking to my friend Chaney [Crabb] from the band Entheos.

“The last couple episodes of what I’ll be putting out from this season will feature the people behind the scenes who are actually running everything. Those are the people that I’m the most fascinated by because it’s not really my experience. I think of them as the faceless puppet masters controlling everything. I’m learning so much from these women who are so badass, they’re like who I want to be someday with the power that they have and the integrity. They trust their intuition so much because that's their job.”

And lastly, can you give any hints on what the new Spiritbox record sounds like, what state it’s in and what people should expect?

“We’ve done our album, we’re done physically tracking it. Now we’re about to get into the monotony of mixing it, but I can’t believe it. This is the first time I’ve said it out loud. I’ve only listened to it fully a couple times as of now, but at least till we have all the track placement, you can expect to get pummelled with full anger and sadness. Like over and over.

“I’ve got to figure out the tracklisting because it's too much, it's too intense, you need breathing room in an album. This is a product of something that we didn’t want to have two years to develop, but we got about a good year almost 2 years, so the songs feel very lived in. They feel very familiar because we’ve been working on them for so long. So Constance and Holy Roller are the two singles that we put out in 2020, which we consider the outliers of the album, and the rest is everything in between that. I told someone else it’ll be like you’re in the mosh pit but crying. Crying in the mosh pit.”

Spiritbox’s debut album is due for release this year via Rise Records. The first three episodes of the Good For A Girl podcast are available now.

[sargentr]

my fave drarry fics of all time, part one

so, after discovering i’ve officially been reading drarry fanfic for 4 years now, i decided to show my (quite big) list of favorite drarry fics. there are 46 in total, but i’ve listed 10 down below. the first three are my absolute favorites but the rest are equally as good

most of my notes are fresh from when i wrote them post-reading. i’ve changed some, seeming less like a crazy unstable bitch, but fuck these were all emotional as fuck. enjoy

ps: i dont really know how to tag people i dont follow. i cant try and tag the authors later. soz!!

pps: most of these i read when i was really into a bottom!draco phase, so most of them contain that, some are switch tho (as it should be, yikes past me)

1. Everything That Happen is From Now On / ~43K 

After surviving a brutal assault, Draco tries to navigate the tumultuous waters of his mind, and embrace a bit of love and trust in his life. After all, the smallest steps forward can begin to heal the most fractured of souls

okay so before i get in to how beautiful this story is, i wanna say that it does touch on rape quite explicitly. i cried like an idiot reading the entire thing, because draco’s pain is navigated in the most beautiful and realistic way. it touches on a subject very risky for me, very personal, and i still can’t think of a better drarry story. draco’s very draco about it all, and harry is very harry about it all. it’s just perfect, and messy, and tender, and sad. i’ve reread it more than any other fic, and it doesn’t disappoint. 

2. Pocket Full of Starlight / ~46K

When Scorpius Malfoy and Jamie Potter meet at Quidditch camp, they take an instant dislike to each other. Then they discover their lives are more connected than they could possibly imagine.

ah yes. the magic of kid fics. the TASTE

parent trap au. i read this one recently, like 3 months back, and absolutely fell in love with everything about it, partially because the parent trap is legit one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time. its just. the essence, the IDEA, is soooo mf beautiful. i cant get enough of reading when harry or draco finally meet the other twin, or how they cant stop loving each other even after 11 years. my heart clenched throughout the whole thing. 

3. Temptations on the Warfront / ~180K

Draco Malfoy is forced into hiding with the Golden Trio and dragged into their search for horcruxes. What ensues is a journey of redemption, unexpected friendships and an unwanted, turbulent romance with Harry Potter. Warnings for swearing, sexual content, and dark themes. 

this was the first drarry fic ive ever read, and before this mf i HATEDDD this pairing. so you can imagine how much it took to convince me otherwise, bc i was 100% scorbus before this.

to be fair, horcrux hunting with draco involved is, possibly, my favorite trope ever. its unique. theres tension, both sexual and life threatening. in some ways it romanticizes the war, but fuck it it aint a real war. 

slowest of burns. amazing. life changing. long as hell. nothing else to be said except read it right now i demand it.

4. Clouding the Senses / ~58K

As everyone returns to Hogwarts for a final eighth year, some people are coping better with the aftermath of the war than others. After encountering a very drunk Draco Malfoy one night, Harry realises that maybe those that lost loved ones aren’t the only ones trying to escape the war. Blaise Zabini seems to think Harry can help Malfoy, that the Slytherin might actually listen to him. Harry is not so sure. Dependence is a tricky thing, and one addiction can quickly shift to another.

everyone that reads drarry loves 8th year fics, but this ones just kinda different from all those normal (yet entertaining) ones. draco’s an alcoholic in this, and one night harry tries to help him and whoops, one thing leads to the other and they start having casual sex. its really, really amazing how both draco and harry navigate the addiction, i really cant say it has any flaws. 

i know the author got a lot of hate on their fics and thats why they took them down, but they’re truly one of the best drarry authors out there. i’ve reread this a couple of times, and the tenderness, the love and confusion is all very on character. a+

5. Restraint / ~153K

Someone casts the Imperius curse on Draco Malfoy, and whatever the instructions may be, Harry finds himself an unwilling target. The encounter leaves him torn between pleasure and revulsion. As they fight in the aftermath, a tense game begins. Harry fights to convince Malfoy, and himself, that he was not affected by that initial encounter, or any of those following it.

Faced with a series of escalating encounters, Harry must come to terms with desiring things he never thought he could, things he wishes he didn’t respond to. They each use signs of arousal as weapons against each other in a mad struggle to finally shame the other into backing down for good. 

But it’s only after the game is over that Harry starts to understand.

this is by the same author of clouding the senses, and i read this just this week. at first, it’s shocking, because it plays around with consent in a very unsettling way. when communication comes in, and its starts getting healthier, you can really understand where the author found the idea of playing with consent. it is, in my opinion, 100% characteristic of how they would behave post-war, with that grief and confusion. it’s also dom/sub in some parts, and that’s mf hot. 

it also has my favorite tropes in it, but it’s a spoiler to say which one. i’ll probably mention the trope in the list along with a bunch others, but when u finish reading you’ll know which one ;)

6. Humbug / ~30K

Draco has been taking his casual relationship with Harry for granted. Visits from four key ghosts the night before Christmas just might shake up his priorities in life.

(felt like it was valid to just paste what i wrote in my notes app after reading this)

(FUCKKKKKK HOW TO EVEN START?!!!?? just a fucking bonus, draco is THE best bottom o ever exist i love my bottom son so much. this story isnt only amazing it’s excruciatingly painful to read, harry and draco have been sleeping together but harry is completely in love with him. draco doesnt see how much harry cares for him or how much hes hurting harry by treating their fling like its just that, a FLING. with that, draco is haunted by three ghosts. one of the past, the present and the future, AND THEY SET THAT IDIOT STRAIGHTTTT 1800000/10. the gays DO KEEP MF WINNING!!!

7. in your arms, rests my world / ~24K

Harry presses his mouth to Malfoy's forehead; he wants to tell him that he’ll never leave, that he wouldn’t dream of it.

“You make me feel safe, Potter” Malfoy whispers. “You keep me safe.”

the friends with benefits trope doesnt ever disappoint, top 5 tropes fr, especially if its also 8th year. harry and draco get into their little thing, but of course nothing ever is simple between them. by the preview, you can clearly see how much draco likes harry (also another 10/10 trope, the ‘i’ve been in love with harry potter since i was 11′ one). my only tiny issue with this is that harry fucks it up just a tad, but it of course adds up to the drama of it all, which i absolutely love.

noting it also touches on non-con/rape and, and all in all, is extremely angsty. one i was tense from beginning to end. but i am gonna say it ends amazingly and v happily.

8. Playing the Hero / ~29K

Nobody kissed me like Harry did. He kissed like he flew; he kissed like he duelled - with his whole being, not caring about anything else. I had never felt as vulnerable as I did when he kissed me, seizing all and any control I had over myself. But when Harry kissed me, I felt free...

so the thing about angst is that it ignites that mf feeling side u that even tho it hurts you cannot get enough of. this fic was EVERYTHINGGG. it made cry and laugh and smile. also another trope i absolutely adore is them breaking up and not being 100% ok with that, bc ding ding!! YALL STILL LOVE EACH OTHER!! 

i cant describe how i felt, honestly. i would just paste my notes (i wont bc spoilers) but it looks like i went thru sum shit. deadass

9. fine i’ll hold my breath / till i forget it’s complicated  / ~ 15K with the two parts

Harry and Draco become friends with benefits, and Harry thinks it's more complicated than it actually is.

u know, fluff is a drug. i dont know if its beucase 90% of drarry fics are about angsty get-togethers, but i had butterflies in my stomach when i read this. its adorable. draco is so clearly in love, he jusT SMILES A LOT I CANTTT. 

its cute. i love it to death. have some fluff before starting your day.

10. Un Noël très parisien / ~14K

When Draco crossed paths with Auror Potter at a political function in Paris, he was not expecting their former animosity to change into something rather more intriguing. But he could be certain their casual flirtation would not last more than the night, couldn't he?

look. i know i named a lot of my favorite tropes here, but i cant end this without mentioning how much single dad draco affects me. i love scorpius and how much he changes draco in every fic he appears. i love parent draco and i shant be silent about it (especially when scorpius is legit just a year old in this. i died)

as it states, harry and draco have a one night stand but draco thinks thats it, that it was all he was ever gonna have. he’s wrong of course, and the path it takes, with both scorpius and harry there, just melted my mf heart.

well kids that’s all i have for now. imma work on a part two with 10 other fics i really love!1