#Thank you for the opinions !

[bean-spring]

Hot take and not to be a killjoy or the shipping police but people treating Viktor or Jinx's aroace headcanons as if they were canon is not the revolutionary take people think it is.

Headcanons are always all right but we have to acknowledge that they are somehow damaging when they apply to stereotypes. It might not be the case for everyone but most of the time people unconsciously assume that disability/mental illness=asexuality. These headcanons erase the freedom of attraction from people who are already seen as unable to have sexual/romantic experiences/desires, when it's completely untrue and harmful.

You can headcanon Viktor and Jinx as aroace, but I have seen people changing their minds once Viktor is no longer disabled (s2 with all of his other forms) and Jinx is no longer as mentally ill (alternate universe Powder). And it speaks wonders of how people see these characters.

"I never thought about Jinx being able to feel romantic/sexual attraction until s2!" To believe she's actually only capable of that when she's not "damaged" is incredibly disturbing. Especially since Jinx has always had a bit of a flirty personality too.

"I've always seen Viktor as asexual, I don't know why!" That's fine. You can headcanon him as ace. But I believe there is a reason behind it, most of the time, if for some inexplicable reason the "vibes" of the disabled character are making you think he's ace.

I say all of this being aroaspec myself, by the way. Headcanon all you want but going to people's posts commenting how "it's weird for you that they have romantic/sexual plots when they're clearly aroace" is not a win at all. It's a headcanon, after all, and it should be treated as such, and that's fine. But it also is damaging to spread stereotypes like these.

Of course the disabled character is asexual. Of course the mentally ill character is aromantic. It's not as revolutionary as you might think, tbh.

Fandom is not activism and it's all right to have any headcanons you want BUT some of them are filled with damaging stuff and perhaps we should look into ourselves more before treating these assumptions as something canon.

[soupinaboot]

In my opinion, Bruce should be above average height or at least average. But since he surrounds himself with demi-gods, aliens, meta humans, etc, he's just dwarfed next to them. Like maybe about 6'1 or 6'2, but that's NOTHING compared to Diana '7'3 feet tall' Prince. Or Clark '6'9' Kent.

All the tabloids claim he has to be at least 5 feet tall because the only photos they can get of him are when he's next to his giant ass friends.

It is also my personal headcannon that all the robins stay shorter than him, except Jason, who should be at least 4 inches taller.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Congratulations to TEAM CHEESE for winning the popular vote on the Charcuterie poll!

[piglii]

I will not let bad takes about Marcille on twitter.com have an effect on my emotions. I will not let the opinions of seasonal-only anime watchers take root in my brain. I will permit their bad opinions to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see their path. Where the bad opinions have gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

[sunflowey]

So, I need to express my thoughts on shipping in this fandom. I've personally never shipped many characters together but I do enjoy and admire people who draw fanarts and some headcanons that people come up with. However, I've noticed something that bothers me when it comes to Arcane fandom. Some Jayvik fans are dismissive of other pairings, like Skyvik and Meljay or even MelJayVik. They are quick to attack anyone who suggests Viktor might not be gay, jumping to label them as homophobic or delusional for holding different opinion. (I am aware some people are in fact homophobic). To those who react that way, do you realize that those are your headcanons? They aren't canon also. It's frustrating to see the hypocrisy in this: Jayvik fans attacking Skyvik fans for interpretating their realtionship as romantic, yet interpret his relationship with Jayce also as romantic. Just as you see Jayvik in romantic light, Skyvik fans see potential of "What could have been" between Skyvik. Don't get me wrong both ship are valid, I absolutely love fanfics and fanarts of both ships. And don't get me started on the hate Meljay gets. Some fans hate Mel because she "gets in the way" of their preferred ship, which is honestly ridiculous. Jayce clearly as we can see cares deeply about both of them, and seeing her as some kind of obstacle undermines the depth of their relationship.

[steeltwigz]

marshmallow, are you seein this shit?

[rottmnt-residuum]

Hi, I've read the Residuum comic, and I think the characterization of the boys is really good. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to write them? Especially Mikey, please.

I'd actually recommend re-watching the show with one character in mind. All my notes on the turtles come from doing separate re-watches for each of them. The key is to ONLY watch the character you are focusing on.

In the end, you'll probably be happier with your own personal interpretation. As we are with ours lol

TL;DR

Massive post under the cut

To preface: we'll be contrasting (this Mikey) against the fandoms version of Mikey, as our interpretation is very different. Don't worry if you prefer the fandom version, there's nothing… wrong per se with writing him this way. We just find him flat and uninteresting. (Main author: not me, I just hate him, lol).

Every reader or fan comes into a story with their own biases and experiences. A ton of our view of Mikey is based on how our siblings acted. We see Mikey as the young sibling that got preferential treatment from the whole family, simply due to being the youngest, but is now aging out of the privilege. Which all youngest siblings do at some point or another.

The fandoms version of Mikey is empathetic, naive, vulnerable, co-dependent and quite often a door mat who cries at the drop of a hat. And as much as the fandom like to say that people love him… when this particular character archetype is in other media, they seem to attract the most criticism. Mable pines, Bolin from Korra, people rag on Aang all the fucking time, and Steven Universe is a whole other bag. These characters don't deserve it, and yet it happens anyway.

To flatten Mikey to simply 'the baby' is a disservice. We don't see or write Mikey as the fandom “baby” version (cinnamon roll uwu). Part of this comes from having multiple siblings, so we interpret the times when Mikey does the puppy dog eyes as typical younger sibling bullshit, mostly by the way that the other turtles rarely react to it, if at all.

The other turtles traits can also get projected onto Mikey. Mikey being the fandom therapist is in the same category as this. He isn't a therapist, he's a psychology nerd who likes to psychoanalyze people and meddle in their relationships. (Donnie and Shelldons relationship, Splinter and Draxums...) he's not trying to resolve your emotional issues. Of the turtles, the character that cares the most about people's feelings is Raph. And Leo is more of a consoler than Mikey ever is. It flattens all the turtle's characterizations when you start doing this because you are ripping out parts that are integral to another characters' complexity.

Co-author has told me that they've seen people become confused when going into the show after only reading fan fiction or coming from the movie. They see his characterization as inconsistent and become upset when their view of him is contradicted. This also happens when a fandomized version of him becomes the primary characterization that they use. Sometimes when this disconnect happens (or if they just don't like the character), Mikey characterization is swung in the complete opposite direction.

They make him manipulative and abusive, or someone who is hyper violent and avoids being held accountable for anything. This is an uncharitable interpretation of him and can come off as pretty racist depending on the circumstances. (like if someone considers the turtles black or not)

Every version of Mikey is a shithead (affectionate), even this one. Especially this one, really. When Mikey not doing the "baby schtick" hes mean. If you pay attention to what he's saying, and just not his tone of voice, he's consistently saying pretty mean or condescending stuff. (You could take this as simply naïveté, but he still says mean shit pretty often regardless)

The times he does say genuinely nice stuff the turtles don't exactly expect it from him, at least, in the early season. And while he is mean, and seems to find saying mean things to be funny, Mikey isn't cruel. Nor will he ever be.

This shit-headery behavior is found in both 2003 and 18 Mikey. They have a degree of social intelligence that lets them use it to annoy people into doing what they want. 18 just has the advantage of being baby faced and having better tonal control. He's good at using people's perception of him to get what he wants.

Let Mikey have his problematic traits, but don't overexaggerate them. He doesn't revel in fooling people. He loves doing character bits, and the baby faced one just happens to be one of them. However, to infantilize or to deem him incompetent is to piss him off, he wants to be viewed as a competent part of the team and competent as an individual. He's not insecure about being young, he just doesn't want to be treated like he can't do anything.

Mikey above all is an optimistic character, he sees the brighter side quite often and is conscious of the harm his actions have on people. Mostly after the fact, but he consistently attempts to rectify the harm he has personally done to peoples lives. (Todd, Bullhop, Draxum). Food and shelter seems to be a thing that he considers to be a right. He doesn't cross a boundary twice once he learns of it, and he never pushes people too far (if he likes you, that is. if he doesn't know you or doesn't like you, he doesn't give a singular shit. But that is standard to most people.). He doesn't care about people's stuff, though. He breaks things all the time.

Mikey understands boundaries, but he doesn't automatically recognize them. He needs them to verbalized or for there to be a very obvious reaction to the boundary being crossed (unfortunately, for Todd and Donnie). Sometimes people mess up (esp. younger people), and it can take a while for teens to learn where boundary is, but he fully respects the boundaries he does know about. He doesn't act petulant when he's told about boundary, he apologizes, accepts it, and moves on. He doesn't dwell.

Mikey doesn't hold on to distressing emotions. He bounces between emotions quickly, but isn't effected in the long run. One thing Iv'e seen people often conflate is the difference between sensitive and vulnerable. Mikey is sensitive, but I have never seen him vulnerable to others. To be sensitive is to be easily influenced by the current situation. To be vulnerable is to hold that influence for a long time. Characters can have one, both, or neither of these traits. But Mikey is not vulnerable. It is the difference between compressing memory foam and a piece of metal until they deform. One will pop back, the other does not.

Those who are vulnerable but not sensitive will take longer to effect, but once you do, they will hold on to that emotion for a very long time. The vulnerable, are grudge holders. (leo). But like I've said, Mikey bounces back. What a character does has an effect on his emotions, but it doesn't make a lasting impression.

Forgiveness is another thing people like to push on him. It is not that Mikey forgives people easily, it's just that he doesn't hold grudges. He neither forgives nor forgets, but he does not ruminate. He's generally affable, first impressions seem to be a big part of how he views people. He is idealistic, and doesn't assume people are unchanging and/or evil, but he's not a mark.

Mikey isn't so much as naive or overly trusting… it's just that he's inexperienced. He doesn't get fooled by anyone in the series except meat sweats, and that's because Meatsweats is on Todd drugs. Mikey just didn't notice when he started faking. He's not… actually all that aware of people's emotional states, passively. He has to tune in to notice things like that.

Mikey isn't someone who really tries to regulate others emotions, either. The fandom like to make Mikey afraid of his brothers fighting and others being upset, but Mikey doesn't actually care. The most distressed we ever see him in a fight is in the movie, and he's not SCARED, he's just concerned (and then alarmed once it turned physical). If anything, outside extenuating circumstances (like the movie), Mikey actually seems to find their fights annoying.

(Mikey actually seems to have a pretty short fuse, but his bounciness doesn't really let it linger very long, lmao)

(One pet peeve of fandom Mikey is the constant crying, crying at fights, crying at insults, crying for no reason all the time. Sure, he tears up when he gets emotional, but when Mikey is genuinely crying It's when he's desperate, like when he's hungry, or when he's trying to save Leo from certain doom. Same thing, really.)

Mikey respects no one (we love him for this). He admires people, he admires his family: April, the turtles, his dad, Lou Jitsu. He admires Rupert Swaggert, but he respects none of them. No one is sacrosanct to the Mikey.

Above all, the way we write characters is to give them a past that informs how they act now. We view Mikey and the other turtles as teenagers that were kids, and that will be adults. Yes they all have “problematic” traits, but 1) good characters need flaws, and controversial traits are one of the best to use, and 2) they're teenagers, don't expect adult behaviors from them, also don't expect them to be kids. They're minors, not toddlers.

This is getting as long enough as it is, so we'll stop here, but this is a very broad overview of how we characterize him. There's a lot we didn't cover here, but if we even started on hobbies, or the real minutia of his quirks and ticks, or even how he feels about other specific characters... we'd be here all day. So I hope this is good enough lol

If there was something you wanted to know in particular, you'll need to get specific. Feel free to ask again ahahh

[codacheetah]

Tell me your opinions on the stuff. Any stuff.

Grins. Smiles, even

I'm using you as an excuse to infodump my theory about the Island because I've had no in to do that, and my theory is pure opinion. Anyways:

THE ISLAND IS STUCK IN THE FUCKING FUTURE

(SCARE CHORD)

Hi so you might ask me. What the fuck do you mean by that. Well. Let's start with what we know about the Island, the King, and Wish Craft. (long ass post under cut. sorry)

The Island was redacted from the perception of outside world, via Wish Craft.

Wish Craft has the power to enable Time Craft. We see this primarily through Siffrin's timeloops, but also through the King's powers.

One of the King's powers is to show the saviors a "vision of the future."

...And this same attack is deflected back at the King by Mirabelle in ACT 5, in which the King is able to see the Island before being frozen in time.

...So. The King's "vision of the future." We're never told explicitly what this vision is. All we know is that it's apparently powerful enough to wipe the party in one hit, hearing it from a distance hurts your head, and that whatever Siffrin (and Loop) saw, they don't seem to actually be able to describe it. Even the King himself doesn't know what his vision entails.

We don't know whether the party all sees the same thing when struck by the vision, and Adrienne's answer to the question about it in the Reddit AMA is. vague? It's not a "no," and the specific wording makes me think the answer might be yes. But that's me reading into it.

Now. What do we know about the Island's redaction? The Island was affected by the wish recently, as in "like a decade ago" recently. We know that nobody in Vaugarde or the rest of the world is capable of thinking about the Island, anything closely tied to the Island's culture, or people on the Island for very long. When they do recall these things, they slip right out of reach. Particularly, the consequence for trying to think about the Island (or, more specifically, break the wish that forces the Island out of perception) is significant pain, localized in the head.

And that said pain is enough to become lethal, if pressed hard enough.

From here forward I'm running with the assumption that the King's "vision of the future" is not personalized to any individual, and is unchanging throughout the course of the whole story. Now. Remember the end of ACT 5, where the King gets hit with the deflected "vision of the future", and instead of dying, he recalls the Island and gets frozen in time? Very odd, yeah? Why wouldn't the King just die like everyone else does? He even does take 9999 damage when trying to say its name, like Siffrin does, and like the party does when they're hit by the attack.

Well. We know that he has a "true wish" that the ability to freeze Vaugarde in time grants. I don't think it's at all a stretch to guess that the King's "true wish" is to be able to remember the Island. My personal guess is that the King (and Siffrin) brought this "true wish" into effect via the "SAY ITS NAME" sequence- he even tries three times, a significant number in wishing.

The King (and Siffrin's) wish breaks, because it can't be fulfilled in this moment without breaking the wish to prevent the Island from being thought about. However. Consider the conditions at the end of ACT 5- the King sees the vision of the future reflected back to him, and what he sees is the Island. He remembers the Island, fulfilling his own wish, and is frozen in time. I consider this a compromise between his wish and the one binding the Island- the King gets to remember the Island, but nobody alive is able to think about it, because he's frozen in time; it's like the Universe is correcting itself (I WILL GET BACK TO THIS). The wish of all of Vaugarde to defeat the King is fulfilled, since he is no longer a threat, and Siffrin's wish wraps itself up soon after.

MY POINT BEING. The King's attack is a vision of the future. This "future" is of the Island, in some uncorrupted state. The saviors see it when he attacks them, and he sees it when it is deflected back to him.

The logical next question is "okay, so the Island exists in the future, but how do you know time shenanigans are even related to the Island?"

Recall a very odd series of interactions throughout the game, in which you try to interact with a piece of equipment that you already own.

The game rewinds slightly, before the item disappears, as the Universe corrects itself.

This is awfully similar to two particular events: looping back without seeing the death screen, and talking to the Daydreaming One about her sister. The latter is more interesting to me for the purposes of this theory.

In both instances, something is misaligned within the Universe (an item existing in two places, someone remembering something they're not supposed to) and it is corrected through some sort of rewind. Also compare the dialogue above to when you try to give Mirabelle the Stylish Bow when you already own it.

The world glitches, but Siffrin defuses the situation before the Universe has to intervene. Omitted from the screenshot is the fact that Mirabelle's portraits switch to happy from "catastrophically anxious" with no transition after Siffrin shows her where the bow is. Important to note is that when Mirabelle tries to recall receiving the bow, her head hurts, much like how trying to break the Island wish causes a headache.

The Universe leads you away from perception, and you can only follow.

My theory that I keep circling around is that through Wish Craft, the Island has been displaced temporally. The denizens of the Island, as well as the Island itself, still exist, but they are in the future. The Island is still loaded into the world, like how equipment is before you try to interact with it, and the Island cannot leave this quantum state, because it never actually went anywhere. The magnitude of the redaction event is so severe with the Island, because it is so much larger as an entity than a sword or a bow. There are of course things I don't really have pieced together, like why somebody would wish the Island into the future, how far into the future it is, or why equipment behaves this way. But it's the only Island theory I've seen that I have some level of confidence in, so I might as well lay out my cards for it.

[rbvcdeluxe]

every time someone makes good richie lipschitz characterization an angel wins their wings back

[hilsonamore]

i don’t get people who don’t ship hilson because like- what more evidence would you want to convince you that they were in love with each other? Seriously, apart form the kiss and the canonical sex etc etc, what more is there? Love confessions? Done. Over-protectiveness? Done. Self-sacrifice? Done. Longing, loving stares? Done. Everyone else being aware of the tension between them? Done. Taking care of each other during difficult times? Done. Being silly and cute only around each other? Done. Always, even after the worst of scenarios have taken place, coming back together? Done. Literally not being able to function normally if the other is unwell/ there’s a rift in their relationship? Done. Being protective of each other when someone dares insult them? Done. Giving up their EVERYTHING just to be together? Done.

Like, WHAT MORE IS THERE?

[heartinhyacinth]

Thinking about how Xie Lian cared about Hua Cheng when he was basically an orphaned street rat who ruined the ceremonial procession, cared about about him when he was a weak little ghost fire being sold like an object, and cares about him when he’s a king whose power and wealth is unmatched by few in all the three realms.

“If I like you, I don’t care if you’re a beggar. If I hate you, I don’t care if you’re a king. It’s all trivial to me.” (Paraphrased from the donghua because I don’t want to find that page).

I think Hua Cheng must’ve felt silly for a least a second after he was like “but gege…my heartbeat is silent…” because of course Xie Lian would not bat an eye at that. He never has.

I also think it’s funny that Xie Lian is just like ignores appearance, rumors, reputation, social status, etc., “what a neat person; I’m gonna keep them” and Hua Cheng (and banyue, etc) is pleasantly surprised each time, meanwhile fengqing, as his self imposed bodyguards and as people who do take those things with weight, are ripping their hair out at this tendency that is still very much active 800 years later. They thought they got lucky when hong-er ran away and Xie Lian failed to adopt him into their group. Little late, but it still happened haha.

Don’t even get me started on the fact that he’s a scrap god and he collects broken things and gives them a home and purpose and loves them regardless of their state.

Edit - I also think it’s funny that in book one, Xie Lian does all these tests on “San Lang” to see if he’s a ghost and what rank, which come up inconclusive, but he knows this kid is not a normal kid and is most likely the crimson rain sought flower, but like…doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t really care lol, he was just curious (which is so real). He also said he couldn’t do anything if he wanted to but I think he just…didn’t want to. Why would he? He’s hot and nice to him and helps clean his shrine.

[itscherryterry-again]

yea

[kings-highway]

ways haikyuu ships might react to someone assuming they were in a relationship part 2 bc exactly one person cared and that is all I need:

bokuaka: Bokuto would like make it a scene by accident. Like really loudly would echo back "Me and Akaashi, dating?!" and make everyone look. He would go on about what an awesome boyfriend he would make if he were but forget to actually deny it. Akaashi meanwhile would probably immediately, internally panic, and start talking at 1000 words a minute explaining exactly why they're not dating and the real nature of their relationship and he would not succeed in convincing the stranger.

tsukkiyama: Yamaguchi normally just laughs it off and corrects them, but once or twice when he's sure it won't get back to him he's let it slide and let the strange think so. Tsukki almost always way over compensates by scoffing and going on about how uninterested he is in dating, though internally is incredibly embarassed/flustered.

kagehina: Kageyama gets incredibly flustered whenever this happens and starts throwing insults at Hinata to try and prove the opposite, but usually with a very flushed face. Hinata is usually more chill about it and plays it off, but afterwards would ask Kageyama something like: "Isn't it weird that he thought that... could you imagine...? me and you... stupid, right...?" trying desperately to get some kind of validation that will never come.

asanoya: Noya fucking loves it. He doesn't really know why he does, but he'll always correct them and then add something like "haha I'm not that lucky!" or "But if I had a chance!" Asahi, on the otherhand, turns into an absolute panicked mess and frantically begins trying to correct them, hands waving, face bright red, hoping nobody else overheard.

tanakiyo: Tanaka, although secretly very pleased, carefully makes sure everyone is aware that Kiyoko has made it clear they are just friends. After he leaves in his embarassment, Kiyoko then quietly tells them that they'll only be just friends until he graduates.

[clearwaterrain]

Checo decided he had had enough for one lifetime😭

[indepthpokemonheadcanons]

Treasures of Ruin Headcanons

It is not uncommon to find stone figures of Ting-Lu marking settlements in northern Paldea. In ancient times, the custom was to put coins in the domed vessel atop its head, typically whenever one arrived or departed the village. The reasoning is not well understood. Some scholars believe they were merely respectful offerings. Others speculate that the coins were intended to weigh Ting-Lu's head down, to prevent it from escaping its shrine and ravaging the earth.

Paldea is home to a proverb, often translated as 'melt the sand and leave nowhere to stand'. It cautions against the ruinous effects of jealousy or envy, and likely traces back to Chi-Yu's origins. Both in Paldea and its surrounding regions, envy is associated with fire and heat.

It is commonly believed that flowers and fruit trees do not grow in the woods surrounding Grasswither Shrine, but this is not true. As any local will tell you, the fruit grows quickly, but rots quicker still. Wild pokémon do not eat it.

Paldean fables warn children against walking alone in heavy snow. If they see a snowman, they must ignore it - especially if it seems to be waving at them. Chien-Pao is the most playful of the Treasures of Ruin; while your eyes fix on the snow figure, you may miss the sheet of ice descending from above.

The exact nature of the Treasures of Ruin is poorly understood in modern Paldea. While their existence is accepted, there is dispute over the extent of their abilities and the level of destruction attributed to them. Some academics argue that they were only symbols of the bloodshed and environmental discord under the ancient monarch's rule, later elevated to legends via oral storytelling. However, more recent research supports the Treasures' historic reputation. A newly-published geological analysis of Grasswither Shrine detected elevated levels of heavy metals in the soil, with no clear source but the shrine itself.

Ornamental metal vessels, often known as 'worry bowls', are found in many houses across Paldea. They are a common gift for children, who are told to write their fears down on scraps of paper and put them in the vessel to be rid of them. Some believe that these bowls are styled after the vessel on Ting-Lu's head. The protective nature of the bowls is at odds with Ting-Lu's generally negative reputation, which may suggest that the Treasures were not always a symbol of evil in Paldean culture.

In old Paldean writings, frostbite is often referred to as 'sword touch' or the 'bite of the cat', thought to be physical evidence of Chien-Pao's ruin on the body. Even in modern Paldea, children are encouraged to wrap up warmly against the cold, lest 'the cat nip their nose'.

[egophiliac]

did you ever consent to having your art reposted on Pinterest? that's actually how I found you (all of your twst comics are on Pinterest and some brave soul has gone through every single post saying "by egophiliac on Tumblr". the original posters never credit you either :/

nope...I have tried to ask people to take them down in the past, but I usually just get ignored. :') so I do appreciate that people are going through and adding credit, at least!

(the worst is when people actually edit out my signature/watermark to get around do-not-post lists...this has happened more often than you'd think 🙃)