#Try to find more reference for him but every portray is different

[kairukitsuneo]

Blurr wants you to keep a secret 🤫

[mxdarling]

[“put that down! you’ll hurt yourself with that.” / “you’re so pretty when you smile.”]

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

ೃ⁀➷: summary: idia bought a new multiplayer game, and he wants to play it with his player one, you.

ೃ⁀➷: word count: 2.3k (2334)

ೃ⁀➷: reference/Inspiration: playlist

ೃ⁀➷: event: [200 followers event]

[author's note:] JDJDKD MORE IDIA CONTENT WOOHOOO this was supposed to be his belated birthday gift from me but uhh cough cough writer block hit me like a bitch soo.. didn't finish before new years, and it's now like- 4 months late??? anyways, thank you anon for requesting idia with dialogue #3 and #7!! my last yandere idia work had him a little creepy so i made him cute this time loll i hope it's to your satisfaction anon!

[warnings:] lowercase, yandere behavior, more fluff than yandere, established relationship, reader is a gamer, cuddling, kisses, reader is ticklish, poor explanation of game mechanics, mentions of fear for judgement, reader is portrayed as a crybaby, one paragraph mentions idia being a creep, game is a rip-off of minecraft (fantasy version), toxic teammates.

[note:] If there is anything else triggering here that I didn’t list in the warnings section, please tell me. i don’t condone this type of behavior, this is merely just for entertaining purposes and some sort of coping mechanism for me. if you continue to read beyond this point, ignoring my warnings, i am not responsible for your actions from here on out.

[GN reader]

IDIA SHROUD seemed to be in a good mood today, at least according to what you've seen so far. probably because his latest purchase is the cause of his being in such an upbeat mood. not that you're complaining; it was rather cute seeing him all excited and giddy when he found a new game to play. it's like a whole new, different side of him comes out whenever he starts to ramble about the features of the game and why he should absolutely play it right now. of course, as his player one, you're automatically going to be the first person he's going to play with. not that you mind, really. playing with idia was always a fun experience; it reminded you a lot of how you would spend your free time back in your world.

(those days of laziness, those days of unproductivity where you did nothing but lay down on your bed and do nothing—no school work to do, no club activities to do, no studying for an upcoming exam—just pure idleness. then when you're bored, you could just use your phone, PC, or iPad to entertain you as the day goes by, playing nonstop until late hours in the evening. god, you miss those days.)

you often wondered what genre of video games this new world had to offer. you knew that it wouldn't be so different from your own world, but you weren't sure just how many of your friends were affiliated with gaming entertainment. out of fear that judgement would be placed upon you if you shared this interest of yours, your love for video games has been hidden—so to find someone else (with that someone else being idia) that likes video games and is very well versed in them is a dream come true. it was a long process to get him to play with you, let alone consider you a friend and not try to avoid you every 2 seconds—still, it was a feat you were proud of because now you get to experience many, many different sides of idia that you would have never known 9 months ago.

(you once heard idia curse like at least twenty times in one breathe when one of his teammates was being shitty and a prick, he sounded so angry and scary that you backed into a corner to avoid getting burnt by his scorching, bright red hair that grew the more angrier he got. the only reason he stopped was when he heard quiet sobs in the corner of his room and turned around away from his computer to see you huddled in the corner of his room. quickly he went over there, completely abandoning his game and comforting you. he hates seeing his cute prefect cry, especially because of him, he's not the great at comforting but when he hugged you so tightly, your quiet sobs turned into silence. right then and there he swore to never be the reason you're crying and when you do, he'll be right there with you.)

you are currently cross-sitting in his very comfy bed, watching as idia set up two controllers and plugged in the PCs to turn them on (you're still surprised he's got more than 2 PCs, which, if you really think about it, his family background makes it make sense). after waiting for the PCs to turn on, he then connects the controllers to the PCs and opens up the game on both screens. you would insist on helping him set up, but due to you literally being isekai'd into this unknown world of twisted wonderland, you aren't too familiar with many things besides the whole magic stuff—plus, you aren't too keen on breaking any of idia's stuff because of your lack of knowledge on how to do technology.

(technology in general is so extremely confusing, you would argue wholeheartedly all day and all night, and idia would agree with you and low-key flex on how knowledgeable he is in the field of technology, just to impress you and show how reliable he is. secretly, he likes it when he's useful to you.)

"sorry! it took a while to set up..." in slightly shaking hands, he hands over the controller to you while holding the other in his free hand. he looked rather nervous when he faced you to give the controller, like he's worried he wasted your time waiting for him. it reminded you of a puppy looking up to its owner apologetically when they did something wrong, so cute, you thought, adorable even, you added.

"haha! it's okay! you didn't take that long anyway." you gave him a reassuring look, a soft smile, and bright eyes, showing him that you weren't bothered by having to wait a bit as he set up for you two to play.

both screens show the in-game loading screen, and the bar quickly fills up due to the fast internet speed (one you're quite envious of). slowly it fades to the starting screen, where a big text is bouncing 'tap to start' in both of your faces. Idia presses to start immediately, wanting to get into gameplay as fast as he can while you take a moment to admire the visual aspects and effects of the game in silent awe. you always had a thing for the visual stuff that was shown in-game. by slowly pressing the button on your control, you enter the game and begin a fantastical journey with idia.

“put that down! you’ll hurt yourself with that!” he says worriedly as he watches you damage your avatar's HP bar this early in gameplay. usually he gets really annoyed when he plays with noobs and normies; they stink at comprehending basic knowledge, do dumb things in-game, ask too many questions, and ruin the whole gameplay experience for him. 'ugh, how annoying.' is his usual reaction to such—of course he wouldn't think of that towards you! never ever would he ever think this way towards you; even if you do things noobs and normies usually do, he can't bring himself to be annoyed—you were too cute in his eyes. he would never admit this to your face, though, and he still gets red just at the thought of him thinking you are cute. It's true though; don't get him wrong, but... the embarrassment that comes with thinking about these thoughts is just too much for his poor little heart! honestly, he's for sure that one day you'll be the death of him, does he care though? not really; in fact, he would probably love that.

(he blushes so hard whenever he thinks of you in his clothes; it's the way your natural scent clings onto his shirts, the way his shirts made you even cuter than you already are—one of the only reasons he doesn't wash his clothes immediately because he wants to savor your smell to memory. he's a creep, yes, but he's one devoted creep.)

"whoops! sorry didn't see that, haha..." nervously laughing at your mistake, you eat whatever consumable you have in your inventory to try and restore as much health as you lost. as your avatar munches on the food in its hand, from the corner of your screen, you can see idia's avatar walking towards you. once it's near enough to your avatar, you can see the animation of a bunch of items being dropped and your inventory picking up due to the proximity between the items and your avatar. you opened your inventory, curious about what he just gave you since it looked like quite a lot of items, and confused about why he was giving you so many items in the first place. your eyes widen in shock as the items he's given you are one stack of steak, every weapon in-game (sword, axe, pickaxe, shovel, hoe), but in steel, and a full set of steel armor.

your mouth continues to gape open as you put on the armor set on your avatar. how did he get so much stuff this fast? it hasn't even been an hour yet! "where.. did you get so much stuff!?" you ask naively, following idia around as you don't want to get lost, die, and lose all your stuff. "stole half of those from villages, some from mining, and a few from trading" he says so casually as he continues to walk in an unknown direction, like this was a regular thing for him, not to mention this was a hard difficulty! he's playing this game like it's not easy mode! "could've gotten more if it weren't for those stingy mobs..." furrowing his eyebrows, he let out a small huff of frustration, pressing slightly harder on the buttons on his controller, not noticing how your mouth dropped down even further at his passing comment. as she presses on, walking in an unknown direction, you're hit with the hundredth reminder that he's on a whole other level than you when it comes to gaming.

three hours in, and you guys decided to play on public servers, where you'll get to play different game modes other than the usual story and survival modes. once the two of you picked a game to play, the room quickly filled with laughter, shouting, incoherent grumbling, screams of terror, and many more in between. you two decided to save a team game as last since idia wasn't enthusiastic about playing together with other players because he just wanted to play with you, and there was an underlying fear that you would encounter toxic teammates. but since you were practically begging him to just try it at least once, he couldn't help but give in to your pleas.

it was fun, he supposed. it wasn't as annoying or infuriating as he thought it would be, but he still had to keep up not making really snarky remarks when certain players were interacting with you. he'd hate to have you see such a mean, ugly, and disgusting side of him. other than that, it was an okay experience. he thinks it would've been better if it was just him and you on a team; wouldn't it be kind of romantic? you and him against everyone else?

then what he feared most would happen actually happened. suddenly some fucking jerk is screaming insults at you for not being good enough, and before that teammate got two more words in, he exploded on them. curses upon curses spit out his mouth in rapid speed, and the voices of that said teammate slowly but surely die down as their ego and pride go down with them. in the midst of anger and chaos between him and the teammate, you could feel tears building up inside you; everything around you started to blur, and the sounds that filled your ears were starting to get tuned out. you couldn't even hear that idia stopped screaming curses, turned off both PCs, and went to take the controller from your hand, lift you up into his lap, and slowly wrap his arms around you.

once he had you fully in his grasp, he tightened his grip, making sure not to let you get away from him. he wasn't good at words, especially when trying to comfort someone, but seeing you cry was making him cry too. he did, after all, swear to always be with you when you cry. raising one of his hands, he placed it at the back of your head and gently pushed towards his neck. then his hand went down to rub your back, up and down, up and down, at a slow pace. letting you cry it all out in peace while also letting you know he's there with you.

a few minutes have passed, and your sobs have gone silent. your eyes have become droopy and sleepy, and it feels almost impossible to keep them open. suddenly, a hand lifts your chin, and you feel a pair of lips come into contact with your forehead. it wasn't like a quick kiss; no, the kiss lasted for at least a few seconds before pulling away. even then, upon pulling away, you feel another kiss on your cheek, this time a little quicker than the forehead kiss. then another kiss on your other cheek, then another on your nose, another on your jawline, another on your earlobes, and finally, his lips hovered over your own lips.

you could feel the hesitation when he let out a nervous breath; the thought of your lips on his always sends him into an electrifying and drunken daze. he can't think straight when he's this close to you, but even then, it gives him an unusual feeling of contentment and confidence. the luck he has to be able to snag such an adorable, cute, amazing, and beautiful person like you in his life. he almost can't believe it. swallowing his own nervousness for your comfort, he presses against your soft lips delicately. soon after making physical contact with your lips, he feels a smile form on your face—a small smile, yet it was enough for him. any smile from you is enough for him, because seeing you happy is the best view he could ever lay his eyes on.

feeling out of breath, he's the first to let go but also the first to frown at the loss of touch. i want to stay like this forever, he thought as he watched you emit a giggle after the kiss. fire burns brightly in his heart, and he starts to wonder if you being the death of him will really come true. his cheeks burn that ever-warm red that he knows you've seen many, many times before, but he can't help it. when you pull him into a world through rose-tinted glasses, no way could he be immune to such an effect.

"i really can’t take it when you cry like that… smile for me, alright? you’re so pretty when you smile."

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

PLEASE DO NOT COPY, REPOST, SHARE, TRANSLATE OR REUPLOAD ANY OF MY WORKS TO OTHER SITES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION + REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

[delirious-donna]

For If Dreams Die [Part Five]

Levi grunted. He paused to lick across the swell of your breast, the blunt tip of his cock notched right at your fluttering hole. You could feel the sharp points of his teeth graze your skin, shivers rippling through your body at the implication.

story summary: Levi isn’t hungry, or so that’s what he claims. A vampire must drink to survive, and his sire refuses to let the man give up without trying every trick up his sleeve. When a new ‘donor’ appears, one who is different from all the rest, will Levi be able to keep resisting?

pairing: Levi Ackerman (vampire) x female reader (human)

warnings: descriptions of blood drinking, blood in general, slightly feral Levi, dream sequences from reader's POV, glimpses into Levi's past(?), jealousy, playful Erwin, vague references to WWII , nipple play, dream sex, cervix kissing, plotting for the main story (mweheheh)

Part Four | Masterlist | Read on AO3 | Part Six

You had fallen asleep to the memory of Levi’s mouth atop yours.

Hardly a surprise given how that one kiss had changed everything. Maybe you didn’t know how fundamentally altered you were now, but the realisation wouldn’t take long to hit.

He was commanding and yet surprisingly tender—a combination you hadn’t thought possible until you met Levi.

This whole affair was turning into something so far removed from your expectations that you were unsure which way was up, and which was down.

Sure, you had always planned to make alliances where you could with your employers but finding yourself attracted to the person you were to donate your blood to was not a part of the plan. Perhaps it had been foolish to think you would be immune to their innate charm, vampires were known to be charismatic after all and you weren’t above being wooed by the likes of Erwin Smith, and to your surprise, Levi Ackerman.

Levi was far from charismatic in the ways portrayed in fiction. He was practically the poster boy for antithesis.

He made no attempt to impress those around him, in fact, he strived for quite the opposite, keeping people as far from him as possible with an icy stare and sharp tongue.

You liked that.

It made you feel somehow special, flattered that his carefully constructed protective walls crumbled in your presence.

You couldn’t quite imagine how a friendly relationship between the two men in question would work, although it must have at one point in time. Where Erwin was courteous, Levi was indifferent. Erwin exuded warmth whilst Levi was a cool breeze, but not cold like you had expected.

His lips were soft, warm and carefully precise. Again you returned to the kiss, smiling like a dazed idiot at the canopy of your bed.

Lying against the expensive pillows you recalled his fingers in your hair, the way he had angled your head so he could take what he wanted but never without giving back tenfold.

The soft sigh that passed his lips when you dared to push your tongue over his teeth… these were the thoughts that lulled you into a deep slumber.

~

Your dreams were fitful. Not unpleasant, but they twisted your features and made you toss and turn to find the comfort you craved. Your nose burrowed deep into your pillow until at last, your breathing evened out and relaxed into the Egyptian cotton sheets.

A handsome young man stood with his back to you, glancing out the window with his hands clasped together. The stance was spookily familiar, as was the height and build of the man whose face you couldn’t quite see.

Neatly parted black hair topped his head and a smart military dress uniform further cemented the impression that Levi had given you on more than one occasion since your initial introduction.

Every inch of him was pressed and orderly, the creases in his trousers precise right down to the millimetre and the polish of his dress shoes, immaculate. Gold buttons adorned the cuffs of his jacket and you could see through the window’s reflection, medals pinned to his chest.  

A voice called from the doorway; he stood in barracks by the look of it when you peered around to spy several empty bunks and metal locked cabinets plastered in handwritten letters and other personal mementos.

“Captain Ackerman, Sir, your presence is requested by Commander Smith. He is in the briefing room.”

Levi barely acknowledged the words other than to grunt once in what was a clear dismissal. The younger soldier saluted and left swiftly; you couldn’t blame them.

You tested whether you could move and found that you could, each step carrying you closer to the figure by the window, his reflection illuminated by the nearby oil lamp. If you had to guess, you’d assume it was the middle of the night, but there was no clock to back up your theory.

It was at that moment he whirled around, and you stepped back involuntarily with a gasp. His eyes seemed to penetrate straight into you, but before you could speak, he strode towards the door without so much as a backwards glance.

Had he seen you?

After a moment to compose yourself, hand over your hammering heart and a couple of steadying breaths, you scurried after him and slipped inside a much smaller room before the door could be fully shut.

Another familiar face sat behind an imposing mahogany desk inset with green leather and brass studs. Erwin didn’t even look up as Levi entered, his pen continued to scratch across the page in front of him until a flick of elegant penmanship marked his signature at the bottom. Only then did he set it down to steeple his fingers, acknowledging the man he had summoned.

“Take a seat, you don’t have to stand on ceremony with me,” he said with an amused chuckle.

Levi visibly bristled. “Never know who might be watching, Commander.” He sat in the opposite chair, picking imaginary lint from the perfectly straight crease at his knee.

“Tch—don’t be ridiculous. You sound like one of those poor paranoid souls, the ones that are convinced the walls are listening.”

“You saying they aren’t?” Levi arched an eyebrow as you sidled around the wall so you could keep them both in your sight. For a second you thought his eyes might have flashed to you, but you chalked it up to your own paranoia.

“Not my walls.”

Erwin smiled, the aqua blue of his eyes shimmering in the candlelight. There was a hint of the devious in those clever eyes, something you would have to remember.

“Are you ready to leave?” the Commander asked with a cant of his head.

Levi gave a sharp nod followed by a slow exhale. His rigid posture loosened; the whites of his knuckles no longer so starkly pronounced. It was as if with those five words, new life had been breathed into him.

“More than ready. Are you sure it’s time for that?”

“My sources are reliable. The end days of this dreadful war are approaching. He has been backed into a corner and I expect that the coward will take what he thinks is the easy way out rather than face justice for the atrocities carried out in his name,” Erwin stated grimly.

If you were correct, this must be during the Second World War, and you wondered if this was before or after Levi was turned. You frowned, daring to tiptoe closer to get a better look before you realised that was a ridiculous idea. How would you tell the difference? It’s not like you knew what he had looked like as a human or if there were any differences between before and after.

The floorboard squeaked beneath your foot, and you froze. Both men turned to the source but only Levi seemed to direct his attention to your face, Erwin merely studying the offending floor with a raised brow.

“I won’t say too much more,” Erwin said quizzically, his eyes raking over the spot you stood in and clearly finding nothing out of sort. “We’ve done what we could, and we both know there were those that thought us utterly mad to dabble in human affairs in the first place.”

That answered your question.

Levi let out an ugly sound, derision mixed with disgust. “Fucking cowards.”

“Now now.” Erwin smirked, waving a dismissive hand in Levi’s direction.

“You’re thinking it,” Levi chided, a scowl creasing his features.

“Yes, but I’m not saying it. That is difference between us. I know when to leave things unsaid and you delight in making people blanch with your sharp tongue.”

It was hard to resist nodding along, though it felt premature to believe you truly knew the personalities of the two men. Honestly, it was nice just to see them not at each other’s throat—or more specifically—Levi at Erwin’s throat.

“Anyway,” Erwin continued without missing a beat, “won’t you be glad to return to… familiarity?”

Something unspoken hung in the air, piquing your interest.

There was no explanation other than intuition for the sudden twist of your guts, it forced your hands to curl into loose fists and your heart to pound uncomfortably in your chest.

“It’s been a long four years, Erwin. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has moved on. We didn’t part on the best of terms.”

So, it was a woman.

You silently berated yourself for feeling even an ounce of jealousy. This all came to pass long before you were born. You knew he wasn’t some inexperienced young man; he was a god knows how old vampire with likely a string of lovers over the years!

The conversation continued despite your inner turmoil. “That may be so, but this will soon be a time for celebration and more than a little revelry.” The commander stated with a grin. “Go to her, see what damage has been done and assess from there. You know I’m right, I always am.”

“Yeah yeah. I’ll think about it.”

With those final words the room dissolved.

There was a pulling sensation behind your navel, like a hook caught through your stomach to yank you backwards until you tumbled down into a kaleidoscope of colour.

Wind rushed through your ears and whipped around your hair, your body weightless with nothing to hold onto or ground you until as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Lively music slowly crescendoed into full volume whilst you tried to regain your equilibrium. Colourful bunting hung from every wall and window with men and women chatting, eating and dancing in every direction.

This was like walking into a history book. Given this chance under any other circumstances, you might have people watched for hours. The fashion. The perfectly coiffed hair. The energetic dancing. The swing band playing on the small stage.

It was a history buff’s dream come true and whilst you would hardly consider yourself amongst their numbers, who in their right mind could find themselves in a place like this and not be completely awestruck?

A figure cut through the dance floor with assertive ease, your eyes following him and already certain it was Levi once more. His uniform looked much the same from the previous… dream? Memory? You weren’t sure.

His grey eyes swivelled in your direction, and not for the first time did you get the distinct impression that he was aware of your presence. A woman followed closely at his back; her beautiful chestnut brown hair curled beautifully down her back, bouncing elegantly as she trotted on kitten heels to keep up.

Once more, your feet took you in his direction—their direction. Your gaze bore into the beautiful buttercup yellow tea dress Levi’s companion wore. The A-line skirt swished around her lower half, the waist nipped in in a way you were sure you could never achieve, and you hated to admit how much you loved it.

Nylons covered her legs with dark seams running up the backs of her legs. It was an alluring addition, and you remembered of long past history lessons where you learned how women used to use tea dregs and a pencil to fake the effect of tights during wartime rationing.

There was no doubt she was pretty. Her features were emphasised by subtle make up that you only noticed once they were out of the main throng of people and into a quieter side room. You barely managed to slip through the door before it closed fully, not knowing if your body would follow the same metaphysical restraints in this dreamscape world as in reality.

The woman wasted no time in pouncing upon the man she had so eagerly followed. She sprang like a cat towards him, both arms outstretched as they rested on his shoulders, wrists locked and dangling behind his head. A high heel skimmed the outside of his trouser leg, rubbing in invitation for him to catch a hand behind her knee but it didn’t come.

Your lips pursed at the same moment she pouted.

From the position you had taken by the lone frosted window, you could make out the expression on both their faces and Levi looked less than impressed. It made you wonder why you were being shown this, if this was indeed a memory of his or merely an elaborate concoction of your overtired brain.

“Why did you ask me in here if not to… reacquaint?” She asked with an exaggerated fake purr that irked you to no end.

“I’m surprised you would want to ‘reacquaint’ considering how we parted ways.”

Levi took a step back, forcing the arms around his neck to untangle and drop to her sides. You watched the subtle jerk of her chin, pride and something else lacing her movements. She folded her arms across her chest, freshly manicured nails tapping against the porcelain of her skin.

“I had time, Levi. Four years is hardly nothing, although, I guess it probably is to your kind. A drop in the ocean, right? I’ve had to go on pretending like everything was okay and knowing that it wasn’t. Do you know how hard it’s been?”

Her voice cracked on the last few words and your eyes narrowed, you weren’t buying it. She was faking. Crocodile tears started to well in her pretty oval eyes, kohl swept lashes blinking rapidly to keep them at bay. Levi wouldn’t be taken in so easily, but how wrong you were…

A thumb rubbed across the apple of her cheek, his harsh stare softening just enough that had your jaw dropping in bewilderment. Soon he was cupping her face, closing the distance he had created to pull her gently into his chest. She eagerly curled her arms beneath his, hands shaped into claws that indented his jacket with how tightly she clung to him.

What he could not see, but you could, was the devious smile painted in scarlet rouge across her lips. How perfectly infuriating. Levi was being played, although you had no idea in what way or to what end.

You bit your tongue—hard—until the taste of iron tickled your taste buds. You reasoned that you wouldn’t wish to see anyone made a fool of or tricked, but in your heart, you knew that in the brief time you had spent with this man, you had felt a spark ignite that you hadn’t believed to exist until now.

Right now, you wanted to wake up. Shakily, you pushed back your sleeve and began pinching at your arm, but there was no sharp sting of pain, only the ache in your heart. Sadly, that was not enough to rouse you from the depths of your sleep.

The sounds of two people becoming intimate infiltrated past the mental barriers you had hastily tried to erect. You peeked through your tightly shut eyes to find the pair locked in a lovers embrace; her fingers tangled in his dark hair and his hands on her waist, pulling and pawing in a way that dropped your stomach right out of your body.

Was she also a vampire? You didn’t recognise her amongst the people living at Erwin’s estate… a human like you? Somehow, that was worse.

Visions of your earlier encounter played out upon the insides of your eyelids like a movie. The taste of him heavy on your tongue, earl grey tea and spices you couldn’t name. His hand tangled in your hair, the other at your waist. He had been gentle with you where he was rough with this woman. Why not with me?

You could feel the rekindling of a fractured relationship, the weight of it thickened the air and made it hard to breathe.

“Bite me… Levi, please. It’s been forever since I felt your mouth on my neck.” You watched the woman mewl her plea with a twisted grimace. She sounded drunk. “I want my forever to be with you.” Only fractions of her face could be seen as she continued to press kisses to Levi’s jaw, her eyes were glazed over and her chest heaved against his with every exaggerated exhale.

You couldn’t hear his reply, the words murmured too closely to carry to your ears, but whatever he said it was met with frustration. The brunette shoved a hand up, pushing him away and he moved, although you knew there wasn’t enough force to make Levi do anything if he didn’t want to. His head hung, black curtains of hair hiding his eyes and the back of his hand pressed to his mouth.

“You promised! You promised me you would do it if the time came. I want this and you… you hold back. Did the war change you or did you never truly mean to keep your word? I should have listened to…” She paused, unwilling to give away the next words on her lips. “I’ll make you regret this. I swear it.”

She flew from the room in a tornado of bouncing curls and sickly-sweet perfume, her fury perfectly palpable until it was only you and he left there. Levi made no move to prevent her leave or follow, instead he stood stock still. You weren’t even sure if he was breathing after several seconds passed in leaden silence.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned in your direction.

“Did I make the right call?” He asked, voice flat and emotionless. Was he talking to you? Asking you that question? Surely not… and yet, you mouth opened as if to reply.

However, before you could fathom to conjure a reasonable response, mercurial eyes ensnared your gaze, and the world fell out from beneath you once more. Your hands reached out to grasp for him, a scream caught in your throat until there was nothing but blackness.

A heavy weight moved atop you whilst panic rose in your chest, heart fluttering like a songbird trapped in a gilded cage. This room was dark, a bedroom for certain, and you were in bed with someone acting like lovers. Wet lips caressed your neck and the curve of your shoulder, it wasn’t unpleasant but you were ready to fight them for freedom when the scent of warm spices invaded your nose.

Levi.

His mouth trailed lower, tongue warm against your naked breast, taking the rapidly swollen bud deeper into his mouth to suckle noisily. It had your fingers scrambling for purchase, his shoulders, hair, the width of his back. All of it became marked or tugged upon.

He was also naked, that fact made all the clearer by the rhythmical grind of his hips, pushing his erection through the most intimate part of your body. This was so wrong. So so wrong. Yes, you had kissed, and wanted more, though you tried to ignore that addition, but this was further than you could expect this soon.

It’s a dream. Only a dream. Enjoy it. Let yourself imagine what it might be like. You repeated the mantra over and over, letting your palms explore the expanse of his back, the muscles shifting until you reached his backside and squeezed.

Dream Levi grunted. He paused to lick across the swell of your breast, the blunt tip of his cock notched right at your fluttering hole. You could feel the sharp points of his teeth graze your skin, shivers rippling through your body at the implication.

Maybe it was your curiosity at experiencing a vampire’s bite firsthand that fuelled this dream, not that it would explain the other parts you had witnessed. Would it hurt? He had said it depended on if the vampire in question wanted it to hurt. You were inclined to believe him, Levi hadn’t lied to you so far.

Electricity coursed through your veins, the sensation akin to being too close to a live wire, dangerous as it heated your blood to a near boil. You licked across your lips, a soft panting noise escaping only to be replaced by a strangled cry.

Levi thrust into you with a force unrivalled by any past lover, real or created by your subconscious. Without seeing him, you knew his length was impressive. Your pussy took the intrusion with little resistance, swallowing him down until you felt full. The fact that his pelvis had not yet met your own could only mean there was yet more to slide inside.

Only then did you notice he had unsheathed his fangs and pierced your breast. There was no sensation at all, as if your entire chest was muted in an otherwise sea of pleasure.

Crimson trickled past the seam of his lips, the blood spilling between the valley of your breasts, smearing across your skin as if painting some primal painting. It marked him too, an expressionist masterpiece made of your blood, the very thing binding you together.

You wanted to feel it. Wanted to know exactly how it would be to have your life force consumed whilst he gave back ecstasy with every cant of his hips, driving you closer to bliss.

“Levi…”

The breathless plea stalled his movements, his body dropping closer to you, caging you against the sheets until your ankles could lock at the small of his spine. There was an unspoken understanding, he knew it was you as much as you knew it was him.

Shadows tried to catch your attention from the corners of your vision, teasing you to look away, to break the connection.

You refused.

Twisting your fingers through the rougher undercut of his hair and arching up when he continued to pull from your vein, the diminished feeling only feeding your frustration. You rubbed against him, rutting back when he plunged to your depths, the very tip of him prodding and massage the front wall which had grown engorged and sensitive.

You wanted to see him—fuck—you were desperate to lock eyes with his mercurial stare and see yourself reflected. You were handing him the key, shoving it into his palm in an effort to keep chasing the gnawing hunger building in the pit of your stomach. Levi kept his head bowed even after he stopped taking from you, mouth bloodied and dripping to his chin. He grunted again, looking almost off to the side and you whined from that split second of lack of attention.

It was met by a fierce growl that silenced any further objections. His hands moved to your waist, thumbs indenting into the squish of your belly as he took a firm hold and began to push and pull you onto his cock. The mattress dipped under the weight of his knees, legs spread to change the angle and force himself to kiss your tender cervix. He was brutal yet protectively so. Trying to cover as much of you as possible whilst also doing his damnedest to break you—or at least that’s how it seemed.

“You should run. Run before I hurt you,” he snarled.

It seemed ridiculous. How did he think you would be able to escape when his grip on you only tightened, enough so that you knew there would be marks if this weren’t a dream. There was also the fact that you had no intention of running, absolutely none, you were falling hook, line and sinker for a man you knew very little.

Hope flared in your chest that he might the answer to your prayers—maybe, perhaps, please let it be the case. It was too soon to know for certain but if you were to place all your chips on one person… the thought was jarring as it was exciting.

“I don’t think so. I need to know…”

“Know what?”

You swallowed past the lump in your throat, doing your best to ignore the bliss being rubbed into your swollen clit by the hair of his pelvis. “… know if I can trust you.”

Levi leaned forward and licked the column of your throat before nipping at your chin. “Didn’t I just say I’ll hurt you? Why would you think you could trust me?”

“Instinct,” you replied instantly. There was no hesitation, no need to even consider the alternative. You would call it pure insanity if you weren’t experiencing it for yourself.

What it would mean once you had a moment to process everything, you weren’t sure, but right now you knew that if there was only one person in his cruel world that you would place your trust in, it would be him.

Watching as if through a slow motion lens, Levi raised his head. Your blood decorated his mouth, dark stains drying onto his skin and you were mesmerised. That was until you felt the weight of his gaze and flicked your eyes up to his. The grey mercurial swirl of his irises dilated and with it, you were yanked backward by determined invisible hands.

The power ensnared you so completely that struggling only worsened your plight. You could hear Levi fighting towards you, but you couldn’t see him. Your body was icy cold having been ripped away from him, and with one final attempt at freeing yourself, you woke with a start.

The sheets were saturated in sweat, your hair a wild tangle and the incensed beat of your heart physically hurt your chest. The only light source came from the sliver of space beneath your bedroom door, everything else was bathed in the black velvet of the night.

There was a desire to seek out the man from your dreams, to find out if the experience had been shared or simply all in your mind, but you knew he wasn’t here. Levi had told you as much when you parted ways. In not so many words, he admitted he didn’t trust himself to stay here whilst you did too.

Temptation, or something like that.

You rolled over, pulling an extra pillow to your chest and although you tried to resist, sleep tugged at you again. As you drifted back into a far more peaceful slumber, the shadow of feet retreated from your door.

Were you as safe here as Erwin had promised?

[writing-for-life]

Dream and How He Experiences Love

(Or: When the Unreal is at War with the Real, and Finally Understanding Unconditional Love Tightens the Noose Around Your Neck That Has Been There All Along)

And as always: Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

Let me start this one with a few adjectives from the horse’s mouth (aka: Neil Gaiman said so 🤣) as to what Dream is actually like:

from: Vertigo Chase Card Set

So in short: This is probably the most accurate way to describe Dream in a nutshell, from the author himself, fully knowing that Murphy doesn’t lend himself well to be described in a nutshell.

And of course it’s absolutely fine if we want to head-canon him just being 5 out of those 50 (or none of them at all)—our stories are our own. At the end of the day, we went through a whole year of Tumblrfication (I might have made up that word), and getting back to the series will be tough. So is trying to align what the current prevalent perception of Dream is like in parts of the fandom, and what he is like in both comics and series (show and comics really aren’t that different where it matters, and I’ll die on that hill). I already worry about the fallout if I look at what happened with GO or OFMD, but that just as an aside.

Anyway, Dream in fandom spaces is often portrayed as either a pathetic wet cat who can’t get to grips with anything and constantly needs rescued in one way or another, or as a completely unfeeling arsehole incapable of relating to the human experience and being horrible all around. There are very few shades of grey in how some fans perceive him, when just the list of above adjectives shows us how complex he is as a character.

One thing that obviously comes up regularly are his relationships, be they romantic or platonic. So I just wanted to draw attention to the adjectives that relate strongly to the relational element in him (although they all apply in one way or another):

touchy, sentimental, cold, loving, [elusive], gentle, hurt, deep, intense, solitary, romantic, shy, intangible, lonely

Dream is the unreal. His way of loving relates very deeply to what stereotypical romantic love is: Romance and reality are a contradiction in terms—romanticism is dreaming because it is, at its very core, an idealised view. The intangible dream that comes back to bite us in the arse once reality sets in. And his flavour of love is the prototype of idealised and intangible (=romantic) and can never be anything else by his very nature.

And I’ve often thought that the way he experiences love is also a large part of why his existence is so difficult for him, and why he ultimately makes the choices he makes. Yes, he detests his function, but if he weren't so lonely (and weren't doomed to be so by his very purpose), he might find it easier to bear.

Let me look at, and draw parallels to, the 7 types of love as the Ancient Greeks perceived them [quick note about the image references: I would have loved to give more, but there is a limit. Also: Apologies I have no alt text for the comic panels at this point, I might add them at a later stage if I find the time]…

Eros

That’s both sexual and romantic love (to varying degrees), and it can be fleeting (like a dream) if not anchored in a less idealised view. So there’s your first cue—he totally experiences that kind of love.

The Ancient Greeks also thought it was a dangerous type of love, one that clouds our judgment and one that won’t last if not combined with some of the other types. And Dream himself knows this and probably relates (he detests his sibling Desire for “meddling”, after all). And yet, he is the intangible, the ungrounded, the unreal.

It’s all over every single one of his relationships we witness:

Killalla—“gifted” by Desire. We never get any cue as to what exactly they were up to, but it can be assumed desire, for whatever, played a large part in their relationship. Killalla makes no secret about it either (and is at the same time uncertain whether she truly loves him while being confused Dream might actually love her after what seems a very short time, at least in cosmic terms). Suffice it to say, he has a very idealised view of her and their relationship. Romantic idiocy at its best: He has literal stars in his eyes and is so grateful for Desire’s help he is basically kissing their boots in gratitude.

Alianora—again one of Desire’s gifts. And Dream tried, and I definitely think he was at least romantically (and physically) attracted to her (the art is very hard to interpret otherwise, neither is the context--she was gifted by Desire, after all). But this relationship is generally a tricky one because there is gratefulness and guilt n the mix, and that is sometimes a very unfortunate combination. He also couldn’t fully trust her because of his deep mistrust of D/desire. And lo and behold, of course the relationship soured when romantic and (potentially physical) attraction waned.

Nada—pursuing each other on and off, broadcasting sexy time all over the Dreaming because he's just so head over heels and literally bursting at the seams—need I say more? Yes, he does say to her that her body does not matter to him, which I 100% believe is true. He also says that he will love her as no mortal man can. But everything that transpires is still deeply informed by romantic attraction, because quite frankly: You don't feel love yet after you've barely met someone. It's again a deeply idealised view and that is something inherently romantic in tandem (in this case) with physical desire. Again, because D/desire was involved.

As to the particulars of Nada’s banishment to hell, and why Dream acted so out of character compared to his other failed relationships: You can find all of it here.

Calliope—read her speech at the Wake is all I’ll say. That is someone making romantic love so integral to their whole existence, I don’t even know where to start. He puts the world at her feet and makes sure she always comes first (quite literally) while they are still loved up…

Thessaly—he's the romantic idiot (affectionately) in the rain with his coat billowing in the wind, and referring to her “weighing him dispassionately and finding him wanting”. It was only a handful of months--you don't feel true, stable love at that point. Again, it has the idealised view of romance (and potentially sexual desire) written all over it. He would have given her the world, just like he would have given the world to Nada and Calliope. That is the trope of every freaking romance novel, and that is exactly how he perceives love.

Titania—who knows, she keeps her mouth shut.

Ludus

I think he has a hard time to be flirtatious and playful (at least, we don't really see it. We never really see him during the courting stage, and what went down with Thessaly was hardly "flirtatious". `Then again, bickering like they did in A Game of You is electrifying to some, so who knows. She also said at his wake he was cautious and nervous). And if he comes across as flirtatious (there is a charming on that list of adjectives after all), it’s just because he is so deliberate in everything he does that he might just push someone’s (right) buttons, so to speak. But that’s not the same as “no strings attached”-love, because I honestly believe he’s incapable of experiencing love that way. There is no “casual” with him. He always stays attached to the people/women he once loved, even if the relationship sours. He still loves each and every single one of them, he never stops. But he also doesn’t in a way that’s sustainable, and it’s an unsolvable conflict due to what/who he is.

Philia

Most closely translated as friendship and affection. Platonic love, if you will. It is also a love between equals. He has a hard time with it and only slowly learns what it means through his relationship with Hob. Needless to say: The Ancient Greeks valued platonic love as one of the highest forms of love. Hence, I’m personally reluctant to turn it into something else/slant it towards romance, because that’s exactly what this part of the story is about: His relationship to Hob is important and grows/lasts because it is not romantic in the comics.

Storge

Unconditional love for family, especially children. Based on complete acceptance and potentially sacrifice. Doesn’t need to be reciprocated. You feel it, no matter what, and you act accordingly. And for Dream and Orpheus, that didn’t work until it did. Or, let’s rather say: I don’t want to assume he didn’t feel it. But he pushed it down in his hurt and pride (as did his son in his grief). No further comment, because that one hurts.

Agape

Altruistic, universal, all-encompassing. And that’s so deeply at the core of his being, and so central to his whole conflict that I don’t even know where to start. From not wanting to kill the first vortex (or Rose, for that matter), to telling John Dee he’s hurting the dreamers, and that being his main concern while he himself was writhing on the floor in agony, to “humanity I love you”, to a million other things. He cares so deeply, there is such a deep concern for sentient beings in their entirety that it’s quite literally impossible to call it anything other than love. And it’s also what plays a large part in his demise.

Pragma

Oh, here we go. I honestly believe he likes the idea of committed and long-lasting. And he’s trying. So very hard. Calliope is the best example. Alianora was another one, because it’s not like they broke up swiftly (hard to tell how long they lasted, but since she had stayed in the Dreaming too long to go anywhere else, it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re actually talking a very, very long time. He called it “a goodly while”, and considering how old he is, I doubt that equals only months, or even just a few years, especially since he is fully aware how short his relationship to Thessaly was). And he wanted to stay true to his promise. But he is who/what he is: the unreal. And as the personification of that, love both feels real for him but will also forever stay intangible. It’s heartbreaking really. Again, it has written the contradiction between romantic love (the ideal) and pragmatic love (the thing that is grounded in reality) written all over it.

Philautia

And that’s the most heartbreaking one. He is incapable of self-love and full of self-loathing instead. The Ancient Greeks used to say that you can’t give what you don’t have. And it’s hard to feel compassion for the flaws we perceive in others if we don’t have that self-compassion for the exact same flaw in ourselves. And that one hurts in so many ways, from his not being able to forgive himself (which is mirrored in his relationship to Nada, who also couldn’t forgive herself—she didn’t need his forgiveness, she needed her own) to Orpheus being so much like him apart from one major difference: he’s mortal in spirit, and even immortality doesn’t change that. And Dream struggles with the part of his child that is so like him for a million reasons that would burst this meta at the seams, but again: it’s hard to love in others what we detest in ourselves, knowingly or unknowingly.

So in short: The particular flavours of love Dream feels (Eros, Agape, Philia growing slowly over time) and the ones he doesn’t (Ludus, Pragma, Philautia) are also at the very root of how the story goes.

And when he finally truly understands what Storge/unconditional love is--both in the way he reassesses his relationship to Nada but especially in how he finally submits to his love for Orpheus (with all that entails)--and when he allows it to become real, it’s what tightens the noose around his neck. But that noose has been around his neck loosely all along…

[starchants]

hi! i don’t know if you write for angel (btvs) but could you maybe write dating angel hcs? sfw & nsfw?

XOXO, CHESHIRE — hi my lil crow <3! i do most certainly write for angel, i hope you enjoy <3! p.s. i’ve studied and have so many headcanons in my own mind about angel (and angelus) from over the years and some get displayed here but i can explain more in another post if you or anyone else wants !!

WRITING WARNINGS: potentially a warning for stalking but like in the way that we see he does with buffy like idunno if that qualifies as stalking but i’m mentioning it, technically i refer to angelus (my bby) as well, some violence but like it’s protective angel and oh yeah a small bit of NSFW CONTENT.

oh the moment he saw you, he was hooked and angelus who was so far hidden back in his mind had let his obsessive qualities come full force into angel.

everywhere at night since then, if he ever caught your scent or saw you, he would ✨ politely ✨ follow you around to make sure you felt and were safe. god help anyone who made you not feel safe at all, excluding him.

this man, even without fully having met you as of yet, would physically harm or potentially “accidentally” kill someone if they dare touch you even with a slight bumping into you or make you even the slightest bit uncomfortable.

realistically as i’ve noticed in btvs and angel the series + my own personal headcanon, angelus isn’t a 100% gone like they tend to try and portray in both series. sure like angel has his soul most of the time but that anger? how he moves or snaps when he loses his mind? how he seems to not entirely be himself when he loses control? that’s all angelus in my opinion. i personally headcanon had angel knows that angelus is always lurking in the back of his head, which is why he’s always in there, and angel is afraid of him coming out but as we’ve seen in both series that he basks in people referring to him as angelus sometimes and gets cocky about it.

so we move on with the knowledge that angelus is a sneaky bastard hiding in angel’s mind and sometimes pulling the strings 🫡

the obsession that angel has with you is completely different than his obsession with drusilla. he wouldn’t want to make you crazy or do anything to harm you. in fact, it’s the opposite, he wants to keep you safe from everybody and everything but also let you shine like the prettiest diamond in the dirty rough world that you’ve found yourself in.

the moment that he officially meets you and gets to see your pretty eyes staring into his own, the pretty smile upon your face, and your sweet voice talking to him ; he feels like this is perfectly meant to be. that you were meant for him and him only. he gets even more possessive and cocky about you from this moment forward. i’m referring to him being cocky as in, when buffy chose angel over riley and he smugly made that face at riley as he followed buffy like a puppy out of the room.

speaking of like a puppy, he tends to act that way with you! he’s your sweet good old boy who has playful tendencies and some anger problems but he does good if you try to teach him how to behave. after all, when he was alive as liam, he wasn’t exactly the nicest person to anybody let alone any partner. but he’s learned over the years, both with his soul and without it as angelus, that he has to be better when attempting to care. you are the only one who gets to teach him and show him how to be a good lover as you notice he’s trying, not to mention he will open up and explain how he was prior to you with his past relationships.

you like gifts? he’ll be very good at gifting you random things that he finds and knows you like or that you may potentially like based on what he knows about you. considering he listens and hangs on to every word that you say even if it’s a joke. if you like written love letters? oh my goodness this man has got you. he can say some of the most romantic things to you in his letters plus it’s more “old school” and easy for him to do. you’ll get some heavy devotion confessed in those letters so you better keep them in that pretty little wooden box that he buys you once he realized you left those letters by your bed <3

he’s a very gentle lover to you and not super controlling over you but he does know how to manipulate you / persuade you if he desperately needs to but you can usually tell and i feel like you’d call him angelus when he tries to do that. both himself and angelus are at your beck and call, even if neither one of them could admit it. now i can ramble on about soft angel and soft angelus some more but i feel like we should briefly get into some of the other good nsfw stuff 😈

angel is always in control no matter how hard you try to be in control. he is so used to being in control whenever he was angelus that he grasps at being in control over you whenever you have sexual relations, outside of that basically you are in control.

i feel like angel is a very gentle lover and of course definitely is experienced which can lead into him being a lot to take in / wrap your head around as he can be overwhelming with how much devotion and love he gives you. he pays nearly so much attention to you, it may freak you out with how sensitive he is when it comes to your micro expressions and movements. his goal is to ensure that you experience everything in the most euphoric sense.

angelus is a good boy once you break him down enough, and as i previously stated, happens to always be in control and if you take your time along with playing his games you will be rewarded overtime with him being your good boy to treasure. angelus wants you to perceive his role in life and break him down, play games with him, leave him sounding like a depraved lunatic man for you.

the pair of them love you so much and would do anything for you, especially in bed, just let them love you how they see fit damnit!

[bluestarjay]

After being on Tumblr for I think nearly a year, and making a fuck ton of posts and gaining mild popularity on certain posts and gaining a whopping 21 followers, I've never made a Hinata Harem post. So yall are finally lucky enough to hear my takes on it ❤️❤️❤️

So first of all, I kinda love the hinata harem thing bc it's actually so funny, but strangely, in a way, it's realistic. Not very well written most of the time, but realistic as a concept.

Bc like he gets along with basically the entire cast, and he sometimes compliments characters who are not used to being complimented, and that character may blush of embarrassment, and then the fandom takes that as shipping material, like with Goshihina. And it makes sense! Imagine you're rarely complimented, and you strive for validation from your peers, especially upperclassmen, and then suddenly, the cutest boy you've ever seen compliments you like you're the only person on the planet. And so then you purposely try as hard as you possibly can to make said boy continue to compliment you. Take this, then multiply it by 100, because I think that's how the harem trope, in Hinata's case, works.

This isn't meant to be in the way that he can be shipped with every single character because truly, he can't. Shipping Hinata with 3rd years, in a typical high school setting, is, at least imo (and not bc of the age gap itself), weird bc of the maturity difference. You shouldn't date a senior as a freshman bc you're on two separate maturity levels. And regarding all of the many 3rd years (tendou, daichi, suga, bokuto, etc), it's really the same exact thing just platonically. Bokuto is literally Hinata's older brother!! He adopted him as a student *and* sibling, bc he felt the same things everybody does, just in a *different* way.

The hinata harem, to me, is the display of hinata's character in reference to every other character, yk? To me, these select few people are actually in love with him, and these people have a "crush," which is more so a platonic feeling, and these people find a true, deep *friendship* with him, one that they've probably never experienced before, and therefore may look like a crush or love to an outside viewer. And, in these different relationships between hinata and other characters, they all love him. They all feel a loving connection with him, like how people would think in a harem, but it's not quite so because all of the people who love hinata love him in different ways.

Now, with how this harem is portrayed in fanfiction actually scares me bc half the people there are much older and mature than him (gen question why do ppl ship him with 3rd years /in high school/, like, I love Brazil Oihina sooooo much but hs Oihina is 😧😧😧) , and tbh it just gets out of control.

And alot of times I see Hinata reciprocate?? With multiple people?? Which is fine to an extent, imo like I love poly ships, I've seen a lot of really cute ones and some more interesting ones, and it's totally normal to have a crush on a few people at once but istg some people make him a goddamn player,,,

I recently read a harem-ish fic, which was much more similar to how I personally find it to be like, it was essentially people having a crush on hinata, or realizing it, and it was cute, but at the same time, Hinata asked one of them on a date, cuddled with like two other guys (which, normalize cuddling platonically but in the context of the fic it wasn't suuuuper platonic but wasn't suuuuuper romantic either iykwim), and the part of that that kinda icked me was just that he was getting on with so many people at once (the fic took place in the span of like a week, and there were like 5 people i think??). And a lot of other fics that are post time skip are just Hinata hooking up with the entire cast at some point???

Idk tbh but I do really like fics where everybody LOVES hinata, but only a few people are IN love with him. Just the balance of like ~5 people having a crush on him, half of the rest of them have adopted him in one way or another, and the other half have just found their new bff.

Btw I think that second to last paragraph is worded a bit poorly I just don't really know else to describe the fic so sorry if it offends anyone I'm free to edit it n if anyone wants more ship related stuff I got you (ALSO GIVE ME GOOD "HAREM" FIC RECS AS LONG AS THEYRE SFW AND COMPLETED!!) 💪💪💪

[musicalmoritz]

Ok ok so you said something in your Les Aoi analysis about trans Aoi (I’m gonna be honest I don’t remember which it was 😭😭) so I wanted to ask for an analysis on that! Especially because I don’t think I’ve really seen that before! Thanks :))

Alright! Let’s talk about transmasc Aoi. Just a heads up, I’m probably gonna alternate the pronouns based on whether I’m referring to canon or fanon Aoi. So if I’m talking about a canon situation with Aoi I’ll stick with she/her but if I’m referring to Aoi as in transmasc fanon Aoi, I’ll go with he/him. I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t get confusing lol

Transmasc Aoi exists for the same reasons lesbian Aoi exists. Aoi’s character centers around hiding her true self, which is a universal queer experience. Some fans relate her arc to lesbianism, but others relate it more to her gender identity. I am not trans myself and I have never been trans nor questioned my gender identity so I may not be the best person to explain this, so if any trans TBHK fans want to chime in here feel free to do so!! I will try my best to relay how Aoi’s character stands out to some trans readers (tho you obviously don’t have to be trans to headcanon a character as trans as long as you’re doing so respectfully, I have lots of trans headcanons)

Unlike the lesbian Aoi headcanon, I have no gripes with how this one is portrayed. I’ve seen AoiAoi, Aoinene, and TeruAoi shippers alike express love for this headcanon so it never feels like they’re trying to erase part of her arc or just keep her away from Akane. Which makes sense, unless they were writing Akane as straight, male Aoi wouldn’t hinder that relationship in any way. Furthermore, this headcanon feels more focused on Aoi as a charger rather than trying to shove her into an aesthetic (just to be clear I don’t dislike the lesbian Aoi headcanon, just the way it’s often portrayed). In fact I often see this hc paired with trans Akane/trans Nene/trans Teru. With a wide variety too, sometimes Akane is written to be transmasc as well and other times she’s portrayed as transfem. That’s one of my favorite parts of this headcanon, people get so creative with it

Aoi’s entire character centers around how her internal self doesn’t align with the external. The image she presents to the school is not her true self. I’m gonna pull out my favorite term here, Aoi’s identity makes her experience cognitive dissonance. Her actions don’t align with the way she thinks and believes. I know that’s a pretty simple concept but there is so much you can interpret from that premise. Imo there’s some pretty obvious personality disorder coding going on there but I’ll hold my tongue. Canon reasons aside, this theme stands out to a lot of trans readers.

Having to present yourself in a way that doesn’t align with who you are on the inside is a core part of the trans experience. This is supported even further by the fact that Aoi’s femininity is a large part of her act. The difference between her and Nene is that Aoi seems to be the perfect girl in every way, and Nene is far from that. Let me reiterate that, the image Aoi presents to society is one of the perfect girl. Most fans focus on the perfect part, but her femininity is also an act to an extent. To impress Nakahara (the bitch from chapter 1), Nene spent three years trying to act more feminine. She knew he liked traditionally feminine girls so she worked hard to fit that role. Part of that involved joining gardening club, the main hobby Aoi is known for. After three years of trying to fit a specific brand of femininity, Nene was still rejected for not meeting Nakahara’s standards. But the boys at school LOVE Aoi for traditionally feminine things. I’m not sure I could find the specific chapter but there’s one scene in the manga where they’re drooling over her for sweeping and marveling at how domestic she is. At first glance, Aoi appears to embody traditional femininity. But it’s all an act

She presents herself a certain way so that the school, including the boys, will love her. What’s interesting to me about the aforementioned scene is that Aoi is doing completely normal tasks and still being upheld as the pinnacle of femininity. She can’t escape the role others mole her into. She has to play into it too, in order to obscure her true self from the public eye. But when we see signs of the real Aoi, she’s not acting how a perfect girl should act. She’s reserved and quiet and nerdy and rude. This is different from the theme of femininity we see in Nene’s story, which is that femininity doesn’t have to be performed in restrictive ways. Aoi doesn’t have to find her true femininity, she has to find her true self. That’s where transmasc Aoi comes in

So how is transmasc Aoi depicted in fanon? The same as canon Aoi! That’s what I love most about this headcanon, you don’t have to change much about Aoi’s character in order to make it work. Trans Aoi is still his usual introverted and supportive self (it took me so long for find a nice adjective to describe Aoi lmao), the biggest difference I’ve noticed is that he’s usually portrayed as being the truest version of himself, which I think is beautiful. It works with canon too since these fics are typically written later in Aoi’s development when she’s begun to take steps towards embracing her real self. Trans Aoi is depicted as being a natural step in that direction. Sometimes he’s written to stay closeted for a while in order to keep up appearances, but he still gets to come out to his close friends/partners

To me this headcanon is filled with appreciation for Aoi’s character. It’s not my personal main headcanon for her (despite all I’ve said I am a lesbian Aoi lover, tho more of a bi Aoi lover for canon), but I have mad respect for everyone who chooses this as their version of Aoi. If anyone wants a really good fic for this headcanon I recommend livvidaloca’s “i could be your regular belle” on ao3. It’s Terukaneaoi and actually more transfem Akane than transmasc Aoi but it’s super good and honestly I just wanted to recommend a livvidaloca fic

I hope this helped you understand the headcanon better, thank you for the ask!!

[itgr]

ITGR and the Aromantic and Asexual Spectrum

aka a long, pretentious, non coherent, semi analytical ramble I took a month to make about ITGR and how aspec coded it feels to me. Brought to you by someone who re read the series three times in the last nine months

I was originally going to write about how aspec coded every character feels individually in reference to this post but then I realised, I've always found that ITGR as a general narrative and comic had aspec vibes and I couldn't pin point why until recently. So I wrote this analysis (?) dissecting different patterns I noticed with characters and the general narrative themes and why it just feels aspec to me.

Obligatory disclaimers and preface: I will be using "aspec" as a shorthand term for both the aromantic and asexual spectrums (I will use "acespec" when talking about the asexual spectrum and "arospec" when talking about the aromantic spectrum specifically). I'm not trying to claim any of this was intentional on the part of Grave or trying to speculate that Grave is secretly aspec. I know a lot of the things I view as aspec coding could be explained away by a character's trauma or implied mental illness but I'm going to be largely viewing things through an aspec specific lens for the sake of this specific analysis (also aspec people can have mental illnesses or trauma that can feed into eachother and that doesn't take away from the fact they're aspec or vice versa).

This is all just a very aspec centered interpretation of ITGR and I'm not trying to claim it's the "correct" or "only" way to interpret the comic (also i will be sprinkling in aspec headcanons here and there and you will just have to deal with that, sorry <- some characters dont have specific orientations that come to mind for me. they're just somewhere on the ace/aro spectrums/hj). Some of this is based on 'evidence' in the text or like narrative implications and framing and the other half is based on vibes/hj and, I can not stress this enough, just because I headcanon a character with a specific label doesn't mean I think the character would ever use that label or even know what that label is. It's more about finding a term I think generally describes how I interpret that character as experiencing attraction

Word count: 4869

Part 1 : ITGR and the Performative Nature of Love and Attraction

Idk, there's just something about the way love and attraction are represented in this comic that feels aspec? Unlike a lot of other stories, I've read, ITGR kind of portrays love and attraction in such a detached manner I can't quite describe, especially early on. Love's ironically not romanticised and is either portrayed as something fucked up or as something performative with some exceptions (more on those later). Let's start with the examples in which attraction is portrayed as performative, starting with the most obvious example: Satan.

Satan spends most of his time, taunting and toying with his reapers in a number of ways with various levels of flirtation, with Scarlet being the one he flirts with the most. He makes a lot of passes and allusions to love with her because he likes toying with her and is really possessive over her. In some scenes, especially early on, he comes across more like a jealous ex-boyfriend than he does a boss. The way Satan acts around Scarlet and Brook is so interesting because I honestly dont believe Satan actually wants to be worshipped or that he has any attraction to Scarlet. He's just a bored million year old being who's trying to have fun, and he's doing whatever he thinks will make them uncomfortable because that's fun to him. This becomes more apparent with the fact that the only time we ever see him be uncomfortable is in Episode 94 when he's meeting with Ashe. Ashe (at this point) is someone who practically worships him and treats Satan how he implies he wants Scarlet or Brook to treat him. And he hates it.

Its so interesting that when Satan's given something he has been implied to "want" this whole time, he absolutely hates it and is uncomfortable. Which signals to me that he doesn’t flirt with Scarlet or mess around with Brook because he genuinely wants them to submit or because he actually wants Scarlet to fall for him. He does it because he enjoys the fun of getting reactions out of people and he likes being entertained. He likes the chase but I don't think he'd be happy long term if they ever actually completely submitted and did everything he claims he wanted. Something about the way Satan does sexual and romantic coded things in a performative way without actually wanting anything feels so aspec coded to me (diversity loses! the worst person you know is acespec and aromantic coded!).

The other most obvious example to me is Azrael (I have a separate already semi written ramble about the general queer coding in Azrael's character, but that's for another day). He's probably the other only character in ITGR that is as openly flirty as Satan and despite that, all of his scenes flirting with people just convinces me he's not interested in the people he flirts with😭. All his scenes flirting with Celeste and Bernadette feel performative and hollow because of the fact that he doesn't seem to be genuinely interested in them romantically or sexually. He knows how and when Celeste and Bernadette are going to die and I think flirting with them is either a way for him to either please them and make them happy before they die or a way for him to entertain himself or both. Like his interactions don't read to me as "Oh guy flirting with women because he wants to date them/have sex with them because he thinks they're hot." They read to me as "guy who wants to have such much fun as he can and explore as many possibilities as he can with people he knows are going to die." His entire date with Celeste was essentially a way for him to learn more about her and almost 'test' the extent of her loyalty to God because he was curious. When Bernadette dies, there's no romantic element to him comforting her at all, despite the fact he spent so much of their interactions flirting with her.

The only other person we ever see him 'flirt' with is the princess from his time being alive and even there, at no point do we get any narration of how he feels about her or any comments about having feelings for her. It's heavily implied he was only being romantic with her by agreeing to marry her because he wanted her to have one good thing before she died so her death wouldn't be as painful. I have a theory/interpretation that to Azrael, there's an inherent relation between flirting and death and that he only flirts with people if he knows when they'll die (even if the flirting isn't genuine on his part). This idea is supported by the fact that post season 4 and Nyra destroying his ability to see the future and how she'll die, he doesn't flirt with her at all (which also more evidence that his interest in her was never genuine). Anyways, because of the performative nature of his flirtation with different characters, he's aspec coded to me (and he likes men but that's for another ramble).

I think the other example of a character expressing attraction only to reveal romance/sex isn't what they're after is surprisingly Wrynn? I have less compelling case for her compared to the others but I find it interesting that it would have been very easy to just make her in love with Ashe in a conventional romantic and sexual way but no. She doesn't want to date him. She wants to go back to being one with him (something something love as consumption but we don't have time for that). Episode 182 sets them in such a specific way (by giving them a lot of romantic and sexual tension and also an almost kiss) but even then, the reason she's doing all of that is so he can eat her and they go back to sharing a body because that's probably what an ideal relationship is like to her. I guess to me, having a character have so many signifiers of conventional allo (aka not aspec) attraction only to reveal they're actually not after sex or conventional romance and more into their own unconventional form of romance (if you can call it that) feels very aspec to me.

I've just noticed this consistent pattern with characters performing acts to signify attraction only to subvert that but either implicitly or explicitly showing that sex or romance isn't what they're after and it'd be one thing if it was one character (i'd still argue that this hypothetically character would be aspec but it'd be an isolated case) but the consistent pattern is borderline fascinating to me? It just creates such an interesting narrative and almost world? In a lot of media, romance and sex are just considered normal or expected but here, in ITGR, they're really not. Characters can perform attraction but that doesn't take away from the fact that more often than not, they're usually interested in something else and I dont know, I've always found it interesting.

Part 2: ITGR and the Horror of Attraction

I feel like a lot of media treats romantic relationships and attraction as generally good things that can be fucked up but usually when it is, it's framed an isolated event and I find it interesting how ITGR highlights a lot of the more fucked up aspects in romance and relationships. ITGR doesn't frame love as something inherently good or benevolent and I think there's something about that just feels aspec to me. I'm not trying to say romance or sex are inherently bad or fucked up. I just think that, like with anything, there is a certain amount of horror that can be drawn from and created from the concepts of attraction and I feel like the potential horror of romantic relationships (not necessarily even abusive relationships. Just the horror that can be drawn from the concept of being in a romantic/sexual relationship or being in love), or the ways love can be warped and turned into something terrifying is something that stands out more to aspec people than allo people if that makes sense.

I feel like ITGR frames love and attraction as something capable of being bad and hurting people as much as anything else. Jordan, the first sinner Scarlet ever kills, uses romantic flirtation as a weapon to lure women and kill them. It highlights the darker flipside of flirting and how flirting, something very common in romantic and sexual situations which is usually seen as positive or alluring, can be used to lower someone's guard and commit harm and violence. The reversal of using something romantic/sexual that is usually used to make characters look cool or charismatic only to use it highlights how dangerous it can be in a specific context has aspec undertones to me.

Another example is how ITGR deconstructs parts of the tsundere trope in Chase's past in Episode 15 and showcases the darker aspects of being in love. Here, love isn't framed as a good and positive emotion, it's framed as something fucked up that can leave you vulnerable to abusive and harmful situations because of the ways it can make you idealise someone which can make you blind to their abusive behaviour. I find it interesting how ITGR deconstructs some parts of the tsundere trope (aka a trope where a character acts cold and hostile to their love interest but gradually opens up) by showing how someone who is constantly mean and demeaning and physically abusive to you can be harmful. I find it interesting specifically because I feel like tsundere characters' hostile actions are sometimes justified by people using the fact they're in love, which implies that just because they're in love, it justifies them hurting someone, therefore framing love as a benevolent force that can excuse certain bad actions as long as they're for the sake of love. (BTW I feel like saying: I don't think the tsundere trope is a bad character trope. I think it depends on the execution and just find the way ITGR handles it to be interesting T-T). In this episode, ITGR instead implicitly claims that love can't justify bad actions, which further its grander treatment of viewing love as an emotion as any other, instead of putting it on a pedestal or treating it with extra importance like a lot of other media.

I think the other main example of ITGR highlighting a fucked up side to the concept of love is Liam's entire character. Liam's spiral after he realises Ana is dead is both terrifying and tragic. Liam killing an innocent man so he can be with her takes something that in some contexts would be seen as romantic (the fact that someone would be willing to go to such great lengths for someone they love) and twists it to an extreme to highlight how terrifying it is that love can be so all consuming that it warps someone's values and makes them do terrible things in the name of love. I feel less strongly about this but I also feel like there's something mildly horrifying about the fact that he's willing to do this for someone might not returns his feelings. Something about him assuming they were meant to be, despite never asking her, kinda also hits that "love as something horrific" horror spot but I feel like that's a weaker point.

ITGR just consistently frames love like another other emotion that has the capacity to do harm and in contrast to the way most media places extra importance or goodness on love and relationships, ITGR views it in a very detached perspective that feels very aspec to me and I hoped I managed to express that idea with these examples.

Part 3: ITGR and OOPS! THE MAIN COUPLE'S REALLY QUEERPLATONIC AND ASPEC (coded)!

Okay so up to this point, you might be thinking "Wait, what about Scarlet and Chase? They're the main characters and they're in love and are explicitly sexually attracted to each other" and to that, I say "Well yes, but no, but yes"/lh. I'm going to preface this by saying that this is probably going to be the most incomprehensible and hard to explain part of this analysis (?). When I said there's a few exceptions to ITGR framing love as something performative or fucked up, they're one of the main examples (I WROTE THIS BEFORE VER AND EVERETTE OOPS). Chase and Scarlet's romantic and sexual feelings for eachother are framed positively and tragically, you're supposed to be rooting for these two little doomed by the narrative dorks. That being said, they're both aspec as fuck 😭 sorry, not sorry, the aspec agenda doesn't end I'm afraid. I'll start with Scarlet because my interpretation of her is a lot more based on tangible evidence (while Chase is half based on vibes tbh/hj). She reads to me as demisexual and some flavour of arospec (greyromantic or even demiromantic). I think it's largely the fact she doesnt really seem to experience sexual attraction towards anyone, including Chase, until way later on. You could argue it didn't even start appearing until after she left the 9th layer (so it took her 25+ years to start experiencing sexual attraction towards someone she has romantic (?) feelings for). I know that you could probably argue that it's a trauma thing but that doesn't take away from the interpretation (demisexual people can have trauma and still be demisexual).

I feel less strongly about her being greyromantic but I still feel like that's another possible interpretation. It's mostly because I can't really see her being attracted to anyone? I think I know why scarlets orientation is hard for me to pin down. I think it's because I can't really imagine her being interested in men or women?? Like, I'd make sapphic jokes about her but I honestly just don't think she'd be interested in women. Or men. Honestly I feel like she's not attracted to any gender. If she ever is "attracted" to someone it's because they're someone who gets close to her and she's grown an attachment to them. Like she'd still be in love with chase if he was a girl. But also, I don't think she's attracted to any specific gender or any gender in general but also has the capacity to like any gender and I feel like calling her pan just doesn't fit so. Um. Yeah, I hope you enjoyed my unlabelled Scarlet side tangent. All of that being said, her not really feeling attraction for anyone except one person and it has to be someone she's formed a pre existing strong bond with…. Yeah. Need I say more/hj. (The unlabelled demisexual arospec Scarlet agenda is real)

Now onto Chase, also known as the vibe check. I'm going to be honest, something about him screams aromantic allosexual to me in a way I can barely convey. I think it's maybe the way when he talks about his ex, he talks about how hot she is, instead of talking about what parts of her personality attracted him to her. Also, I might be projecting but something about him canonically having a lot of failed relationships also just kind of contributes to the aroallo vibes I get (I'm not saying every aroallo person is going to inherently have dysfunctional relationships but I am saying it's not an uncommon experience for aromantic people to have a lot of past relationships that didn't work out due to "something" feeling off. Gestures). There's also the fact that while Scarlet takes a while to show any overt signs of physical or sexual attraction towards him (I was gonna say, this is except for her blushing when she sees him shirtless in Episode 13 but I went back and no she doesn't so demi Scarlet is so real), he does it a lot sooner than her and I don't know, there's something about how his feelings for her derive more from the fact he sees her as his equal or even above him while he struggles with human connection and attachment with most people and how his expression of romantic love isn't really conventional which feels very aromantic and queerplatonic to me. I guess I've always interpreted Chase having queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet that are romantic adjacent (Not saying all queerplatonic relationships are the same as romantic relationships, it heavily depends on the people in the relationship and how they feel and I just think Chase seems like a romance favourable aromantic person who'd label their queerplatonic feelings as romantic <- I don't think any of these characters know what the aromantic spectrum is, much less what queerplatonic relationships are. I just feel like, if we wanted to be technically, Chase's feelings for Scarlet, to me, aren't really romantic but I think he'd feel comfortable labelling them as such. I hope that made sense). To be fair, in a comic where like, over the half the main cast is heavily coded with at least one cluster b personality disorder/hj (I might make a post of how many characters in this comic have cluster b coded traits or symptoms as someone with two cluster b disorder but that's for another day), it makes sense that a lot of the connections and attachments characters make feel unconventional because a lot of these characters have issues related to attachment but even that, I'd argue that doesn't take away from the aspec reading.

Ever since I started reading ITGR back when season one and two were coming out, I'll never forget just. Not seeing the romance between Scarlet and Chase at all and being jumpscared when it became overtly canon because there was always something about their romance that felt, for lack of a better word, empty (NOT IN A BAD WAY) to me? And I just couldn't articulate what it was about their interactions and romance that felt so off and unconventional to me until now. I think it's partially also because of the way all their romantic scenes pre the season three finale focus more on affirming how much they care about and are attached to eachother as people, rather than how "in love" they are? And also the way their main forms of affection is hugs or physical touch and there's not really any "OMG O////O ARE WE ABOUT TO KISS???/!??@?@?" moment. Even in Episode 42, when we get a bit of a kiss tease, there's not blushing on either of their ends and Chase is talking more about how much he cares about her as a person and how much he's come to respect her and how even he, someone who in a way views himself as superior to most people and tries to position himself as someone worthy of deciding what's just and what isn't, has come to view her the ultimate judgement and he respects that (THAT WAS MORE INTIMATE THAN ANY LOVE CONFESSION BUT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT). And even when he says he wants to see her in the eyes when she kills him, it's more about wanting to see her as a person before she dies. There's love there but it feels different than romantic love to me. Like, it's so intimate and unconventional and something about how we're four seasons in and they haven't kissed yet and the way their entire relationship is written and the way they express love and attachment to eachother has major queerplatonic undertones to me.

There's just something about how the main romance in this comic has a surprising lack of emphasis on romance. Anyways, I love my little murderous aspec people in a romantic QPR/lh.

Part 4: ITGR and The Aromantic One and the One That Wasn't (aka ITGR and the Devastation of Amatanormativity)

Amatanormativity is the common belief and societal assumption that everyone desires to be in a monogamous romantic and sexual relationship and marriage and it has caused a lot of pain to a lot of people but aspec people specifically (it's similar to heteronormativity and gay people). There are two examples of ITGR critiquing amatanormativity and highlighting how much pain it can cause, one indirect and one direct. Critiques and depictions of the harm amatanormativity causes are generally hard to find in most media and are mostly confined to media explicitly centered around aspec people and that's why it's actually surprising to me that (while I don't think it was intentional at all), on top of all the aspec undertones ITGR has, it also directly and indirectly critiques a societal expectation that inherently hurts and deeply affects aspec people.

I'm actually surprised I made it this long without talking about Brook at all. That being said, there's actually one character I need to talk about before I talk about him: Ana. Despite Brook being the explicit and more blatantly canon example of an aromantic character, Ana's backstory indirectly represents a common issue aspec people face. I know it's later revealed by Liam in Episode 48 that the man Ana married was a man she hadn't met prior but I still think there's a way to interpret her backstory through an aspec lense (Misogyny definitely has a part to play in Ana's backstory but I don't think misogyny being a factor takes away from an aspec interpretation of it and vice versa). There's just something quintessentially aspec to me about Ana's horrified face in episode 11 when we see her and her fiance as she remarks that she "didn't feel anything".

Her entire life fell apart because her abusive parents pushed amatanormativity onto her. It's the way she literally tries to tell them she doesn't want to get married or have children (implying she was happy being single and pursing her writing career) and they dismiss her and call her stupid and tell her that every woman wants to get married. They dismiss the notation anyone (any woman specifically) could be happy without marriage, or a relationship. Ana decides to do what they say and I know it's never explicitly shown but I think she wanted to believe they were right and that she'd develop feelings for her husband and be happy eventually if she just conformed and did what they said. It's possible she could have felt like she was wrong (or. broken/hj) and that she wanted to believe that marriage would "fix" her and make her happy (because society and amatanormativity consistently pushes the idea that marriage = happiness) and that would explain the horror in her face when she realised she didn't feel anything. It's also further supported by her line "Where was that happiness I was promised?". Her parents, society and amatanormativity literally kept telling her that she couldn't be happy if she stayed single and childless and sold her the idea that getting married would fix her and make her happy and that destroyed her life and, regardless of if Ana was supposed to represent an aspec struggle, it still stands as indirect commentary on how amatanormativity can hurt people who don't want to be married (or in relationships) (semi related but I personally headcanon Ana as aroace or arospec asexual ^^).

And with that said, let's move onto the only actually canonically aspec character in this comic: Brook, who's canonically aromantic. Also Brook being aromantic is canon regardless of it's explicitly said or not. I could go on a whole tangent about queer representation and the double standards between other queer rep and aspec rep when it comes to needing authorial intent to be seen as "real" rep but the short of it is that Brook's aromantic, not only because he said he's not interested in romantic relationships but because, on a fundamental level, he doesn't understand what romantic feelings are like and how they work. He's confused by the concept of romantic feelings, because he doesn't feel them. I don't think there's another way to interpret that. He's literally textbook aromantic. I'm not saying that trauma hasn't maybe influenced that and vice versa but you can be aromantic and have cptsd. I also feel the need to debunk the idea that Brook's time as reaper "made him detached from romantic love so he's not really aromantic" because that doesn't make sense. Yes, Brook's time as a reaper probably made him even more detached from human connections than he already was but there is no indication that he felt romantic feelings before being a reaper. He quite literally shows no interest in romance at any point in the comic, even before he died (also, again, while his lack of general ambition in anything could be interpreted as the product of some kind of neurodivergency or mental disorder, but that doesn't mean he can't also be aromantic). The fact he doesn't understand romance to begin with heavily implies he's never experienced it and doesn't experience romantic feelings in general, hence that he's aromantic.

Now that that's established, I want to talk about how ITGR depicts the feeling of isolation that can sometimes come with being aromantic, which in itself is kind of caused by amatanormativity. There's several scenes in the comic (Episode 176 being the most obvious example) where Brook laments getting attached to Chase and Scarlet because they're in love (well. Wellllllll, adajcent anyway/hj) and he feels like he'll never mean as much to them as they mean to eachother. He feels like because he's not romantically with either of them, he'll never the first priority to them (I personally headcanon as Brook having mild queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet but its not relevant right now and we don't have time for that). I feel like it's very common for aromantic people to feel isolated as a lot of their friends gets into relationships and because of how romantic relationships are seen as "superior" and it's nice of ITGR to represent that in a way. I feel like we do sometimes get canonically aspec characters in media but usually, if they're not the main main character, we don't really get much about how being aspec affects their lives and relationships? Or what their specific relationship to being aspec is? I feel like a lot of media ignores the complexities of being aspec which is why I really love Brook as a canonically aromantic character. While in most media, the aspecness of a character is more of a footnote and is usually treated as a label that's simply slapped onto a character, Brook's aromanticism doesn't exist in isolation and it directly ties back to several parts of his characters. It informs some of his feelings and thoughts. It feels like something tangible. I think it says a lot about how the writing that Brook is written so much like an aromantic character and his struggles with not feeling romantic attraction are treated with complexity that I genuinely forgot it's not explicitly ever said he is aromantic. I don't know, I really like him as aromantic rep.

Part 5: Bonus Headcanons + Conclusion

I didn't have any specific sections to put these headcanons in so I'm just going to through a bunch out there. Ashe is so greyromantic and greysexual to me. Like he definitely had feelings for the wife he's implied to have had when he was alive but I like to think he doesn't really feel attraction outside of that one specific person. Nyra screams arospec asexual lesbian to me. That's it. Send post. Need I say more? (I'm never getting over how her date with Azrael just convinced me that neither of them are attracted to the other's gender/lh). Oddly enough, I don't have that many headcanons about Bernadette. I'd say she could be ace? Vibes anyway. Scarlet's unnamed childhood best friend is so aroallo to me (vibe checked). I wrote a lot of this before Ver and Everette's interactions were revealed so you can either interpret them as the token allos or they can be acespec as a treat/hj.

With all of that done, thank you to anyone who actually read this whole thing. I am so sorry I'm insane/lh. I hope you enjoyed hearing out this interpretation. I feel like this analysis (?) has finally allowed me to be able to articulate why ITGR has always read to me as an aspec heavy piece of media despite only one character being canonically aspec, it's a combination of several things but mostly just the way the comic views love in such a detached and unglamourised way compared to a lot of other media. Love and attraction are still in the comic but the forms of love we see are unconventional. It kind of creates a world where genuine love and attraction aren't really the default, like out of the most openly flirty characters in the comic, most of them have ulterior motive and their flirty is performative and I find that so interesting. I don't think this is necessarily the only way to interpret a lot of the characters and themes but I hope I've opened your eyes to the aspec ITGR reading ^^

[newlifeera2024]

AlternaTSe Universe?

I feel like I am living in a bizarre alternate (Taylor Swift) universe. Since crushing the three shows in London, which were attended by the Royal Family, Paul McCartney, and a bajillion other celebs, amongst 270,000 screaming fans, all the world seemed to be talking about this past Monday & Tuesday is “Travvy”.

First with respect to his performance on N3:

While I can appreciate the shock factor and his ability to play the bit well, it seems like the world is treating him like some supernova of a boyfriend. So many people were creating content about this being the most "romantic" thing they ever saw and how Travis is her "savior". See below.

I may be stuck on stupid but, in my understanding of Taylor Swift's music, she typically refutes the notion that she needs a man to come rescue her. She refers to men as "kens" or as "toys". So to read something with such strong language like "rock and savior" seemed extreme, yet reflective of a large portion of the Taylor Swift Fandom. Now granted, I think that we are all guilty of "projecting" some of our personal / inner life onto Taylor, depending on where we are in life, in relationships, etc. However, when her music frequently, and recently, reflects themes of "secrecy", "closets", "hiding", "fantasies of dying", "wanting to disappear", "desire to change life circumstances", "living in constraint", "showing lies" and wanting to reject heteronormative expectations, it feels extreme to see the above perspective espoused not only in the screenshots above, but very much in different posts all over social media. The idea that Dr. Taylor Alison Swift (who has lifted the economy globally, has over 500 awards for her work, runs an empire that everyone and every brand wants some connection with) needs a HERO to come swoop in and save her, makes the eyes pop out of my head. I have no idea if any or all of her relationship with TK is genuine, or if it is a mutual business partnership. But what was performed on N3 in London was, in my opinion, "part of the show". I did not see that it was a declaration of their love and devotion to each other. I do believe that TS has loved men and women before, and I believe that she may continue to do so throughout her life. What I do not believe is that Taylor is going to make a public spectacle calling on the world to see how in love they are by portraying her as a damsel in distress who needs to be saved by a man. Her music defies that notion. She dominated the world last year even with her broken heart. She did that, not TK.

Second, everyone in her fandom seems to be falling over his interview on the Bussin Podcast. Many listeners posted that they were “melting” “dying” and “sobbing” about his answers in response to the questions they asked him about his relationship w/Taylor. I listened to the full podcast to make sure I missed nothing. Actually, I watched it on YouTube which you can do through the hyperlink above.

I found his responses to be underwhelming, generic, and canned. Like a fan would probably be more enthusiastic about their love for Taylor than what I observed with TK's responses. When he did speak about Taylor and what made him "really start to fall for her" he shared that it was when he realized that she is:

1) Self-Aware (in the context of her attending his games and sitting with his family and friends) 2) Genuine, Chill, and Cool when around [his] family and friends, 3) Can handle herself in situations when dealing with the public and on the Super Bowl Field.

Again, his response to this question seems so basic.. Like you are allegedly dating Taylor Swift, and this was your response??

Question Asked by Podcast Hosts: What's been the most surprising thing with your guys's dating life that you're like, you maybe you anticipated it, but like man this is crazy that this person's here trying to figure this out, or take a picture over here at my house how did they find my address, like what's been the craziest?  TK Answer: Definitely the, the pulling up to the house [by randos], or the just random like IDK, It's been cool... Like it's a different demographic {Taylor's fans} than the NFL really so it's like, it's been cool to like kind of dabble in that and like see her following {of fans} and everything and It's been fun because it’s a lot more like kids are, are way more um into the game and like the Chiefs fans have kind of like turned into a lot of her fans, or, her fans have turned into like Chiefs fans.. So it’s like i’ve had fun with just about every aspect of it. It’s just when you’re at home you want [privacy] - Yeah, and you don’t just you don’t always get that.

TO BE FAIR: When TK spoke about going to the concerts he was more complimentary of Taylor and what she's able to do on stage and how all the fans respond (but this is like no different than what anyone NOT romantically involved would say) and that he's been happy to be able to go and support her at the shows, "I don't know, she's having fun up there so it's like I can enjoy seeing her in her element killing it on stage and um I love the show man she's got bangers."

Of those "bangers"' here is how he ranked his top 3 TS songs.

1. Blank Space 2. Cruel Summer 3. So High School (because it has sentimental meaning to him)

Make of that what you will.. but um, he seems to know very little of the rest of her catalogue. The hosts seemed to have much more knowledge of the variety of songs as well as the lyrics.

I truly do not get why everyone was so tickled by his interview, but alas. Maybe I am just too critical? But we are talking about TAYLOR ALISON SWIFT.. Like she is not just another "lady". She's so smart, clever, creative, capable, like there are so many things he could have brought up that really spoke to her uniquely. Anyway. if you read this, thanks. I needed to not feel crazy and needed to just organize my thoughts.

Also, is there a possibility to use the term "TayloW" to indicate that TAYlorLOvesWomen, without having to label her sexual orientation?

[she-wolf09231982]

Chapter 1-Dynamite

Summary: Growing up in Chicago, Kate hasn’t seen much outside the city limits, except maybe Wisconsin or Indiana. After the Pearl Harbor attacks, WWII was announced across the country. Not long after she found herself with her brothers resisting temptations after they stumble upon two military recruiters encouraging them to join the Army or Marines to make a difference. 

A/N: Character Intro, Mature audience, BillHoosierSmithx!FemMedic, WW2, OCIntroduction/Kate Danaher, Female Pronouns, Cursing/Swearing, Derogatory Slurs, Womanizing Comments, Military and Medical Terminology, Inappropriate Nicknames, HBO The Pacific References, Mentions of Weaponry, Smoking.

Story takes begins Episode 1/Chapters 1-4 Guadalcanal/Leckie

*These stories may not fall entirely in accordance with the TV series timeline. I do not know the real Marines the actors portray in this series, so please understand I show no disrespect. Some or most of historical events and character interactions in my fanfics are fabricated purely for the sake of the enjoyment of fiction*

~~~~~~~ 

December 7th, 1941 

Chicago, IL 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking to you tonight at a very serious moment in our history. The Cabinet is convening and the leaders in Congress are meeting with the President-”  

Kate listens intensely to the radio one evening with her family in the parlor. 

“-In fact, the Japanese ambassador was talking to the president at the very time that Japan's airships were bombing our citizens in Hawaii and the Philippines and sinking one of our transports loaded with lumber on its way to Hawaii.” 

Kate's mother obviously in shock sitting next to her father on the loveseat, reached for his hand as her other hand slowly rests over her mouth. 

“In the meantime, we the people are already prepared for action....Preparation to meet an enemy no matter where he struck. That is all over now and there is no more uncertainty. We know what we have to face and we know that we are ready to face it.” 

When the announcement ended and the regular scheduled program continued, her father walked over to the radio and turned the volume dial down. Kate, her two brothers and mother waited for him to speak. 

“Well, all we can do is wait.” he said with finality.  

The following day, newspapers all over the U.S. had “WAR DECLARED!!” across every headline. 

So, this was it. World War II has begun. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate and her two older brothers, Peter and Tommy, walk through Sears, Roebuck & Co retail store trying to find Christmas gift ideas for their mother. 

“I heard they’re sending guys all over! Britian, Australia, Philippine's, Italy, Germany-” Tommy said excitedly. 

“Yeah, that’s what I heard, too.” Peter confirmed. 

Her brothers walking ahead gossiped about war details between them, not bothering to even look around for a gift.  

Kate huffed irritably, “Why did you guys even come with me if you’re not going to help me find something for mom?”  

They looked back and chuckled, “Ah come on, Ace, ma will love anything we get her.” Pete dissolved with a wave of his hand. 

Kate rolled her eyes then continued to search for something worthwhile. 

As her eyes scan the decorated windows of each shop, two uniformed men were standing in a storefront entrance each next to a military recruiting poster. One bearing “I WANT YOU FOR THE US ARMY” and another “WANT ACTION? JOIN THE U.S. MARINE CORPS!” 

“Hey, get a load of this!” Pete nudged Tommy when he saw the two posters. 

The uniformed men saw that her brothers’ interests were peaked. 

“What do you think, gents, wanna do your part for your country?” The Marine asked. 

Pete and Tommy shot eager glances at each other while walking closer to the two men. 

“Your country needs you, boys, we’re always looking for good, strong men.” The soldier added. 

“See the world and get paid for it!”  

“-an extra $50 if you join the 101st Airborne!”  

Kate's brothers’ eyes lit up, so she decided to intervene. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen, I think these two-” she began. 

Each recruiter redirected their attention to her as she approached. 

“Ma’am, we’re looking for abled women as well.” the soldier interrupted. 

All of Kate's thoughts dissipated at this statement, stopping her dead in her tracks. 

“Ever thought about becoming a nurse?” the Marine asked. 

“That’s actually what she’s always wanted to do!” Tommy verified for you.  

“Shut up, Tommy!” she snapped. 

“Well then-” the soldier began, “-sounds to me we have three new U.S. Army recruits!” 

“More like three Marine Corps recruits.” the Marine countered with a sly grin. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate convinced her brothers to revisit the idea later when more was known about where the war was heading. It’s only been a week since the start of the war was announced, and they were already jumping into the snake pit feet first without looking.  

But she had internally thought about it herself. Was it really such a hasty idea? The military would pay for all her training to become a nurse. And it’s not like she’d be on the front lines, right? So, she’d be safe. 

Kate wasn’t sure who she would be trying to sell the idea to more: herself or her parents. They’d be more against the idea of her joining than Pete and Tommy. The more she considered it, the more she was inclined to join. But which branch?  

Tommy and Pete were already dead set on becoming paratroopers for the Army. The idea of $50 more per check was more than enough to motivate them. 

Kate discussed the idea with her best friend, Blanche. 

“I mean, financially it makes sense.” Blanche agreed. 

“They’d pay for me to become a nurse AND pay me while I go. Other than being away from my family, I can’t see why I shouldn’t do it.” Kate reasoned. 

“Well, you would be without your best friend.” Blanche eluded. 

Kate laughed, “That’s right.” she agreed with a slight look of disappointment. 

“You know what, I’ll do it with you!”  

A look of surprise appeared across Kate's face. 

“Do what?” she queried. 

“I’ll join with you and we’ll both become nurses in the military.”  

She studied her best friend, “Really? You'd join because I’m going to?”  

“Of course! We made a pact, remember?” Blanche reminded. 

They each had promised eachother as children they’d always stick together and be best friends forever. 

Kate smiled, “Ok! But let’s wait til after the holidays to go see a recruiter. I don’t want to ruin my parents’ Christmas and New Years.” 

“Good call.” Blanche concurred.  

~~~~~~~ 

The holidays came and went, and before Kate knew it, her, her brothers, and Blanche had enlisted as service members of the U.S. military. Tommy and Pete signed up as paratroopers for the Army, while Kate and Blanche decided on the U.S. Marine Corps. Needless to say, this news didn’t go over well with any of the parents. Especially for Kate and Blanche being women. 

Kate and her brothers sat at the kitchen table across from their mother, Elaine, who was weeping, while their father, Mortimer, paced behind her. 

“So,” Mortimer began, “-all three of you signed your lives away.”  

They all remained silent with only the muffled bawls of their mother filling the room. 

“You see what you’re doing to your mother!?” their father scolded, gesturing towards his wife. 

“Pops, we just-” Pete began. 

“Do you understand what you just did? The government owns you now. You’re just a number to them. They don’t care if you live or die over there. Who know what will happen to you!” their dad continued as he ran his hand through his disheveled hair. 

Tommy, Pete, and Kate looked towards the floor with the weight of guilt weighing upon their backs. 

Their mother finally straightened up and composed herself. 

“Mortimer, what’s done is done. Shaming the children won’t do any good. Only thing we can do is support them now.” she defended. 

Their children exchanged confused glances. Their father turned to her with a look of shock painted across his face. 

“Elaine?” he questioned. 

“Mortimer, they’re grown enough to make their own decisions. The least we can do is be there for them every step of the way.” she responded. 

Their mother looked each of them over with a weak yet genuine smile.  

“You will all be outstanding. I am proud of you all.” she added. 

~~~~~~~ 

August 7th, 1942 

After Kate and Blanche completed basic training, they surprisingly found themselves aboard a battle cruiser heading for Guadalcanal with well over 1,000 some male Marines. The Corps decided to assign two medics to each platoon, regardless of gender. When they ran out of men to assign, they resorted to placing females.

Kate was just thankful to be paired with Blanche, so she wasn't alone with all these unfamiliar faces. She wasn't one to enjoy too much attention in big crowds. Blanche, however, relished the spotlight. Especially when most of the attention were from men. 

“Just look at them! So many handsome ones.” Blanche whispered as she nudged Kate. 

“Mmhm.” Kate hummed unamused, looking around the mess hall below the main deck of the ship. 

The kitchen prepared a special meal for the Marines today, so the men were buzzing, quite eager to eat something tasty for once. Kate and Blanche (being the only women within hundreds of miles) were usually allowed to get their meals beforehand to avoid unnecessary interactions with the males. Usually, they were able to finish their meals and leave before the guys would get there, but today seats filled up rather quickly upon hearing about the exclusive meal that was prepared. 

The only encounters they usually had with the men were when they visited the aid station in one's and two's within the ship to receive medical attention as needed. So, to see them all at once in the chow hall was very overwhelming...specifically for Kate since most of them watched her and Blanche’s every move. 

They were pushing through the crowd, trying to get back to their sleeping quarters when a Marine accidentally bumped into Kate with his arms cradling a bunch of oranges, causing him to drop a few. 

“Oh! I’m sorry ma’am!” the boyish blonde Marine offered. 

Kate crouched down and picked up the two oranges that fell to the ground. 

“It’s ok, Private, no harm done.” she assured trying to place the two oranges strategically back on the pile in his arms. 

“Oh no, please take them. A gift for two pretty ladies.” he added winking at Blanche. 

“Why thank you, Private..?” Blanche began waiting for him to introduce himself. 

“-Phillips. But call me Sid.” he insisted. 

Blanche and Sid shared a brief moment of staring until it became too painful for Kate. 

“Thank you again, Private Phillips. Try not to drop anymore, it would be a shame to waste those.” Kate said as she pulled Blanche in the opposite direction. 

“See you around, Sid!” Blanche called out as she waved at him. 

Sid made it to his table with the rest of the fruit unscathed. 

“Dessert!” he announced to the guys seated as he distributed the oranges onto the table in front of them, “Make sure you save one of those for me!” he added. 

“I just wanna get off this goddam rust bucket, I can’t hear myself think!” PFC Wilbur Runner complained. 

“Yeah, at least they give you a good meal before your send-off" PFC Lew Chuckler justified. 

“Yeah, like the electric chair.” PFC Bill ‘Hoosier’ Smith interjected sarcastically before continuing, “But you, Runner,” placing a hand on the seated man’s shoulder, “-you have won a trip to a tropical paradise called Guadal-Kenel...Guada...ken...I still can’t pronounce it.” He dismissed with a laugh. 

The table laughed collectively. 

“Hey Sid, who was that doll you were chattin’ up?” Chuckler asked. 

“Her name is Blanche.” Sid replied. 

“Weren’t there two of ‘em?” Runner questioned. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t get the other one’s name. She was a looker, too. She didn’t seem interested, though.” Sid proclaimed. 

“Maybe you ain’t her type, Phillips.” Hoosier teased. 

“Oh yeah, and you think you are?” Sid shot back with a snicker. 

“Guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Hoosier returned with a confident smile. 

“Not if I get to her first!” Chuckler chimed in. 

“Ok, you’re on.” Hoosier said shaking Chuckler’s hand officiating the bet. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate sat on her bunk trying to concentrate on reading her anatomy and physiology research journal while Blanche drummed on and on about Sid Phillips. 

“Blanche, please. That was an hour ago.” Kate resounded. 

Blanche rolled her eyes at her, “You’re such a book bug!”  

“Excuse me?” Kate chuckled back at her. 

“We’re surrounded by strapping handsome Marines and you got your nose stuck in that book.” Blanche teased as she snatched Kate's book from her hands. 

“Blanche! Be careful with that! It’s old-”  

“Please, quit being sucha crumb. You’re always reading or studying.” 

“Well, my brothers don’t call me ‘Ace’ for nothin’.” Kate explained. 

“Just live a little, ok!? Look beyond the hard covers and enjoy the boys.” Blanche insisted. 

“I’d say you’re a little slack happy, Blanche. I’m here to make sure these boys make it through the war alive. Not to find a boyfriend.” Kate clarified. 

Blanche laughed, “Well, some things are out of your control. Because let me tell you something, you may not have been noticing all the hot bodies on this ship, but they absolutely been noticing you.”  

Kate flashed her a bored and surly glance then snapped the book back from Blanche's hands. 

“I’m not the least bit interested.” Kate finalized, flipping back to the page she was previously on. 

“Not yet,” Blanche purred, “but you will.”  

Kate ignored her comment and continue reading. 

~~~~~~~ 

“Wrap it up now! Get your gear! Everybody topside for the pre-landing briefing! Let’s move!”  

Kate heard the officers calling out in the slim hallways of the ship. 

Kate and Blanche began collecting their medical supplies and duffels. 

“Don’t forget your brassard.” Kate reminded her best friend as she pinned her own white armband donning the red cross to her left arm of her own uniform. 

Soon, they stood on the deck with the rest of the Marines as an officer projected his voice as far as he can to brief everyone. 

“Forget all the horseshit you’ve heard about the Japs. They had their turn, now it’s our turn!”  

Kate and Blanche side eye each other with wide eyes. 

He proceeded, “They may have started this war, but I promise you, we will finish it!” 

“YES SIR.” The men responded outloud in unison. 

“Hit the beach. Keep moving to your rendevous and primary objectives. When you see the enemy, kill ‘em all!” he ended. 

“YEAH!” the men collectively roared together. 

“Go! Let’s go get ‘em!” 

All the men started to stir, each either tightening their helmet straps or adjusting their web belts. 

Kate looked to Blanche to ask her if she has everything but discovered she had wandered off somewhere leaving her alone. Kate tried to look over the swarm of Marines then saw her talking to Sid. Kate shook her head and started to push through the crowd to get to her. 

It was like swimming against a current walking through the sea of men. 

“Excuse me.” Kate called out to no avail.  

She suddenly felt a shoulder deliberately check her, knocking the strap of her duffel off her own shoulder. 

“Hey, asshole, watch it!” Kate snapped. 

A rather tall and broad Marine turned around staring her down. 

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” he dared. 

“I said watch it.” She repeated emphasizing the last two words without flinching. 

He started to approach her as a devilish grin started to stretch across his face. 

“I like ‘em feisty.” he whispered inches from Kate's face. 

She stood her ground, not giving him the satisfaction he can intimidate her. 

“You’re not getting anyone with that breath.” she replied with a grimace. 

The large man fisted the front of her uniform practically lifting her off the ground. 

“Hey, Bennetti! That’s enough!” a voice barked out from the crowd. 

He doesn’t let Kate go but does allow her feet to touch the ground again. She looked to the side and saw another Marine pushing past the others with a few members of his squad close behind him. 

“What’s it to you, Hoosier?” Bennetti retaliated. 

“Well, that there is our medic, so get your meat hooks off her. Do you not know how to treat a lady?” Hoosier asked smoothly.

“I can think of a few ways to treat her.” Bennetti stated winking at Kate. She strained to get out of his grip as anger started to boil over from within her. 

“Let her go. Now.” Hoosier warned as Chuckler, Runner, Sid, and Private Bob Leckie line up ready to square off in case Bennetti decided not to comply. 

Bennetti sized up his competition, then let her blouse top go with a bit of a shove, slightly projecting her into opposite direction. With her chest heaving, Kate spat at Bennetti’s boots, then turned on her heel to walk away. 

Hoosier and the rest of the boys “oooo-ed” then laughed impressed by her gumption.

“She is feisty, isn’t she?” Leckie acknowledged. 

“Yeah, like a firecracker.” Chuckler added. 

“More like a stick of dynamite...I think I’m in love.” Hoosier confessed while his eyes were glued on Kate disappearing into the mass of men. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate and Blanche boarded a Higgins boat with H Company. Almost forty people were packed like sardines in the floating metal box, not allowing for much personal space. Blanche conveniently sat herself next to Sid for the ride to the island, once again leaving you to fend for yourself. Fortunately, Kate found herself in better company next to the Marine that defended her earlier from the brute, Bennetti. 

She side-eyed him awkwardly, knowing she hadn’t properly thanked him for helping her yet. Hoosier sensed her apprehension to speak first so he took initiative. 

“You alright?” Hoosier asked. 

Kate's breath caught in her throat before she spoke, “Oh, uh, yes. I’m fine.”  

He smiled, “That’s good.”  

She looked down at her boots, swallowing hard before she spoke again, “Thank you. You know, for before.” she muttered. 

Hoosier’s smile increased, “Don’t mention it.” he replied admiring her shyness. 

Another moment of silence passed. 

“I’m Bill Smith. But my friends call me Hoosier.” he said extending his right hand. 

Kate coyly smiled at him then grab his hand to shake, “Mary Kate Danaher. Call me Kate.”  

Hoosier raised his eyebrows, “Irish?”  

“How did you know?” she asked mockingly. 

He chuckled, “Just a hunch, I guess.”  

They remained quiet for the rest of the journey to shore while explosions tore through the air, as hundreds of C47’s soared over them in flocks. The water was choppy and rough, causing a lot of the men seasickness and lose the meals they had just eaten. Kate wished she could help them, but they could only just push through until they all reached land. 

She began to hear indistinct shouting. 

“Standby!” The driver shouted. 

“Hoof it up to the beach! Spread out! GO! GO! GO!”  

The hatch of the boat drops and Marines hit the beach running forward each yelling profanities as they find themselves knee deep in water trudging to get through the sandbar. Many suddenly slow down to take in the scene before them.  

“What took you so long?” a random Marine called from the beach, leaning against a palm tree relaxing in front of what can only be described as a campfire. 

“Welcome to Guadalcanal.” another added sarcastically seeing the confused looks on the new arrival’s faces. 

Leckie, Chuckler, Hoosier, Sid, and Runner collectively laugh, amused by the laid-back atmosphere that they weren’t expecting to experience. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate sat close to where H Company settled on the beach. Blanche checked in with her before rejoining Sid on a makeshift bench made from beached driftwood. Kate decided to make use of this time by reorganizing her medical supplies. 

Kate was startled when she heard Chuckler repeatedly beating a coconut against a stone. She laughed to herself imagining him as a caveman. As he successfully breaks through the shell of the coconut, he becomes disgruntled to find there’s another solid layer.  

He shows Leckie, “Hey, now what do I do?” he asked. 

“I think the islanders us a machete or a rock.” Leckie responded with a smile. 

“Try using your head, Chuckler, it’s big and rocklike.” Runner added. 

Chuckler grabbed his machete.  

“If you do get that open, you might not want to drink too much of the juice right away.” Kate advised Chuckler. 

He looked over at her and smirked, “Oh yeah? Why's that?” he asked flirtatiously. 

“Coconut water has mild laxative effects if you consume too much at once.” she clarified. 

Chuckler tilted his head eyebrows drawn together confused. 

“You’ll get the shits if you drink too much of the stuff inside.” Leckie simplified. 

“Ah ok...” Chuckler comprehended while looking disappointedly at the fruit on his lap.

“But the coconut meat is very good for you, so you can eat that.” Kate expanded to cheer him up. 

Chuckler smiled at her, “When I get in this son of a bitch, I’ll bring you some.” he offered with a wink. 

She only smiled and return to packing her supplies. 

Leckie walked over to Kate, “Yeah, you kinda have to dumb it down for him. He’s a great guy. Great Marine, just not that bright when it comes to big words.” 

She looked at Leckie and snickered. 

“Bob Leckie.” he offered his right hand. 

“Kate Danaher.” she took his hand firmly. 

“Strong Irish name! Good to meet you. So, you’re assigned to H Company?”  

“I am. And I already have a good feeling about it.” she stated. 

“Yeah? How’s that?”  

“Well, you all came to my rescue when that bum had me dangling a foot from the ground. You guys didn’t even know me, and you stood up for me anyway. Speaks volumes about you guys.” she illustrated. 

“Oh, we knew you long before that happened.” Leckie confessed. 

Kate looked at him befuddled. 

“Yeah! You and your friend, um, Blanche, is it? Yeah, you two have had these guys’ heads spinning since you boarded that carrier to get here. Of course, we all had to asked around about you.” he explained with a dismissive shrug. 

Kate's eyes widened, “Weren’t there more important things to worry about?” she questioned. 

“Uh, like?” Leckie returned. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Battle plans perhaps? Maps of the beach and the rest of the areas we’re about to trek through?” she listed. 

“I don’t know about the rest of these guys, but I write more than I read. Would’ve brought my typewriter if I could.” 

“Leckie, you’re going to bore her to death.” Hoosier teased sitting on a fallen palm tree right next to Kate. 

She beamed at Bill. 

“Well, Bob Leckie, since I love to read, and you love to write, perhaps we can exchange some literature sometime. I’m always looking for new material to read.”  

Leckie looked at Hoosier with a cocky, triumphant smile. 

“Absolutely, Kate Danaher.” Leckie replied with a slight bow. 

She nodded and occupied herself with the project at hand. 

Leckie raised his eyebrows at Hoosier. 

Bill presented Leckie his middle finger then waved him away mouthing, “Get lost.”  

Leckie trotted off laughing to himself. 

“So, what do you like to read?” Hoosier started. 

“Mostly medical journals. Medicinal studies, anatomy and physiology, physician dissertations-” Kate glanced at Hoosier noticing his furrowed eyebrows, “-um, sorry, I’m what Blanche refers to as a ‘book bug.’”

She winced looking down at her medic satchel embarrassed. 

Hoosier chuckled as he scooted closer to her, “No need to be sorry. Only thing I read is the newspaper or Dick Tracy comics. Not exactly a disser-uh-dissrat-” 

“Dissertations.” Kate corrected him with a nervous giggle. 

He laughed, “Yeah, that.” He started to rub the back of his neck. 

Chuckler abruptly walked over to Kate handing her a half-gutted coconut filled with sliced coconut meat. 

“As promised, doll.”  

“Oh my, thanks Chuckler.” she praised as she accepted the coconut. 

“Anything for you. And call me Lew.” he implored with a proud grin. 

Hoosier rolled his eyes at Chuckler’s intrusion and sickening attempt to seduce her. The moment was short lived as the meek voice of Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Lewis chimed in. 

“Hey, for what it’s worth, Col Dobson said the Japs might’ve poisoned the coconuts.” he announced nervously. 

The group looked at him perplexed. 

“They poisoned…a billion coconuts?” Runner asked him. 

Lewis shrugged his shoulders, taking a second to think about how silly that sounded until he heard a man cry out in pain behind him. 

“Excuse me!” Lewis pardoned himself from the conversation to run towards the injured man. 

The group exchanged amused glances, enjoying a good laugh together. 

Lieutenant Corrigan appeared, stomping through the camp. 

“Intelligence has it the Japs moved back into the jungle. Clean the sand out of your weapons. We move in three minutes. Let’s go find some Japs.” he bellowed. 

Hoosier stood up and walked past Kate to where his gear was.

“See you around, Bill.” she called after him. 

Hoosier met Kate's gaze with a gleam of excitement behind his own. 

“You bet you will.” he called back. 

She smiled then redirect her attention to packing up. 

Blanche came skipping over. 

“See?? I told you!” 

“Ugh! Told me what, Blanche?”  

“You got yourself a beau!” she tittered poking Kate's ribs. 

“Unlikely. I was just gettin’ to know the guys we’ll be taking care of, that’s it.” 

“I saw how you looked at him. You can’t fool me.” 

“Can we focus on getting our gear and supplies together before the LT snaps his cap?” Kate warned. 

“Sure thing, Ace.” Blanche squeaked as she walked off. 

Kate shook her head, “She’s going to kill me.” she huffed to herself. 

~~~~~~~ 

[thermodynamic-comedian]

markiplier lore is queer: an essay by me.

dedicated to @system32-cleanmgr <2

so, to start things off, i wanna talk about the gender of it all. because of the gender ambiguity of the viewer insert in almost every markiplier lore video, the universe now has at least three canonical non-binary characters who go by they/them pronouns (wether these characters are all the same character, different characters, or kind of the same character is unknown).

but that's not where the gender fuckery of the better mcu ends. you see, there's also the (subtextual and mostly ignored, yes, but still relevant) overall gender fuckery of darkiplier's character. because, while they present male, they are still in some ways a combination of celine and damien, two people of opposite genders (not to mention the fact that they exist inside the body of the viewer from who killed markiplier, who's one of the formerly mentioned non-binary characters). so, while not explicit representation, i personally like to think of darkiplier as some flavor of genderfluid.

i also feel like damien and celine's specific gender expressions themselves affect darkiplier in some ways: while they're both (presumably) cis, the two still have very distinct ways of performing their respective gender identities. damien portrays a softer version of masculinity, whereas celine shows a slightly harsher femininity than what we're used to seeing in media. he's a bit clueless and sees things from an emotional, human perspective, and she's clearly used to being the rational, fast-paced one, always trying to find solutions. this dynamic might have something to do with them being siblings (and i'm assuming celine's the older of the two, purely because of all the talk of 'keeping damien safe'), and it's not inherently queer, but it is interesting to me that these characters have such specific ways of acting out their genders.

now, this one's not as important, but i would also like to mention the casual usage of they/them pronouns for other characters as well. in in space with markiplier: part 2, mark explicitly refers to the character of lady by they/them pronouns multiple times (this could also be either because they're an alien and mark doesn't know how they identify, or because their actor, lio tipton, is non-binary, but to me, that reads as somewhat solid confirmation that the character goes by they/them pronouns), and mark himself is referred to as "they" by the narrator at least once.

this isn't really a gender identity thing, but rather a gender expression thing, but i do also wanna talk about wilford warfstache and his gender non-conformativity. i do think he identifies as male, all things considered, but he doesn't seem the least bit interested in masculinity as a concept, favouring traditionally (i say traditionally, but i do mean societally, since pink used to be considered a boy color) feminine colors like pink and yellow, and being more than open to expressing his feelings and encouraging other characters to do the same.

now i'm gonna get into the sexualities. how are queer sexualities portrayed in markiplier lore?

well, that's a hard question to answer; no character has ever been (as far as i know) specifically stated to be of any sexual orientation. although there is a high possibility that wilford is pansexual, since he was clearly in love with celine, but it's implied he doesn't really care about the gender of whomever he happens to be romantically or sexually involved with at the time (i.e. him casually asking abe if they used to date, because that really is a possibility).

aside from wilford, because of the ambiguous gender of the viewer insert, a lot of characters end up being inadvertedly queer because of their attraction to them, most of them most likely falling on the m-spec.

there's also something to be said about abe the detective. is he gay or not? well, again, nothing's canon, but i think it's safe to assume he isn't straight. the "accidental" homoerotic innuendos he makes constantly seem less like a joke about being gay, and more like a joke about having repressed, sexual thoughts about someone, and having those thoughts emerge as those kinds of comments.

the "would anyone like to join me?" comment might just be will making fun of him, but i can't find it in myself to think actor mark is straight either. i guess it's just a headcanon, but let's be honest, he's every 'subtly' queer-coded old cartoon villain ever. he's rich, dramatic, petty, and vain, and frankly sometimes being evil and queer is just a fact of life.

but i'm not gonna go further into my headcanons on here, lest this post turn into a list instead of an essay, so i'll just wrap it up here. thanks for listening to my ramble.

[bigredsweetiepie]

Thoughts about a certain someone🦷pt.1

Unfortunately for Mr. Glenn Jacobs, I think about Isaac Yankem frequently. Like, he is definitely one of my hyper fixations. 😅

I consider myself a scholar of this character and I honestly enjoy the design of Yankem. Due to the way that 90s wrestling and specifically the WWF was doing in '95, its really no surprise that the character tanked in a year. It's sad that he wasn't around for long, but it just wasn't reasonable for him to stick around too much longer after the Jerry Lawler -Brett Hart rivalry. He was a fun addition during that time, and it was camp!

Poor Glenn himself has said it was camp (not in a good way- and I don't blame him). If I was trying to support my family with my passion, and I had to portray a dentist with horrible teeth in the mid 90s, I would be understandably upset as well. I can't help but feel that the WWF was "playing in his face" because why would they put such a horrible gimmick to such a talented BIG man?

However, since his career took off afterwards eventually with Kane, I don't feel like a complete and total jerk liking IY. ( I think it would be a different story if his career died after portraying Yankem, but thankfully Jacobs is hard-working, resilient, and passionate to the point where he gracefully managed the hand he was dealt and succeeded!)

Now, let's talk character design and what I like about him.

Bc I'm a young adult on a Kane-posting tumblr you could imagine that my tastes are not......standard issue. I like deranged characters! Kane is a great, vanilla (ish) version of that. I also can't help but like the crazed doctor trope, something about it is always chef's kiss.

So years ago when I first found Kane and professional wrestling, I was absolutely giddy when I discovered that the man who portrayed him also played a deranged dentist?! Please lord. It was like a two for one special (but I also enjoyed Doomsday, Unabom , and Diesel II so it was like a coupon book).

His entrance music leaves less to be desired, I do enjoy that Jim Johnston included calming elevator music with the drill, but ya know, it is what it is.

Speaking of his entrance, oh my god ? The Yankem grillz on the screen? I think about those frequently . I really can't imagine that in the year '95 that it was edited on, so I imagine that it was a real pair of grillz that WWF made for Jacobs. I can't find anything on them, but they crack me up every time I see them.

Also when IY walks out to the ring he'll say some phrases that are in character. There are two I can make out with my very poor lip reading skills and close listening.

It's time for an extraction.

(Care for your teeth ) you only get one set.

God that is perfect.

Continuing with the entrance themes, when he takes off his dentist smock? help?! He does it so aggressively.😅

I love his attire anyways, especially how he has those long boots under his baggy pants, which were special because most wrestlers had tights on, so the fact he had baggier pants that hid long ass boots underneath is a great surprise ( see when he was tied up by Bret Hart on the turnbuckle). I somehow always expect smaller shoes, but the boots keep going up.🤣I somehow always see them as patent leather dress shoes.

(I kinda want to make an entire post based on his attire bc I love it, so more on that later)

The way he moves in the ring is fantastic. I personally can't tell what Glenn was talking about when he said his matches were horrible. To a non-professional it looks fine. Maybe he was referring to this in a technical manner? I really have no idea. However, one thing I think he excelled whether on purpose or accident was how he moved in the ring. He moved stiff and rushed and rather chaotic, which I think fit a wrestling dentist (No offense Britt Baker!!). In theory if you were a crazed dentist, you wouldn't be graceful, fluid, or pleasing to look at while you were dissecting your patient opponent.

Anyways, I will probably make a part 2 bc that is a lot of dumping....

[blimbo-buddy]

I also have an idea to recontextualize leafpool’s arc. And I wanted it to involve her fragile transfemininity and lesbianism and how she’s so critical of herself and fears that she would never be a “true lesbian”.

because i take inspiration from powderseas’s interpretation of squilf and I really do like the interpretation but I like to see leaf as a polar opposite when it comes to her relationship with transgenderism.

while squilf is way, more confident and fluid with her gender expression. Not letting micro labels get in the way of who she is. leafpool fears that if she tries to be somewhat fluid with her gender expression she would be treated as a joke and a man. So she stick to gender stereotypes and roles. The difference between her and her brother is that squilf is confident and ultimately happy with himself and allows him to be whoever he wants to be. leafpool has been hurt, and in turn she regurgitated into gender roles and stereotypes.

because at that time she identified as a nonbinary lesbian but when the only person she trusted crowfeather calls her a “ugly delusional man who just wants to get with lesbian” she breaks. now she only identifies as a trans woman. he tries her best present, more feminine, she loses weight. Tries to do voice training. Even try to trim some excessive fur on her face, now she’s stuck in a dilemma of trying to be her self and trying to fit a object that people might like.

leaf dysphoria in a nutshell 

This is such an interesting portrayal, Marina. You don't often see people portray gender dysphoria that much to such extreme degrees. I like the reference to powdersea's portrayal of SquirrelFlight's relationship with being trans and how it contrasts with LeafPool's relationship with it.

Gender dysphoria is very much a real thing, not every single trans person will go through it, but it still exists. It's important, at least I believe it's important, to get out there that gender dysphoria can be nasty, it can be soul crushing and awful, but by portraying it, it sort of lets those who have/are going through it some sort of comfort, that they are not alone.

The topic of transgender characters and their experiences/relationships with it can be anything, it can be however one would like to write it as long as it's handled properly. Sometimes you get those who support you, sometimes you feel comfortable with yourself, but sometimes there are people who don't feel that way. Like with LeafPool, you mentioned that CrowFeather makes transphobic remarks about her and even before that, LeafPool struggles immensely with her lack of self confidence towards wanting to transition, things like this happens in the real world, it exists! I really like what you've done with LeafPool, Marina, it's very interesting, thought provoking, and also brings light to those who might be in a similar situation like your version of LeafPool is in. Perhaps even finding comfort in it, even if she isn't real, it still feels all the better knowing that people know that your struggles are known and shared, To feel like you need to force yourself to abide by some fake fucking "do's and don'ts of being trans" rules that people just made up. It's important to talk about it, to portray it with care, not every trans experience will be the same, some will have a good time with it while others will have a horrible time with it, all that matters is that you're here and you're doing great

[sonic-love-island-official]

Knuckles (Bio/Character design ramble)

Here he comes, rougher than the rest of them: Knuckles !!

More info under the cut, as per x

Knuckles is a 26 year old from Angel Island. Guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles lives relatively isolated from the mainland, rarely leaving the island for anything. He joins the show as a challenge for himself to branch out, live a little and find a potential long-term partner.

To put it simply, Knuckles arrives with a lot to navigate. He's never experienced such a complicated social situation in his life before and he's tasked with learning how to act around the other Islanders, which leads him to be very unfaithful to himself and his personality. Even though he's working out social dilemmas and how to present himself, Knuckles is still a very genuine guy and does nothing if he doesn't mean it. Both laid-back and short-tempered, he finds himself in a bit of trouble on more than one occasion, providing lessons for him going forward.

Trying different faces on, testing the waters and making mistakes, Knuckles needs to learn the value of being his true self and nothing else.

External design choices !! (visual appearance - incl. formation of base sim, references taken, makeup choices, fashion style... etc.)

I only wish I could remember any of the steps I made to create Knuckles' sim. But... By the looks of it, I think I might be able to guess where my head was at with some of the decisions around his design ?? Again, he doesn't look near to what I imagine him to look like, but at the end of the day, as long as they resemble enough of the character we're trying to portray, that's enough for me.

Firstly, I know for sure his SA2 model was used for inspiration and that was a deliberate, memorable choice. Because look at him !! SA2 Knuckles was so distinct to me, not only in how he acted but his features in this game are peak (also why tf is this his only portrayal where he has more melanin ?? huh ??). Needless to say, SA2 Knuckles is a personal favourite of mine in every way, shape and form, and that's basically why I picked that model to base Sim Knuckles off.

Hence why he has a warmer, darker skin tone than what's seen in other Knuckles models. I did my best to match it up as close as possible, and while not exact, it's pretty darn close that I'm no longer so fussy about it.

Knuckles striking red colour went straight to his hair, as per the majority of the sim versions. But, unlike the rest, Knuckles red hair is (allegedly /j) natural. The SLI world has a trend of people dying their hair all kinds of funky colours, but Knuckles isn't one of them, so his hair, brows and body hair are all this shade of red that he inherited from his ancestors (this, among a few other features pull relevance in-plot later). Regrettably, we didn't have anything close to his dreadlocks in-game (one of my FAVOURITE parts of Knuckles' design), so we had to settle for this shoulder-length, half-up-half-down hairstyle. Of course, we try to make up for it by drawing him with them wherever possible, because his dreads are NOT going to be lost on us no matter how limited we are in this game. Another hair related detail that became more of a recent development, is Knuckles having facial hair (not present on his sim, because naturally the game does not have anything close) — you know, just a bit of chin fluff. No reason, just vibes :)

Knuckles doesn't have the same round eyes as what Sonic or Amy have, but isn't so harshly angled like Shadow's, so it was about finding that happy medium with Knux. And you know what ? His eyes are purple, pretty and I can't complain, he's such a cutie <3

I can't say much about his facial structure. I'm going to assume I had a vision, but I don't remember what in the world it was.

Naturally, Knuckles being Knuckles, is definitely more buff than the likes of Sonic or Tails. Bro works out — he's dedicated to that stuff — so that just had to be translated over to his sim. Ain't no more to say about that :)

Another thing absent from his sim version (limitations again, grr) is the idea that Knuckles has cultural tattoos, most prominently the crescent moon on his chest. In some screenshots (not seen here), Knuckles has a tattoo representative of M.E. as well.

As for his fashion style ? Hoo boy. Despite making the occasional, heinous fashion crime, Knuckles is actually pretty styling ! Knuckles suits all sorts of things and his style has a uniqueness none of the other Islanders have. More often than not though, Knuckles is seen in colourful/patterned tees, sweater singlets, cargo pants, baggy jeans and sneakers, along with a chain necklace (and maybe a bracelet and/or ring). Knuckles claims he isn't fashionable, but I beg to differ. He's probably one of the best dressed boys in the villa by far.

Internal design choices !! (personality, characteristics, psychology)

Here's where things get messy. Stated before in previous posts, characterisation isn't strict. All the characters are a blend of a multitude of portrayals across Sonic media and Knuckles is no different. But where each character is a cohesive blend, Knuckles very evidently has two, polar opposite ways of expressing himself, which I've haphazardly labelled:

'Funny-funny, I'm trying to fit in, please like me' Knuckles (that my sister primarily writes for)

And,

'Serious' Knuckles (that I tend to write for)

Like I've said in countless posts before, and in this one, Knuckles is trying to figure out who to be around people. The sillier side of Knuckles is heavily derived from his Sonic Boom characterisation, but is used in a self-aware sense. A lot of fans don't like this caricature version of Knuckles (me included, but I kind of regard Boom! Knuckles as a separate entity at this point and I personally enjoy his character better that way. Also, Boom is really its own continuity anyway, and I enjoyed the show as it was intended. It's another each to their own, I guess), but we've utilised this version of him with intention. AU Knuckles uses this comedic, faux stupidity to make himself interesting to others. This side of him carves a presence in the Villa, and he finds more people are willing to engage with someone entertaining. So the persona sticks.

'Serious' Knuckles is the more true (?) Knuckles. He's the game canon Knuckles, beloved for his steely disposition and golden heart. This is the Knuckles that is both a hothead and cool as a cucumber. He's the one loyal to his duties, to his friends. The one that cares for people, animals, land. He's the guy that could pack a punch if he wanted. Knuckles knows far more than he wants to let on. He's very in tune with people's energy and emotions and a lot of this knowledge makes him quite intelligent, though no one seems to notice.

Despite both these parts of him, Knuckles plays true to his feelings, whatever they may be, and whichever tracks it leads him down. He's not a fake guy at all !! He's just convinced himself what he's doing is the best course of action, even when it may not be.

Overall, Knuckles is a fun character to play around with ! He seems fairly shallow on the surface, but then, digging deeper, there's far more intricacies to his character. Knuckles provides a lot of things to work with in terms of his personality, background, knowledge and actions. I love how his character also explores different things to the other Islanders, due to those aspects.

Fun facts / trivia :

Knuckles loves to sing ! There's many moments throughout the series where he has sung songs alone or with other contestants. Knuckles is trying to make this series a musical (but I won't let him ! /j)

He likes to express his culture and does so wherever and whenever he can. It's very important to him <3

[isfjmel-phleg]

Todd Dezago, who wrote #50-89 of Impulse and Young Justice: The Secret #1 (and co-created such characters as Inertia and Secret), apparently had hoped to write the ongoing Young Justice series and had the first year and half of plots outlined--considered it some of his best work.

The existing YJ series as written by Peter David is pretty fantastic. But I would love to know what exact direction Dezago wanted to take it--especially in how he would have handled Secret. His original background for her conflicts a bit with what David did (deemphasized the imprisonment by the DEO), and every time Dezago gets to guest-write her during YJ (Impulse #56 and the story in Young Justice 1998 #22 in which Bart ropes Secret into his schemes to get Kon back his powers), you can tell he's trying to reassert his vision for her a little bit.

There have been some hints in interviews of what he had in mind.

When asked in 1998 what he thought of the newly begun YJ series, Dezago indicated that he was disappointed not to have gotten to write it and that the existing version is not like what he had in mind:

Because I worked in development on Young Justice for about a year before it finally came out, and because of the difficulties which eventually led to my leaving the project, it is still a very emotional subject for me. It's hard for me to pick the book up, and so I haven't really looked at it; therefore, no opinion. I will be following it now, of course, as reference regarding what Impulse is doing in that title, and how he is being portrayed. I am told that the current storylines are very different to what I had planned for the first 16 issues of the book.

Dezago apparently was setting some things up in World Without Grown-Ups, the first Young Justice story:

When I left Young Justice, I regretted leaving those things unresolved; there were quite a few elements planted in both that and The Secret that were intended to come back to haunt our heroes. What was going to happen to Bedlam? To Red Tornado? How would the Secret (and any other candidates) eventually be brought into the team? How come the JLA Watchtower didn't remain on the KidWorld moon? What would chairs look like if our knees bent the other way?

There were plans to develop characters' friendships. Which did of course get prioritized in David's series. But I'm curious about Dezago's intended take, especially the notion of the boys having to learn to see from each other's perspective and there being an emphasis on learning to trust each other.

I had originally planned to have some real bonding going on in Young Justice--putting the Boys into situations that would bring them closer together emotionally, stories that would let them see the world through each other's eyes (and, yes, at the speed he's always going, this would be tough for Bart...but he'd get a glimpse...). I wanted to show them growing together and learning to trust one another, so that they would have close, yet different, relationships with one another. That said, I think that he has a great friendship (that I hope to explore around issue 56 or 7...) with Arrowette!!

If he were to write a series about Secret?

I don't want to tell you the whole story, but it would be about her looking for her past...and finding a lot of stuff she didn't want to...! Truth to tell, it's already written...I had it in mind when Todd Nauck and I created her...

He also had plans for more Impulse stories that never got to happen:

Oh, Bart… I loved Bart from the moment he popped out of the future! He was everything we are as kids: reckless, impetuous, fearless… He was young and innocent (and ignorant), and gullible. He was a “Joey” (from Friends). He would write his own dialog. I would just put him into a story or situation and let him go — and he’d just do what he did! I loved writing his adventures and his fun and am sad we didn’t get to go on. Our last year was a mess due to all the crossovers and events (7 out of 12!!), but I had some more fun planned for that kid…

I would like to think that this would have included the return and eventual redemption of arc of Thad, which was set up and which readers who wrote to the editor seemed to want quite a lot. But we have no way of knowing for sure.

I couldn't find any more recent interviews with Dezago and I wish I could conduct one! It would be fascinating to get further background on stories that never got to happen, or what the creative process was for Thad and Secret, and where the idea for the Mercury Falling arc came from and why it stands out so much, etc. etc.

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Epic 2013 - NAMES

In this post, I would like to talk about the meaning of the names of the characters from the movie Epic.

Either people think long and hard about how they are going to name their children (or anything for that matter), while others just pick a name that they like without looking any further.

Names are especially important in stories like books and movies.

While in the real world you can have 6 girls named Olivia in the classroom (something that really happened to me), writers can give every character in their story a different name to avoid confusion.

It can be as simple as ''This character is from Japan. Let's give him a Japanese name.'' or ''My movie takes place in the 80s in the US let's give characters names that were popular at the time.''

Sometimes names can give you an insight into what is character's personality, talent, etc. Some are more subtle than others. (Dr Evil or Dr Doom)

Let me start by saying this, names in Epic are all over the place. Let's get the simple ones out of the way.

Susan comes from Persian and it means lily flower. In modern Hebrew this also means rose and a flower in general. It's a standard name for the setting and the time period, modern times (the 2010s) somewhere in North America.

Professor Radcliffe Bomba, his title is supposed to explain how he knows all this ‘’scientific’’ stuff. Bomba means bomb in most Slavic languages. It's supposed to showcase how wacky, clumsy and does things that are detrimental to his own safety. Radcliffe derives from the place-name Radcliffe meaning “red cliff.” I didn't even know he had a name but fandom has spoken and it won't kill me to include it.

Mary Katherine is named after the daughter of the author of the book the movie is based on. Mary means Star of the sea/Drop of the sea ; Bitterness; Beloved. Meanwhile, Katherine means pure. Mary Catherine is a name that signifies a freedom-loving and free-spirited individual.  

Bufo is just an American bull frog. Bufo is a genus of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. Bull + Frog = Bufo

Grub and Mub. I put them together because they're a comical duo and that's why their names rhyme. Common thing. Grub is the larva of an insect. To grub is to dig or poke about in the soil. I couldn't find what Mub means, just a bunch of acronyms to stuff. Their names are supposed to sound funny and disgusting.

Nim Galuu is weird. Nim is a game in which two players alternately take one or more objects from one of a number of heaps, each trying to take, or to compel the other to take, the last remaining object. Galuu means to enter and the main characters go into a tree to meet him and even deeper into the tree to see the scrolls. Also, Nim reminds me of The Secret of NIMH. It's probably just a coincidence.

Then there's a bunch of other characters that are just names of the species/plant they're based on. Dandelion, Pinecone, Stickman, Marigold Girl, etc.

Now we get to the interesting names!

Nod, in Biblical Names the meaning of the name Nod is: Vagabond, fugitive'. At first, I thought his name, Nod, is referring to the action of nodding, agreeing with someone. Because he's a rebel, his not doing what he's told, so he's not nodding. Irony! Him being a vagabond or fugitive shows in his concept art a lot more. In the movie, he deserts the army for like 5 minutes. I'm going to go into detail about it in another post.

Ronin, is  a wandering samurai who had no lord or master. This goes with the samurai-inspired design of the Leafman. Tara is the master that he lost. Again, not executed to its fullest potential. Also, there's a huge difference between a ronin and a samurai. Many times when movies portray samurais or cowboys they're more like ronins.

Tara, in South Asia, such as India and Nepal, Tara is a word originating from Sanskrit, meaning star, and it symbolizes the light of the soul. Tara is the soul of the forest.  

Mandrake, a Mediterranean plant of the nightshade family, with a forked fleshy root that supposedly resembles the human form and which was formerly used in herbal medicine and magic. It was alleged to shriek when pulled from the ground. Mandrake lets out a loud shriek to alarm his army.

Dagda, (Celtic: “Good God”) also called Eochaid Ollathair (“Eochaid the All-Father”), or In Ruad Ro-fhessa (“Red [or Mighty] One of Great Wisdom”), in Celtic religion, one of the leaders of a mythological Irish people, the Tuatha Dé Danann (“People of the Goddess Danu”). Highly skilled and wise beyond measure, he was not only the god of life and death, but of seasons, agriculture, fertility, magic, and druidry as well. There is so much lore behind this guy's name. He had so much potential! I'm going to rant about it in another post.

I think the naming system really shows the problems with this movie. It's all over the place and there's just too much.

Inspiration from the Bible, Slavic countries, Japan, India, Scotland, Ireland, and many more.

There are so many things that nothing gets enough focus. We got:

Romance

Tara and Ronin

MK and Nod

Mub has a crush on MK

Parent-child relationship

Ronin and Nod's father-son relationship

Mandrake and Dagda's father-son relationship

MK and her father's relationship

Deaths

Nod grieving over his dad

Mandrake grieving over his son

Ronin grieving Tara 

Ronin grieving Nod's father, his friend

MK grieving over her mother  

Magic

Plant manipulation

Shrinking and biggering people

The Rot

Anything involving this stupid bud

Resurrection?

Dark Prince?

Scrolls in the oldest tree 

Other stuff

Nod not following orders and not being part of the team

Bird racing  

Gambling? Some criminal stuff

Random song number

Shenanigans with the dog

MK's parents being divorced

MK running away from home

Believing in what you can't see

WAR!

Queen dying and finding her successor

Pointless fight with a mouse

Grub wants to become a Leafman 

The people behind this project wanted to make this movie awesome, deep and mature but they wanted too much too fast.

Nothing gets properly set up. The creators had all those cool backstories for the characters but we don't get to see them. The movie throws us into the middle of the action. It feels like we missed a previous movie. This movie should've been a trilogy and it shows.