#also i feel like he could be really vulnerable to the type of antagonists that will play the long game

[major-wren]

If Shadow was a lab-experiment then I think that means it's very likely that they used a reward system on him like any other labrat and that as a result, he's probably extremely easy to Pavlov

How funny would it be for Shadow, who's so stubborn and uncooperative, to suddenly be easily influenced into doing things if you happen to figure out what he perceives as a reward

He starts showing up at social events and everyone thinks he's finally comin around but actually it's just cause Rouge will only give him his favorite food if he attends and plays nice

[mamamittens]

In lue of my laptop battery deciding to try and kill itself, here's a fun headcanon for OP

OP characters as vampires

Marco

He's pretty old for a vampire and kind of relaxed. Settled is a good way to describe him. He's got his preferences for the time he spends and plenty of time to spend.

He likes seeing how fields of study changes over time from the superstition he used to deal with to complex studies he voraciously follows. He personally funds several promising researchers just to see where they go.

When it comes to his... Food, he likes to wine and dine a little. He's fine drinking from a bag but it's more satisfying feeling a connection to his donor. He likely has lived with a few humans he drank from in return for taking care of them as well. Likes intelligent, energetic, and fiery people. Makes him feel young.

Odd idea but I feel like he'd be more vulnerable to classic vampire weaknesses like being unable to leave his coffin if there's a rose on it and crossing running water. Not really the sun but it does itch. He's not quite 'demonic' enough for silver and holy symbols to bother him. Does need an invite to enter a home.

Ace

He's so edgy when he isn't living it up in the night. Feels like he deserves damnation like an insufferable mix of Edward Cullens "I'm a soulless damned" and The Lost Boys daredevil tendencies. He's restless and strongly wants a 'cure'. Startlingly young for a vampire.

He refuses to drink from people unless he absolutely has to, and when he does it's from scum of the earth criminals. After he beats the shit out of them. They usually don't make it cause he's starving at that point.

Oddly very vulnerable to the more demonic type weaknesses. So crosses, silver, and sunlight stop him in his tracks. Running water and garlic do jack shit though besides annoy him. He can turn into fog and a bat though, which he thinks is neat and appropriately spooky. Cannot enter a home without an invite and even has a hard time touching others without it as well. Fighting is an invite on its own, so the invite doesn't need to be explicit.

Thatch

Life of the party, really living it up and enjoys hosting dinners. Usually for his human friends, of which he has many. His greatest pride is his ability to somehow enjoy food despite it not saying his appetite in the least unless it has blood in it. His recipe books would be prized collectors items for any librarian but only Marco is allowed to store them when not used. Some can't be made anymore cause their ingredients are gone or unethical to procure anymore. Old but certainly doesn't act like it.

He likes it when his dinner guests offer blood in exchange for meals. A meal for a meal as it were. Usually after the main course and dessert as the pick me up to recover from the blood donation. He likes to think he can taste the 'true meal' from the blood after his cooking. Likes to cycle through donors and doesn't care for bagged blood outside of emergencies. He wouldn't mind favoring a specific donor though, usually only when he's really attached to their company.

His weaknesses thankfully don't include garlic. He can't see his reflection though and crossing running water is a no go. Silver also hurts but it's closer to an allergy. I like to think he could hypnotize with his gaze but doesn't cause it's rude. Needs an invitation to enter a home.

Zoro

Doesn't quite register he's a child of the night most of the time. Well traveled but doesn't realize it cause he's always lost somewhere. Has zero idea how old he is cause he naps so damn much in dark places.

He likes the blood of his enemies. No, really. Finds the antagonistic relationship adds zest. He will also drink from friends if offered but it's not the same as licking the blood from his blades. Drinks bagged blood if he finds it but always makes such a mess with them.

His weakness includes silver, his reflection, and garlic. Holy symbols make him pause but he can ignore it. Sunlight doesn't bother him but it does hurt his eyes. His gaze can paralyze though, which is why he keeps one closed. Makes sure he doesn't cheat in a fight on accident.

Law

Somewhat young vampire and very into the details about it. Runs a lot of experiments with himself and doesn't keep track of his own age except in his journals. Mostly for posterity. He's not super angsty about it but does have the "I'm cursed to walk the earth" vibes about him.

He prefers bagged blood. Less complaints if he drinks too fast because he ignored his needs for too long. Also not likely to be diseased and he hasn't researched his immunity enough to risk it. If offered he'd likely refuse unless he absolutely has to.

He has a strong aversion to holy symbols but is fine with silver and running water for some reason. Garlic just burns his nose but that's about it. As for sunlight he does burn in it but more like severe sunburn than bursting into flames. Not like he got much sun in the lab to start with. Has a hard time entering a home without consent.

Luffy

Very young vampire and seemingly doesn't care at all. Sees it as an opportunity for even more adventure than before. Doesn't seem to struggle with angst about it either. He can turn into a bat and fog but never remembers to do so. He also has a magnetic aura he isn't aware of.

Predictably quite glutenous with his blood. While it doesn't look like it, he does have standards for his donors. Bagged blood is just a necessity because of how much he needs. Likes adventurous folks for his blood and taking them in adventures to bond with them before drinking. Finds the adrenaline in their system makes it taste more heady. Can eat regular food and does but it won't help with his appetite for blood.

His weaknesses is mostly running water and silver, but he can see his reflection.

Sanji

Somewhat young vampire with old blood. Hates this and seems to live more like a new vampire with high standards. Has moments of self hate but generally seems to enjoy charming women with his vampiric charm. Can turn into fog but has a hard time holding it.

He prefers intimate dining experiences with his donors with explicit consent after wonderful dinners he makes himself. He can eat normal food and even subsists on it somewhat. But obviously he prefers women for blood though he absolutely has drank from men--its a shameful secret and he was very desperate for food at the time.

His weakness is silver, his reflection, and also can't move when a rose is placed on his casket. Cannot enter a home without consent and also can't drink from someone without consent either.

Whitebeard

A very old vampire than adores watching how the world changes. Enjoys gathering fledging vampires and sheltering them. Teaching them. Has a very strong vampiric magnetism and can transform but he hasn't in a very long time.

He enjoys drinking from drinking partners, the alcohol spiked blood tangy. Still somehow bad for his though. Pouts when he is given clean blood bags, complains that it isn't a proper meal if he didn't do at least a little hunting for it. Drinks frequently but in small quantities.

He has a weakness for silver, holy symbols (but like, really old ones), running water, and can't enter a home unless he's invited. Also can't get out of his casket when a rose is placed on it and whines when it's used to ground him for health reasons.

[xycuro-illuminati]

Bitter exes stuntdevil lore masterpost

Ok so here's the full lore of the bitter exes stuntdevil (Daredevil/Stunt Master divorce) story with how it went down and everything lol (images have alt text)

Big reminder that this would be my version of DD so keep in mind that Matt is Latino here and that I will be taking certain elements from shadowlands here (I'm sorry fellow dd mutuals I just like the whole demon possession aspect by itself. I don't like shadowlands and I think it sucks I just wished they made him into an actual beast demon yknow).

To give a summary of how it goes: The Hand is not involved with the Beast demon at all, they're not going to show up whatsoever. In this version, the beast demon is just a parasitic demon that was hiding in a flower that a group of cultists summoned and when Danny Rand and Matt went to investigate, Matt got too close and was exposed to the pollen, therefore, got infected. The beast demon would shut off his nervous system over time and made Matt unaware of things before completely taking over and transforming him into a monstrous demon that acts like a zombie. Matt would be in a comatose state while the Beast demon was using his body and did whatever it wanted and fed off negative energy. Shadowlands isn't a big marvel event, it just lasted for a short time with only the Heroes for Hire involved and after the exorcism (here's the art showcasing that), Matt was left in a distraught state where he wanted to rebuild himself and clear his head since all he could remember was strangling Foggy (comic here). It made him feel not only horrible and guilty, but he also felt like a burden bc Foggy was juggling between running the law firm and visiting Matt to help him recover. During this, Matt wanted to go back to San Francisco to try to regain his footing again and Foggy decided to let him do so thinking it might help him. It would be this version of the Daredevil Reborn arc (or at least, takes place after it).

And that's where Stunt Master comes in.

For those that don't know who Stunt Master is, George Smith was one of the early villains in Matt's rogues gallery dating all the way back to volume 1. He's a classic vol 1 type villain that wants nothing but fame and fortune, along with getting in Matt's way. His dynamic with Matt during that time was standard antagonist interaction but they also held a playful banter along with some really strong trust bonds and some homoerotic dialogue as per usual.

However, during the Death's Head arc, George has a change of heart after being forced to kidnap Karen Page and wanted to be good. He lead Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) and Matt to Death's Head and the three of them stopped him. After this interaction, George was no longer considered a villain and even becomes friends with Johnny during the older runs (which he originally met up with Ghost Rider bc he wanted to make up to Matt for his kindness).

George doesn't show up that much again but going back to where Matt is going through it post demonic possession: the two of them meet up. Matt tells him his identity as Daredevil and what happened during their catching up, and George tries to help him out by going on stunt rides to help get Matt's mind off of things. Since Matt had felt like a burden before, for George to treat him as if nothing changed, it made Matt feel better in some weird way. That was how Matt fell madly in love with George. All those wild stunts and running around as vigilantes, plus Matt being in a vulnerable mental state, it all added up for Matt to quickly attach himself to George and would do anything for him.

Matt and George began dating and Matt adopted some of George's cowboy aesthetics into his costume.

At first, they were doing a few good things here and there trying to do the right thing. But George has always wanted fame and fortune, so that fame got to his head and he started to fall back to his old criminal ways. Unfortunately, because Matt was so down bad and lovesick, he went along with it without acknowledging the repercussions. Matt returned to NYC to reunite with Foggy, but after Foggy learned about what George was doing, he wasn't a fan of this relationship (literally the smartest mf here and yes, Foggy was PISSED OFF rightfully so). Matt was getting worse and worse over the few months, and he eventually ditched the law firm and left Foggy to deal with work by himself while he and George went on a road trip to Las Vegas where they eventually got married there. Matt fully adopted the cowboy aesthetic and had a criminal cowboy daredevil suit made for him as both a wedding suit and a vigilante costume.

The two idiots kept causing a shit ton of crime including vandalism and theft, specifically robbing trains. Some of those crimes eventually caught Johnny Blaze's attention, making him surprised that his good ol' friend George was going back to being a criminal again. When Johnny confronted them, George rambled about wanting fame again and that any attention is good attention no matter what. Matt had even convinced George that Johnny's disapproval shouldn't mean anything to him, to which made Johnny believe that Matt was enabling him (here's the full comic that I drew here).

(It's also a little secret addition to this little exchange where Johnny expresses how he feels about Daredevil when asked:

Doesn't wanna say anything about the whole cowboy phase so he says this instead lol. But that's just me).

The three of them started beef with each other so whenever Ghost Rider was involved, it was a whole shit show.

(Full post of this image here)

Matt and Johnny fought the most while George would either watch from afar and root for Matt or continue with whatever scheme they were up to. Along with all of this happening, post marriage was starting to make Matt slowly wake up from his lovesick phase and he was realizing that George was not a good partner after all. The two would get into petty arguments while also doing some headass shit to spite the other. George was insensitive to Matt's feelings while Matt would constantly ignore George whenever he tried talking to him. Not only that, George was so bad at sex that Matt completely lost his sex drive. These two were not a good couple and over the year, Matt was slowly figuring that out.

George has done shit from putting the motorcycle in the bed, only caring about The Mets and watching their games during sex, played the worst disco songs Matt has ever heard, and he was overall just a shitty partner. The two of them eventually fell out of love and barely tolerated each other, whether it was during domestic moments or during their crime schemes.

At one point during a fight, Ghost Rider ruined the veil on Matt's suit along with using a heated chain on him and burned a section of Matt's left bicep. After that fight, Matt realized that fighting Ghost Rider for George wasn't worth any risk and refused to fight Johnny no matter what George says. George went after Ghost Rider by himself only to get absolutely smoked while his costume got tarnished in the process.

Matt later on went back to NYC to visit Foggy, and by visit, he basically showed up at Foggy's doorstep in the middle of the night during a rainstorm while still wearing the cowboy outfit.

Foggy was reluctant at first, but Matt admits being a stupid fucking idiot and apologizes for leaving Foggy to run the law firm by himself. After being let in, Matt begs Foggy to help him divorce George, and Foggy agrees to help him out just this once. Matt goes back to George to talk to him and after another argument, they both agree on getting a divorce since at this point they can't stand being around each other anymore.

After the divorce, Matt was finally improving on himself and then the events of vol 3 and 4 starts. During Matt's whole identity-being-revealed, whenever someone asks him about the whole cowboy Daredevil fiasco back in San Francisco, Matt made up the excuse that the cowboy Daredevil wasn't him but instead some random guy. A faker. An imposter, if you will.

George comes back during vol 4 in issues 11-12 where he decides to take the opportunity for more fame and fortune by orchestrating the entire Kid Stunt Master arc where he faked his own suicide and took drugs to make sure Matt couldn't tell he was lying. He also did this to spite Matt as well so there's that to add onto.

Since it's been a few years after interacting with each other and George (pretending to be) being desperate for his help, Matt decided to give him a chance and had truly believed that George had changed over the years. And Matt was genuinely sadden over his (fake) suicide.

Matt started reminiscing the good ol' days when they were friends and even the beginning days of their developing relationship. Of course, after finding out the truth of George orchestrating the entire thing, Matt quickly snuffed out those reminiscing feelings and went straight back to completely hating on George.

After that ordeal, he wants his ex husband to get hit by a truck. He wants nothing to do with George Smith whatsoever.

After Kirsten learned about the entire divorce, her, Matt, and Foggy decide to celebrate the divorce date as a fun little anniversary. A few years later, Johnny and Matt finally sit down and have a conversation about the whole criminal cowboy phase and after learning both perspectives, there was an understanding (comic I drew here). But despite learning the truth, Matt and Johnny still have some grievances between each other, they just learn to keep a distance and be respectful when necessary.

Which is why there's a hate triangle guide I made for the three in the first place lmao.

There you go, that's the entire lore for this crack hateship of mine. If I were an official Marvel writer, I would definitely use this to reveal Matt's bisexuality being canon. It would be the worst way to reveal a bi character but it would be so funny and so worth it.

Here's a playlist of it. If you have any cheesy, funny, or over the top dramatic bad break up songs lmk I'll add it to the list.

[whumpinggrounds]

Hi, I just came across your post about representing disability respectfully and this is actually something that I have been worrying about not doing, I'm interested to hear your view.

Recently I came up with an idea, to indulge a bad end of one of my video game fandoms. I am exploring how the antagonist was affected by trauma while also let himself corrupt with vengeance. I really want to avoid implying this character becomes a villain because he is psychotic, or that trauma makes you violent, or that his sadism somehow is a required package deal with all of this. So far it all just blurs together though. I think those traits suit and explain his character, and admittedly the story is unapologetically self-indulgent as well and not meant as a moral guide.

To summarize, he was trapped for decades by 2 brothers that plagued his home, then he is trapped again by someone who pretended they were going to free him. This all results in him becoming distrustful, paranoid, impulsive, and anguished from grief and isolation. He suffers from nightmares and frequently loses touch with reality, going through late onset schizophrenia. He does not receive proper care, even when he is eventually rescued and able to return home. Rather quickly, integrating back into society becomes a massive obstacle. His quaint people do not know how to deal with his violent outbursts and psychotic episodes, they think he is dangerous and unwell, and decide to banish him. Being rejected from the place he'd longed to be back at for so long completely shatters him and he is overtaken by nothing but hatred and brutality. His sadism does become amplified from feeling powerless and mistreated.

He reunites with his rescuer, a sapient hybrid creature, who becomes his property, corrupted companion in crime, lover, in some scattered order. It can read him quite well, understand how his brain works, adapt and endure. It gently recognizes the many ways in which he is broken and divergent. But nonetheless I'd really like to explore his heinous, abusive, bloodthirsty desires and actions in full glory. I do plan on them eventually bonding enough where they can be vulnerable with each other, and find ways to heal and engage in the darker desires consensually.

For added context I am neurodivergent myself so innately lean to writing that type of character, and I also gravitate towards extremely dark fantasies pretty much exclusively.

Hi! Sorry for the late response -

This does sound like a story with dark themes, and it's perfectly okay to write a story with dark themes about a disabled character. You seem aware of some of the bad directions this could take - the message that trauma and mental illness make a person evil/violent/dangerous is a pretty unfortunate implication.

The truth is that everyone experiences mental illness and neurodivergence differently. Everyone responds to trauma differently. Some of these ways can be maladaptive, and it's okay to write about that! The main things to be careful of are absolutes - all people with x symptoms would react this way - and causality - he experienced y, so of course he's going to respond this way. I think it's important to emphasize your character's individuality here, and to talk about how who he is interacts with his environment to create his behavior.

This is pretty basic advice, so feel free to check in if you have more to talk about. Happy writing!

[miss-andromeda]

1, 2, 6, and 8 for All's Fair 🥰

Favorite scene or line?

I'll answer both!

Scene: Definitely the end of 'Gravity of It All,' where Andi and April are talking to the boys about saving Kirby on the fire escape. I think I aced the feeling I was going for, and I loved Andi taking April's hand and comforting her. I think I really aced her loyalty and her protectiveness over her best friend. 🩷

Line: Hmmm...I'm gonna cheat and say a few lines, from 'It's Nice To Have A Friend':

"Gah, if only she could love someone like me!" He exclaimed, then sighed to himself as he calmed down. "She'd make me the happiest turtle this side of the Atlantic...and I'd do everything to make her the happiest girl, no questions asked..." Out of instinct, he picked up the controller again, his gaze averting to it. "But, to be fair, Donatello, your feelings for her aren't gonna change the fact that she's always gonna be a friend to you. You know darn well that at the end of the day, even if she never loves you back, she's still gonna be your lab partner and especially your friend."

I really love this part, and this chapter, in particular. This is what separates canon Don from my Don; the latter, I feel like, is more emotionally mature and is more accepting of heartache - and clearly wants Andi regardless of the type of relationship - lovers, best friends, whatever. Canon Don can be a little too creepy with his feelings towards April (granted, the writers never really gave him a chance to experience heartbreak with April turning him down,) while I feel like my Don is more aware of the possibility that Andi wouldn't reciprocate his feelings, but as he said, he still sees her as a friend no matter what.

2. Did you have any ideas that didn't make the final cut?

I did! So without going into spoiler territory, let me explain:

Season 2's finale is gonna be a consecutive set of gut punches, we obviously know that. But along with Leo getting beaten half to death, Andi's also gonna have a fight with a recurring antagonist - who is gonna stab her and leave her to bleed out. This is still confirmed, but who finds her is different.

Originally, it was Donnie that was gonna find her. He was going to let his anxiety about her leaving April's apartment get the better of him and go searching for her, where he would find her bleeding out and seeing little snowflakes get on her body. He would frantically try and patch her up, before starting to sob and hit his fist against the rooftop asphalt in pain, all while freaking out who could've done this.

But I scrapped it for a different route - one that not only expands upon two other characters, but also makes Donnie patching her up have more sense to it, as he'll do it at April's apartment, where a first aid kit is readily available.

So in the final cut, Raph and Casey are the ones who find her right before they get to April's apartment. Raph is shocked and absolutely livid, immediately going to tie off Andi's wound to stop it from bleeding further with his bandana - all while fighting back tears at seeing his little sister like this (obviously they're not actually siblings, but their dynamic has already been established at this point.)

Casey is admittedly more shocked. He's never seen Andi be this vulnerable before, so to see it happen is crazy to him. He'll do his best to try and get her to talk to them and ask what happened to her (and even better, who did it,) but when Andi weakly tells them who (no spoilers as to who,) that's when she's goes unconscious. He'll look at Raph with confusion (like, 'who's she talking about?') and Raph will grimly tell him as he's picking up Andi - and admittedly, he's gonna feel guilty about assuming she's annoying because she just wants to be. Her life isn't all it's cracked up to be, and he's gonna gain a little bit of respect for her.

Granted, they're still not gonna be best friends, but there will be a mutual, almost grudging, kind of respect.

6. What character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

Hm...that's an interesting question. I think because she's the new addition to the cast and I have to imagine her part in each scene she's in, I'd have to say Andi, funny enough. It's only because I grew up with the canon story that I know it so well and I feel like I can read the minds of each character, but Andi's a different story, because all of her dialogue is my own and I have to consider her part in whatever scene she's in.

8. Which fic/headcanon do you feel most proud of?

By fic, I'm gonna interpret that as chapter 😅

So admittedly, I'm most proud of both 'The Very First Night' and 'It's Nice To Have A Friend'. I think both have really solid dialogue and action sequences, and have some of my favorite Andi moments. 'Very First Night' has Andi's concussion and her meeting Donnie for the first time, and 'It's Nice' has some really sweet Don/Andi moments, Andi being protective over April (I especially like her panicking over April leaving to storm the Kraang base,) and my favorite line in the series, 'The one who is called your mother wears the boots that are made for combat.'

And for headcanon? Probably the idea that Don and Andi are major fans of Stranger Things. Obviously the show wouldn't exist when the story takes place (All's Fair is in 2012, Stranger Things came out in 2016), but in my mind, they're both huge fans; constantly quoting their favorite scenes, commentating over each episode (giving theories, cheering or booing certain characters, etc.), and losing their minds when the new season comes out. And I'll finish it off with; every time a new season comes out, they claim the living room for themselves, get a ton of snacks, make a pillow fort for good measure, and binge the whole thing in one go.

----------

Lord, that was a lot 😅 But regardless, thank you for the ask! Love you ❤️

@android-cap-007 @happymoonangel @kikithedreamerwriter @jasminarts01 @thelaundrybitch @m1dnyt3-w0lf @raphsmuneca @margoteve

[bthump]

I just found your apostle Casca theory and Im absolutely obsessed I really hope it happens now. What kind of role do you think she'd have after she's turned? Would she still be an uneasy ally to Guts's group or would she become an enemy? How much would sacrificing Moonlight Boy impact her?

Thank you, glad you're into it!

What I was theorizing is that her role would've been a secondary antagonist to Guts, someone who wants to kill Griffith herself, and who sort of makes Guts realize that his feelings about revenge are more complicated and not straightfoward. He wants to kill Griffith himself, but is there more to him not wanting Casca to kill him? It would also be a good embodiment of revenge as self-destruction, as Casca takes up the revenge mantle while Guts waffles about it. Plus you could get a good scene where Casca swoops in for a kill and Guts is the one to stop her.

Of course that was if Casca went apostle on Elfhelm. If it happens now it would probably be at the climax, and tbh I'm not sure what purpose that could serve plot-wise, beyond calling up the Godhand to set the stage for a confrontation of sorts, and vengeful apostle Casca maybe killing Griff at a vulnerable moment (eg after he kills Guts), or being a timely distraction, or getting killed to piss Guts off lol.

Oh plus I was thinking Casca would hate Guts too under these circumstances, remembering how he treated her, how he ditched her to pursue Griffith, etc. At the very least he'd still be an object of fear and resentment. So they could clash directly too. I'm also very into the idea of Guts killing Griffith, and then Casca killing Guts, a la the wolves when he was a kid, eg.

Thematically it could still work as a dark counterpoint to Guts potentially, and I dig the idea of Casca living on as a new Zodd the Immortal esque figure - the theory that she's named after a fantasy book about the dude who stabbed Jesus on the cross and was then cursed to roam the earth as an immortal definitely intrigues me there lol, even if it is just coincidence, or irrelevant to Miura taking name inspiration.

I don't think much focus would be on her mentality, but like all apostles sacrificing Moonbaby would make her darker and more fucked up and monstrous. Considering some of the gender essentialism that goes into her character, maybe she'd go full ruthless obsessive bloodlusty type, as Miura seems to associate her softening to her femininity, and sacrificing a baby would probably get rid of that according to that kind of logic lol.

[pinksugarscrub]

Seriously, there's two sides to people's feelings towards Miguel. Positive and negative. I was of course, one of those people who did not like Miguel for his aggressiveness and his authoritative demeanor but the more I rewatched the movie the more I felt like I understood the complexity of his character. We always root for the protagonist so of course we're not going to look into the details of the antagonist's character right away. Surprisingly I think people have generally grasped your point because they always exploit Miguel's vulnerability and need for stability. I'm not trying to shame Miguel writer/lovers, this is just what I've observed.

At the beginning of the film I actually found myself liking him. He was much more relatable in his interactions with Gwen because he wasn't given a chance to put up these walls. She kept undermining his authority. Everything in their conversation was authentic. She interrupted his intro. Called him various different names. At this point he's pissed and decides to tell Gwen about the effects of ITSV. If Miguel really didn't want Gwen involved in the society I would have expected he would have sent someone else in his stead or, kept a tighter clamp on his information. Instead, he gives her a chance. I guarantee you he's the type of person to listen to another spider's ideas because he knows their unique and are geniuses in their own right. He was wowed by Gwen remember? (Just not ideas concerning trying to change the cannon, he's been down that road with Gabby).

That leads me to a thought I'd had before. Why Miguel made the society. Yes, it's to keep track and take care of anomalies but digging deeper I think, 'This man did not want to be alone'. He could have easily kept the watch to himself and dealt with things on his own but he hands over some semblance of control to potential allies. To work together. Not for manpower but a greater effect of good.

When Gwen is sent home and everyone is shaken by her "I thought we were supposed to be the good guys". Miguel speaks up and says they are, they are doing the right thing. He feels the need to reassure them because he does not want to lose their trust.

Earlier in the story, he basically tells the audience he has to be the one to make these hard choices and these choices affect who? The society. The entire society is there to help support the spiders' journeys as spiderpeople. Miguel didn't have to do that but he did. He used up an entire building in his universe. Set up a gym, cafeteria, in essence, a home. Somewhere to feel comforted and somewhere to feel safe. Example, fast food chains make their restaurants in a specific way to have you leave sooner. Uncomfortable chairs, small cramped areas, etc.

And what does he do for Gwen? Gives her a home away from the one where she was rejected by her father. Who also says sometimes and only sometimes, she crashes with Hobie. Where does she stay the rest of the time? Bunkers I bet, or the type of rooms they have in hospitals to allow the staff to rest.

Miguel is not an absolute tyrant. Obviously, he trusts Jess enough to let her handle Gwen and trusts Gwen enough not to go see Miles which backfires but let's not go there- We can argue that he didn't know because Jess herself says "If Miguel finds out I let you blah blah blah" but think about it. Miguel keeps tags on every one. He could have restricted Gwen's watch to keep her from traveling to Miles' universe but he doesn't. I know he has that kind of control of his tech. Gwen couldn't use her watch after being sent home. He also has Lyla if you want to counteract with, "he can't be everyone at once".

He doesn't force the spiders' to act or dress a certain way. Hobie is a great example because despite how annoyed he seems to make him. He never tells Hobie to tone it down. He just ignores him.

Maybe, in Miguel's mind, preparing them (the society) for the inevitable will help make them stronger. Maybe he can help and can make a difference because he can't change the cannon.

*I loved each and every one of your points. You pointing out the parallels between characters has made me fall even more in love with the complexity of this movie. All of the people who worked together to create it are an inspiration and I would like to think they find joy/pride in us fans for analyzing it.

Another case for Mild!Miguel:

HOBIE is the reason I think Mild!Miguel exists. Hear me Out:

Inversions & Parallels in ATSV

[A post where I talk about how the existence of Hobie's arc backs up and/or proves my Mild Miguel theory.

MEDIUM length, I talk about plot connections and writing stuff as well as my predictions for Miguel in BTSV.]

Subversions: Character Building in ATSV

One thing that sets ATSV apart from a lot of other Superhero movies is that it's centered around not 'heroing', but the characters and the relationships they hold.

Each character in ATSV has a Subversion in their arc.

Subversions being the defying of the audience's expectations pre-conceived notion of a character. Almost every character we see experiences a conflict with how we first understand them.

Gwen goes from being closeted and closed off both emotionally and literally in terms of her Spider-identity. She starts the movie pushing away her close friends, and ends her arc embracing her dad.

With Jess, she is introduced as a family woman, who talks about her husband and child openly. When in reality, she's not a familial or a parental figure in the slightest.

Pavitr is introduced as a confident guy, who can effortlessly save everybody and still have time for school, a relationship, and a collection of streetdogs. But in reality, he's still just a kid who hasn't taken an L yet. He needs help, panics and sucks at hiding his secret identity.

Peter is shown as a happy comfortable new father who has perfected the art of being a full time dad and changing avocado poop pampers. But later, we see he's just a guy, still figuring this whole dad thing out.

With Rio & Jeff, they start the movie literally grounding Miles, and by the end, they're forced to trust him out there in the big world.

Even Miles experiences this, as he goes from a kid who wants to be apart of something bigger - before realizing that he only needs himself.

The writers of ATSV use these subversion in order to make three dimensional characters.

And Hobie Brown, may be the best example of this. The Writers preying on our pre-conceived notions of punk, and love triangles to give us a vision of Hobie before he even appears on screen.

In the film Hobie, is the only subversion that is purposeful. He's the only one doing this behavior on conscious effort.

Hobie is an outlier. His subversion is intentional - and doing this gives him enough power to exercise a lot of influence over the plot going forward.

Hobie Brown is the king of Subversion.

But who doesn't have a Subversion? Miguel.

But let's hold that thought for a second.

Parallels: Relationship Building in ATSV

All of the subversions are what cause conflict in plot. And in ATSV, ever character and their conflict, as an a equal reflection of their situation - A Parallel.

And the same way each character experiences a subversion, that leads to conflict -

Each Conflict has a Parallel situation that mirrors theirs.

And these parallels can help us predict the story.

Gwen & Miles Parallel each other:

Miles' family is desperate to be apart of his life, while Gwen's family - her father, openly rejects her. And in the end: Miles ends up as far away from his parents as possible, around the same time Gwen returns to her fathers arms.

Jess & Peter Parallel each other:

Jess begins the story with a hands-off mentoring approach - while Peter's is more emotionally driven. And in the end: Jess begins questioning her callousness towards Gwen, meanwhile Peter questions if his approach and babying of Miles is actually what he needs.

Rio & Jeff Parallel each other:

Rio starting the film being more stern on Miles - the last one in the guidance consolers office and the one to remind him of the cake. Meanwhile, Miles' dad is the one trying to cut Miles some slack. And in the end: Rio is the more open one - she's the one who lets Miles go with Gwen, and the one who hears when out at the end. Meanwhile Miles' dad is the opposite - ready to jump at the accusation of drugs. (lmao)

Hell, even characters that we see on screen for less than ten minutes could be considered parallels:

Pavitr & Margo Parallel each other:

Pavitr is inexperienced, but loving life. He's out in the field enjoying himself and his universe. While Margo is more experienced. She works the Go-Home Machine. But unlike Pavitr, she's not out in the field, and she doesn't enjoy her universe. By the end of their arcs: Pavitr is humbled and realizes there's some dark moments that come with Spider-man, and some close calls. While Margo regains her motivation and spark through Miles, heading out in the field again.

Every character has a subversion - Ever subversion causes conflict - and every conflict leads to a parallel. And through that, the story is made.

Just one problem:

Hobie doesn't have a Parallel. Neither does Miguel.

Why does Hobie - the only one who purposely uses subversion - not have a parallel?

If Hobie is 'The guy playing a pretentious fake punk based on people's preconceived notions of his ideology and appearance, who uses it to his advantage only when he wants to, and uses it for good - that results in a growth in community'

Where is 'The guy playing a pretentious authority figure based on people's preconceived notions of his ideology and appearance, who uses it to his advantage only when he wants to, and uses it for evil that results in a loss of community.'

Where is that guy? Can you find him?

Oh, damn it's Miguel.

Story Structure in ATSV:

If we look at the story structure of ATSV not only do we see that there's subversions and parallels, but we see a hole in the story.

With each character going on an arc the completely subverts audiences expectations - Why doesn't Miguel? (he does.)

And with each subversion, in Hobie's case, if everyone has an reflection of themselves and their situation that tie them into the story by common themes - Why doesn't Hobie? (he does.)

Why is Hobie the face of 'fake rebel that leads to great purposeful action' - and there's no 'fake leader than leads to horrible un-purposeful action'? (there is)

Did the Writers just leave this hole, and not tie Miguel and Hobie's arc in the same way as everyone elses?

No. There is a connection there.

Hobie is Miguel's reflection. Miguel is his parallel. Miguel's subversion is that he's not mean. He's putting on a persona.

Their parallel is - that they're both putting on an act. One for rebellion, one for order.

The difference is - Hobie enjoys his act, he uses it for good, and good things come of it. When he drops his mask as the 'fake punk', he does it out of the urge to empower himself.

Hence why he demasks himself in the comics.

And on Miguel's hand - He doesn't enjoy his act, he uses it for bad, and bad things come of it. When Miguel drops his mask and tells Miles two days, that is his mask dropping. It happens not out of empowerment, but vulnerability.

The whole scene in the lair is a purposeful ACT. That's why when he looks at Hobie (ironically, his parallel) he is able to turn it off immediately. Within seconds.

Whereas Hobie drops his mask in times of trust or action and rebellion - Miguel drops his in times of apathy or vulnerability - aka HIM SHOWING MILES GAB'S DEATH.

Miguel's conversation with Miles here - is the only time we see him not putting on the 'evil, angry, grumpy boss' mask.

He's vulnerable. This is Miguel unmasked. MILD MIGUEL.

While they were walking - Hobie takes his 'fake punk' mask off to be candid with Miles. He speaks honestly and offers empathy - and that is the GOOD inciting incident for Miles' rebellion.

Miguel is the parallel.

He purposely strips his 'fake mean boss' mask off in order to be candid with Miles. He speaks honestly and offers empathy - by telling him how long his father had to live (something he didn't have to do). And that empathy that Miguel gives is the BAD inciting incident for Miles' rebellion.

And when Miles is faced with the parallel of both Hobie and Miguel in rapid succession - it's enough to spawn him to escape.

Hobie and Miguel are opposing but mirrored forces on Miles.

Every character has a subversion. Every subversion causes conflict. Every conflict causes a parallel that spans action.

If Miguel doesn't have a subversion - and Hobie doesn't have a parallel, then how can those conflicts meet? Why this gap in the writing.

If Hobie does have a parallel, the only one left is Miguel.

But, if we're to believe that Hobie does have a parallel, and Miguel is that parallel - then naturally, they're mirrors of each other - and just like Hobie is - Miguel is putting on an act too.

And because the strongest representation of Miguel we see is anger, we know the anger is a mask for something else; aka MILD!MIGUEL

Which is what we see at the climax scene, the real Miguel.

Miguel and Hobie reveal their true colors at the same time, because they're parallels.

Hobie chuckles - the next shot - Miguel snaps.

It's meant to show in that moment in those two shots, these two characters are at their emotional peak. A battle between the two of them - convincing Miles - that Miguel doesn't even know about.

Hobie wins in this moment, Miguel loses, and we see them completely demasked, come to find out - we were wrong, Hobie the one in control and calm - and Miguel is not, he's grasping for control in anyway possible and it's literally slipping from his hands.

There stories are linked, and they barely share any lines at all.

Mild!Miguel exists because Anarchist!Hobie exists.

And all of this is why I think the following:

My predictions for BTSV:

Looking at Hobie's arc:

Fake Persona - Persuasive Set-Up (Talk with Miles) - Inciting Incident around Miles that leads to action (Miles breaks out, Hobie leaves to give Gwen the watch) - Self evaluation and commitment to the cause (joining the gang)

I think Miguel's is gonna follow the same thing

Fake Persona - Persuasive Set Up (This is Everything Speech) - Inciting Incident around Miles (Miles breaks out, Miguel snaps) - Self evaluation and commitment to the cause

Miguel re-evaluates himself and changes sides, turning the Societies resources on Spot.

Based on the subversions, parallels and plot arcs we see in ATSV, my most honest guess is:

Miguel is gonna redeem himself by choice very early into the film.

You know how the first half of ATSV is writen so when you rewatch it again, you'll see the complexities of Hobie's character?

I think the whole movie is written that way. So when you rewatch it AFTER Beyond the Spider-Verse, you can see the complexities of Miguel's character as well.

______________________________ THERE THATS WHY I THINK MILD MIGUEL EXISTS BESIDES EVERYTHING ELSE AND ALL THE VISUAL QUES AND STUFF. THIS IS THE MAIN REASON.

THAT'S WHAT I MEANT I'm so relieved to finally make sense of it. GOSSSSHHH

If you read this far, thank you for your time and entertaining me I'm SO SERIOUS THANK YOU

Please let me know what you think I'm DYING to know

Anyway closing RANT BELOW

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

[Warning: I go Miguel Mode below]

Thats why this WHOLE TIME I've been like he's RIGHT THERE HJSGDGKDS Cause like -- the story calls for it. if hes not faking why does he have that platform???? Why doesn't Hobie have a paralllel?? Like why is Hobie just this random ass OP character randomly dropped in for funsies - he isn't he's there to reflect Miguel's fake power. Hobie hides his true power the way Miguel hides his powerlessness AHHHHH

THATS WHAT IVE BEEN TRYING TO PUT IN WORDS!! THAT LIKE...I WAS WATCHING THE MOVIE *deep breath* I FEEL SO RELIEVED.

I was watching the movie and feeling like somethings missing in the story - that there's a whole connection that's MISSING There's SOMETHING we're not getting - there's something there. Something that can tells us SO much about the next movie

and seeing peoples interpretations of Miguel made me be like no.... he cant be the only 3 dimensional one. Everyone is the OPPOSITE of what we think they are. Everyone.

And everyone has a parallel. And this is the connection that is missing.

tTHIS IS WHAT I MEANT HOLY FUCK I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO SAY IT.

When I say 'He's in the room with us, he's standing right there' - I mean 'His existence as a character is what completes the plot. Mild!Miguel HAS to be there logically speaking'

DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN LIKE MILD MIGUEL AND MIGUELS ACT AS THE LEADER IS CENTRAL TO THIS MOVIE AND THE NEXT.

MILD MIGUEL IS GONNA BE A HUGE PART OF THE NEXT MOVIE

ahhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Anyway if you're still here after THAT Hello hi I love you - Please tell me your thoughts and if you think it makes sense!

Here's Hobie for your travels!

Bye.

[obstinaterixatrix]

it’s so hot I can’t sleep but I’m lying down and don’t want to get the fan… well anyway I’m gonna type out my writing choices

didn’t specifically set out to set this in weird ambiguous awkward relationship stage but it makes sense because I love writing pre-relationship

also I couldn’t figure out enough of a conflict I could write about in a stage of a relationship where they knew & were more comfortable with each other

I consider it stretching characterization a bit but I’m giving myself a pass because they didn’t really talk much and then got dumped into baratie/arlong park which means after arlong is the only time they’d get to know each other crew-to-crew without some ongoing crisis

In some ways sanji and usopp are, to each other, the most normalguy of the east blue crew. well, I think usopp would consider nami in the normalguy camp but sanji definitely wouldn’t, so usopp’s the most normalguy to sanji and sanji’s hovering at second most normalguy to usopp, depending on context. so they both have a hard time getting a read on each other in the one-on-one normalguy context lol.

An interesting parallel is that, compared to the others, leaving home is a lot more fresh to sanji and usopp (arguably nami but It’s Complicated there). I like to think that sanji feels more at home in a bustling kitchen with a lot of cooks than as the only cook. the antagonistic camaraderie of it all.

What I was kind of going for was both of them kinda subconsciously going through ‘oh jeez how normalguy do I have to be with this normalguy’ so usopp isnt chatty and Sanji isn’t rude. A bit of awkward tryhard vibe. so when sanji gives a bit in terms of ‘I’m trying to be nice’, usopp’s able to be himself more fully (both in terms of tall tales and in terms of saying something True And Vulnerable). sanji’s receptive but is still holding back a bit, not being more thoughtless/rudeass. The fact that he’s not comfortable ribbing usopp or calling him out or heckling his cooking yet means he hasn’t matched usopp but it’s moving in that direction now that they’ve got the awkward stuff out if the way.

[duncankinnie]

so i ran the TD cast through brantsteele's danganronpa simulator. here's the cast

predetermined roles: leshawna protagonist, harold smart guy deuteragonist, noah antagonist.

big s/o to @tdsierra for help with choosing protag/smart character/antag, justifying each murder, and for also just absolutely slaying in general

below the cut is the full rundown of the specifics!

chapter 1

victims: heather & cody. heather is the "seemingly important" character that becomes the first victim, and cody is basically cannon fodder

killer: izzy. she wants nothing more than to shake up the game and i salute her

chapter 2

victim: harold/duncan. this is where the predetermined plot derails. gives leshawna some development probably. lost lenore type beat. an alternate here could be duncan but this is how the generator decided it. harold victim route sees noah become the new smart guy deuteragonist and alejandro become the new antagonist killer: sierra. distraught over the loss of cody she decides to hit the group where it hurts and kill the smartest one. alternate duncan route is where she notices that courtney and gwen spearheaded the previous trial to focus on heather's murder and so she kills duncan to spite them

chapter 3

victim: courtney. she and gwen's friendship/relationship kinda starts to implode after they start blaming one another for the deaths thus far. gwen blames courtney for cody (and duncan) and courtney potentially blames gwen for duncan's death. leads to tensions that end with courtney dead

killer: gwen. self-defense, after the two start fighting again, courtney brings out a weapon and gwen defends herself, with the culmination being that gwen kills her closest ally. gets rly nervous in the trial and goes under suspicion for a long time due to being friends with leshawna

chapter 4

victim: owen. this one is a straight up accidental murder. lindsay plans on either defending herself from possible attacks or straight out killing someone to escape and owen ends up in her crossfire and she kills him accidentally

killer: lindsay. again, completely accidental. black comedy here tbh, lindsay only incapacitated him at first and then she decided she might as well finish the job and thus she spends an unreal amnt of time trying to figure out how to kill him

chapter 5

victim: noah. again the generator fell off in terms of the predetermined plot but this could be a v good character moment for justin as a sleeper antagonist

killer: justin. in the duncan survivor route where alejandro is the one currently running the gambit on antagonism, justin attempts to one-up him by killing the smartest player in the game. in the harold survivor route justin is jealous of noah's power in the game and decides to try and off him for good. either way it stems from jealousy and his narcissism

survivors

alternate chapter 2 route: alejandro, eva, harold, leshawna, tyler

other key plot points

aletyler canon. chapter 4 has a big tyler moment where he realizes that he's forcing feelings for lindsay and that he really likes alejandro. in either route tyler is his closest ally and best friend, which makes tyler evil-adjacent in the duncan survivor route. alejandro returns the feelings and they make it official not long after

eva/noah alliance. in the harold survivor route that makes eva evil-adjacent. izzy is also let into the alliance but commits murder before they can really solidify as a power trio. escope supremacy real in all timelines

alt route. already mentioned but this gives both replayability and different dynamics. literally bespoke imo

no secret mastermind/traitor, just vibes (and murder). chris is there to try and provoke tensions but other than that there's no real defined Big Bad. while noah/alejandro are definitely the most antagonistic of the group they're just as vulnerable and likely to die as the rest of the group. this provides a lot more tension and suspense and makes the surprise deaths of seemingly important characters all the more interesting and gut-wrenching

anyway uh. i want to write this but i also have no idea how to write this. if someone wants to coauthor hit me up fr fr. gonna be hyperfixating on this forever now thank u <3

[arcturusreads]

Never Have I Ever... Been So Vulnerable

pairing: devi vishwakumar x ben gross word count: 3290 words request: yes/no prompt/summary: devi wasn't the type of person that enjoyed opening up to anyone. the only person she'd felt comfortable being that open with was her dad. after he had passed away, devi ended up keeping most of her emotions to herself because no one seemed to really understand her. that was until ben and maybe now she's found someone she feels safe enough to be vulnerable with. a/n: i spent all of season three screaming at ben and devi to communicate so i decided to take matters in my own hands. ao3 account: saiwriteswords

“Wait wait wait. Devi, what are you actually doing here?” After pulling her into his room and losing himself in a kiss, Ben finally brought himself back to his senses. 

“I thought I made that obvious, you know, with the paper.” Devi shrugged awkwardly. 

Ben’s arm was still wrapped around her waist as he looked her in the eye. “I know you came over with the paper. But why now? Why me?”

A million different emotions had overcome Ben when he saw Devi standing in his bedroom doorway. None of them were negative but he would be lying if he were to say that he wasn’t confused. The last time he’d seen her was in the school hallway when she was talking to Paxton. Ben had left pretty quickly after he’d turned up. Paxton had been good to him when he’d ended up in hospital and Ben had to admit that he wasn’t actually that bad of a guy. But for the three of them to all be standing there together… It made things a little awkward. 

Devi sighed, her shoulder sagging. A deep and meaningful conversation was not the reason that she had gone to Ben’s but she didn’t think there was any way of getting out of it. Maybe she didn’t want to get out of it. The ‘one free boink’ pass had given her an excuse to turn up at Ben’s house without looking like a complete weirdo. But was that really why she’d gone? 

“There’s just… a lot…” 

Ben gave her a small smile, “Well, I’ve got all night.” There was a hopeful look in his eyes. 

Ben wanted to have a proper conversation with Devi. He wanted her to feel safe enough to open up to him. He probably could on one hand then number of times they’d had a raw and serious conversation but something about that evening had felt different and Ben didn’t want to let this chance slip by. 

Devi gave a small nod and Ben felt like he could breathe a little easier. Maybe there was a chance for the two of them. He sat down on the edge of his bed, waiting for Devi to join him but she didn’t. Instead, she began pacing on the rug in front of him. 

“So, I mean I guess I should start with the biggest thing.” She took a deep breath before stopping in front of him. “I’m not going to Shrubland.” 

Devi didn’t wait for a response before she began pacing again. “I can’t go, not right now. I need more time with my mom. Things have just been so messy with us and I feel like we’re finally in a good place and I don’t think I’m ready to give that up just yet. After my dad died… I think I just need to make the most of everything that’s in front of me instead of wishing for something more when I don’t need it… or want it.”

Devi finally looked at Ben and realised he wasn’t saying anything. What Devi thought was a look of incredulity was actually a look of awe. The past year had given Ben a chance to understand what was important to him. Whilst he still wanted to get into Columbia, he knew that it wasn’t the be-all and end-all if it didn’t happen. He didn’t have to work himself into an early grave to do it. And whilst he had been going through all of those changes, he hadn’t realised how much Devi had also changed. She seemed so much happier these days, less antagonistic. And hearing her talk now, maybe she’d also realised that there were some things more important than school. 

“You think I’m crazy for giving it up, don’t you?”

“What? No!” Ben stood up, gently grabbing Devi’s arm to stop her from pacing. “Devi, I get it and I don’t think you’re crazy. I’ve never thought that. You lost a lot of time with your Dad, I understand why you wouldn’t want to lose any with your mom.”

Devi smiled at him, still shaking inside. She wanted to get everything off of her chest but she was scared of what it could mean. She and Ben had been getting on so well recently and Devi really didn’t want to ruin it. But something inside was telling her that she’d be doing both her and Ben a disservice if she didn’t talk to him properly. 

Taking another deep breath, Devi tried to steady her nerves. She stepped away from Ben, leaving him with a confused look on his face. “I’m not done yet. Do you mind sitting back down?”

“Devi-” Ben tried to argue but was immediately cut off. 

“Ben, please don’t argue with me right now. It’s cute and everything but I need you to just shut up for a minute.” 

Ben quickly took a seat on his bed again, mainly out of shock from Devi calling him cute. 

“I am so so sorry about everything that I did to you… you know, when I was dating you and Paxton at the same time…”

Devi saw him wince, he definitely didn’t need the clarification but she couldn’t shy away from what she had done. 

“I hurt you and you didn’t deserve that. There’s no excuse for what I did, not in the slightest. It was seriously messed up. I hate that I hurt you. And I don’t know if I can ever make it up to you or if you can forgive me but I just needed you to know that I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back and change everything.”

Hindsight was 20/20. Dr Ryan would say something about how changing what had happened in the past wouldn’t give her the chance to learn from her mistakes but that didn’t stop Devi from wishing things could have been different. She reminded herself quickly that she was trying to live in the present though. All she could do now was try and make up for the things she’d done wrong and do better now. 

“Devi, I- '' Ben sighed and looked down at his hand, picking the skin around his thumb. “I can’t lie to you and tell you that what you did didn’t hurt me. It felt like people were always just going to leave me behind. You… my parents… And I didn’t think I was going to ever be able to forgive you.” 

Devi’s stomach dropped. She was going to have to accept whatever Ben said but that didn’t mean it was going to be an easy pill to swallow. 

“But holding onto it… it doesn’t serve me in any way. I was angry and upset with you for months, Devi and it didn’t make me feel any better. I forgive you, Devi. You don’t need to keep apologising about it. I’ve moved on from what happened. It’s taken me some time and thinking about it hurts but I don’t think you’re a bad person, Devi, you just made a bad choice.”

For some reason, that was not the route that Devi thought the conversation was going to go. Even though they were on much better terms now, she’d thought that Ben might still be holding onto some of the animosity and he’d have had every right to. 

“Thank you,” Devi’s voice came out as a whisper.

Ben gave her a comforting smile before tilting his head slightly as he studied her. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here. I mean, why you’re actually here, Devi.”

Devi opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to find the words that she needed. How was she even meant to start this off? 

“Uh? Devi? Is everything okay?” 

Realising that she had left Ben’s question hanging and was probably starting to look like a goldfish, Devi shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yeah, sorry.”

Devi clasped her hands in front of her, fidgeting and looked down at them. “So, the reason why I came here… The reason… that I came to your house… have I told you that you have a nice house? Really big windows. There must be a lot of natural light and that probably helps with the electricity bills. So, it’s a pretty efficient house. Congrats on that.” Once she had started, Devi couldn’t stop herself from rambling. 

Congrats… on his house. I am such an idiot! She chastised herself, dying of embarrassment. 

Ben couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, “I’ll be sure to tell my dad. He’s going to be so pleased that we have such an efficient house.”

“And he should be!”

“Devi…”

“Right, sorry. The thing is,” Devi looked up from her hands, if she was going to do this, she was going to look him in the eye. “Ben, I’ve liked you for so long. I mean like like.” 

Like like, really? Was she trying to sound like a kindergartner? Devi knew she needed to do a better job with this proclamation. 

“Ben, I’ve liked you even when I hadn’t fully realised it. After scattering my Dad’s ashes… it’s like a lightbulb went off in my head but I was dumb. I tried chasing after something… someone… else because I thought that was what I wanted. And I guess at the time it was. I’ve always imagined my life being a certain way, you know? Date the hot, popular guy, graduate valedictorian, go to Princeton, nice house and all the rest of it. I didn’t want anything to change my plan. You were never meant to be a part of it. All you were meant to be was my annoying arch nemesis.” 

Ben snorted, “Thanks, Devi.” 

“But driving me to the beach, giving me a chance to say a final goodbye to my Dad. You started to change parts of that plan and I guess it scared me. And then, after messing up and losing you, I realised that you were the guy that I wanted to be with.”

Devi could still feel her heart pounding in her chest. She’d thought that slowly telling Ben everything would help calm her down but instead she could feel herself getting more nervous. She had no idea how he was going to respond. 

“So, I tried to talk to you. To find a way back into your life and I know I didn’t go about it the right way. Everything with Aneesa… it was because I liked you, Ben. I liked you and hated seeing you and her together.”

Ben looked a little awkward and for a moment Devi’s stomach sank. She thought she’d completely blown it. “I-uh, I kind of know that. I mean that last part, about Annesa.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly subtle,” Devi laughed nervously.

Wincing, Ben didn’t look Devi in the eye, “Actually Eleanor told me…”

“What? When!?” Her voice had gone up a few octaves. Shaking her head, Dvei shut her eyes for a second. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. And eventually I guessed that it’s better to have you in my life as a friend than not at all.”

“But why did you date Paxton then?” The question had been burning on the tip of Ben’s tongue for a while now. He needed to know why, if Devi had in fact liked him, why she decided to date his polar opposite. 

“I-” That was not a question Devi had been prepared for, it wasn’t one that she had completely figured out the answer to herself. But what she knew, she was willing to tell Ben. 

“Paxton had been this dream for me. It was like some YA book where the nerdy, unattractive girl dates the hot jock and suddenly her life changes forever. Focusing on that, on him, it helped me deal with my dad passing away. For a few moments every day, I wasn’t thinking about him or missing him or grieving over him. It was just an escape. I’d been trying to push those feelings for you away, especially after everything with Aneesa so I’d kind of buried them. And Paxton was so sweet after everything that had happened. I was tutoring him and I got to see this completely different side of him. It worked between us… until it just didn’t. I wasn’t in the right place to be in a relationship at that point and Paxton was. We weren’t the right fit. He’s a great guy but I don’t think he's the guy for me…”

Devi had come to that conclusion a while after their break up. Paxton had been amazing to her, he still was. She was glad that they’d managed to navigate their break up and turn it into a friendship. But sometimes, dreams that you’ve had for years don’t always measure up in reality and Devi was learning to be okay with that. She felt like she’d lost time trying to chase the idea of what her life should be like. 

“And what about me?” When Ben looked at her like that, eyes wide and looking directly at her, like nothing else was around them, Devi felt more exposed than she ever had in her life. 

“I think you might be the right guy for me… I don’t know if those feelings are mutual though…” Every cell in her body was screaming at Devi to bolt out of the door and to just run home and hide under her blanket. 

Ben reached his arm out, his hand clasping around Devi’s wrist. He gently tugged her towards him, getting her to sit next to him on the bed. Their knees bumped together and Ben refused to let go of her hand. It was tiny compared to his but filled all of the empty edges of his hand. 

“Devi, are you blind?” Ben shut his eyes for a second before opening them and willing himself to gain the courage he needed. “There’s something I need to tell you but it’s probably going to make me sound like the worst person in the world.”

“I’m pretty sure I thought that about you from the age of like, 10,” Devi joked, hoping to break some of the tension in the room. Realising that Ben looked increasingly nervous, Devi apologised. “Sorry, you should carry on. I’m sure whatever it is can’t be that bad.”

“Annesa… even when I was with her I was thinking about you. I don’t know if part of me even being with her was to try and make you jealous. Just saying that… it’s bad… she didn’t deserve for me to treat her like that.” It wasn’t a period in his life that he was particularly proud of or liked to relive. “You remember the night of the winter formal?”

Devi nodded. How could she forget the night that Paxton Hall-Yoshida had hit her with a car before asking her to be his girlfriend. 

“When I saw you and Paxton dancing with each other… it was like something had shattered. I thought that he was the one that you’d always wanted to be with, I just ended up being some sort of convenient back up. And Eleanor said something and I realised that I might just have messed everything up. So then I really tried to make things work with Aneesa but there was so much going on. I was an ass to her and I needed to reevaluate a lot of things in my life. When she broke up with me.. I didn’t feel completely torn apart. I felt like it was the right thing for the both of us. And then I ended up in hospital… not my finest hour…. But it made me rethink the way I was going about things. And that included you. So, when you told me about Des, I didn’t want to be jealous. I was happy for you and I wanted to see you happy but there was always this part of me that wanted you to be happy with me.”

Devi squeezed his hand and Ben looked down smiling at the way their fingers intertwined. How was it possible that a single person could make you feel a thousand different things in one moment?

“I thought I’d managed to get over you. And then hearing you say that you got offered a place at Shrubland… Devi, it’s like everything came crashing down on me and as much as I wanted you to take the place because I knew it would be good for you, I so badly wanted you to stay. I needed you to stay and I needed to finally tell you how I felt about you. I’ve spent way too long trying to tiptoe around my feelings and it is exhausting. You’re the only person that I’ve felt like I can go toe-to-toe with in an argument, The only one that pushes me to do better. That gets why I work so hard. Devi, I know we’ve argued and spent most of our time in school being rivals but you’re the only person who’s ever really gotten me and who I am. So, Devi, you don’t need to question how I feel about you because I don’t think I could see myself with anyone else. I’ve been waiting for you for months. And I would wait another couple of decades if it meant having a chance with you.” 

Neither of the teens were well-versed in being vulnerable. Especially with each other. This felt like a monumental moment for them both. To finally face up to their feelings. Acknowledging the mistakes that they’d made along the way and learning from them. Sure, they were both still a little scared of their feelings and being this open didn't come naturally to them. They’d realised, however, that there was no weakness in telling those around you your true feelings. That there was way more to lose from being quiet than there was by being honest. 

Devi felt her mouth go dry. “Well… that kind of blew my little speech out of the water…”

“Nah, I think we both win here.” 

“And what brought you to that conclusion.”

Ben took his free hand and gently cupped Devi’s face, “I think we both ended up with the answers that we wanted, don’t you?” 

Instead of replying to him, Devi leaned in for a kiss. She wondered if her heart would ever stop beating so fast when she kissed Ben. She wouldn’t complain if it didn’t though. 

“So, how are we doing this?” Devi asked. 

She may have managed to overhaul a lot of things in her life but being a chronic overthinker was something that was probably always going to stick with her. 

“Well, I think a good place to start is asking you to be my girlfriend…” 

It wouldn’t have been possible for Devi to smile any wider. Throwing her arms around his neck, Devi buried her head in his shoulder. 

Does he shower with tea tree and grapefruit? Ugh, he smells so good.

Devi could have inhaled his scent all day but she could feel Ben vibrating from laughter. “Is that a yes then?”

When she finally pulled back, she saw mirth in Ben’s eyes and a smile so wide that it rivalled hers. 

“Of course it’s a yes. I would love to be your girlfriend, Ben Gross. But could we maybe take the rest of this slow?” Devi bit her lip, hoping that Ben wouldn’t think she was lame for not wanting to jump straight into things. 

Ben kissed the back of her hand, giving her a gentle smile that made everything inside Devi melt. “That sounds perfect to me, how about we start with a date?

[the-sinful-voice-witch]

My appreciation of Sonic IDW comics villains part 2:

I've been wanting to talk about them because they're just too good and I wish they along Starline had their own game:

Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami the Fennec:

This time unlike the other villains i mentioned this 2 weren't evil from the beginning, they were made to be villains nemesis of Sonic and Tails by the hand of Dr Starline and even if I'm going to miss him a lot these traumatized kids certainly won't.

First things, what i love the most is the imposing presence they have despite not being evil by nature, clearly Starline carved them to be scary and powerful, just look how sadistic they look👇👇👇

Well Kit looks scary creepy most of the time but is less evil than Surge and was made to adore her and serve her and the way the poor thing gets anxious when he is separated from her despite how mean she is to him... That psychological disaster Starline did to him is heartbreaking because he shows his vulnerable adorable baby face 😢😢

He was pretty easy to manage compared to Surge because he is more rational than her and he only wants to serve and be useful to someone because is the only thing he knows, so brainwashed he was ready to kill for it... But because he is the least villain of all them, let's talk about the good juice here... Surge.

Aww she wasn't always an abusive jerk to him... 😅😅😅

Ok ok I'm ok OMG this green gal is my favorite villain dethroning Starline!!!! There so much to say about her i don't know where to start!!

I suppose i have to remark how much i love she was made to be a nemesis of Sonic like Shadow and Metal and that they chose to make her a GIRL! I've only seen a good female character who could fight on this level with Sonic and that is Blaze the cat and she was not a villain neither an antagonist, she was a rival less antagonistic than Rouge in her rivalry with Knuckles so and in Archie comics... There were some bad girls like Fiona and Lien da but... Their design didn't feel like Sonic characters and also they aren't on Blaze level of fighting when it comes to fight seriously with Sonic but Surge is! She can have a perfect bare fists fight with him:

Her design is also a delight! Made to be a intimidating punk girl, scary with that pointy teeth but still pretty! She is far better than scourge and of course has a better story in my opinion.

Little times i see a girl this brute and strong but not particularly smart, normally tomboyish female characters don't behave like dumb bullies aside anime characters and usually they aren't the biggest threat but they are merely bullies. Surge is that type of character and has this kind of "silly smartass of the class" behavior. Making faces and saying lines to look cool

Like really she can be really Goofy 🤪 😂😂

But more important as i was saying is weird to me to see a female characters with this traits and I love it, as for Sonic nemesis she obviously is more like Metal than Shadow in a way that... She doesn't look redeemable... Even though she has a tragic background like Shadow.

The interesting thing about her is that even after she finds out that her hatred towards sonic was set on her head artificially by Starline she ends up growing a genuine hate and resentment towards him because she decided he is responsible of her fate and wants him to pay for it:

Just look how imposing and intimidating is her... And tragically how sonic is unimpressed with her... 😂😂

She is a brilliantly made villain worth to be Starline successor even if unlike him she wasn't evil from the beginning, i can't wait to see her backstory before Starline

I just hope she doesn't end with the same fate as him in her descend into the madness

[turtleflurple]

My headcanon of Donnie and Leo’s relationship when growing up together

Okay, so when thinking about the boys being a little younger, I can’t help but imagine Leo taking on a bit of a more antagonistic role in the family when growing up. Not that they’re not close as brothers, but I do find myself thinking that Leo could have been a bit more of a bully when younger.

Leo can be a bit of a jerk towards his brothers in the series, and especially looking at his behavior in Lair Games and Air Turtle, he kind of has the bad habit of lording his own superiority over his brothers and milking his winning for all it’s worth. We also know that Leo being a poor winner is a very old and known behavior. Leo is also very focused on being better than other people (going with how small social circle was before the show, this probably mostly meant his brothers when growing up), and while he’s very sure of himself he also has bouts of severe insecurity where he’s very desperate for reaffirmation.

Where as with Donnie, I find his behavior currently fits very well with a very sensitive child being picked on a lot when younger and over time hardening more into this “emotionally unavailable bad boy”. To me Donatello is always a very emotional individual, only he has trouble connecting and explaining himself to other people especially because he’s so intellectually gifted. I can see Donnie in Rise being a bit of a crybaby and pushover when he was younger, something that I see keen eyed Leonardo focusing in on and exploiting. This would create a relationship were Leo would rile Donnie up a lot since Donnie would be such an easy target and always guarantee a reaction.

Kids just kinda tend to be mean to one another sometimes, especially they get bored and/or want attention. Just look at the dynamic between Mikey and Raph in the 2003 series. Mikey picks on Raph constantly, because it’s easy and it gets a reaction. If Raph wouldn’t react to Mikey constantly goading him on, Mikey would probably find something else to entertain himself with and leave Raph alone for the most part. But Raph can’t really keep a lid on it since he has a very explosive temper and gets swept up easily in his emotions. But yeah, I can see how in Rise this dynamic growing up could have shifted more to have been between Leo and Donnie. But instead of growing angry like Raph, Donnie instead would mostly just get very emotional in general.

I think that as a sensitive kid, regularly being picked on would turn that up to eleven, thus making Donnie hypersensitive. You know the kind I’m talking about, the kinda kid that’s so easily triggered by any perceived hostile behavior that they tear up over the smallest of things and constantly run over to their caretaker for comfort, a type of behavior that tends to grow a bit tiring after a while. Since it’s obvious that the person Donnie would run to most of the time would be Splinter, I think Splinter would in turn grow to be a bit desensitized by Donnie’s tears and claims of teasing, maybe even get exasperated from time to time. Here you have four very rowdy children that you have to run after constantly to make sure they don’t end up killing themselves and/or each other, and one of them keeps crying out that the others are being mean to him. I would understand if you would just get a bit done with it all after a while.

So in this situation Splinter would mostly apprehend Leo for picking on his brothers in the beginning, and especially for picking on Donnie, but after a while would also more turn to Donnie and tell him to deal with the issue himself instead of always running to Splinter to hide behind. Not in a mean way, but more in an “I can’t be the one to keep solving all your problems, Purple” kinda way. But I think this would send the wrong message to Donnie and he will instead interpret Splinter’s words more as a command not to bother him anymore with his issues. As a result he will act more emotionally distant towards his father after I think, and tough it out more when he’s overwhelmed and/or feeling vulnerable, maybe even isolate himself more.

With Leo and Donnie I think it first grew a lot worse before it got better again. I think focusing in on Donnie and picking on him a lot grew into a bit of a habit for Leo, as it was funny to him since it always garnered a reaction. Donnie would grow increasingly upset, much to Leo’s delight, until the day that Donnie wouldn’t take it anymore and snap. He’d attack, cuss out or accuse Leo of being a bully, and Leo would be so taken off guard by the accusation that he wouldn’t know what to say or do. Leo wouldn’t see himself as a bully, even tho I think he would have kinda been one over that span of time, and this conflicting image of himself would shock him so much that he would be forced to reflect on his behavior and his relationship with his brothers, with the focus laying mostly on Donnie. I think that after this altercation Leo would have gone to Donnie and apologize but deny being a bit of a bully while still validating his feelings to a certain extend and promising to stop teasing him so much. Donnie would accept the apology, but the damage would already be done. Donnie would be a lot more emotionally closed off, since until that day it kind of taught him that those many emotions of his can and will be used against him. He would have become more aggressive and guarded, but over time mellow out more into the more familiar teenage Donnie we all know and love with his dry humor, sarcastic snark and anti-social tendencies.

I think that this would have played out when Leo and Donnie were between the ages of 7 to 10, and when they both grow older they will actually realize what had happened and heal. Leo will apologize for real, and Donnie would have already forgiven him. I think Leo would never have meant any harm, he had just been bored and Donnie was just sure to be entertainment. Donnie didn’t know how to handle himself back then and I’m sure that in between Leo picking on him he was nasty back as well (since I do believe Donnie can be a bit vindictive if he wants to). They were both younger, and when you’re a kid it’s difficult to think of others and the consequences of your actions.

But yeah! That’s what I think Donnie and Leo’s relationship tended to be like when they were a bit younger! And it’s not the case that in between the ribbing they didn’t also play around with each other, would tussle and take comfort in one another. But you know what I mean when you have siblings. It’s very easy to simultaneously dislike and love them, forgive and forget when you’re having fun, and honestly, there never were any mal-intentions. Just kids figuring out how to better take care of each other.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

What are your favorite things about Nikolina, and if they're not the same answer, what makes you ship it?

OMG I only just noticed that I had this in my drafts and never replied!

So I will admit that a lot of what I like most about this ship is what I bring to it, even though I love what’s on screen I love their dynamic. But I’m mostly in it for what might have been, post TGT canon. Or just entirely canon divergent type stuff, which is incidentally also why I consider it more of a ship than just… a relationship I liked. I tend to only seek out fan content when I’m unhappy with what I got from canon or if I feel like it’s too bare bones.

Anyway I just said this on twitter the other day but I just love stories where the characters are picking up the pieces together!

This is a tangent but like I’m reminded of a thing I heard from a writing podcast once lol. It’s called relationship axes, where you rate two characters’ values on like money, mind, manners, morals, and marx brothers (humor lol) or something like that. And relationships stem from characters having however many of these in common and compelling/more invested conflicts when one or several do not align. I don’t necessarily approach things in the exact same way? My natural thought process definitely isn’t as structured, but the relationships I find the most interesting have a certain degree of conflict and a certain degree of respect/fondness. And that even extends to purely antagonistic dynamics. I just think there’s more investment and thematic cohesion even when there’s a lot of understanding and common ground between the characters’ viewpoints.

And while these two share a lot of values, and also like each other very much, they just want entirely different things. Their ideas of happiness are almost mutually exclusive. I enjoy that kind of good faith/genuinely being well meaning while also having inherent conflict.

And like I’ve said before, they just approach things super differently. Alina does NOT give a damn about appearances, Nikolai really really does; he is ambitious, she is not; etc. They complement each other very well.

Anyway I just enjoy second choice romance, and marriage/relationship of convenience type stuff. I think stories that revolve around choosing to be vulnerable, and choosing to love someone can be very poignant. And also angst surrounding emotional unavailability is just extremely fun for me lol. So I really like the pall that Mal might leave behind, or even the Darkling (the latter particularly in a version where she loses her power, and how his death could also represent that)

[deusluxuria]

anonymous asked:

Stardust Crusaders + Holly dealing with/reacting to Jotaro have a meltdown, shutdown, or sensory overload?

◇◇◇

(content note: ableism, autmisia)

◇◇◇

Before Jotaro met the Crusaders, his mom was the only person who noticed the signs of Jotaro being overwhelmed and on the verge of a meltdown.

Jotaro didn't know he was autistic until his early twenties, but Holly was very receptive to his needs regardless. It was just a matter of listening.

It's hard for him when he has meltdowns around people who don't know him as well as Holly does, because he often doesn't know what he needs in order to feel okay again. He needs someone to walk him through it, offer suggestions, and not force anything.

He always rejects hugs from his father. Always has. Jotaro's father doesn't understand him at all, and is most definitely of the "why can't you just be 'normal'" asshole type.

Holly has always asked permission before hugging him, so he trusts her and knows he can go to her for support.

As a teenager and an adult, Jotaro doesn't hug as much. Usually it's only if he's upset. And he only hugs people he really, strongly trusts. (Holly, Kakyoin, Abdul, his wife, Jolyne, Josuke).

Holly could easily list the signs of Jotaro being overwhelmed: very tense, much quieter than usual, clumsy, more irritable, rocking back and forth, pulling on his ear or a piece of hair, checking his surroundings more...

Jotaro typically has the quieter, more internal meltdowns. He'll feel so angry and just kind of collapse in on himself.

If he's having a personal life crisis, sometimes he'll punch a wall or a door, with no other way to get those emotions out.

Jotaro becomes non-verbal sometimes when he gets upset, non-speaking and also not able to verbalize in any way, such as groaning or sighing to express frustration.

Holly noticed this about him since his childhood, and she taught him a few basic signs in BSL (British Sign Language). As an adult, he knows JSL and ASL, but the signing he learned from Holly is close to his heart.

If Holly notices Jotaro feeling overwhelmed, she'll ask only yes-or-no questions, and ask one of them at a time. She'll ask if he needs to spend time around people, or to be left alone.

When Jotaro was little, she noticed he would run his hands under the sink for a long time when he was stressed. So for when he had meltdowns, she started putting him in the bath and spraying warm water on his scalp while brushing his hair.

From something as simple as watching and listening, she learned how to care for him and be a good parent, instead of an antagonist seeing him as a burden or thinking of him as broken or possessed.

◇◇◇

Abdul is an empath, and he's easily overwhelmed by others' emotions and by tense atmospheres. So he can relate to Jotaro's agoraphobia and sensitivites.

Jotaro himself is high-empathy as well.

Mohammed recognizes when Jotaro seems tense and overwhelmed, regardless of how Jotaro might not express those feelings on the surface.

Mohammed can be a bit more forgiving towards neurotypical lack of understanding, towards himself and other adults. But he won't tolerate it when it's harmfully impacting someone like Jotaro, who Mohammed has seniority over (him being an adult and Jotaro being a minor) and swears to protect.

He's someone Jotaro can cry in front of. Just with the energy he has. Similar to Holly's energy, but not as coddling.

Mohammed wakes up at 4AM every morning, habitually, since his parents always did so when he was a child, answering the Islamic call to prayer that sounds through Egypt. Mohammed is Pagan, but he likes to listen to the call, and remember those very early mornings from his childhood.

After the Crusaders group had arrived in Egypt, Jotaro couldn't sleep the first night. He went for a walk early, and when the call to prayer started, he sat down to listen. He'd never heard it before and didn't know what it was. But it was beautiful and it helped him to cry, finally, for the first time during their mission. He had a hard time processing what was happening to Holly.

Mohammed went out for a walk, found Jotaro, and sat with him for a while. They talked for ages, Jotaro feeling more open after crying and getting those repressed emotions out. They both shared about how they find people overwhelming and they get stressed easily. Jotaro talked about how he was feeling.

◇◇◇

(I headcanon Kakyoin as having BPD.)

Kakyoin admires Jotaro and looks up to him, a surprising change to his own arrogance. Noriaki doesn't typically look up to others.

It'd be alarming for him to see Jotaro have a moment of vulnerability. But essential. The two boys are only human, and sometimes Noriaki forgets that.

Noriaki, like Jotaro, has very intense emotions. So intense that he has to do something physical to cope with them. For Noriaki, that means things like punching a wall or screaming. Jotaro copes by stimming: snapping a rubber band against his wrist, showering in cold water, putting ice between his toes, using a float tank, being hugged, or squeezing into a pressured space like under weighted blankets or in a dense closet.

Noriaki is a PLEASE HELP ME sort of meltdowner, and Jotaro is more LEAVE ME ALONE. On the surface. Sometimes it's vice-versa, sometimes it's much more complex than that.

I feel like Jotaro and Kakyoin might fight about how they deal with their emotions. Because of their lack of understanding. Not just about each other, but each about himself.

Jotaro would find Noriaki's emotions overwhelming at times, and be put off by his occasional spikes of odd behavior. But it'd definitely be internalized ableism. Jotaro would need to recognize that the both of them are seen as odd, and because of that, they have a lot of self-hatred. Which, unfortunately, they'd bounce off each other.

I feel like they'd hug a lot, though. Despite both of them being people who are extremely selective about who gets to hug them.

They'd be very close friends after learning more about themselves and about each other.

◇◇◇

The whole Crusaders group trying to help Jotaro with a meltdown would be a mess, and they'd make it worse at first.

To the point where Jotaro would just sit on the floor, cover his face with his hat, press his hands over his ears, and either groan or go nonverbal.

They'd just have to leave him alone at that point.

If one of them tried to ask him questions later like, "What was stressing you out? How can we do better next time?," the subject would frustrate him so much that he could only answer flatly with, "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."

It was very difficult for Jotaro to accept and understand himself before finding out he's autistic. He thought there was something wrong with him, mostly from observing the way other people reacted to him. But things most definitely got easier once he knew.

[constant-eggs]

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about William on Supergirl from fellow Supercorp shippers, so I wanna talk a bit about Kara and Lena’s love interests and how they are viewed, and also about racism in the show and fandom. This has probably been done to death but I’m new to the fandom — I binge watched the show over the winter and just started using Tumblr in a real way about a month ago. So anyway, back to the men:

There’s the major three: James, Mon-El, and William. Jack is cool too — he should’ve had more than two episodes which is part of the issue I’m going to get to, but he never got to be a major player.

So let’s talk about James. Now, I liked him a lot, particularly in season 1. Of the three main love interests for Kara, he was the only one who (season 1) writers took time to establish as a character separate from her. He had hopes and a backstory (of course), and his own idealism that usually uplifted and sometimes contradicted with Kara’s. He was honest, and vulnerable, and when he made a mistake (like calling Superman against Kara’s wishes) he grew from them. Because he respected Kara, and himself. Now the chemistry between Kara and James for me felt good — it wasn’t earth shattering — but it was typical in what I’d come to expect from a heterosexual pairing. And I would argue that had the writers not done a complete 180 on Kara’s feelings for James in S2 and had let them keep growing together as characters, that the chemistry and relationship could have been really good. But they didn’t because as the writers themselves said, they’re ‘in the drama business.’ So having a healthy, supportive partner for Kara wasn’t their priority, James was sidelined, and then they never figured out what to do with his character from that moment on. Also, I do think that race played a part in the writers’ decision to change direction with their relationship, and it’s...disheartening.

Now real briefly on James with Lena: it reminded me a lot of Laurel 1 and Oliver — when they talked about each other to other people— I believed that there was love, but when they were together, I didn’t see any real spark. Even their drama wasn’t particularly interesting — so I won’t even get into it. But it’s been long enough in this post for me to get to the point of it: the fault of the deterioration of James as a character lies with the writers. They chose to sideline him, have his values constantly shift, and have his character development stagnate post S1. He could’ve had interesting stories as Guardian, could’ve worked more closely with Kara when he replaced Cat Grant, or any number of things. But his potential was squandered. And if they were so dead set on having a male love interest for Kara, he was their best option of the three.

Mon-El and Kara had chemistry. To me, it was very much sibling chemistry in nature, which is kind of funny considering that in the comics he was a pseudo brother to Superman. To be clear I’m talking about Kara and Mon-El and not Chris and Melissa who are married, because they aren’t their characters. That’s how I think he should have stayed — as an antagonistic, shallow brother type who slooowly became decent through character growth and not specifically to become Kara’s love interest. But the handful of times Mon-El did the right thing — rebelling against his parents, trying to be a hero etc. it was because he liked Kara. How boring is that? As a love interest he was subpar — and he continued to be a liar. I don’t hate him like some fans do — and I’m well aware that he was a shallow partner who owned other people on his planet, and a habitual liar. I also see that this show is fantastical in nature where I am rooting for Lena after nearly mind-enslaving the entire population just last season. And also in a universe where a primary hero — Oliver Queen, was a serial killer (as are Laurel 2, Sara Lance, and Mick Rory to name a few). So that isn’t the main reason why I don’t like Mon-El for Kara. I just feel as early Kara felt: She deserves so much better than him.

What is there even to say about William? He’s essentially the audience in character form — the chorus in an Ancient Greek play telling us how we should feel about whatever action he’s being sidelined from. If they wanted him to be endgame, he should’ve been introduced bare minimum a season earlier to give him a fair shot. He needs to be better integrated in the fold, and at this point there isn’t a lot of time to do that well.

I’m making this post though because I don’t agree with some of what I’m seeing in fandom. Yes, I too dislike Mon-El as a love interest for Kara, but I’m not going to yuck someone else’s yum. Same goes for William and James. If you see something romantic, that’s okay. If you’re a multi shipper, that’s okay too. I was into other Arrowverse shows when Karamel and Supercorp animosity was at its highest and saw some of what went on and now I see some people uniting over their mutual dislike for William. But his underdevelopment as a character is once again entirely on the writers and execs. Not Staz Nair. And @motorcyclegirlfriends has a much more nuanced post about how race plays into characters being empathized within fandom and the screen time they are allotted by writers and directors. https://motorcyclegirlfriends.tumblr.com/post/649196192472924160/what-a-lot-of-the-nice-fellow-fans-dont-harass

We shouldn’t be tearing down actors of color or characters of color out of frustration over (potentially/hopefully) queer (white) characters. We should instead be asking for them to have more well rounded stories, just as we ask for better LGBT rep — the two aren’t separate. If Supercorp doesn’t become canon it won’t be because of the subpar heterosexual romances they were given. It will be because the writers see the love story they’ve created, inadvertently or otherwise (even doubling down on it in S5) but chose to ignore it. I really hope that isn’t the case. Us fans deserve more complex, messy slowburn romances, and Supercorp could be up there with She-Ra as one of the best ever portrayed. Here’s to hoping.

[todomitoukei]

hey im kinda confused abt the hpsc and i feel like you could explain it pretty well. is the theory that they’re corrupt and the real villains based in canon or is it just fanon? bc from what i remember they were only mentioned pretty vaguely, so i feel like i might have missed a chapter or something...if it’s based in canon, could you tell me where? (if it’s not too much trouble ofc)

It’s not canon per se, but it’s a theory based on what we know about the HPSC thus far along with some other factors.

As for the HPSC, their job is basically to manage the interactions between heroes and society. In a way, they are the PR team for heroes as a whole. They are also responsible for coordinating the heroes teams with the police, high-profile cases, as well as the provisional hero license exams. We don’t know exactly how one obtains their license to be a Pro Hero but considering the HPSC hands out the provisional licenses, they most likely also take care of the real thing.

With that, they have a lot of control over everything, almost like someone playing chess, with the heroes, police, villains, and civilians being their pawns.

We got a better look at the HPSC once Hawks was introduced, specifically when we got the flashback of him being given his undercover job. There are two noteworthy points from that scene.

The first one being that the HPSC is okay with casualties, giving Hawks the permission to ignore the victims, while he befriends the villains. The HPSC places its importance on the greater good, rather than trying to save everyone.

The second part is about Hawks and his overall role for the HPSC. Though they call it a proposal, Hawks points out that he isn’t given a choice here.

Similar to Eri’s current appearance, people have different opinions on whether using children for the hero side is right or wrong, considering that Eri agreed to use her quirk on Mirio, and Hawks wanted to become a hero.

We don’t have the full picture of what this “special program” that Hawks was a part of entailed, and whether or not he was the only one in it. Although, concerning the last part, we don’t really see any heroes his age so it feels like Hawks was the only one part of this “program” and was always anticipated to be used as the HPSC’s secret weapon. Officially, he’s a hero, but in reality, the HPSC has a lot more control over him than any other hero. Part of that is also shown through his hero outfit, which features the HPSC logo on his shirt.

Keep in mind, Hawks was a kid when he got taken in by the commission. They saw a vulnerable child that happened to have a strong quirk that could be useful to them, so they took said child and turned it into the hero he is now for their own advantages.

Aside from Hawks and Eri, we also have U.A. and any other hero school. While this hasn’t really been addressed by society in the story aside from when Bakugou got kidnapped, this is a high school, which means the students are 15-18 years old. Although the story does tell us that hero students encountering actual villains is a new occurrence, they are still children who get put through very intense training. In the most recent arc, they are being put on the front lines, even though their role was just to evacuate the civilians, it’s obvious from their mindsets and their sense of duty that they are not going to leave it as just that. As mentioned at the start, the HPSC is responsible for coordinating these types of situations so it was their decision to put these kids there. Even if you don’t see an issue with hero high schools like U.A. existing, I think we can all agree that there is something very wrong about putting teenagers on the front lines against the biggest terrorist organization in the country. Funnily enough, the one person to address this is a villain, Dabi:

It makes sense for someone like Dabi, who was created and raised as a mere pawn himself instead of being allowed a normal childhood, to be able to point out that sending kids to a fight like this is not okay.

Speaking of villains, since the USJ arc, the League of Villains has been presented to us as the main antagonists of the series, specifically Shigaraki as the successor to All For One, since Deku, the protagonist, is the successor of One For All. But over time, the members of the League of Villains have been shown to us as being very layered, sympathetic people. Shigaraki has found his own reasons for doing what he does, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has always been and continues to be nothing but a vessel for All For One.

Despite the fact that All For One in his current state technically can’t do much, especially not without Shigaraki, him still being around and still saying that Shigaraki isn’t complete yet shows us that All For One is still the bigger threat and we haven’t seen the last of him. When it comes to the question of how can Shigaraki redeem himself, he would first need to realize that he is just being used by All For One. Because the main difference between him and Dabi is that the latter has recognized that he was only used and is now fighting back, whereas Shigaraki hasn’t become aware of that yet. To redeem himself, he not only has to realize this but also figure out how to break away from All For One. Unlike Dabi, he can’t just leave, since All For One can possess him from the comfort of his highly secured cell.

Speaking of Dabi, some people are also theorizing that the HPSC knew about Touya and helped cover up his death, but that this is unconfirmed so while I’m not ruling it out (according to Endeavor he did search for Touya instead of immediately accepting his death so they most likely do know about it but whether they knew the circumstances that have led to this is unknown), I wouldn’t count it as evidence for the time being.

Circling back to the students of U.A., after the USJ arc the rumors of a possible traitor came up, and after Bakugou got kidnapped, we got this meeting between the HPSC and the police, where they first mention that they will need to make some changes.

Later on, Principal Nezu tells us that, though officially the dorm system is for the students’ safety, it’s also so that they (the HPSC and police) can investigate in secret, with both the teachers and the students being possible suspects.

The story hasn’t exactly mentioned this since or explained how exactly they investigate in secret. We do know that there are robots with motion detectors/cameras on campus that report any kind of movement to the teachers, like when Bakugou and Deku had their fight outside. But what about in the dorms? Are there hidden cameras? Maybe even in the rooms? We don’t know that yet, part it’s still a fact that the HPSC even suspects the kids and puts them in dorms under false pretense when in reality it’s easier for surveillance/control reasons.

So to sum it up, the HPSC has a lot of control and they make sure to keep it that way and get even more control. Of course, considering that it is their job to keep the country safe, it is more or less expected of them. But they more often than not show that they have no issue with using child soldiers, and they are also okay with casualties. Overall, they are a corrupt organization in many ways. With the current arc, especially Dabi calling out Endeavor and thus possibly (hopefully) making society question heroes a little more, it would then also make sense for the HPSC to be questioned, though probably at a later point in the story and not quite yet. However, in order for that to happen, people on the hero side first have to start recognizing these flaws and start questioning the current system that is in place.