#and Flynn is still kinda. getting used to that.

[fangaminghell]

Erin: Hey Flynn-

Flynn: ( jumps a little) O-oh! E-Erin! Hey!

Erin: ..... Actually, nevermind-

Flynn: Oh, no, wait wait wait- d-did you need something,I'm sorry-

Erin: Stop apologizing, you- ( sighs) You're still so jumpy around me. If you don't want to be around me, just say it.

Flynn: N-no! That's- that's not what's going on at all!

Erin: Then what? We've known each other since we were kids-

Flynn: A-and that's what makes it so weird!

Erin: .....What.

Flynn: Y-you can't tell me all of this is weird, right? We- we used t-to just exist a-around each other! W-we never really talked o-or anything or really knew each other and-

Flynn: A-and now we're in this new space where we- we a-aren't the same a-as we used to be you know? E-everything has c-changed so quickly...I'm still reeling....

Erin: .....

Erin: ( turns away) So you want to go back to how things were. Is that what you're saying?

Flynn: .....I don't know. Being brave....is so hard. E-even now but- ( she takes a deep breath) I-I want to be a person who can at least try to be! S-so.....so!

Flynn: ( takes a step toward, taking Erin's hand) I want to get to know you, Erin!

Erin: ?!

Flynn: I-I always thought that- that being your friend was just some far off dream.

Erin: ....You really thought that?

Flynn: Y-yeah! Y-you were always so cool....a-and a little scary but....you were still always there. I-I would imagine t-talking to you, b-but never had the courage too.

Erin: ( shrugs) Eh. No offense, but I doubt I'd let you in, back then ( looks down at her hand in Flynn's) ......You really want to know me?

Flynn: ( nods, eyes brimming with determination) Y-yes!

Erin: .....Heh.( takes Flynn's hand, and grips it a little tighter. She smiles a little) The name's Erin. Nice to meet you.

Flynn: ( smiles with confidence that she thought would never exist) My name is Flynn! I hope we get along well!

[goldentigerfestival]

god i just. the sheer fucking hurt in his voice. feeling so used. so untrusted. had a bounty on his head that wasn't even his fault and he still won't be told him the truth and estelle, too, still hides things from him after he helped her and they'd been traveling together. not only that, but the empire is too busy having its own internal issues to pay attention to its own suffering people.

i hate seeing him so upset, that's my baby boy.

more feelings in the tags

[hier--soir]

feb + mar + apr reads

norma jean baker of troy by anne carson [★★★★★]

"Sometimes I think language should cover its own eyes when it speaks."

"Is she human? Are you? Is she a beast out of control? There's so much danger. No human can become just a beast, you plunge beyond - beyond what? Remember Jack the Ripper? 'I'm down on whores and I shan't quit ripping them till I get buckled,' Jack wrote in a letter to the newspaper, September 18, 1888. He never did get buckled. Of course insane, his mind blooming with it, who could go down that rabbit-hole or unlock such a puzzle as Jack? - but still, the woman! the thing is! the woman has everything and you smile and you take some."

: ̗̀➛ an exploration of the lives and myths of marilyn monroe and helen of troy.

: ̗̀➛ anne carson is there anything you can't do? please email me back. please.

piglet by lottie hazell [★★★★]

"'I want to make some food,' she said. 'For both of us?' he asked. 'No, just for me.'"

: ̗̀➛ one woman, piglet, and the lead up to her wedding in the face of a big confession from her fiancé.

: ̗̀➛ this one slipped beneath my skin and writhed around the spot inside me where i've tucked away all of my food issues.

merciless gods by christos tsiolkas [★★]

"I'm scared that if I let go, not only the room, not only this city, but the whole world will go cold forever."

"Your false gods cannot save you. There is only one God, my God."

: ̗̀➛ short stories that bash you over the head with how awful things and people and places can be. i did not live for this one... particularly wasn't into the one where a guy jerked his dad who has alzheimers off.

foe by iain reid [★★]

"All day. Time keeps moving. I've always thought that was a good thing. Until recently. I'm not so sure now. Is it good? For time to go by fast?"

: ̗̀➛ they want to send junior to space and replace him with a robot that looks and acts and talks exactly like him so his wife has company in his absence.

: ̗̀➛ marriage and trust and complacency, and a guy called terrence who we get reminded over and over has long gorgeous hair.

: ̗̀➛ a little boring for my taste. i had an idea of where it was going pretty early on, and it took a while for me to be proven right. pretty disconcerting!

acts of desperation by megan nolan [★★★★]

"The need was a true and human part of me, but I could feel nothing else of myself to be true or human, and so the need seemed ungodly, an aberration."

: ̗̀➛ a book full of confession, desire, jealousy, violence, and power. messy messy messy!!!! readers procceed with caution.

: ̗̀➛ shout out to everyone who said i should read this - you were right, it is up my alley.

gone girl by gillian flynn [★★★★]

"My wife was no longer my wife but a razor-wire knot daring me to unloop her, and I was not up to the job with my thick, numb, nervous fingers. Country fingers. Flyover fingers untrained in the intricate, dangerous work of solving Amy. When I'd hold up the bloody stumps, she'd sigh and turn to her secret mental notebook on which she tallied all my deficiencies, forever noting disappointments, frailties, shortcomings."

: ̗̀➛ i have become a gillian flynn STAN this year, it's true. despite having seen the movie multiple times, i enjoyed reading this, and was delighted to find some differences in the texts [for better and for worse].

: ̗̀➛ nick dunne, big fan of the lie of omission, mama's boy whose mama is dead, i'd like to introduce you to couples therapy.

dead beautiful and life eternal by yvonne woon [reread] [★★★]

: ̗̀➛ the first two books in a paranormal romance trilogy. these kinda bang guys, i can't lie. 15-year-old me was onto something when she decided to keep these instead of donating them. however, they DO have some of the worst book covers i've ever seen, sorry yvonne.

fourth wing by rebecca yarros [★★★]

: ̗̀➛ a romantasy book that has dragons, smut, and twists that you'll see coming from a mile away. pretty fun. recced to me by one man in person and a thousand women on tik tok.

: ̗̀➛ no one who has the thought 'double standards for the win' is using 'whomever' in a casual sentence with the guy she's having sex with.

: ̗̀➛ good enemies to lovers should have actual murder attempts. but maybe that's jusT MY OPINION.

my book rating system is as follows:

★ = i felt pure contempt the entire time

★★ = yeah it's a book

★★★ = i liked it!

★★★★ = good fucking book, damn

★★★★★ = blew my dick clean off and i'll throw a tantrum if everyone i know doesn't also read it and love it

[ponett]

wait, you could have gotten a follow up with Ken himself? did that go very far or were you not interested? i getta imagine even if you dont like his work, asking the man himself about his days on the comic would be illuminating.

I could have. Part of me was definitely curious, since there's so much we don't know about what was going on behind the scenes at Archie and Ken's one of the few people still interested in talking about it. But it's also like... I dunno, I just like to keep some distance between me as a critic and him as a creator. I can talk about his work, I can talk about things he's said publicly about his work, but I don't need to drag him directly into it. It's the same reason why I've never interacted with him directly on Twitter, even though people loooooooove to get into arguments with him about Sonic shit. As critical as I've been of both him and his work, I have zero desire to grill him in person.

Were I to interview him, there are basically two paths I see here:

Option A: I do a totally cordial softball interview, magically putting aside my well-established opinions on the guy from my decade spent running TKP, and use it as an opportunity to get some more insight into the creation of the comics from him. And then what? I go right back to poking fun at him on my Tumblr blog that has his name in the URL? I'm pretty soft on the guy these days compared to all the Sonic fans out there who think he's The Literal Devil, but still, there's no way for this to not feel like entrapment to me. Like I'm just playing nice so he can give me ammo for when I turn around and continue poking fun at his work and his occasional legal threat. And even if I never use anything he says in that interview against him, since I finished covering his Archie Sonic run for the blog years ago rarely have any reason to even bring him up, my audience will sure as hell comb through every word he says to find more coal for the hate train.

Option B: I'm more critical of him to his face, in which case I'm basically just bullying a kinda pathetic old man, who's already alienated most of his peers and committed career suicide, for writing some children's comics I didn't like 20-30 years ago. There is not a single iota of me that wants to turn into Ken's equivalent of that asshole who paid to be a guest on the BumbleKast just to ask Ian Flynn a bunch of questions that boiled down to "hey so this story you wrote sucked, why'd you write it that way?"

It just doesn't feel right to me no matter how you slice it. Ken's not some monstrous public figure who needs to get held accountable for his actions in an interview or something. At the end of the day, it's just comics. It's not that serious. He can continue making his weird little Lara-Su Chronicles comics and putting his foot in his mouth of his own accord, and I can continue being like "lol remember when Knuckles got called a 'proud man-child' at his own funeral" as a side thing to my own creative career, and never the twain shall meet

[hedgiwithapen]

dhd prompt: eliot leverage and jacob librarians are dopplegangers. somehow they swap places, causing much confusion and hilarity.

(liberties were taken with the prompt) “We really think this Agrinext company’s using magic that’s killing bees? And that’s our priority?” Eve asked. Jenkins gave her a dour look from behind the Clippingsbook.

“Unless you’d rather deal with the doppelganger infestation, yes, Colonel, the company killing bees with a loose magical artifact--or worse-- is the priority.”

Cassandra opened her mouth. Eve winced, knowing she was about to get a patented Cassie Lecture about the interconnectedness of all  creatures, etc etc, and cut it off at the pass. “Right. Bees. Okay, then. Fire up the back door."

~

They split up. They always did; Eve had decided it was inevitable and tried not to fight fate quite so hard on that particular matter.  Jones headed for the server rooms, Cassandra was going to the research and Development area to scan the various chemical compounds with her mind, or...however exactly it was she figured things out. Eve was still a little afraid that if she asked for clarification, she'd get an explanation that would (possibly literally) explode her brain. Stone was supposed to be on distraction, with her. 

And he was. Standing with a dark haired woman and speaking to a receptionist. Looking a lot like he was Flirting with the receptionist.  Eve moved towards him to scold him for wasting valuable time when she spotted...what was Flynn doing here?

"Flynn!" she called, locking eyes with him. Flynn scurried over. 

"Hello!" he said, beaming right into her face. "That's me, Flynn."

Eve took a step back. He wasn't standing right. " Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm... Flynn." He paused. "Ryder? My associates are--"

"Oh, god," she grumbled. "You don't know me."

"I'm sorry," Flynn said. "I... hit my head recently..."

Eve got on the coms. "Gang, circle back. Whatever this artifact is, it's done something to Flynn."

"Since when is Flynn even here?" Ezekiel whined. "Fine, I'm coming."

The con had been going very smoothly. Of course, when a con was going very smoothly was about the point where suddenly it went very smoothly right off the rails, and into a trash can, which was usually on fire. At least this time, Hardison thought, no one was throwing him into a pool. 

Of course, getting caught breaking into the CEO's office was still bad, especially with a company like Agrinext.  Two armed goons--and it was a seed company! Why did they have goons! It was worse than Wakefield!-- blocked both of his exits, and Hardison was not feeling too great about his ability to jump through a window without breaking all of his bones. 

"Put the hard drive down," one of the goons said. "Slowly."  

Hardison was moving to do exactly that, not taking any chances with the gun pointed at him, when he spotted a familiar face over Goon number 2's shoulder, and breathed a sigh of relief. " It's about time you got here to save my ass," he said. 

Eliot actually froze in place for a second before Goon 2 turned the gun on him and he threw himself at the fight. Hardison ducked back while Eliot took out the two guards.

"Lil sloppy," Hardison said to his panting boy friend. "I like the new moves though. Some Wuxia in there. Don't tell me you've been watching without me and Parker."  When Eliot frowned, Hardison took another step back. He may have mocked his boyfriend being able to tell a violist from a cellist based only on finger calluses and vibes, but  some things really were Distinctive, and this guy--this guy wearing Eliot's face--was not Eliot. "What in the hell kinda mirrorverse did you pop through?" he asked.

"I didn't. Why are you breaking into the CEO's office?"

"I," Hardison said, "Am trying to save the bees." he paused. " And also, you know. Take down a corrupt executive who was profiting off colony collapse caused by weird pesticides."

"It's not the pesticides," not-Eliot said. "It's the stelea of Ah Muzen Cab."

"The what of the who now?" Hardison asked.

"Mayan god of many, many things, including bees."

"Uh-huh." Hardison said. " Kay. You look like my boyfriend and you're acting  a little crazy so I am just gonna take this and... go. Thanks for the punching."

~~

Ezekiel leaned closer to the hidden door in the server room, listening for the latch mechanism as he poked and prodded. He closed his eyes, steadying his heartbeat. One--two... should be three more pins, and--

"Boo!" a voice hissed in his ear as someone dropped from the ceiling to land next to him.

He turned, ready to smack whoever it was with the nearest weapon--which would have been his phone-- but stopped when he saw the blonde hair and the maniac brightness in her eyes.

"Parker?" he asked.

"Zekie!" she beamed. "Look at you! All grown up and cracking safes! You've almost got that one."

"I do have this one," he said, flatly. "I'm the world's greatest thief."

She booped his nose, just like when they'd been kids in the same foster home. "Second greatest, maybe. How's the gig?"

"It's pretty good," he said. "I have a good team. Yours?"

"Solid. Two newbies need some work, but they're getting it. Reminds me of teaching you."

"Excuse me? I already knew how to crack a safe when we met."

"And yet you couldn't tell I'd already gotten into that one. Sad." Parker smiled again.

"You already stole the artifact?" Ezekiel asked. " Parker, I need that."

"Then you should have beaten me to it. It's gotta be worth a lot, to be kept so secret, and if the company's smuggling ... Guatemalan?-- antiquities, we can use that for blackmail."

"It's not an antiquity," Ezekiel said. "It's dangerous." He  pressed his lips together. Eve would say not to tell anyone, Jenkins would rail about the importance of secrets. But Parker was like a sister--and she's helped him out from under MI6's thumb. "It's magic," he said, waiting for her to laugh. 

"Oh," Parker said. "Neat. Hmmm... I'll trade you for it, then." 

"Fine, Ezekiel said. "What do you want for it?" He had plenty of stolen--borrowed--sparklies, plus one of her pokemon cards from when they were kids...

"I heard a rumor you nabbed the dagger of Aquabi," Parker beamed, handing over the tablet she'd swiped. "Give it."

Ezekiel made a face. "Fine. Usual drop off, tomorrow."

"Good to see you, little brother," Parker said, and dove for the airvents as an alarm started to wail.  Ezekiel grumbled again, heading for his own exit.

~

"Stone? There you are." Eliot turned. Stone was a name he'd used a few times, but not today. 

"Sorry," he said, turning on the charm as the redhead beamed at him. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

"That's... not right," she said. "You look...." and then she started muttering under her breath, fingers flickering in front of her like she was shifting through information. It reminded him a little of Parker, and a little of Hardison. "Just like him but you're not him. I'm sorry. My bad."

"That's alright. You know, they say we've all got seven doubles."

"They do," she said, oddly flat. Eliot turned to look where she was looking, and froze.

He wondered, a time or two, or three, if he was being honest, what he'd do if ever he saw his own face on someone else.  It hadn't been that litteral, as a kid, which was the last time he'd thought about it. What he'd do if he recognized the mirror of his smile, his eyes, the crease above his brow when he frowned. He'd looked for it in older people, not his age. Someone old enough to be the person who'd left him.

This man looked like he could have been left in the basket beside him. 

"who are you?" they both asked in the same voice, at the same time, before an alarm started to blare.

Well. Eliot had carried questions as long as he'd known the difference between knowing and not.  He could carry them longer. Getting his people out mattered more. 

~

"Jenkins," Eve said, back in the Annex. "What were you saying earlier, before we left? About clones?"

"Doppelgangers, actually," Jenkins said. "Why?"

"Because I found one of Flynn," Eve said, holding up a bewildered look-alike.

Jenkins frowned. " That's impossible. I fixed the issue moments after you left, it was really quite simple."

"Then someone kidnapped Flynn and stole his memories!" Eve said. 

"That's news to me," Flynn  said, leaning over the raining from the stacks. " Hi Eve! Who's that?"

"Oh my god," Eve said again, as reality--actual reality-- sunk in. "I just kidnapped a civilian." 

"If it helps I don't think I'm technically a civilian. Harry Wilson, lawyer and, uh... you know lets just stick with lawyer, actually. Uh. not the suing you kind, though. I just...really should get going? maybe? If I can... just..." he wiggled out from under Eve's hand. 

Above, Flynn hooted with laughter. 

[marching-weirdo]

if you told me that I would draw pj masks in 2024 two years ago I would ask who are they.

gunntech au sketches cause I'm normal. also taken during ap us history so ignore random strokes :3. headcanons under more.

connor:

my trans king!!!! 💪💪

gave him scars. most are long and thin, since they usually happen when hes running

let Greg give him a haircut before he transitioned, now never not gets a Greg haircut ™️

stays up late reading, hence eyebags

I have a trans male friend who loves this au as much as I do, so he asked if he could "model" for catboy.

again, this was during class, so he was smouldering like Flynn Ryder while I was learning about Pennsylvania so you know

the more you know

anyway he's Filipino and I'm like OOH THIS WOULD BE COOL

so he's filipino american

also BIG EYES cause cat

gay (thanks romeo) but he's only had, like, two crushes in his life

one of the two kids who go to school

could care less what people think, likes to show off scars ("For the ladies!" his gay ass says)

interesting marching weirdo fact, the lines making up Connor are more scraggly and rough then the others! it's kinda to show he's an angst boy for me lol. but it's cool lore about me!!

imma be honest, Connor was my least favorite sorry!!

also ignore bad gay pride flag, I ran out of colors

amaya

Japanese american (I think it's in @elmushterri video)

oh also @elmushterri is the creator of this au so follow super cool and amazing and intelligent and interesting and-

psa out

lesbian

see Connors flag error for bad Yuri flag

amaya is super careful about getting hurt

see, El said in a qna that amaya was under a super strict household so her aunt probably would want her to shave her legs, etc until said aunt eventually gets redeemed and amaya can be her own girl boss

so I read that and said "HOLD MY BEER"

so when she was like 9, she got a scar on her cheek due to training with Connor and Greg

amaya went home and her aunt starting freaking out

idk if I want the aunt to say it directly to her or like to a friend on the phone that amaya hears, but her aunt says something along the lines of "scar" and "uncivilized" and "ugly" (I imagine what amaya heard was a distortion of what her aunt actually says but I degress)

since then, amaya makes sure to be as safe as she can and not get scars.

she eventually gets one on her leg, but she can cover it with pants

so she changes the "Don't get hurt" philosophy to "only get hurt where you can hide that scar"

so she is the most careful of the three

but she has multiple scars around her body

for a while she thought "if I get a scar on my arm, I won't on my face" philosophy because ngl she's my version of anxious™️

but eventually she realizes that's dumb.

her back is shredded due to enemies trying to cut her wings

eventually when she is in therapy and an adult, Luna will draw shapes on some of her scars and vice versa

adult amaya still gets embarrassed whenever someone sees her scares

anyway

amaya has terrible eyesight. horrible. Luna knows this

has a hair pin with a moon on it as a gift from luna (the notes that came with it said "for when you need to shank a bitch on short notice"

wears it everywhere

keeps hair long to hide neck scars and only puts it up during training or on duty

fun story: Greg and connor wanted her to get a really short hairstyle so they could be the "Bob boys"

amaya refused and greg and connors dream died

the other kid to go to school

star pupil. young prodigy.

as all mae whitman characters should be

fun fact: took me hours to do her nose.

finally figured it out when I looked at katara fan art and said "ah"

so MAE WHITMAN CONNECTED UNIVERSE?!?

also

her lines are very curvy and delicate to show her more level-headed thinking.

as opposed to connors roughness

my fav. I support her rights and wrongs 😔✊️

greg

rich kid mullet let's gooooooo

i kinda got inspired by a cross between andrian from miraculous ladybug and dick Grayson from Wayne family adventures

speaking of adrian

he's French American because of course

he grew out his hair to match amaya and connor hates him now

home schooled (rich kids smh)

because he's homeschooled, he doesn't care about cuts and scars and hurting himself because he thinks it's perfectly normal

also, he was sprayed with acid during a test (you know those dinos from jurassic Park who shoot venom? that but feral child)

incredibly buff and will hug you to the point of death

TALL

I looked and he seems to not have many ships with men

so an ally

he's also clueless so...

he doesn't actually know that homophobia is a thing

he sees two men kiss he thinks cool

two women? cool

a woman and a man? SAVE ROOM FOR JESUS

joking.hes chill

he has dimples and the biggest smile ever

for angst: his smile gets smaller and smaller as each season happens.

as a teen, his resting face is a smile

eventually resting he looks in pain

ANYWAY

incredibly smart

romeo hates how smart he is

but romeo is street and lab smart

greg tries

he can tell you about quantum theory but doesn't understand that people are sarcastic

he's probably autistic or has adhd or both

he probably wasn't professionally tested

Luna probably gave him a lizard to watch and Greg didn't move for 16 hours

also luna and greg are besties

because of course

fun drawing: very square

I wanted him for two reasons

1: he's always stiff due to being a Gunn

2: he feels like a robot: infinite possibilities but only if a button is hit

anyways thank you! sorry for long post! villains up soon!!

[richeeduvie]

I know you’ve touched on Lalo seeing Princesa’s favorite old movie stars (and how she clearly has a type and it’s cock with mustache lmao) and just like. It’s a good thing Princesa likes old movies and these actors are already dead lol imagine if Princesa was fawning over like. Pedro Pascal. Man would be in danger!!!

Anyways, I like to imagine that Princesa likes lots of romantic movies with heartthrob stars— Tom Conway, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Peter O’toole— and at first it makes Lalo a little jealous because of course it does. Lalo is the type of dude who won’t buy Princesa Frosted Flakes bc why does she need some buff tiger man on her cereal. Could see her reading the very hungry caterpillar and be mad she’s reading abt other men. She’s like “you’re the handsomest man I know” and he’s like “you know other men???”

But then one day Princesa says something that totally changes his whole perception of it.

“You know, I used to put on this movie and dream of being just like her. A handsome man showing up out of nowhere and sweeping me away somewhere… and my dream came true.”

“ I used to depend so much on these movies because… they kept me company. While I was waiting for you to find me— for us to meet, you know?”

And then it’s like Lalo can’t bring himself to hate all these ancient gringos from the movies. Because he knows little Princesa was so lonely and just as needy as she is now— but she didn’t have anyone (once again his hands are always flexing when he thinks about poor little girl Princesa). So they kept her company while she was waiting on her guy, yeah? They’re not so bad. And now, she doesn’t even need them anymore. But he’ll still keep buying her movies. It’s good that she has something to do that can keep her inside.

Also— I think Lalo is so in love with Princesa (love is what we’re calling it to be nice lol) that he definitely thinks they’re like a fated pair and he’s basically the only man in the entire world who can give her what she needs, so their meeting was like destiny. And to hear that she kinda thinks the same way— that her life up until Lalo was her waiting for Lalo? That makes him so happy it’s almost sick. And he’s definitely bringing it up when they fuck (cough cough make love) for the next eternity.

I think it helps Lalo's jealousy that her old hollywood stars always end up looking at him or exist in his image. Suave man with a mustache, cock with a mustache. I think it also gets at him cause he hates to think he's believing Princesa is made for him and they're soulmates - it's so weak of a thought for a big, strong man like him to have. You know, the way he thinks of himself. But him thinking that while Princesa's attraction to him was based on her childhood crushes. But I love this!

The idea of Lalo being cautious of the Frosted Flakes Tiger cause he's ripped has me cracking up though. Tony's got some chesticles idk what to say-

"You know...it was just that I used to put on this movie and dream of being just like her. I know it's childish...which is fair, I guess. I was a little girl. But I would just think about someone coming, someone kind and...everything, and they'd take me away, even if it was just for day. I think it happened, it came true, maybe."

She sniffles. Even after all this time, Princesa can't meet Lalo's eyes when she talks like this in his arms.

"They kept me company, I didn't really have a way with making friends. For the most part. But then I grew up and they were still company - noise, while I was waiting for us to...meet, you know?"

Lalo stares down at her.

There is no possible way that they didn't make love that night.

The thought thrives in Lalo's head, that they are meant to be. She's made for him, and all of his life up until he met her was to make sure that he'd be able to take care of you. He wouldn't exactly say it, the words would make him too open, weak in the head and arms. But he feels it and his ego, his delusion in his obsession revels at Princesa's words. She's braver than him to say it.

Then the way little Princesa was alone as a little girl that takes up space in his head. She's so needy now, he's gotta think a child that needs a mama and papa and friends would be even needier, but she didn't have anyone to come and save her...no good papa and no mama at all, and all she had were movies to keep her company?

Yeah, not a good thought.

"Now you don't need these movies anymore, no? Just me?"

"...Lalo."

"Just saying."

[antiquepearlss]

Team Awesome Headcanons because I just really love them

Whenever Rapunzel is gone on a diplomatic trip and Eugene has stayed behind (he’s captain of the guard, he can’t always go away for long stretches of time) he will have sleepovers with Varian (or sometimes Lance) because he’s found that he really doesn’t like sleeping alone.

Varian stole a cardboard cut out of Eugene that was intended for a celebration. He keeps it in his lab as a joke, it freaks Eugene out everytime he sees it. But he also kinda loves it, it makes his cheekbones look great.

They’re both big readers, so sometimes they will read the same book and talk about it together.

They have plans to write an adventure book together.

Eugene finds the fact that Varian had a crush on Flynn Rider hilarious, but it’s not something he ever brings up. Varian is kind of embarrassed by it.

Eugene sucks at cooking and baking but Varian is actually pretty great at baking, and he can cook well enough. With Varian’s help Eugene can make technically edible food.

Eugene forces Varian to take spa days when he thinks he’s overworking himself. Rapunzel and Lance occasionally join.

If Ruddiger isn’t hanging around Varian he’s probably with Eugene, they’ve bonded.

Varian once refused to talk to Eugene for a full day because Eugene mentioned taking Ruddiger with him on a diplomatic trip and not Varian. Eugene thought that Varian going was kind of implied. (It’s okay Eugene, Varian is just a moody teenager and he’s a little stupid.)

They both know Morse code and will use it to communicate during boring meetings.

Varian felt bad about missing and also being kidnapped on Eugene’s birthday, so he got him a crappy romance novel and cheap hand lotion. It’s all he could find/afford on short notice. They sucked, but Eugene still loved them.

Now for Eugene’s birthday, he makes him lotion. It’s a different scent every year. And it’s better than anything else in Corona.

Varian’s gloves do not last very long due to the chemicals + wear and tear they go through. So Eugene gets him a new pair occasionally. For Varian’s birthday he got him a pair imported from the Dark Kingdom, and Rapunzel embroidered on them.

Varian secretly loves stuffed animals. Eugene got him a stuffed raccoon for Winter Solstice. It was the first time someone other than his dad had gotten him a gift for Solstice in a long time. He cried.

Varian crying is Eugene’s second least favorite noise. Right under Rapunzel crying.

Varian once had a nightmare where Eugene hated him. It tore him up and he literally traveled to Corona in the dead of night to ensure it wasn’t true.

Varian is incredibly close to Rapunzel, but he is slightly closer to Eugene because they understand each other a bit more. 

Both being former criminals, both hailing from the dark kingdom and only recently knowing about it, both struggling to find out who exactly they are, both being commoners who are now essentially royalty, etc.

Eugene doesn’t refer to Varian as his brother often, but he does in times of strong emotions. Varian refers to Eugene as his brother a little more often though, since it means that people are less likely to bother him due to his connections (and also because it makes him so happy.) As they get older they do refer to eachother as their brother more often.

Eugene was the first to refer to Varian as his little brother, and this was when he was telling off some noble for harassing Varian. Varian first referred to Eugene as his brother whilst sassing him.

[terapsina]

Shoutout to the temporary ships that were created with the intention of getting in the way of the intended ship but that I actually liked way more than the ship the writers were trying to get me to root for.

(a.k.a I kinda get a bit salty on this one)

---

1. Laurel and Tommy - Arrow

As soon as they got introduced I felt the feeling of doom. Because they were so immediately adorable and full of chemistry. I loved them from the word go even though it was so clear they were going toward a Laurel and Oliver resolution (and then to add insult to injury they changed their minds on that, but Tommy was taken from Laurel anyway).

---

2. Clara and Danny - Doctor Who

It's up for debate if Clara's relationship with the Doctor was meant to be romantic-coded or not (I personally prefer it as 'not' but they really were very fuzzy with the lines) but either way Danny was still used as the threat that might separate them. And that was really annoying for me because I liked Clara and Danny so much. And then they killed him (which is a scene that still tears my heart to pieces).

---

3. Cordy and Doyle - Angel: The Series

They were short and sweet and I enjoyed them (and though the Cordy and Angel thing wasn't really a thing at the time, there were some signs that it was on the writers' minds... and I wasn't a fan). And then they killed Doyle (...I might have to rename this post to 'killing off the love interests I actually enjoyed to give way to the ships I didn't').

---

4. Rachel and Joey - F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

This ship went past my notice when I watched the show as a kid (my entire obsession rested on Monica and Chandler) but after rewatching as an adult I actually really liked their potential. It might have come up a bit unexpectedly but there really was something quite genuine about it (and Rachel deserved so much better than Ross). I wish they hadn't ended it as such a joke.

---

5. Worf and Troi - Star Trek: The Next Generation

They were created with the sole intention of getting in the way of Troi and Riker. But I liked them better. I just found them more interesting.

---

6. Tamsin and Bo - Lost Girl

They were more fun to watch than Bo and Lauren, had better chemistry and I just enjoyed them a lot more ('and then you see you' living in my head rent free for years now). But instead they gave Tamsin the short end of the stick and used her as a stepping stone (in so many ways, genuinely, even past shipping they just never gave that Valkyrie a single break... and then killed her in the most insulting way possible, because of course they did).

---

7. Wynonna and Dolls - Wynonna Earp

Talk about chemistry. Season 1 of that show was so good and I really did fool myself into thinking this was where they were heading but no, of course not (I should have learned my lesson about Emily Andras after she killed off Hale on Lost Girl). How is an old dude with a gross mustache more interesting than a literal dragon? The answer as far as I'm concerned... they're not (now guess if they killed him off. Guess!).

---

8. Lucy and Flynn - Timeless

A tragic love story happening in the wrong order and out of time because he meets her when he needs something to hold on to and she gives him a crusade. And she meets him while he's zealously following that crusade and thinks he's just a terrorist? Dude. But no, apparently the happy ending is supposed to be the guy that wanted the cake and to eat it too (sometimes I genuinely boggle at how the writers just will not notice when they've hit gold and instead go on beating that dead horse even more to death (and yup, somehow manage to kill the gold)) .

9. Dutch and Johnny - Killjoys.

(First I have to say that I still recommend this show a 100% and this is just quibble of a shipper at heart) But how is it that when you build the whole series around the heart of this relationship, you still end up using Johnny as a brief stop point (a la basically a Married!AU) before you put Dutch back with his brother? Like, yes, they're each other's best friends and always will be but people that are in love can be each other's ride or die best friends too.

---

10. Mel and Abigael - Charmed (2018)

Alright, Mel went through the intended love interests like candy (and I liked most of them well enough) but Abby was the one that intrigued me the most, so it was a great shame that she was never properly Mel's love interest at all and more enemy/antagonist/ally/friend with mostly one-sided feelings for Mel (enemies to friends to lovers was RIGHT THERE).

[aardvaark]

the librarians "and the final curtain" (s2 finale) watch through:

"i made some very bad bicycle pant choices in 1995" "there are no good bicycle pant choices" adorable flynn/eve banter as always

no internet, no electricity, that really would cause a lot of problems. i mean, hospitals, for one thing…

yeah exactly! this is not very prospero at all really! whats that about??

ooh i like that they give an explanation as to why flynn’s note to himself was so vague. often im watching a show like this and thinking "okay but why the riddles? just leave some instructions, damn".

"im gonna hate time travel, aren’t i?" me too baird me too

that schrodingers cat joke is the best!!

Cassandra: It’s Schroedinger’s cat.

Flynn: No, he's upstairs in the Theoretical Animals wing.

Cassandra, whispering: He's alive?

lmaooo baird saying "WAS THE WORLD ORIGINALLY RULED BY TALKING DINOSAURS FLYNN." [to cassandra] "don’t even think about it." baird is good at preventing cassandra from either getting off track or straight up breaking her brain lmao. don’t even think about it!!

oh this show gets all my issues with time travel plots cause they always break my brain a little. they just talked about one of the grandfather paradox variants.

oh damn. seriously how do baird & flynn come back??

ah man the time travel is getting complicateddd stop talking to this very important figure whose works & life are still very much known today

aw, jenkins thinking about arthur coming back… seems like jenkins has had some great times but also definitely some incredibly long lonely stretches…

ooh yes ive read about how prospero/the tempest relates to shakespeare, as one of the last plays he wrote alone!

now moriarty killing shakespeare would’ve straight up been the grandfather paradox since shakespeare-as-prospero brought moriarty into the real world, so he wouldn’t have existed if they killed shakespeare back then.

parker would like magic because like 80% of the time it’s just used as a blue lightning taser.

speaking of parker, hi again beth riesgraf.

is baird uh. is she good? is she drowning, or are the lake ladies just kinda hanging out?

"what kind of sorcery is this" 🎶 what kind of fuckeryyy is thissss 🎶 (me & mr jones).

ohhhh my god are they really not gonna come back to the present?? im so stressed!!

"time travel the long way round" & "anybody can time travel, just in one direction" haha. funny and also a little poetic :)

okay this season finale was STRESSFUL but also very very awesome

[lovebotomy]

Im thinking about writing post canon merwaine fic. gwaine survived but lost his memory and travels around albion trying to figure out what happened the past years he can't remember. merlin gave arthur farewell and is trying to find a will to keep living (literally bc suicide kinda failed - immortality :///) and while kilgarrah said arthur will return he said no specifics and he lied before so can he trust him? can he trust anything? can he trust himself? what is even the point of arthur rising again? plan albion failed why should the problems of future be his burden too? he has so much blood on his hands along with blood that hasn't been born yet but will be shed because the kingdoms weren't united and anyway people die all the time what's the difference if they die sooner or later they die after all (unlike him) (((he's soooo off the rails))). he doesn't want to see anyone because what's the point what's the point. he isn't close to gwen anymore and can't go back just to confess his failure again. he starts to think about what if he didn't listen to gaius at the start would the results be different? there's nothing for him but then he stumbles across gwaine in a small town and when he finds out he doesn't remember anything hes so happy. at least someone he cares about who isn't burdened by his mistakes, gwaine has a chance to start again and be actually happy but merlin can't get himself to leave him and what if something happened so he sticks around and joins gwaine on his adventures. it's starting to become another arthur situation for him, coddling a man he cares about from anything that could hurt him. but unlike arthur gwaine is perceptive and doesn't let merlin do that. instead he wants to understand him, first because he thinks merlins hot and then because he just doesn't make sense and is soooo messed up but he feels it in his bones it's his duty to make that strange guy happy. then something happens in the town. and while merlin helps gwaine help the people and solve the terrifying mystery (because would he otherwise? maybe? would it change anything?) he slowly learns again what it means to be human and not have every action dictated by forces out of this world. slowly learns again how it feels to recognize right from wrong, how to be a person whose existence isn't dependent on another

it sounds kinda cornyyy when I write it out like that but basically imagine gwaine as character written by t kingfisher and merlin as one by gillian flynn. it would be veeeery psychological and dark in the sense of exploring how merlin would feel after canon with gwaine lightening the mood with his more optimistic perspective.

anyway Would anyone be interested in this bc while I love the idea Im not native english speaker 🤓🤓 and refuse to put in the effort if noone will read it (googling every other fucking word to check if I use it correctly is annoying I have better use for my time). and while I enjoy psychoanalyzing merlin combining it with coherent plot will be tricky (but still fun) (but it would be bigger project so yeah I don't work for free I need like 1 compliment a day)

[humanperryfic]

KINGS OF HEARTS

(A VamPerryshmirtz AU Halloween doodle that went a little overboard)

(look I know it's a few days after Halloween but it's still Halloweekend so it counts)

AU thoughts:

so clearly they're both vampires in this AU. but they are Very Different vampires.

perry was turned in his mid-thirties in the late 1700's

he works for the VOWCA, the Vampires Organization Without A Cool Acronym, as one of their top agents

VOWCA generally works to (1) fight vampire hunters (2) keep vampires from being known too publicly and (3) kill the covens of evil vampires that threaten (2)

it's kinda like a good-guy coven of badass vampires

they've even got like their own livestock farm so their agents can avoid killing normals and not starve to death

side note livestock blood tastes horrible to vampires but morals yk

the rest of the flynn-fletchers are Also vampires

except they were turned in the late 70's and VOWCA rules say you gotta be a vampire for 50 years before you can join (something about being used to being a vampire)

so perry's protecting them from a distance, keeping them alive until he can bring them in

and of course he gets assigned to fight dr. doofenshmirtz.

who is a pathetic wet cat of a vampire. turned at about 45 between world wars, immigrated to the US to attempt to take over some small midwest american town and form his own coven but using inators instead of the vampire powers he's still kind of uncomfortable using

this clearly has not worked.

at all.

he married charlene in the late 60's, who had no idea he was a vampire until he got SUPER hungry, accidentally drained her too much, and turned her to keep her alive

which she divorced him for (fair tbh)

oh and she was pregnant at the time so Vanessa is like...mostly vampire but still a little human? like, extreme garlic allergy, faint but visible in mirrors, sun sensitive but won't burn, extended lifespan but not immortal, can drink blood but also gets some energy from human food

she looks/acts 16 but is actually about 48 real years old (so ages at about 1/3 the speed)

anyway charlene is part of one of the really dangerous vampire covens.

and heinz is still just trying to take over the tri-state area using stupid inventions.

he's not like. vampire type evil. he's very canon-type evil.

perry sees him for the first time and is like. VOWCA sent me to fight this guy?

he sticks around to see if he gets dangerous but after a while he realizes that as long as perry is there to thwart his inventions, dr doofenshmirtz just isn't that evil

he looks scary, sure, but that's at least partially just him being kinda malnourished and terrible at taking care of himself

also fighting him is kind of a break from being dangerous and shooting other vampires with silver bullets

and despite everything. they get close.

the antagonism grows into fondness.

it's the same story as always, because it's still them

heinz falls first, perry falls harder

and eventually perry is the one to formally ask heinz out (there's some sort of formal ritual thing since they're both vampires- perry's a lot older of a vampire so he knows these things, which freaks heinz out a little bc he's trying to impress perry)

during their first date perry gets word that the flynn-fletchers are in trouble and the two of them run to go save them

heinz is the one that inators the evil vampires away and perry is like "if i were a less respectable vampire i would literally marry you right now"

too bad vampire courtship is a formal Thing

and because the flynn-fletchers were able to defend themselves pretty well they're allowed to join VOWCA early

phineas and ferb take to it disturbingly easily, candace is less easily persuaded since she still wants to be a Normal Teen, but once she realizes Vanessa is also basically a vampire she's like "alright fine"

linda and lawrence learn some self defense and basically just keep running the antique store

and eventually heinz winds up going "good" and joining VOWCA. which is basically a reverse proposal in vampire terms.

it's a damn good thing perry was planning on marrying him anyway <3

[egg-emperor]

(Okay, I'm sorry for asking about what you think of my art posts, it was kinda fucking stupid and I apologize for that...)

So.. do you think about eggman nega is actually eggman's descendant or just an alternate dimension? If it's the former, do you think eggman nega might've been secretly a robot? Cuz now I'm starting to have this thought.

Don't apologize, I can just take a while to get to certain asks sometimes. Nothing stupid about it, I always enjoy and appreciate being asked for my thoughts on anything Eggman related.

They seem to be going with Eggman Nega being Eggman's descendant in some way. However, people jump to extreme and bizarre conclusions of how this might be, things I never felt fit his character and so I couldn't stand discussions about it for years. But it actually seems like canon has actually been on my side with my feelings on it!

Notice how it's kept very vague with no precise specifications made on how he's his descendant. They made a deliberate choice to not explain exactly how he's related to him. This leaves us up to a ton of speculation and possibilities. He could very well be an organic but indirect descendant and that's my first and most plausible theory.

It makes sense because in killing Eggman, Nega would be erasing himself and stopping himself from existing if he was a direct. Plus Nega can still feel Eggman is a disgrace to the family name and want to kill him. So it makes the most sense in terms of the logic of killing Eggman and the way Nega being direct wouldn't be in character for Eggman.

I say that last part because of the implications made in this Egg Memo!

So with this it's now pretty much been established that it's not in character for him to create life in the typical natural biological way instead of his superior science, there's no appeal. He scoffs at it and looks down on it while bragging about how a true genius does it with code and electrons like how he created Sage. He already has far better.

Eggman is very stubborn and arrogant and will never budge on things he feels this strongly about, especially when it involves his ego, so there's no convincing him otherwise. He likes how he can look down on others and consider himself superior for his ability as a scientific genius to create a life-like being with codes and electrons!

So if he was direct it'd definitely have to be in artificial scientific ways of robotics, code and electrons, test tubes like Flynn suggested, or anything else to be consistent with the memo. But that's a bit too speculative for me as nothing implied Nega was anything but organic and I go only by what we can see/analyze/use as evidence in official media.

With the vagueness of him just being a "descendant" and never elaborating further instead of being his great great great great grandson or something else more specific and obvious, which would've been very important significant information and they surely would've revealed and explained if it was, plus the way he views creating life the natural biological way in Frontiers, and the way Nega doesn't have a fear of himself being erased if Eggman is destroyed, the most plausible theory is that he's an organic descendant but not a direct one.

[invisibleraven]

May I have some "I've waited so long to hear you say that" for Julie/anyone please? <3

So I still feel kinda bad about breaking everyone's heart with the last prompt I filled for you. Let's fix that shall we?

"Boys suck."

Flynn glanced up from where she had been perfecting her manicure to see Julie flopped onto the bed beside her. "Well I knew that, it's why I'm a lesbian. But you tend to like the opposite sex. What did he do?"

Julie blew out a breath, turning her face towards Flynn. "Nothing specific. It's just the same stuff over and over again. It's...it's not working."

Flynn froze at that-her traitorous heart leaping at the prospect. It had been months, but it still longed for more than what she had, even though it was an awful thought, to want your best friend to be single only for you to scoop her up. "Oh?"

"We like each other, and get along, but... not romantically. Or it's not enough for either of us. And I try to talk to him but he'd rather write a song about it than talk."

"You did know what you were getting into there," Flynn said with a chuckle.

"I know." Julie sat up then, plucking a bottle of polish to start on her own nails. "What should I do?"

"Oh no, not touching that with a ten foot pole."

"Flynnie."

Flynn looked at her then. "Jules, please don't ask me."

"Why not?"

"Because the good friend part of me wants to tell you to try and work it out, or at least end it amicably for the sake of the band. The bad, selfish part of me wants me to tell you to dump his ass because you deserve better."

"How as that selfish?" Julie asked.

"Because the better you deserve is me," Flynn stated. "I love you JUlie. And not in a best friend way, in a stupidly romantic way that I know will ruin everything between us, but I've been holding it in for months now and if I have even the tiniest chance I had to take it."

Julie was silent for a moment, and Flynn immediately took that as rejection. God why had she said anything? Why ruin over a decade of friendship for a crush that granted, still hadn't died, but why couldn't she keep it to herself?

"Please say something. Tell me hate me, kick me out, whatever you need. Just...Julie don't give me the silent treatment."

"I've waited so long to hear you say that," Julie said.

"Wait what?"

Julie smiled at her, taking her hand, neither girl caring how it smudged their manicures. "Flynn, before Luke, before Nick, heck before my stupid crush on Troy Bolton, there was always you."

"But...you never said anything!"

"Because you were the best friend I ever had," Julie replied. "I didn't want to jinx that, and after everything with Carrie...I couldn't bear for either of us to lose each other. So I locked it away."

"In your dream box?" Flynn giggled.

"That's where Flying Solo came from," Julie admitted. "There are more, lots more."

"But...you liked those guys too," Flynn said.

"Well yeah, but you always held the bulk of my heart. Even now, when I'm with my supposed dream guy, we still belong to one another. Maybe that's part of the reason it's not working too."

"I never meant for..." Flynn started but Julie shook her head.

"No, neither did I. But Flynn-if we're going to do this, we have to be sure. I can't lose you, not for anything."

"I told you, I'm krazy glue, there's no getting rid of me," Flynn replied, resting their foreheads together.

Julie giggled, nuzzling their noses together. "Okay, so what should I do now?"

"Dump his ass-nicely, because I know you don't want to ruin the band," Flynn replied. "Then come back here and kiss me."

"I can do that," Julie said, getting up, then stopping, doubling back and pressed a kiss to the corner of Flynn's mouth. "For luck."

"You're Julie Molina, you don't need luck."

Julie grinned, blowing her one last kiss. "No. I just need you."

[that1fangirrl]

Dancer!Reader Gets Hurt

CW:kinda angsty, some swearing, blind joke, she/her pronouns, kinda scary(idk tbh)

A/N: You guys voted, so here I am delivering. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I feel like Jane Villanueva when I write lol. K bye<3

When you and Matt first met, he made it his mission to protect you at all cost. Whether that be from creepy strangers, the frat boys on campus, or the scary mean girls in your dance class. You had told Matt many horror stories about the “bitches” in your class. They hated you since day one. Something about you being Miss Flynn’s favorite student even though you joined the class later than everyone else. And being the sweet boyfriend he is, he agreed with you. 

During a particular week, Miss Flynn had called out sick with the flu, but encouraged the class to continue using the studio as needed.

You guys were gearing up for a new spring showcase coming up in the next few weeks. You were especially ecstatic about your small classical part in the show. It would be your first time dancing solo. And hopefully the requitors in the audience would ask you to come and dance with them once you graduated. All nerves were out in the open. Most of the girls were super proud of you, knowing it’s a tough position to be in, but knew you could handle it and were definitely gonna kill it. 

Sydney and Madison thought it was stupid. “That bitch came here in sophomore year and thinks she can just kiss ass to the top. I bet she’s sleeping with the choreographer or something.” It was laughable how the two older girls always thought you had to be sleeping with somebody in the arts department to get your solo. Especially because everyone knew you were so obviously dating the sweet blind law student who always sat in the corner of the studio waiting to walk you back to your dorm.

“Yeah. She’s probably cheating on that blind guy. He wouldn’t even be able to see it coming. Poor guy, he’d be better off with someone like me.” Little did they know, Matt was extremely aware of their weird feelings. The two of them would constantly ask him random questions and be in his personal space. As if you weren't a few feet away, practicing with Miss Flynn in the same room. He always chose to just brush them off and go back to whatever it was he was doing before. 

Today was no different. Matt knew your nerves were off the charts, so he volunteered to stay with you the next few days while you practiced extra hours. Unfortunately today, he had been forced to help Foggy study for their upcoming test that was stressing him to hair loss. He sent you a sweet “Sorry about tonight, again. I promise to make it up to you as soon as I can, Rosie. ‘Sad face emoji’ ‘heart emoji’” He was so darn adorable. How could you be mad at him when he acts so sweet? 

Practice went great tonight. You had been there for almost 2 hours working with some of the other girls, too. When it was time to go, you decided to hit up the locker rooms to freshen up before going to your dorm. Thankfully, the room was still clean and empty.

The cool water on your muscles felt like absolute heaven on Earth. Your hands gilded across your body slowly and thoughtfully, massaging every area that had been giving you trouble. Once you were done, you wrapped a towel around yourself and walked back to the locker area. The sound of the door opening and closing took you out of your short daze. “Hello?” You craned your neck around the corner when there was no response. You continued drying off and clothing yourself; taking a seat on the bench. Another loud noise echoed off the walls. This time, you stood up grabbing your things and shoving them in your bag as quickly as possible. Trying your best to be quiet, you headed for the door.

Going down each aisle of lockers, no one was seen. You continued closer to the door, grabbing your phone and earbuds as you reached it. Putting one in and dialing your boyfriend’s number, you stayed cautious. Matt had finally picked up the phone with a cheerful “hello.” “Hey Matty. I’m on my way to your dorm. I think someone’s following me.” He perked up on the other side of the phone, immediately hushing a confused Foggy. “Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll meet you there.” You shook your head, walking down the long hallway. “Um. Arts building by the new locker rooms. The ones on the higher floors.”

You took a quick breath before turning around. Nothing. “I’m really scared, Matty. It’s so fucking dark and quiet over here. I heard someone come into the room, but I couldn’t see anyone.” Matt starts haphazardly putting his shoes on, nerves spiking with yours. “Okay. I’m on my way. Just stay on the phone okay. Foggy and I are coming to get you.”

Another loud bang had you quickening your pace. You started to speed up closer to the stairs, holding your phone and bag close to your body. “Okay. Just hurry cause I think they- ahhhh.” “Y/n. Hello? Y/n”

A/N: Did I spook you guys? Are you guys mad at the cliffhanger? Are you biting your nails off? Well don't! Cause I did write a part 2 that you will be getting soon. hehehehe I deadass was writing this shit like I was A from Pretty Little Liars. Like I literally was giggling my ass off so hard. But I was also low-key scared cause I always put myself in my reader's shoes in my mind(if that makes sense), so I literally was paranoid as hell. Anyways, tell me your guys' thoughts. I hope you liked it

[toaarcan]

Weirdly in some ways I think the Archie reboot kinda saved the book's direction in a sense. Not in the obvious "Well Ken Penders just ate half the cast and the other former writers could do the same" sense, but in the "Saving Flynn from having to actually write post-Mecha Sally stories" sense.

Eggman in Archie always kinda had the benefit of a sizeable double standard from the protagonists. He always received significantly more leniency than the heroes gave other villains. The most obvious case of this is probably Issue 177, where you get to see the juxtaposition between how they treat Eggman and how they treat Mogul, Naugus, and the not-yet Hooligans.

They all get sent to jail with a wave of Nicole's hand. Eggman, though?

Eggman is at their mercy at he gets told to go home.

Now, you might argue "Well the other villains are inside the city and Eggman's outside it," but counterpoint:

A) He's still lying beaten at their feet and all of the FF and Chaotix on the current roster are there. Even if you give Eggman the most generous interpretation of him being a "Power type" character in Riders, he's not going to overpower all of them. They can drag him inside. Bunnie, Knuckles, Vector and Mighty could probably all do it with one hand.

B) Nicole can do this.

At this point in the story, there are no Legionisation victims that Eggman can threaten to blow up to use as a bargaining chip, the Egg Fleet can't break through the shield and Nicole is fast enough to morph the city wall itself to defend anybody outside it. He's never been more beaten than he is right now. And they let him go.

And it should be noted, this is before the contract between Archie and SEGA was renegotiated in 2010, Flynn was writing under the same lax mandates that allowed Penders to write Issue 150 at the time. And while he's obviously not going to be allowed to take Eggman off the board permanently, we're not too far from Sonic X doing its own story where Eggman got sent to jail for a bit and broke out. Heck, a couple of years later, Flynn has Eggman spend an entire year of comics as a gibbering loon stuck in a cell in his own city. So I don't doubt that he could've had Eggman get captured here, and then during Enerjak Reborn, they could be forced to release him so they could try and turn the Egg Fleet on Enerjak, to little success.

Flynn likes to write Eggman earnestly believing that he can kill Sonic and co. whenever he wants, he just chooses not to win because he'd be bored. I think this is a gross misreading of the general character of Eggman (who deliberately tries to kill Sonic in SA2, and while he is calm and respectful on the outside, is an incredibly sore winner if you exit out of the game and then get his recap once you load in again), I can let it slide in Archie because the character is very different.

I bring this up because, consciously or not, Flynn has the FF do it too. In both 177 and 200, the FF have Eggman beaten and are free to capture him, and they just don't. And bad things happen because of it. Everything Eggman does from 177-onwards is on the heads of the heroes for not doing their level best to stop him.

And the best part is that Sonic comments on it later.

Man I miss this Sonic. IDW Sonic would be giving a two-page monologue about freedom here.

Which brings me around to my point. If things had gone back to normal after the Mecha Sally saga, Flynn would've been in a terrible position. Let's assume that this is a perfect world and Penders never showed up to ruin everyone's day, and thus only the intentional crimes are in play, not the millions of people he killed with the Genesis Wave when it flipped the entire multiverse on its head. Flynn would nonetheless have had to try and return to the normal status quo after 250.

Eggman is either directly or indirectly the cause of literally all the trauma the characters go through in that stretch of the comic. Indirectly, it's his legion that Geoffrey and Hershey were fighting when Hershey was either killed, assimilated, or faked her death, thus causing Geoff to lose his shit and revive Naugus. That caused Bunnie to lose her powers and Nicole to get ostracised and then exiled, along with the loss of the throne to Naugus, severely weakening their position as Naugus is more than okay with cutting deals with Eggman, which he does in 234 to try and get Elias assassinated en route out of the city.

Directly, he blows up Antoine, putting him in a coma and breaking Bunnie, causing her to leave, and then there's the obvious point of Mecha Sally itself, and Sally spending however long that was in-universe suffering inside a prison made of her own body.

And this was post-2010. The mandates were there. Even if he was allowed to keep Sonic and co. angry and traumatised for a while, he would've had to snap back to status quo pretty quickly, and it would've destroyed any semblance of internal consistency within the book.

This is my fundamental issue with Flynn's Eggman. He wants Eggman to be the biggest villain Sonic will ever face, a tyrannical conqueror who commits atrocities for fun and pulls the "Geneva convention more like Geneva Suggestion" schtick, but he's writing a licensed comic based on a videogame character for seven year olds, where the protagonist is obligated by the license-holder to treat the villain as a goofy loser and has been known to call him "Baldy McNosehair." Flynn wants Eggman to be a serious villain, and the series itself doesn't.

With Mecha Sally, Flynn came perilously close to breaking the internal logic of the comic for good. And in that regard, a giant retcon wave that made it so that none of that bad stuff had ever happened probably saved his bacon.